China Dolls

Genetically engineered plants, computer-generated children and artistic prosthetics in this week's look at the web

Mattel’s iconic Barbie doll—with her long blond hair and impossible body proportions—isn’t the popular kid in China. In a country where educational success is one of the most highly prized values, a Barbie doll would only cause distractions for children and take precious time away from studying. In an attempt to woo over this important international market, Mattel—as well as other major toy manufacturers like …

Grow Your Own…

Genetically engineered plants, computer-generated children and artistic prosthetics in this week's look at the web

As unsettling as it is interesting, “Grow Your Own…” is celebrating the ultra-designed life of the future. The exhibition—on display until 19 January 2014 at Trinity College, Dublin—explores the art and science behind “synthetic biology,” an emerging approach to genetic engineering. To give you a sense of the new field, one project investigates life-saving organs that combine human, leech, eel and snake tissue, and another …

Lou Reed: Walk On The Wild Side

Our brief look at the iconic artist's musical legacy

Produced by David Bowie, “Walk On The Wild Side“—from his second solo album Transformer—is one of Reed’s biggest mainstream successes. The epically irreverent 1972 track speaks to so much of his life’s widespread interests: New York City, curious adventures, harmoniously complex guitar work, jazz, English literature (the song was developed for a Nelson Algren novel), doo-wop, Warhol and more. Reed’s music has the uncanny ability …