Check out this great biohacking Instructables tutorial that features how to make your own DIY bioprinter!
Bioprinting is printing with biological materials. Think of it as 3D printing, but with squishier ingredients! There’s a lot of work being done at research labs and big companies like Organovo on print human tissues and human organs, with an eye towards drug testing, and transplantation into humans. Check out these amazing TED talks by Anthony Atala, for example:
All this sounds incredible complex, but the fact is that the basic technologies are very accessible – it’s all based on inkjet and/or 3D printing! So a bunch of us at BioCurious decided we wanted to play around with this technology ourselves – and the BioPrinter Community Project was born! (Come join us, every Thursday evening at BioCurious!)
We wrote this instructable in part to document our project for our fellow Citizen Scientists in the DIYbio community, so it’s getting a little long. For those who want a quick 1-minute intro, you may want to check this little video:
Most experimental research projects are executed with a combination of purchased hardware equipment, which may be modified in the laboratory and custom single-built equipment fabricated inhouse. However, the computer software that helps design and execute experiments and analyze data has an additional source: It can also be free and open-source software (FOSS). FOSS has the advantage that the code is openly available for modification and is also often free of charge. In the past, customizing software has been much easier than custom-building equipment, which often can be quite costly because fabrication requires the skills of machinists, glassblowers, technicians, or outside suppliers. However, the open-source paradigm is now enabling creation of open-source scientific hardware by combining 3D printing with open-source microcontrollersW running on FOSS. These developments are illustrated below by several examples of equipment fabrication that can better meet particular specifications at substantially lower overall costs.
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!
As the United States military marches further into the age of networked warfare, data networks and the mobile platforms to distribute and access them will become even more important.
This fall, the (retired) eighth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff described a potential future of the military that’s founded not only in open source thinking, but in next-generation user interfaces and biohacking straight out of science fiction. If even some of the strategic thinking he described at this year’s Military Open Source Conference in D.C. is applied to how the technology that supports the next generation of war fighters is built, dramatic evolutionary changes could cascade down the entire supply chain of one of the world’s biggest organizations.
Based on the requirements you and your co-hackers have come up with, you’ll now need to create a layout that is optimized for getting projects done in the most efficient, creative, and safe ways possible.
When building or moving a hackerspace from one location to another it’s very useful to have a floorplan because you can virtually move things around to find the best fit without having to lug heavy equipment around once everything is moved in.
In your layout planning stages make sure every area has the appropriate power requirements and power drops available. You can never have too much power, or too many outlets. Keep the noisy and messy zones away from the quiet and clean zones, and build partitions or seperate areas into different rooms whenever possible.
Tip: Map out where all the power drops are and segment appropriately. It’s not fun when someone decides to plug a welder or servers into a outlet and knocks the power out to the whole building. True story.
Remember that clutter is the enemy and keep things organized in their respective zones – except when they’re being hacked on, of course.
Example areas and suggestions:
Noisy and Messy Zones
Heavy equipment and power tools should be grouped together and contained away from clean areas like your hacker lounge, electronics area, textiles hacking area, kitchen and other clean or quiet places. It’s ideal to have a room that can separate out your messy and noisy tools. Be sure to have proper ventilation and all power requirements met. Have a safety program in place to train new members how to use these tools. Tools can quickly harm people who don’t have proper training or respect for the damage tools can swiftly inflict. A future post will list ways to mitigate this.
Biohacking/chemical lab and storage is an area designated for mad science projects that require extra precautions. This particular gear and safety equipment is delicate, and I recommend relying on a member who is a trained chemist or bio engineer as the best resource on how to set this up. Most Hackerspaces omit basic chemical safety. Get a Flammable Storage Cabinet to store a lot of your chemicals so you don’t end up with a situation that closes your Hackerspace – or worse. Make sure every chemical is clearly labeled (that includes spraypaint) and keep handy your binder of MSDS forms (Material Safety Data Sheets) for each cabinet. Your MSDS will describe proper handling and emergency procedures in case of contamination or accidents.
