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The LEGO® brick road to open science and biotechnology

2022; Elsevier BV; Volume: 40; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.02.003

0167-9430

Etienne Boulter, Julien Colombelli, Ricardo Henriques, Chloé C. Féral,

Biomedical and Engineering Education

LEGO® is a brand of toys that have entertained generations of children. Beyond amusement, LEGO® bricks also constitute a building ecosystem of their own that creators from the general public, as well as scientists and engineers, can use to design and assemble devices for all purposes, including scientific research and biotechnology. We describe several of these constructions to highlight the construction properties of LEGO® and their advantages, caveats, and impact in biotechnology. We also discuss how this emerging trend in LEGO® building pairs with a growing interest in open-access and frugal science which aims to provide access to technology to all scientists regardless of financial wealth and technological prowess.