Posted by Sarah Everest on Friday, November 20, 2009
Photographer Edward Burtynsky shows us the beauty and terror of heavy industry. Through his lens he captures how mining, quarrying, shipping, manufacturing, and recycling have changed the land around us.
Everyday we consume and use products created through these activities, and his work reveals the often unseen impact of how those materials are produced - confronting viewers and asking them to reflect on their consumption habits and dependence on nature.
Born in St. Catherine's, Ontario, Burtynsky credits exposure to images of a nearby General Motors car manufacturing plant as the roots of his work.
In a new book, "Burtynsky Oil," he chronicles the extraction, refinement, and transportation of the wildly sought after resource. In photos taken across the globe, he explores a powerful diversity of subjects ranging from oil fields to auto plants.
Again he explores oil as a non-renewable resource in, "The End of Oil," a documentary film inspecting petroleum's rising cost and decreasing availability.
Posted by Emma Lehmberg on Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Cyborg technology may be closer than we think — researchers have discovered that when they implant genes from a single-celled algae called Chlamydomonas in the brain, that they can trigger the neurons in that area to begin firing when exposed to light. The implant that has two sets of lights (one blue to activate neurons, and another yellow to stop them.)
This could lead to an explosion in cybernetics, effectively allowing robotic limbs to seamlessly integrate with the human body and mind, and could save lives by treating diseases like Parkinson’s.
Clinical studies have shown (so far) that animals closely related to humans bear no injury or illness from long-term implants. Although not approved yet by the FDA for human trials, this field of research (called optogenetics — a science so new that spell check doesn't recognize it) has great promise for future medical therapies.
To learn more about optogenetics, check out this article in Wired magazine.
Canadian Geographic / National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen shares the incredible story of his personal encounter with a predatory leopard seal in the frigid waters of the Antarctic. These photographs — and many more — appear in his book, Polar Obsession.
