DIY Science Labs - The future of economic development

I've said it many times before citizen scientists, also known as "Makers," "Biohackers" Rock!

And now a group of biohackers from California are working on getting yeast to make vegan cheese.

These scientists work out of an open community laboratory in which anyone can come in and start doing research, and or learning.

(You can see a list of these labs here.)

Although often ignored by people in economic development I believe that citizen science labs are one of the most important things a community can support to expand the economy. That's because they open up innovation to anyone in the community, the way commercial kitchens open up the food industry to people with very little money. Imagine having 4H students who are actually able to play with biology in order to to understand it better, or a space where someone has access to the tools they need to build the newest 3D printer.

Makers have invented a lot of cool things in recent years. A 13 year old named Shaubham Banerjee from California invented a cheaper braille printer. However, this amazing feat cost $35,000 dollars, something most of us don't have access to. Citizen Science has the potential to make many aspects of scientific research cheaper as they share equipment and ideas. In addition many of these spaces have invented and built their own equipment which allows everyone from scientists to schools to do research and experiments at a fraction of the previous cost.

This is Bioart from Genspace. To make it the citizen scientists alters
the genetics of microbes so that they from these images and glow.

Perhaps the most important thing DIY (do it yourself) labs do is enhance the education of the people within a community. Consider, for example, the Hive Biolab in Seattle. Which has classes for children and adults on everything from Neuroscience to anatomy in a fun setting, with inspiring teachers.