aliviacDESMA9

This week material can be expressed through the lens of Dr. Jim Gimzewski and Dr. Victoria Vesna in the article, “The Nanomeme Syndrome” Blurring of fact & fiction in the construction of a new science,” in which they highlight that nanotechnology is part of the third culture that embraces both the art and science to produce new inventions, which ultimately blur the lines separating art and science (Gimzewski and Vesna). Nanotechnology has a plethora of applications, from advancing medicine to producing new commercial products and artworks. Nanotechnology has advanced medicine through learning about the drugs’ physical and chemical properties and examine the manipulations that can be done using nanotechnology to improve/optimize drugs. For example, Abraxane, a drug to treat breast cancer, is known for its low toxicity level in compared to other drugs used to treat cancer because of its nanoparticle formulation (Zhao et al.). Also, in the

      Being a psychobiology major, I have taken several classes that placed heavy emphasis on neuroscience, yet from this week materials, I have grown a stronger interest in it after learning about “neuroculture.” According to Frazzetto and Anker, neuroculture encompasses the dialogues that neuroscientists make with artists and the public with a focus on how “neuroscience knowledge partakes in our daily lives, social practices, and intellectual discourses” (Frazzetto and Anker). I believe that an example representing neuroculture is the brainbow––a technique to distinguish neighboring neurons in the brain using fluorescent protein markers (Weissman). This is because brainbow not only is a method used by neuroscientists to understand neural pathways in the brain, but the product that brainbow produces is also considered an artwork as shown in the image below of a zebrafish’s neurons being fluorescently labeled. Brainbow labeling in zebrafish https://www.ncbi.nlm.ni