Bio-Designing Our Future

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Diversifying Design
with Nature

feat. Ross Lovegrove


 

Late 90s Shinkansen trains based of Kingfisher bill by Eiji Nakatsu

Design informed by nature is a disposition that I find to be a necessary element for the form and functionality of the products we create in our current economic climate. Since coming across musings of Janine Benyus, designer and author of Biomimicry, and innovations of this design-perspective as compiled by William Myers in Biodesign- it has become more apparent where science fiction can emerge into reality without the having to rely on the colonization of Mars as our saving grace from our destructive demands on limited resources. Additional literature reveals many other descriptors of this philosophy - green build, sustainable, whole system, integrative, ecological, biofabrication and regenerative just to name a few. Yet our current narratives behind consumption seem to be quite conflicting to the finite characteristics of the primordial planet that we evolved in.

 

15th Century design of the "Flying Machine" by Leonardo da Vinci

beauty from the beast

Observation of our natural environments reveals to us models to solutions for design, business, and life that have emerged from over 3.4 billion years of research and development in the oldest laboratory - nature! One particularly curious case of continuous involvement in our ontological creativity is observed through birds, which so happens to be among the few remaining descendants of dinosaurs. Their long-standing history of inspiring humanity's upward motility started with 15th-century Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci's emulation of his "flying machine". And followed the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, to the reduction of the sonic boom effect in Japan's Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed-rail. This "emerging field" continues to be cultivated for high innovation potential and societal impact in consumer, medical, and technology industries. It seems the historical prose of nature renders the rules of engagement for not only surviving but thriving on this planet.

 

A Grove of Green Design

During my visit to Paris last summer, I had the fantastic opportunity of meeting the "Captain Organic" of design, Ross Lovegrove — one of the most visible figures of the biodesign movement. Upon close tactile discrimination of his creations, I sensed a nostalgic familiarity to elements in his design which I could identify from my evolving career in sciences. It wasn't just the form that exposed this biodesign sensibility, but how the thought processes and the dynamic composition of the designs that emerged like cellular processes in embryonic, DNA replicating fashion (see the photo of wind-generator below). What I appreciated most was that his thoughtful emphasis on conservation through careful form and material selection rather than just biomimicry for an aesthetic appeal.  As someone drawing an understanding of design from a scientific perspective, casual rapport with this inquisitive mind allowed me to detect the parallels in thought processes behind someone approaching a scientific perspective through design - chatting with Ross was like joking with an old friend. I think to find like-minded guides are always a positive indicator of progress in your journey of figuring out your place in the dichotomy between science and creativity, or whatever passion you are pursuing. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from this biodesigner’s collection:

 

OPTICAL ILLUSION

This digital camera design concept had been proposed to the Olympus Optical Company in Japan. It’s meant to resemble an amorphous amoeba as an easy-to-grasp and modernized approach in capturing the temporary nature of life. The futuristic version of me would be casually carrying this in my pocket as I make my way through crowds of a cyberpunk waterpark on my solar-powered hoverboard.

 

Watered Down

Plastic water bottles are meant to be relegated to the past, but it doesn’t mean that the reusable ones need to look like canisters from the continental U.S era. This design is meant to capture the natural feel of water while allowing the precious resource to be fully expressed in the hands of the beneficiary. And it’s made from a during PET plastic that allows for multiple uses. This bottle design was commissioned by Tŷ Nant for their Ripple (PET) bottle, a bottle designed to encourage reusability and collectibility as an art piece.

 

Shoe Story

For awhile, 3D printing had been touted as the next revolutionary technology for batch producing products in a way that reduced the carbon footprint caused by conventional mass production methods. This shoe technically can be recast on-the-go from any 3D-printer for your last-minute reservation to that Atlantean gala in the city.

