I went to visit internal fairy tale of an artist as i have become an avid follower after tripping over her auburn locks at the Riffle makers. This time a beautiful giant bobbin with fiery red hair made to dwarf any viewer into a surreal land of dolls and miniature figurine this time in reverse. The equally enchanting shapes of serpent crow across the room has an alluring tactility yet an ery indefinable species from a dark fairy tale land !
Does a fabric always have to come in a roll of cloth or be put together on a sewing machine? The picture of what we will wear in the future is actually much broader than simply looking at smart textiles. There are many versions of how we might make things in the future. But we can also question what clothes might do, other than what they have traditionally done, which is to keep us warm.
Conceived by Faulders Studio the building is suggested for Dubai situated in a salt pond. Formed from a lattice of pipes on the outside they would harden with salt deposits over a 15-30 year period.
Using floating solar panels for power, the seawater is pumped from the Persian Gulf to the basement level up to the rooftop and is then fed into the tubing system. The results are suggested to be a crystaline lace like skin on the buildings mesh surface.
Synthetic Biology is a new approach to engineering biology. By applying engineering principles to the complexity of living systems, scientists and engineers are making biology a new material for design. Synthetic Aesthetics, a project run by the University of Edinburgh and Stanford University, is bringing together synthetic biologists, designers, artists and social scientists to explore collaborations between synthetic biology, art and design.
We have been working with the students and faculty at Cambridge University as they prepared for this year’s International Genetically Engineered Machines competition (iGEM) and helping them to imagine the implications of their work in the lab. We have also developed design proposals based on the pigment-producing E. coli bacteria that they created and which we dubbed E. chromi.
Synthetic Biology is a new approach to engineering biology. By applying engineering principles to the complexity of living systems, scientists and engineers are making biology a new material for design. Synthetic Aesthetics, a project run by the University of Edinburgh and Stanford University, is bringing together synthetic biologists, designers, artists and social scientists to explore collaborations between synthetic biology, art and design.
Imagine a fabric that grows...a garment that forms itself without a single stitch!
The fashion that starts with a bottle of wine...
Micro'be' fermented fashion investigates the practical and cultural biosynthesis of clothing - to explore the possible forms and cultural implications of futuristic dress-making and textile technologies.
Instead of lifeless weaving machines producing the textile, living microbes will ferment a garment.
A fermented garment will not only rupture the meaning of traditional interactions with body and clothing; but also raise questions around the contentious nature of the living materials themselves.
This project redefines the production of woven materials.
By combining art and science knowledge and with a little inventiveness, the ultimate goal will be to produce a bacterial fermented seamless garment that forms without a single stitch.
When thinking of dressing our focus all too often begins with the clothes that will cover the body, with shoes, scarves, handbags, jewellery and the personal connections to these items of adornment left to follow in the wake of what is conventionally seen as the main event: the garment. However, the supposed accessory items can be the driving force behind this process of dressing. ‘Today the fashion accessory is developing into a singular artefact, a vector of both identity and perception.’1 We have a need to express ourselves through the adornment of the body, using garment, accessories and manipulation of our bodies. All contribute significantly to the narrative that we communicate about ourselves.
Beyond Garment is an exploration of the objects and materials of dress and fashion that sit beyond the conventions of garment. It examines how we use these objects to express ourselves, featuring accessory and textile related practices, giving them presence, place and acknowledgement in a world where the ‘frock’ is all too often the main event. Works in the exhibition represent forms of design and art which have their origins in the consideration of dress, adornment and the body; presenting the breadth of practice from the commercial and functional designs of Martini + Coz through to the conceptual investigations into body image and manipulation explored by Kirsten Hudson. The exhibition creates a bridge between the art and design of dress, embracing the objects of designer fashion which are conventionally considered to be accessories to garment, through to the applications of cloth beyond garment.
Jigsaw-Puzzle, 2010. Photo copyright of Eunjeong Jeon Photo by Eunjeong Jeon Jigsaw-Puzzle, 2010. Photo by Eunjeong Jeon Photo copyright of Eunjeong Jeon
Cloth, or textiles, is a key element in the examination of dress. It defines the ‘skin’ and materiality of garment and it is ‘fashioned’ into many forms that move beyond garment. The substance of clothing is based in textiles and more broadly in the collective term ‘materials’. The use of the term ‘textile’ originally referred to woven cloth only; however, it now refers to a broad spectrum of materials. The investigation of cloth or textiles has emerged as an art form in itself – engaging in the examination of the language of materials, objects and dress, with artists investigating the expressions of ideas and issues surrounding the relationship between cloth, body and culture.
Maggie Baxter shifts our perceptions of the relationship between cloth and the body by juxtaposing the intimate and primary experience of cloth as a body wrap with a giant ‘architectural’ tube form that pushes the structural boundaries of cloth. She explores both the essence of cloth and the sculptural potential of this material. The large lattice tube creates a protective space or environment for the body that is more architectural in its relationship to the body and places this alongside the corresponding body wrap. Both these forms are a translation of an early drawing by Maggie; presenting us with a tangible deconstruction of the weave structure of cloth which is layered with the red ‘scribble’ lines of the original drawing.
Many objects of adornment carry memories and special emotional significance. We recognise this in conventional forms such as the wedding ring, friendship bracelets, or a locket carrying a fragment of hair or the treasured image of a loved one. However, memories of the physical and emotional experiences of the wearer are transferred to the object that is worn; the cloth becomes moulded to fit our bodies; the garment becomes marked by an event or receives the emotional memories of an experience. Many of my memories of garment are held not in the form but in the cloth. I remember the red circus dress, essentially defined by the bright red fabric adorned by a horse-drawn caravan of vehicles laden with exotic paraphernalia that ran around the bottom of the skirt. The structure of the dress has long passed from my memory but the bright red patterned fabric of that dress is the key to childhood memories of place and play.
Moments of Preservation, 2008 - 2010. Photo copyright of Renee Doropoulos Photo by Renee Doropoulos Moments of Preservation, 2008 - 2010. Photo by Renee Doropoulos Photo copyright of Renee Doropoulos
Cloth can contain some of our most precious memories, becoming a memento of special places or events in our lives. The notion of cloth as memento is embedded in the work of Moira Doropoulos, who provides us with a tangible reminder of the intimate emotional connection that we can have with textiles. She explores the relationships and memories that can become embedded in cloth through her work Moments of Preservation: a series of ‘bundled’ cloth treasures, carefully constructed and folded, miniature piles of cloth, reminding us of the rituals of life.
