Notes 20110714

• We unpacked the lab gear and Philip explained all the lab equipment
• Stuff we need for the lab:
  • Shelves
  • Better tables: plastic good, metal good, stable good
  • Lockable metal cabinet
  • Power strips
  • White boards or glass or such
  • Pull up carpet or cover it with vinyl mats
  • Vinyl mats
  • Stools
  • Autoclave or pressure cooker
  • Molecular cloning techniques book
  • Get gram-stain kit

• Discussion about things going on in biology:
  • OpenWetware.org - site sharing lab protocols and information for DIY bio community. Affiliated with the BioBricks foundation
  • Zinc finger nucleases (enzymes) have emerged as engineerable restriction enzymes, as compared to traditional restriction enzymes that cut what they happen to cut

• Projects:
  • Discussion of engineering a yeast alcohol meter and how to do it (eventually to tie to flocculating agent)
  • Need to set up a microscopy lab as a basic evangelism/education project
  • Discussed a basic lab for DNA extraction. We have a bunch of extraction kits (reagents that can be used in stages to do the extraction) that we can use to run a lab.
  • We also discussed DNA extraction for doing a kareotype: too slow for road shows

• Space-related discussions:
  • What exactly does "level 1 bioseparation" specify? Need positive pressure?
  • Stabilized table hack (sand in legs)?
  • Physical security: tie room lock to certification
  • Need to come up with a basic lab use and safety class
  • Air extraction feed: the Makerspace is running it to laser cutter and darkrooms, can run one for us
  • Donations or prepayment for lab space consumables

• Connections:
  • Discussion re. setting up a non-academic IGEM to allow the bio makerspaces to compete (IGEM is academic only)
  • Philip reached out to Dr. Leonidas Bleirdas at UT Dallas, left voice mail
  • We can start connecting with more area schools
  • SMU has a hackerspace, may want to connect
  • La Reunion, art conspiracy: opportunities for crossover bio project