One of our main goals for the OpenPCR project is to enable people to do PCR. With our first prototype we’re getting tools into the hands of people — with off the shelf parts, flexible design, and free control software.
What about enabling people to do PCR after they have the tool? What about helping them actually run their first reaction (does anyone get it right the first time?), their second reaction, or their 50th sample. How do we enable that?
I’ve broken “Make PCR easy” into 3 chunks:
1. Make mistakes!
2. Share mistakes!
3. Learn from mistakes!
Software
Sharing: twitter, facebook, human readable protocols
Troubleshooting: “Help!!” – heres a “troubleshooting” process for both newbies and veterans: https://www.bio.uio.no/bot/ascomycetes/PCR.troubleshooting.html
Other stuff
Since it’s a given that your first few reactions on a new machine won’t work, is there a standard curriculum used to train newbies? A sampler that opens your eyes to several PCR techniques?
Or a “is my PCR machine working correctly” wet/dry test? We are proposing that people build their own PCR machines, which hasn’t been done before.
Hey guys,
Great job!!!!
I’m a computer science student and I always made some stuffs with dna since high school. So when I saw the openpcr project I was very excited.
Do you intend to publish the pcr datasheet to people like me be able to buid their own openpcr?
I see that you’re published the components with prices and other things.
I really like to know how to build my own.
thanks!
Congratulations!
Yes, 100%! We’ve got a working prototype now and are going to be sending out the details soon, as well as offering kits to get you started.
Send an email to titojankowski@gmail.com to get on the list!
Tito
Really, the very existence of OpenPCR will make PCR easier for people to troubleshoot. After all, how many other PCR machines are designed with sharing and collaboration in mind?
I can get a set of primers from a friend and copy his program, sure. But the machines we’re using mightn’t make that easy. What if my machine lacks a feature that he used to get his reaction working? And the interfaces..ugh. I’ll have to spend 15 minutes just making sure that my program matches his. With OpenPCR, we’re using the same machine, and it’s probably possible to either copy/paste or just import/export working programs.
With twitter integration, it’s probably even possible to set up twitter-mediated auto-updating of favourite programs; if the “developers” of a favourite community reaction find a tweak that makes the program run more reliably, they could broadcast the update to all existing OpenPCR users subscribed to their channel.
Really, OpenPCR will make the PCR world a better place because *hostility to the user* was not a design consideration. You guys are doing something awesome because you’re doing it for the right reasons. :)