Botany is one of the core disciplines of biology. Even though the DNA code will differ, the basic structure of DNA is shared among all living organisms.

Life blossoms all around us; nature is all around us. Nowadays, we tend to forget about nature, and take it for granted.

What if we say we can reconnect with nature in a meaningful way; a way to preserve life?

Right from birth, babies are severed from their um-bilical cord. More and more doctors are suggesting parents to store the blood, rich in stem cells from their child’s umbilical cord as pre-emptive measure for the future.

Stem cells therapy can help many neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, heart diseases, and many other conditions.

Storing those stem cells in a blood blank can be costly for the family. Through genetic engineering and new developed technology, we can now store stem cells and DNA in plants that people can keep right at home.

Biotanical will allow folks to have this precious life material right at home. Our design is a special plant, easy to maintain where it’ll safely keep, and nurture the preserved genetic material, until we need it.

We hope that Biotanical will allow a much more transparent experience of storing their genetic materials, as owners will have much more control over its whereabouts and uses.

DART 491 Discursive Design Research I, PROF/ Valerie Lamontage Speculative Design Artifact, CONCORDIA Fall 2014 TEAM/ Eman Alzamil, Vala Amini, Elisabeth Dupuis, Ketlin Martins, Jacqueline Ros Chea

Bibliographical References1. http://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/cord-blood-stem-cells-current-uses-and-future-challenges2. http://www.babycenter.com/0_banking-your-babys-cord-blood-an-overview_1362261.bc3. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269313.php4. http://www.biopresence.com/biotech.html5. http://plantoddities.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-custom.cgi?d=plant-oddities&page=29526. http://www.airplants4u.com/TillandsiaCare.html7. http://vimeo.com/70090328. http://www.spicytec.com/2011/07/secondary-growth-con-cept-computer-acts.html9. http://designplaygrounds.com/deviants/botanicus-interacti-cus-interactive-plant-technology/10. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4449233

The Tillandsia Air Plant was genetically engineered in a specialized laboratory to accomodate foreign material; allowing human umbilical cord blood stem cells to be implemented within its anatomy

The plant holder was constructed using oak ply wood

Medical IV tubings designed to become a sensory system that holds a special liquid that chemically reacts to the plant’s needs

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DART 491 Discursive Design Research I PROF/ Valerie Lamontage

Speculative Design ArtifactCONCORDIA Fall 2014

TEAM/ Eman Alzamil, Vala Amini, Elisabeth Dupuis, Ketlin Martins, Jacqueline Ros Chea

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References:

1. http://www.riversideonline.com/source/images/image_popup/mcdc7_fetal_development_week19.jpg2. http://ecordbloodbanking.com/costs-of-cord-blood-banking/3. http://www.sarnet.org/lib/todaySAR16-29.htm4. http://gizmodo.com/5991488/the-super-pro-tein-that-can-cut-dna-and-revolutionize-genetic-engineering5. http://www.gmnation.org.uk 6. http://imgkid.com/dna-tree-art.shtml

7. http://oggybloggyogwr.blogspot.ca/2013/11/life-ethics-indepen-dence-vi-genetic.html8. https://www.etsy.com/market/hanging_terrarium9. http://www.stilettomaniac.com/2014/10/healthy-kids-make-hap-py-home.html 10. http://www.lushome.com/contemporary-floor-lamp-blend-ing-lighting-design-glass-plant-terrarium/8367611. http://www.empowerme2b.org12. http://tw.becuber.com/spacep?uid=2255&do=blog&id=3734