Hate Brussels Sprouts? It's Genetic - Pearl Biotech's Open PCR Project

[harry3647]

This is very cool, but I think EtBr and UV light aren´t a game: they´re

dangerous, and you must be carefully with them. Besides, discard EtBr is a

problem. anyway, I think this could be the begining for a new hackers generation:

"BioHackers" or something that :)

[saxamo]

The unit is finally ready for shipment, it's $512. Thanks for the video i learned a lot! I also thought it was Pro biotech...and glad i looked here to see it was Pearl.

[electrodacus]

This is great I need to try to build this when I get some time.

[bionerd23]

haha, cool, i just had my genome analyzed for the same reason.

i'm Tt and i like beer and brussels sprouts. =)

PTC nearly makes me gag, tho, which is probably a good thing, considering it's such a potent neurotoxin.

[shodanxx]

ok that's it, I don't care what happens, but next year I'm going to maker faire, FFS this is amazing !!

[enliteneer]

What about testing dna for things other than for brussel sprouts sensitivity? Do you need special gels? Assuming the gels can only be used once, are they expensive?

[brenwildaust]

@enliteneer Agarose gels are really cheap (<$1). you need a DNA stain (i.e. EtBr) which is cheap too (probs <$1 per gel). Need a UV source ($25?), filter to protect eye ($10?) and a detector (camera or your eye). The most expensive thing are the enzymes required (probably ~$1-5 per test), and the primers for the specific gene (~$30 for 1'000s of tests). You will also need a lot of other tools (pipettes, tubes, etc.) and disposables (water), you could probably set all this up ~$500 incl. machine.

[enliteneer]

So Pearl Biotech is based on openwetware? Are openpcr and biocurious, related companies that have similar hardware?

[mistral2099]

Astonishing. What an amazing project. Sheer brilliance.

[vk2zay]

Yep, the hardware is trivial, it is the reagents that are the key to the whole process.

[jedirabiz]

he's basically oversimplifying the whole thing and making it look like black magic. It bothers me that people who don't understand PCR are going to be able to do it....

[rasz]

Thanks so much for covering those. You are a rare person that knows what questions to ask.

[Drevil288]

Looks great, especially the idea of using a CPU heat sink for a cooler. Don't know how the average punter could get their hands on DNA polymerase and primers though, unless they have a hidden gene machine under the desk :)

[jigglesnap]

She asks all the right questions

[bejius]

@jigglesnap I was thinking exactly the same things, she was spot on all the time, and when she said this is agar, I was blown away, Jerie knows this stuff !

[opikalo]

I think it is Pearl Biotech.

[jeriellsworth]

@opikalo You are right. Thanks I'll update the info.

[dtmoi8]

Where is the link to the Open PCR project?

[ReadyWater]

Brilliant project, and great interview. Thanks!

[briandoom]

I hear the MIDI Gamelan in the background!

[LunaVorax]

@briandoom What is MIDI Gamelan ?

[jeriellsworth]

@briandoom Gamelan was neat, but it ran continuously next to the really cool demos all weekend.

[kenatiod]

Jeri, you did a great job of getting him to say all the things he didn't think to say so the whole thing was well explained.

[Twistx77]

That's really cool! awesome idea!