Madalena Studio developed the identity for a London (UK) drinks and flavour lab called Crucible. Here’s more about the design studio that created a brand identity grown in a petri dish, from an August 30, 2024 article by Hunter Schwarz for Fast Company, Note: Links have been removed,
The design industry of late is rife with innovation labs and incubators churning out projects. But the designers behind a new logo took the concept of design incubator much more literally: They grew it from actual bacterial cultures.
Crucible, an experimental drinks lab and consultancy in London, worked on the mark with its longtime London-based creative collaborator Madalena Studio. And while the logo may not suit a consumer-facing brand, it’s effective in communicating the science behind Crucible’s process in a super memorable way.
To develop the logo, the Crucible and Madalena Studio teams swabbed a laser-cut, cork version of it with samples from aged kombucha, a liquid culture of lions mane, household food waste, and swabs from skin and soil solutions. The samples were then grown in petri dishes in a makeshift incubator. A dynamic version of the logo, which shows spores spreading and changing color from pink to green, now welcomes visitors to Crucible’s website.
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When he [Chris Collicott, founder and creative director of Madalena Studio] and designer Oliwia Mendel arrived at the idea of growing the logo from bacteria, “it was an idea that just sat right,” he says. And sure, it’s an out-of-the-box technique, but type experimentation is pretty commonplace nowadays, and this pushes that experimentation even further. It’s also a spot-on representation of a brand that works behind the scenes with the science of taste.
“We didn’t know if it would work, or how it would turn out, but for those reasons it felt exactly the right way to go,” Collicott says. “When we presented our original grown tests to Crucible, I think they felt the same.” Crucible is playful and fun, and its work with Madalena Studio has helped “position [the company] far away from the Victoriana of the drinks world,” Collicott says, referring to the oft-used nostalgic look of beverage packaging inspired by the 19th-century Victorian era.
An August 19, 2024 article by Olivia Hingley for It’s Nice That provides other details about the lab-grown logo,
Working with nearly 25 samples of home-grown bacteria, this identity for Crucible feels more like a biology project than work of graphic design.
Crucible describes itself as a laboratory, collaborative workspace and creative hub specifically targeted at beverage sellers, servers and enthusiasts. Founded in 2017 by Stuart Bale, with three person the team [sic] now made up of Aska Hayakawa and Maja Jaworska, the lab also offers drinks consultancy. The big focus for Crucible is an experimental approach to flavour, something often helped by working at a microbial level. It was this fact that sparked an idea for Chris Collicott, founder of Madalena Studio. To create a fresh look for Crucible, Chris wanted to reflect its very real, hands-on process, and so he decided to investigate live bacteria.
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At the beginning of the project, Chris and Oliwia Mendel, Madalena’s designer, bounced ideas back and forth to find a strong visual basis that was rooted in the creation of drinks; they went from bubbles, to liquid textures, before landing on bacteria. “Anything digital just felt a bit lacking and inauthentic,” says Chris, and so the team steered clear of typical visual approaches to reflecting science, like lines of code, for instance.
But, with bold visions come complex production, especially as Chris and Oliwia decided to grow the bacteria themselves. “We had no idea if this would actually work, what the outcome could even look like, or if Crucible would even go for it, but on a quiet Friday afternoon I laser cut the C logo from cork, ordered some petri dishes and we got started,” says Chris. They swabbed each cork logo with an array of substances; aged kombucha, liquid culture of lions mane, household food waste, swabs from skin and soil solutions, before putting them in the petri dishes, and then placing them in “relatively lo-fi lab conditions”: a local makeshift incubator (the basement of Chris’ flat).
s Chris was intent on creating moving assets, the team had to regularly shoot the growing bacteria. Every few hours for nearly two weeks Chris captured the changes of ten to 15 samples, even through the night. … After growing and photographing the samples, the only edits Chris and Oliwia made were altering some colours to align with Crucible’s trademark neon, day-glo palette. …
Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have emerged as a promising solution for restoring communication and control to individuals with severe motor impairments. Traditionally, these systems have been bulky, power-intensive, and limited in their practical applications. Researchers at EPFL have developed the first high-performance, Miniaturized Brain-Machine Interface (MiBMI), offering an extremely small, low-power, highly accurate, and versatile solution. Published in the latest issue of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits and presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, the MiBMI not only enhances the efficiency and scalability of brain-machine interfaces but also paves the way for practical, fully implantable devices. This technology holds the potential to significantly improve the quality of life for patients with conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal cord injuries.
The MiBMI’s small size and low power are key features, making the system suitable for implantable applications. Its minimal invasiveness ensures safety and practicality for use in clinical and real-life settings. It is also a fully integrated system, meaning that the recording and processing are done on two extremely small chips with a total area of 8mm2. Thisis the latest in a new class of low-power BMI devices developed at Mahsa Shoaran’s Integrated Neurotechnologies Laboratory (INL) at EPFL’s IEM and Neuro X institutes.
“MiBMI allows us to convert intricate neural activity into readable text with high accuracy and low power consumption.This advancement brings us closer to practical, implantable solutions that can significantly enhance communication abilities for individuals with severe motor impairments,” says Shoaran.
Brain-to-text conversion involves decoding neural signals generated when a person imagines writing letters or words. In this process, electrodes implanted in the brain record neural activity associated with the motor actions of handwriting. The MiBMI chipset then processes these signals in real-time, translating the brain’s intended hand movements into corresponding digital text. This technology allows individuals, especially those with locked-in syndrome and other severe motor impairments, to communicate by simply thinking about writing, with the interface converting their thoughts into readable text on a screen.
“While the chip has not yet been integrated into a working BMI, it has processed data from previous live recordings, such as those from the Shenoy lab at Stanford [Stanford University in California, US}, converting handwriting activity into text with an impressive 91% accuracy,” says lead author Mohammed Ali Shaeri. The chip can currently decode up to 31 different characters, an achievement unmatched by any other integrated systems. “We are confident that we can decode up to 100 characters, but a handwriting dataset with more characters is not yet available,” adds Shaeri.