Our relationship to garment is closely connected to the very intimate and sensual experience of cloth against skin. Eunjeong Jeon investigates the psychological aspects of comfort in dress. She works with wool, a cloth associated with warmth and comfort, creating simple felt units that can be manipulated to meet both physical and emotional needs of the wearer. The unit can be wrapped or transformed through twisting and rotating onto the body, or simply rolled to become a cushion.
Contemporary textile artists explore the nature and language of the traditions of cloth. For centuries cloth has been the carrier of pattern and colour in adornment of the body: ‘Great cultural historical and iconographic significance is attributed to textiles as a result of their material condition and their varied surface design (colour and patterns)’.2 In the draped lengths of Louise Snook’s work Festoon, the transformation of surface is investigated through the application of the hand-painted polychromatic print. Originally trained in fashion and textile design, Louise celebrates the drape of cloth in her fabric installation and invites us to move into the space to become ‘adorned’ by the surface patterns and colours that surround the ‘wearer’.
Many of the works in the exhibition reflect the potential slippage between the functional and expressive qualities contained within the object. Jewellery is a familiar vehicle of adornment that often contains meaning and significance beyond its aesthetic appeal. It is a form commonly used to express identity, and for many artists and designers it has also become a vehicle for the communication of concepts and ideas. Vashti Innes-Brown’s shifts between the creation of wearable accessory forms, such as the bracelet, and the sculptural installation used to reinforce the ideas within her work. Vashti plays with the ‘skin’ of the tree to create small transportable landscapes. For this exhibition she has created a ‘forest’ of suspended bangles formed from curls of fallen bark, which reminds us of nature and the origins of these beautifully crafted objects. The small bangle form enables the wearer to carry a memento of this concept. These wooden forms are imbued with meaning, becoming far more significant for the wearer than the conventional experience of simply dressing the arm with a bangle.
While many pieces in the exhibition challenge the boundaries of function and the accessory, familiar and more conventional forms of the hat, shoes and bag are also an important part of the exhibition. Dress is a process often guided or constrained by the more functional cultural uniform requirement to clothe the body for activity such as work or sport. However, when given the opportunity many of us will engage in a creative adventure into adornment and the expression of self beyond function. Accessories can provide a mechanism for us to explore the creative boundaries of dress by customising and styling ready-to-wear fashion components such as the dress, skirt, blouse and pants with special elements that will express more of who we are as individuals. Commercial designer work such as that created by Martini + Coz reflects the place, need and demand for the functional in fashion design. What will be worn and perceived to be wearable is always such an individual perception. Martini + Coz produce seasonal collections that are an individual and quirky response to current trends in the marketplace, offering the consumer accessory elements to play with in the creation of their own style.
Alice's world necklace and lock earring to wonderland, 2010. Photo copyright of Otilee Lamb Photo by Otilee Lamb Alice's world necklace and lock earring to wonderland, 2010. Photo by Otilee Lamb Photo copyright of Otilee Lamb
Accessories and textiles have always been an integral part of fashion culture; however, they are not always accepted as singular design and art forms but often presented simply as a complement to garment. Since the rise of street style and the democratisation of fashion in the 1960s, shifts in thinking have enabled the acknowledgement of accessory and textile forms as both design and artworks in their own right. Within contemporary accessory and textile practice, designers and artists are challenging the conventions of these forms. Beyond Garment explores the slippage between the exploration of function and the expression of ideas, presenting a genre of makers who are re-examining the objects and practices of adornment. Many of the artists and designers in this exhibition challenge the assumed roles of textile and accessory forms, leading the way in the reassessment of fashion culture. End Notes
*
Brand & Teunissen: 45. Brand & Teunissen: 45. *
Loschek:15
References
*
Brand, J. & Teunissen, 2008, Fashion and Accessories, Arnhem:Terra. *
Loschek, I. 2009. When Clothes Become Fashion: Design and Innovation Systems
Bricks from bacteria | IOM3: The Global Network for Material...
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Bricks from bacteria
Bricks, grown at room temperature from bacteria, sand, and urea, could drastically reduce the construction industry’s carbon footprint, their developer claims.
The bio-manufactured bricks, created by Professor Ginger Krieg Dosier, at the American University of Sharjah in Abu Dhabi, UAE, are produced by layering sand with Sporosarcina pasteurii, a non-pathogenic common soil bacterium naturally found in wetlands.
The bacteria are mixed with a solution of urea and calcium chloride. They use urea as a source of energy, producing ammonia and carbon dioxide, increasing the pH level of the solution, says Dosier. The rise in pH forms a mineral precipitate, combining calcium chloride with carbon dioxide. The bacteria can then act as nucleation sites, attracting mineral ions from calcium chloride to the cell wall, forming calcite crystals. The mineral growth fills gaps between the sand grains, cementing them.
Rather than being fired in a kiln, the chemical reaction dries and hardens the material at temperatures of 20-30ºC, reducing energy costs. Dosier claims that the resulting material is as strong as a fired clay brick.
Wetting, drying, freeze-thaw and abrasion resistance tests are yet to be conducted, as is a comparison with un-fired clay bricks in terms of their eco-credentials.
Up to now, the process has only been tested using sand from the UAE, but Dosier is keen to test aggregates from other countries for compatibility with the bacteria. ‘These soils will include small percentages of clay’, she explains, ‘But they will need to be specifically graded for this process as fine particles will block [bacteria] penetration.’
While the new brick presents countless design possibilities, there are hurdles in terms of large-scale production. Firstly, this process is slow (taking one week to dry and harden) and, secondly, the chemical processes release ammonia and a small amount of carbon dioxide. Microbes convert the ammonia to nitrates, which can poison groundwater. To solve this problem, Dosier plans to design a system that will capture emissions and recycle them back into the production cycle.
Pete Walker, Professor of Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath, UK, sees promise in the work, but recognises there is still plenty of research to be done.
