Week 9 I Space and Art

            As stated in this week’s lecture, space is a concept that has captivated humanity from the beginning (Vesna). People have always looked up to the stars and wondered what is out there.  The awe has inspired the imagination for generations and has lead to the creation of numerous pieces of art in all sorts of mediums. From Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night, to sci-fi literature, connections to space are everywhere (Trachtman).

 Van Gogh's iconic "Starry Night"

            To me, perhaps one of the most interesting points made in this week’s lecture was how novelists and other creative thinkers were able to call so many significant space milestones before they occurred.  For example in the 1865 novel From The Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne predicted and constructed a model of the lunar landings a century before they happened (Jensen). This tradition continues today as scientists searching for life in space come closer and closer to doing so after wondering for generations if we are alone in the universe (Presto).

Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon

            Today, some scientists like to call science fiction rational fictional speculation instead of just dismissing the ideas as something that cannot be done (Spaleta).  Because of how heavily intertwined space-themed literature is with science, the sci-fi genre of art seems to have a predictive power for future scientific and technological advancement.  So many inventions that were once a creative thought have been brought to life and as long as these developments continue, humanity might one day find itself flying amongst the stars like in the great sci-fi classics.

A recent sci-fi film about space travel, Interstellar

Works Cited

Jensen, Thor. "The Moon Landing: Futurists Were Right: 10 Predictions Made By Sci-Fi Writers That Came True - Tested.com." Tested RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.tested.com/tech/concepts/460223-futurists-were-right-10-predictions-made-sci-fi-writers-came-true/item/moon-landing/>.

Presto, Suzanna. "Scientists: We're 'very Close' to Finding Another Earth - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/14/tech/nasa-search-for-life/>.

Spaleta, Steve. "Space Tech Realizes Sci-Fi Dreams | Space.com." Space. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.space.com/11542-space-tech-realizes-sci-fi-dreams.html>.

Trachtman, Paul. "Van Gogh's Night Visions." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/van-goghs-night-visions-131900002/?no-ist>.

Vesna, Victoria. "8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZIqTR332l8>.

Week 8 I Nanotech and Art

            The different allotropes of carbon described by Dr. Gimzewski seemed to me to be works of art created by nature.  The way that these atoms of the same element could be connected in different ways in order to create substances with different physical properties is a fascinating principle. Additionally the microscopy technologies used to identify these structures are to me, a symbol of human ingenuity being utilized in order to decode nature’s art (Gimzewski).

            My interest in the allotropes of carbon led me to do additional research into the allotropes of other elements to see how different structures could influence function. Perhaps one of the most famous allotropes of oxygen is the ozone layer that exists in our atmosphere.  Oxygen exists primarily as O₂ but ozone has an extra atom connected into O₃ (Shakhashiri). his layer is required to protect the Earth from excessive UV radiation (What is Ozone?).  Another cool allotrope is the black form of selenium that connects in a structure with up to 1000 linked atoms (Stewart).

An image of the ozone layer that protects the life on Earth below it

A bead of black selenium

            With humanity’s ability to visualize the different structures of allotropic compounds came their ability to influence them.  This has led to the ability to manufacture the favorable allotropes that have uses in our society.  One such new method was developed at MIT recently in order to create graphene.  Because of the substance’s potential uses in electronic devices and solar panels, this could prove a significant technologic advancement (Chandler).  As we continue to find ways to control molecular structure, it might prove interesting to assemble the atoms in different ways to see if we can develop a new allotrope of an element that is both stable and useful.

A sheet of carbon atoms forming a large graphene molecule

             

Chandler, David. "A New Way to Make Sheets of Graphene." MIT News. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 14 May 2014. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/new-way-make-sheets-graphene-0523>.

Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech Jim Pt2." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 24 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1058&v=HEp6t0v-v9c>.

Shakhashiri, Bassan. "Chemical of the Week -- Ozone." Science Is Fun. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/ozone/ozone.html>.

Stewart, Doug. "Selenium Element Facts." Chemicool. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://www.chemicool.com/elements/selenium.html>.

"What Is Ozone?" NOU Belize Website. Web. 24 May 2015.
<http://www.noubelize.gov.bz/sites/nou-belize/default.asp?site=nou-belize&page_id=A8D8B934-55B4-47BE-B04F-7CA86B0351A6>.

Week 7 I Neuroscience and Art

As a microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics student, fluorescent labeling techniques are not something completely foreign to me.  The Brainbow pictures however were unlike any microscopy I had ever seen. The structure of neural pathways gave these images a unique and beautiful order that I cannot imagine being matched by histological analysis of any other bodily system. Because of the complexities of the brain and nervous system, I thought other ways of imaging it must also produce amazing results. My search turned up several other brain visualization techniques known as diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), cerebral angiograms, and immunohistochemistry.