Current BMIs record the data from electrodes implanted in the brain and then send these signals to a separate computer to do the decoding. The MiBMI chips records the data but also processes the information in real time—integrating a 192-channel neural recording system with a 512-channel neural decoder. This neurotechnological breakthrough is a feat of extreme miniaturization that combines expertise in integrated circuits, neural engineering, and artificial intelligence. This innovation is particularly exciting in the emerging era of neurotech startups in the BMI domain, where integration and miniaturization are key focuses. EPFL’s MiBMI offers promising insights and potential for the future of the field.
To be able to process the massive amount of information picked up by the electrodes on the miniaturized BMI, the researchers had to take a completely different approach to data analysis. They discovered that the brain activity for each letter, when the patient imagines writing it by hand, contains very specific markers, which the researchers have named distinctive neural codes (DNCs). Instead of processing thousands of bytes of data for each letter, the microchip only needs to process the DNCs, which are around a hundred bytes. This makes the system fast, accurate, and with low-power consumption. This breakthrough also allows for faster training times, making learning how to use the BMI easier and more accessible.
Collaborations with other teams at EPFL’s Neuro-X and IEM Institutes, such as with the laboratories of Grégoire Courtine, Silvestro Micera, Stéphanie Lacour, and David Atienza promise to create the next generation of integrated BMI systems. Shoaran, Shaeri and their team are exploring various applications for the MiBMI system beyond handwriting recognition. “We are collaborating with other research groups to test the system in different contexts, such as speech decoding and movement control. Our goal is to develop a versatile BMI that can be tailored to various neurological disorders, providing a broader range of solutions for patients,” says Shoaran.
This seems like a good idea especially for those of us who live in areas where wildfires have become commonplace, from an August 22, 2024 news item on ScienceDaily,
As climate change creates hotter, drier conditions, we are seeing longer fire seasons with larger, more frequent wildfires. In recent years, catastrophic wildfires have destroyed homes and infrastructure, caused devastating losses in lives and livelihoods of people living in affected areas, and damaged wildland resources and the economy. We need new solutions to fight wildfires and protect areas from damage.
Researchers at Stanford have developed a water-enhancing gel that could be sprayed on homes and critical infrastructure to help keep them from burning during wildfires [emphasis mine]. The research, published Aug. 21 [2024] in Advanced Materials, shows that the new gels last longer and are significantly more effective [emphasis mine] than existing commercial gels.
“Under typical wildfire conditions, current water-enhancing gels dry out in 45 minutes,” said Eric Appel, associate professor of materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering, who is senior author of the paper. “We’ve developed a gel that would have a broader application window – you can spray it further in advance of the fire and still get the benefit of the protection – and it will work better when the fire comes.
Long-lasting protection
Water-enhancing gels are made of super-absorbent polymers – similar to the absorbent powder found in disposable diapers. Mixed with water and sprayed on a building, they swell into a gelatinous substance that clings to the outside of the structure, creating a thick, wet shield. But the conditions in the vicinity of a wildfire are extremely dry – temperatures can be near 100 degrees, with high winds and zero percent humidity – and even water locked in a gel evaporates fairly quickly.
In the gel designed by Appel and his colleagues, the water is just the first layer of protection. In addition to a cellulose-based polymer, the gel contains silica particles, which get left behind when the gels are subjected to heat. “We have discovered a unique phenomenon where a soft, squishy hydrogel seamlessly transitions into a robust aerogel shield under heat, offering enhanced and long-lasting wildfire protection. This environmentally conscious breakthrough surpasses current commercial solutions, offering a superior and scalable defense against wildfires,” said the lead author of the study, Changxin “Lyla” Dong.
“When the water boils off and all of the cellulose burns off, we’re left with the silica particles assembled into a foam,” Appel said. “That foam is highly insulative and ends up scattering all of the heat, completely protecting the substrate underneath it.”
The silica forms an aerogel – a solid, porous structure that is a particularly good insulator. Similar silica aerogels are used in space applications because they are extremely lightweight and can prevent most methods of heat transfer.
The researchers tested several formulations of their new gel by applying them to pieces of plywood and exposing them to direct flame from a gas hand-torch, which burns at a considerably higher temperature than a wildfire. Their most effective formulation lasted for more than 7 minutes before the board began to char. When they tested a commercially available water-enhancing gel in the same way, it protected the plywood for less than 90 seconds.
“Traditional gels don’t work once they dry out,” Appel said. “Our materials form this silica aerogel when exposed to fire that continues to protect the treated substrates after all the water has evaporated. These materials can be easily washed away once the fire is gone.”
A serendipitous discovery
The new gels build off of Appel’s previous wildfire prevention work. In 2019, Appel and his colleagues used these same gels as a vehicle to hold wildland fire retardants on vegetation for months at a time. The formulation was intended to help prevent ignition in wildfire-prone areas.
“We’ve been working with this platform for years now,” Appel said. “This new development was somewhat serendipitous – we were wondering how these gels would behave on their own, so we just smushed some on a piece of wood and exposed it to flames from a torch we had laying around the lab. What we observed was this super cool outcome where the gels puffed up into an aerogel foam.”
After that initial success, it took several years of additional engineering to optimize the formulation. It is now stable in storage, easily sprayable with standard equipment, and adheres well to all kinds of surfaces. The gels are made of nontoxic components that have already been approved for use by the U.S. Forest Service, and the researchers conducted studies to show that they are easily broken down by soil microbes.
“They’re safe for both people and the environment,” Appel said. “There may need to be additional optimization, but my hope is that we can do pilot-scale application and evaluation of these gels so we can use them to help protect critical infrastructure when a fire comes through.”
Where robots are concerned, mushrooms and other fungi aren’t usually considered as part of the equipment but one would be wrong according to a September 4, 2024 news item on ScienceDaily,
Building a robot takes time, technical skill, the right materials — and sometimes, a little fungus.
In creating a pair of new robots, Cornell University researchers cultivated an unlikely component, one found on the forest floor: fungal mycelia.
