BUGSS
BUGSS
Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGGS) believes that biology is the fabrication technology of the future and works to forge connections between biology, art, engineering, and public policy. BUGSS offers classes and access to tools, building a community where scientific and artistic explorations in biotechnology intersect. BUGSS offers support for the DIY and citizen scientist community.
BUGSS is a non-profit public laboratory offering classes, seminars, and lab access so that anyone can safely and affordably investigate the living world. They are a community of amateurs, professionals, citizen scientists, activists, and artists exploring biotechnology through scientific and artistic investigations.
BUGSS serves as a space for open dialogue, and “learning through doing” as Synthetic Biology and new biological technologies become more relevant to our everyday lives. As with any new technology, there are high hopes and big fears, and public debate is often heated and uninformed. By democratizing these technologies, they hope to facilitate a more nuanced dialogue and exploration of incredible potential, as well as limitations and ethical issues.
“The grant from the Deutsch Foundation has astronomically changed the accessibility of the space for non-scientists like myself. Over the last month, I used the facilities at BUGSS and the generous technical support to clone synthesized genes, transform bacteria with them for long term storage, and manipulate the DNA to make it compatible for use in yeast. Here at the Barcelona Biomedical Park (Parc de Recerca Biomedica de Barcelona) I am inserting these plasmids into yeast, and learning new analysis techniques to check for production of the desired proteins from the introduced genes." - Ryan Hammond, Member
Find out more at their website.
Links:
Youtube: The Rise of Do-It-Yourself Biology: A Look at the Baltimore Underground Science Space
Technically Baltimore: Bioprinting organisms at Baltimore Under Ground Science Space
Technically Baltimore: These students are working on a new way to clean Baltimore’s harbor