Baltimore’s community lab puts the scientific method in the people’s hands - The Washington Post
peter.suber's bookmarks 2020-07-12
Summary:
"Huon de Kermadec, originally from France, has been collaborating with a group of other “biohackers” for about two years to develop an alternative. The Open Insulin Project springs from the idea that people with diabetes should have access to affordable treatment methods outside the traditional pharmacologic brands, which can cost hundreds of dollars per vial.
If successful, the project could enable diabetics to set up their own low-cost insulin production systems at home.
A 30-something biochemist with a doctorate, Huon de Kermadec started working on open-source insulin in Oakland, Calif. But when his wife accepted a job at Johns Hopkins University, Huon de Kermadec relocated his workspace to the Baltimore Under Ground Science Space (BUGSS), a community lab designed with such purposes in mind.
BUGSS operates under the ethos that people other than university faculty members and students should have access to research lab space. Do-it-yourself biologists, hobbyists, and high school and home-schooled students have made BUGSS their official headquarters and classroom as they pursue advanced projects without much red tape involved...."