Event 3: The Postgenomic Condition

Dr. Jenny Reardon's talk about her book and implications
My Own Image
I attended a talk given by Dr. Jenny Reardon from UCSC, called “The Postgenomic Condition: Justice, Knowledge, Life After the Genome.” Her enthusiasm for the topic and her intriguing viewpoints caught my attention. Before, I only had a general idea about what The Human Genome Project (HGP) is, a project focusing on the determination of the sequence of nucleotide base pairs that make up human DNA. However, after listening to her talk, I learned that the current direction of The Human Genome Project highlights the diverse applications of this project as well as the issues arisen due to unequal access to the genome database.
            A strong connection that I made with the diverse applications resulting from this project is in the lecture “Biotech + Art.” I believe that the key machinery/driver of the Human Genome Project is the machines that do the sequencing (National Human Genome Research Institute). Similar to SymbioticA’s Fish and Chips project that requires a robotic arm to be able to read the movements of a goldfish’s neurons resulting in an artwork made by a robotic art, the fluorescence labeling of nucleotide base pairs from the HGP can be a way to create artwork as shown on Dr. Reardon’s book cover The Postgenomic Condition (Vesna). 
Book Cover of The Postgenomic Condition by Dr. Jenny Reardon
http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo22726485.html

Beside illustrating the base pairs in rows like on the book cover, the Circos is a unique genomic data illustration that shows the location of genes and the correlation of each gene to one another (Circos) As an audience viewing this Circos, I find this image speaks to the scientific community about future field of research in order to understand these associations and to the general public about the complexity of human creation and the similarities that we share.
On screen is Circos: a genomic data illustration showing the locations of genes and their mutual associations
My Own Image
            Dr. Reardon uses the genomic similarities that the human race share to emphasize the issue of unequal access to the genome database. This is because she believes that the problem with contemporary genomic arises from biotech companies focusing on the build-up of genemoic data and not on how these data can serve purpose to society. In general, she is arguing that genomic research is heading down the wrong path of using science for personal profit such as by sequencing machine companies. More importantly, she is promoting genomic liberalism, encouraging individuals not to “speak about the science” but to “talk about the science” because talking is an instrument for the collective to “think what we are doing.” The objective of HGP should be to foster an inclusive community that strives to instill the value of science to the general public. I believe Dr. Reardon has good intention because the most logical way for the public to be interested in science is to discuss about the science behind themselves, the human race.

A Selife with the final slide of Dr. Reardon's presentation
My Own Image

References: 
 "An Overview Of The Human Genome Project". National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), 2016, https://www.genome.gov/12011238/an-overview-of-the-human-genome-project/. Accessed 6 June 2018.

 "Genomic Data // CIRCOS Circular Genome Data Visualization". Circos.Ca, 2016, http://circos.ca/intro/genomic_data/. Accessed 6 June 2018.

Vesna, Victoria. 5 Bioart Pt5. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=z7zHIdsFS3A. Accessed 6 June 2018.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 2: Math + Art

Image
In Professor Vesna’s lecture, math influences art in many ways, from allowing art to appear more realistic to expanding the different forms of art. For example, the vanishing point, developed by Brunelleschi during the Renaissance, has allowed a two-dimensional drawing to have a three-dimensional appearance. Leonardo Da Vinci utilized the vanishing point to create a Renaissance masterpiece, Last Supper. Last Supper  by Lenoardo Da Vinci https://www.leonardodavinci.net/the-last-supper.jsp Furthermore, the use of math has allowed art to be represented in a variety of forms beside a two-dimensional artwork that most individuals are familiar with. Among them, origami, architecture, and music are three art forms that I identify to be representative of the novelty and innovative elements that math adds to art. Robert J. Lang is considered a pioneer in the cross-disciplinary field of math and art because he uses math to produce symmetrical 3D objects from paper. It is a difficult to
Read more

Week 8: Nanotechnology & Art

Image
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
Read more