Ryan Bethencourt is hacking his way toward saving lives. Working one day a week on shared lab equipment snatched up for pennies on the dollar, Bethencourt and a growing wave of do-it-yourself biotechnologists, or “biohackers,” are zeroing in on some of life sciences’ thorniest questions from the cozy confines of their kitchen tables, hallway closets or hand-me-down lab benches. Curious, bootstrapped, amateur scientists, forming ballooning communities of biohackers, are popping up in places like Oakland and Sunnyvale.