 

Virtually Imagined Reality

You can find the incarnations of Ross's designs worldwide and across the web, but his original designs emerging from the classic pen and pad are most fascinating to me. Direct depictions of our imagination represent a primal instinct of humanity that connects us to the roots of our archaic predecessors (arguably considering the current state of affairs in the U.S.), as observed in early caveman drawings. The leather-bound books a la Leonardo da Vinci are also a nice touch too. Yet these are neither archaic in style nor unique to the imagined realm, but rather a representation of near-futuristic possibilities of standard stylization. With the advent of emerging technologies and virtual extensions of our reality, it seems natural for humanity to experience destructive compression when a tactile form is translated into binary code and digital constructs. Will the machine's representation of man echo a semblance of design by nature or will we naturally select out organic matter through mechanization? For the time being, here are some of Ross's blueprints of biodesign that gives us hope that there can be a balance between both worlds

 

BIODESIGN BIBLIOGRAPHY

Here are a few of my top reading resources that just might inspire your next biodesign innovation!

 

Bio-tastic Talks

Here is me and Ross Lovegrove in front of the Centre Pompidou after having lunch together and a good chat at one of his favorite restaurants. Thank you for your time, introducing me to your favorite meal, and being one of the best parts of my experience in Paris. And cheers (with water, of course) to crossing paths again in our future endeavours in creating a bio-tiful future! -VF

Political Soup for the Troll

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An Opinion Piece on American Politics

Home Grown

Liberal; Democrat; Republican; Conservative; Green Party; Leftist; Rightest; Feminist; Extremist; Idealist; Supremacist; Racist; Nihilist; Idiot...

As a first-generation Chinese American, growing up in an immigrant household meant obliging to the status quo and politics limited to my father’s repetitive recounts of his escape from China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1940-50s: the treacherous trek through the mountains of South China with no food and barely any water; how he barely dodged the jaws of German Shepherd guard dogs that waited at the border; and the marathon swim away, with two makeshift floaties, from the dictatorial grips of former Chairman Mao Zedong’s regime. Most of these party labels had been (and admittedly still are) foreign to me like the alien descriptions of natural and artificial ingredients on the packaging of many All-American pantry staples. Before diving head-first into the world of American Politics — by none other than working at a political consulting agency during the notorious 2016 Presidential Elections — I had just accepted these labels as components of our “mixed soup” of a nation without necessarily knowing the “nutritional value” of each party. In the spirit of the iconic Andy Warhol fixture, here is my instant mental meal on the 2016 elections.

Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup (source)

A Consumable Course

As I savored the memories of my brief stint in politics, I couldn’t help but appreciate the semi-homemade flavor of American politics (as it was based off the classic British system) that has fed our nation’s growth. How we’ve been able to prepare a consumable “course” (pun intended) over the last two centuries with a generally unmodified recipe for choosing our “head chef” fitted with a 4/8-year expiration date. Of course, comparing our political system to an American pantry staple is a bit over-simplified. A lot has changed since Black-Americans, women, and immigrants were finally allowed to join the democratic voting club despite our historical contributions since the pilgrims parked their Mayflower. And people with a preference for the same sex, who probably have been sending a buttload of tax dollars to Uncle Tom (aka they’re rich), have been given equal marriage rights. Yet, we continue to palate this perpetual struggle of maintaining the rules of engagement when the focus should be on adapting the political strategy with the growing variability in domestic and international markets. Rising sea levels caused by climate change sure aren’t going to slow down for our policymaking system. Hopefully, new Green technologies and hacker communities will step up to fill in the deficit.

International Soup (source)

One Serving fEEDS All

The economy of the United States is a highly developed mixed economy, decorated with the title of the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP and second largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Despite the infusion of multicultural influences that is a hallmark to development in the U.S., the diversity of third-party voters wound up costing the possible election of the lesser evil. For example, Donald Trump’s victory in Florida, the perennial swing state, was by a margin of barely over one percent of the electoral votes (1.2% to be exact). Without third-party votes, especially the ones for the Libertarian Party and Green Party candidates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could have taken 29 electoral votes and possibly the lead in the 2016 Presidential elections. She would ultimately sweep the largest number of votes nationwide (2.87 million), but Trump would win by a margin of 2.1% of the electoral votes by 306 electors from 30 states (since a majority of the 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President). With our voting system set up for advancing one homogenous organization, one wonders of the flavor we’re missing sans ingredients from all other parties.

