Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Amsterdam, Netherlands to attend an international workshop on the Ethical, Legal, and Social Aspects of Genomics. The participants largely came from the northern/western hemispheres and met at the International School for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam.

Here was the view from my temporary apartment in the heart of the UA campus.

In Amsterdam, bikes are the only way to travel- unless you are in a boat.

During one of the sessions sponsored by the Art & Genomics Centre at the University of Amsterdam, Adam Zaretsky led us in an investigation of “gross”
DNA extraction techniques using common household reagents. Here we are pouring off the supernatant (what is left in suspension after a mixture is homogenized and centerfuged).

The set of the organic material used for the DNA hybrid isolation consisted of:

Banana
Starfish
Yellow Flower
ApriPeach
Basil
Cherry
Half Eaten Banana
Hair
Tnagerie
Easter Layer Egg
Old Pizza
Moldy Buckeye
Chives (with roots)
Spit
Fingerail
Marigold Seeds (Gamma Irradiated 4 mil. rads)

The reagents used to isolate the DNA from the mixture basically consisted of soap, salt, pineapple juice or contact lens solution, and cold ethyl alcohol.

The resulting concoction had many names:

Mixgen
Grandmother’s Soup”Bodo
Fructo-Ovo-Minestrone
DNA-Minestrone
Glosh
Animax
Postmodern DNA
Pig
Ulysses
Tangpie
Voodoo
What? Soup
The ELSA Gloob
Baby Spice
Gnibby
Gamma Punch

Here you can see the DNA isolate at the interface of the solution and the cold ethyl alcohol layer on top. It’s the white opaque stuff.

Here is the DNA isolate on the end of a chopstick.

Add to noodles, snow peas, and black bean paste with garlic and enjoy!

Other topics during the workshop included discussions of ethics involved in genetic testing, definitions and politics of public engagement, benefit-sharing among the stakeholders in genomics, the challenges and implications of public databases, and risk-assessment in commercial, technological, and clinical applications of genomics.

One highlight for me was the presentation by Sheila Jasanoff on the Comparative Politics of the Gene. Dr. Jasanoff presented how differently gene concepts have been articulated to policital constituencies around the world. Her comparative approach across different nations provided a useful view of how policy is constructed around the various interpretations of “life.” Dr. Jasanoff employed an extension of Latour’s hybridization/purification model to address how different political propositions win out and become policy. Dr. Jasanoff’s talk also entered an exciting area by introducing the visual as a discusive tool in the formation of “known certainty” in science. In this area of investigation, there is much work to do.