DIY biology

Raymond McCauley on Singularity 1 on 1: Be Your Own Scientist – Try It And See

by Socrates
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Last week I interviewed Raymond McCauley for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Raymond last summer at Singularity University where he is the Co-Chair of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics. McCauley is one among many former hackers and computer scientists who went into the exploding biotech industry. He has an infectious passion for bioinformatics and a fantastic radio-voice that simply disarms skepticism. During our conversation we discuss issues such as: Raymond’s background in hacking and computer science; his move to bioinformatics and his day-job at Genomera; his involvement in Singularity University and BioCurious; biology as the growth industry of the 21st century; the faster-than-exponential growth in genomic data; personal genomics and the promise of personalized medicine; the Oxford Nanopore DNA USB sequencer; DNA sequencing for less than a penny; synthetic biology and intellectual property rights; religion, philosophy and ethics. My favorite thought that I will take away [...]

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Andrew Hessel on Singularity 1 on 1: Don’t Fear Synthetic Biology

by Socrates
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Today I am very happy to have Andrew Hessel as my guest on Singularity 1 on 1. (As always, you can listen to or download the audio interview above, or scroll down and watch the video recording in full.) During the interview Andrew shares his truly infectious passion about synthetic biology and the unique opportunities that lie ahead of the budding first generation of DIY bio-hackers. We also discuss a variety of other interesting issues such as the singularity, religion, the promise of personalized medicine as cancer treatment,  the risks and benefits of open-source synthetic-biology and the fact that biology is a dual-use technology. I have to admit that I was so infected by Andrew’s passion and his unique, open-source approach that I couldn’t help it but buy a 20 dollar share in the Pink Army Cooperative. Who is Andrew [...]

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