MAO by Andy Warhol, 1972 (source)

Visual Appeal

Relentless public relations campaigns also seemed to be focused on perpetuating the reputation of a candidate rather than the resolutions aimed at economic and social reform. Much like Warhol’s Campbell Soup can series, his series of Chinese dictator Mao Zedong had been a response to the Communist Party propaganda machine, which was replayed throughout the United States’ news coverage of President Richard Nixon’s groundbreaking 1972 visit to that nation. The variations of Mao captures and perpetuates an image of celebrity status, but glazes past the economy crippled by his catastrophic Great Leap Forward push for breakneck industrialization in the late 1950s, and the 45 million people believed to have died in the Great Famine. As an exercise, what do you recall from the 2016 political campaigns? And how is it working out so far?

Campbell’s Corporate Headquarters (source)

Corporate Culture

To fund such campaigns, leadership in Congress has historically focused more on the capacity of lawmakers to raise money, rather than their policy expertise and merit on legislative issues. On a local level, the lack of fundraising for political paper mailers (a strange twilight zone in itself for ballot measure marketing) could ironically cost the distribution of resources for improving outdated school programs and facilities (e.g. through bonds and parcel taxes) — and ultimately prevent the upper movement of the typical lower-middle class American girl in an ever-accelerating digital world. As for the 2016 Presidential Money Race, the candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s money pots bubbled over $6.4 billion for the process alone. Seems a bit like America’s fascination with the industrialised process of canned soup production — collect all the season’s production of tomatoes (cash, money), reinforce it with preservatives (political campaign promises), and prepare one heritage recipe of a soup (President) to semi-substantially support a population’s sustenance (future economic viability).

WIN Soup (source)

Rave Reviews

And to lock down more votes, targeted messaging used in these political campaigns are often based on polling data from surveys that have been commissioned by newsrooms, advocacy groups, and political parties to target questions that the ideal target group would be interested in (cough* cough* White, male, high-income bracket) — because Lord knows nobody else really knows the tax-reduction strategies used under the guise of charity organizations. Yet bias and inaccuracies of 2016 polling trends may have resulted from inaccurate sampling — kind of like sampling cold soup with the noodles (consistent voters) settled at the bottom and fresh herbs (new voters) thrown in for added edibility. Initial polling had predicted that democratic candidate Hillary Clinton would possibly take the lead by a few points. However, one wonders if this polling data was accurately representative of the actual voting population or if the data had created false confidence in the voter turnout by state.

Political Brain Soup (source)

Sweet Dreams

The process of selecting political candidates and approving measures seems like an excessively cumbersome process that essentially involves a “social” bartering system for heavily technical information that can have globally catastrophic impacts. By definition, politics employs a league of middle-men to monitor the emotional feedback of the masses. Based on my personal experience, such a process becomes problematic when decision-making involves too many channels, methods employed are clumsy for current conditions, and resources are inequitably distributed for a hypothetical “greater good.” Perhaps one day voting with blockchain will be possible, Green Economists will be trusted to divvy up the funds to appropriate ventures for designated geographic territories, and we’ve all learned to be more effective with our resources by at least cutting back on our favorite preservative-saturated sustenance. But until then, may we all (especially Asian-American adult citizens) begrudgingly tally-off our paper ballots by Election day, complain about the taxes that corporate entities should be paying, and serve up more of that political soup. -VF


(Update: Edited in 2019)

The Itchy and Scratchy Show at UCSF

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Scratching that Itch

Vicious Cycles

Before my exploration into visual arts and the advertising realm, I started my career in the scientific/medical field. A good chunk of my science career was dedicated to debunking the terrors of itch, inflammation, and pain — yes, that notorious reflex we experience during an unknowing attack by an obnoxious mosquito. But just on metaphorical steroids — when a combination of genetic factors, environmental stressors, and chemical allergens come into the attack for an uncontrollable itch, inflamed lesions, and often incessant pain. And it was our job to stop this vicious cycle of ruptured flesh inflicted by the over-enthusiastic scratching of that notorious itch! And did I mention how it can lead to leaky pustules that couldn’t be controlled with over-the-counter antihistamines (which primarily interact with a subset of receptors called H4R). Yes, itch like THIS was the kind of horror show that we played around in! With a top-notch international team of scientist hailing from the scientific research epicenters of Germany, Japan, and the USA, it appeared that Pruritus’ defunct cellular communication would finally be disarmed once and for all!

