Tag Archives: sight

Art. Science. Optics. A Collider Café event in Vancouver (Canada) on January 23, 2019

The Curiosity Collider folks have decided to ring in the new year with an event focused on optics. Here’s more from their January 15, 2019 announcement (received via email),

FROM CONTEMPORARY ART TO SCIENCE ILLUSTRATION, IS “SEEING” REALLY
“BELIEVING”? OR IS THERE MORE TO IT THAN THERE SEEMS? HOW CAN WE EXPLORE
THE POSSIBILITIES THROUGH ART AND SCIENCE?

OUR #COLLIDERCAFE IS A SPACE FOR ARTISTS, SCIENTISTS, MAKERS, AND
ANYONE INTERESTED IN ART+SCIENCE. MEET, DISCOVER, CONNECT, CREATE. Are
you curious? Join us at “Collider Cafe: Art. Science. Optics.” to
explore how art and science intersect in the exploration of curiosity.

When: 8:00pm on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 Doors open at 7:30pm.
Where: Café Deux Soleils. 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC (Google Map).
Cost: $5-10 (sliding scale) cover at the door. Proceeds will be used to cover the cost of running this event, and to fund future Curiosity Collider events.

With speakers:

Annie Briard, Contemporary Artist : What our eyes perceive but we do not see
Catherine Stewart, Visual Artist: The Museum as Muse: natural history collections as a resource for artistic exploration
Vicky Earle, Medical and Scientific Illustrator: The Art of Science & Medical Illustration
Ramey Newell, Photographer/Film Maker/Artist: Manifest Obscura: Reimagining/reimaging landscape through microbial collaboration
Julius T. Csotonyi, Paleoart, Natural History and Science Illustrator: A Mutualism of Endeavors

Head to the Facebook event page – let us know you are coming and share this event with others! Follow updates on instagram via @curiositycollider or #ColliderCafe. 

The announcement also includes other art/science events currently happening in Vancouver,

Looking for more Art+Science in Vancouver?

The work by one of our Collider Cafe speaker Catherine Stewart is on exhibition at the UBC Beaty Biodiversity Museum! “Skin & Bones” until August 13, 2019.

Another exhibition at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum: The Wild Creative by Asher Jay until April 28, 2019. “Examine biodiversity loss during the Anthropocene – the Age of Man – through compelling artworks and thought-provoking narratives.”

Our friends at the Story Collider will host their next Vancouver event “Kinship” on January 22. Learn more about the eventget tickets on Eventbrite.

Museum of Vancouver and Nature Vancouver are hosting Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives, an exhibition that delves into the life stories of local animals and plants. Interactive sessions every weekend. Until March 1, 2020.

For more Vancouver art+science events, visit the Curiosity Collider events calendar.

That last event (Wild Things at the Museum of Vancouver) is going to be available for viewing with a $5 Winter Wander ticket on February 2, 2019. A January 14, 2019 posting on the Miss604 blog has more,

Experience unique waterfront attractions showcasing art, history, crafts, science and performances during Winter Wander at Vanier Park on February 2, 2019. Enjoy local food vendors, enter to win great prizes, and get to know your local museum, space centre, archives, and more during this affordable, family-friendly event

Winter Wander at Vanier Park

When: Saturday, February 2, 2019 10:00am to 5:00pm
Venues include

Museum of Vancouver
The Museum of Vancouver inspires deeper understanding of the city through stories, objects and shared experiences. Check out their latest exhibits and their permanent collections and exhibition halls.

H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
The Space Centre is BC’s top space science attraction, inspiring visitors with shows, exhibits and some of Vancouver’s most unique special events

Vancouver Maritime Museum
Make some maritime-themed origami 10:00am to 4:30pm, visit with Parks Canada interpreters 10:00am to 4:30pm, climb on-board the St. Roch and celebrate 90 years of adventure, enjoy music from a string quartet onboard the St. Roch, and more

City of Vancouver Archives
The City Archives houses over 4 km of documents about the history of Vancouver, containing both government and public collections

Vancouver Academy of Music
Vancouver Academy of Music (“VAM”) is the city’s premiere centre of music education, serving aspiring musicians from early childhood to collegiate levels

Bonus: Bard on the Beach performances!

An undated posting at Vancouver’s Best Places gives you a sense of what to expect along with some handy tips,

At Winter Wander, expect lots of people, fair-sized lineups, and an event schedule with a list of entertainment and special activities throughout the day.

Live entertainment doesn’t happen all over the place. There is a set schedule and different things happen at specific times. The museums are open constantly all day. If you want to be entertained by the Bard on the Beach crew, however, you’ll need to check the schedule and be at a certain place at a certain time.

Although crowded, Winter Wander isn’t insanely busy. The venues are indeed crowded, but, surprisingly, not as bad as one might expect, or at least they weren’t when we’ve been. There is a pretty big lineup to get in before the doors even open in the morning, true, and you do need to wait your turn to get photos of your child in the model astronaut suit at the Planetarium, or to board the St. Roch police boat at the Maritime Museum.

