Psychology: The scarred self
ess than a month after the terrorist attacks in Paris, Trauma, the latest show at Science Gallery Dublin, feels unnervingly relevant. Exploring, among other things, the surprising role of trauma in emotional resilience, this collection of objects and ideas ranges from haunting photos from Northern Ireland's Troubles to a room-sized instrument crafted by a composer with tinnitus (see J. Hoffman Nature 505, 159; 2014) and photograms of plant specimens from Chernobyl. Trauma, from the Greek word meaning 'wound' , is profoundly personal: the sufferer is sealed off within the mental or physical experience. Katharine Dowson's Memory of a Brain Malformation, a delicate laser etching of a brain tumour in glass, emphasizes this isolation. Dowson — who often works with scientists and physicians — portrays the growth as a discrete entity inside a nest of sinuous veins. (The actual tumour was successfully removed from her cousin's brain by laser treatment.) The work evokes both the emotional trauma of diagnosis and the energy of a positive outcome. External trauma to the head can be just as damaging, and the neurological problems arising from it in sport are the focus of intense research. The installation Impact examines the design of helmets for sports such as American football and Irish hurling , sparked by such studies. Mechanical engineer Ciaran Simms at Trinity College Dublin, for instance, examines the body's response to high-force impacts in rugby; Stefan Duma at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg uses real-time sensors in the field and lab to rate commercial helmet design. A darker realm of trauma is explored on the gallery's ground floor in The Interrogation of Detainee 063, an infographic detailing 50 harrowing days in the interrogation of Mohammed al-Qahtani at the United States' Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba. The exhibit underlines the extreme suffering triggered by torture. Colour-coding shows the duration of interrogation, loud music and inhumane and degrading treatments, such as being forced to wear a muffling hood or humiliating signs, or to write letters of apology to victims of the terror attacks of 11 September 2001. Upstairs, Stressed Body, Stressed Brain investigates one physiological response that is central to the notorious torture technique waterboarding. This response, the diving reflex, is triggered when the face is immersed in cold water. The exhibit invites viewers to lie down and have a damp cloth placed on their cheeks to gauge how this upsets memory …
Neuroscience: Tortured reasoning
Lasana T. Harris commends a book exposing the lack of scientific basis to 'enhanced interrogation techniques'.
Synthesis of β-FeSi2 nanowires by using silicon nanowire templates
Si nanowires templates were grown by a Cu-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid process and used for the preparation of β-FeSi2 nanowires on a Si substrate. The silicon nanowires were transformed into β-FeSi2 nanowires by annealing with additional source material containing FeCl2 and Si powder. In contrast to uniform Si nanowire templates along the direction, the synthesized nanowires were deformed irregularly. The electron diffraction pattern of the nanowires synthesized from the template corresponded to that of single-crystalline β-FeSi2 and the longitudinal direction of the nanowire was along the direction. The energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that the nanowire contained Fe and Si in an atomic ratio of approximately 1:2. The results confirmed that β-FeSi2 nanowires on a Si substrate were synthesized from the Si nanowire templates.Si nanowires templates were grown by a Cu-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid process and used for the preparation of β-FeSi2 nanowires on a Si substrate. The silicon nanowires were transformed into β-FeSi2 nanowires by annealing with additional source material containing FeCl2 and Si powder. In contrast to uniform Si nanowire templates along the direction, the synthesized nanowires were deformed irregularly. The electron diffraction pattern of the nanowires synthesized from the template corresponded to that of single-crystalline β-FeSi2 and the longitudinal direction of the nanowire was along the direction. The energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that the nanowire contained Fe and Si in an atomic ratio of approximately 1:2. The results confirmed that β-FeSi2 nanowires on a Si substrate were synthesized from the Si nanowire templates.