Unit 9: Space + Art

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Exhibits/Permanent-Exhibits/The-Space-Race.aspx

The creation of the atomic bomb and the launch of Sputnik led to two world superpowers competing in the “space race” in addition to the Cold War. The ability to create and launch space technology translated to an overwhelming amount of power. Both America and the U.S.S.R. “...sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and - by extension- its political and economic system” (History.com). The U.S.S.R. claimed several “firsts”, including the first space probe to hit the moon in 1959, the first man in space in 1961 (History.com). The following link is a speech from an American news station just after Russian Yuri Gagarin made history:  

http://www.history.com/topics/space-race/speeches/yuri-gagarin-is-first-man-in-space

The “...spectacular achievements...” of the Soviet Union “...struck fear into the hearts of many American citizens” (JFK Library). However, the challenge from President John F. Kennedy to land the first man on the moon gave the nation something to cheer for (JFK Library). “With more than half a billion people watching on television”, the U.S.A. won the space race by landing the first man on the moon (NASA). This event kicked off popular culture’s obsession with space technology.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html

Since Apollo 11, popular culture has fallen in love with space. It is the context and setting for multiple million dollar movies and television shows. In fact, “Star Wars” has a total revenue net worth of $27,000,000,000 (Statistic Brain). $12,000,000,000 was made by just toy sales, and thus, these toys inspire and teach millions of children about space technology as they play with them.

http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/movies/8-reasons-why-star-wars-episode-vii-is-destined-to-please.html/?a=viewall

Space technology captures the most beautiful relationship between art and science because of the innovation and technology it takes to discover what is outside of our galaxy. Space research is not only enjoyed by engineers and scientists; it has provided education about life beyond earth to regular people through different mediums such as television, movies and books. Gallup stated that “7 out of 10 Americans who are 35 years of age or older say they watched the moon landing on television in July, 1969” (Gallup). It is clear that American citizens have maintained their passion for space and art since then.

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/space-exploration/hubble/

Citations:

Dunbar, Brian. "July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind." NASA. NASA, n.d. Web.

"Landing a Man on the Moon: The Public's View." Gallup. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Star Wars Total Franchise Revenue." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web.

"The Space Race." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.

"The Space Race." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web.

Vesna, Victoria. "8 Space Pt2 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web.

Unit 8: NanoTech + Art

Before this lecture, I was unaware of the complexity of nanotechnology and the vast potential it has to change our world. I have quickly learned that “Nanotechnology is what is going to push us over into the 21st century” because every aspect of our world is somehow impacted by nanostructures and nanoparticles (Vesna).  Nanotechnology already has huge hand in agriculture, food processing and packaging (Gimzewski). However, the exciting up-and-coming technologies in this field are those of nano medicine.

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/how-nanotechnology-is-revolutionising-medical-diagnostics/1002893.article

Jim Gimzewski of UCLA’s CNSI discussed how nanoparticles are currently being used to create new medicines and drugs to cure diseases, form new therapies and make existing therapies more effective (Gimzewski). For example, the UCLA CNSI is currently developing stronger and more effective methods to treat pancreatic cancer, where a “specially-designed mesoporous silica nanoparticle” causes the pancreatic tumor to shrink (UCLA Newsroom). By this, a patient can receive a smaller dosage, reducing costs and side effects (UCLA Newsroom).

https://pancreas.b.uib.no/pancreatic-cancer/

Other research centers and universities are actively researching nanotechnology to improve human life. Over the last few years, nanoshells were invented at Rice University by Naomi Halas and Jennifer West (Rice News). The new technology was picked up by the Cancer Center Treatment of America for a trial with lung cancer (Rice News). As explained by Professor Gimzewski, nanoshells are injected into the bloodstream to target a specific cell in the body; a light treatment heats up the cell and can kill off the diseased tissue (Gimzewski). The scientists of Rice University claim that nanoshells are a breakthrough discovery because of their ability to “destroy tumors with minimal damage to healthy tissues” (Rice News).

The following video shows the gold nanoshells destroying a tumor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz77srVZhcI

http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/07_03/nanoshells.shtml

Nanotechnology, specifically that of nanomedicine, is considered art because the transforming technology is enhancing our quality of life. Nanomedicine allows a faster diagnosis, more precise treatments, intense tissue repair, and only targets the diseased organs while leaving healthy ones unaffected (The Future of Medicine).

Citations:

Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech Jim Pt4." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web.

"Gold Nanoshells Fabrication." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web.

"Nanomedicine: The Future of Medicine." Associates Degree in Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Nanoshell Therapy to Be Tested in Lung Cancer Clinical Trial." Rice University News. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Nanotechnology Platform Shows Promise for Treating Pancreatic Cancer." Nanotechnology Platform Shows Promise for Treating Pancreatic Cancer. N.p., n.d. Web

Vesna, Victoria. "Nanotech Intro." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web.

