The Darwin Toolbox and Continuing to Bring Biotech to the People

The Darwin Toolbox prototype.

            There is no doubt that biotechnology researchers and supporters have a long way to go if they want to win over the public in terms of its safety and morality. Past arguments meant to reassure the public, such as discussions of safety or pointing out that genetic modification is at least as old as selective breeding, have been only modestly successful, at best. One method that some scientists have begun using in order to reach out to those who don’t know about or don’t trust biotechnology is to create biotechnology kits, not unlike children’s chemistry sets, which will let people explore and experiment with biotech in fun and interesting ways.
 

            In Frankenstein’s Cat, Emily Anthes talks a bit about Backyard Brains, one company that has already begun their outreach efforts. Founded by Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo, Backyard Brains creates products that give people the opportunity to learn about neuroscience in their own homes. These products include the SpikerBox, which uses electrodes to let people record and watch as neurons fire from tissues of various organisms, such as a cockroach leg. They have also created a kit, called the RoboRoach kit, which allows users to control of a cockroach’s movements by administering certain electric impulses to its brain.

            Backyard Brains has been called an innovative and creative approach in the name of getting biotechnology to new audiences. As such, other companies and groups are trying similar tactics. According to a recent article in Wired, one such group to take up this approach is a team from University College London, headed by Philipp Boeing, to create a biotechnology kit Called Darwin Toolbox. In speaking to Wired, Boeing said “We want to make biotechnology accessible for everyone and decrease any interference that sits between society and biotechnology everywhere.”

An example of the results of agarose gel electrophoresis.

            But what will the Darwin Toolbox do? While the exact functionality has not been finalized, the current plan is to incorporate several devices and programs that will allow users to manipulate DNA, the key material in our genetic makeup. One experiment users will be able to perform is Polymer Chain Reaction, or PCR, a method of creating large amounts of one strand of DNA. They will also be able to take advantage of two other processes, centrifugation and agarose gel electrophoresis, in order to separate DNA into smaller parts and look at specific pieces, called genes, more closely. While such methods and equipment are ubiquitous in genetics labs around the world, they are currently very difficult for non-geneticists to access. With the Darwin Box, this may very well change.

            In terms of impact on the public debate about biotechnology, it will be interesting to see how the Darwin Box fares. The products sold by Backyard Brains are unique in that they make concepts in neuroscience more accessible by doing most of the technical heavy lifting behind the scenes. Users don’t need to understand the electrical underpinnings of a cockroach’s nervous system in order to control it, they only need to be able to push the “left” and “right” buttons. The Darwin Box, on the other hand, will give the public the opportunity to do some of the heavy lifting themselves, with the upshot that being able to perform these experiments is an opportunity that has been given exclusively to those working in labs so far.

Today, many members of the general public feel at least somewhat uneasy about genetic modification. While to a geneticist the term “mutant” describes any organism with features that aren’t the norm (for example, a pea pod with shriveled seeds), to an everyday person the term evokes images of Frankenstein’s monster, or perhaps a carrot that is ten feet tall and has limbs and razor sharp teeth. Even if Darwin’s Box doesn’t have the same instant appeal of being able to remote control a cockroach, it will be interesting to see what impact it has on the conventional attitudes regarding genetics, a field which sorely needs better representation and outreach for the public.

References:

Anthes, Emily. Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts. New York City: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013. Print.

Clark, Liat. "Darwin Toolbox: The Portable DIY Biotechnology Lab-in-a-box." Wired. Condé Nast Publications, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. <http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-10/08/darwin-toolbox>.