Unit 8 - Neuroscience + Art

A nanotechnology art piece developed by the Peters Project

This week, we learned about the convergence of one of the most innovative technologies, nano-science. I had not studied or really even heard much about nanotechnology until this unit, and it fascinated me. I was amazed that science could develop dynamic and interactive units like quantum dots and nanotubes, and I believe that, as Professor Gimzewski said in the lecture, that the rate of advancement in this science will be unlike anything we've seen before. In my research, I also found it interesting that artists were so vital and important to the development of this science, and how nanotechnologies are so often used to create beautiful works of art.

One of the pieces of art that intrigued me was the Lycurgus Cup, which Professor Gimzewski mentioned briefly in his lecture. I found it incredible that the Romans, in 400 AD, were able to create a piece of art that incorporated "glass with particles of silver and gold, ground down until they were as small as 50 nanometers in diameter, less than one-thousandth the size of a grain of table salt." (Merali 2013) The fact that this technology was discovered, subsequently lost, and was rediscovered in the 1990s was amazing to me, and the piece itself is absolutely beautiful. Even more incredible is that this technology, used by the Romans, is making its way into medical and food safety technology, because it is able to change colors based upon its interactions with different liquids. The cup, for example, turns a bring green when water is in it, and turns a deep red when oil fills it. This technology, Merali believes, will be used in the medical field to detect pathogens in liquids and will be able to tell if food is safe to eat.

This Roman cup utilized nanotechnology to change colors when illuminated

Another topic that I found interesting is the major difference between conventional science and developing nanotechnology is the idea of being seen, and through that, trusted. If we can see a chemical reaction taking place, or an organic process occurring, we believe more fully that we can understand them and control them, but since the human eye cannot see nanotechnology taking place, it is more foreign to us and thus less trusted. In Professor Gimzewski and Vesna's articles, they speak at length about how nanotechnology requires a narrative behind it, and because it is not seen, it requires abstract descriptions and visualizations, instead of demonstrations that people can see and understand. This means that there must be vision and understanding behind every element of a nanotech project, and the public needs to be more educated and understanding if nanotech is to truly advance into the future.

Lastly, I was intrigued by Paul Rothemund's TED Talk about DNA folding. In the talk, Rothemund talks about his work in folding a virus' DNA by using "staples" with different base pairs to fold the DNA up into almost rectangles. This approach is called "DNA Origami, and it is innovative and unique. I was astounded by the creativity it required to think of this idea. Rothemund believes that all life is really genetic computing, and that all life comes from codes of base pairs and genomes that create people, things, and technology. While this may be technically true, I believe that it is a narrow view and that there is much more to life than what we are "programmed" with. I don't think that based upon our genetic coding we choose people to fall in love with, careers to pursue, cities to live in, etc. There is much more to life than his view, as complex as it is. That being said, this technology is incredible, and I was amazed to see maps of China, the Americas, and smiley faces appearing in his talk, made completely of DNA pairs. Molecular computations are a breaking form of science, and I look forward to seeing what becomes of it.

Citations

Aloi, Daniel. "Art and Nanotech Converge in Campus Biennial." Cornell Chronicle. Cornell Chronicle, 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 23 May 2015.

Feder, Barnaby J. "The Art of Nanotech." Bits The Art of Nanotech Comments. New York Times, 25 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 May 2015.

Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science." (2004): 1-8. Web. 23 May 2015. <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=0AF1EFEE1A90856EC5DB09D1E5AA8C79?doi=10.1.1.127.8516&rep=rep1&type=pdf>.

Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech Jim Pt1." YouTube. UC Online, 21 May 2012. Web. 23 May 2015.

Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech Jim Pt2." YouTube. UC Online, 21 May 2012. Web. 23 May 2015.

Merali, Zeeya. "This 1,600-Year-Old Goblet Shows That the Romans Were Nanotechnology Pioneers." Smithsonian. Smithsonian Magazine, Sept. 2013. Web. 23 May 2015.

"Nanotechnology Now." Nanotechnology Art Gallery. Nanotechnology Now, 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 23 May 2015.

Peters Project. "Outreach The Art of Systems Biology and Nanoscience." The New Mexico Center for the Spatiotemporal Modeling of Cell Signaling. SpatioTemporal Modeling Center, 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 23 May 2015.

Rothemund, Paul. "DNA Folding, in Detail." Paul Rothemund: DNA Folding. Ted Talks, Feb. 2008. Web. 23 May 2015.