By harnessing mycelia’s innate electrical signals, the researchers discovered a new way of controlling “biohybrid” robots that can potentially react to their environment better than their purely synthetic counterparts.
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An August 28, 2024 Cornell University news release (also on EurekAlert but published August 29, 2024) by David Nutt, which originated the news item, describes this (I’m tempted to call it, revolutionary) new technique, Note: Links have been removed.
“This paper is the first of many that will use the fungal kingdom to provide environmental sensing and command signals to robots to improve their levels of autonomy,” Shepherd [Rob Shepherd, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University] said. “By growing mycelium into the electronics of a robot, we were able to allow the biohybrid machine to sense and respond to the environment. In this case we used light as the input, but in the future it will be chemical. The potential for future robots could be to sense soil chemistry in row crops and decide when to add more fertilizer, for example, perhaps mitigating downstream effects of agriculture like harmful algal blooms.”
In designing the robots of tomorrow, engineers have taken many of their cues from the animal kingdom, with machines that mimic the way living creatures move, sense their environment and even regulate their internal temperature through perspiration. Some robots have incorporated living material, such as cells from muscle tissue, but those complex biological systems are difficult to keep healthy and functional. It’s not always easy, after all, to keep a robot alive.
Mycelia are the underground vegetative part of mushrooms, and they have a number of advantages. They can grow in harsh conditions. They also have the ability to sense chemical and biological signals and respond to multiple inputs.
“If you think about a synthetic system – let’s say, any passive sensor – we just use it for one purpose. But living systems respond to touch, they respond to light, they respond to heat, they respond to even some unknowns, like signals,” Mishra [Anand Mishra, a research associate in the Organic Robotics Lab at Cornell University] said. “That’s why we think, OK, if you wanted to build future robots, how can they work in an unexpected environment? We can leverage these living systems, and any unknown input comes in, the robot will respond to that.”
However, finding a way to integrate mushrooms and robots requires more than just tech savvy and a green thumb.
“You have to have a background in mechanical engineering, electronics, some mycology, some neurobiology, some kind of signal processing,” Mishra said. “All these fields come together to build this kind of system.”
Mishra collaborated with a range of interdisciplinary researchers. He consulted with Bruce Johnson, senior research associate in neurobiology and behavior, and learned how to record the electrical signals that are carried in the neuron-like ionic channels in the mycelia membrane. Kathie Hodge, associate professor of plant pathology and plant-microbe biology in the School of Integrative Plant Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, taught Mishra how to grow clean mycelia cultures, because contamination turns out to be quite a challenge when you are sticking electrodes in fungus.
The system Mishra developed consists of an electrical interface that blocks out vibration and electromagnetic interference and accurately records and processes the mycelia’s electrophysiological activity in real time, and a controller inspired by central pattern generators – a kind of neural circuit. Essentially, the system reads the raw electrical signal, processes it and identifies the mycelia’s rhythmic spikes, then converts that information into a digital control signal, which is sent to the robot’s actuators.
Two biohybrid robots were built: a soft robot shaped like a spider and a wheeled bot.
The robots completed three experiments. In the first, the robots walked and rolled, respectively, as a response to the natural continuous spikes in the mycelia’s signal. Then the researchers stimulated the robots with ultraviolet light, which caused them to change their gaits, demonstrating mycelia’s ability to react to their environment. In the third scenario, the researchers were able to override the mycelia’s native signal entirely.
The implications go far beyond the fields of robotics and fungi.
“This kind of project is not just about controlling a robot,” Mishra said. “It is also about creating a true connection with the living system. Because once you hear the signal, you also understand what’s going on. Maybe that signal is coming from some kind of stresses. So you’re seeing the physical response, because those signals we can’t visualize, but the robot is making a visualization.”
Co-authors include Johnson, Hodge, Jaeseok Kim with the University of Florence, Italy, and undergraduate research assistant Hannah Baghdadi.
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) CROPPS Science and Technology Center; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture; and the NSF Signal in Soil program.
Thank you to whoever wrote this headline (I love wordplay), “Fission chips – How vinegar could revolutionize sensor processing” used for an August 28, 2024 news item on ScienceDaily,
Researchers at Macquarie University [Australia] have developed a new way to produce ultraviolet (UV) light sensors, which could lead to more efficient and flexible wearable devices.
The study, published in the journal Small in July [2024], shows how acetic acid vapour — essentially vinegar fumes — can rapidly improve the performance of zinc oxide nanoparticle-based sensors without using high-temperatures for processing.
Co-author Professor Shujuan Huang, from the School of Engineering at Macquarie University, says: “We found by briefly exposing the sensor to vinegar vapour, adjoining particles of zinc oxide on the sensor’s surface would merge together, forming a bridge that could conduct energy.”
Joining zinc oxide nanoparticles together is a critical part of building tiny sensors, as it creates channels for electrons to flow through.
The research team found that their vapour method could make UV detectors 128,000 more responsive than untreated ones, and the sensors could still accurately detect UV light without interference, making them highly sensitive and reliable.
Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri, co-author on the paper and head of the Nanotech Laboratory at Macquarie University, says: “Usually, these sensors are processed in an oven, heated at high temperature for 12 hours or so, before they can operate or transmit any signal.”
But instead, the team found a simple chemical way to copy the effects of the heat process.
“We found a way to process these sensors at room temperature with a very cheap ingredient – vinegar. You just expose the sensor to vinegar vapour for five minutes, and that’s it – you have a working sensor,” she says.
To create the sensors, the researchers sprayed a zinc solution into a flame, producing a fine mist of zinc oxide nanoparticles that settled onto platinum electrodes. This formed a thin sponge-like film, which they then exposed to vinegar vapour for five to 20 minutes.
The vinegar vapour changed how the tiny particles in the film were arranged, helping the particles connect to each other, so electrons could flow through the sensor. At the same time, the particles stayed small enough to detect light effectively.
“These sensors are made of many, many tiny particles that need to be connected for the sensor to work,” says Associate Professor Nasiri.