‘A rigorous lifecycle assessment [is needed] to make sure there are no hidden negative environmental impacts,’ he says. ‘But perhaps the biggest concern relates to any potential health risks. What happens if not all the bacteria is converted or activated in the chemical process? Are these bacteria going to cause any concern to the structure of the building or its inhabitants?’
Walker also insists that the technique has to be economically viable before it can make its way into industry, and these biological bricks currently cost over five times the amount of one made from clay (US$2.70 per bio-manufactured brick compared to US$0.5 for a traditional clay brick).
Dosier says she is working to address these issues, and is looking for industrial partners to take the work further.
A radical departure from current means of human production is needed and possible through the study and mimesis of nature.
A Radical Means is a microbally induced casting procedure, which presents the bacteria Sporosarcina pasteurii as a method for cementing natural granular materials using minerals as a binding agent, for the creation of artefacts. This methodology suggests a radical future vision of industrial manufacturing, which is able to produce and form mineral composites at biological temperatures.
Johanna Sim’s Statement
Tinkering with Nature’s Circuits
Synthetic biology – new, fluid and ever-changing is blurring the boundaries between biology, chemistry, engineering, and computing. This is a place where cameras are built from bacteria, and where plans are being made to create truly artificial life, built by radically redesigning the most fundamental interface where science meets nature.
By taking existing yet constantly evolving science and using it to penetrate a process as familiar and universal as the morning ritual, I hope to illustrate the huge impact these emerging technologies can have in our daily lives. And what ethical questions will be raised by the literal integration of new technologies into our most private even sacred spaces? Our homes, our minds, even our bodies?
FROM squid and fire flies bacteria feed form nutiants in milk weed and cotton to and grow in biotechnology harnesses the enzyme called luciferase and produces bioluminecence can be mounted into cylinders. or into fabrics using polylaminate fabrics where glowing bacteria are loaded into the fabric and sandwished inbetween perimable shell..
Many of the artworks that I make are created through the design and construction of controlled environmental spaces. In these environments I transform and refine a variety of sculptural artifacts much as one might train the growth of a Bonsai tree. My desire is that a person encountering this artwork will consider the idea of nature within a frame of social and historic contexts.
Below is an image of Mycotectural Alpha, a tea house grown from the fungus Ganoderma lucidum. Click on the top of the art menu above for more images of this new work.
Ethics and aesthetics as criteria for innovation: A design research study of biological art and digital architecture Funded ARC Grant 2009-2011
This project aims to understand innovation through design research, namely by engaging and reflecting on the activity of designing. It will develop and study a network of artists and designers in an emerging field of innovative practice, to capitalize on Australian expertise, and capture new knowledge about designerly ways of knowing that underpin innovation. Australia must innovate to tackle issues such as climate change, characterised by uncertainty, instability, uniqueness, and value conflicts. The research develops the central claim of design research, namely that design is a discipline with specific forms of knowledge, and specifically considers the role of this knowledge in the vital area of innovation. ARC grant Chief investigators: Dr Pia Ednie-Brown, Dr Andrew Burrow and Prof. Mark Burry of RMIT University, and Oron Catts, SymbioticA, UWA
Spider silk has long represented the holy grail of biomimetic materials. By weight this thread is three times stronger than steel. However, as alluded to by the technicians in Get Smart, our “inability to domesticate spiders has driven numerous attempts to artificially manufacture spider dragline silks for industrial and medical applications.”1 In other words, spider wrangling has never been a viable profession.
Overcoming the bioengineering challenge of synthesizing spider silks has proven difficult at many levels. First there is the challenge of isolating and cloning the spider silk genes. Given the high number of repetitive regions that give the silks their strength and elasticity, traditional cloning strategies are prone to failure. Second, once these genes have been cloned within bacterial hosts, expressing and collecting the proteins is no simple matter. Most bacteria aren’t optimized to deal with highly repetitive sequences and consequently generate truncated versions of these proteins. Third, even after the proteins are expressed and purified, they’re not spider silk but merely a blob of protein with potential called “unspun silk dope.”
Once spiders have their unspun silk dope stored in their glands, they spin it by pulling it through a narrow gland called a spinarette in a process engineers call extrusion. By extruding the silk, water is removed from the dope as the silk makes the transition from a gel to a solid fiber about 2.5–4 microns thick (about 30 times thinner than the width of a human hair.) Spiders are uniquely equipped to spin these mighty mite threads, but so far synthetic spinning by extrusion has generated threads that are no smaller than 10–60 microns thick.
Despite the challenges, the amazing properties of these biomaterials make them an attractive target for bioengineers. Not only are spider silks highly elastic, lightweight, and extremely strong, some have even been shown to facilitate nerve regrowth in mammalian cells. Consequently, teams of people around the country and the world continue working to generate synthetic spider silks.
In one of the more promising recent attempts, an international team described how they generated and spun recombinant spider-like proteins. Spider silk proteins alternate in composition between crystalline and amorphous regions. The exact sequence of these regions dictates the mechanical properties of the spider silk. Starting with spider silk-like crystalline domains flanked by elastic and helical regions, the researchers cloned various proteins into Escherichia coli expression vectors. They were then able to express (produce) the silk proteins by introducing these DNA cassettes called vectors into the E. coli bacterial host. To allow for sequence diversity and easy scale-up, the researchers used a special cloning trick to make repetitive cloning of these subunits simple. This neat scheme allowed them to “mix-n-match” domains to create a wide array of protein combinations from the subunits.
To purify the spider silk-like proteins from all the other proteins produced by the bacteria, the team cloned a special removable protein sequence called a polyhistidine-tag to the end of the protein. This sequence of ten histidine amino acids binds to metals such as nickel and cobalt. The silk proteins were separated from the bulk of the cellular proteins through a process called immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Running the cell lysates (broken, open cells) over a nickel resin with the histidine-tag immobilizes the silk-like proteins on the column while the non-specific proteins were washed away. The silk-like proteins were then recovered by adding a protease solution that released them from the column-bound histidine-tag.
The team then dissolved the proteins into deionized water and HFIP (Hexafluoro-2-propano), an organic solvent commonly used to solubilize biopolymers. The silk dope was extruded through a stainless-steel spinarette into an isopropanol bath to create uniform spider silk-like fibers. This process took a mere forty days from start to finish but would be longer if researchers wanted more than two “mix-n-matched” domains in the final silk. However, once the desired sequence is cloned into in bacterial vectors, the harvesting and spinning process can be completed in approximately 15 days.
