The Golden Frog’s Arduino Utopia
Cultural anthropologist Eben Kirksey brings citizen science to Brooklyn, using an Arduino and the history of two frogs to educate the public.
Biology
NEWS FROM THE FUTURE – Bugs Save The World
Craig Venter’s Bugs Might Save the World – NYTimes.com: In the menagerie of Craig Venter’s imagination, tiny bugs will save the world. They will be custom bugs, designer bugs — bugs that only Venter can create. He will mix them up in his private laboratory from bits and pieces of DNA, and then he will […]
The Immortal — a Circuit of Organ Replacement Machines
The Immortal is a work of art by Revital Cohen. A number of life-support machines are connected to each other, circulating liquids and air in attempt to mimic a biological structure. The Immortal investigates human dependence on electronics, the desire to make machines replicate organisms and our perception of anatomy as reflected by biomedical engineering. […]
Ask MAKE: DIY Algae Biofuel
MAKE reader Phil asks about the feasibility of a home-based algae bioreactor system.
Lego Hermit Crab Shell
This is “Harry,” a hermit crab who lives in a rock pool at Legoland Windsor, sporting a brightly colored shell custom made from Lego elements by the staff, who emphasize that Harry was not forced to endorse their product, choosing his new home over the traditional seashells that were offered alongside it of his own free will.
Bones of Blue Plasma
Part of a series of skeletal gas discharge lamps from sculptor Eric Franklin. This one is called Embodiment. Franklin’s work makes a nice compliment to Jessica Lloyd-Jones’ neon organs, which we posted about last week.
How-To: Tell Mammoth Ivory from Elephant Ivory
Whatever the larger implications of the mammoth ivory trade may be, it has created a practical forensic problem for law enforcement. Buying mammoth ivory is, generally, legal, while buying elephant ivory, generally, is not. But when you’re a customs official staring at a crate full of tusks, how do you know which is which?