Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello,
I am going to a science fair with this project from Science Buddies:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ml#summary
I have already completed this project and I am in the science fair under this project. However, because this project is more of a research project, I am afraid that I won’t get good scores in the science fair because I did not do an experiment. Do you think that this is true?
I am not sure of what to say if the judges ask about my independent and dependent variables. I was thinking that the independent variable could be the 10 transcription factors that were researched (HNF1, HNF3, HNF4, CRX, GCNF, PPARA, SP3, ER, TEL2, and SREBP) and the dependent variable could be the amount of interactions between different pairs of transcription factors and the subsequent effects, but I am not sure if there are actually any independent or dependent variables. What else do you think the independent and dependent variables could be (if there are any)?

Hi, I can see how this is tricky to determine the variables. This project is basically providing rationale for an experiment that could be done in a laboratory setting. That being said, I agree that you're independent variables would be the transcription factors. The dependent variables would be determining how well the transcription factors can reprogram cells. This can be represented as a percentage of cells that have been successfully reprogrammed.

I hope this helps!
Jen