“Until we treat them, the particles just sit next to each other, almost as if they have a wall around them, so when light creates an electrical signal in one particle, it can’t easily travel to the next particle. That’s why an untreated sensor doesn’t give us a good signal.”
The researchers went through intensive testing of different formulations before hitting on the perfect balance in their process.
“Water alone isn’t strong enough to make the particles join. But pure vinegar is too strong and destroys the whole structure,” says Professor Huang. “We had to find just the right mix.”
The study shows the best results came from sensors exposed to the vapour for around 15 minutes. Longer exposure times caused too many structural changes and worse performance.
“The unique structure of these highly porous nanofilms enables oxygen to penetrate deeply, so that the entire film is part of the sensing mechanism,” Professor Huang says.
The new room-temperature vapour technique has many advantages over current high-temperature methods. It allows the use of heat-sensitive materials and flexible bases, and is cheaper and better for the environment.
Associate Professor Nasiri says the process can easily be scaled up commercially.
“The sensor materials could be laid out on a rolling plate, passing through an enclosed environment with vinegar vapours, and be ready to use in less than 20 minutes.”
The process will be a real advantage in creating wearable UV sensors, which need to be flexible and to use very little power.
Associate Professor Nasiri says that this method for UV sensors could be used for other types of sensors too, using simple chemical vapour treatments instead of high-temperature sensor processing across a wide range of functional materials, nanostructures and bases or substrates.
While this isn’t one of my usual areas of interest, there is a personal element for me (more about that at the end). Some people earn their living as subjects for drug tests; it’s called guinea pigging. (There’s more here in a July 1, 2015 posting; see the first three paragraphs after the information about cross-posting and the circumstances under which I wrote the article.)
Earlier this fall (2024), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) released a documentary, Bodies for Rent, focusing on two guinea piggers. Here’s more from a September 25, 2024 CBC online article about their documentary,
Before a drug becomes available on the market, it must undergo rigorous testing and multiple levels of clinical trials to ensure its functionality and safety. Every year, thousands of people in Canada and the U.S. take part in these trials, and may receive financial compensation for doing so.
A new documentary highlights how some volunteers are attempting to earn a living by putting their bodies on the line. Bodies for Rent follows two men who spend their days searching for eligible clinical studies, and shows the lengths they’ll go to in order to complete a trial and get paid.
A way to make a ‘living’
Participating in a trial for a medical drug still under development involves reporting any side effects. It’s a potentially dangerous “job,” but for many volunteers, the rewards outweigh the risks.
“I think I’ve done more than 40 studies,” says 55-year-old “Franco,” who conceals his real identity with makeup in the documentary. “I was struggling to pay my rent. And I saw an ad at the subway in Toronto, and they said, ‘Would you like to make up to $1,200 over a weekend?'”
“I usually make [$30,000] to 40,000 a year. Before, I was making, like, $18,000 working at a factory.”
Raighne, an artist living in Minneapolis, was raised by a single mother and grew up on welfare. “I’ve done about 20 or 30 drug trials,” he says in the film. “And nothing makes money like clinical studies.”
Trying to get out of debt and manage an unstable business, Raighne sometimes spends days or weeks away from home while participating in a study. “I had a friend describe it as, like, ‘drug jail,'” he says. “Because you’re trapped for a set amount of time. You’re under observation.”
From testing on prisoners to testing on the poor
Before the 1970s, most Phase I clinical trials — which look at a drug’s safety, determine the safe dosage range and see if there are any side effects — were conducted on prisoners. This allowed researchers to control and monitor every aspect of participants’ lives.
“These studies did the most unimaginably horrible things you can think of to prisoners there,” says Carl Elliott, a University of Minnesota bioethicist featured in Bodies for Rent and the author of The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No [emphasis mine].
“For example, they injected inmates with herpes. They injected them with asbestos. They even tested chemical warfare agents on them.”
Public outcry and new reforms eventually made research in prisons much more difficult. “The question was, ‘Well, who do we do Phase I trials on now?’ We can’t do them on prisoners anymore,” says Elliott.
“The answer is poor people.”
‘A financial incentive to lie’
When testing in prisons stopped and financial incentives were introduced, students and people impacted by poverty became more common test subjects. However, the promise of money at the completion of a trial has added complications.
“When I started doing studies, I used to be very honest,” says Franco. “I [would] tell all the side effects that I was going through.”
But after reporting severe migraines during one study, Franco says he was forced to leave — with less than 20 per cent of the promised payout. He says he was also blocked from doing further studies with that company.
“I [was] being penalized for being honest. So, after that, I kind of learned my lesson and I decided to tone down the side effects,” he says.
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Once in a study, the risks persist. Franco says that after participating for nearly two months in a study worth around $20,000 to him, he received a call from the clinic saying he had inflammation in his pancreas. The study manager told him he was being removed from the study, and later, the clinic advised him to go to an emergency room immediately.
“I hope it’s not permanent. If it’s permanent, then I’m gonna be upset,” Franco says to the camera in the documentary. “I was supposed to get around $20,000. If I don’t get the full amount because I am getting side effects, I think that it’s unfair.”
In the end, Franco was paid $9,000.
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The September 25, 2024 CBC online article also includes an embedded video about testing on prisoners. “Bodies for Rent” can be viewed on CBC Gem. (You do have to create an account in order to view the documentary or anything else on CBC Gem.)
A walk down memory lane for Remembrance Day 2024
When my father was in basic training for the Canadian army and preparing to fight in World War II, he participated in some kind of experiment. The details are fuzzy as he didn’t talk about it much but he did insist that some of his medical problems (specifically, the problems he had with his skin) were directly due to his experience as a guinea pig and that he should be compensated by the Canadian government. If memory serves, he felt the army had misled him into participating in the experiment. .
Papa was 15 1/2 when he lied his way into the army. Not too long after, the army realizing its mistake kept him back from the front (in some training camp in the Prairies), which is when he became a medical experiment for a time. On reaching the age of 18 the Canadian army shipped him overseas.
