Hayk Barseghyan is a fourth year Physiological Science major at UCLA taking an Honors class from Professor Victoria Vesna in Spring 2012. Over the course of 8 blogs, he discusses topics ranging from art and biotechnology to genetically modified foods to memories stored in DNA. He also comments on various art exhibits and lectures integrating science and art.

1. Title Page
• Name: Hayk Barseghyan
• Major: Physiological Science, Russian
Language and Literature
• Date: June 6, 2012
• Class: Honors 177 (UCLA Spring 12)
• Professor: Victoria Vesna

2. Blog 1
• My name is Hayk Barseghyan and I am a fourth year
Physiological Science Major. Since childhood I was
terrible at anything that had to do with art. My
drawings were the worst in the class, and literature did
not interest me at all. So, I turned all my attention and
effort into sciences and here I am today. I have lived for
about two decades now and have no idea what art is
and how to understand it. I realize that there is
something more to this world than precise answers.
Thus, I decided to enroll in this class to learn about the
art from a point of view of sciences that I am familiar
with.

4. • The two cultures art and biotechnology are very
distinctive areas of study, but that is only the first
thought. Most of the art that is has been produced in
the world has been a pure copy of the nature which is
biology. The art has been repeating itself for many
generations. The newer field of biotechnology brings
newer areas where art could be created from biological
and technological point. There is stereotype that art
and science are two distinct areas and many
universities concentrate more on the sciences leaving
art to wonder around. Let us not forget that there is
integration and interaction in almost every field of
study, biology and art are not an exception. Many
biological technologies have been created to suit not
only the purpose, but also the looks.

5. There countless examples of art integrating with science
and vice versa. However, the one that really caught my
attention was the creation and modernization of total
mechanical hearts incorporated into living human beings
for survival.

6. Bibliography:
• ARTIFICIAL HEART June 24, 2009
• http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/news_publications/news_release/AbioCor
_Heart.html
• The Total Artificial Heart
• http://www.polyurethanes.org/blog/2011/11/the-total-artificial-
heart/
• Ducati Design Contest
• http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2004/06/21june04ducati/
• Art and Biotechnology: When Art looks into Science
• http://therestisart.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/art-and-
biotechnology-when-...
• The Role of Biotechnology in Art Preservation
• http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167779905002
726

7. Blog 2
• I have always wondered if it would be possible to produce
enough food for the whole world without genetic modification.
First of all, I think that there would not be these many people in
the world without the ability of humanity to produce more food.
So, maybe the development and progress of genetic
modification of products stimulated population growth as a
result of excess food. People would think that genetically
modified food should not pose any danger to humans, but all it
takes is one successful mutation of a virus and many people
could die or become ill because of consumption of those foods.
There could also be partial integration of those unusual genes
into human genome over time of excessive genetically modified
food consumption. Not much proof is provided by scientist to
support either side of the argument.

8. Cows being raised in a farm.

9. • My family comes from a background where meat
consumption is one of the main sources of daily
meal. I am used to eating meat regularly, but I
have never thought there could be more harm
from it than good. Fifty years ago when people
grew their own food it was safe to eat whatever
they grew because it was grown on natural
products. Today, big farms make cattle to eat corn
which is not what animals are supposed to eat,
this result in a higher levels of fats in the animal
which human consume that potentially leads to
cardiovascular diseases. And this is one side
effect that we are aware of. The meat that I and
my family have been consuming for the last
several years came from those farms.

10. Organically raised organic cow.

11. • I am now inclined to control whatever I eat
and try to consume natural organically raised
products because I do not know what long
term consumption of genetically modified
foods could lead, but certainly know that
organic food will not lead to anything bad
because it has been consumed by people for
thousands of years.

