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The DIY antibiotics hunters

In connection with the “Beyond the Lab: the DIY Science Revolution” exhibition you can see from June 20th in Budapest, we’d like to introduce you to Pieter, a DIY biologist and lab owner, working on democratizing biology and making cutting-edge science available to all.

In one of Amsterdam’s oldest buildings is a room filled with home-made microscopes, Petri dishes and local people making and experimenting.

Pieter van Boheemen is at the heart of this hustle and bustle. Through hands-on workshops and events, Pieter is working to make biology accessible to all.

 

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Photo: Angela Moore

 

But this goal is not confined to Pieter’s Open Wetlab community laboratory. Pieter and other DIY biologists buy and scavenge materials everywhere from hardware shops to eBay, building on one another’s ideas and sharing tips online. This brings down costs dramatically, enabling people to build their own labs in shared workspaces and even at home.

zoom in
Photo: Angela Moore

 

A huge range of experiments and activities take place in the Wetlab, including Pieter’s project to discover new sources of antibiotics.

His do-it-yourself antibiotics project invites people from around the world to search for a solution to one of today’s biggest medical challenges: antibiotic resistance.

Pieter is concerned that growing antimicrobial resistance means our current drugs may soon stop working. His answer is to encourage people around the world to search for new sources of antibiotics in nature.

This is how biology becomes ours.

 

Come and visit the “Beyond the Lab: the DIY Science Revolution” exhibition at Impact Hub Budapest between June 20th and August 16th to see Pieter’s work, and learn more about the innovators and inventors like him.

More info:

Official website
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