When he finally did try to speak up about his experience as a guinea pig it was the late 1960s and he didn’t pursue the matter for long being of the opinion that no one would pay much attention. He wasn’t wrong.
It wasn’t until details about the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study were revealed that there was serious discussion about informed consent (about 1972) in the United States. I don’t know when it became a serious discussion in Canada. Even then, some of the research from the 1970s is stomach churning as I found on stumbling across a study from that period. The researchers were conducting an experiment with a drug they knew was not going to work and that had bad side effects as was noted in the abstract. The testing took place on patients in a hospital ward.
There is still a long ways to go as evidenced by the “Bodies for Rent” documentary and Elliott’s 2024 book “The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No”. I hope there are changes to how drug testing is done as a consequence of added awareness but it’s a long hard road to change.
For my father on Remembrance Day 2024: you were right; what they did to you was wrong. And still, you went and fought. Thank you.
A November 4, 2024 ArtSci Salon notice (received via email and visible here, along with some embedded images, for a limited time) announces a series of events and a book launch,
Fall 2024 has brought us climate and political uncertainty. In November, we bring you some food for thought: join us at these events to reflect on uncertainty, shapeshifting Matter, Unstable Universes and Viral Phenomena .
Mark Your calendars on November 14, November 18 and November 21 see details below (in reverse chronological order)
Shapeshifting Matter for an Unstable Universe artist talk and discussion with Daniela Brill Estrada Thursday, November 21, [2024] 5:30-7:30 pm The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Science
Shapeshifting matter for an unstable universe is an in-disciplinary artistic project that challenges taxonomies and categories that divide nature into different boxes, not allowing bodies to exist freely, simply as part of the shapeshifting matter that inhabits this universe. The research tackles topics from astrophysics to origin of life research, and is based on daniela’s own experiences in understanding her own existence outside of these categories.
DANIELA BRILL ESTRADAis and artist and researcher from Bogotá based in vVenna [?]. inspired by origin of life research and astrobiology, she explores chemical trajectories, particularly those based on carbon. Currently, Daniela is an artist in residence at the SETI [search for extraterrestrial intelligence] institute and at the University at Buffalo, and a PhD candidate at the art x science school for transformation in Linz, Austria.
Join us at Celebrate Research Week and ORIHI launch (Osler Centre Institute for Health Innovation)
November 18, 2024 1. 11:00 am -12:00 pm Opening of Art and Science Exhibition with Daniela Brill Estrada and others 2. 2:00-3:30 pm Discussion and artist talk with Daniela Brill Estrada and Roberta Buiani
Osler Centre Institute for Health Innovation Brampton Civic Hospital Atrium 2100 Bovaird Drive East Brampton, ON L6R 3J7
Stay tuned for the the link to the Hybrid Event see more information and full program below
In a new era of global virology that requires novel methodologies to improve the comprehension of viruses and viral phenomena, Viral Behaviors explores the cultural, material, and artistic significance of viruses and viral phenomena.
The book contains a decade of research across art, science and technology and examines the struggles and successes of science and technology to tame the elusive nature and behavior of viruses, and the potential of art-based and cross-disciplinary collaborations to better communicate their complex making and intense entanglement with the world at large. Combining perspectives from art, philosophy, science and technology, it places biological and informational viruses alongside each other, revealing that, while the two types of agents affect the world in very different ways, their histories and manifestations contain surprising similarities that speak to a cultural continuum.
The book can be also borrowed from the University of Toronto Library and York University Library. don’t forget to tell your library to get a copy!
I wonder why they’re using the US spelling for ‘behaviours’. Leaving that aside, I’m sure it’s possible to enjoy one or more of the events and/or the book.
Not sure how I stumbled across this XR (extended reality) artist-in-residence programme but it’s been in place since 2022 (albeit with some changes). Here’s the announcement for the 2024 artist-in-residence, from the August 14, 2024 Consulate of France in Vancouver press release,
French artist Pierre Friquet, also known as, PYARé, is the latest laureate of the “XR Fall” residency dedicated to XR/AR/VR [extended reality/augmented reality/virtual reality], its third edition. He will be in Vancouver from October 29 to November 28, 2024.
This residency is a collaboration between the Consulate General of France in Vancouver, the Alliance française of Vancouver, the cultural institution of the City of “Paris Forum des Images”, Emily Carr University of Art and Design and the Institut français.
A hybrid creator based in Paris, Pierre Friquet has been designing immersive experiences (VR, dome films, AR, video mapping,) such as Spaced Out, Jet Lag, Vibrations and Patterns since 2010. His intent is to make people reconnect with their body and sense of self through art and technology.
These experiments have won awards at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, the Kaléidoscope festival and the Filmgate festival. His latest VR project, SPACE OUT, an immersive diving mask, was selected for the Sundance New Frontier 2020 festival and featured in the cultural programme of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Founder of the NiGHT collective, his projects include aquatic virtual reality.
In Vancouver, he will be working around the character of Captain Nemo, the famous warrior scientist in Jules Verne’s novel “20,000 leagues under the sea”.
The residency’s objective is to create an immersive experience allowing users to embody Captain Nemo in a VR adventure, piloting a gondola or riding a whale using intuitive VR controls. His work will focus on the symbiosis between technology and nature, marine conservation and post-colonial adventure. Project by PYARé & INVR.
Find out more about his artistic vision and creations on his website.
You have to have been resident in France for at least five years and speak English to be eligible.
Preparing for the 2025 calls for applications?
There are, in fact, three programmes: two in Vancouver,(1) the XR/AR/VR [extended reality/augmented reality/virtual reality artist-in-residence and (2) Arts & Sciences Quantum Studio artist-in-residence and there’s another ‘quantum programme’ in Paris, also called the Arts & Sciences Quantum Studio artist-in-residence.
The 2025 calls haven’t been announced yet but I do have the 2024 calls for applications and they should give you some idea of what questions you’ll need to answer and what materials you’ll need to prepare. These calls are in French.
