[DIYbio] O'Reilly BioHacker Issue 4: Open Source Biotech Consumables

1. I've been keeping eyes and ears on few Kickstarter projects like the extremely successful Open QPRC that got 100% funded less than 5 days. Couple more cool projects like Open Trons and MiniPCR, and I like these projects because they are trying to keep the cost to do science as low as possible, which is what exactly we need to move this field forward.

2. Based on the point number 1, and from the article Open Source Biotech Consumables, the only thing we are quite lagging behind is the patent this! culture through bureaucratic processes and mutual trust agreements. Schloendorn proposes in the article by saying that the reagents (proteins, RNA, DNA), some of the important ones, should be open source assets instead of being patented assets. It makes the field of bio and biotechnology more accessible and cheaper, and faster to move forward as in the advancement in the world of technology. For example the widespread adoption of Android mobile operating system is really a huge success, thanks to the fact that Android itself is open source.

3. So the question is, can we really open source the reagents? Or we still need to patent them because "scientists need money, too"?

Thanks!