Server room is the area you should keep noisy servers and other dedicated infrastructure systems that need to run 24/7 with dedicated backup power and cooling.
A kitchen, if you have one, is a great place to prepare late night snacks, teach classes in cooking, or prep for large events.
Clean and Quiet Zones
General hack areasand desks are the place for people to write code, work on projects, discuss problems and solutions, or have general meetups of all types. Fill this with comfortable seating and tables with plenty of power and power strips. A stereo and projector should be readily accessible.
Member project storage areas are great to have so your co-hackers don’t have to take to take their projects back and forth to wherever they are staying. Also so hacking projects and tools don’t get left in common areas.
Electronics bench is the dedicated area for circuit hacking. You’ll want plenty of space for soldering stations, chip programmers, electronic test equipment, wire spools, parts, miscellaneous items, plus a dedicated laptop workstation.
Textiles is an area where you might keep sewing machines, scissors, cutting tables and boards, yarn, thread, rolls of various fabrics (like Kevlar!), flexible fabric based electronic projects, etc etc.
A classroom area can be dedicated to teaching, workshops and training with a projector, whiteboard, desks, stools or chairs, and tables. I can’t impress strongly enough how important it is to have a dedicated learning area. When set up correctly, this space allows everyone to focus on the information at hand. It’s best if your learning area can be set up in a stand-alone room.
Materials/hackables storage will require shelving for random parts, raw materials like wood, metal, cement, shingles, and sometimes extra mannequins. (At one point, PS: One almost had too many mannequins. It was an amusing problem.) Make sure your storage spots are all easily accessible and well-documented so every item has a place and can be retrieved or replaced quickly and safely.
Restrooms – this is pretty self-explanatory. if your location doesn’t already have one consult a local plumber about installation, compliance, and layout. You’ll need to get a construction permit for this.
A welcoming area is a spot near your front entrance that people can see (and understand) an overview of your awesome Hackerspace. Make it inviting: have a few posters or flyers up describing what you are about, and keep some finished projects nearby that people can view or play with. Keep a donation jar at the ready, and make that as warm and welcoming as possible.
Now that you have worked out your floor plan and moved in equipment you are almost done…. Or are you?
Gobble Gobble day is next week, which means the hotly anticipated (by us!) and dreaded (by you!) holiday shopping season is beginning. Luckily for you we’re making it easier this year with our 2012 Adafruit Gift Guide series. Each day until Christmas we’ll roll out a different theme, everything from wearable electronics to Arduino shields, from 3D printers to photography to gift certificates from sites Adafruit likes!
Happy shopping!
Fingerprint Sensor – Secure your project with biometrics – this all-in-one optical fingerprint sensor simplifies fingerprint-based security. These modules are typically used in safes – there’s a high powered DSP chip that does the image rendering, calculation, feature-finding and searching. Connect to any microcontroller or system with TTL serial, and send packets of data to take photos, detect prints, hash and search. You can also enroll new fingers directly – up to 162 finger prints can be stored in the onboard FLASH memory. There’s a red LED in the lens that lights up during a photo so you know it’s working.
Star Wars Science – Force Trainer – Train to move objects with your mind using the power of the force. Yoda will train you through 15 levels of concentration to Jedi Mastery right from your home on planet earth. Comes with an adjustable wireless headset and a learning guide to grow your telepathic strength.
Pulse Sensor Amped – Pulse Sensor Amped is a greatly improved version of the original Pulse Sensor, a plug-and-play heart-rate sensor for Arduino and Arduino compatibles. It can be used by students, artists, athletes, makers, and game & mobile developers who want to easily incorporate live heart-rate data into their projects.
Necomimi Brainwave Cat Ears – Have you ever wanted to confidently express yourself without talking? Now you can show the world what’s really on your mind without saying a word! Be the center of attention everywhere you go! People can’t help but watch in fascination as your Necomimi ears move in real-time according to your state of mind.
