My Trip to the Griffith Observatory

Space is number one

I have been to the observatory a couple times with friends. We would swing through the inside real quick and then proceed to spend most of our time there looking out over LA. Man is that a good view, especially tonight because the storm blew all of the smog out of town so you could see for miles. It was as clear as I have ever seen it. This time was a bit different for me because I spent the majority of my time inside the actual observatory looking at all of the cool displays. One of my favorites had to have been the giant clock right at the entrance. I must have waited around and watched very intently to see the pendulum knock over one of the little cylindrical shapes, I have to tell you it wasn't as cool as I thought it would be.

Some cool planets

Cool View of the Solar System

The reason I spent more time inside this time was because of our last unit about space. It got me very curious and I thought what better place to go to than an observatory. One of my other favorite displays was the tesla coil, I really like it because it was loud and seeing all of the electricity flying was something I had not experienced before. Getting more into the space realm of things they had this really cool thing that allowed you to look at the surface of the sun. I didn't think that this would be made possible in a public setting, I always thought that I would have to spend at least five dollars in order to enjoy something like that. Unfortunately when we got there the line to look through the telescope was so long we wouldn't have time to go look through it. I did do some reading about the telescope and it's bigger than i could have ever imagined!

Looking out over LA once it go dark got me thinking. I was in Oregon a couple summers ago and when you looked up in the sky at night you could see every star, planet and galaxy imaginable. It as amazing. When I looked up in the sky over LA it just wasn't the same, I could count the stars in the sky on one hand. It just made me wonder how the people that chose to put the observatory here so long ago feel about it today. It's crazy how light pollution just erases everything from the night sky. After learning more about space I want to go back and look through the telescope, Ive seen planets through friends telescopes but it just has to look so much different through an actual device made to look thousands of miles into the sky. It is just a little reminder as to how small we really are.

Space and Art - Week 9

Figure One 

Space has always been something that has interested me. Whether it's learning about what each of the individual planets surfaces look like or if there is life beyond or small planet. My interests in space became especially peaked when I took Astro 3 right here at UCLA. It was a cool class and my favorite part of it was when we visited the planetarium which is on top of the Math and Sciences building which really put all of outer space in perspective for me. After searching the internet about the different aspects of space I decided to focus my blog this week on the area of future space exploration. "The rocket will free man from his remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still ties him to this planet. It will open him to the gates of heaven." (1)

Figure Two

The first area I would like to focus on is the mining if the moon. Yup you read that correctly, NASA wants to mine the moon. When I first read about this topic my mind automatically went to NASA extracting gold and silver from the moon's surface but this wasn't the case. The reason why NASA wants to mine the moon is to provide future space explorations into deep space with the necessary resources to survive these long, stressful trips (2). Come to find out the soil on the moon provides many of the ingredients necessary to create oxygen and water while on a space ship. The reason why we would want to get our resources in space is because it costs around a million dollars to launch a pound of material into space (3) meaning that if we could get some of our material in space we would save millions and millions of dollars.

Figure Three 

As space exploration continues to develop the question has to be asked, will robots or astronauts be used in the future. After further review on this topic I found out that there is both positives and negatives associated with each. In terms of having humans in space the positives are as follows, having a human in space provides someone who can solve problems that arise and the county that the astronaut hails from will be super stoked that they can say they have a person that traveled the farthest into space. Some of the negatives that come along with humans is that they need to be fed, they need water and they can get tired. Its a long ways to deep space, this is where robots win. They don't need food and water and they won't get tired. The main problem with robot is that if the break down who is there to fix them? (4) I hope that we continue to send humans into space for the rest of time. There is just something about knowing a human has been to places that we thought couldn't possibly exist. Space exploration has unlocked many great things for us, "Planetary exploration has changed the way we think about the air we breathe and the oceans we sail" (5)

Bibliography
1.) Wernher von Braun, Rocket Engineer
2.) NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
3.)  NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
4.) "Are Robots or Astronauts the Future of Space Exploration?" Pegasus Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
5.) "The Dark Future of American Space Exploration: NASA's Golden Age Is about to Come to a Thudding Halt." Vox. N.p., 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 May 2015.
Pictures
Figure One: "GC Launches Space Exploration Program Titled ‘Not of the World – Not in It Either’." BarelyAdventist. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
Figure Two: "Almost Being There: Why the Future of Space Exploration Is Not What You Think." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
Figure Three: HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.

