Monday, October 29, 2012

Sorry to play the devil's advocate, but...

If my roommate starting biohacking in our apartment, I would probably have a fit. I am very strict about my lab conditions in an actual lab, and I cannot imagine having a wetlab in my apartment. It would be no where near clean enough. Not that my apartment is especially dirty, but my lab space is very clean. I would also wonder what my criminology studying roommate wanted to do with biohacking, considering his considerable lack of interest in what I'm studying.

I would first ask, "How did you afford and obtain the things necessary to set up this wetlab?" Then, I would likely ask, "What in the world made you think our apartment was a good space for a lab?"

I really cannot see my roommate having interest in such a hobby, but if he did, for some weird reason, I would probably be completely confused. My roommate isn't a "sciencey" person, so I can't imagine him getting into biohacking. But let's theorize that he did for some reason, want to do this....

I would probably be the complete control freak that I am and micromanage every aspect of his new hobby. If I let him keep doing it, that is. I would likely come up with a contract or list of commandments that had to be abided by in order to let him keep the lab.

BIOHACKING COMMANDMENTS:

  1. Thou shall not under any circumstances create super germs.
  2. Thou shall not pour biological waste down the drain.
  3. Thou shall keep the lab space clean and tidy. 
  4. Thou shall have freezers at the appropriate temperatures: (4*C, -25*C, & -80*C)
  5. Thou shall not allow any lab equipment to come into contact with food in any way.
  6. Thou shall be completely educated about the ramifications and procedures involved in the project you are undertaking.
  7. Thou shall have and follow appropriate ventilation and safety procedures.
  8. Thou shall sanitize all surfaces and glassware appropriately and regularly.
  9. Thou shall store chemicals and organisms in appropriate environments.
  10. Thou shall be willing to accept constructive criticism and advice from the resident scientist (that's me).

1 comment:

  1. I found your BIohacking commandments pretty funny. You definitely sound like someone who is familiar with the lab.

    ReplyDelete