Finding ways to readily produce spider-like silks will continue to be a hot topic in the fields of biomimetics and biomaterials. The value of this special material, combined with the difficulty encountered by spider wranglers in obtaining natural silks, demands a synthetic alternative. However, as we learn from nature and attempt to repeat the wonders found therein, the intricacy of the solutions is astounding. A simple garden spider can achieve in minutes what takes teams of people using toxic chemicals and rigorous protocols weeks to accomplish. Even Hollywood movies recognize the challenge of making spider silk.
But spiders don’t need a whole host of technicians and scientists to catch their next meal. God has endowed them with unique abilities to fulfill their role as predators of the insect world. By learning from nature, not only can we obtain new technologies to benefit mankind, but we can see how God has provided for even the lowliest of creatures by granting them extraordinary traits. In Matthew 6 Jesus reminds us how valuable we are in comparison to the birds and the flowers. In light of how the Creator has provided for the spiders, we might paraphrase the analogy, “Consider the spiders of the attic and the wild, they have no formal training, yet they weave beautiful webs that yield them dinner. How much more will God provide for you?”
Destroying bacteria with bioactive packaging paper
Paper treated with a test bioactive ink changes colour when exposed to a test solution Canadian researchers are developing a bioactive packaging paper that they believe will detect and kill pathogens present in food and drinks in a matter of seconds.
A consortium of 10 universities has formed the Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network, which is investigating biologically active chemicals to produce paper that can detect and deactivate bacteria and viruses such as E-coli and salmonella. This form of rapid pathogen detection has not been created before – normally samples take hours or days to be characterised in a lab. This would provide a cheap yet effective way of testing and decontaminating food or drinking water.
‘We are investigating a variety of detection technologies including antibodies, enzymes, bacteriophase and DNA aptamers. These are standard biochemical approaches to detecting pathogens. The challenge is to make them function on paper without special storage conditions and instruments,’ explains Professor Robert Pelton, Scientific Director of Sentinel, of McMaster University.
Using standard paper, the group is working on a bioactive ‘ink’ that could be printed, coated or impregnated onto or into paper using readily available techniques. Working with existing bacteria-sensing substrates, researchers are trying to identify key structural properties, such as porosity, surface chemistry and fibre type, to produce the right ink. Substances such as bleach would be added to destroy the bacteria.
‘Destruction is relatively easy,’ says Pelton. ‘Detection is more difficult.’ The ink would be specified to identify individual pathogens such as E-coli by binding to them and producing a detectable response.
Paper was chosen as the base material because it is environmentally friendly and offers technical advantages over plastic film, explains Pelton. ‘Paper can act as a filter to isolate small molecules from large particles or cells, perform chromatographic separation, and it is hydrophilic and thus more protein-friendly than plastic.’
The trickiest part of the programme has been incorporating the biologically active chemicals into paper, and keeping them alive during the drying and aging process. Thus far, ink-jet printing has proven the most promising as it is currently used for patterning other bioactive molecules onto substrates. Fuji-Dimatix, an ink jet manufacturer, and Sun Chemical, a producer of ink, have been working with Sentinel to develop this technique.
The Network, which is operating on a CAD$7.5m grant from Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and three million dollars from industrial partners, see the paper being used in food packaging or paper towels. There are, however, some issues that need to be addressed, adds Pelton. Paper degradation in liquids means that wet strength resins will need to be added, which could interfere with bio-detection.
‘By 2010, we hope to have demonstrated paper-supported pathogen detection. We also expect that our industrial partners will bring the first bioactive paper products to the marketplace.’
Scientists have demonstrated that large groups of bacteria can turn microgears millions of times larger than themselves, showing potential for “smart” biomechanical systems.
Scientists from Northwestern University and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory observed several hundred microbes with random movement gather to push the spokes of a microscopic gear. With multiple gears arranged in a system, the bacteria — the common Bacillus subtilis — demonstrated synchronous movement.
Interestingly, the research team could manipulate the speed of the mechanical movement by controlling the amount of oxygen in the suspension solution: reduced oxygen naturally slowed the activity of the aerobic bacteria; reintroduced oxygen “woke” the bacteria up.
Eliminating the oxygen completely put the bacteria into a kind of “sleep” that stops them completely.
The team’s findings could lend insight into the design of “smart materials” — bio-inspired, dynamically adaptive materials made of a combination of bacteria or man-made nanorobots and hard materials that could be used to repair damage or power microdevices.
The bio-manufactured bricks, created by Professor Ginger Krieg Dosier, at the American University of Sharjah in Abu Dhabi, UAE, are produced by layering sand with Sporosarcina pasteurii, a non-pathogenic common soil bacterium naturally found in wetlands.
The bacteria are mixed with a solution of urea and calcium chloride. They use urea as a source of energy, producing ammonia and carbon dioxide, increasing the pH level of the solution, says Dosier. The rise in pH forms a mineral precipitate, combining calcium chloride with carbon dioxide. The bacteria can then act as nucleation sites, attracting mineral ions from calcium chloride to the cell wall, forming calcite crystals. The mineral growth fills gaps between the sand grains, cementing them.
Rather than being fired in a kiln, the chemical reaction dries and hardens the material at temperatures of 20-30ºC, reducing energy costs. Dosier claims that the resulting material is as strong as a fired clay brick.
Wetting, drying, freeze-thaw and abrasion resistance tests are yet to be conducted, as is a comparison with un-fired clay bricks i Up to now, the process has only been tested using sand from the UAE, but Dosier is keen to test aggregates from other countries for compatibility with the bacteria. ‘These soils will include small percentages of clay’, she explains, ‘But they will need to be specifically graded for this process as fine particles will block [bacteria] penetration.’
While the new brick presents countless design possibilities, there are hurdles in terms of large-scale production. Firstly, this process is slow (taking one week to dry and harden) and, secondly, the chemical processes release ammonia and a small amount of carbon dioxide. Microbes convert the ammonia to nitrates, which can poison groundwater. To solve this problem, Dosier plans to design a system that will capture emissions and recycle them back into the production cycle.
Pete Walker, Professor of Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath, UK, sees promise in the work, but recognises there is still plenty of research to be done.