Résidence « XR Fall» à Vancouver 29 octobre au 28 novembre 2024
Initiée par l’ambassade de France au Canada / consulat général de Vancouver dans le cadre de leur programme « Résidences Ouest-Ouest », en partenariat avec le Forum des Images (Paris), Emily Carr University of Art + Design (Vancouver), l’Alliance française Vancouver, et avec le soutien de l’Institut français, la troisième édition de la résidence d’écriture et de recherche “XR Fall” à Vancouver se déroulera du 29 octobre au 28 novembre 2024 à Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique, Canada.
Ouverte à l’ensemble des réalités immersives, cette résidence doit permettre à un·e créateur·rice français·e de s’immerger au sein de l’écosystème local vancouvérois afin d’enrichir son projet d’écriture-recherche et d’étoffer son réseau professionnel. Elle sera également l’occasion de renforcer les liens et de créer de nouvelles synergies entre la France et l’Ouest canadien dans le domaine des innovations numériques. Cette résidence se tiendra à Vancouver du mardi 29 octobre au jeudi 28 novembre 2024.
Pendant la Résidence d’écriture-recherche, le·a créateur·rice sélectionné·e se consacrera au développement de son projet immersif pour lequel iel est invité·e à travailler en coopération avec des professionnel·les vancouvérois.es, ainsi qu’avec des équipes techniques et des sociétés de production locales. Le programme a également pour but d’aider le·a créateur·rice sélectionné·e à renforcer son réseau et ses compétences.
1.2 – Déroulé de la résidence
Du 29 octobre au 28 novembre 2024 à Vancouver, sur le campus d’Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
1.3 – Objectifs
Impulser ou consolider un projet d’écriture-recherche.
Favoriser la découverte de l’écosystème numérique de l’Ouest canadien, ainsi que des collaborations structurantes.
Une attention privilégiée sera portée aux projets ancrés dans le contexte local.
À l’issue de la résidence, l’artiste devra proposer un compte-rendu de son expérience, de son travail et de l’évolution du projet durant cette période.
1.4 – Avantages
Ce programme garantit, notamment, à la lauréate / au lauréat :
Une bourse de résidence à hauteur de 2.000 € (correspondant aux per-diem et à la participation à trois demi-journées de conférences/classes de maître durant la résidence)
Mise en réseau et relations avec l’écosystème local
Participation à des événements en Colombie-Britannique
Autres contreparties (conditions à définir ensemble) :
présentation du projet dans le cadre de NewImages Festival 2025
accréditation pour les Journées pro de NewImages Festival 2025
Présenter le fruit de son travail en résidence (prototype, work-in-progress) dans le cadre de V-Unframed 2025 (Vancouver)
1.5 – Équipement et accompagnement
Au sein d’Emily Carr University of Art + Design, ce programme garantit, notamment, à la lauréate / au lauréat :
L’accès au Basically Good Media Lab en tant qu’espace de travail sur une base régulière. Il s’agit d’un espace collaboratif et partagé avec des chercheurs des premier et deuxième cycles et des assistants de recherche.
L’accès à un ordinateur de pointe : un Dell Precision 3660 ; 32 Go de RAM ; i9-12900K (16 cœurs) ; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080.
Appui technique : support technique ponctuel pour aider l’artiste à réaliser son projet.
Mentorat d’Emily Carr University of Art + Design pour fournir un retour sur le projet et les approches de l’artiste, aider à faciliter l’utilisation des ressources et fournir des opportunités potentielles de mise en réseau avec la communauté.
L’accès à d’autres installations sur le campus, en fonction de leur disponibilité, y compris l’Integrated Motion Studio pour une utilisation en tant qu’atelier ou espace boîte noire. Le Basically Good Media Lab dispose de casques de réalité augmentée et virtuelle, avec des caméras 360 grand public et prosumers.
L’artiste sera également accompagné durant la résidence par les équipes de l’ambassade de France au Canada présentes à Vancouver et par celles de l’Alliance française Vancouver.
2- Conditions d’éligibilité
2.1 – Profil des candidat.e.s
Ce programme est ouvert à tout·e artiste, créateur.rice ou porteur.euse d’un projet XR en écriture-recherche.
Âgé.e d’au moins 18 ans
Résidant en France depuis au moins 5 ans
Parlant anglais
Professionnel.le confirmé.e, justifiant de premières expériences dans le domaine des réalités immersive
2.2 – Projets acceptés
Ce programme est ouvert aux réalités immersives dans toute leur diversité (réalité virtuelle 360° ou interactive, augmentée, mixte, installation incluant des technologies immersives, en lien avec la création sonore ou la technologie 4D, etc.).
Les projets devront être reliés à au moins l’un des grands thèmes suivants :
Durabilité environnementale
Justice écologique et action climatique
Justice sociale, santé et bien-être de la communauté
Recherches portant sur le territoire et les lieux
3- Processus d’inscription
3.1 – À propos de l’appel à candidatures
L’inscription du projet :
Doit être faite en anglais
Doit être faite en ligne à https://zhx2xeql.paperform.com jusqu’au dimanche 30 juin 2024 (23:59, GMT)
Doit être envoyée en un seul PDF
Est gratuite pour l’ensemble des postulant·es
À noter également :
Les inscriptions incomplètes ne seront pas prises en considération
Vos informations sont automatiquement sauvegardées en local ; vous pouvez donc fermer et/ou revenir ultérieurement au formulaire depuis le même appareil et le même navigateur (hors fenêtres de navigation privée)
Nous vous conseillons vivement de ne pas attendre les derniers jours de l’appel à candidatures pour soumettre votre projet, afin d’éviter tout problème technique.
En inscrivant un projet, vous reconnaissez détenir les droits afférents à celui-ci ou être habilité·e par tou·te·s les autres ayants droit. Le Forum des images, l’ambassade de France au Canada / consulat général de Vancouver, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, l’Alliance française Vancouver et l’Institut français ne peuvent en aucun cas être tenus pour responsables en cas de réclamation, conflit ou poursuite en lien avec l’inscription du projet.
