Notes 20110714

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  • 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