Reddit reviews Biopunk: Solving Biotech's Biggest Problems in Kitchens and Garages

You've gotten this already many times over in this thread, but it bears repeating: this is not a great idea. It is great to see your enthusiasm, but you've applied it in a misguided way. A few things:

• You have no PPE or decontamination/general cleaning supplies pictured anywhere on your makeshift bench. Most of what you can actually do with this set up is relatively harmless, but even BSL1 labs require basic safety and decon/cleaning protocols. How will you handle reagent spills? How will you dispose of biohazardous materials? Are you going to pour things down the drain that you probably shouldn't?
  
  
• You don't have a plan (from what it sounds like). You've spent $2000 on something kind of neat but it will ultimately sit unused if you have no experiments to do. Also, reagents/lab consumables are a lot of money. The free stuff you're getting from whatever RA or tech buddy you have will land him in hot water if his PI finds out. Grant money is tight these days.
  
  
  
• This is gross. You should be doing this work in an environment designated for work, not your room. This works in two ways - you're going to contaminate your experiments leading to useless results, and your experiments are going to contaminate your living space. I shudder at the thought of doing any sort of RNA work in your bedroom - not because it's dangerous necessarily, but because it's a waste of time and reagents. I don't know how you could create any reasonable kind of RNase free work space. Also, are you using your kitchen fridge/freezer for this stuff? Your microwave that you cook popcorn in? None of this is a good idea. Also, you shouldn't leave personal electronics on your lab bench.
  
  
  
  
• Please, do not take the mice you referred to. This is wildly unethical. Whoever is giving you access to this stuff has clearly not been trained well.
  
  
  
• Do not culture microorganisms on an open bench that's 5 feet from where you sleep. I'm not sure why this would need further explanation.
  
  
  
• Without the proper training, this stuff is mostly just decorative. What are your goals here? You have some of the tools, but no job to do and no ideas. If you had an idea for a project, you could design your lab purchasing around that, but it seems like you just bought a lot of "science stuff." I can buy a hammer/ anvil/ set of blacksmithing tools, but even with a rough idea of the workflow, I couldn't produce anything of value without more rigorous training.
  
  
  I'm sure you're just trying to have a bit of fun with something that interests you, but this is no different than any other potentially dangerous hobby. If you were building a tree house instead of planning mol bio experiments, I wouldn't want you using the power tools without proper protection and instruction on how to best use them either. I think you'd really like a book called Biopunk: Solving Biotechs Problems in Kitchens and Garages. Read books, volunteer in labs, run some hobbyist experiments, stay interested, and have fun. Just don't do anything stupid/dangerous or expect to generate any earth-shattering data with your set up/ level of training.

Google around, find websites for university degree programs in biology, biochemistry, genetics, etc., and mine the syllabi for textbooks that are used. That would probably give you a decent seed list.

Read popular books for lay-people on biohacking and related topics, like Biopunk, Frankenstein's Cat, Regenesis, Life at the Speed of Light, A Crack in Creation, etc., and then use Google / Wikipedia to drill down on the topics you find discussed there.

One other book that has been recommended to me by actual experts from our local biohacking group is Molecular Biology of the Cell

Also.. It's fully possible for humans to create a mix that stops aging in whatever age someone is in? In theory?

I don't think anybody knows the answer to that yet.

Biopunk is the new alchemy apocalypse.