12. • Industrial farm:

13. Bibliography:
• "What Are the Dangers?” Mothers for Natural Law. Web. 6 Nov.
2009.
• Moeller, Lorena, and Kan Wang. “Engineering with Precision: Tools
for the New Generation of Transgenic Crops.” BioScience 58.5
(2008): 391+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 10 Nov. 2009.
• Union of Concerned Scientists. “The Safeness of Genetically
Modified Foods Is Unproven.” Opposing Viewpoints: Genetic
Engineering (2009). Web. 1 Nov. 2009.
• “20 Questions on Genetically Modified (GM) Foods.” World Health
Organization: Food Safety. Web. 31 October 2009.
• Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Deborah B.
Whitman Apr. 2000
• http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php

14. Blog 3
• Genetic Engineering has been used throughout human history to
select phenotypes or genes that are most favorable. I think that
there is nothing wrong with that. Just as humans in the past
have been able to domesticate and grow some wild type plants
and animals through long period of time, today humans are able
to do such selections in a shorter period of time due to advances
in technology. Some might think that it could bring some bad
consequences, but that statement has not been proven. We can
think of Genetic Engineering the same way as Natural Selection
that Darwin explained in his book “Origins of Species.” Natural
Selection selects the most desirable genes for the future
generation and Genetic Engineering works the same way. The
only difference is that it is done primarily by humans and not
nature.

16. • I will be honest I do not really like seeing animals
in the zoos or as pets. I think every animal
deserves to live in the wild just like any one of us
would never want to be imprisoned. There are
exceptions though. Some animals require human
care and in those situations it is fine to live by
symbiosis. There are many cases in the world
when humans torture their pets and then kill
them fun. I think that some of these people
should be imprisoned or fined, but many would
disagree because industrial farms kill millions of
animals and to provide human population with
food.

18. • I enjoyed watching “Strange Culture” that
showed the work of Kurtz and how FBI was
mislead to convict him for killing his wife. It is
quite understandable because there are so many
cases in which one of the partners kills another
for any reason that it is almost an instinct in
police organizations to suspect husband or wife
first and then go from there looking for evidence.
Of course, it was pitiful to watch how one’s life,
career and work could be destroyed in such a
short period of time, but I am very proud of Kurtz
because he fought till the end for his rights. Not
many people have the strength to do that.

19. Bibliography:
• Genetic Engeneering:
• http://saraalgoe.hubpages.com/hub/Genetic-
Engineering
• http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/gedanger.htm
• http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_
and_impacts/science/w...
• Animal Abuse:
• http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty.php
• http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-
about-animal-cruelty

20. Blog 4
• Noa’s exhibition was very interesting and memorable.
It caught my attention because I never actually thought
of things in that manner nor did I ever imagine looking
at dust of pollen particles under microscope trying to
figure out their three dimensional structure. What Noa
did was absolutely fascinating to me and probably to
most people that encountered her work. After seeing
her presentation I can’t stop myself thinking about the
smallest particles that make up different things. It’s like
I want to know how everything looks under the
microscope. I was one of the fortunate people that
attended Noa’s exhibition. There I was able to apply
everything she referred to in her presentation to the
actual bodies of work that were presented on
exhibition.

22. • Noa’s work also showed that everything in our world is
interconnected to each other in some degree. These interactions
make possible the life as we know to exist on Earth. Humans should
try to preserve these interactions in order to conserve the biological
balance that exists. Even destroying one little part of a chain will
cause it to break overtime.

23. • There are many examples of medical technology
and art used hand in hand. The most fascinating
to be is the three dimensional structure of
proteins in human bodies. There is countless
number of art works designed by humans
throughout the world, but our organism still is a
leader in that area. Most of the human body is
made up of proteins and there have to millions of
different shapes of them in order to perform one
particular function, be it protection by immune
system or structural building blocks of organism.
All these proteins coexist in balance and interact
with each other to create an organism such as us.

24. Architecture around the world:

25. Protein structure:

26. Bibliography:
• http://www.historyofinformation.com/index.php?cate
gory=Art+and+Science%2C+Medicine%2C+Technology
• http://tkcollier.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/everyday-
things-under-the-electron-microscope/
• http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/genetics/biotec
h/basics/prostruct.html
• http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2004-
12/ddoe-tao122204.php
• http://may-k.livejournal.com/
• http://www.noapkaplan.com/

27. Blog 6
• I thought that Kathy Brew’s exhibit “Going Gray” was
just fascinating. I agree with her that in our society
there is a fear of aging and specifically having gray hair.
Many people just do not want to accept the fact that
they will get older no matter what they do be plastic
surgery cosmetic creams or hair coloring. I also think
that we should educate the population that it is natural
to get older and that people should not fear it. Exhibits
such as Kathy Brew’s “Going Gray” is very interesting
way of conveying the thought of normality to people
by showing personal experiences and ways in which we
can adapt to aging.