‘A rigorous lifecycle assessment [is needed] to make sure there are no hidden negative environmental impacts,’ he says. ‘But perhaps the biggest concern relates to any potential health risks. What happens if not all the bacteria is converted or activated in the chemical process? Are these bacteria going to cause any concern to the structure of the building or its inhabitants?’
Walker also insists that the technique has to be economically viable before it can make its way into industry, and these biological bricks currently cost over five times the amount of one made from clay (US$2.70 per bio-manufactured brick compared to US$0.5 for a traditional clay brick).
Dosier says she is working to address these issues, and is looking for industrial partners to take the work further.
This is a jacket that will start conversations for you if you are too shy to do it yourself. Get to know more people, make friends, meet that special someone or simply break down your social walls!
This is NOT a Google AD…but the plain function of the parafunctional concept we’ve presented this week.
We’ve been working on the parafunctionality theme for about two weeks. I’m sad because this one was the last project we do as groups. However, now anyone can concentrate on his graduation project!
sctedhed ideas about intimacy table cloth my thought process for animation and development of emotional comunication based on empathy , intimacy and relaxation.
i tried to play around with my idea of creating an intimate realtion triger .. somthing that would be symolic of comunication between people in a social setting ..
Spies are probably the world's best liars, because they have to be, but most of us practice deception on some level in our daily lives, even if it's just telling a friend that his horrible haircut "doesn't look that bad."
Photo courtesy Lafayette Instrument An analog polygraph instrument Most analog polygraphs are being replaced by digital devices.
People tell lies and deceive others for many reasons. Most often, lying is a defense mechanism used to avoid trouble with the law, bosses or authority figures. Sometimes, you can tell when someone's lying, but other times it may not be so easy. Polygraphs, commonly called "lie detectors," are instruments that monitor a person's physiological reactions. These instruments do not, as their nickname suggests, detect lies. They can only detect whether deceptive behavior is being displayed.
Do you think you can fool a polygraph machine and examiner? In this article, you'll learn how these instruments monitor your vital signs, how a polygraph exam works and about the legalities of polygraph testing.
Photo courtesy Lafayette Instrument Parts of a polygraph that monitor physiological responses
When you sit down in the chair for a polygraph exam, several tubes and wires are connected to your body in specific locations to monitor your physiological activities. Deceptive behavior is supposed to trigger certain physiological changes that can be detected by a polygraph and a trained examiner, who is sometimes called a forensic psychophysiologist (FP). This examiner is looking for the amount of fluctuation in certain physiological activities. Here's a list of physiological activities that are monitored by the polygraph and how they are monitored: • Respiratory rate - Two pneumographs, rubber tubes filled with air, are placed around the test subject's chest and abdomen. When the chest or abdominal muscles expand, the air inside the tubes is displaced. In an analog polygraph, the displaced air acts on a bellows, an accordion-like device that contracts when the tubes expand. This bellows is attached to a mechanical arm, which is connected to an ink-filled pen that makes marks on the scrolling paper when the subject takes a breath. A digital polygraph also uses the pneumographs, but employs transducers to convert the energy of the displaced air into electronic signals.
• Blood pressure/heart rate - A blood-pressure cuff is placed around the subject's upper arm. Tubing runs from the cuff to the polygraph. As blood pumps through the arm it makes sound; the changes in pressure caused by the sound displace the air in the tubes, which are connected to a bellows, which moves the pen. Again, in digital polygraphs, these signals are converted into electrical signals by transducers.
• Galvanic skin resistance (GSR) - This is also called electro-dermal activity, and is basically a measure of the sweat on your fingertips. The finger tips are one of the most porous areas on the body and so are a good place to look for sweat. The idea is that we sweat more when we are placed under stress. Fingerplates, called galvanometers, are attached to two of the subject's fingers. These plates measure the skin's ability to conduct electricity. When the skin is hydrated (as with sweat), it conducts electricity much more easily than when it is dry.
Some polygraphs also record arm and leg movements. As the examiner asks questions, signals from the sensors connected to your body are recorded on a single strip of moving paper. You will learn more about the examiner and the test itself la
The Issue Because of difficulties in "reading" body language and cues, people on the Spectrum have a difficult time in negotiating the complex art of social interaction. This isn't an impossible thing, and most of us have learned to do this, but we have to learn it. NTs (NeuroTypical people or non-autistics) have to learn the same things, but the additional difficulties that autistics have make it more difficult for us to "get started".
This is much like driving -- once you get a beginning level of skills, you will learn no matter what your native aptitude for driving is. Except in relationships, there is very little public transportation.
The Prime Directive Do whatever you can to facilitate getting started in dating or other relationship socialization. That's the threshold to cross.
Dating or establishing intimate relationships is a threshold issue for us to the extent that we can be divided into two groups -- those who date (or are otherwise involved) and those who don't. This is stereotypically in the form of "dating" but the actual form of meeting and activity can be varied.
so.. "The rest is details. Go and study."
(The word, "intimate" has various meanings. For the purposes of this article, I am using the term to describe couples-type relationships, associated with dating and life partnership. There are of course other meanings to the word "intimate". For example, a sincere personal discussion can be considered "intimate".)
The Prospects I have seen reports that fewer than 10% of people with Asperger's syndrome are successful in their ability to achieve good relationships. I don't believe that is really the case because: 1. That conclusion was made before Asperger's syndrome was commonly diagnosed. Diagnosis is important to self-understanding. 2. There are a significant number of Aspies who have done very well at relationships. 3. The assessment was probably based on a determination that marriage is the only valid form of a successful relationship. 4. There are a large number of anecdotal reports of good relationships involving people with Asperger's syndrome.
If you divide Aspies in particular and autistics in general according to whether they have crossed the "dating" threshold, the likelihood of success in relationships increases significantly for those who have started to date (or the equivalent). Then take into account the effect of diagnosis, which is significant with AS -- instead of being "weird" the person understands he/she has AS. With knowledge of AS comes a much greater tendency to engage people who enjoy the company of someone with AS characteristics.
These changes make it easy to approach the NT level of 50% marriage success rate. If one considers non-marriage relationships, it is likely that people with Asperger's syndrome will start to have the same degree of success in life relationships as everybody else.
