BioCurious

BioCurious

Formation	2009
Purpose	Biohacking, Hacking
Headquarters	Sunnyvale,
Location	3108 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, 95054
Coordinates	37.395634330620496°N 121.98371237080791°W / 37.395634330620496; -121.98371237080791
Services	Biosafety Level One lab (BSL-1, membership access
Website	biocurious.org

BioCurious is a community biology laboratory and nonprofit organization located in Sunnyvale, California,^[1][2][3] co-founded by Eri Gentry, Kristina Hathaway, Josh Perfetto, Raymond McCauley, Joseph Jackson, and Tito Jankowski. With the help of Kickstarter and 239 backers they raised $35,319.^[4][5] BioCurious is a complete working laboratory and technical library for entrepreneurs to access equipment, materials, and co-working space, and a meeting place for citizen scientists, hobbyists, activists, and students. Scientific American magazine has described BioCurious as "one of country’s premier community biotechnology labs [...]".^[6]

The lab debuted on Kickstarter in 2010 and raised $35,319 from backers, and opened in October 2011.^[1][7][8][9] BioCurious has supported projects including a 3D Bioprinter, glow-in-the-dark plants.^[10][11] In 2016 BioCurious partnered with The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose to host Geektoberfest for beer enthusiasts, beer brewers, and scientists to learn the biology of beer with talks, demos and beer tastings.^[12]

BioCurious is part of a thriving bioeconomy and is active in promoting the role of community biology labs innovation and entrepreneurship.^[13] BioCurious is part of the international conversation about how biology will fundamentally change our world,^[14] and has attended White House Makerspace meetings that highlight the growing importance of DIY spaces in the economy.^[15] Part of this role is in providing space and resources for both early-stage startup companies or interested students^[16] and holds its own ambitious community group projects, such as real vegan cheese (in collaboration with Counter Culture Labs),^[17] the DIY bioprinter project,^[18] microfluidics, and consulting on discussions in biosecurity.^[19]

References

1. Välikangas, L.; Gibbert, M. (2015). Strategic Innovation: The Definitive Guide to Outlier Strategies. FT Press. pp. pt160–167. ISBN 978-0-13-398014-1. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
2. "Feeling Biocurious? How To Get Your DIY Bio On". KQED. January 23, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
3. Wohlsen, M. (2011). Biopunk: Solving Biotech's Biggest Problems in Kitchens and Garages. Penguin Publishing Group. p. pt636–4. ISBN 978-1-101-47635-2. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
4. "About Biocurious". Biocurious. Biocurious. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
5. "BioCurious: A Hackerspace for . The Community Lab for Citizen Science". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-06-17.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
6. Grushkin, Daniel (September 10, 2013). "DIY Biotech Labs Undergo Makeovers". Scientific American. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
7. Group, Alia Wilson | Bay Area News; Sentinel, Santa Cruz; News, Mercury (2012-02-16). "Sunnyvale's BioCurious is a haven for innovators". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2020-02-06. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
8. Akst, Jef (February 1, 2013). "Biology Hacklabs". The Scientist. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
9. "BioCurious: A Hackerspace for Biotech. The Community Lab for Citizen Science — Kickstarter". kickstarter.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
10. "A DIY Bioprinter Is Born". technologyreview.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
11. "Glowing Plants: Natural Lighting with no Electricity — Kickstarter". kickstarter.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
12. "Brewers, Biologists and Beer-Lovers Raise a Glass to Geektoberfest at The Tech". marketwired.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
13. "The National Bioeconomy Blueprint". synthesis. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
14. "How hackers transform biology into building material". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
15. "maker conference | HiveBio Community Lab". www.hivebio.org. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
16. "Biology grad wins seed funding for biotech startup company". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
17. "COW MILK WITHOUT THE COW IS COMING TO CHANGE FOOD FOREVER". Wired magazine. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
18. "BioCurious DIY BioPrinter". Scientific American. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
19. "Adding CIA to DNA". Threatpost | The first stop for security news. Retrieved 2017-09-25.

Further reading

• "Citizen Science Takes Off: Could Community Labs Hatch the Next Generation of Bio Innovators?". Forbes.com. October 25, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
• "DIY science labs take off". KGO-TV. December 8, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2017.

External links

• Official website
• BioCurious on Meetup.com
• BioCurious Google Group
• BioCurious on Hackerspaces.org