Seven Myths Realities

O 5 I B SEVEN MYTHS & REALITIES YN about Do-It-Yourself Biology SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY PROJECT / S SYNBIO 5 1 Table of Contents IOLOGY B ELF Introduction . 4 S R U A Short History of the DIYbio Movement . 5 Survey of Community. 6 O-IT-YO D T Many DIYers Work in Multiple Spaces . 7 U O B A What is Known About the Movement . 8 S MYTH 1: . 9 DIYers work anonymously and solitarily EALITIE R MYTH 2: DIYers are capable of unleashing a deadly epidemic . 10 AND S MYTH 3: DIYers are incapable of contributing to biotechnology . 11 MYTH 4: DIYers are averse to government oversight . 13 SEVEN MYTH MYTH 5: DIYers lack the comprehension to do biotech ethically . 15 MYTH 6: DIYers risk accidents and environmental release of genetically modifed organisms . 17 MYTH 7: Group labs may become unsuspecting havens for bioterrorists . 19 Recommendations . 20 Conclusion . 24 SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY PROJECT / Methods . 24 Appendices . 25 2 SEVEN MYTHS & REALITIES about Do-It-Yourself Biology Written by Daniel Grushkin Scholar, Science and Technology Innovation Program Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Todd Kuiken, Ph.D. Senior Research Associate, Science and Technology Innovation Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Piers Millet, Ph.D. Deputy Head, Biological Weapons Convention Imple- mentation Support Unit, United Nations SYNBIO 5/November 2013 The views expressed are the authors own and do not necessarily represent those of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Biological Weapons Convention, the States Parties or Implementation Support Unit, the United Nations, or the Offce for Disarmament Affairs. 3 Introduction Do-It-Yourself Biology, or DIYbio, is a rise to new security risks. They fear that global movement spreading the use of bioterrorists could exploit the newly available biotechnology beyond traditional academic technology to design, build and spread and industrial institutions and into the lay disease. A 2008 congressional commission, IOLOGY B public. Practitioners include a broad mix of for example, predicted that the United amateurs, enthusiasts, students, and trained States would suffer a bioterrorist attack by ELF S scientists, some of whom focus their efforts 2013.1 More recently, The Atlantic magazine R U on using the technology to create art, to predicted that in as little as three years explore genetics, or simply to tinker. Others anonymous biohackers might engineer a believe DIYbio can inspire a generation of virus that targets the U.S. president.2 O-IT-YO D bioengineers to discover new medicines, T U customize crops to feed the world’s At the crux of these fears is a O B miscomprehension about the community’s A exploding population, harness microbes to S sequester carbon, solve the energy crisis, or ability to wield DNA and manipulate life. even grow our next building materials. The reality, as it stands, is that DIYbio is far EALITIE R Many Do-It-Yourself participants—or DIYers— more innocuous than either vision. These believe that wider access to the tools of viewpoints are grounded in speculation about AND what could happen rather than data about S biotechnology, particularly those related to the reading and writing of DNA, has the potential what is happening in the DIYbio movement. to spur global innovation and promote biology This is chiefy because almost no work has education and literacy. been done to survey the DIYbio community, its membership, organization, capabilities, SEVEN MYTH On the other hand, many policymakers and and goals. Most information cited in reports journalists fear that greater access may give and in the media is anecdotal or speculative, citing what lay people may do based on the dramatically falling costs of equipment and reagents. The Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has surveyed the community for the frst time, fnding both expected and unexpected results (For full results see Appendix 1). SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY PROJECT / This report assembles seven of the media and policy community’s most pervasive myths and expectations about the DIYbio movement, then outlines the realities based on the data generated from the community- wide survey. Finally, it presents six policy recommendations. 4 A Short History of the DIYbio Movement The concept for a popular movement of high school and college undergraduates.6 amateur biotechnologists—what eventually As synthetic biologists made bioengineering became DIYbio—began to take shape technology easier and more accessible, Bobe around 2000, after a working draft of the and Cowell promoted wider adoption among human genome was completed by the Human the public. Genome Project. Articles in the media predicted that amateur genomicists would soon explore Following the 2008 recession, Bobe and DNA, in the same way amateur astronomers Cowell’s efforts in biology tapped a wider had been exploring the cosmos.3,4 pool of disenfranchised graduates and highly skilled professionals who had seen the DIY Five years later, Rob Carlson, a senior researcher at Washington University, ethic in other felds—craft culture in urban demonstrated the ease of building a home lab areas, Silicon Valley startups, and electronics in the pages of Wired magazine.5 He built a lab hackerspaces.