A Few Questions

[NatKitty]

Hello! I am wondering multiple things.
Here’s some background information: I have participated in local science fairs for the past 2 years, and this year, I’d like to make it further than just a local competition. I always have trouble finding a topic that relates to the real world in some way, and would like to know, can study projects do just as well as experimental projects in higher-level science fairs? I have never done an experimental project before, but my study projects were never really higher-level...
Anyways, I am interested in relating my project to life sciences, and would like to research apoptosis. Is the idea to research apoptosis to broad? I feel like it may be, but how can I narrow it down?
In addition, the problem is, I am not sure how to find someone to mentor me (like a professor) from my city who studies apoptosis, and many things about the process are still unknown. How would you recommend finding a mentor and/or devising some sort of experiment? Or would a project like this be better as simply a research project? I have read through the information on this website on finding a mentor, but I am not sure how to contact anyone from my city, and how to seem polite (and not desperate to work in a lab).
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope to hear back from someone (if possible). In addition, I am not sure whether I posted this topic on the right forum, but hopefully that’s alright.

[17eugenekim]

Hi there,

When it comes to science fairs, there's a wide range of restrictions, regulations, and guidelines. When possible, I suggest checking specifics with the directors of the fair itself, especially regarding the "study"/"experiment" aspect. Overall I would go with the "experiment" type because it is much more robust and demonstrates a solid foundation for scientific inquiry, compared to just reading some papers and Googling things.

If you haven't already, I also suggest reading through our Science Buddies Project Guide: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ience-fair . Perhaps the Advanced Guide would also interest you for your level: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ce-project

Researching "apoptosis" is not a scientific question, whether "study" or "experiment"-based project. What you have right now is an area of interest. You'll need to narrow it down even further to get a question that you can answer using a set of experiments. For more details, check out "Your Question" under the Project Guide. Our Experts will be happy to help you through the process of deciding on a question, but this is a good place to start. Think about what aspect of apoptosis you want to study. Do certain chemicals affect apoptosis? Why is apoptosis important for us to understand? What are some medical consequences of improper apoptosis? Ask yourself as many questions like these as possible and you should slowly start building a experiment in your mind.

It sounds like you've read our "How to Find a Mentor" piece: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... tem-mentor . As it suggests, reaching out to local university professors currently conducting research is your best bet. There are (usually) a lot of them in any given area of interest; research is literally their job; and many of them probably have mentoring experience, at least at the college student level if not at the high school student level. Websites often have plenty of information from email addresses to past publications.

Find some of these faculty members, do some background research on their work, and reach out to as many of them as possible. It sounds scary, but it's really not. It's just an email. Be courteous and professional, but also be straightforward about what you're looking for - a mentor for your science fair project. You are not trying to work under them for their projects; you are asking for their help. Understand that many of them will say no, and many might simply not answer. But hopefully you should get at least one that says yes.

Note: I would strongly suggest not reaching out to mentors until you have a project idea. Otherwise, how else are you going to explain what you want from them?

I'd be happy to help you further as you develop your project over time. I hope this helps for what you have now. Keep us updated!

-Eugene

[NatKitty]

Thank you for your reply! I think I am going to determine exactly what my project will be on before I ask an expert. Ideally, I would like to conduct an experiment.

I’m not sure whether I would actually convey an experiment in a lab in the near future, but I think that would be feasible once I know what I would like to test. I am most interested in the aspect of finding a way to induce apoptosis in abnormal/cancer cells. I have read parts of articles which explain that it’s possible to do so using herbal remedies, and I’m wondering: would it be feasible to do a project on creating a target to find abnormal/cancerous cells and then inducing apoptosis using a specific medicine or cell or remedy? I’m not sure whether I would find a lab to do such work in, though, so, with this main idea, should I attempt to contact a specialist, and in what field should they be in? Like, would I contact someone who specializes in cancer, or something like cells in general or diseases?

[17eugenekim]

It's good to hear that you're planning further details in your project. I would definitely agree and say that you'll need to do more background research into this project to get a better sense of what you are investigating, what you need, what kind of data you'll be collecting, etc. before you reach out for a mentor. For instance, think about what kind of herbal remedy you are testing, and what aspect of it is causing the effect, as well as how you might obtain it. Depending on the mentor, some may be less willing to help you out with personal materials. Also think about what specific types of cells you'll want to culture and test things on. What would your definition of "abnormal" cells be?

Basically, when you contact potential mentors, run through your head what kinds of questions they might ask about your project. (They may ask them, or they may not; but it's still a good exercise.) Think about what answers you'd give. This is what helped me design a project in high school. Also, regarding what kinds of mentors to ask - at the moment it would be in your best interest to consider as broadly as possible, without obviously transgressing into irrelevant field specialists. Use your best judgment and never be afraid of rejection.

Keep us posted here as you navigate this process - and don't hesitate to ask more questions.

–Eugene

[NatKitty]

Hello again! I am sort-of feeling a bit discouraged about my project, simply because, regardless of my ideas, I think it is not really ‘creative.’ Is there a way I could take my project ideas, and make them into something creative and unique, or something that someone has not really seen before?

[17eugenekim]

That's unfortunate to hear! What makes you say that it is not "creative?" Depending on the context, that may not even be a bad thing at all!

A lot of times, the core concept or process of the project might not be original, which is fine - completely novel ideas are pretty rare in science. More often, people will take an idea from someone else, have a tangential question, and modify the idea to fit their project. For instance, there are only so many ways to prepare a petri dish of cells and treat them with a chemical to see how they react. But different researchers might use different types of cells, different incubating conditions, different chemicals, and different testing methods to get different data.