NanoTechnology and Art - Week 8

This weeks topic of nanotechnology got my mind running a mile a minute, I didn't know what to focus on. There has been no shortage of movies about nanotechnology, from little robots that can kill you to the opposite, robots that can go into your body to save your life. When it really came down to it I was most curious about nanotechnology and its application with medicine. When I searched for nanotechnology and medicine I was surprised to find out that it is a young but rather large field, it is called Nano-medicine which means "the medical application of nanotechnology" (1).

The first way nono-medicine could prove helpful to the medical world is through chemotherapy. What could potentially happen is you could put nanotechnology into the chemotherapy that would allow it to attack specific areas of the cancer thus making it a more successful treatment (2). If this became possible the world would become a very different place. If we could direct the chemotherapy to attack certain cells and guarantee that the cancer would be taken of it would become a very popular form of treatment. Approximately 39% of men and women will get cancer in their lifetime (3) while we can't make those numbers diminish greatly we can reduce the number of people who die from cancer.

I became extremely interested when I found out that they are trying to put robots into people. It reminded me of a movie I saw when I was younger, the name escapes me right now but it was about a guy who gets shrunk down and goes inside a body and ends up saving the person. I never thought this could be true until I read about doctors and scientist actually trying to develop such robots. Scientist said that this could be possible within the next 5 to 10 years (4). I'll believe it when I see it, I'm not sure if it is going to happen within the next 10 years but I can definitely see it happening. I am happy that I had the opportunity to research this topic because it made me more aware of what is going on in the world. It is amazing that all of this is going on and not a lot of people know about. I hope that this blog also allows people to look at resources and make others more aware of what is going on. We need to get the word out about how helpful this technology could be to the world's overall health.

Bibliography
1.)"NanomedicineBookSite." NanomedicineBookSite. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015.
2.) N.p., n.d. Web.
3.) "Cancer Statistics." National Cancer Institute. 
4.) "KurzweilAI | Accelerating Intelligence." KurzweilAI Robots in the Bloodstream the Promise of Nanomedicine Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015.

Pictures
Figure One:N.p., n.d. Web.
Figure Two:"NanomedicineBookSite." NanomedicineBookSite. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015.
Figure Three:"What Is Nanotechnology | Introduction to Nanotechnology | Nanotechnology Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 24 May 2015.

Neuroscience and Art - Week 7

Figure One: Mayweather vs Hatton 

This weeks topic of neuroscience brought me to a topic that has grown in popularity in the past couple years and is personal to me. It is concussions. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. (1) This injury is commonly seen in contact sports including but not limited to football, basketball and soccer. Concussions happen all too often but not a lot is known about them, this blog post will be dedicated to educating people about the effects of concussions and what we can do to prevent them. The reason why this topic hits so close to home for me is because I have suffered multiple concussions with the last of them putting me in the hospital for  two days.

Figure Two: Concussions and Sports 

When I got my concussions I was playing football, this is important because according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) 47% of all sports related concussions happen when playing football (2). The crazy thing about the when I look back at it is how little my coaches knew about concussions, I was pretty sure when I would get one but the coaches would give you some water and put you right back in the game. Over the years people have become very aware of the impact having a concussion has on the rest of your life because of some big time athletes suffering from them. A way that has come about to see if a person has suffered a concussion is by having them take a neuropsychological test which is a test that measures cognitive abilities and skills (3) The way the test works is that you take a baseline before the season and then once people think you have a concussion you take the test again and the results should provide a good answer as to if you have a concussion or not.

Figure Three: Football Helmet 

Now that we have looked at how we can figure out if you have a concussion we need to take a look at how we can prevent them. The best way to prevent concussions is by promoting athletes to play by the rules. For example, in football you cannot lead with your head when tackling and if this rule is followed concussions cane prevented for the tackler and the ball carrier. The second way is through better protective equipment. Take Zenith Helmets for example, they are using new shock exerting technology to reduced the amount of force that your head absorbs and instead directs it into the helmet (4). We need more companies like Xenith that are trying to think of new ways to protect athletes without really having to change the game.