3.2 – Informations requises
Avant votre inscription, nous vous invitons à prendre connaissance des informations et pièces demandées dans le dossier de présentation devant être joint à votre inscription (dans le même ordre que ci-dessous) :
Le plan de travail envisagé pour la résidence (prévisionnel)
Des visuels du projet (le cas échéant)
Une lettre de recommandation et/ou une lettre d’une institution culturelle française accompagnant le projet en vue d’une future exposition ou production de l’œuvre (facultative)
L’ambassade de France au Canada, en partenariat avec le Quantum Information Center Sorbonne (Sorbonne Université), le CENTQUATRE-PARIS (Paris) et le programme des résidences internationales Ville de Paris aux Récollets, lance le volet français de la résidence arts-sciences “Quantum Studio”. Cette résidence d’artiste aura lieu du 9 au 30 septembre 2024à Paris, France. Elle s’adresse à un ou une artiste canadien.ne résidant en Colombie-Britannique explorant les croisements entre arts et sciences.
Ouverte à l’ensemble des pratiques artistiques, la résidence cherche à construire des échanges entre arts et sciences quantiques (physique quantique, informatique quantique, physique de l’infiniment petit, sciences des matériaux, physique fondamentale).
Le Quantum Information Center Sorbonne (Sorbonne Université) et le CENTQUATRE-PARIS offriront à l’artiste sélectionné.e un espace de réflexion dans lequel artistes et chercheurs pourront se réunir, échanger sur leurs pratiques, apprendre les uns des autres et réfléchir ensemble à un projet créatif à la croisée des arts et des sciences. En amont de la résidence à Paris, plusieurs rencontres en ligne seront organisées, afin d’établir et d’entretenir un premier contact entre l’artiste lauréat.e au Canada et l’équipe hôte (institutions et scientifiques) de Paris.
1.2 – Déroulé de la résidence
Du 9 au 30 septembre 2024à Paris (hébergement au couvent des Récollets).
1.3 – Objectifs
Impulser ou consolider un projet créatif.
Le ou la lauréat.e a une obligation de restitution de recherche ou de rendu artistique (projet écrit, esquisses et croquis, œuvre, etc.) pendant leur séjour.
Partager son travail lors de séminaires arts et sciences co-organisés avec le Quantum Information Center Sorbonne et le CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
Favoriser la découverte de l’écosystème scientifique et artistique parisien, ainsi que des collaborations structurantes. Une attention privilégiée sera portée aux projets ancrés dans le contexte local.
1.4 – Avantages
Ce programme garantit, notamment, à la lauréate ou au lauréat :
3 semaines de résidence à Paris.
Un hébergement au sein du Couvent des Récollets (Ville de Paris), un bureau de travail au Quantum Information Center Sorbonne et un bureau de production au CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
Prise en charge complète (vols Vancouver-Paris, logement).
Un cachet de résidence à hauteur de 1.635 € (correspondant aux per-diem et à la participation à trois demi-journées de conférences/classes de maître durant la résidence).
Mise en réseau et relations avec l’écosystème local.
Participation, durant la résidence, à des rencontres avec les équipes de la 104factory, à des ouvertures de résidences au CENTQUATRE-PARIS et à des événements se déroulant au CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
Possibilité de participation, en post-résidence, à des événements en lien avec Némo-Biennale internationale des arts numériques de la Région Île-de-France, produite par le CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
2- Conditions d’éligibilité
2.1 – Profil des candidat.e.s
Artiste porteuse ou porteur d’un projet artistique en écriture ou en développement,
Âgé.e d’au moins 18 ans,
De nationalité canadienne ou titulaire d’une carte de résident permanent au Canada
Résidant en Colombie-Britannique,
Justifiant idéalement de premières expériences de création mêlant arts et sciences (les candidatures d’artistes ayant déjà travaillé ou travaillant en lien avec les sciences physiques seront appréciées).
2.2 – Projets acceptés
Ce programme est ouvert aux pratiques artistiques dans toute leur diversité (écriture, arts visuels et plastiques, arts numériques, design, danse, performance, réalités immersives, création sonore, etc.).
I have more information about the Quantum Studio artist-in-residence in Vancouver programme in an October 7, 2024 posting, scroll down t the ‘Quantum Studio’ subhead.
There’s an August 27, 2024 news item on Nanowerk that offers intriguing information about an application for nancellulose,
VTT [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland] has developed a skin spray, based on nanocellulose and antimicrobial compounds from wild berries, which can be used to treat wounds and eliminate hospital-acquired bacteria such as MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus] before surgery. The product can also be applied as a cream, transdermal patch or wound dressing.
“The fast-acting surgical spray and efficacious dressing are based on a manufacturing process we have developed, where the surface and pores of a nanocellulose film are impregnated with a berry extract so that the antimicrobial compounds do not get trapped inside the fibre network. VTT has more than 15 years of experience in the laboratory-scale and pilot-scale manufacturing of nanocellulose gels and films”, says Panu Lahtinen, a Senior Scientist at VTT.
…
An August 27, 2024 VTT press release, which originated the news item, provides more detail about their nanocellulose/berry extract spray and what amounts to a business announcement,
The next step for the berry extract, which is produced using VTT InnoBerry Technologies™ manufacturing method, is to find companies interested in developing, producing and commercialising the products, so they can be launched onto the market in the next few years.
In nature, berry compounds protect the seed
The surface of berry seeds is rich in antimicrobial compounds, so berry extracts are useful for food, cosmetic and medical applications. The role of these compounds in nature is to protect the seed from microbes such as moulds before germination, but they can also help prevent the growth of dangerous microbes on human skin. Even a tiny amount of berry extract can kill pathogenic bacteria such as MRSA without harming the skin’s beneficial microbiota.
Berries are used to make juice, but significant quantities of press cake remain as a by-product after processing. This press cake contains the berry skin and seeds, which are rich in antimicrobial compounds. VTT has developed technologies to generate press-cake extracts enriched with these compounds, or to produce the key molecules in cultivated plant cells using plant biotechnology, which allows year-round production unaffected by variations in the berry harvest.
