Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi Donna!

(this post is specifically for Ms Donna Hardy)

Here are some articles to my interest. I know that some of them may be too advance, but it doesn't hurt to post them:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... ne-disease
http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... tapped-out
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/conte ... t/35/2/217
http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091 ... 6/abstract
http://jep.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/1/56
http://www.springerlink.com/content/3eye5a15bw9ttrcp/
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie00031a023

Thanks!

Hi Irregular,

Welcome back! I see you have been busy already. I have printed all of your references and I'll review them and try to suggest a possible project. I'll get back to you tomorrow.

Donna Hardy

Hi Donna!

Hi Irregular,

You can look at your local newspaper to find information on local environmental problems or current medical topics. Once you have a topic, you can investigate the best way to do a science project on that subject. Also check out the science buddies website; they have added more topics, but beware of projects that are rated "10" in difficulty. Also, you should consider an insect project. You can work on seasonal organisms when doing a project during the summer. Good butterfly and beetle projects are fairly rare in science fairs.

Also, I think I have asked this before, but are there any local schools or companies that you can contact to ask for lab space? You would have more flexibility in designing the experiments if you had space in a research lab to work in. If this is not possible, then you will be limited to experiments that you can safely do at home.

Donna Hardy

Firstly, thanks for looking at my references. I will also complete some of the things you have suggested.

If you don't mind, I will be focusing on some other school projects and hobby- or extracurricular- related activities, so I will be taking a break from the science fair. However, I will still definitely investigate the ideas which you will suggest to me, and will develop some of my ideas. Once I have chosen my idea, I will present it to you, in order to hear your opinion. I have realized from the Microbial Fuel Cell project that choosing a project shouldn't be a stressful experience, rather it should be one of the best parts of your project. I have a big advantage for next year's project since I will develop my idea and research, and maybe even my experiment, this summer.

Thanks for you help!

Hi Irregular,

I think it's a good idea to take a break from doing a science fair and spend time doing other things for a while. You don't have the time pressure to select a topic quickly, so you can take your time.

You have picked some good topics. The nanoparticle vaccine for diabetes was fascinating, but it is difficult to imagine how you would do a science fair project on this topic. The news article reports on a scientific paper whose authors did a study on prediabetic and diabetic mice, which would not be possible to do without access to a lab.

The article on the association of chlorine and cancer is interesting and you might be able to do an experiment on this topic. You could possibly do analysis of chlorine in local drinking water, or perhaps analyze epidemiological data that is already available. There is a standard mutagenesis assay, which involves growing bacteria, and perhaps you could analyze local drinking water using this assay.

The vitamin D/colon cancer article is something that could also be investigated using epidemiological data.

I will post more comments as soon as I have a little more time, and I will be looking out for more topics related to your current interest.

Donna Hard

Hi Donna!

It's been a while since we've communicated. I just wanted you to let you know about a few things.

I am still reading and researching science fair project ideas. My goal is to have my idea finalized most preferably by the end of the month.

There is a community college in my town, and the local town which has a university and a few research institutes is one hour away. In case I need the help of a researcher/professor, I will search online on the research institute website/university website. Also, do you think I should contact the community college?

Our city has many science/engineering companies, including my father's, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to work in their lab space.

Thanks!

Hi Irregular,

It's great to hear from you again. I'm glad you are still thinking about a topic. Private companies are understandably concerned about confidentiality and liability issues, but it might be possible to find lab space at a school or government lab. It would be easier to do experiments with access to a real lab. You can use your recent win at the science fair to help convince a teacher, professor, or lab manager to allow you access to the lab. But it would probably be good to have your topic picked out before your ask so you can explain what you would be doing.

What topics are you focusing on at this point?

Donna Hardy