Category: Science

Not just any old eyeball anymore

MSNBC – Eyeball jewelry a new Dutch fashion trend
From the article:
Body piercing and tattoos make way. The latest fashion trend to hit the Netherlands is eyeball jewelry.
Dutch eye surgeons have implanted tiny pieces of jewelry called “JewelEye” in the mucous membrane of the eyes of six women and one man in cosmetic surgery pioneered by an ophthalmic surgery research and development institute in Rotterdam.

Art and Science, go together like a horse and carriage..

Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. (ASCI) – Art, Science & Technology – mission
From the site:
Founded in 1988, Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. (ASCI) is one of the few art & technology *members* organizations in the USA. Established primarily as a network for artists who either use or are inspired by science and technology, ASCI has become a magnet for some of the best examples of this type of contemporary art and for technologists wishing to collaborate. ASCI programs and services provide members with opportunities for proffessional growth, increased public visibility, and a supportive community. Since 1998, with its first ArtSci international symposium, ASCI has reached-out to the broad scientific community (from astro-physics to bio-chemistry) to involve its members in this and other ASCI events and programs.

Dream a little dream

Dream Workshop by Takara
From the site:
Takara Co., Ltd (President and CEO, Keita Satoh) is pleased to announce the current development of a device which helps users to attain the dreams of, well, their dreams. Called Yumemi Koubou (Japanese for “Dream Viewing Workshop” ), this product is designed to help people shape their dreams in sleep, combining multi-sensory stimulus and sophisticated sleep-dream research to create an environment conducive to having a specific dream desired by the user.

Glowing bunnies and other craziness

KAC WEB
The website of Eduardo Kac, the artist who brought us Alba, the GFP Bunny. Alba was injected with a genetically modified protein from a jellyfish while still developing.
Here is text from the website:
GFP Bunny — With GFP Bunny Kac welcomes Alba, the green fluorescent rabbit, and explains that transgenic art must be created “with great care, with acknowledgment of the complex issues at the core of the work and, above all, with a commitment to respect, nurture, and love the life thus created.” The first phase of the GFP Bunny project was completed in February 2000 with the birth of “Alba” in Jouy-en-Josas, France. The second phase is the ongoing debate, which started with the first public announcement of Alba’s birth, made by Kac in the context of the Planet Work conference, in San Francisco, on May 14, 2000. The third phase will take place when the bunny comes home to Chicago, becoming part of Kac’s family and living with him from that point on.

Sony’s interaction research lab

Interaction Lab
From the site:
The Interaction Laboratory was established in 1999 to investigate the future of human computer interactions and digital lifestyles. Expanding the previous real-world user interface research within the Sony Computer Science Laboratories, we are currently working on fundamental technologies, including software architectures, hardware architectures, and sensor architectures, that will be needed to realize natural and intuitive interactions between the human, as a physical entity, and the information environment, as a digital entity. In addition to technology-oriented activities, we are also seeking a deeper understanding of human life itself, through cognitive research, and design and lifestyle studies. The Interaction Laboratorys fundamental goal is to establish symbiotic relationships between humans and technology.