Sanah Ali DESMA9

 For this event, I went to the Noise Aquarium- Online Meditation and Fundraiser- Oxygen for South Asia event. This event was an online meditation session and fundraiser for people affected by COVID-19 in South Asia. As an Indian-American with family in India, this event was really meaningful to me. Some of my relatives and many of my friends relatives have passed away in India due to COVID-19, so I think an event like this is a great way to raise both money and awareness for the situation.  India has had a total of 28.4 million cases of COVID and over 338, 000 deaths. The second wave of COVID-19 in India has put a lot of stress on the healthcare system in the country as it has spread throughout the country. One reason the virus has been able to spread greatly in India, because the ability to social distance is a privilege many in India do not have. Often times, we don't think twice our ability to social distance in our homes here, and we have many resources like masks, deliver...

For this event, I went to the Gattaca watch party. This movie represented the topic of biotechnology and how it can impact the world. In this movie, the genetic engineering of humans is common. Those who are created with genetic engineering technology are considered superior, and are called "valids". Others who are conceived naturally are considered inferior, and are called "invalids". The difference between valids and invalids is shown through characters Anton and Vincent. Vincent is born first, naturally, and when he is born his DNA is sequenced. He has a high probability of multiple diseases and a shorter lifespan. His brother, Anton, is born using genetic selection, and the geneticist eliminates the risk of diseases in the child and selects for certain characteristics. Anton is considered valid and genetically superior. This scene, shown below, reminded me of the concept of "designer babies". Last quarter, I took MCDB 50 which discussed stem cell ethic...

 Space and art have many intersections that have been important all throughout history. The topic of space and art also intersect with the many other topics we have covered in this course, including robotics, biotech, nanotechnology, and math. The wide range of intersections is really interesting, and this is a great way to sum up materials covered in this course. The first thing that came to my mind when thinking about space and art, was how space has been portrayed in media. There are many movies and TV shows that portray space and the galaxy. For example, Interstellar, a film made in 2014, is about a team trying to find a new home for humans as earth becomes uninhabitable. I watched this a few years ago, and thought it was really intriguing. It was really well written and produced. It combined art and space, as it created a cinematic artistic experience, while combining elements of space and the solar system. Interstellar is one of many notable, space films, and showcases the in...

 I hadn't explored the field of nanotechnology prior to this class, but this week I learned a lot about how nanotechnology is a growing field and has a major influence on art. This week I explored the topic of art conservation and restoration and how nanotechnology has become a part of the conversation. The topic of art conservation and restoration has varying opinions. Some believe that art restoration is good. They say it can be a way for art to restored to the original state that the artist intended it to be in. They also argue that it can help attract more people to appreciate it, and help the artwork last for many years to come. However, others argue that art restoration can be more detrimental than beneficial. These people argue that it can diminish the original quality, it could be going against the artists wishes, and it can erase some history attached with it. Personally, I think that art restoration has more benefits than costs. It allows art to be appreciated for generat...

 This week's topic was really interesting to me. Neuroscience and art have lots of intersections and it was interesting to learn about them. Art and neuroscience have been connected for centuries. Early scientists and doctors used to draw parts of the brain as they researched it. An example of this is Spanish Neuroscientist, Santiago Ramon y Cajal. Santiago Ramon y Cayal researched brain tissue and drew what he observed. These drawing helped other researchers visualize the brain later on, and he won a Nobel Prize for these drawings in 1906. This stood out to me, because even 100s of years ago scientists have incorporated art into their research. As someone who is mostly interested in science, I never thought about how neuroscience intersected with art. I always thought that people were either good at one or the other. However, I was quite wrong. Artists like Santiago Ramon y Cajal show how people can be masters of both science and art and can use both fields to create amazing thing...

For this event, I went to Anna Dumitriu's event, " The unnatural, the too is natural : Artistic Explorations in Synthetic Biology". She discusses two projects, "Fermenting Futures" and "Biotechnology from the Blue Flower".  These projects focused on how we can use synthetic biology to create new solutions to relevant problems, including climate change and food scarcity.  She discussed the project "Fermenting Futures", which strives to show new research and development yeast biotechnology. The project aims to educate others on the impacts and use of yeast and show how it has played a role in human evolution. The art installation serves both an artistic and scientific purpose. It includes a genetically modified yeast that can capture carbon in the atmosphere and make lactic acid. This lactic acid is used to make PLA which is a vegetable based plastic material, used for environmentally friendly 3D printing. Parts of the art installation are made...