In my opinion, there’s no doubt that the CRISPR technology is groundbreaking and an inevitable leap into a trans-humanist future. Although I had some understanding of the mechanism of CRISPR-Cas9 and its possible implications, after reading more about how the technology works and how it could affect not only a genetically altered species, but the entire ecosystem as well, I realized the urgency for not only the scientific community, but the lawmakers and the global population to get informed and involved.

I think the CRISPR technology has great potential. However, going forward we, as a species, need to establish rules to determine how this technology is used, by whom and for what purpose. As one of the articles suggests, we can use CRISPR to engineer better food to feed the rising population. However, as always there’s a trade off between quality and higher profit margins. Therefore, I believe it’s essential that this technology be used first for the holistic betterment of earth’s ecosystems, second to improve the living conditions for the human species, and lastly to increase efficiency or economic growth.

In addition to the fantastic potential of CRISPR, bio-mimicry is a subject that I have always found fascinating. As an artist/designer I’ve always looked to nature for inspiration. After all, nature has had billions of years to evolve and improve itself. Therefore, I believe it’s absolutely critical for not only scientists and designers, but also for builders and engineers to study nature to create superior work.

Overall, I’m looking forward to integrate bio-mimicry into my project for this class, and can’t wait to learn more about gene editing and possibly utilizing it in my final project…

Aquaculture

As a designer and environmentalist who cares about the well being of other species, I’m interested in creating urban friendly farming solutions to empower individuals and communities and revolutionize the way we see and acquire our food.

After broad preliminary research on aquaculture, I see potential in integrating urban farming and aquaculture. However, I will focus my research on aquatic weeds and vegetables, such as algae.