Tips and Advic

Below are some tips and advice to help you make the most out of your experience at the Vanier Park museums on Winter Wander day

TIP #1: Go expecting the museums to be insanely crowded, and then hope to be pleasantly surprised. Go expecting small lineups and not too many people, however, and you’ll likely be disappointed

TIP #2: If you haven’t been to the museums at Vanier Park for a long time, you don’t mind crowds and you have children or guests from out of town, then definitely check out Winter Wander. For just $5, it’s a fabulous deal

TIP #3: Some venues and museum exhibit areas will be more popular and consequently more crowded than others. If a lineup for something is too long, simply move along to something else. There’s lots to see, so don’t fret if you don’t get to see everything

TIP #4: The best thing about the HR MacMillan Space Centre is the Planetarium and its shows about the stars and space. Chances are they’ll be busy, so don’t be disappointed if it’s not worth the wait. If you can get in to see a show though, do

TIP #5: Entertainment at Winter Wander happens at specific times and at certain places over the course of the day. When you arrive, check the schedule and decide what you want to see (including possible shows at the Planetarium). Then, plan your visit accordingly

TIP #6: Expect to spend between about an hour and all day at the event, but likely all morning or all afternoon. The length of your stay will depend on your level of interest in museums, model ships, history and space, but also on the crowds and the interest level and tolerance of crowds of the people you’re with

TIP #7: While at Vanier Park, go for a walk and explore. There is a beautiful walking trail all along the waterfront with views of the city. Especially if the museums are crowded, a break for some fresh air can be nice.

There you have it.

Talking about brains in Vancouver, Canada

I have two items, one featuring past events and one featuring an upcoming January 2019 event.

Brain Talks

The Brain Talks series folks featuring a bunch of Dept. of Psychiatry types and their ilk at the School of Medicine at the University of British Columbia sent me a December 21, 2018 announcement (via email) about videos featuring past talks,

Haven’t been able to make one of the last severals BrainTalks? Luckily,
we’ve been filming!

HAVE YOU MISSED ONE OF THE LAST SEVERAL BRAINTALKS?

Luckily, we’ve been filming the recent talks and several are now
accessible! Follow our Facebook page @UBCBraintalks to stay up-to-date
with the most recent videos. Our October series on Epigenetics and Early
Life Experiences is now live.

Otherwise, video content will be uploaded to our website at
braintalks.ubc.ca as made available, under the ‘past events’ tab.

Event announcements for 2019 coming soon!

Before leaping off to the video of past events (A Christmas Carol, anyone?), here’s more about Brain Talks from their homepage,

BrainTalks is a series of talks inviting you to contemplate emerging research about the brain. Researchers studying the brain, from various disciplines including psychiatry, neuroscience, neuroimaging, and neurology, gather to discuss current leading edge topics on the mind.

As an audience member, you join the discussion at the end of the talk, both in the presence of the entire audience, and with an opportunity afterwards to talk with the speaker more informally in a catered networking session. The talks also serve as a connecting place for those interested in similar topics, potentially launching new endeavours or simply connecting people in discussions on how to approach their research, their knowledge, or their clinical practice.

For the general public, these talks serve as a channel where by knowledge usually sequestered in inaccessible journals or university classrooms, is now available, potentially allowing people to better understand their brains and minds, how they work, and how to optimize brain health.

Here’s a partial list of what you’ll find on the past events video page,

Trauma Recovery and the Nervous System
… Leslie Wilkin, MSW – The Importance of Engaging Social-Relational Systems in Trauma Treatment Edward Dangerfield – Trauma and Subconscious Breathing Patterns November 27, 2018 Speakers: Dr. Lynn Alden // Current Treatment Perspectives of PTSD PTSD has been described as a […

How to Prevent Burnout
… Dr. Maia Love – Preventing Burnout Dr. Marlon Danilewitz – Burnout in Health Care Professionals Speakers: Dr. Maia Love – Burnout prevention Dr. Marlon Danilewitz – Burnout in Health Care Professionals Tuesday, April 24th at 6pm at Paetzold Auditorium, VGH

Epigenetics and Early Life Experiences
… Dr. Michael Kobor – Epigenetic Consequences for Chronic Disease and Mental Health Dr. Liisa Galea – Maternal Adversity: different effects on sons and daughters Dr. Adele Diamond – Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Brain October 22, 2018 Speakers: Dr. Michael […

Pain: The Mind Body Connection
Mar 24, 2016 @ 6pm Speakers: Dr Tim Oberlander, Dr Theresa Newlove, Dr Elizabeth Stanford, & Dr Murat Aydede

Enjoy these videos and more here

Shaping the brain

Israeli research Amir Amedi is coming to town for a Wednesday, January 16, 2019 talk according to a poster on the Congregation Schara Tzedeck website,

I found a little more information about Amedi on his Hebrew University of Jerusalem profile page,