Pathway of pain and pruritic stimulation from the skin to central nervous system through peripheral nervous system. Infographic based on a scientific review article by my prior PI titled “Frontiers in Pruritus Research: Scratching the Brain for More Effective Itch Therapy” (nice title) published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2006 (source).

Technicolor Dreams

There are design concepts used in formulating science research — one can argue that any form of experimentation is an art form. I especially enjoyed developing beautiful immunofluorescence or immunohistochemistry images of different tissues for markers we were looking to track, which provides insightful visual proof on your predictions. I've attached an image that we’ve produced for one of the projects I was working on involves pruritus, along with one created by a team at John Hopkins University that also found a neurological correlation between itch and pain. The purpose of this experiment was to see if our novel itch-inducing agonist, peptide Interleukin 31 (IL31), and it's corresponding receptor Interleukin 31 Receptor A (IL31RA), was somehow related to various known neuronal pathways for pain and inflammation signaling.

Immunofluorescence stained murine dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons of various pain-sensing neurons (red) and itch-sensing neurons (purple and yellow) triggered from the skin. Image credit: Xinzhong Dong et. al from John Hopkins University (source).

Getting Glowed-UP

In images, a, b, and c, the round structures are individual neurons in a section of mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG), which is essentially a ball of neurons that acts as a relay station between the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. The dorsal horn of the spinal cord is also visualized (as seen in images d & e), which receives several types of sensory information from the DRGS including (aside from itch and pain) fine touch, proprioception, and vibration from the body. And more specifically, the various levels of laminae in the dorsal horn receives sensory projections from the body and coordinates the type of sensory information to be processed with the support of additional cell types (e.g interneurons). The sections have been labeled with fluorescent-labeled antibodies that bind to specific protein structures that they have been bioengineered to compliment — like glowing push-pins on a cork board except we're using a cross-section of tissue, and the pin only attaches to specific shapes of material.

(a,b,c) Immunofluorescence stained murine dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of itch-receptor IL31RA with various neuromarkers (TRPV1, IB4, and N52). Image credit: Ferda Cevikbas et. al. from University of California, San Francisco (source).

STOP it like it’s hot

At the far left column, you will see that our receptor of interest in red (IL31RA), which we believe directly modulates itch, hangs-out (or co-localised & appear yellow by image merge) on some of the same cells as transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (woo* that’s a typeful) labeled in green (or TRPV1/capsaicin receptor/vanilloid receptor for short). You're probably very familiar with the (arguably delicious) burning sensation of capsaicin when you bite into a jalapeño popper. This so happens to be correlated with endorphin and dopamine release via another molecule released called Substance P — talk about a foodie’s high! It’s been suspected that pain overrides some of the itch signals to reduce its rage - hence one’s natural reflex to scratch that itch.

Scientists have cleverly identified the receptor to these more specifically capsaicinoid molecules as the same ones that get turned on by hot temperatures of over 109˚F (43˚C). And have capitalized its use as the stereotypical an acute pain receptor to thermal-mechanical stimuli. On the same type of tissue, with two true positives are used to detect a specific subpopulation of neurons which include Lectin IB4 — a marker for non-peptidergic, unmyelinated sensory neurons, which is typically related to neuropathic pain, and modulates mechanical stimuli. The other is Neurofilament N52, which is a marker for neurons with myelinated axons that allow for fast responses, like pain transmission.

(d) Immunofluorescence stained murine dorsal horn of the spinal cord from control subjects (received intrathecal injection of vehicle) IL31RA and TRPV1, and (e) same procedure except from experimental subjects with TRPV1+ neurons ablated with an intrathecal injection of capsaicin. Image credit: Ferda Cevikbas et. al. from University of California, San Francisco (source).

