Biology basics

Learning about biology from “zero” was information intensive. Some of the concepts we were going through were definitely a few levels above zero, and I was having trouble understanding all of the relationships and processes when I do not have the breadth of knowledge at a scientific level. It was useful to have Nuria speak at a very scientific level and then Jonathan relay that information in a different way. I had definitely learned about most of the concepts we talked about at a basic level, but it has been years or I had been learning about them in a different context. It makes sense that a crash course about biology as a whole in a few days would be hard to do but it did get me into a different mindset.

activities

What I enjoyed most about the week was hands-on application sessions in the afternoon. We started by making substrates to inoculate microbes and bacteria. My group made a do-it-yourself yeast medium. I took swabs of the IAAC door handle, my saliva, and Tatiana’s arm to see what would procure after inoculation. One activity that was more familiar to me was when we were playing with growing materials. Though I had never practiced growing spirulina, I knew about its superfood abilities and how nutrition dense it is. I like mixing it into smoothies but would like to taste it fresh as well. I had previously grown my own kombucha culture biomaterial leather but I love doing it so I was excited when we got to try it out as a class. I want to learn more about different possibilities for biomaterials which is something I think we will discuss more in the coming term, as well as me doing my own research to become more knowledgeable. I particularly enjoyed the day we got to play with microscopes. It’s always cool to see “average”, everyday things such as a leaf or skin up close and see them in a new light. I think as designers, we tend to think in more of a big picture mindset so switching that up felt really good by examining things at a much smaller scale.