Genes in a Bottle Kit – From Bio-Rad, the leader in life science research, comes a kit that allows you to make your own invisible DNA visible in a matter of minutes! Dye your DNA precipitate and make a unique helix keepsake with your own DNA strands that you can show off to friends and family. Learn about the structure of DNA and cells as well as genetics and heredity. Continue your adventures into the remarkable world of what makes us all unique by learning about the double helix structure of your DNA. Using the ancient art of origami, you can color, cut, and fold paper to make a DNA model.
Biohacking skill badge, iron-on patch – You’ve done something amazing in the world of biohacking. Maybe you made and shared a low-cost DNA sequencer, or constructed your first genome. Adafruit offers a fun and exciting “badges” of achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of the many ways to show and share.
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Chances are you haven’t heard much about lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), a disease that leads to pancreatitis. This rare disease, however, is at the center of world-changing medical advances.
Last week the European Union approved a gene therapy treatment for LPLD–and this marks the first time any medical treatment that rewrites a patients’ DNA has been approved for commercial use.
The treatment, called Glybera, will be released by Dutch firm uniQure in the second half of 2013. Glybera will be administered to patients by specially trained doctors at a limited number of European hospitals. Patients receiving treatment have their DNA altered by a series of injections into their leg muscles, which helps normalize the metabolism of fat particles carried in the blood. LPLD prevents sufferers from properly metabolizing these particles, leading to a host of side effects including pancreatitis.
Had a great time meeting with other presenters and guests for the Launch Party for the “Making Things” series, GE Garages‘ month at STORY in the Chelsea Arts District in NYC. It was a real treat talking to engineering and design heavyweights Nina Tandon, Catarina Mota, Corrie Van Sice, and Manca Ahlin about biohacking, open hardware, 3D designs, and lamps, while the four of them celebrated their pleasure watching product shots and videos at Adafruit that have Limor or Becky’s painted nails in the corners of them: what a great message that is to young hotshot female engineers just getting started.
I also spent some time talking with Rich and Peter of Brooklyn-based Industrial City Distillery, hardcore makers themselves. Rich, who designs the custom-built distillery’s automation, was thrilled to see someone from Adafruit at the party. He shared about his use of Arduinos and other Adafruit supplies to reinvent how they are distilling high-grade vodka from sugar beets, going from setup to on-shelves in less than a year. (Check out this awesome video!)
I have posted my Skillshare signup for my workshop on October 21st, and already the 30 slots are starting to fill up. I shared with a few other presenters tonight what I have in mind for the activity, but I’m going to keep quiet about this secret 3D printing + electronics project here on the blog until I offer a sneak preview during the Adafruit “Show and Tell” episode on October 20th.
NEW PRODUCT – Sheet of stickers 33 total! Each one peels off, they’re about 2″ x 2″ each (50mm x 50mm). Individually the stickers are usually $1.50 each (a few are $1.00/$1.25 each). When you get all 33 you save $13.00 !
Adafruit offers a fun and exciting stickers to celebrate achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of the many ways to show and share. These stickers for use with educators, classrooms, workshops, Maker Faires, TechShops, Hackerspaces, Makerspaces and around the world to reward beginners on their skill building journey!
Perfect for laptops or the workbench.
These gorgeous stickers are glossy, vinyl and made to last a lifetime. Made with printing/vinyl machines that are solar powered and using the most green friendly supplies as possible.
MADE IN THE USA!