Short bio sketch:

Amir is an internationally acclaimed brain scientist with 15 years of experience in the field of brain plasticity and multisensory integration. He has a particular interest in visual rehabilitation. He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Neurobiology at the Hebrew University and the ELSC brain center, He is an Adjoint research Professor in the Sorbonne Universités UPMC Univ Paris 06, Institut de la Vision. He holds a PhD in Computational Neuroscience (ICNC, Hebrew University) and Postdoctoral and Instructor of Neurology (Harvard Medical School). He won several international awards and fellowships such as The Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research, the Wolf Foundation (2011), The international Human Frontiers Science Program Organization Post docatoral fellowship and later a Career Development award (2004, 2009), the JSMF Scholar Award in Understanding Human Cognition (2011),  and was recently selected as a European Research Council (ERC) fellow (2013).

If you want to get a sense of what type of speaker he is, Amedi’s profile page also hosts his (circa 2012) TED X jerusalem talk. Enjoy!

Nanodiamond contact lenses in attempt to improve glaucoma treatment

A School of Dentistry, at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) or elsewhere, is not my first thought as a likely source for work on improving glaucoma treatment—it turns out that I’m a bit shortsighted (pun intended).  A Feb. 14, 2014 news item on Azonano describes the issue with glaucoma treatment and a new delivery system for it developed by a research team at UCLA,

By 2020, nearly 80 million people are expected to have glaucoma, a disorder of the eye that, if left untreated, can damage the optic nerve and eventually lead to blindness.

The disease often causes pressure in the eye due to a buildup of fluid and a breakdown of the tissue that is responsible for regulating fluid drainage. Doctors commonly treat glaucoma using eye drops that can help the eye drain or decrease fluid production.

Unfortunately, patients frequently have a hard time sticking to the dosing schedules prescribed by their doctors, and the medication — when administered through drops — can cause side effects in the eye and other parts of the body.

In what could be a significant step toward improving the management of glaucoma, researchers from the UCLA School of Dentistry have created a drug delivery system that may have less severe side effects than traditional glaucoma medication and improve patients’ ability to comply with their prescribed treatments. The scientists bound together glaucoma-fighting drugs with nanodiamonds and embedded them onto contact lenses. The drugs are released into the eye when they interact with the patient’s tears.

The new technology showed great promise for sustained glaucoma treatment and, as a side benefit, the nanodiamond-drug compound even improved the contact lenses’ durability.

The Feb. 13, 2014 UCLA news release by Brianna Deane, which originated the news item, describes the nanodiamonds and how they were employed in this project,

Nanodiamonds, which are byproducts of conventional mining and refining processes, are approximately five nanometers in diameter and are shaped like tiny soccer balls. They can be used to bind a wide spectrum of drug compounds and enable drugs to be released into the body over a long period of time.

To deliver a steady release of medication into the eye, the UCLA researchers combined nanodiamonds with timolol maleate, which is commonly used in eye drops to manage glaucoma. When applied to the nanodiamond-embedded lenses, timolol is released when it comes into contact with lysozyme, an enzyme that is abundant in tears.

“Delivering timolol through exposure to tears may prevent premature drug release when the contact lenses are in storage and may serve as a smarter route toward drug delivery from a contact lens.” said Kangyi Zhang, co-first author of the study and a graduate student in Ho’s lab.

One of the drawbacks of traditional timolol maleate drops is that as little as 5 percent of the drug actually reaches the intended site. Another disadvantage is burst release, where a majority of the drug is delivered too quickly, which can cause significant amounts of the drug to “leak” or spill out of the eye and, in the most serious cases, can cause complications such as an irregular heartbeat. Drops also can be uncomfortable to administer, which leads many patients to stop using their medication.

But the contact lenses developed by the UCLA team successfully avoided the burst release effect. The activity of the released timolol was verified by a primary human-cell study.

“In addition to nanodiamonds’ promise as triggered drug-delivery agents for eye diseases, they can also make the contact lenses more durable during the course of insertion, use and removal, and more comfortable to wear,” said Ho, who is also a professor of bioengineering and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the California NanoSystems Institute.

Even with the nanodiamonds embedded, the lenses still possessed favorable levels of optical clarity. And, although mechanical testing verified that they were stronger than normal lenses, there were no apparent changes to water content, meaning that the contact lenses’ comfort and permeability to oxygen would likely be preserved.

By this time, I was madly curious as to what these contact lenses might look like and so I found this image, accompanying the researchers’ paper,  showing what looks like a standard contact lens with an illustration of how the artist imagines the diamonds and medications are functioning at the nanoscale,

nanodiamonds

[downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn5002968]

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Diamond Nanogel-Embedded Contact Lenses Mediate Lysozyme-Dependent Therapeutic Release by Ho-Joong Kim, Kangyi Zhang, Laura Moore, and Dean Ho. ACS Nano, Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/nn5002968 Publication Date (Web): February 8, 2014

Copyright © 2014 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.