Plastics to the Rescue

Cryptic Moth's USA road trip is well under way. So much so that we're behind on our blog. Apologies.



After a brief stopover at the Cryptic Moth compound in Vermont, we drove south to Massachusetts to meet Dr. Bob, polymer chemist and plastic guru of M.I.T. We were there to discuss the benefits of different polymers in medical applications.



With over 500 patents, Dr. Bob is a busy man. He mainly works with non-toxic bioplastics that can be safely implanted in the body - like resins that can slowly release drugs to the brain to fight cancer or plastic stints with memory that can open blood vessels simply by shining a laser on it. He even develops plastic that can tie itself into a knot for internal suturing!



If that isn't enough, Dr. Bob is now growing tissues on plastic scaffolding (remember that ear that was grown the back of a rat?). Basically, they take cells from a stem cell or donor and grow it on a piece of plastic that is shaped like, say, a liver. In the right environment, with the right stimulus, a new organ could be grown on demand and implanted.



And he's already had success. He re-grew the spinal cord of a paralyzed rat and made it walk again (wait until you see the video!). One can only imagine the possibilities...



After shooting the interview and some broll of the labs, we decided to head back to Vermont for the weekend and film some scenics of the Green Mountains.



We also took the opportunity to retrofit an industrial dolly into a film dolly. Once again, give Gad a drill and some wood and stand back!



It will surely be a great addition to upcoming factory shots.



We capped off the day with more generic scenic shots as well as close-up's of corn fields to show the origins of many bioplastics.





After some much needed R&R with friends, we are ready for a 10,000 kilometer road trip.

Stay tuned.

Out.

G+I

Internet Debut of Alphabet Soup

That's right Cryptic Moth fans (especially Lee), please click on the link at the bottom of the post to see the short movie that started it all.

For the uninitiated, this 13-minute film was shot last summer in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, in an area called the Eastern Garbage Patch. Due to currents and air pressure, most of the ocean debris coming from Asia accumulate in this endlessly circulating vortex. I had been invited along by Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (www.algalita.org) who has been quantifying the amount of pelagic plastic and its levels of toxicity.

It was not a pretty sight and this is not a happy story.

I had to find out what was being done to stop the deluge. This is our mission.

A special thanks go to Aveda for sponsoring the journey, to Gad for the kick-ass editing and to the Captain and crew of the Alguita for giving sea legs to a land-locked Canuck.

Finally, Alphabet Soup will debut on the big screen at this year's Planet In Focus - Toronto's International Enviro Film Fest.

Expect posts from the USA in the next few days.

Out.
I

Please consider that this file is 15mb and should be viewed using a high speed internet connection. Otherwise click the link below and enjoy!!!
Alphabet_Soup.wmv