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Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help.

  Hi you guys, recently I've read the book (DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life).
  And then I have a deep interest in biohacking. I'm a coding amateur.
So here are my questions:

1, Is it hard to become a biohacker? Need a lot of knowledge of biology?

2, Do I need buy something really matters? Like something to do PCR and cell culture. If so, how much it will take?

Very eager to get your reply.

( 9 comments | 8 points | on HN )
Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by jcr on Sunday March 10, 2013 @05:54AM (#5351295)
Sorry, I'm not a biohacker, so I really don't know jack about your field of interest. I do know that I don't see much biohacking stuff on hn, so your question might be better directed towards a more specialized forum?

I do know there are hacker spaces specific to biohacking, and they usually have strong communities around them. One here in the silicon valley is called BioCurious.

http://biocurious.org/

Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by guojh0570 on Sunday March 10, 2013 @10:04AM (#5351948)
Thank you for replying, I've visited some websites about biohacking, they're in USA and/or Europe, but I live in China. So I want to know some basic information. Of course I want to meet people who are good at biohacking.
Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by kanzure on Wednesday March 13, 2013 @07:12PM (#5371721)
> they're in USA and/or Europe, but I live in China. So I want to know some basic information.

your best bet is https://groups.google.com/group/diybio - there are some people from China and all over the world.

You can find other groups here: http://diyhpl.us/wiki/diybio/groups

Even if you're in high school, you can still join or build your own lab. Don't let school get in the way of your work.

Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by guojh0570 on Thursday March 14, 2013 @10:28AM (#5375141)
When I visited DIYbio.org, I tried to get in their email list, i.e. group/diybio.. But due to the GFW, I can not see the page. Thus I was so sad.

And thank you for the last line. I do agree what you said, and it's what I think as well.

BTW, it's hard to balance schoolwork with interests, the school doesn't encourage students to discover and do what they really enjoy. I've tried my best, I'm learning Latin as well.

Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by kanzure on Friday March 15, 2013 @04:34PM (#5382843)
> But due to the GFW, I can not see the page.

You can send an email to [email protected] if you want to read the mailing list. Also, there are public archives:

http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/irc/diybio.maildir.tar.gz

Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by miga on Sunday March 10, 2013 @03:38PM (#5353151)
There is a lot to be done with data accumulated in current databases like http://rcsb.org, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, etc. This work doesn't require any wet lab.

If you want to do wet lab work, I would recommend to get at least few months of experience in a managed biology lab.

Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by guojh0570 on Monday March 11, 2013 @10:44AM (#5356989)
I'm a senior high student, so I don't think I can do some work in a biology lab - even I want to do. And I don't think the school biology lab does not have enough tools for what I want.
Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by devonbarrett on Sunday March 10, 2013 @06:35AM (#5351359)
As jcr biohacking spaces would be a great fit for you! Find some in your local area and head down, you can find people of all experiences who can guide you and advise you.

They also have all the equipment you need to get started.

Re:Ask HN:Any biohacker here? I want to get help. by guojh0570 on Sunday March 10, 2013 @10:06AM (#5351954)
As I said, I'm in China. Thus I don't think there are some hacking spaces and people who have a lab or something like Biohacking spaces.