According to brainline.org an estimated 1.6 - 3.8 million sports related concussions happen each year (5). This number is so big it's hard to imagine how many concussions that really is. Sports are one of the great things in society and I don't think they should change because of concussions. We definitely need to continue to learn more about them and figure out ways to prevent them but what we don't need to do is change our sports to prevent concussions. Education is key, we don't want our negligence to lead to a child or adult getting a concussion.

Bibliography
Online Sources 
1.) "Concussion: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
2.) "Head Case - Complete Concussion Managements." Stats on Concussions & Sports -. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
3.) "Concussion Facts | Sports Concussion Institute." Concussion Facts | Sports Concussion Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
4.) "Football Helmet Technology | Xenith." Xenith. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
5.) "Concussion and Sports." Concussion and Sports. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
Pictures
Figure One: "Sports Stars Suffer Effects of Concussion Years Later." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
Figure Two: "Young Athletes Risk a Lasting Blow from Concussions." Young Athletes Risk a Lasting Blow from Concussions. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015.
Figure Three: "Concussions in Football." Bobby Saadian. N.p., 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 May 2015.

BioTech and Art - Week 6

Figure One: Corn 

When the settlers first came to the Americas they needed to figure out what they were going to farm. They brought some crops with them but they knew that they were going to have to find out what the native people planted in order to guarantee that they could survive here. From this day forward people in North America have become extremely reliable on crops. The United States produces 18% of the world's food despite only farming 10% of its land (1) Since agriculture has gotten so big changes have taken place. A major change is the rise of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This is where a person changes the crops by introducing artificial DNA, vitamins or pesticides to the crop. This blog post will compare the cons and pros of GMOs.

Figure Two: Genetically Modified Tomato

One of the major problems that people have with GMOs is that they are herbicide resistant because the plants have been altered in a way so that they can resist weed killers. This resistance to herbicides then lead to an increase in super weeds that are resistant to the herbicides as well leaving the farmers no choice but to increase their herbicide use that can ultimately be harmful to humans (2).  The overall question remains, are GMOs are safe for humans? The answer is tricky as there is science supporting both sides of the argument but to give you a sense of how 60 major countries including the United States, Japan and all the countries in the European Union feel about GMOs we can look at the restrictions they have placed on them. These 60 countries have not only placed major restrictions on the GMOs and some of these countries have banned them outright (3).

Figure Three: GMO Acreage 

While GMOs can be harmful to humans they can also help us out a whole bunch. The first way they can be beneficial to us is through added nutritional value, for example Vitamin A and iron can be added to rice plants (4). This can be especially useful to areas that may not have a large yield of crops, the reason is that the people may not have as much food to eat as other places but the food that they do have will be packed with nutrients so they can eat less of it and still be relatively healthy. Another way GMOs can be helpful to plants and humans is that food that has GMOs in it has a longer shelf life allowing for it to be shipped farther then ever before (5). Take Oxnard, CA for example, this is an area that produces a large amount of the nations strawberries. Before GMOs

As you can see GMOs have both positive and negative effects on humans. The purpose of this blog is not to sway you from one side to the other but rather educate you on the positives and negatives of GMOs. We can definitely see the benefits of changing the organisms but as with anything that we mess with it can come harmful to humans. So next time your in the store look on the label of the food your buying, GMOs are more common then you think.

Bibliography
Online Sources
1.) "Crop Protection Facts and Pesticide Data." Crop Protection Facts and Pesticide Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.
2.) "Institute for Responsible Technology." - 10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
3.) "GMO Facts." The NonGMO Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
4.) "Genetically Modified Plants." Health Works Collective. N.p., n.d. Web.
5.) "Benefits of GM Food:." GMO. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.

Pictures in Order of Appearance
Figure One: "Corn." Corn 2573x1709px #267001. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.
Figure Two: "This Is the Most Important Vote to Stop GMOs from Coming to Europe." SumOfUs. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.
Figure Three: "GM Crops: Costs and Benefits: GM Food." GM Crops: Costs and Benefits: GM Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.

