GMU:Being a Unicellular Organism/Cosmo Niklas Schüppel

Being a Unicellular Organism

Project research

Cosmo Niklas Schüppel

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31.10.2021

''Ethics of working with living beings''

When I think about working with another living organism artistically, or scientifically, an ethical problem arises in my mind. This problem is the question of consent. When I work with another being, then it is less an act of working together, but one, where the other being is working for me, or I am using them to be in my work. In the worst case the other being is even harmed for my benefit. This problem comes up, because of the impossibility of communication between the user and the used, and our believe-system, which puts us humans above all other beings. So is it possible to really work WITH another being, if you cannot communicate with them and if there is clearly a hierarchy of whose interests are more important?

Of course nature is full of hierarchies and unspoken ‚agreements‘. Food-chains are one of many examples, the strongest survives and eats the weak, but where is the difference? The difference lies in the justification for the action. Every being has a drive to survive and it will do everything in it’s power to do so. This inherent quality of nature is one of the basis of the system in which we are living and no way goes around it. The drive to live justifies actions that decide over life and death, at least for beings that don’t have the ability to question their actions in the way that we can. But what is my justification?

Can science justify their harm on helpless beings, or even animals, with the good that they are giving to human kind? Is this not again an unjustified hierarchy put on the relationship of humans to other beings? Is the human really better, or more worthy to be alive than other beings? Even though many would disagree, can we even act according to this believe? Is it possible to NOT put ourselves above others? Human above animal, but also human above human. How much can we put others above ourselves without decaying in the process? Of course with little things it is not a problem and it is even seen as a virtue, but in situation of survival, how much leeway is really there? How selfless can we be? How selfless do we want to be? How good it being selfless working, if you cannot comprehend the damage you are making?

If putting yourself above others is a natural state of survival, then where is the problem when working in an artistic context? It is in many ways important for our survival. Science definitely is, but still there is a difference. The difference, for me lies in how conscious the decision has to be made. The more aware I am of my actions, the more I can start to question my role in my actions, my responsibility and also my justification for my actions. The more conscious I make my decisions, these questions don’t just become possibilities, they become necessities, they become an indispensable part of life, and this is what these questions truly are.

As humans we have the gift to be able to contemplate nature in a unique way. These questions have to become our underlying base of understanding and interacting with the world, if we want to start living in a way that harmonizes with the beings that share our living space. It may not always be possible to act in a way that does not put humans above other beings or yourself above other humans, but opening the door to questioning your justification for your actions is the first step of changing your behavior.

28.10.21

Euglina Gracilis and Bio-fuels

I started to research the Euglena gracilis, because I was interested in its reaction to sound. After I found no research on the topic, I went into its reaction to electromagnetic fields. I found some papers, one very interesting one on the effect of EM fields on the movement of E. gracilis. This topic intrigued me, but around that time I stumbled across many studies, that work in the field of Biofuel and how it can be produced using E. gracilis.

Bio-fuel, or in this case bio-diesel, is a “ clean“ alternative to the commonly used fossil fuels (gasoline, diesel, kerosene), because it is biodegradable and renewable. There is the possibility and hope, that it could replace fossil fuel one day. The topic of fossil fuels is becoming more and more relevant. In times where supplies are shrinking, demands are rising and nature is getting destroyed in the process, the need for a new source of power is as more grand than ever. Seeing the importance of this topic and the big possibility in using E. Gracilis, naturally I had to go deeper into the topic, even though my lack of biochemistry-knowledge would not help the research.

In theory

Simplified the creation of bio-diesel with E. gracilis functions as follows. E. Gracilis is grown in a medium with an aerobic environment and sunlight. If these cells are now transferred into a dark, warm and anaerobic surrounding, the E. gracilis will start to produce Wax Ester. Wax Esters (WE) are fatty acids and fatty alcohols. WE can then be converted into bio-fuel. This process is called fermentation. If cells deprived of nitrogen are incubated under the dark anaerobic conditions, their fermentation of WE is 70-fold higher then of nitrogen-replete cells. The amount of wax esters produced is, depending on the study, medium and other factors in the experiments, about 600-850mg/100ml (6g/l).

In practise

As simple as the theory might sound, in reality I am finding more and more obstacles. The deeper I dive into the subject matter, the more things seem to stand in my way. The main two things being the lack of ‚professional' equipment available to me and even more problematic, my lack of knowledge in biochemistry.

In conclusion

Even though I get quite lost in the science lingo of the studies. Even though my not-understanding, my constant googling of back-round-knowledge, even though my amateur attempt to tackle a topic that the top of science is working on, even though my chances of really creating my own bio-fuels are quite small, I would like to go deeper into the subject matter. This topic holds such a controversy and such possibilities that is very important to me to work on it. It is a topic, that is perfectly reflecting the feeling of our time. It is a hope for a clean future. It is politically, economically, socially and environmentally too important to not be worked on in an artistic context.

Sources

Frontiers in Microbiology: Succinate and Lactate Production from Euglena gracilis during Dark, Anaerobic Conditions https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.02050/full

Frontiers in Microbiology: Bioproducts From Euglena gracilis: Synthesis and Applications https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00108/full

Yoshiki Tani, Masakazu Okumura & Shigeru Li (1987) Liquid Wax Ester production by Euglena gracilis https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00021369.1987.10868005

Hiroshi Inui, Kazataka Miyatake, Yoshihisa Nakano & Shozaburo Kitaoka (1982) Wax Ester fermentation in Euglina gracilis https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82718947.pdf

Anearobiosis using candle jar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7cdEh1I2I