Week 6 - Grow Your Own

On Tuesday, the Horticulture Class went to the Grow Your Own Exhibition in the Science Gallery in Trinity College. The exhibition  was based on the idea of bringing science back to the public. The pieces, created by both artists and scientists alike, were experiments through art. And may I just say, they were extraordinary!

The exhibition focused on synthetic biology, genetic modification and alternative and environmentally friendly ways to produce our own goods that, under normal circumstances would have used harmful chemicals to be produced. 

We got a tour of the exhibition when we arrived. It was really interesting. We learnt about many different aspects of science  - genetic modification, DNA structure, cell structure and modification, the growth patterns of flowering plants, chemical and biological properties of apples...

The most interesting thing that I learnt was that it is possible to genetically modify almost anything to improve it, to adapt it to various, and some unusual, conditions and to change it completely. For example, there was a hypothetical piece on how you could genetically develop the human womb so it could potentially give birth to a certain species of endangered dolphin. I'm still not too sure on how I feel about this idea - it's strange and a bit abnormal but its not actually realistic anyway. 

Another interesting piece was "Your Story". This piece was created using cigarette butts found on the street. It's aim was to raise awareness about the fact that once you throw away your DNA, it is no longer yours. There is so much DNA on the end of a discarded cigarette, that it is possible to recreate the face of of the person who had the cigarette, right down to their eye colour and the shape of their nose!

There was also a piece called Xylinum Cones. This used bacterial cellulose to explore the perception of new biotechnological materials. The piece, or installation, consisted of a production rig and sculpture. The cones are large green tea teabags that were used and emptied. The bacteria were placed in these cones and they produced cellulose. After fourteen days of growth, the cones were dried (and hardened) and added to a sculpture assembly. This piece was designed to "prove the reproducibility of organically grown objects and to find a balanced level of geometric precision and organic diversity". 

I thought the Zero Park  landscape was a clever and interesting idea. It is a fictitious landscape in California, where the flora and fauna are restored to their natural state. However, do not be deceived by the beauty of such a habitat. This "natural wilderness" is in fact an artificial, anthropogenic (man - made) ecosystem that covers an organic industry, which focuses on the organic production of rocket fuel! Zero Park explores ways to help "synthetic biology to find it's role in the world."  

My favourite invention, however, was the Self-Inflating Antipathogenic Membrane Pump. In my opinion, this was one of the most unusual, yet awesome things I have ever seen. It reminded me of something Tinkerbell and the other Tinker Fairies would make, and it looked like a miniature Zorb Ball. What it actually is, is a synthetic biological device that treats the infection that causes Sudden Oak Death. This is a disease that kills oak trees and has devastated the oak populations of California and Oregon in the United States. It also affects other woody plants such as rhododendrons and viburnum. This anti pathogenic pump is a single use device. A biochemical sensor activates a dormant network of chain like cells in the tree if the device detects infection. A diaphragm pump self - assembles with an inner and outer chamber. The outer chamber inflates itself to inject air into the tree. The inner chamber produces an anti pathogenic serum. The air in the inflated outer chamber pushes the serum into the infected tree. After the injection, the device deflates and releases itself from the tree. DNA in the device produces synthetic materials that prevent it from being eaten by animals. 

The pieces I mentioned here were only a few that were part of the exhibition. Others included a project whereby mice were given DNA from Elvis Presley to see if they would develop similar characteristics and therefore react in a similar way to him in conditions that he was also subject to, scarves that were dyed using bacteria and the ultimate grow your own experience - grow your own cheese using bacteria from your body! 

We also got to extract our own DNA. we did this by mixing our saliva with a sports drink (sugar) and then added washing detergent to help break it down. Next we added some ethanol (alcohol). This floated on top of the sports drink. We rolled the test tube gently in our hands. The DNA formed clumps in the ethanol.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip and found it really interesting. It really opened up my mind to the world of science and possible future careers in biochemistry, synthetic biology and bio molecular science!