DIYBio usually isn't about discovering new stuff, but rather imitating "old" experiments, a lot like electronics enthusiasts will build more or less novel proje

DIYBio usually isn't about discovering new stuff, but rather imitating "old" experiments, a lot like electronics enthusiasts will build more or less novel projects. A better chance for real innovation out of the DIYBio segment is enabled by new DNA sequencing technology, like Oxford Nanopore MinION and PromethION. These devices are comparably cheap, require easy to modest laboratory work, and yield hackable data. Especially the MinION system is currently priced around 900 pounds for the starter kit and about the same for extra "consumables". Not generally available, as of yet, though. An assembled genome might not get you published in nature, nowadays, but there's still lots of organisms left to sequence. Sometimes just for reference, sometimes these genomes can help in a conservatory effort.