In 2002 MIT professors started a not-for-profit called BioBricks that has collected 2, 000 biological components, including gene sequences that sense light, produce light, send messages between cells and switch cell functions on and off.

FORBES: Architect of Life

His company Cofactor Bio offers a sequencing service to complement its GeneLaser DNA Sequencing Kit, which includes reagents for amplifying target sequences, and DNA Barcoding Kit, for identifying the biological origin of samples (available in editions for fish, fungi, flower plants, and other organisms).

FORBES: DNA Sequencing For Fun And Profit: A Low-Cost Platform For Garage Biotech