V2_ Knowledgebase

BBa_K221000 is a sequence of DNA that produces an enzyme called geosmin, which is responsible for the smell of wet earth when it begins to rain. When BBa_k221000 is transformed (injected) into the DNA of E. coli bacteria, it transforms the bacteria into “living machines” that produce the smell of rain. The mystique surrounding the aroma of the Indian monsoon is encoded as a genetic sequence. This is an artistic investigation into the narrative and promises of synthetic biology. The installation comprises a mobile DIY bio lab housed in a geodesic dome. The lab is equipped with all the facilities needed to perform rudimentary genetic engineering and is built entirely out of hacked, local, homemade consumer electronics. The bacteria / “living machines” are grown inside the lab in a custom-made incubator inviting the audience to engage, up-close in critical debates around such forms of biotechnologies. The lab also functions as a pedagogical space and artist studio, as it hosts artists’ workshops and performances and also facilitates the conceptual development of artworks that are produced by borrowing tools and methodologies from the life sciences. This mobile bio lab is collapsible and can be re-assembled in a day. The entire process of building the lab is documented and made available at http://artscienceblr.org or http://hackteria.org/wiki

Haberlandt is a vending machine food crops. At the same time biorector for growing a superfood -Arthospira platensis microalgae-and automated avant-cuisine machine. An array cyborg. Mechatronic ecosystem where life and technological systems coexist. A sharp but open system with inputs and outputs typical of an entity that depends ona chemical-energy exchange for their persistence. The machine produces algae as the ultimate goal but needs to be recharged with a minimum contribution of nutrients, being able to reduce this cycle of exchange of seaweed to human consumption (output) and human urine of rejection (input).

Despite its quaint reputation, agriculture has always been an early adapter of technology. This is evident from the beginning of mechanization with the cotton gin, McCormick's Reaper, tractors, hybrid seed, to genetically engineered plants that protect themselves and grow in arid environments. Yields have grown quickly, but demand from developing countries and population growth are growing faster We know that we need to continue to find ways to increase the productivity of land on a per unit basis. Agriculture has started to add computerization and automation to the current machinery with things like GPS based precision farming systems that can autonomously drive tractors, monitor yield, and apply fertilizer. However, these aftermarket add-ons are built around the single most expensive and awkward part of the equipment. The person controlling the tractor. Prospero is the working prototype of an Autonomous Micro Planter (AMP) that uses a combination of swarm and game theory.

In Synthetic Biology, the Biobrick has been used as an abstraction or template for creating standardized functional living parts. Searching for UGEM is an alternate re-appropriations of the BioBrick by using existing BioBrick primers as random-PCR(Polymerase Chain Reaction) primers in investigating soil samples. This random PCR will provide a succinct signature of the biological diversity present in these samples. These investigations of soil lead us to ask questions about citizen’s science "performed" by non-institutional actors using accessible tools as well as gives us a glimpse into the "post-natural world" where BioBricks may end up in our environment and may very well show up as bands in a gel. By imagining a world in which the Biobrick has become the accepted standard for synthetic biology, and where these engineered products are ubiquitous in our lives and environments, the samples we archive will serve as the baseline from which the subsequent extent of human influence can be measured. These investigations are carried out in a custom built public research laboratory, the blueprints for making one are available online. These Autonomous Public Laboratories can be used as template for creating a citizen's research lab with which one can carry out "experiments"-biotechnological or otherwise.

Xeromax Envelope is a quarter-scale experiment for a responsive building envelope calibrated and tuned to its environment. Part robotic structure, part experimental interface, and part microclimatic machine it registers energy cycles and interactions over time while harvesting solar energy and protecting the building from the local climate. Xeromax Envelope is proposed as a second-skin to an existing building and becomes a register of present and forecasted conditions. The model weaves ultra thin custom actuators, arrays of light and proximity sensors through the extent of the surface which transforms as it registers the changing conditions around it.