The project was launched by a team of trained synthetic biologists, who want to insert bioluminescence genes from bacteria and fireflies into several types of plants — arabidopsis and roses— to make them glow in the dark. Project backers who pledged $40 or more were promised packets of seeds of the final glowing plant products. Similar glowing plants have been created separately by other biologists going back to the 1980s. But the Kickstarter project creators are hopeful that their effort will go further, and that future iterations of their plants can replace some electric lighting altogether.
The scientists involved in this project hope that more people will embrace synthetic biology, and believe that Kickstarter's new rule will just end in such projects being launched on another platform. Today the Glowing Plants team released an article about their experience, hoping to inspire other scientists and help them achieve similar success:
One of the goals of the Glowing Plant project was to inspire others to look at crowdfunding as a way to reach their own goals within DIY Bio / Synthetic biology. Consequently, we’ve been pleased to see a number of other projects launch. Sadly none of them have raised quite as much as our project, so we wanted to share some of what we did in the hope that these tips and tricks will be useful to others planning their own campaigns.
While the idea of glowing plants is cool and I can see advantages in their ability to replace electricity to some extent, I see synthetic biology as a bit of a slippery slope. As with others, I think the issue is not so much the project itself but the possibility of these kinds of projects getting out of hand in the future. However, I think that their article is very informative and interesting for those looking to effectively plan out and market their Kickstarter campaign.
What do you think of this project? Do you find this article interesting or helpful?
Source: http://blog.glowingplant.com/post/85922974558/how-we-raised-484k-on-kickstarter-to-make-glowing
Background: http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/2/4583562/kickstarter-bans-project-creators-from-giving-GMO-rewards
