“It’s one of the fastest-growing industries in America,” said Orkan Telhan[, describing the biotechnology boom]…
But the trouble with biotechnology is its complexity. That’s where the Microbial Design Studio – a genetic engineering machine small enough to perch on a tabletop – comes in.
Telhan and his colleagues at their start-up, Biorealize, devised it to help more people solve problems using biology without requiring a biology degree, or the prohibitive amounts of money needed for standard lab equipment. It’s part of a growing trend toward miniaturizing and automating technology to make it more user-friendly and drive innovation.
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To make things even simpler, Microbial Design Studio users don’t even have to get their hands dirty.
“You really don’t interact with any living organism,” [Telhan] said. “You load your [prepackaged] bacteria and DNA in one end, and get your product in the other end.”
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[Cofounder Justin Pahara] sees the younger generation as the key to the revolution. “Once these get picked up by schools, [the field] will accelerate.”The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Not your momma’s microbe lab: a new genetic engineering machine takes microbial design to the masses
