Help with choosing a topic!!!! ASAP!!!

[deleted-920941]

Hi,
Ive been doing science fair for a few years and have advanced to many levels before. This year I am doing science fair again but I cant seem to choose a good topic. I had a lab that i usually go to but because of COVID it is closed and going virtual nw. I am having trouble finding good projects i can do that wont require a lab. For background, I am really interested in microbiology, biochemistry and botany. I need to find a project fitting one of those categories. What topics would you suggest?

[MrsDez]

Hi,

With no access to a lab and limited access to some materials, depending on the restrictions in your area, you might have more options thinking about a project in botany. Most of them can be done at home and supplies more easily attainable during this time. Here is a link with many different types of botany experiments. Hope this inspires you to come up with and idea for your next project.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... nt-biology

Elaine

[deleted-881974]

Hi aaria,

Microbiology, botany, and biochemistry are three great fields of study and often can address interdisciplinary questions. Microbes often form symbiotic relationships with certain plants by biochemically fixing nitrogen for the plant to use. Thus, the microbes get nutrient from the plant to grow and thrive, and the plant gets nitrogen which is essential for it to grow.

This project would be great for your interests:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... rs#summary

It combines all 3 fields of your interest into one! I did a variation of this project when I was in a middle school science fair and the judges loved it.

Let me know if you have any more specific questions and I'd be happy to assist in developing the project!

[deleted-920941]

Hi there! I am doing a project similar to the one i saw on science buddies which is titled; Hitting he target the importance of making sure a drugs aim is true.
1. I'm not really sure what the IV, DV, controls etc. can be for the experiment as it is not a testable experiment, but more of a bio informatics' thing, where i basically compare target protein's to other similar protein's.
also I'm not really sure about how to make a hypothesis for this.

2. Are there any good resources that can help me familiarize myself with the bioinformatics websites like the BLAST as well as navigate through the NCBI database etc. That would be really helpful for me as I'm doing bioinformatics for the first time.

3. Are there any ways i can modify the project (Hitting he target the importance of making sure a drugs aim is true.)and make it more specific and unique. Obviously i don't want to copy the whole thing, but I'm using the that page as a reference.

4. For graphs and data tables, how exactly would i be able to create them, as the data i will collect will most likely not be graphable right?

ahh, im a little confused on how to really work on this project so I would love to hear form one of you as soon as possible!

Thanks,
ariia

[Admin note - project url: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure]

[MadelineB]

Hello Ariia,

As you can see, I've merged your most recent post with your previous post. By keeping all of your posts together in the same thread, the experts who were helping you can more easily see that you've posted a follow-up question.

Thanks and good luck with your project!
Madeline
Moderator

[pharrast]

1.You are correct to realize this is not technically an experiment, so there is no manipulated (independent) variable. If you have been strictly assigned to do an experimental manipulation this would likely not fit, but there are many tasks I would consider a science project using BLAST.
2. https://digitalworldbiology.com/tutoria ... -beginners
3.Well the world is your oyster for this project. You could pick any drug or target protein, and replace NPC1 with that protein in the instructions. For example, I went to the KEGG database (link in project background) and went to the drugs page, opened the new approved in the US, clicked a random drug, somapacitan. On the page for that drug you will see a row with disease and effect info (Growth hormone deficiency, Growth hormone (GH) receptor agonist). Under that, there is a target pathway row, which tells you the name of the receptor the drug effects (K05080). I then just typed that into the NCBI protein database, and selected the only one listed as homo sapiens. As the instructions suggest, simply scroll down or click go to -> sequence for the amino acid sequence of your target protein.
I have not looked into how well known any protein's location in the body is for the next parts of the procedure, so you may pick one that is unknown and have to pick something else. But once you get the hang of how to find all the info you want, doing the BLAST comparison is super quick. Keep reading the posted NCBI navigation and other resources posted on the project page.
4. I don't see why you couldn't throw up a bar graph of what percent similar a bunch of other proteins are.

Project looks like a BLAST!
--p

[deleted-920941]

HI,
Thanks for the detailed reply!

So my question is can i use a drug for something that's not a virus, say for example to cure COPD? (If I'm following the procedure from the Hitting the target; importance of making a drugs aim true)
Because not every sickness needs a target proteins to enter the body right? ( Like how Ebola needs NPC1 to enter?)
If I had to look for something along the lines of having a target protein to enter how would I go about that?

If you could reply as soon as you can. that'd be great!

Thanks,
ariia

[pharrast]

This experiment is going to be oversimplified no matter what illness you choose. Most if not all issues in human health involve multiple proteins, attacking organisms, and/or genetic mistakes or damage. The best way to keep this simple is start with a known drug for a disease you're interested in, and work using the online tools to find what protein(s) it interacts with. And so on, as explained
--P