From a November 19, 2019 ArtSci Salon announcement (received via email),\ I [Robin] am co-organizing a lecture on AESTHETICS AND COLOUR RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO’S PSYCHOLOGICAL LABORATORY by Erich Weidenhammer, PhD (University of Toronto) The lecture is Thu Nov 28 [2019], 6-8pm at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at U of T [University of Toronto]. There will also be colour-related artifacts from the library collection on display. Full details are here, with…

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Somewhere in my travels, I saw ‘like watching paint dry’ as a description for the experience of watching researchers examining Rembrandt’s Night Watch. Granted it’s probably not that exciting but there has to be something to be said for being present while experts undertake an extraordinary art restoration effort. The Night Watch is not only a masterpiece—it’s huge. This posting was written closer to the time the ‘live’ restoration first began. I have an update…

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If successful the hope is that ‘human-on-a-chip’ will replace most, if not all, animal testing. This July 3, 2019 Hesperos news release (also on EurekAlert) suggests scientists are making serious gains in the drive to replace animal testing (Note: For anyone having difficulty with the terms, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, there are definitions towards the end of this posting, which may prove helpful), Hesperos Inc., pioneers* of the “human-on-a-chip” in vitro system has announced the use…

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A July 3, 2019 news item on Nanowerk describes research coming from India and South Korea where nano gold is turned into black nanogold (Note: A link has been removed), One of the main cause of global warming is the increase in the atmospheric CO2 level. The main source of this CO2 is from the burning of fossil fuels (electricity, vehicles, industry and many more). Researchers at TIFR [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research] have developed…

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I’m getting to the science but first this video of what looks like jiggling jello, In actuality, it’s a superhydrophobic coating demonstration and a July 2, 2019 news item on phys.org provides more information, Plant leaves have a natural superpower—they’re designed with water repelling characteristics. Called a superhydrophobic surface, this trait allows leaves to cleanse themselves from dust particles. Inspired by such natural designs, a team of researchers at Texas A&M University has developed an…

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That’s a very ambitious title for a talk and it’s carried through in the description. From a November 12, 2019 Café Scientifque announcement (received via email), Our next café will happen on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH 2019 at 7:30PM in the back room at YAGGER’S DOWNTOWN (433 W PENDER). Our speaker for the evening will be science journalist Koby Michaels who teaches science communication to scientists and students. BUILDING A BETTER WORLD THROUGH SCIENCE COMMUNICATION Science…

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We’re back on the cyborg trail or what I sometimes refer to as machine/flesh. A July 3, 2019 news item on ScienceDaily describes the latest attempts to join machine with flesh, Machine enhanced humans — or cyborgs as they are known in science fiction — could be one step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to new research Lieber Group at Harvard University, as well as scientists from University of Surrey and Yonsei University.Researchers have…

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This is not the first time the glasswing butterfly has inspired some new technology. Lat time, it was an eye implant, The clear wings make this South-American butterfly hard to see in flight, a succesfull defense mechanism. Credit: Eddy Van 3000 from in Flanders fields – B – United Tribes ov Europe – the wings-become-windows butterfly. [downloaded from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Greta_oto#/media/File:South-American_butterfly.jpg] You’ll find that image and more in my May 22, 2018 posting about the eye implant.…

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Two very different Canadian institutions are offering opportunities to work, in one case, and to study and work, in the other case. Evidence for Democracy and their RFP The deadline for making your proposal is November 25, 2019 and the competition was opened on November 11, 2019. Here’s more from Evidence for Democracy’s RFP webpage, DescriptionEvidence for Democracy (E4D) is a national science-based non-partisan, non-profit organization promoting science integrity and evidence-based policy development in Canada.…

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This time it’s the performing arts. I have one theatre and psychiatry production in Toronto and a music and medical science event in Vancouver. Toronto’s Here are the Fragments opening on November 19, 2019 From a November 2, 2019 ArtSci Salon announcement (received via email), An immersive theatre experience inspired by the psychiatric writing of Frantz Fanon Here are the Fragments. Co-produced by The ECT Collective and The Theatre Centre November 19-December 1, 2019 Tickets:…

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