The 2012 Google Science Fair is underway. Google points students to Science Buddies Project Guide resources for assistance in preparing their step-by-step Project Submissions.

With over 10,000 student entries from around the world, Google's inaugural 2011 Science Fair was a resounding success. Students in 91 countries uploaded their science projects to take part in the virtual science fair. The top fifteen entries were then showcased at a live science fair at Google's California-based headquarters. In the end, there were three top winners, all young women, all who had questions and turned to science to attempt to find answers.

A Single Question Sparks a Winner's Research

According to Lauren (top-right video), a 2011 Google Science Fair winner for her research into marinades as a strategy for lowering the carcinogens in grilled chicken, her science project came to her, in part, because of a family dinner. Having recently read a magazine article about public and legal outcry over the carcinogens found in grilled chicken, an alternative many restaurants and fast food establishments offer as a low-fat or "healthier" alternative to popular fried variations, Lauren's curiosity flared when she noticed her mother using lemon juice as a marinade. In her Google Science Fair entry, Lauren recalls: "One summer afternoon, my mother was preparing our dinner: marinated chicken. One of the ingredients was lemon juice. I observed that the edges of the chicken had turned white. The explanation came later during biology class, when I learned about proteins denaturing from acids. I then wondered if this denaturing process could interrupt the formation of HCA's."

For Lauren, a combination of a real-world science news story, coupled with a home-cooked meal, left her with a question, a starting point, and a scientific journey that took her all the way to Google's winner's circle!

"It was like everyday life presented me with a problem, and now I needed to solve it," said Lauren.

According to Lauren's findings, reducing the risk inherent in the grilling of chicken—a risk that increases depending on how long the chicken is cooked—may be as simple as a marinade. What goes into that marinade, and what ingredients may inhibit the production of carcinogens that form during grilling—was at the heart of Lauren's Google science fair project. Her findings, based on her testing of a small number of possible marinade ingredients, suggest a need for further research on the effectiveness of brown sugar, salt water, and lemon juice as core ingredients for pre-soaking chicken. As her project (and her results) show, what is popularly thought to be the most healthy approach to cooking or ingredient selection... might not be!

2012 Google Science Fair

Celebrating the importance of asking questions, of being curious about how things work and what may be possible, this year's Google Science Fair is underway. The videos above showcase three students, including Lauren, and the kinds of questions they asked last year. What is your question? And where might finding an answer take you?

Students age 13-18 are eligible to submit a science project either individually or as a team. The Google Science Fair site is full of information designed to help students prepare and enter the competition. Project Submissions involve a series of 11 components and either a 2-minute YouTube video or a 20-slide Google Presentation. For a full run-down of the steps, visit: www.google.com/sciencefair.

To assist students as they work through the individual steps in preparing a Project Submission, Google has partnered with Science Buddies. Students can link through to information from the Science Buddies Project Guide for more information about many of the steps required for a student's Project Submission. Students are also encouraged to review both the steps of the Scientific Method and the Engineering Design Process.

The deadline for submissions for the 2012 Google Science Fair is April 1, 2012.

The image above shows predicted rise and fall of sunspot activity during a Solar Cycle. Image source: NASA.

Born on January 24, 1882: Harold Delos Babcock, an astronomer who studied sunspot cycles and the sun's magnetic polarity during each approximately 11-year cycle.

That the orientation of the sun's poles changes, routinely, may come as a surprise, but, right now the sun's poles are upside down. The sun looks the same, but every 11 years or so, things flip over again as the Solar Cycle progresses, reaches, and passes its midway point. (The Earth's polarity also changes, but with much less regularity—the last change was more than 750,000 years ago!).

According to NASA, "graphs of sunspot numbers resemble a roller coaster, going up and down with an approximately 11-year period." It is at the high point, the "Solar Maximum," that astronomers have discovered that the magnetic orientation of the sun changes. In February 2001, NASA reported on the "flip" as the Solar Cycle 23 hit Solar Maximum: "The Sun's magnetic north pole, which was in the northern hemisphere just a few months ago, now points south."

While the magnetic flip has come to represent an expected part of each solar cycle and an indication of Solar Maximum during the approximately 11-year cycle, forecasting the "peak" of a solar cycle remains variable. Scientists are sure the reversal will happen, but pinpointing "when" is often only possible as we near the Solar Maximum. A survey of reports over the last several years regarding Solar Cycle 24, our current cycle, shows that NASA made several predictions that indicated a "peak" in 2011 or 2012. Indeed, in an account of the 2001 flip, NASA noted, "The Sun's magnetic poles will remain as they are now, with the north magnetic pole pointing through the Sun's southern hemisphere, until the year 2012 when they will reverse again. This transition happens, as far as we know, at the peak of every 11-year sunspot cycle—like clockwork."

