This week's topic of nanotechnology was extremely informative and applied to many different disciplines.  It was fascinating to learn about the ways in which nanotechnology can apply to topics such as food, beauty products and medicine.  Vesna and Gimzewski describe nanotechnology, stating that it, "requires input from practically every scientific discipline, but it also needs direct and intense collaboration with the humanities and the arts" (1).  This is truly an upcoming application of technology, and it is obvious that this will be an important discipline in many fields in the future.

I enjoyed listening to Dr.Gimzewski's lectures.  In one of his lectures he brought up the topic of nanotechnology and sportswear.  He described the use of silver nanoparticles in clothing material that help to provide the clothing with and antimicrobial affect (Gimzewski).  I found this particularly interesting because I have seen many advertisements for such products but never knew the science behind it.  With further research I learned many interesting things about the textile industry and how they utilize nanotechnology to create unique and useful products.  For example, one article I read by Michael Berger discussed the application of nanotechnology and textiles to make them fast-absorbing and quick-drying.  One of the challenges with this technology is getting the nanoparticles to stay in the clothing after washing.  This video below shows this technology being utilized, and in this case the nanoparticles stay in the material for up to 20 washes (Berger).

One other successful example is the use of silic and clothing.  This use of nanotechnology creates clothing that never gets water.  The liquid simply runs right off of it.  Aamir Patel is the creator, and he states, "You'll never worry about a sweat stain or dirty odors again" (Hornyak).  This interesting technology can be very useful! 

[1]

Another unique product is compression sleeves that weave copper nanoparticles in to the fabric and are supposed to reduce pain and swelling.  One brand that sells such products is Tommie Copper.  Their website claims that their products have, "helped over one million people get back to doing what they love" ("About Us").

[2]

However, in the case the use of nanotechnology, although clever, was not found to be very effective.  The use of compression sleeves has been proven to be effective in helped to reduce inflammation and improve performance, but it was found that a copper compression sleeve versus a regular compression sleeve were not different ("Copper Wear Reviews").

In conclusion, while the use of nanotechnology has many benefits and a lot of potential to create some amazing products, just like any other technology some companies take advantage of it to make money.  The copper compression sleeves is an innovative idea, it just needs some more work to make them more effective and practical.  


Image Links:
[1] http://cnet4.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2013/12/17/bd7c1c53-6de8-11e3-913e-14feb5ca9861/resize/620x/d6427f05240551ddbefcea88a5780fdb/shirt.png
[2] http://www.tommiecopper.com/men-s-comfort-back-brace

Works Cited:
-"About Us." Tommie Copper. Tommie Copper, 2015. Web. 24 May 2015.
-"Copper Wear Reviews." BrightReviews. Bright Reviews, 2014. Web. 24 May 2015.
-Berger, Michael. "Nanotechnology improves wool fabrics." Nano werk. Nanowerk, 12 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 May 2015.
-Gimzewski, Jim and Victoria Vesna. "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of fact and fiction in the construction of a new science". 26 Jan. 2004:1-8. Print.
-Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech for Artists Part 3 - Dr.Gimzewski. UCLA. Web. 22 May 2015.
-Hornyak, Tim. "Laugh at spills and sweat with this Silic stain-proof nanotech shirt." Cnet Tech Culture. CNET, 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 May 2015.  

The topic of neuroscience is complex, and its connections to the world of art are fascinating.  When beginning the lecture for this week's topic I was unsure how neuroscience would connect to art, when I think of neuroscience I think of a strictly scientific subject.  This week's lectures and resources opened my eyes to the connection between neuroscience and art.  One specific topic that stuck out to me is the Brainbow system.  This was described in Professor Vesna's lecture as the process by which individual neurons can be distinguished from one another using a fluorescent protein (Vesna).  Some images associated with this Brainbow technique are displayed below, they are quite beautiful.

