Introduction to DIY Biology
"Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their physical structure, chemical processes, molecular interactions, physiological mechanisms, development and evolution. Despite the complexity of the science, certain unifying concepts consolidate it into a single, coherent field." -Wikipedia, Biology (taken 7/22/2020)
Modern Biology
Things have advanced a long way from the times of Gregor Mendel.
http://bio.academany.org/index.html
Related MakeHaven Badges for the unit:
None: there aren’t any badges [yet] in this category
The oldest DIY Biology: Master Brewer
For the course, we recommend that you get as many of the badges above as is practical. Also, it can be really helpful if you have earned them before the needed unit, so their acquisition does not eat in to your time to finish assignments. Coordinate with facilitators to complete badges.
Unit 12 =====
In the 2020 Foundations of Fabrication course, this unit is going to be pushed back in the sequence to accommodate construction of the bio-lab space within MakeHaven. However, it will stay in number sequence. (Just to keep us all on our toes 😜)
DIY Biology and Biohacking
DIY Biology is an emergent field in makerspaces and Fab Labs. This can include anything from DIY bioplastics to (not recommended) biohacking. Interestingly, the tools needed for most of the DIY biology practices are either already commonly available, or can be built relatively easily with the tools already in MakeHaven.
This particular unit is still deep in the planning phases, but a plausible assignment is listed below.
Make your own bioplastic. A simple starch bioplastic is recomended, but there are many variations that can add some complexity to this, if desired:
Mix a starch bioplastic in with a loose fabric to make a simple composite material
create/ use a mold for your bioplastic to see how well it hold a shape.
adapt the recipe to make both soft and hard plastic variants
Not-quite DIY biology...