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Innovative Solutions on a Shoestring Budget: Frugal Science in Action

Innovative Solutions on a Shoestring Budget: Frugal Science in Action

iGEM Community
iGEM Community

Written By: Nour Alhoda Mohamad (Biotech graduate concerned with Synbio Applications), Gokul Bhaskaran (PhD Student at Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland)
from the project Scicomm Made Easy

Science and its wonders have always fascinated humanity, but financial constraints and lack of resources have often limited its accessibility. However, a creative practice of science has come to change the game by revolutionizing how scientific knowledge is shared and communicated. Let’s dive deeper into an exciting journey of endless curiosity of what is called “Frugal Science”, highlight notable innovations like the Foldscope and share the inspiring story of an iGEM Team from the Lambert high school who grabbed a gold medal at the 2018 Giant Jamboree with their frugal innovation project.

Frugal science is about using readily available and inexpensive hardware to create scalable alternatives to complex instruments, while maintaining the essential functionalities of the original design. Unfortunately, many scientists worldwide —especially in developing countries—are facing scalability issues in their regions due to high cost or inaccessibility. So, they don’t have the luxury of using important equipment for their experiments. 

In addition to that, being able to collect and put together your instruments gives you a necessary knowledge to repair your device whenever a flaw occurs, saving time that would otherwise be spent waiting for the manufacturing company to provide customer support.

So, would you like to make your own device? Here are rudimentary basic steps to conduct a frugal science experiment that are customary in almost every project:

  1. Defining physical concepts powering the intended instrument to make in addition to the corresponding outcome.

  2. Searching for and repurposing standard frugal tools that meet the same physical concepts but different design approaches to reach the desired functionality.

  3. Transforming these tools into the desired scientific instrument developed through the scientific method in a way that meets the gold performance standards set by regulatory organizations and commercial instruments.

The Foldscope: Unfolding a World of Possibilities

One exemplary innovation that epitomizes the spirit of frugal science is the Foldscope. Developed by a research group led by Manu Prakash at Stanford University, the Foldscope is a portable, origami-based microscope that costs less than a dollar to produce. This innovative tool enables users to observe microscopic organisms and explore the microscopic world with ease. Now, let’s use the frugal science method above to define key concepts to produce Foldscope. A microscope comprises three parts—a light source, the stage, and a lens. A microscope’s fundamental design consists of an eyepiece to view the object, an objective to relay the image to the eyepiece, a three-axis (x-y-z) movable stage to carry the object, a light source, and a lens to amplify the object’s image—, all powered by batteries. In the Foldscope, Origami has been utilized to produce complex shapes using the art of folding paper. Finally, to evaluate if the Origami-based approach could be used to design a microscope, the researcher’s developed a device combining a ball lens, lens-holder, movable stages cut from an A4 paper sheet and assembled via folding, a battery, LED, and an electrical switch. This innovation continues to empowers students, researchers, and citizen scientists worldwide by providing an affordable and accessible tool for scientific exploration. In addition to its affordability, the Foldscope has gained significant attention and utilization in educational settings.

Image 2. Foldscope Paper Microscope

Unlocking Research Opportunities for High Schoolers: The Golden Project at iGEM 2018

A study conducted by students from Lambert high school and researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology sheds light on the transformative power of frugal science tools in providing research opportunities for high school students. By incorporating affordable and accessible scientific instruments, such as the Foldscope, into the classroom, students were immersed in hands-on learning experiences and encouraged to delve into scientific inquiry across diverse disciplines. 

The team required the use of electroporation to introduce engineered plasmids into Escherichia coli for their experiment, but purchasing a costly electroporator priced at $10,000 was not an ideal option. In response, the team engaged in a collaborative brainstorming session to develop a cost-effective alternative. Through resourcefulness and creativity, they repurposed a simple barbecue lighter into an electroporator, resulting in a solution that costs less than a dollar, an electropen. This innovative approach allowed them to successfully perform frugal cell transformations, demonstrating their ability to achieve the desired results while minimizing expenses. The findings reveal that using frugal science tools resulted in a remarkable surge in students' interest, enthusiasm, and comprehension of scientific concepts, ultimately leading to enhanced academic performance.

Image 3. Electropen compared to commercial electroporator

Image 4. Lambert high school iGEM team

Scientists have taken many steps to make the world a better place and there are many more to come. An appreciable step is to connect these people through scientific communities, so they can take helpful feedback based on scientific knowledge and get the right support and familiarization with like-minded individuals, opening the door for endless frugal innovations. As we can see, to be developed doesn’t necessarily need complexity, it just requires curiosity – curiosity that is sometimes driven by challenging circumstances – to make us rethink what we are surrounded by. So, the next time you try to think outside the box, check it from the inside first, and you will find what satisfies your needs and blows your mind!

Image sources:

Resources: 

20 years of Advancing Biosafety and Biosecurity at iGEM

20 years of Advancing Biosafety and Biosecurity at iGEM
The Intersection of Science and Entrepreneurship: Lessons from Arshia Mostoufi's Bio-Entrepreneurship Journey

The Intersection of Science and Entrepreneurship: Lessons from Arshia Mostoufi's Bio-Entrepreneurship Journey

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