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/>.