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CRISPR genome editing is one of the most significant, world-changing technologies of our era, allowing scientists to make incredibly precise cut n’ paste edits to the DNA of living organisms. Now, one synthetic biologist from NASA plans to make it as accessible as a home science kit, so you can bio-hack yeast and bacteria on your kitchen bench.
Dr. Josiah Zayner, a research fellow in NASA’s synthetic biology lab, believes that if CRISPR is the key scientific tool of the future, it’s the tool amateur scientists should be experimenting with at home, today.
He’s been running an online store for a while now called The ODIN, trying to facilitate and encourage do-it-yourself synthetic biology research at home, and he’s currently running an Indiegogo campaign to sell full genome engineering kits so that amateur scientists fans can try CRISPR gene editing for themselves.
Zayner says the kits will contain everything a budding scientist needs to carry out CRISPR experiments on yeast or bacteria. For US$130, you can have a crack at re-engineering bacteria so that it can survive on a food it normally wouldn’t be able to handle, or for $160, you can get your eukaryote on and edit the ADE2 gene of yeast to give it a red pigment.
Read full, original post: Do-it-yourself CRISPR genome editing kits bring genetic engineering to your kitchen bench
