Events
DIY Tissue Culture
Saturday, September 15, 2018
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
A Two-part Workshop Saturday & Sunday September 15th & 16th 3-6PM Henrietta Lacks' cells are immortal. They have been dividing in Petri dishes since the 1940s. How do we keep human cell lines growing endlessly? This workshop will introduce you to tissue culture. Working with a human lung cell line, you will learn what types of media human cells need to grow, how to propagate them and above all how to achieve good sterile technique. As a bonus, you will also use a DIY cell culture setup to isolate live cells from a chicken leg from the supermarket! Instructor Dr. Ellen Jorgensen is president of Biotech Without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting science literacy and hands-on access to biotechnology. In 2009 she cofounded Genspace, named one of the World's Top 10 Innovative Companies in Education by Fast Company. Her efforts to promote low-cost bio-innovation are featured in Nature, Science, Discover, . . . More details
Plant Tissue Culture Workshop
Sunday, August 26, 2018
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Many plants and vegetables you see in the supermarket today are produced using tissue culture, and it's a fundamental skill required for genetic engineering of plants. In this 3-hour workshop, students will learn the fascinating history of this technique in research and agriculture, the basic principles of plant somatic embryogenesis, and how this process can be used to propagate various plants. Students will learn sterile tissue culture technique and make their own cultures to take home. No experience in biology is necessary and all are welcome. Optional: Bring you own seeds! Instructor Tina Shin Lai is a scientist at Brooklyn Bio. She holds a master's degree from the Penn State Plant Biology Graduate Program: Hucks Life Science Institute where her work focused on improving Somatic Embryogenesis in Theobroma cacao. She received her BSc in Biology specializing in Plants from Penn State University in 2011. Her previous research areas involve analyzing the effects of arabinose . . . More details
The Science of Epilepsy: What is it and how can we understand it?
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
A free knowscience talk by Stephanie Rogers Epilepsy is one of the most misunderstood disorders, shrouded with stigma, and, in some parts of the world still associated with the supernatural. This talk attempts to demystify this disorder and addresses both the clinical appearance of epilepsy (what a seizure looks like) and what happens in the brain during a seizure. Through the course of the presentation, the audience will learn how to recognize a seizure and how to provide the proper first aid for someone who has epilepsy. Learn how seizures arise from the brain and how new understanding of this mechanism is being used to provide better therapies for patients suffering from epilepsy. Stephanie Rogers is a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Gyorgy Buzsaki studying how epileptic brain activity arises and can be altered. She graduated summa cum laude from University of Pennsylvania, where she did five years of . . . More details
PCR + Pizza
Monday, August 20, 2018
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Come on down to BwB's regular Open Night! Pizza, beer, and Lab work. Extract DNA from yourself and amplify it using PCR to test yourself for a CCR5 mutation, or just relax and have some great conversations around democratizing science. No charge, but donations for the pizza and beer greatly appreciated! More details
Lab Skills: Gel Electrophoresis
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Part of our August Lab Skills Month workshop series. How do we analyze DNA? Gel electrophoresis is a 50-year-old technique that is still used in almost every biolab on earth. It's easy, cheap and fairly fast. From it you can tell whether or not your DNA prep worked, if a person has a mutation in a gene, and even prepare DNA for further genetic engineering steps. Come learn this basic technique and add to your lab skills! More details
Lab Skills: DNA Scissors
Monday, August 13, 2018
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Part of our August Lab Skills Month workshop series. How do we engineer DNA? The information is analog and linear, like a videotape. The secret is restriction endonucleases. They act like tiny scissors, cutting the double helix. You'll learn to use these enzymes to precisely cut DNA where you want to, and how this can be a surprisingly useful tool for forensics, diagnostics, and genetic engineering. More details
CRISPR Genome Editing Workshop
Sunday, August 12, 2018
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
CRISPR is the new genome editing technology that has disrupted the biotechnology industry. Is it really plug-and-play? Are we gods now? During the workshop you will do hands-on lab work to edit the genome of yeast using CRISPR-Cas9. We'll take a look at the latest CRISPR developments and the ethical questions created by them- from editing human embryos to bringing back the Woolly Mammoth- and the bitter battle over patents and the Nobel Prize. Instructor Dr. Ellen Jorgensen is president of Biotech Without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting science literacy and hands-on access to biotechnology. In 2009 she cofounded Genspace, named one of the World's Top 10 Innovative Companies in Education by Fast Company. Her efforts to promote low-cost bio-innovation are featured in Nature, Science, Discover, Wired, Make, BBC News, Dan Rather, PBS News, Discovery Channel, and The NY Times. She has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, spent many years in the biotechnology industry, and . . . More details
Lab Skills: Spectrophotometry
Thursday, August 9, 2018
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Part of our August Lab Skills Month workshop series. Learn how to use a spectrophotometer to assay and quantify the results of your experiments. Nearly every biolab has some version of this workhorse piece of equipment. Check bacterial growth, measure biosensor output, and test your pipetting skills! More details
Lab Skills: Plasmid Preps
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Part of our August Lab Skills Month workshop series. Learn how to extract a DNA program from bacteria and archive it for later use. With Monarch DNA extraction kits from New England Biolabs, you will prepare your very own stock of a plasmid (loop of DNA carrying a genetic program) to take home. Plasmids can then be loaded into other bacteria, or their DNA spliced and engineered into biological circuits. More details
Lab Skills: Bacterial Transformation
Monday, August 6, 2018
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Part of our August Lab Skills Month workshop series. Learn how to load a DNA program into bacteria and turn them fluorescent colors, or make them glow in the dark! This is one of the most-used protocols in molecular biology, and is an essential lab skill for anyone who wants to learn genetic engineering or synthetic biology. More details
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