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Unit 9: Space & Art

May 26, 2019

This week's topic adjourned the similarities between space and art. This is a topic that is particularly interesting to me and relates a lot to my major, astrophysics. A captivating photo by the Hubble Deep Space telescope of countless galaxies beyond our own. Laika, the dog who travelled in space. In the lecture videos, Victoria Vesna speaks about space exploration and the history of how space age development began, mainly after WWII. Political tensions between the US and the Soviet Union were high. The "Space Race" began, which had American and Russian engineers challenge and race each other to see who could dominate the field of space exploration. During this era, Russian and American aerospace technology was constantly reinvented and sent to space, to assert dominance over the other country. This was something that had never been done before, so nobody really knew what to expect. Vesna also lectured on the large roles that animals played in space expl...

Unit 8: Nanotech & Art

May 20, 2019

The topic for this class this week interrelates nanotechnology and art. Nanotechnology is currently a booming field in science, due to the many scientific and technological advancements that have occurred within the most recent decades. Scale of an atom. In the lecture videos, Dr. Gimsewski talks about the history of nanotechnology and how it came to be to its current state. In 1959, a famous and well-respected physicist, Richard Feynman, unknowingly encouraged the advancement of what is now known as nanotechnology in his lecture "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", by suggesting that there is so much room in the atomic scale to make tiny things, which could be a new form of revolutionizing technology. A nanometer is 10^-9 meters, while the diameter of an atom is about 10^-10 meters.Feynman declared that the principles of physics do not forbid the possibility of manipulating things on an atomic scale, something that at the time was deemed to be impossible. ...

Event #3: Museum of Natural History

May 20, 2019

For my third event, I visited the museum of Natural History in Los Angeles. This was my first time visiting. I really enjoyed viewing all of the displays, I spent a large amount of my time there in the dinosaur exhibitions because I find them particularly interesting. I learned a lot about the ancient history of the planet and about the time periods of when the dinosaurs were alive. All of the displays were really captivating and artistic, many were colorful and aesthetically pleasing to look at. Science and art are so visibly interrelated in the exhibitions and displays at this museum, and I was constantly thinking about how this museum relates to some topics learned in this class. I enjoyed viewing the displays of the dinosaurs, and these reminded me a lot of the "Night at the Museum" movies. Displays of dinosaur fossils Dinosaur exhibitions with interactive displays. Me in front of dinosaurs. Entrance of the Dino Lab. I also visited the Di...

Unit 7: Neuroscience and Art

May 18, 2019

This week's topic relating neuroscience and art is very interesting to me. Neuroscience is a very broad topic, ranging from the physical and chemical structure of the brain, the unconsciousness mind and perception. Sketch of neurons. In the video lectures, Victoria Vesna talks about the history of neuroscience. In the videos, images of the intricate connection patterns between neurons were shown, and were very beautiful and artistic sketches. Vesna mentions pioneer of neuroscience, Santiago Ramon y Cajal, who deeply studied the central nervous system. Ramon y Cajal describes neurons as the "mysterious butterflies of the soul". These descriptions show a different, more artistic side of neuroscience that most people often do not consider when thinking of neuroscience. "Brainbow", created by fluorescent proteins injected and distinguishing brain neurons. Vesna also describes what "brainbow" is: the process by which individual neuron...

Unit 6: BioTech and Art

May 11, 2019

This week, this class connects the similarities between biotechnology and art. The lecture videos introduced me to a lot of new concepts and ideas that I was unfamiliar with before. I had never put thought into how things like bacteria or genetically enhanced organisms can be seen as art in any way, but the lecture videos introduced me to this new idea. I learned that a lot of biotech art may cross ethical boundaries thus tend to be controversial topics. Genetically modified butterfly wing with holes, made by Marta de Menezes. In the lecture videos, Victoria Vesna mentions how artist Marta de Menezes used Symbiotica to modify the wing patterns of live butterflies. This modification was a source of controversy because by going into the cellular structured to design the wing, she is creating an art in nature. Doing this created holes in the butterfly's wings, which horrified people due to morals. Difference between lab rats and genetically modified rats Vesna...

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