The FAST Pump is an elegant, low cost, small, and easy to fabricate alternative to commercial peristaltic pumps which will cost you between $140 to $400 depending on quality and DIY considerations. Detailed instructions on how to make the device are covered in this paper by Alexander Jönsson, Arianna Toppi, and Martin Dufva . Lab […]
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Ventilator for <$100: MIT E-Vent
In the most high stakes Lab on the Cheap project to date, a team of researchers is working on developing an open design for an emergency ventilator. These life-saving machines are in short supply at hospitals around the world. They can cost $30,000 each. Originally designed by students as part of a class, this design […]
OpenPlant toolkit
A paper from Jim Haseloff’s lab on a low maintenance model plant for bioengineering. The paper describes the process for maintaining genetic lines in the plant Marchantia polymorpha without the need for greenhouse facilities. It presents the work they’ve done to make the DNA easily editable (such as screening for promoters) for bioengineering purposes and […]
Make your own Fluorescence Microscope with Diode Lasers
Fluorescence microscopy, especially with applications such as TIRF and super-resolution, requires high powered light sources at multiple wavelengths. Here we talk about NicoLase which is “an open-source diode laser combiner, fiber launch, and software sequence controller” as a DIY way to create a multi-purpose fluorescence light source. The NicoLase set up uses Vortan Stratus laser […]
Craniobot
Mice studies are ubiquitous in neuroscience labs and require a huge amount of time and expertise. And both of those things cost big $$$ which makes the field less accessible. University of Minnesota scientists Leila Ghanbari and Mathew Rynes (along with a long list of collaborators) have developed an impressive robot which can perform cranial […]