Bio & Beers

The Bio & Beers format is for everyone: we start with a 20 minutes presentation, followed by discussions while having beers. In addition there will be occasional DIY workshops!

2016

Bio & Beers Aug 25, 2016 · 7:00 PM
We kick off the use of new space with a series of weekly Thursday meetings.

The Bio & Beers format is for everyone: we start with a 20 minutes presentation, followed by discussions while having beers. This week’s topic is: Digital biology in every home: what would you do with a personal lab?

Presenter: Mirela Alistar, researcher in digital microfluidics.

Aug 27, 2016 · 11:30 AM Biohack Academy – The life of a single organism

Get your hands on micro-organisms! We will study the life of bacteria in the most practical manner. We hacked the most advanced lab techniques and we bring them to you in a simple, hands-on experience.

Sep 1, 2016 · 7:00 PM Bio & Beers This week’s topic is: Bio-commons afterglow

Presenter: Eugenio Battaglia, biotechnologist

Sep 8, 2016 · 7:00 PM Bio & Beers: Hands-on Bioluminensense workshop

Presenter: Mirela Alistar, researcher in bio engineering

This week we get out hands dirty with culturing bioluminescent bacteria (yep, that glows in the dark). The late evening is the best time to see this little organisms glowing. You will nurture the bacteria and even take them home to see them glowing every night.

Sep 10, 2016 · 12:30 PM Biohack Academy – Algae Workshop

Get your hands on micro-organisms! We will study the life of algae in the most practical manner. We hacked the most advanced lab techniques and we bring them to you in a simple, hands-on experience. Join us for this workshop!

Please register and de-register accordingly: it will help us provide the right amount of materials. Each participant will develop a unique food recipe for bacteria and then culture and grow it.

If you have a nice bottle or functional LED system, please bring it. The result of the workshop is an ad-hoc artistic installation.

———–workshop schedule———–

12:30 – 13:00 Preparing the media
13:00 – 13:40 Making algae installations
13:45 – 14:00 DIY Bio code of conduct
14:00 – 15:00 Lunch and discussions

Sep 22, 2016 · 7:00 PM: Bio & Beers Talk: DIY Biology – experimenting with self-built lab equipment

The main interest of DIY (Do It Yourself) biologists is to give everyone the possibility to answer biological questions affecting more or less their lives. The first step towards that, is to enable citizens to execute experiments in self-organized laboratory. The need for more advanced tools led to the development of cheap, but functional lab tools.

In this talk I will present how much can be done with DIY equipment, the failures and learns from building my own PCR machine, and most importantly, how being able to build such equipment enabled a lot of DIYBio spaces over the world.

Sep 29, 2016 · 2:00 PM Synthetische Biologie, Genome Editing, Biohacking
In the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüder­s-Hausim Bundestag

Synthetic biology (Synbio for short), genome editing, CRISPR-Cas, germline interventions, biohacking – is genetic engineering unfolding its much-vaunted potential in the second decade of the 21st century? Can it finally be used comprehensively and sustainably thanks to technological innovations – or are the scary scenarios of opponents now coming true?

October 6 · 7:00 PM DIY Biology/Spectrometry – Rock ur Rainbow
with Alessandro Voltape
The main interest of DIY (Do It Yourself) biologists is to give everyone the possibility to answer biological questions affecting more or less their lives. The first step towards that, is to enable citizens to execute experiments in self-organized laboratory. The need for more advanced tools led to the development of cheap, but functional lab tools.
In this talk I will present the project that was taken on at the Science Hack Day Berlin by the wonderful DIY Spectrometer team!

This device was created by Public Lab (publiclab.org) during the deep water horizon oil spill to detect mineral oil in water.

But this device can be used for other purposes, for example to understand the worries of the Consumer and Health Scientific Committees about light sources at home.

“With the growing use of energy saving lamps and the development of new lighting technologies, comes the worry that some people who have conditions that react to light might be negatively affected by this shift. Can these new artificial light sources affect the health of the general public or of light-sensitive people?”
Source: EU Comission – Consumer and Health Scientific Committees
http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_layman/artificial-light/en/index.htm#1 with this cheap and portable spectrometer and your smartphone you can check all the lights in your environment (home/work/school/etc.) and have a better understanding about the worries of the scientific committes.

