It’s life, Jim. But not as we know it

Sure, smart phones are nice things to have and yes, we need to stop warming the earth and I know, where would we be without the past century’s innovations in health care. Applied sciences, innovation, progress. Important? Yes. Titillating? Meh.

But then check this NY Times article about a research group in San Diego that asks questions to make your mind go jiggy. Are we alone in the universe? Where exactly is the border between living and inanimate? Does it matter?

You just gotta love it when a scientist identifies a scientific challenge like this: “Everything we know about life is based on studies of life on Earth.” The solution is easy. The Joyce lab in the Scripps Research Institute is trying to build life from scratch – without DNA as we know it. And they are succeeding. In their lab, evolution is happening all over again: non-DNA molecules are replicating, changing and improving.

Near the end of the article group leader Gerald Joyce is quoted as saying “What would be cool, would be if they could make their own food…” Who needs augmentation when reality is already this awesome?

Creation, colour, crap

The iGEM competition has started again. In this synthetic biology competition, teams of students try to build biological systems using prefab parts. The underlying question is: can simple biological systems be built from standard, interchangeable parts and operated in living cells? Or is biology so complicated that every case is unique?

E. chromi, the 2009 iGEM winner that just won yet another prize, is a collab project between designers and scientists. The team inserted genes from other organisms into E. coli bacteria, enabling the bacteria to produce a colour: red, yellow, green, blue, brown or violet. By combining these with other genes, bacteria could be programmed to do useful things, such as indicate whether drinking water is safe by turning red if they sense a toxin.

But, since they are colonic bacteria anyway: why not put them inside your body? While E. chromi was being developed in the lab, designers Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and James King envisioned possible future uses of this new technology. One of the results: an automated diagnosis system. Populate your colon with E. chromi bacteria that indicate problems in your digestive tract by producing colors. And all your doctor has to do, is compare your crap to a color chart.

Life Support

Re-designing the human body isn’t new of course. But young designer Revital Cohen definitely adds an interesting idea to this discussion with her project ‘Life Support’.

Assistance animals – from guide dogs to psychiatric service cats – unlike computerised machines, can establish a natural symbiosis with the patients who rely on them. Could animals be transformed into medical devices?

This project proposes using animals bred commercially for consumption or entertainment as companions and providers of external organ replacement. The use of transgenic farm animals, or retired working dogs, as life support ‘devices’ for renal and respiratory patients offers an alternative to inhumane medical therapies.

Could a transgenic animal function as a whole mechanism and not simply supply the parts? Could humans become parasites and live off another organism’s bodily functions?

Fundamental forces at work

Although we wonder whether artist Jolan van der Wiel might be slightly challenged in the fundamental forces department (“With the gravity machine I’m able to manipulate this phenomenon with it’s own force: magnetism.”), his Rietveld Academy graduation project makes us positively greedy.

Using a magnetic resin and a beautiful contraption with some mega strong magnets, Jolan defies gravity. The magnetic force slowly pulls the thick colorful resin up through the air, resulting in beautiful objects with a distinct organic yet industrial look.

Jolan van der Wiel’s awesome “Gravity Stool” and its production process could be seen until July 10th in the Academy’s graduation show. Keep an eye on Jolan’s web site for upcoming shows.

Photos eaten by fungi

Artist and photographer Dieuwertje Tromp is into the decay aesthetic. In her subject matter (derelict buildings in the ex-communist zone), but also in the way she treats materials. Recently, she teamed up with biologist/fungus tamer Bart Nieuwenhuis at Wageningen University to have his organisms feast on her negatives. In the lab, they used the black mold fungus Aspergillus niger to create a very distinct organic-looking distortion. Decaying pictures of decaying buildings. What’s not to love?