On a more basic level, once an autistic crosses the threshold of dating, he/she will improve their knowledge and ability in handling relationships. Often they become particularly social.
Educational Television Kids (and adults) on the autism Spectrum should watch as much "adult theme" television as they can enjoy. The subtle interactions -- more accurately, the depictions of subtle interactions -- between the characters are especially important to learn.
The flood of "adult theme" television programming that some parents complain about are ideal for kids on the autism Spectrum! "The Spectrum" generally means the autism Spectrum, including Asperger's syndrome, HFA, PDD and Kanner's autism. Many of us are comfortable with the generic reference of "autistic".) There are certainly differences from what's depicted on TV and real life, but autistics who hadn't learned that are in serious trouble anyway.
Cinematic depiction of emotions is particularly good as an educational tool.
The fictitious issues in these "adult theme" programs are sometimes based on sensationalism, but for the shows to be successful they must mimic or parody real-life emotions. In a peculiar twist on reality, the emotions depicted of even the more outrageous characters are often more mainstream than real life!
Try to find something which has some degree of interest to it. Some of the HBO shows are particulary good, but any TV show or movie which depicts adult themes and adult emotions is a trivial but real educational experience.
If one doesn't like TV -- That's easy. There are far more intricate descriptions of social interaction in books.
Autism and 'Singles' Dating Sites In a separate document,singles.html, I detail the use of singles dating websites. These are best suited for age groups beyond college, but offer an alternative to "face to face" introductions. These dating sites are ideal for people on the autistic Spectrum, including Asperger's syndrome people.
Meeting people for relationships is a lot easier with these on-line services. I think autistics may even have an advantage over NTs in the use of this media!
It seems that these sites have at least two advantages over meeting in-person. First, as I mentioned before, the entire "first three minutes" of a face-to-face meeting are not critical because the face-to-face doesn't need to happen until after the introduction.
There are other advantages. Selection criteria is, by the design of these sites, based on information other than directly reading "body language". The personal information is necessarily sketchy, but it is that way for everyone. Everyone gets to read the same kinds of comments from the poster.
It's actually hard to misread "signals" on one of these sites. Someone listing on a dating site expects to be considered available for dating. You almost certainly will be rejected but you won't be criticized for making the approach!
NOTE: There is some duplication of text between here and the singles.html webpage. Just skim over the duplications.
You're ... REJECTED! There are many reasons for rejection, and only a few of them are because of your approach. Even those attributable to "you" are likely to be a matter of personal preference of the particular individual.
Are You *Anybody's* Type? "Physical type" may be shallow but one of the major issues for dating and relationships is physical attractiveness. If a person is looking for a faithful companion and doesn't need to be physically attracted to the companion, you'll find them looking at the local animal shelter to adopt a pet.
Obviously there are ideal physical types, but even there, variation in taste exists. Fortunately there are no universal ideals!
Even a "sex goddess" is going to evoke a "what do people see in her?" response. There are people who find just about every "look" in people attractive. Incidentally, men are often visually attracted to women who are not their type, and will often not be interested in dating women that are most likely to catch their eye on the street.
Unfortunately the major exception is weight. It's not that there aren't people who find overweight people attractive; it's just that there seems to be many more overweight people than people who are interested. The answer in an ideal world is to do whatever is necessary to bring the weight down. You will live longer and enjoy life more.
Select the criteria which are important to you and work around the criteria which are not. This is particularly true of on-line dating services, which can be very statistically oriented (an advantage!)
If your personal taste has you competing against too many people, see if there is a comfortable way to adjust the criteria. The idea is to find someone you would like; not someone who you wouldn't like but have to accept.
Consider your selection criteria. Most of us have heard people suggest that we be less picky and date people who (fill in the blank). The problem is we don't want to date people in that category. If you wanted to date someone who is (fill in the blank), wouldn't you have already done so?!! Let the people giving you the advice tell themselves what their own likes and dislikes should be!
Fortunately there are categories of people who would be very acceptable, if not preferable. It's only necessary to determine what they are. If this is approached carefully, it is possible in most cases to find someone who comes reasonably close to your criteria of an ideal date.
(Incidentally, when I mention "categories", I mean identified characteristics; not the value or worth of a person. I believe everyone is worthy.)
Faux Pas The following is for people who have trouble with saying "inappropriate" things. Actually most of us do, but some have been fortunate to have had sufficient training to avoid making too many faux pas.
If you are relatively inexperienced, I guess just about everything is a potential faux pas. That's why I think it essential to get started. Like driving a car, you won't learn how until you start.
In engaging in conversations, it should be easy to separate "sensitive" subjects from casual ones. You really don't have to be careful when discussing your likes/dislikes about things like television shows, etc. Politics is fair game unless you're in Iran or Syria or something. Be very careful not to perseverate on a personal opinion, however! It's easy for autistics to do that.
The criterium is whether you are lecturing to the person or otherwise boring the cr*p out of the person.
Personal subjects of any kind are best avoided, ignored or deferred until you are sure they can be discussed. If unsure, just say, "I don't know if it is inappropriate to talk about this in this right now."
Obvious subjects that take reflection are sex, intimacy, the other person's appearance (except superficial things like hair colour), and women's age. (If women object to age being taboo, then they are welcome to bring it up, but a guy can have his head handed to him if he brings that one up.)
There's a book in the "For Dummies" series titled Dating For Dummies. I don't particularly like the For Dummies' approach to computing but their task-oriented approach is ideal as a good, uh.. HOWTO for dating. A companion (no pun intended) book is Etiquette For Dummies. After reading a few selections from these, you can go back to your O'Reilly novel.
It is almost always a "sin of the system" to ask someone out with a sexual suggestion.
(Temple Grandin classifies rules of society as "courtesy rules," "illegal but not bad things," "really bad things," and "sins of the system". Probably the sexual suggestion is closer to the category of "really bad things". (Grandin, February 1999; Grandin, Thinking in Pictures)).
Compulsiveness Compulsiveness about is probably the biggest "turn-off" when meeting a potential partner. This particularly affects men on the Spectrum.
Most people, and especially autistics, have learned this. If this is too obvious, please skip to the next section.
Probably, the reason compulsiveness affects autistics is the lack of experience in meeting partners.