My trip to the Fowler Museum

Crazy Stick Man 

This past week I was able to make it over to the Fowler Museum. This was my second time to the museum and it was cool to see that all of the exhibits had changed. This museum is an interesting one because it is right on campus yet many students don't know about it. I will give the the students who are south campus majors a break because they would never venture his far on to north campus but everyone else has no excuse. My freshman year I had a class in the basement of the building the Fowler is located in and I had no idea that that it was upstairs.

The Nice Security Guard 

I really enjoyed going to this museum because of how different all the exhibits are foreman another. By far the most interesting exhibit in the building was a collection of outfits made out of some pretty weird items. Two of these outfits stood out to me, the first was a top and bottom made completely out of surgical masks. The artist did such a good job in creating it that I did not know it was made out of masks. The second outfit that I thought was really cool was a dress. It wasn't any dress but rather one made out of purses and luggage. I liked it because it actually looked like a dress that you could wear but one you looked at it closer you realize they dress had to weigh close to 50 pounds.

 #1 Museum Fan 

The other exhibit I really enjoyed had different items made out of silver. They had collections of cups and plates but one item sold above the rest. It was a silver replica of a tall ship made entirely out of silver. The detail on this ship was crazy, it looked as if it was a real ship and it even had little silver men and canons on it. This ship had to be worth a ton of money, the amount of work that must have gone into it is through the roof.

Overall I really enjoyed this museum. I like that each exhibit that you go into is cray different from the others. It gives you a good sense of what's going on in the world. I am definitely going to swing by again before the year is over to see what they have next. It would be cool to see some art that had to do with UCLA but that's just my opinion. For my final visit I am deciding between the Getty and the Griffith Observatory, I am leaning towards the Getty because I've been there once and it was awesome.

Medicine and Art - Week 4

Figure One: Bodyworlds

This week we focused on how the medicine, art and the body have all become related. For thousands of years people have been obsessed with the body, not only in terms of how it operates but also admiring it for its pure beauty. They have been able to examine the body through autopsy, "autopsy is the examination of the dead body with the idea of trying to find the cause of death in order to help befit the living" (1). It has not been until recently that the two worlds of studying the body for science and looking at the body as art have come together.

Autopsies have been around for 100s of years although "before 1500 C.E. the Catholic Church condemned the practice of autopsies" (2), the reason for this is that it was believed that god made the human body perfectly and that he was the only person that should be allowed to look inside of it. This all began to change in the 1500s when people began to be curious as to how we

Figure Two: Autopsy from the 1500s

could study the dead in order to help the living. This is when autopsies began to be widely used through out all of Europe. "In the early days over 50% of dead bodies were autopsied compared to the 5% that are autopsied today" (3) This shows us that looking at why he people died and taking a look into their bodies was a bit of a fad. While people don't perform autopsies as often today there is still a lot of curiosity about the body. When the bodies were dissected people began to discover how truly wonderfully the body is put together, the curiosity about how the body worked stayed.

Figure Three: The Body 

The body has always been looked to as art. A way we have been able to study the body while also looking to it as art is through Body Worlds which is an exhibit with real human bodies are put on display. The bodies have their skin removed in order for the viewer to be able to see what the bodies insides look like. "A scientific marvel and artistic wonder, the human body is an epic of form and function" (4) this quote embodies what Body Worlds is all about, it is a way for us (the everyday person) to be able to study the body and not get  grossed out because it is presented in an artistic way.

Throughout history the reasons why we want to look at the body have not changed. We look at it to help us learn more while looking at it for its beauty as well. The way that we examine the body is what has changed. Instead of just dissecting it we now have developed ways that we can both study the body and admire its beauty at the same time.


Bibliography

Pictures
Figure One:15 Feb. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://bukeayrastiff.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/9/8/17983465/179575428_orig.jpg?342>.
Figure Two: "Examining the Dead to Understand the Living." Innovations. 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Figure Three: Hopkinslupus. 1 Oct. 2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.hopkinslupus.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/How-Lupus-Affects-The-Body-300x299.jpg>.

Online Resources 
1.) Nnoil, Martin. "Clinical Autopsy and Its Benefits." Pmjumu. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2015
2.) Cowles, Isabel. "Examining the Dead to Understand the Living." Innovations. 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
3.)"History of Medicine." Healio. 10 Mar. 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
4.)"Prelude." Body Worlds. 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.