Baltimore, Maryland - February 27, 2016: Francesco Savelli, from Baltimore, reaches for a test tube of green fluorescent protein during the fifth and final Molecular Biotechnology Bootcamp class at The Baltimore Under Ground Science Space -- BUGSS. Students created bio-art as a way to learn about bacterial communication.
Savelli is a staff Neuro-physiologist at Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Campus. His background is in engineering, but doesn't have much of a background in biology. He's taking class at BUGSS to fill the gaps & learn what he thinks will be important in the future. "I wanna learn the stuff that's missing from me. I wanna learn the way I used to learn in school. Free of restraints."
The new CRISPR-Cas9 technology is causing worry among mainstream scientists that the burgeoning DIY Biology scene, like BUGSS, might be cavalier with things like ethics and lab safety. Proponents of DIY Biology spaces say they make strides to implement a “culture of responsibility.”
CREDIT: Matt Roth