jennacDESMA9

I found it interesting how nanotechnology is primarily based on sense and feeling because we are unable to physically see any proof of its existence. This is a different way of thinking for scientists, who are known for usually only believing things that they can physically prove or visualize (The Nanomeme Syndrome). Nanotechnology was a difficult thing for me to grasp because I usually have a “seeing is believing” mindset, however the development of this technology and its importance in our society helped me to understand its existence. This picture above helps to show the size of nanomaterials in comparison to other objects. Something that stuck out to me in this week’s lectures is that we actually consume nanoproducts. It kind of freaked me out that there are these tiny products within some of the food we eat that can make such an impact. The personalized food idea, such as flavorless vitamins within bread, struck me as a really cool idea (Vesna). However, I still don’t r...

Because of my passion for psychology, I was very interested in this unit and learning how it was able to interact with art. I found the discussion about “wonder drugs” such as LSD and Cocaine especially interesting. It is hard to believe that, when first discovered, these drugs were actually prescribed by doctors. Cocaine was and is used to create a temporary state of happiness, and even influenced some of Freud’s work including his book on the interpretation of dreams. LSD is a hallucinogen and allows people to form an alternate reality through the extraordinary images and kaleidoscopic colors displayed in their mind. The father of LSD, Albert Hoffman, expressed that LSD made him more passionate towards nature and gave him a whole new perspective on the world that surrounds him. This allowed for the creation of new art forms and influenced him to create new pieces that resembled the hallucinations that he experienced in his head. Neuroscience and art have been combined to a...

On May 5th, I attended and participated in Professor Vesna and Dr. Mark Cohen's project, "Octopus Brainstorming: Mind to Mind Conversation". This performance art piece was aimed to discover the connections between two people by using the Electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure their brain waves. Each participant wears a head piece that resembles an octopus and contains electrodes. Different colored lights will appear depending on the brain waves detected. The participants were meant to have a common color of light on their head pieces if they were on the same wavelength, and have a more disorganized array of colors appear if the participants were not on the same wavelength.   I got the chance to participate in this event and wear the EEG octopus hat, which was a very cool experience and helped me better understand the performance. I noticed that when I did not fully engage and follow the directions to look into my partners eyes or hum to myself, we were not able to r...

The development and research of biotechnology is seen as one of the most controversial topics in our world today. While things such as animal testing, GMOs, and genetic screening are seen as beneficial to some, there are also a great number of protestors. While I believe that there must be a firm moral line on what is acceptable in biology experimentation, I also know that no great discoveries can be made without risk taking. Joe Davis is a prime example of a bioartist who pushed the limits to help make positive change in our society, by using living organisms to create art. He researched how sounds can affect bacteria and what sounds create stress for bacteria in order to discover a way to create the “Audio Microscope”. He also created “Microvenus”, a symbol of femininity and life, and placed it into an E coli bacterium. His wish was to send them into space as a message to extraterrestrials. In Chris Kelly’s essay he explains the dangers of experimenting with biology...

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This week’s lectures explained how medicine can be considered a form of art. I was very surprised to hear how important the human anatomy was in art. While I knew that the body was a focus of many art pieces, I did not realize how much detail goes into when replicating the body in an art piece. Art is similarly important to anatomy, such that it spreads the word about technological advances and keeps people aware of new medical discoveries. For example, “Body Worlds”, a traveling exhibition created by Gunther van Hagens, displays how Plastination works and shows examples of Plastinated bodies. I knew about the idea of plastic surgery, mostly from television and social media, but was curious how this would really relate to art. I found it very interesting to find out about Arlon and the surgical performances she would put on, and how she would pick different features for herself based on women from different famous paintings. I mostly thought of plastic surgery as an optional thing ...