29. • The interviews that were shown in the
documentary shown on exhibit “Going Gray”
several different scientist and doctors were
discussing different reasons of hair becoming
gray. The truth is that it depends on an individual.
There could be many reasons for a person to go
gray such as nutritional imbalance, aging, genetic
inheritance, environmental stress, immune
malfunction, loss of protein complexes that are
responsible for hair color. All these can cause hair
graying. The important thing is that people need
to understand that it is natural and not fear it.

31. • However, when people do go grey they might
not like the way they look. There is no fear of
aging, it is simply cosmetic dislike. In such case
I think it is explainable for a person to try to
change the way he or she looks by any means
necessary if that would bring personal
satisfaction and will not harm the overall
health of the person. One Chinese “He Shou
Wu” helps to retain hair color naturally, but
this does not mean that using hair coloring
reagents or other things is wrong.

32. Bibliography:
• http://artsci.ucla.edu/?q=events/genetics-aging-
symposium-going-gray-kathy-brew-exhibition-
opening
• http://www.humantouchofchemistry.com/why-
does-hair-turn-grey.htm
• http://hairstylerandremoval.com/he-shou-wu-
the-powerful-chinese-herb-for-treating-hair-loss
• http://www.lhj.com/style/hair/advice/how-to-
love-your-gray-hair/
• http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/2006/05/Fear-
Of-Aging-How-To-Get-Over-It.aspx

33. Blog 7 (Extra Credit)
• Lejla Kucukalic’s lecture on Biotech and
Biopunk was fascinating to me. I had never
thought that science fiction and genetics
could be interconnected with each other to
produce such great ideas and inventions that
were presented in the lecture. Professor
Kucukalic talked a little about the Mary
Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) who was created
in the laboratory to imitate a human being.

35. • I think the combination of biotechnology and
genetics is the future of humanity. However, in
comparison with Frankenstein I think that a
better way of building or modifying a person
would be by taking the best of many and
combining them in one. This way it would be
possible to save years of research spent on
building a person from scratch meaning that the
genome would be human engineered. A better
way is to take already present genes and
incorporate them into one single genome that
will produce an ultimate man. Faster, stronger,
and more intelligent.

37. Bibliography:
• http://marvel.com/characters/bio/1009726/x-
men
• http://socgen.ucla.edu/events/?event_id=85
• http://fictionencyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Vict
or_Frankenstein
• http://hayesaplit.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_
archive.html
• http://www.fanpop.com/spots/x-
men/images/58082/title/x-men-wallpaper

38. Blog 8 (Memories Stored In DNA)
Human brain has the ability to store and transmit
memories using images. There is specialized area in
the brain called Hippocampus that is involved in
storage and generation of memories. The way
memories are sored is still not quite understood.
However, it is speculated that visual or any other
stimuli that a person perceives is accompanied by
production of proteins in the brain that are involved
in generation of new neuronal connections in the
brain.

40. It is possible to design a gene by genetic
engineering and insert it into human cell using
ballistics. A special air pressurized gun will shoot
millions of copies of desired gene into cells some of
which will become incorporated into cell's genome.
The inserted recombinant DNA in the cells will be
transcribed and translated into a protein which will
later be carried out from the cell into the
bloodstream and taken into the brain region
involved in memory generation and retrieval.

42. Depending on the design of the gene and its
product the person will get different images
appear in his imagination starting from known
pieces of art to any other custom generated
memories. This technology will be crucial in
using human genetic programming in
information storage. Retrieval of the information
can be performed using any human subject
since the mechanism is the same from person to
person.

44. Bibliography:
• http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-
to-use-gene-gun.html
• http://www.frontiersin.org/human_neuroscience
/10.3389/neuro.09.031.2009/full
• http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2008/
09/09/neanderthal/?q=/2008/09/neanderthal.ht
ml
• http://www.globalchange.com/geneticengin.htm
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmenta
l/life/human-biology/human-memory.htm

45. Summary
• Name: Hayk Barseghyan
• Major: Physiological Science, Russian
Language and Literature
• Date: June 6, 2012
• Class: Honors 177 (UCLA Spring 12)
• Professor: Victoria Vesna