DiVOC – Push To Talk

How (some) biohackers tackle the COVID19 pandemic - an example
05.09.2020 , Schneider-Hoover
Language: English

The ongoing pandemic lead to a huge outburst of solidarity in academia and citizen science.
Hear about the journey of some of them :)


Rapid and exhaustive testing on SARS-CoV-2 is one of the key pillars of pandemic-control management.
The Biotech-Industry didn‘t miss their chance in pivoting this huge „market“ and sell their testing reagents to horrendous prices. Even in Nigeria one test still costs 60$.

We, the DIY-bio community & academical developmental aid organizations, are finally catching up: developing, validating and distributing open source test-protocols and the critical resources and knowledge to produce key elements (enzymes) by your own.

This approach to distribute DNA-rings (plasmids), necessary for producing enzymes in bacteria, can help cut cost tenfold or more, rendering low-resource regions more independent from the patent- & price-war on Biotech and heavily limiting supply chain dependencies.

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See also: Talk Slides mit Hyperlinks (4,1 MB)