Kitchen biology

Abstract

Even before university science departments became universally strapped for cash in the current financial crisis, researchers could already buy and sell laboratory equipment on Internet auction sites. The availability of this equipment, coupled with the increasingly lower costs of consumables for DNA extraction and testing, has given rise to a movement of skilled and non‐skilled enthusiasts who are conducting molecular biological experiments at home in their kitchens. Yet, some legislators and scientists worry that do‐it‐yourself (DIY) biology might pose a danger to public health and environmental safety, and that unregulated experiments conducted in kitchens and garages might accidentally or intentionally unleash biological disaster. Despite the concerns, the DIY biology movement has certainly sparked the imaginations of many hobbyists, who argue that taking ownership of their own biology, and demystifying the science behind genetic and medical tests is empowering. Debra Katz, for example, who calls herself ‘DNA Deb’ in her e‐mails, has spent thousands of dollars over the past nine years on analysing her own DNA for genealogical purposes. Katz is an administrator for the city of Palo Alto (CA, USA) and, although she has no scientific background, she was recently able to extract her own DNA in her kitchen using instructions downloaded from About.com, and beakers and test tubes that she bought for less than US$20. Katz said that extracting her DNA “[…] was not hard at all. I was getting a kick out of trying to be Ms Science.” She noted that although she had no interest in science during her high‐school and college years, conducting this particular procedure herself connected her intellectually with her genetic‐genealogy work and helped to make DNA more real for her. “[I am interested] in the results of analysing DNA, so it just seems like a fascinating tangent to actually see my DNA physically. …