Tito Jankowski and Josh Perfetto were at Maker Faire, showing off their prototype for an OpenPCR machine. A wha? PCR stands for Polymerase Chain Reaction. It is a method that can be used for replicating DNA. It can take a small amount of DNA (even a single molecule), and amplify (copy) a specific region exponentially, producing up to 230 copies of a starting molecule. The resulting material can be used to “explore your own genome, hack together DNA code, build your own biofuel, or prove that the trees in your backyard really are Truffula trees” says Tito and Josh. They’ve started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to create an OpenPCR printer design and kits so anyone can do PCR on their desktop, in their garage, hackerspace, or community lab, for $400 or less.
The above video, shot by Jeri Ellsworth at a very hectic and noisy Maker Faire, runs through their vision for this project. Nice to see that they’re already halfway to raising the desired six grand for development money.
OpenPCR – open source biotech on your desktop (Kickstarter page)
OpenPCR (project home page)
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