* Simultaneously, shrinking in his garage from equipment bought online to biotech companies began selling used develop a protein-tagging system he’d hoped equipment on Ebay at prices affordable to lay to spin into a company. Carlson, like the frst people, while the cost of reading and writing DIYers, was far from amateur. He had worked of DNA sequences became inexpensive closely with the frst synthetic biologists, a enough for hobbyists. burgeoning group of scientists who sought to simplify molecular biology by treating it as an Within two years, DIYbio had evolved. People engineering discipline. who were originally doing kitchen or garage experiments began organizing and setting While Carlson published his article in print, in up dedicated labs in commercial spaces. Cambridge, Massachusetts Jason Bobe and They pooled resources to buy, or take Mackenzie Cowell launched the DIYbio.org message board online. The site was used to donations of, equipment, and began what announce events at local bars where small have become known as “community labs.” groups gathered to perform simple biology These labs sustain themselves on volunteers, experiments, such as extracting DNA from membership donations, and paid classes. strawberries. The frst opened in Brooklyn, NY, followed by another in Sunnyvale, CA. Courses include Like Carlson, they too were deeply lessons in synthetic biology, neuroscience, connected to the burgeoning feld of bioart, genetics, and basic biotechnology. synthetic biology. Bobe worked for Harvard bioengineer George Church, one of the founders of the discipline, while Cowell * A hackerspace (also called a makerspace) is a com- worked as an employee of the International munity workspace where people gather, socialize, and Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) collaborate on computers, technology, and science competition, a synthetic biology contest for projects. 5 Survey of Community A total of 359 respondents replied to the are from North America, with 82 percent online survey, which was conducted from from the United States and 4 percent from January to March 2013. For details on how Canada. Some 10 percent are from Europe, 1 the survey was conducted, see Methods, percent is from Asia, and 2 percent are from IOLOGY B page 24. On average, the DIY community is other geographic areas (i.e., South America, more educated than the general population: Australia). ELF S 19 percent have obtained a doctorate level R U degree (i.e. MD, PhD, JD), 27 percent have Of the 305 resondents, 46 percent work obtained a master’s degree, and 37 percent at a community lab, 35 percent work at have completed college. They are also hackerspaces, 28 percent work at an O-IT-YO D younger than the general population: 15 academic, corporate, or government lab T U percent are under 25 years old, 21 percent are (ACG), 26 percent work at home, and 8 O B What is your backgroundpercent of inrespondents biology? work at home A between 25 and 35 years old, 42 percent are S between 35 and 45 years old, and 23 percent exclusively (see page 7). are 45 years and older. The vast majority of the DIYers that responded to the survey EALITIE R WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN BIOLOGY? AND S 40 35 cent r 30 25 20 SEVEN MYTH 15 10 Response Pe 5 0 Studied it Studied it Studied it Other Studied it None Studied it in College in High at a at a at a MD School Doctorate Master's level Level Level WHEN DID YOU FIRST BECOME INVOLVED IN DIYBIO? 35 SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY PROJECT / 30 cent 25 r 20 15 10 Response Pe 5 0 In the In the In the In the In the In the In the last last 6 last last 2 last 3 last 4 last 5 6 or more months year years years years years years 6 Many DIYers Work in Multiple Spaces To further examine the question of where DIYers conduct their experiments, respondents (267 total) were given the opportunity to provide multiple locations. Of those that only reported one location (150 respondents), one works in an academic, corporate, or government lab (ACG), 37 work in a hackerspace, 58 work in a community lab, and 23 work at home. Respondents replying that they work in two locations (93 respondents), we fnd that fve work in an ACG lab and a hackerspace, 13 work in an ACG lab and at home, 18 work in an ACG lab and a community lab, 15 work in a hackerspace and at home, 32 work in a community lab and a hackerspace, and 10 work in a community lab and at home.

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