“If you work in a university lab, you have to do what your adviser tells you to do,” said Genspace co-founder Dan Gruskhkin, a freelance journalist and self-described science enthusiast. “Here, you work under mentors and can do things you’re interested in immediately.”

The small space is made of found parts. A sliding patio door, Plexiglas panels and old wire screens enclose the lab, and stainless steel restaurant tables serve as lab benches.

The lab’s glassware, micropipettes, centrifuges, electrophoresis machines, incubators, microscopes and other scientific equipment were donated. Genspace president and co-founder Ellen Jorgensen, a biomedical researcher at New York Medical College, used to work for Vector Research Ltd. and got the company to donate the gear after they shut down a facility.

The lab may be cobbled together, but biosafety officers approved it as compliant with the Center for Disease Control’s biosafety level 1 regulations. That’s a big difference between Genspace and D.I.Y. labs crammed into closets and garages across the country, says Jorgensen, and a big advantage.

“Most biological experiments are not one-offs. They’re continuous processes that last more than one day,” Jorgensen said. Before Genspace’s lab was built, she, Grushkin and two other founders set up labs in their living rooms using plastic tarps. After each experiment, however, they had to be torn down, decontaminated and thrown away.

“Now we have a secure lab space where we can do quality, professional-level science,” Jorgensen said.

Out of concerns for bioterrorism and illegal drug production, the FBI and New York Police Department were initially alarmed by the idea of a public biotech lab in they city. But Grushkin says a lot of sit-down meetings with the agencies have convinced them.

“The FBI now uses pictures of our space to show people what a [methamphetamine] drug lab doesn’t look like,” Grushkin said. One of their FBI contacts even showed up at the space’s grand opening last week to congratulate Grushkin.

Genspace’s seven current lab members already have projects underway, including a biofuel algae experiment and a bacteria-powered arsenic detection kit. Grushkin plans to create transgenic, multi-colored microganisms that will “race” across a growth plate, primarily for fun but also for educational purposes. Jorgensen wants to use the new space to support personal genetic testing.

“I like the idea of a community lab where somebody can go to test themselves for a gene that may predispose them to a disease,” Jorgensen said. “I think people have a right to get their DNA without involving a doctor.”

Grushkin says another purpose of Genspace, now under review for non-profit status, is to help inner city schools bolster their science curricula.

“We’re working with students from Hofstra University on Long Island to get their twelve-dollar digital microscope into classrooms,” Grushkin said. The microscope can blow objects up to 170x magnification and stream a video feed to the Web. Similar devices typically cost hundreds of dollars, Grushkin says.

Genspace also has programs designed to bring science to the public. Literally, in some cases.

“One thing we did was extract DNA from strawberries in a public park,” Grushkin said. “You should have heard some of the things people said, like, ‘Ew, DNA is gross!’”

Such educational stunts provide a premium opportunity to start life-changing conversations about science, Jorgensen says, and empower people with knowledge.

Genspace opened their doors on Dec. 10, and Wired.com was in attendance. Peek inside of the D.I.Y. lab here.

Images: A biofuel algae experiment. Credit: Dave Mosher/Wired.com

Authors: Dave Mosher

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