GMO, or No? I'm Bio-Curious! Permaculturepodcast episode 16

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Permaculturepodcast_Episode16.mp3

In this episode I Spoke with thirteen year old Thomas Hunt about testing common foods for genetic markers found in genetically modified corn.
As of publishing this episode Thomas has heard back from the science fair committee and has won an award! I thank Thomas for his inspirational work and insights that he shared with me about studying biology.
Below I have a collection of links to interesting resources and scientific endeavors in the biological realm that Thomas mentions in this interview.

Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) provided the lab space advice and expertise for Thomas to carry out his research. "SENS Foundation is a charity* which works to develop, promote and ensure widespread access to rejuvenation biotechnologies which comprehensively address the disabilities and diseases of aging."

http://www.sens.org/

Thomas also found direction and expertise from his local DIY-bio group. BioCurious a collaborative biology lab space in Mountain View where citizen science is moving from the classroom to the community.

http://www.biocurious.org/index.php?title=About_BioCurious
and
http://www.meetup.com/BioCurious/

The national DIY-Bio website is where you can find general information about the organization. A mailing list sign up and a way to connect with or start a group in your area. DIY-Bio is dedicated to citizen science, amateur biologists and values of community building and open source techniques and hardware designs to further the ends of understanding how life works.

http://diybio.org/

Thomas mentions Aubrey de Grey in this interview when he talks about working with SENS foundation lab space he used. Aubrey is a scientist, author an public speaker that challenges convention in a very serious way. Aubrey challenges you to think about why we humans generally accept that aging and age related death and disease are an unavoidable fact of life. Give Aubrey a chance to talk you into the morality of his endeavor in this thrilling TED talk or read his book Ending Aging.

http://www.ted.com/speakers/aubrey_de_grey.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/aubrey_de_grey_says_we_can_avoid_aging.html

http://www.amazon.com/Ending-Aging-Rejuvenation-Breakthroughs-Lifetime/d...

Finally we briefly mentioned a competition called iGEM. iGEM which stands for international genetically engineered machines started in 2003 at MIT. In the near future I will have an episode or two about synthetic biology in which I discuss a bit more about this competition with my guest.

http://2011.igem.org/Main_Page

Thanks again for listening,
Ryan Unmack