Week 8 Blog Post: Nanotechnology+Art

The topic this week is nanotechnology and Art. There are several parts of the lecture influenced my understanding of this topic. The Blue Morpho Butterfly is the first thing piques my interest in this topic. The wings of the butterfly are not colored on its surface. What really happens is a manipulation of the photons which make our eye to see the color of blue. The nanotechnological approach is very interesting in the sense that a phisically small and tiny change will cause huge impact just like the color change. This method of “coloring” is also responsible for the colors of beetle shells, mother-of-pearl, soap bubbles, and the feathers of hummingbirds, blue jays, and pheasants.

A picutre of Blue Morpho Butterfly

http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/images/content/blueMorpho.jpg

Secondly, the Nano-scientists create a barrier to maintain the air pressure and bounce of the inner core of the tennis ball, Air D-Fense. This barrier extends the lifetime of each tennis ball to a double. I thought that nanotechnology is a cutting-edge science which may not be applicable in the real life of a normal human like me. However, this example changes my mind because I am a tennis lover. I believe that this barrier will reduce millions of people’s cost of buying new tennis ball. The professional tennis players will definitely love this because they save more money than a normal person. Nanotechnology is everywhere.

A thorough explanation of how the air barrier works

http://www.anntincheng.com/files/gimgs/14_picture-24.png

Lastly, the application of nanotechnology in the field of medicine may be one of the most beneficial ones to human beings. One example of nano-medicine is the use of nanotechnology for brain cancer. Nano-medical materials, which are modified at the atomic or molecular level, may have the potential to be game-changers for brain cancer patients. The blood-brain barrier (BBB), a semi-permeable membrane of tightly knit capillary endothelial cells that protects the brain from harmful substances in the blood, and the tumor cell membrane itself. Nanotechnology can be used for saving people’s life given that the death rate from brain cancer is one of the highest among all the other kinds of cancers.

the effect of the use of nano-medicines for brain cancer

http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v12/n11/images_article/nmat3792-f3.jpg

All in all, the use of technology has created huge impact into people’s life. Personally, I really appreciate the effort of the nano-scientists to improve the quality of my life. It will be great if it can be applied to save people’s lives just like the nano-medicines.

Reference:


"Butterflies | Causes of Color." Butterflies | Causes of Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/15A.html>.


"Nanotechnology To Double The Life Of Tennis Balls and Improve Tyres - New Product."Nanotechnology To Double The Life Of Tennis Balls and Improve Tyres - New Product. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=319>.


NCBI. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23738667>.


"About Dana Press." Treating Brain Cancer with Nanomedicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <https://www.dana.org/news/features/detail_bw.aspx?id=35592>.


"15 Astonishing Real-Life Applications of Nanotechnology | Urbanist." WebUrbanist RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://weburbanist.com/2008/08/17/15-astonishing-real-life-applications-of-nanotechnology/>.

Week 7 Blog Post: Neuroscience+Art

The topic for this week is mechanization and art. Firstly, The Global Conscious Project really piques my interest. I never thought that there could be something which makes people to have the same reaction to it.  The project focuses on finding the common things of the brain activities among different people regarding various global issues. The scientists study the relationship between the brain activities. It is really amazing that the scientists actually found some common patterns in each person’s mind. This project reminds me of the universality of facial expressions which is the topic of my midterm project. There are a lot of things which human beings do not know about human bodies.  The advance of modern science and technology will help us gain more amazing findings in the future.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/GlobalCP.jpg/350px-GlobalCP.jpg 

Secondly, Sigmund Freud’s master piece “The Interpretation of Dreams” is very insightful and gives me a lot of ideas about neuroscience, especially dream. This book talks about how people understand themselves and getting more aware of their desires. In the Book, Freud mentioned that dreams are forms of wish fulfillment. In the dreams, people can get successful in things they have failed or have not completed. The setting and plot of the stories in the dreams may not be matching what happened in real life. This book really made people think and dig into such interesting areas in neuroscience.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Die_Traumdeutung_(Congress_scan).jpg/200px-Die_Traumdeutung_(Congress_scan).jpg

"the original title page of the book"

Another interesting point is that Jonah Lehrer believe that "memory is faulty and always changing. To remember is to misremember." Our brain is very active and is one of the strongest muscles in our body, but I feel that this is a very new perspective telling me the limitations of minds.

http://media.smithsonianmag.com/images/Memory-hippocampus-brain-631.jpg

All in all, neuroscience and art correlate closely. There are a lot of interesting theories or scientific applications which attract many young talents to dig more into them. 

Reference:

"Smithsonian.com." Smithsonian Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/How-Our-Brains-Make-Memories.html>.


"Sigmund Freud. 1913. The Interpretation of Dreams." Sigmund Freud. 1913. The Interpretation of Dreams. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bartleby.com/285/>.


"Global Consciousness Project Home Page." Global Consciousness Project Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://noosphere.princeton.edu/intro_bottom.html>.


"Salon." Saloncom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.salon.com/2012/09/01/touring_the_brain/>.


"Jonah Lehrer." Jonah Lehrer. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://www.jonahlehrer.com/category/the-future-of-the-brain/>.

Week 6: BioTech+Art

This week’s topic is Biotechnology with art. Before watching the lecture video clips, I do not have a very clear understanding of the link between the two terms. The materials really broaden my perspectives and help me better understanding the relationship between such unlike ideas.

In part III of the lecture, professor Vesna discusses about Marta de Menezes’ artwork of modifying the genes of butterflies.  I believe that Marta’s initiative about this art piece is very nice, but this gets very controversial when people get to see the holes on the wings of the butterflies. I feel that Marta should take the courage to admit the horrible part of this artwork. I believe that the public will accept his apology if he is willing to say a few words as there are definitely uncertainties on modifying the genes of butterflies. I agree with Marta that this is a mix of art and life, but she should show more respect to the butterflies and the people who care about butterflies.

http://martademenezes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/BYCAUT27-copy-400x225.jpg
the butterfly with holes on its wings

At the end of part IV of the lecture, professor Vesna talks about Stelarc’s third ear. I feel that it looks horrible to me, but it is truly a very creative art piece which can bring people many fresh thoughts about what biotechnology can do for us. Human needs to admit and accept the limitations of human body, and biotechnology is definitely something which can improve the human conditions in the future.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/05/stelarc-ear.jpg

the picture of "third ear"

Another part of the lecture piquing my interest is the genetic Folk Art by George Gessert. In contrast with Marta de Menezes, George focuses on genetic modifications for aesthetics on plantations, especially flowers.  George’s work seems less horror to me even though the unethical part of changing the way of the flowers growing still exists.

http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics_culture/images_genetics_culture/gc_wk_02_gessert/gessert.jpg

George Gessert's art piece: Hybrid 487

All in all, I believe that the artists should pay more attention to the ethical part of the artwork. I am not saying that the artists should set self-restrictions and avoid any controversial ideas, I just feel that they should think about if their art pieces will lead to any discussions on other issues which drive the public’s attention away from the real art. 

Work sited:

"Nature?" Marta De Menezes. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://martademenezes.com/portfolio/projects/>.


"Leda." Marta De Menezes. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://martademenezes.com/portfolio/leda/>.


"For Extreme Artist Stelarc, Body Mods Hint at Humans’ Possible Future." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 30 Apr. 0012. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/05/stelarc-performance-art/>.


"Artist Gets an Extra Ear Implanted into His Arm." The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/apr/14/performance-artist-ear-impant>.


"Green Light." The MIT Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/green-light>.