Additionally, another way I recall modifying my project to make it more "creative" is just mixing things together. I was doing something similar to a classic antibiotic resistance project (https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ce#summary), but then started thinking about mixing drugs in different ratios and dilutions. This has the real-world connection of multiple-resistant bacterial strains, which might survive one type but not two. Since you're probably going to work with chemicals as well, perhaps consider using combinations of things like your herbal remedies or extracts. Also keep in mind to justify it from a theoretical standpoint - i.e. why use combinations? What's the point/application?

Also keep in mind that the scientific process is often ripe with new ideas and tangents to go off - sometimes you might not know about a new and interesting project direction to take until you actually start something!

If I had more details about what your thought process is right now, I'd be happy to help you in more detail.

–Eugene

[NatKitty]

Thank you for your answers, as I really find it helpful to know certain things. Thank you for your encouragement in general as well.
I would like to ask more questions to you, but I am simply worried by the fact that this is a public website, and anyone would be able to see (or steal) my ideas. How do you suggest I ask questions if they are more specific, like, if they relate more to my project and not just any other project...? I hope you understand what I mean. What should I do about the prospect of this being a public website, as I do not want my idea taken by anyone...

[17eugenekim]

If there are any ways that you can supply details without revealing more than you want, then by all means go ahead. But unfortunately, to get the most out of these forums, you will need to post ideas publicly - otherwise myself and other Experts are not readily able to help you.

If you use the search bar, you may be able to find previous Expert forum discussion topics with similar or otherwise applicable experiment designs, which might be tangentially helpful.

We can't promise that your ideas won't be taken; science is often based on building off of existing ideas and there's not much we can do to preserve something as nonmaterial as a project concept. (Proper replication of existing experiments itself is a common and important bulwark of science and discovery!) At the very least, you can point to this discussion and claim the timestamp for when you had the idea. Also keep in mind that project ideas are not as substantive like data, results, or figures (which are safeguarded more carefully by scientists), so there's less risk in others claiming it as theirs.

I hope you find a way that works for you, and that we can assist you further.

-Eugene

[NatKitty]

Hello! I have reached out to many scientists requesting to do an experiment in their lab with their assistance, and all replies have come back negative. Do you have any suggestions of what I can do? I’m not sure whether there are any other professionals (experts) in a similar field where I am from... One expert which I asked said my experiment would require supervision, and therefore he would not be able to provide any help. I’m not necessarily sure where to go from here... If you have any suggestions, that would be amazing!

Should I come up with a new project idea in a different field (for example, something relating to energy instead of health)? Or should I reach out to more broad experts (for example, experts in only the health field, but not focused on cancer research, which is what I am trying to do)?

[17eugenekim]

That is certainly disappointing. If you are dead-set on this experiment, remember that as you contact possible mentors, you'll get a lot of "no" responses before your first "yes"...so it may be worth it to keep trying. As I've mentioned before, you are probably okay in broadening your scope of possible mentors - it sounds like you'll be working a lot with cell bio, so labs working with cells and using those types of techniques may be worth reaching out to. However, I'll leave that judgment call up to you; you know better than I do about how many people you can afford to contact and how much time you have.

If you really don't think this project bears any fruit, I'd be happy to help you work through another project idea. You might want to browse more of our existing project ideas for inspiration in the meantime.

Hope you can work something out!

-Eugene

[NatKitty]

Thank you for your reply!
I have slightly refined my project idea, and here it is. It would be great if maybe you could help me determine whether I should just try harder to find a mentor with this idea, or simply come up with a different idea. Keep in mind that I’ve never been, yet alone worked, in a proper lab, therefore I’m not sure how much of my idea is possible.
I wanted to, firstly, come up with some sort of target, and introduce something like a virus into the immune system, where it would find and attach itself to cancerous cells. I still have not figured out which kind/type of cancer, though. Attached to this virus (the marker), would be aspects of herbal remedies (such as resveratrol, found in grape skin), which would (hopefully) induce apoptosis (through an intrinsic pathway) in the cancer cells, basically killing off the cancer.
I was thinking that the experiment would focus on aspects of herbal remedies, and testing multiple ones (resveratrol, in different amounts, then resveratrol combined with something else, and any other possible available cells).
Is my idea even possible to experiment on? Should I refine it even more (like, focus only on experimenting with a target, then resveratrol)?

[17eugenekim]

This is certainly a refined idea, and I like how much thought & research you've put into it. Unfortunately this reaches beyond my own expertise; if any other Experts can weigh in on the specifics of the project parameters and whether it's scientifically feasible, please do so. [note for posterity: I will make a topic on the Experts page.] At the moment I can only provide general advice, such as limiting yourself from introducing anything to a live immune system (i.e. you'll probably want to work with cells in dishes instead).

For something of this level of complexity you'll want a mentor, both for project guidance as well as logistical concerns. I understand you've already tried that, but I do encourage you to continue trying in the meantime, as well as read up on literature - just to see if you can digest any more of the nitty-gritty molecular bio behind resveratrol and its effects on cells. You could also draw inspiration and comprehension from papers that may have attempted something similar - I'm sure delivering cell-killing compounds via viral agents has been done in numerous controlled ways before. It may also be worth it to reach out to science-related faculty in your school; they may help refine some aspects or connect you with other people.

I think you're at the point where "refining" further details of the project is going to get you bogged down and yield diminishing returns for your time. Successfully pulling off this project seems like it's going to need a mentor, so that should be your priority. If it later becomes clear that you cannot secure a mentor, then we can discuss how to modify the project so that you can do it without one.

Wish you the best of luck. I really hope you can make this work.

–Eugene