Immunohistochemical analysis of a human brain

            Immunohistochemistry is actually a widely applicable technique that is used to look at various different body tissues.  It involves the use of fluorescent antibodies that are targeted to and tag surface proteins to produce a picture. Cerebral angiograms are a little different in that they look at the blood vessels of the brain rather than the brain itself.  This technology has medical applications in that it can be used to detect problems such as aneurisms.  The dMRI process depends on the diffusion of water molecules, and reflects their movement in vivo.  As the water interacts with objects such as your neurons, the dMRI can pick up on this to produce an image.

A cerebral angiogram produces a map of the brain's blood vessels

A 3D model of axon pathways produced from dMRI data

            The multitude of technologies used to look at the nervous system and the beautiful images all have their different clinical advantages and drawbacks.  But their widespread use shows the importance of imaging technology for medical professionals to deal with the brain.  Physicians need these pictures in order to effectively assess a situation.  Researchers need them in their experiments.  Photographs are an art form closely intertwined to the success of  neurology, both for scientists and doctors alike.

Works Cited:

Carl Schoonover & Michelle Legro. "Portraits of the Mind: Visualizing the Brain." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 28 Oct. 2010. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/portraits-of-the-mind-visualizing-the-brain/65292/#slide7>.

"Cerebral Angiography (Angiogram)." Radiologyinfo.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angiocerebral>.

Haggman, Jonasson, et al. “Understanding Diffusion MR Imaging Techniques: from Scalar Diffusion-weighted Imaging to Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Beyond. Radio Graphics. 26.1 (2006). Web. <http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/citedby/10.1148/rg.26si06551>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt1." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=834&v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

Waldvogel, Curtis, et al. “Immunohistochemical Staining of post-mortem adult human brain sections.” Nature Protocols. 1.6 (2006) : 2719-32. Web. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17406528>.

Week 6 l Biotech and Art

As biotechnology continues to advance, more tools will become available to bioartists like Joe Davis to advance their field (Vesna).  This advancement mirrors the growth of a new, interdisciplinary field known as synthetic biology.  The goal of synthetic biologists is essentially to use the same tools that bioartists utilize in their creative work in order to build biological systems (“Who We Are”).

Where bioartists seek to use biotechnological tools to further their creative expression, synthetic biologists hope to use the same ideas in order to develop unique biological answers to some of today’s problems.  For example, recent work done by a team of German scientists has led to the development of a strain of Physcomitrella patens, a common plant used in lab experiments, with enzymatic activity that can clear contaminants in water (Morath et al.). 

An image of the system developed by Morath et al.

Another group has developed a system of controlled protein expression and delivery using E. coli, potentially for use in humans as a rapid medicine delivery system (Reeves et al.).  Unique uses of biotechnology such as these goes beyond the diagnostic work or the drugs developed by biotech companies. 

A diagram of the E. coli bacterium that synthetic biologists hope to influence for human benefit.

The Island, a film based on different uses of biotech.

The uses of biotechnology have captured the imaginations of the public for years, evident by films such as GATTACA or The Island (Clark).  However as these technologies continue to develop, some of the scenarios discussed in science fiction may come closer to reality.  Two aspects of our society that will certainly be affected by the advancement of biotech are the fields of bioart and synthetic biology.  Their development will mirror each other because of their mutual dependence on biotech and can only grow in their capabilities as our technology becomes more sophisticated.

Works Cited

Clark, Michael. "Genetic Themes in Fiction Films." The Human Genome. The Wellcome Trust, 27 Mar. 2006. Web. 10 May 2015.

<http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTD023539.html>.

Morath, Truong, et al. "Design and Characterization of a Modular Membrane Protein Anchor to Functionalize the Moss Physcomitrella patens with Extracellular Catalytic and/or Binding Activities." Synthetic Biology 3.12 (2014): 990-994. ACS Synthetic Biology. ACS Publications. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/sb5000302>.

Reeves, Spears, et al. "Engineering Escherichia coli into a Protein Delivery System for Mammalian Cells." Synthetic Biology (2015). ACS Synthetic Biology. ACS Publications. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acssynbio.5b00002>.

Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt1." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 10 May 2015.  <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=170&v=PaThVnA1kyg>

"Who We Are." Synthetic Biology. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://syntheticbiology.org/Who_we_are.html>.

Week 5 I Midterm

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3dq5v8J4Qt8c1dtRVVzMzlqYlU/view?usp=sharing