Unit 7: Neurosci + Art

https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Embryology_History_-_Santiago_Ram%C3%B3n_y_Cajal

The work of Santiago Ramon y Cajal, who is considered as the father of neuroscience, is the best example of neuroscience and art working together (Famous Scientists). He is remembered most for his work “The Neuron Theory” on the brain patterns of neurons, but it is the combination of science and art that makes his work very impressive (Vesna). His work included detailed visual images of the “tree-like input and output structures of neurons” and provided some of the first scientific evidence for brain activity patterns (Vesna).

http://www.robotspacebrain.com/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/

However, the most interesting connection between neuroscience and art are the discoveries of the brain by using psychedelic drugs. Many famous scientists were intrigued by drugs such as cocaine and LSD because of the uncontrollable effect on the brain. Dr. Albert Hoffmann, the father of LSD, created the drug and tried an experiment on himself. During the experiment, he reported that he was in a dream-like and ‘drunkenness’ state, wanted to lie down, was sensitive to light, saw several intense colorful images and was very hungry within two hours (RSC). Hoffmann stated in his book “LSD: My Problem Child” that LSD allowed him to have a “mystical experience of a deeper comprehensive reality” (Vesna). Even though LSD is now illegal and is not safe to use, this kind of drug allowed humans to engage with a part of the mind that was previously untapped.

http://totalpict.com/effects%20of%20lsd%20on%20pregnancy

Lastly, the lecture by Mark Cohen was interesting as it discussed the different equipment his lab has created to understand the brain. This equipment can be considered art because it allows us to learn and discover a part of the body that has so many unknown intricacies. Cohen is furthering brain research by creating objects like the goggles to teach people how to view an uninverted world (Cohen). Other scientists and institutions are doing their part to learn more about the brain, too. For example, researchers in Switzerland at the École Polytechnique Fédérale  are working on creating a "bendable implant that taps into the nervous system without damaging it" (Technology Review). By implanting this into your brain, the nervous system could pick up on signals to help a person move dead limbs. Thus, the collaboration between neuroscience and art is just beginning to bloom and will continue to improve the lives of humans.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/533971/a-bendable-implant-taps-the-nervous-system-without-damaging-it/

Citations:

Cohen, Mark. "Neuroscience-Mark Cohen.mov." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDq8uTROeXU>.

"Santiago Ramón Y Cajal." Famous Scientists. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.famousscientists.org/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/>.

"LSD: Cultural Revolution and Medical Advances." LSD: Cultural Revolution and Medical Advances. Royal Society of Chemistry, n.d. Web. <http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2006/January/LSD.asp>.

Regalado, Antonio. "A Bendable Implant Taps the Nervous System without Damaging It." N.p., n.d. Web.

Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=361&v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=223&v=E5EX75xoBJ0>.

Unit 6: Biotech + Art

Joe Davis, the pioneer of biotechnology art, wrote a book contemplating “what is life and what does it mean when we manipulate life” (Vesna). This question is very important for twenty-first century people to think about because the modern technology readily available has the potential to radically change our world. But to some extent, it already has. Many biotech projects completed have used animals in their experimentation and artwork. Eduardo Cats created “Alba” - a bunny that was created from a fluorescent gene of a jellyfish (Vesna). The modified gene opened up debate among scientists and artists. Marta de Menezes genetically-altered the wings of butterflies, which she called artwork; later, her project was heavily scrutinized by many because the butterflies had holes in their wings (Vesna). Symbotica scientist Zaretsky created the “fish and chips” project, which produced art by a robotic arm run by the activity of goldfish neurons (Vesna). As you can see, biotechnology is not new to the art world.

http://bigcatrescue.org/liger-facts/

However, Paul Root Wople’s ted talk inspired me to think about the bigger picture of biotechnology. He compares the past “waves of evolution” and brings up several examples of what might happen if biotechnology takes another step up (Wople). For example, he discusses the breeding of animals like ligers, beefalos and camas (Wople). He says that while the genetic manipulation has been interesting, “something much much more powerful is happening now”. That is, we are now able to create cells through a DNA synthesizer; organic parents could become a thing of the past and humans could solely be created from computers (Wople). But do we really want this to happen?

http://www.ncyu.edu.tw/bioagriculture/content.aspx?site_content_sn=18490

For years, there has been a debate about the ethical guidelines of biotechnology. Some people believe that biotechnology is the answer to “help improve our lives and the health of our planet” (WABE). Those against the liberal use of biotechnology are afraid of things like the lack of privacy and ability to clone any human, public fears of terrorism, protecting people in clinical trials, the age-old discussion of stem cell research and the expensive toll on healthcare (Biotechnology Healthcare).

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/frankenstein/index.html (left)
http://hellogiggles.com/originals/news-nostalgia/page/2 (right)

In the end, Wople challenges his listeners to take initiative, whether they disagree or not: “[it] is not just the responsibility of the scientists and the ethicists who are thinking about it and writing about it now. It is the responsibility of everybody…” (Wolpe).

https://fruitcakeandpie.wordpress.com/political-policy-of-stem-cells/

Citations: 

"Atlanta Biotech Summit Seeks To Create Ethical Guidelines." Atlanta Biotech Summit Seeks To Create Ethical Guidelines. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://wabe.org/post/atlanta-biotech-summit-seeks-create-ethical-guidelines-0>.

Silverman, Ed. "The 5 Most Pressing Ethical Issues in Biotech Medicine."Biotechnology Healthcare. BioCommunications LLC, n.d. Web. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3570985/>.

"Transcript of "It's Time to Question Bio-engineering"" Paul Root Wolpe: It's Time to Question Bio-engineering. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_root_wolpe_it_s_time_to_question_bio_engineering/transcript?language=en>.

Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.

Vesna, Victoria. "5 BioArt Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=MdSt-Hjyi2I>.