DIYBio brand petri dishes!

We had our first DIYBio workshop in Broad Hall on the UCLA Campus over the weekend. The student community from both north and south campus were involved, which included art and science/math majors.

Romie Littrell started things off with a short presentation on the concept and history of DIYBio. His talk kicked off discussion focusing on the safety and security of biotechnology that is open to the public.

Romie (middle, blue) presents to DIYBio attendees.

Big discussion on safety and terrorism issues of biotechnology

The highlight of the workshop included an extraction of DNA from everyday food products, akin to the extraction of DNA from strawberries.

DNA from a cup of green tea!?

lysing cells through a syringe

Everyone is in awe

Looking for the nucleic acid precipitate

Homemade centrifuge

Other demos at the workshop included a sampling of a biological polymer made from cornstarch and other products found in every kitchen.  The red color and taste reminded me of Twizzlers.

Tor Nowlan and Max Belasco explain to us the elegance behind this!

DIY bio Los Angeles Workshop at UCLA! February 27th, 2010 from Kenneth Wei on Vimeo.

We had a diverse group of visitors throughout the workshop over 4 hrs.  Other than science and art professionals,  a lawyer and stay-at-home mother with toddler came to participate.

Check out our Flickr page for more pictures from this specific event.  Stay tuned for an exciting announcement in the coming weeks on the next workshop and the start of our long term project!