For more than 20 years, VTT has been studying the health benefits of arctic berries and their antimicrobial properties. These studies have shown that berries contain antimicrobial phenolic compounds, such as ellagitannins, that kill pathogenic bacteria effectively. Such compounds can be recovered from the press cake using VTT’s patented dry and wet fractionation technologies followed by environmentally friendly hydrothermal extraction without the use of harmful solvents.
The berry extract developed by VTT can also replace the use of synthetic preservatives in cosmetics and nanosilver formulations in wound-care products.
“Our research has identified antimicrobial compounds in several wild berries, including sea buckthorn, bilberry, strawberry, cloudberry, lingonberry and raspberry. Large-scale production is easiest to achieve from raspberry because there is sufficient raw material. To process the seeds, it’s necessary to find a company that is experienced in this task in the value chain,” says Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey, Associate Professor and Senior Advisor at VTT.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are one of the greatest medical challenges
The World Health Organization (WHO) includes antibiotic-resistant bacteria among the top ten global health challenges. There has been an increase in the number of difficult-to-treat wound infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a severe pathogen. MRSA is quite common in the Finnish population, with around 20% of Finns unknowingly carrying these bacteria. If MRSA enters a wound, for example during surgery, it can be fatal.
VTT is a visionary research and innovation partner for companies and society
VTT is one of Europe’s leading research institutions. We are owned by the Finnish state. We advance the utilisation and commercialisation of research and technology in commerce and society. Through scientific and technological means, we turn large global challenges into sustainable growth for businesses and society. We bring together people, business, science and technology to solve the biggest challenges of our time. This is how we create sustainable growth, jobs and wellbeing and bring exponential hope.
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd is a state-owned and controlled non-profit limited liability company.[5] VTT is the largest research and technology company and research centre conducting applied research in Finland. It provides research and innovation services and information for domestic and international customers and partners, both in private and public sectors.[6]
VTT is part of Finland’s innovation system and operates under the mandate of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.[7]
…
According to the Wikipedia entry’s ‘History’ subsection, VTT’s origin year is 1942.
Toniebox, Tiptoi, and Tamagotchi are smart toys, offering interactive play through software and internet access. However, many of these toys raise privacy concerns, and some even collect extensive behavioral data about children, report researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
The Toniebox and the figurines it comes with are especially popular with small children. They’re much easier to use than standard music players, allowing kids to turn on music and audio content themselves whenever they want. All a child has to do is place a plastic version of Peppa Pig onto the box and the story starts to play. When the child wants to stop the story, they simply remove the figurine. To rewind and fast-forward, the child can tilt the box to the left or right, respectively.
A lot of parents are probably thinking, “Fantastic concept!” Not so fast – the Toniebox records exactly when it is activated and by which figurine, when the child stops playback, and to which spot they rewind or fast-forward. Then it sends the data to the manufacturer.
The Toniebox is one of twelve smart toys studied by researchers headed by Professor Isabel Wagner of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Basel. These included well-known toys like the Tiptoi smart pen, the Edurino learning app, and the Tamagotchi virtual pet as well as the Toniebox. The researchers also studied less well-known products like the Moorebot, a mobile robot with a camera and microphone, and Kidibuzz, a smartphone for kids with parental controls.
One focus of the analysis was security: is data traffic encrypted, and how well? The researchers also investigated data protection, transparency (how easy it is for users to find out what data is collected), and compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Wagner and her colleagues are presenting their results at the Annual Privacy Forum (https://privacyforum.eu/) in early September [2024]. Springer publishes all the conference contributions in the series Privacy Technologies and Policy.
Collect data while offline, send it while online
Neither the Toniebox nor the Tiptoi pen come out well with respect to security, as they do not securely encrypt data traffic. The two toys differ with regard to privacy concerns, though: While the Toniebox does collect data and send it to the manufacturer, the Tiptoi pen does not record how and when a child uses it.
Even if the Toniebox were operated offline and only temporarily connected to the internet while downloading new audio content, the device could store collected data locally and transmit it to the manufacturer at the next opportunity, Wagner surmises. “In another toy we’re currently studying that integrates ChatGPT, we’re seeing that log data regularly vanishes.” The system is probably set up to delete the local copy of transmitted data to optimize internal storage use, Wagner says.
Companies often claim the collected data helps them optimize their devices. Yet it is far from obvious to users what purpose this data could serve. “The apps bundled with some of these toys demand entirely unnecessary access rights, such as to a smartphone’s location or microphone,” says the researcher. The ChatGPT toy still being analyzed also transmits a data stream that looks like audio. Perhaps the company wants to optimize speech recognition for children’s voices, the Professor of Cyber Security speculates.
A data protection label
“Children’s privacy requires special protection,” emphasizes Julika Feldbusch, first author of the study. She argues that toy manufacturers should place greater weight on privacy and on the security of their products than they currently do in light of their young target audience.
The researchers recommend that compliance with security and data protection standards be identified by a label on the packaging, similar to nutritional information on food items. Currently, it’s too difficult for parents to assess the security risks that smart toys pose to their children.
“We’re already seeing signs of a two-tier society when it comes to privacy protection for children,” says Feldbusch. “Well-informed parents engage with the issue and can choose toys that do not create behavioral profiles of their children. But many lack the technical knowledge or don’t have time to think about this stuff in detail.”
You could argue that individual children probably won’t experience negative consequences due to toy manufacturers creating profiles of them, says Wagner. “But nobody really knows that for sure. For example, constant surveillance can have negative effects on personal development.”
Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,
No Transparency for Smart Toys by Julika Feldbusch, Valentyna Pavliv, Nima Akbari & Isabel Wagner. Privacy Technologies and Policy Conference paper (part of Annual Privacy Forum [series]: APF 2024; Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science [LNCS,volume 14831]) First Online: 01 August 2024 pp 203–227