Adafruit’s stickers are manufactured in partnership with AMBRO Manufacturing located in NJ, USA. AMBRO is a family owned and operated business since 1990 that celebrates open-source with Adafruit Industries. You can meet their team here. AMBRO uses non-toxic soy based, water soluble and environmentally friendly printing supplies, threads and more when possible. AMBRO has over 250 solar panels that generate 50,000 Kilowatt hours per year. Their equipment runs solar powered, so the wonderful things AMBRO and Adafruit have worked together on are made with the sun! AMBRO Manufacturing was recognized by Impressions Magazine, a leading trade publication in the garment printing and embroidery business, who published an article highlighting AMBRO and their commitment to their environmentally focused manufacturing practices. Adafruit knows you have a lot of choices as to where you spend your money and time, we hope our open-source values, commitment to green technologies and partners helps make the decision easier and fun!
We’ll have these in the store this week, sign up to get an email once they’re in stock. This is series 1 for those who are going to collect these
Would you enjoy reprogramming lab bacteria with DNA from a jellyfish to make them glow green? How about hacking your own genetic data to find out what percentage of the Neanderthal genome you share? Or building a device that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen?
If so, maybe you should consider joining the DIY garage biology movement.
Educational institutions, governments, and big businesses dominate biological research. But plummeting technology costs let entrepreneurs and hobbyists design do-it-yourself tools for biological engineering at a fraction of previous prices.
Aspiring biologists can also get access to lab equipment outside university and government labs. Neighborhood labs are open to everyone and can bring together communities of like-minded citizen scientists. Like community tech shops (where one might share the use of large and expensive technology used in metal machining or wood work), these new science spaces are popping up more frequently.
If you’re curious about biology, you can join a newly formed organization called BioCurious in California’s Bay Area. BioCurious, started as an online community, recently opened a new biotech hackerspace and community lab where those interested can come together to learn and share ideas. Anyone can become a member.
Adafruit offers a fun and exciting stickers to celebrate achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a sticker is just one of the many ways to show and share. Perfect for educators, classrooms, workshops, Maker Faires, TechShops, Hackerspaces, Makerspaces and around the world to reward beginners on their skill building journey!
Looks great on the laptop or the workbench.
These gorgeous stickers are glossy, vinyl and made to last a lifetime. Made with printing/vinyl machines that are solar powered and using the most green friendly supplies as possible.
MADE IN THE USA!
Adafruit’s stickers are manufactured in partnership with AMBRO Manufacturing located in NJ, USA. AMBRO is a family owned and operated business since 1990 that celebrates open-source with Adafruit Industries. You can meet their team here. AMBRO uses non-toxic soy based, water soluble and environmentally friendly printing supplies, threads and more when possible. AMBRO has over 250 solar panels that generate 50,000 Kilowatt hours per year. Their equipment runs solar powered, so the wonderful things AMBRO and Adafruit have worked together on are made with the sun! AMBRO Manufacturing was recognized by Impressions Magazine, a leading trade publication in the garment printing and embroidery business, who published an article highlighting AMBRO and their commitment to their environmentally focused manufacturing practices. Adafruit knows you have a lot of choices as to where you spend your money and time, we hope our open-source values, commitment to green technologies and partners helps make the decision easier and fun!
A “worldwide genomics revolution” is upon us. The genomics industry marked a new milestone on Tuesday. As Forbes’ Matthew Herper reported in three separate posts and nearly 100 related Tweets, the two leading manufacturers of DNA sequencing instruments announced almost simultaneously at an investors’ conference that they would introduce new machines this year capable of sequencing an entire human genome in a single day. Life Technologies said its forthcoming Ion Proton machine, which processes DNA on a semiconductor chip, will do it for a cost of $1,000 per genome.
That’s our biohackingskill badge, we’ll be needing to send these out soon to many people it seems!
Genspace is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting education in molecular biology for both children and adults. We work inside and outside of traditional settings, providing a safe, supportive environment for study and mentoring of biotechnology.
In the summer of 2010, we built the first-ever community laboratory, a facility where we design workshops, train students and innovate new technologies. As a membership-based community lab, we offer New Yorkers the opportunity to work on their own unique projects in a safe, Biosafety Level 1 compliant facility.
Printable catalog (PDF) or (EPUB)
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