They were close. Revised NASA forecasts now posit a "peak" for Solar Cycle 24 in mid-2013, with an unusually low number of sunspots during the Solar Maximum, the lowest since 1928.

Making Connections

It's not a clock you'll want to base your day-to-day activities upon, but the "clockwork" behavior of the Solar Cycle is interesting to watch and leads to much discussion and prediction from armchair astronomers and observatory-researchers alike. Students, too, can jump in and learn more about sunspots, magnetic fields, and the Solar Cycle. The following Project Ideas give students a chance to use publicly-available, historical data to learn more:

• Sunspot Cycles
• Correlation of Coronal Mass Ejections with the Solar Sunspot Cycle

Licorice root may help fight cavities and other oral health problems, but most "licorice" candies are actually flavored with anise. Image source: Pikaluc, Wikapedia.

Willing to try a licorice-based toothpaste?

When it comes to candy, certain flavors fall into a category that tends to require a more sophisticated palate. That's my decidedly non-scientific assessment having watched my own kids and their love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with all things "mint," something to which dental-care product developers really should pay more attention since many "kid" pastes still have a bit of mint "bite" to them. After witnessing thousands of mint-related shrieks and mini-rebellions, I've thought about the way our palates change and grow with time. We know this about spinach and brussels sprouts, right? But clearly there are certain flavorings, as well, that we potentially grow into (and out of).

Already there has been a softening to mint. For a while, we dumped strawberry toothpaste and existed harmoniously with a single tube of mint, but it was short-lived. Someday, I have no doubt they may prefer a real candy cane in December to a sickly, sweet and sour, fruit punch flavored one. Someday, I am sure they'll look at me in disbelief when I recount the fit thrown at the dentist when one selected a chocolate toothpaste from the picture-based menu only to realize when it hit the tongue that it was chocolate mint. For now, even mint-flavored dental floss is frowned upon, and in reality, most dental flosses have at least a hint of mint.

Mint isn't the only category of candy flavoring that seemingly grows on one with age. While, personally, I look back fondly on the world of Atomic Fireballs, Hot Tamales, and even Big Red chewing gum, which my grandfather stocked in his shirt pocket, along with Juicy Fruit (I guess I pre-date the sugarless gum industry!), my kids won't come near cinnamon-flavored candies. I doubt they'd cozy up to something ginger-flavored or black-licorice flavored either.

I remember liking black licorice, and as an adult, I can vouch for the goodness of a chocolate-ginger combo, but I can't imagine my kids opting for either over something sweet, sour, and sure-to-turn-the-tongue-bright-blue.

It's too bad, because a toothpaste with a base of licorice root might help safeguard our trips to the dentist's office!

The "Root" of Things

Recent studies have shown that licorice root has benefits for oral health—cavity-fighting benefits. Scientists behind a study in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Journal of Natural Products cite licorice root as being instrumental in helping fight both tooth decay and gum disease. Licorice root has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for various reasons, and to enhance the properties of other herbal additives, but the recent US-based study focused specifically on the effect of compounds in licorice root on bacteria common to the mouth. According to studies, licoricidin and licorisoflavan A, two compounds found in licorice root, help inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause cavities as well as bacteria related to gum disease.

In reality, however, those looking to take advantage of licorice-laden oral healthcare will need to find their licorice somewhere other than the candy aisle because licorice root is commonly replaced by anise oil in candies. So if you decide to add licorice to your list, be sure and check package labels and ingredients.

Making Connections

Tooth decay is a widespread problem, but it is one that can be helped with both preventive and routine care. According to the CDC, "tooth decay affects more than one-fourth of U.S. children aged 2-5 years and half of those aged 12-15 years." Those are high percentages, as is this startling statistic: "one-fourth of U.S. adults aged 65 or older have lost all of their teeth."

Can licorice root make a difference? How safe is licorice root? How much can be taken? For how long? Are there other risks?

These are just a few of the questions researchers have to consider and explore, and there are already warnings accompanying stories about the benefits of licorice root that indicate there are counter-risks related to blood pressure and potassium levels. Licorice root is also a legume, which raises additional considerations for those concerned about gluten. As one might expect, licorice-root Altoids® probably won't suddenly be appearing in the dental health aisle as an end-all solution to oral health.

Further exploration, however, seems prudent, and students can jump in by learning more about the ways in which licorice root interacts with oral bacteria.

Taking it Further

Students interested in designing an independent science project focused on the anti-bacterial properties of a substance like licorice root may find the underpinnings of their project in the The End Zone: Measuring Antimicrobial Effectiveness with Zones of Inhibition Project Idea, adapted to use licorice extract and bacteria cultured from swabbing the inside of the mouth.

As with any bacteria-based project or study, however, it is important for students to fully review and be mindful of SRC guidelines and rules regulating bacteria projects. The Science Buddies Microorganisms Safety Guide offers additional information.