need help finding science fair idea

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Isabellecharlot
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2014 6:18 am
Occupation: Student: 10th grade
Project Question: Need help finding creative topic to do on type 2 diabetes for science fair
Project Due Date: January
Project Status: I am just starting

need help finding science fair idea

Post by Isabellecharlot »

hi i am a tenth grader from Massachusetts. i have science fair and i need help finding a topic. my mom and aunt both have type 2 diabeties and i wanted to do something creative with both of them.i want it to be on type 2 diabeties. they have both agreed to do something with me but i just dont know what. i want to do something cool and something unique. thanks! :mrgreen:
SciB
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Posts: 2066
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:00 am
Occupation: Retired molecular biologist, university researcher and teacher
Project Question: I wish to join Scibuddies to be able to help students achieve the best science project possible and to understand the science behind it.
Project Due Date: n/a
Project Status: Not applicable

Re: need help finding science fair idea

Post by SciB »

Hi Isabelle,

Sorry for the previous reply from the person sending spam. Please ignore it.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is becoming a global problem of alarming proportions and is affecting people at younger ages. I know people who have it so am fairly familiar with the causes and treatments. The disease can have pretty awful consequences if not controlled, but drugs, diet and exercise (losing weight!) all help to keep it in check.

If you haven't already done so, check the project ideas tab on Scibuddies for diabetes: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... s=diabetes

It is easy to measure one's blood sugar today with the new glucose meters and perhaps your family members who have T2D already use them. Diet is a big part of controlling T2D and your relatives could keep a food diary to see if what they are eating is raising or lowering their fasting blood sugar level. Here's some information on how to eat when you are trying to get your blood sugar down to normal: http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/eating-right

Do you have any special interests with regard to the kinds of experiments you might like to do? A lot of research is done on cells in the lab to test new drugs and treatments, but unless you have access to a university lab and someone to teach you how to work with cells, such a project would be difficult.

One of the cool new technologies that I like are the wearable monitors that can relay information to a smart phone. There is actually a gadget like a watch that is supposed to be able to measure blood glucose levels without drawing blood: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 122012.htm
Such a device would be a real blessing to a diabetic. There are other sensors you can wear while you are exercising that will measure your pulse rate and activity level. My smart phone has a WalkMate that tells me how many steps i take during the day, how many miles I go (the daily goal is at least 5 miles!) and how many calories this burns up.

I would suggest you ask your mom and aunt what questions they might like to see answered about their condition--as long as they can be done with the resources you have and the time you can spend. Also do some searching and reading about T2D and see what sorts of things are not known about the disease and whether you could set up a project to study them. It's great that you really want to help people through science. That's what it's all about!

Good luck,

Sybee
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