BioMore GenoBlasts
B-More, a colloqial slang for the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area.B raised to the i o... Input Output, 0's & 1's, -'s & +'s, give and take, biology is elevated by interaction with it's environment, growing, adapting and morphing.
Bio-More, represents the idea that life as we know it can eVolve, and adapt to changing circumstances to overcome adversity and obstacles. It is a meme representing this towns rich history of involvement in the fields of health care and life sciences. Home to John's Hopkins, NIH, NASA, Human Genome Project, & UMBI, Maryland continues to jockey against North Carolina for the state with the 3rd largest biotech industry.
Geno, Referring to the life sciences surrounding DNA, it's classification and manipulation.
Blasts, Classification of cells that build additional tissue throughout an organism as needed from the resources available in the local environment.
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The BioMore GenoBlasts are a Maryland based community of amateur and professional scientists, artists, engineers and tinkerers who have collected together for the purpose of collaborating, developing educational resources, and advancing technology in the fields of synthetic biology, transgenic research, human enhancements, bionanotechnology, bioinformatics, organic computing, neural networks and biomimicry.
By surveying the recent advances in this field it is hoped that we will be able to inspire an environment where these innovations can be harnessed to offer new solutions via creative problem solving and forward thinking.
We are well aware of the sensitivities that these subjects can inflame in regard to security concerns. As such we welcome open dialog with concerned agencies to join us in a dialog about how to balance innovation with safety. Weigh this with the fact that a curious populace learning in an open atmosphere of discovery will push development forward exponentially. IE the original hardware hacking movement of the late 60's early 80's as the personal computer burst onto the scene or rocketry science and plastics in the late 50's and 60's when real chemicals were used in experimental chemistry sets.
Debates concerning Intellectual Property, Biodiversity, Bioethics, and Responsible Science are all par for the course when pioneering boundless frontiers such as these. We welcome respectful intercourse and reflection amongst these ideas.
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Our
initial foray into Synthetic Biology will include the formation of an
iGEM team.
A new seed is blooming here on the web for members of the Maryland area to come together and share resources, ideas and plan their new coordinates in the future to come. As a focus for folks in the community to learn safety precautions, equipment care and protocols, I've put forth the challenge to come up with a dedicated core group of bio-adventurist/mad scientist types to challenge some of the world's top innovative minds and researchers in this new field via an international competition based out of MIT.
International
Genetically
Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) is the premiere
undergraduate
Synthetic Biology competition. Student teams are given a kit of
biological parts at the beginning of the summer from the
Registry of
Standard Biological Parts. Working at their own schools over the summer,
they use these parts and new parts of their own design to build
biological systems and operate them in living cells. This project design
and competition format is an exceptionally motivating and effective
teaching method.
Well that challenge was answered and we ended up with a great group of intellects with backgrounds in Mathematics, Information Systems, Robotics, Biotechnology, and Engineering. We welcome even more of you to join us in the future as we set up our structure and schedule the independent study program that will begin this summer semester. The team will then head up this November to MIT to take place in the international Jamboree.
By getting involved in a deadline driven competition, we can build a solid skill set for our DIY-Bio community here in Maryland. We'll also have the opportunity to bring our many different backgrounds to bare on open sourced scientific project to solve problems in uniquely different ways. Some previous project entries have included developing API's for the Synthetic Biology field, creating optical microbe sensor arrays, programming cells to count, bio-sensors for contaminants in well water, and improved protocols that save time and increase efficiencies.
Other Community based educational outreach efforts will include a lecture series, hands on safety and equipment training, the formation of Community Wetlab's, Job Program outreach, and possibly even a community discount on various supplies and equipment. Multiple institutions are looking to open their resources and share knowledge to nurture the growth of this project. It's conceivable that the folks involved may go off to incubate future bio-business here in Maryland.
Some folks just
want to start their own hobby dip into a Home Brewed Wet Lab project.
If you are not a student but are interested you may take an independent
study class for nominal fee that will allow you to be part of the team.
Get in on the ground floor of this amazing new branch between
engineering and biology, the future of IT to come. Even if you are not a
biologist or an engineer but have an interest,
please let us know. We are establishing ties with several local
community non-profit "Hackerspaces"; as well, that make tools and
equipment available to their local communities along with education on
how to develop various skill sets such as robotics and electronics. You
can even get a hold of your own biobrick with 50 reactions for around
$250 at
http://www.biobricks.org/
If interested contact Ryan: admin@GenoBlasts.com