Nano+Bio+Art

The day-before-the-last-day was filled with lots and lots of work time. I ended up learning how to use google sketch up. Then, I used the program to create a 3-d rendering of the proposed building that our project is. My personal evaluation is that while the model wasn’t created in high detail, it was an accurate [...]

Day ten was a very interesting day. First, we learned about optical effects and illusions . Although I had already learned about the nature of light in school, it was still nice to review. Light from a light source is white light, or light with all the colors together. When light hits an object, the object either [...]

Today was mainly a day for working on projects. Miu and Romie’s lecture on molecular nanostructures started off the day. I was very interested by the discussion about DNA origami.  By definition, DNA origami is the folding of DNA at the nanoscale to create two- or three-dimensional shapes at the nanoscale. The process was invented by [...]

Today began with a lecture discussing biowaves. I found the discussion of the two different theories of smell particularly interesting. I decided to research them further and discovered some interesting things. The first of the two is the more widely accepted shape theory, which works on a principle similar to the enzyme lock-and-key mechanism: scent molecules [...]

Today was a day of field trips. First, we went to the California Science Center. Pulling up to the building, I noticed a very interesting exhibit that we passed in the parking lot. It was a hands-on test of torque and levers. A lever had a pick up truck hanging from one end. At the other [...]

Day five began with a talk by John Carpenter, who showed us photographs of embryonic mice as well as a piece of art consisting of lasers and music. The photographs of the spinal chords that he showed us showed “strokes” in the chords. MRIs of a spinal cord from a mouse. We spent the rest of [...]

Day four started with a presentation on optics and color. In it, we were posed a question: Why do animals have certain optical qualities? Evolution has granted species with what they need to be able to survive and continue their existence in the world. Optical qualities, then, would be an example of an evolutionary trait. [...]

Day three involved lectures about science in nature and the integration of art into science. Of course, the most prominent example is the occurrence of the fibonacci sequence in sea shells. This also leads into the golden ratio, which is present in all living things. This natural ratio has become ingrained in humans that is [...]

Today focused on the study of  waves and ferrofluids. We then proceeded to make our own ferrofluids. Although they were extremely interesting and were perhaps one of the most direct links of art in science, there wasn’t much that we could do with them. They are simply colloidal solutions of ferrous material suspended in liquid. [...]

The sci|art nanolab obviously focuses on the combination of both science and art into a new discipline. While as of now, I don’t believe there are many prominent fields with this in mind, one that I think of is the field of architecture. Architecture combines civil engineering, arguable based in mathematics and science, with art. [...]