DESMA 9 Blog Summary

DESMA 9 Week 3

Growing up, I developed an interest in robots. To me they were smart, immortal, and efficient beings capable of great feats of strength and intelligence. Movies such as The Iron Giant, and the entire Star Wars franchise further reinforced my perception of robots. This love for robotics lead me to read books written by the great science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke. Arthur C. Clarke's Most Iconic Work Hence, I was unsurprised to learn that the modern concept for robots was inspired by a play written by a Czech writer, Karel Capek. In many ways, Sir Clarke had a similar impact on the scientific world as Mr Capek. An apt example would be the artificial intelligence computer named HAL 9000, in Sir Clarke’s book entitled “2001: A Space Odyssey”. In the book and the similarly named movie, HAL 9000 is an on-board computer for a spacecraft, responsible for maintaining ship functions and to act as a companion for human crew. However, due to a series of events, HAL malfunction...

DESMA 9 Week 4

Despite my major not having anything to do with biology, a lot of what I have learnt in classes in UCLA is associated to medical technologies. One such example would be DNA origami, in which DNA strains are manipulated into different shapes. Normally, DNA strains are akin to a dust bunny, in which random strains are mixed together to form a tumbleweed-like mesh. However, by assigning specific alkyl groups to the strain, one can manipulate the shape of the DNA strains. One practical use of this technology is in allowing science to deploy targeted medicine. By creating a DNA box surrounding the medicine and creating a lock that only opens when in the presence of the target, the medicine can be delivered straight to the target without interacting with any other entities. Evidently, this technology holds much promise in helping humanity’s battle against cancer, where most techniques deployed are untargeted, like chemotherapy. Natural Structure of Multiple DNA Strains Examples of DN...

DESMA 9 Week 9

My father has always enjoyed the concept of space travel and was the reason he became an aerospace engineer. Hence, I grew up watching science fiction films like “Star Wars” and “Star Trek”, just to name a popular few. Unsurprisingly, this led me to read books by Arthur C. Clarke and Jules Verne. All the above fuelled my interest in space and technology, in fact one of the reasons I choose mechanical engineering as a major is due to a childish dream to build a lightsabre. Therefore, it is safe to say art plays a huge role in inspiring advancements in science. Movie Poster for R.U.R. In truth, there are many examples of how art propelled science to greater heights, many of which have been mentioned throughout this course. The most prominent example would be robots, which was the subject of the lecture in week 3. The term robot was first coined by a Czech writer, Karel Capek, as the subject of his play entitled R.U.R., which explored what happened when sentinel robots were use...

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