A Nervous Breakdown

Based on images d and e, it appears that IL31RA is found on some of the same TRPV1+ neurons in the nervous system’s relay station (DRGs), and almost 100% coordination (co-localisation) in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. This was further confirmed by ablating (basically burning away) all TRPV1+ neurons with a spinal flood (intrathecal injection) of capsaicin. However, this itch signaling pathway is only weakly related to a subpopulation of non-peptidergic, unmyelinated sensory neurons (N52), with almost no relation to myelinated neurons (IB4). So basically, IL-31 itch stimuli are strongly correlated with acute pain (TRPV1), but not part of our body’s fast-reacting response system (N52) or neuropathic pain pathways (IB4). When comes to modulation in the spinal cord, most of the IL31RA+/TRPV1+ neurons are found in laminae II which means they are involved in processing injury and inflammation and are concerned with pain sensation. And they probably do this with the help of excitatory interneurons that commonly occupy laminae II and III

Ferda Cevikbas, the principal researcher of IL-31 on skin disease, speaking at the 2011 International Conference on Itch in Tokyo, Japan (video source: Victoria Fong).

Recovery Pathways

This is super interesting because this is visual proof of how acute pain and itch may have coordinated signaling functions through the TRPV1 pathway, and is experienced directly in your central nervous system by IL-31 cytokine signaling. Unfortunately, this means that IL-31/IL31RA related itch cannot be entirely treated by topical methods. But on a more optimistic note, there may be the potential of directly targeting its afferent neurons in the central nervous system, though it would only be possible if the treatment could somehow bypass the blood-brain barrier, e.g. in a compromised CNS caused by multiple sclerosis. Nonetheless, it’s still another scratch closer to helping us pave a pathway that can control antihistamine-resistant pruritus. Our publication “A Sensory Neuron- expressed Interleukin-31 Receptor Mediates T helper Cell-dependent Itch: Involvement of TRPV1 and TRPA1” further elaborates on the molecular basis of T-Helper immune cell-derived IL31 on itch, and the way this signaling differentiates from the classic pain pathways. I’ve also included an infographic that I’ve created on the general overview of these “Pruritic Pathways” that’s based on the publication.

Anyway, I hope I've tickled your … nervous system … with some itchy science (no hemorrhoids here, I promise)!

A general overview on the potential peripheral and central pathways for the novel itch molecule IL-31 based on my prior research lab’s publication: “Our publication “A Sensory Neuron-expressed Interleukin-31 Receptor Mediates T helper Cell-dependent Itch: Involvement of TRPV1 and TRPA1” (source).

The research publication that most of this article is based on that I worked on with a few of the radest scientists ever (source).

The research publication that most of this article is based on that I worked on with a few of the radest scientists ever (source).

An in-depth review on the neurobiology of itch written by one of the post-doctorates and PI from my lab (source).

An in-depth review on the neurobiology of itch written by one of the post-doctorates and PI from my lab (source).

Here is a framed photo of my lab group giving their best Matrix moment (or SnazzyFresh statement). This was given to me as a parting gift when I decided to leave the team to explore life beyond the lab bench. Thank you for everything that you have given to me— it was a stress at times, but mostly the best of times, and a blessing from the Universe to have been set up with you fine folks.

Update: Last edited in May 1, 2019

Rock Fusion

I don’t usually dress like a Mongolian shepherd meets Eskimo dog-sled driver, but when I do I make sure the weather is little over 10F degrees warmer than it’s bearable while sauntering through the back alleys of Oakland with Afshan — good friend, co-founder of Purple Impression, and my impromptu fashion photographer. Embroidery has a special place in my fashion repertoire because it lends a decadent experience built around patterns, color combinations, and cultural heritage. The Chinese are well known for our embroidered silks that once was enjoyed only by royalty- people used to believe that silk spun by silkworms was a gift from the divinities. Unfortunately, much of the embroidery in commercially available clothing has been industrialized, and this art form is at risk of extinction as younger generations become more engaged in technology-driven economies. Regardless of the origin, I am obsessed with this top that’s dubbed “Rock Fusion”- this was the one piece that drew me into this sustainable brand. I think it has this edgy subtle paisley effect, and the muted colors compliment the navy blue material. Also, I got this awesome vintage fur vest at Connie’s Clothesline during a random trip to South Lake Tahoe in the summer — I've got impeccable timing for lugging around (pre-owned) fur. Anyway, you should check it out to double down on your sustainable style!