A Plastic Sheet Which Can Heal And Sense

Artificial limbs have always been there for decades now. However, a common factor that links the prosthetics which were used earlier as well as those used now, is that there is no sense of touch. In the near future, though, Zhenan Bao intends for this to change.

Zhenan Bao is at Stanford University as a Chemical engineer, and it is her goal to make the artificial skin using plastic. This created skin should do whatever normal skin can do.
In fact, the devices are being tested by her in a nitrogen box. This is the stage where the testing happens before these can be exposed to the air.

These devices are made of plastic, and this has the electrical properties which are found in silicon. In fact, this looks like any ordinary plastic, but it has pressure sensors which are between the layers and based on how hard it is pressed, the electrical properties change. This is done with the help of electrodes which are in the form of fine lines. These convert the touch signals into electrical pulses.
This plastic also has the capability of repairing itself when it gets torn just like the skin heals itself when it is scratched. This property is mimicked by the design of the molecules. In fact, the plastic which is created can even stretch up to 8 times of what its actual length was.

The power of the artificial skin is a problem that is being sorted upon by Bao. One potential method could be to use a polymer where light can be turned into electricity. This could be done by absorbing light and transferring it to electricity.

Bao has already initiated a company where they will sell a version of the plastic she has created for making of touch screens. It is her endeavor however to help those people who have lost their limbs to regain their sense of touch.

Controversial Rock Band Performance In Jordan

The officials in Jordan stated that the music of the band is contradictory to the religious and cultural values, but then they overturned their decision to ban Mashrou Leila, the Lebanese Rock Band from performing in the amphitheater in Amman.

Few days before their scheduled performance, Mashrou Leila was given a written notice that the concert would be at odds with regards the authenticity of the performance venue. This was shared by the band on Facebook on the 26th Of April. They also stated that they were informed unofficially that due to their religious and political beliefs as well as the gender equality as well as sexual freedom which they endorsed, that they would not be allowed to play in Jordan.

As a result of this decision, there were several thousands of Arabs that were angered. This was mainly due to the fact that the band is an indie favorite all through the Arab world and they are well loved for their punchy rock songs as well as the ballads they sing which are based on poignant topics such as religion, sexuality as well as political oppression.

This band came together in 2008 and that too, at the American University in Beirut, and post their formation, they have released three albums. They have also performed to fans in the Middle East, Beirut, Cairo, Europe as well as North America.

These have lyrics which are subversive and which are satirical. In fact they have given so many people belonging to the LGBT community courage to come out to their families.
The governor of Amman said earlier that the concert was banned due to social as well as religious reasons as they promote values contradicting those of Islam as well as Christianity. However, later on, a memo was issued where the concert was authorized.

Frida Kahlo’s First Painting Sold To The Boston Museum

There is a Mexican artist known as Frida Kahlo, and till now there were 12 paintings done by her which were up for public display. However, now there is one more as the Boston Museum has possession of Dos Mujeres which is the first painting done by the painter which was ever sold.
Kahlo is an artist who is known for creating fantastical self-portraits. However, in Dos Mujeres, there are two other women who are shown.

The people in the painting are believed to be the maids of the artists and the ones who worked for her family during her childhood.
The paintings show the women who are Mexicans. It also shows one who has olive skin and features which are very Indian. The other has paler skin and has a hoop of gold in her ear. There is dense foliage which surrounds them, and this has fruits as well as butterflies.

As per MacBeth, this painting was done during the start of her career, and this was after the car crash which damaged her pelvis and spine permanently. When she created this painting, she was 21 years old as she met with the crash in 1925 and painted this in 1928.

At a party where the sale was probably being celebrated, the artist signed it and dated it 1929 July which is a month before she got married to Diego Rivera and a year after she painted the painting. This was also signed by Diego Rivera and also the person who bought the painting who was an American Industrialist named Jackson Cole Phillips. In fact, it was in the family till his heirs put it up for sale at a gallery in New York City.

The museum acquired the painting for an undisclosed sum, even though the record for a Kahlo at an auction is $5.6 million.