Moreover Dr. Kat F. Austen will be our guest and will tell and discuss with us the results of her work. She is applying spectrometry for food analysis

October 13 · 7:30 PM: Bio & Beers – Digital Microfluidics Hacking

This week’s topic: DropBot – Digital microfluidics for everyone
Presenter: Ryan and Christian Fobel

Currently researcher in Wheeler’s lab, Toronto, Canada, Ryan and Christian have built DropBot, a digital microfluidic biochip.

Here is more about their vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdYNTL64lfwAfter their short presentation, we will join them for an intense hacking session.

October 15 · 12:00 PM: Growing Cellulose – Workshop
Microbial cellulose is a material with unique aesthetic properties: delicate and sensuous, it resembles skin and bodily matter. Not only: once dried, it has paper-like attitude. The best thing is that you can cultivate it yourself!

Margherita Pevere will teach us how to get directly involved in the adventurous life of microbial colonies and show us her unique way to grow cellulose.

We will learn how to grow Glucoacetobacter xylinus with DIY recipes, compare different kinds of cultures, how to protect them from mold, how to dry cellulose and use it creatively.

———–workshop schedule———–

12:00 – 12:30 Microbial cellulose fundamentals: what it is, how it grows, different kind of cultures
12:30 – 13:00 Preparing the media: DIY recipe based on soy derivatives; Tricks to to protect cultures from mold
13:00 – 13:40 Creative prototyping
13:45 – 14:00 DIY Bio code of conduct
14:00 – 15:00 Lunch and discussions

Presenter: Margherita Pevere, artist and researcher at Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland. www.margheritapevere.com

October 20 · 7:00 PM: Bio & Beers -Talk: Phylogentic Analysis in Squamates
Presenter: Dr Utpala Sharma

October 27 · 7:00 PM: Bio & Beers – Messenger DNA

November 3 · 7:00 PM: Bio & Kombucha tea – introducing Movember

November 10 · 7:00 PM: DIY CRISPR-CAS
If you are interested in what and how you can use gene technology at home, tonight is the perfect occasion to learn about it. Ruediger Trojok will introduce the latest techniques for genetic modification (CRISPR-CAS) and will discuss the legal aspects of DIY genetic engineering.

November 17 · 7:00 PM: Do it together Art and Science
Can Art and Science work together?

Joanna and Mert will bring in their experience to discuss the potentials of a program that brings together artists and scientists for a long term collaboration.
Presenters: Joanna Szlauderbach (http://szlauderbach.eu/about-me/) and Mert Akbal (http://mertakbal.com/)

November 24 · 7:00 PM: Workshop: Brewing kombucha

December 1-3 · 7:00 PM: Biohack academy: DIY Gene Technology A workshop on DIY Synthetic Biology
led by Rüdiger Trojok
During this 3-day workshop we will clone GFP and transform E. Coli.

December 8 · 7:00 PM: Bio & Beers end of the year brainstorm

2017

January 5 · 7:00 PM: Bio & Beers: OPEN SOURCE ESTROGEN – DETECTION AND EXTRACTION OF SLOW VIOLENCE + THE PARADOX OF DISRUPTION a presentation by Bio-artist Mary Maggic http://maggic.ooo/

DIYBio NOW
17 Feb. 7-10PM
18 Feb. 12-8PM
19 Feb. 12-6PM

DIYBio faire Organized by Biotinkering Berlin
The three-day bio-fair brings together the players in the Berlin biohacking scene for a series of hands-on workshops, talks and a special exhibition featuring unique DIY laboratory equipment. The bio-fair focuses on the elusiveness of nature, trying to rebuild the lost connection between humans and the oldest organisms on Earth: bacteria, algae and fungi.

The fairs opens on Friday at 7 PM with a series of presentations by Berlin-based biohackers. The program continues on Saturday 12-8PM and Sunday 12-6PM with workshops and talks on topics ranging from ‘bioluminescent bacteria’ to ‘tempeh fermentation’ to ‘spectrometry’ by Jessica Bernds, Rüdiger Trojok and Alessandro Volpato and an exhibition of artworks by Lusi Ajonjoli & Hong Yu, Mirela Alistar, Graziele Lautenschlaeger, Fara Peluso and Margherita Pevere


April 20, 2017 · 7:00 PM Bio & Beers – Aquaponics system under artificial light

Biotinkering wants to explore the possibilities given by aquaponics systems under artificial light. Hence we will set up a small aquaponics system under growth lamps. Organised by Alessandro Volpato.