Getting to know someone is a casual series of events. Expressing too much urgency about it could intimidate or dissuade the person you're trying to meet. Often the person you are trying to meet is nervous about the new encounter and would be overwhelmed by intense interest.
It is also important to allow the other person to make up his/her mind on their own; otherwise they will either never be interested or quickly lose interest. This may seem like the NT custom of playing "hard to get", but being somewhat stand-offish in the beginning of a relationship is often necessary.
Reality Check Sometimes you don't need good judgement. If you're unsure of something, ask a friend. (Be sure you can trust him/her!) As long as the friend is someone who you trust and who has pretty much your values on the subject, the two of you are going to be smarter.
But be careful what you tell people. If a secret can't be kept by you and you're the one who needs secrecy, someone else won't keep it secret either. A friend you tell a secret to has only a vicarous interest in keeping the secret. Also remember Monica Lewinsky's confiding in Linda Tripp about her personal life with President Clinton -- not everyone who is friendly is your friend!
Getting Intimate This is another place where it is frequently difficult to avoid committing a faux pas. How do you know when it is okay to get more amorous or physical?
First, if you don't know what the other person wants to do sexually, you can't easily know what's okay. Okay, doing nothing is safe, but it would be nice to know when it's okay to be more physically intimate.
More details are at this website, which has yet another webpage about sex.
Decisions about sexuality should be according to your own wishes and desires. Don't be restrained by others' value systems. You should also not be afraid to say "no" if you're uncomfortable about something, so if you don't want to get intimate, don't.
The same "if you don't want to, don't" philosophy applies to any part of involvement in a relationship. Make decisions because you want to.
Romance is Difficult to Define It is very important to be romantic and creative in a long term intimate sexual relationship. Each person and each couple is different, but the idea is to keep sex from becoming mechanical or routine.
Some ideas: • Be creative • Consider soft-core or erotic movies or erotic movies written by women. • Explore fetish-type fantasies, in a manner acceptable to your mate. Take an approach of "fun" as opposed to trying to be exotic. • Think of romantic activities. • Read mainstream magazines which talk about intimate romance; e.g., Cosmopolitan, some men's magazines.
Most Relationships End There are a lot of NT expressions about this, which I'm sure you've heard. The only thing I have to add is a saying often used by Italian-Americans, "Don't let it bother you."
No matter how ideal your partner is or was, there is always someone else. Life is an adventure and meeting people can be a good part of that adventure.
Don't try to figure out why. It is possible that one thing bothered the person, and there are certainly things that both of you can point to toward the end of the relationship which led to its demise. But the real reason you broke up was that at least one person wasn't interested anymore. So if the person didn't like you for you, "Don't let it bother you."
Once it's over, don't try to bring the person back. The person made up their mind. Depending on circumstances, you may remain friends for life, or never want to see each other again. In either case, give the hurt of separation time to heal first.
A different situation is where people meet, start to date and never really "hit it off." From a dating standpoint "let's just be friends" is the last thing you want to hear, but if neither of you see a dating relationship, you may still decide that friendship is a good thing. (Incidentally, intimacy in a mere friendship is not incompatible, but does introduce a great deal of complexity into the relationship.)
Sex Appeal There are some poeple who are seen as more attractive without any obvious physical advantages. They seem to have picked up something in the "NT communications circle" that lets them know what to do and how. The answer is that some of this is through word-of-mouth, but a lot of this is in some women's magazines. The obvious one is Cosmopolitian Magazine which, like Mad Magazine, seems to recycle its stories on a regular basis.
There doesn't seem to be an equivalent men's magazine. Playboy has a few articles on occasion but their emphasis seems to be on the proper way to be a passenger on a private jetliner.
Other Stuff
On Being Single Society gives us the message that being single and dating are transitional stages, and marriage should be the person's goal. Face it, not everyone is suited for marriage! NTs have a 50% divorce rate, and they're supposed to be the ones who do well with relationships. • Marriage does not suit everybody. Being single can be a good thing.
Okay, if you get married or want to get married, fine. Just do it for the right reasons. Let the NTs get married because "they're supposed to" or for the sake of the ceremony.
In addition to dating, there are other alternatives, some discussed by the Alternatives To Marriage Project (ATMP www.unmarried.org).
As to the religious morality of living without marriage, is it right to get married when marriage is not suitable to you? Marriage is a union (or sacrament or commandment) which is designed around NTs and has evolved in an NT world. People do not "choose" to be on the Spectrum; it's the way they are (or the way they're created). Under Western dogma, the first command in the bible is, "Be fruitful and multiply"; not "Go get married."
Cautions When meeting someone, know that you are meeting a stranger and that you have little knowledge of who they really are. Presumably the person is a friendly stranger, but a stranger nevertheless. Make sure that you are comfortable and safe before you take chances with personal safety.
Health issues and avoidance of STDs get some attention. As a practical matter it is possible for you and your partner to get blood tested, or if you feel it necessary take more precautions. In the meantime, I'll leave the dire predictions of doom to the media.
Pregnancy Make up your mind first.
Be Careful Out There Some of this is pretty obvious to some people so, please bear with me.
A lot of people get scammed by people in relationships. Most people out there are not criminal, and the only real problem in most relationships is how they treat you as a person. There are, however, a few con artists out there.
Some autistics are gullible, but we also have the advantage of being able to look at things logically. Take advantage of that logical perspective and track patterns of con artists and abusers. For the most part, once you recognize a potential problem, you can analyze the situation and determine if the problem is real.
In exercising caution, don't become overtrusting with your finances. The key is to always have control of this. If someone you're with comes in (let's presume you gave them access) and borrows a kitchen appliance, leaving a note, that's probably okay. If you're being taken advantage of, you're only out a blender. On the other hand, if your friend uses your money, unknown to you at the time, to make a purchase, that shows they have no scruples about doing the same again. There are always exceptions, such as someone electing to buy a few more items at the supermarket when already asked to buy something there. This is different from randomly deciding to spend someone else's money without authorisation.
Single? A frequent complaint is of married men holding themselves out as single. I see this as gender-specific because the women I've met have been transparent about their marital status. Part of this may be in the way men and women "flirt" or become interested in partners. Regardless of the reason, that's the way it is.
