7/10/09

I found Dr. Vesna’s presentation today very intriguing. It felt nice to hear about her background and life, including how she used to be in a band and her multi-cultural experience through education. Because we usually view the artistic and scientific portrayals of our professors, I found it very captivating to hear the story and inspiration behind her works.

The group presentations for the mid-term were extremely advantageous and made me curious of possible new inventions for the future. Receiving input on our ideas has helped me see a new direction to focus my research and efforts on the project. Also, it was beneficial to hear suggestions from peers and counselors, because we are all collaborating with one another to help each group develop a great invention. Although my group chose not to experiment with nanotechnology, other groups presented incredible ideas that could be so promising for the future. To me, it seems as though our presentations combined the lectures and lab visits of this past week into ideas that could be potentially changing for the future.

Based on suggestions, I decided to explore the toxic levels and ways to prevent toxic quantum dots from escaping into the air. A few facts that I learned: researchers are learning that once quantum dots decompose, they possibly be harmful to cells under acidic or alkaline conditions. However, according to a study performed at the Berkeley Lab, quantum dots are barely noticed by the cells that they enter, posing minimum amount of influence on cells due to their protective coating.

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm425/hoops4kobe/untitled3.jpg

A strand of hair zoomed in.

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm425/hoops4kobe/untitled-2.jpg

Quantum Dot Colors.

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm425/hoops4kobe/untitled2-2.jpg

A chart about the emissions of quantum dot colors.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128214342.htm

http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/LSD-quantum-dots.html

http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/bio/bio_frameset.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/11/021127071742.htm