[1]

[2]

[3]

This system is discussed in the article "Neuroculture" by Frazzetto and Anker.  The Brainbow system is described in this article very well, stating it is, "a sophisticated transgenic technique, provided extraordinary picture of neuronal circuitry, rivalling artistic representations" (Frazzetto and Anker 817).  This goes to show the fascination that people have with the brain and its unique structures.  However, while the Brainbow system may appear as a piece of artwork, it is extremely useful in science and the medical field as well.  The Brainbow system is utilized to figure out how the brain works.  It is thought that this new technology will be useful in diagnosing and treating brain disorders (Waugh).  This has completely changed the way in which we think about the brain, and given us a much better understanding of its mechanics.  It used to be thought that the brain was just a bundle of tangled wires, but it is now known that it is more of an interwoven system of fibers that cross at right-angles (Wough). 

[4]

Along with providing very valuable medical information, Brainbow is enjoyed by many as aesthetically pleasing pieces of artwork.  Through my research on this topic I discovered many different places in which Brainbow was utilized for art.  This photography work below is being sold online for $400.

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Here is another description of the Brainbow method combined with some beautiful photographs, in my opinion this video is a perfect example of the conjunction of these two disciplines.  

Image Links:

[1]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/04/article-2154368-13710595000005DC-283_634x455.jpg 

[2]http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IZCZV5-v3S4/maxresdefault.jpg

[3]http://25.media.tumblr.com/6b968eefe73542a8fb86c857394c7259/tumblr_mkhbcuL0Fy1r2m36ko1_1280.jpg

[4]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2154368/Somewhere-brainbow-New-3D-maps-brain-will.html

[5]http://www.gregadunn.com/product/brainbow-hippocampus-white-print/

Works Cited:
-"Brainbow." Center for Brain Science. Center for Brain Science. Web. 17 May 2015. 

-Drinker, Will. "Brainbow Hippocampus." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 March 2014. Web. 17 May 2015. 

-Frazzetto, Giovanni and and Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Science and Society 10 (2009): 815-21. Print. 

-Vesna, Victoria. "Lecture 1." UCLA. Web. 17 May 2015. 

-Waugh, Rob. "Land of Dreams: Harvard scientists map most complicated terrain in the universe - the inside of the brain." DailyMail.com: Science and Tech. DailyMail.com, 5 June 2012. Web. 17 May 2105. 

The topic for this week about the connection between art and biotechnology was unique and fascinating.  In particular I found learning about the audio microscope interesting.  The reason that I found this so interesting is because it is something that I have heard of before, but did not truly understand until learning more in depth about it this week in class.  The pioneer of this type of artwork was Joe Davis.  In one article Davis is described as, "either a genius or the most brilliant con artist that ever lived" (McKenna).  He literally gives a voice to bacteria through this project.  

(http://www.gizmag.com/argonne-microbial-music/24497/)

The uniqueness of Joe Davis and his artistic expression is explained in an article by in Scientific American.  This article vividly describes Joe Davis and his eclectic works.  This gave me an even better understanding of what Davis was trying to achieve, and more detail as to how he went about doing so.  Davis discusses how he can identify microorganisms based on their acoustic signatures, and wanted to continue his work to feel these microorganisms move (Gibbs).

However, in learning about bioart Professor Vesna raised the concern of ethical issues, which I feel is important and needs to be addressed.  I appreciate the art and work of Davis with microorganisms, but I do feel that this gets a little tricky when working with live creatures such as animals.  I do not agree with animal testing, and feel that it is not ethically right to use animals in this way for the sake of art.  I agree with Zurr and Catts in their article evaluating ethical concerns of bioart that we as humans have perceptions of being a "separated and privileged life form".

(https://www.tumblr.com/search/no%20more%20animal%20testing)

Just as there are ethical standards and regulations to be followed when testing for medical research there needs to be the same for artists using live organisms in their works.  We cannot have a "because I can" attitude towards this as Stracey would say.  We must take into consideration that bioartists are working with living creatures, and respect that.  

Works Cited:

- Gibbs, W. Wayt. "Art as a Form of Life." Scientific American. Scientific American. Web. 10 May 2015.  

-McKenna, Phil. "Joe Davis: The mad scientist of MIT?" Culture Lab. New Scientist, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 May 2015. 
-Stracey, Frances. "Bio-art: the ethics behind the asthetics." Science and Society. Science and Society, July 2009. Web. 10 May 2015.  
-Zurr, Ionat and Oron Catts. "The ethical claims of Bio Art: killing the other or self-cannibalism?" The Tissue Culture and Art Project. The University of Western Australia. Web. 10 May 2015.