That one should be easy to figure by using logic. If someone claims to be single but can't have you meet at random times near his home, then look into the reason. If it's just a messy house, the person will allow you to drop him off and allow you to linger in front. The hard thing here is to avoid confusing this with someone just wanting to be "private", and so it is necessary to look at the whole picture. If someone is hard to reach but you can call him at home, then at least there isn't likely to be a spouse at home. Whatever the particulars, work it out to see if it makes sense as far as marital status is concerned.
There are people who have multiple lives. Fortunately, this is relatively rare, and it's more likely that the men who misrepresent their marital status are simply looking for a mistress. At least that's my guess.
The marital status issue becomes more complicated when the married person claims to be in a bad marriage, but that he's willing to get divorced. The "rule of thumb" is that the person's status _will not change_. If he is in a bad marriage (a reasonable presumption if you think about it) he will stay in that bad marriage. If that were not the case, he'd have moved out, separated, and a divorce would be actively pending. A pending divorce can proceed to a final decree, but in that case, you will see activity.
There are variations on all of this, but the idea is to apply logic to the situation.
Abusers There are variations on this, but some people are likely to be abusive to anyone they meet after they've gotten to know the person for a while. As to most instance of abuse, be aware of the issues. If someone strikes you (in anger), just leave as soon as possible.
There are also abusers who stalk people with disabilities. Fortunately these people are rare. It is possible to protect oneself from abusers who stalk by being alert for warning signs of these people.
The motivation of the abuser can vary but mostly it is a degree of insecurity plus an interest in some skewed aspect of a relationship. In the case of autism abusers, the abuser may adhere to the myth that the autistic has no real human feelings, and so it is okay to abuse the autistic. Presumably not being able to read body language and some facial expressions is supposed to imply that the person has no feelings. (Does that mean that deaf people don't want to communicate?) The absurdity of this theory doesn't matter -- the issue is that seemingly good and gracious people will find justification for abuse.
The internal motive of abuse is not much different from ordinary interest in another person. They wish to interact with that person. The only difference is that normal interaction is skewed by a gratification from abuse. Instead of indulging in relationships, or in fantasy and fetish, the abuser needs to attain gratification at the expense of his/her victim.
I don't know what the ratios are, but this sort of abuse can and does come from both genders.
The only thing that makes this significant on the Internet is that a person can more easily "target" people with disabilities because of the expanded ability of scanning a large number of listings. This started to surface when it was found that men were searching on the net for bipolar women in their "mania" stage. That's quite different from autism, however, and there is a strong possibility that "targeting" autistics is engaged in mostly by women.
The only way to really avoid this sort of thing is to follow the cliché, "Trust, but verify." It's a lot easier to avoid a problem or to leave if one knows that there is a reason to leave. Do not try to balance the good things about a person with the bad, but simply look at the "bad". Determine if the "bad" is worth saving the relationship.
Look out for classic abuse characteristics, such as attempts to isolate you, oppressive behaviour in the name of love, excuses, etc. Don't be taken in by the other person talking about abuse or making accusations. If they have a history of abuse, they know how to disguise it and deflect attention.
In a good relationship, the "bad" things should be little nitpicky things that bother you; not harmful things. A verbal expression of love or a physical expression of passion is not inconsistent with that person being an abuser. The abuser will always abuse the object of his/her affection.
The ability to "target" people with disabilities and conditions is not necessarily a bad thing. The entire point of this article is that it is possible to focus a search. It is also entirely reasonable that some NTs enjoy the companionship of autistics. The only thing is to be aware of abusers.
Fortunately, in terms of autism, it is possible to use what NTs refer to as "codewords". Autistic characteristic or terms more familiar to autistics can be used to hint at Autism, examples being "direct communication" "___ more important than eye contact" "pretending to be normal together" "Anthropologist from Mars", etc. This sort of thing is less likely to attract random stalkers. (Next week's subject, "How to form a clique and talk about fashion." The following week, "Botox parties". (just kidding here!))
separate webpage on sexuality (or Just Another Webpage About Sex)
back to index First written 19 Jun 02; first posted 9 Aug 02. Last revised 26 Jan 06.
Stan P. ~~ Questions - see FAQs. Comments about this site: email me www.scn.org/~bk269/
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A Cambridge University team of psychologists have just completed a two-year project working closely with a London multi-media production company, Red Green and Blue Co, to produce the world's first electronic encyclopaedia of emotions. Produced on DVD-ROM, the product is entitled Mind Reading: the interactive guide to emotions. The Cambridge University team are all based in the Autism Research Centre, and were motivated to attempt this undertaking because of the lack of any tailor-made educational software for people on the autistic spectrum, many of who have difficulties in recognizing emotions.
The first step for the Cambridge team was to decide how many emotions there were. Psychologists have for decades worked with a standard set of 'Ekman' faces: these are photographs of the six 'basic' or universal emotions, developed by Californian psychologist Paul Ekman. The basic emotions are happy, sad, angry, afraid, surprise and disgust. These six emotions are universally recognized and universally expressed through the same facial features. The Cambridge team however decided to take a comprehensive approach, and used a thesaurus to identify every word in the English language that describes an emotion. They discovered that there were 412 human emotions (excluding synonyms). These 412 are therefore distinct emotions, in terms of their dictionary definition.
They then took the 412 emotion words into mainstream schools in the Cambridge area, to determine at what age typically developing children and teenagers know the meaning of each word. From this they were able to assign a level to each word, from 1 to 6 (1 being primary school age, 6 being adult level). Lastly, they decided set out to taxonomise all of the emotions, since 412 is too large a number to work with easily. They found that virtually all emotions could be assigned to one of 24 different groups. The 24 groups are shown in Table 1. Examples of emotions from just one of these groups (the Afraid Group) are shown in Table 2.
Three years ago, Hungarian architect �ron Losonczi invented LiTraCon, the first light transmitting concrete.
A wall made of LitraCon has the strength of traditional concrete but thanks to an embedded array of optical glass fibers, view of the outside world, such as the silhouette of trees, houses and passersby, are transmitted inside the building.
The wall can be quite thick as the fibers work without any loss in light up to 20 m.
He even created a lamp
Mass produced LiTraCon� products are expected to be on the market at the end of this year. Meanwhile, his work can be seen till January 23rd at the Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete exhibition at the National Building Museum Washington D.C.
I would really like to try this effect out in the table cloth idea !
