Comments on: Science without Scientists

By: Graig Acee

Graig Acee — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:46:52 +0000

Enjoy the post. Maybe artificial plants source should assist someone there.

By: RPF

RPF — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:13:51 +0000

I think DIYbio is an absolutely great idea for people interested in biology. It’s true that basic molecular biology methods are pretty simple and easily mastered. Finding shared spaces to conduct research presents more of an organizational challenge. Most important of all are simply good research ideas. Additionally, I think that investment of personal funds is unavoidable.

By: Jack Christopher

Jack Christopher — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:23:48 +0000

The majority of scientist in human history were non-credentialed; Professionalism is the aberration.

We were forced to centralize science in the last century. But that won't scale into this one.

There's just too much data out there. It needs to be converted into knowledge. That can't be done by the few.

And just as we do in software, we need to open that data. And like human relationships, of course there are risks to opening up. But at some point the benefits will outweigh the risks.

By: Daniel Wexler

Daniel Wexler — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 07:17:35 +0000

There is a long history of amateur scientists making important discoveries. Before there were degree programs many investigators worked informally using private resources. Today, amateur astronomers have discovered comets, and amateur ornithologists collect important data on bird migration patterns. There is a potentially large sector of individuals who could contribute to research and development with the advantage of having total freedom to pick and choose their projects, unlike most professional scientists who work under often rigid constraints and often don't have the liberty to pursue "high risk" projects.

With contract labs that do DNA sequencing for a modest fee as well as a plethora of other procedures, it is worthwhile for citizen scientists to concentrate on implementing ideas without paying for expensive setups. They might also partner with cooperating labs to perform hazardous and highly regulated procedures such as those involving radioisotopes, although in general one of the benefits of garage science is the search for innovative methods that are both cheap and relatively safe. For instance, biotech companies that sell expensive resins for plasmid DNA isolation actually base those resins on diatomaceous earth which is composed of silica skeletons of marine diatoms, a type of single-celled algae. This material is extremely inexpensive and works well enough without chemical modifications. Who knows, powdered glass may work just as well in the procedure. Someone should find out...