Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi,
I'm a sophomore in high school. My science fair is a good long while away, but I need a project idea by January, and by the end of October if I need to use vertebrates in my experiment (but I most likely won't...).
I've been trying to find out ideas for my science project, preferably biology and chemistry. I also like the idea of tinkering with computer science projects, except that that just doesn't feel like a science project to me. It's a perfectly acceptable idea that I'm willing to pursue... but what I'm getting at is what ideas are there for life sciences?
I looked at the project ideas on Science Buddies already, and I'm still not sure what I want to do. I'm interested in genetics, so bioinformatics is interesting to me. My original idea for a science project was about albino plants, but it doesn't really serve a purpose. I was planning to grow albino plants through external sugar feeding... means. Although that can be tested and done... first of all it's winter and there's little light here. Second, it's a fairly simple idea. Third... I can't really think of a use for this project. Which is what judges are interested in, right?
So here's my real problem:
1. I've only taken biology and am taking chemistry. I looked at ISEF winners (which I'm planning to do next year, hopefully), and I don't understand most of the concepts presented in the titles. There are very complex terms and ideas that I'm not even sure how to approach. I'm concerned that my science project won't be "innovative" or "intricate" enough. If it is... I probably can't tackle it.
2. I have no idea how to access laboratories and such. I'm at home and limited to what I can do here. I take a look at many science projects and... I just don't have the equipment/software (for bioinformatics). Not to mention that the only lab experience I have is basic high school labs.

However, I am also doing this for fun and for experience for the future, not just for competition. ... I'm a little stumped on what to do though. I was wondering if anyone had any interesting ideas or topics for me to pursue.

Thanks!

Hi,

Have you taken a look at Science Buddies' guide to doing an advanced project? It's on this page: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... l?From=Tab . It tells you how you can get ideas, find a mentor, etc.

Which science buddies ideas were you most interested in? Maybe we could think of ways to make them a bit more challenging/difficult with the materials you have available to you.

Hello!

It is great that you are already thinking about what to do. It is never too early to begin brainstorming ideas in my opinion.

Here are some of my thoughts for you...

1. I would advise you to seek a topic or area of research that interests YOU. Do not simply choose to do something because it
is what the judges' would like or are interested in.

2. There seems to be a trend these days in either conducting research that is on a "popular" topic, or one that is like you said, "innovative."
However, there is much in the basic sciences that we do not know!

A professor of mines told me, there are many researchers who spent millions trying to "fix" their experiments because they neglected
some basic sciences. Do not be afraid of tackling ideas that are not as intricate as others.

3. There is nothing you can't tackle! If you are ever confused, go back, start with background information. Focus on what you DO know.
And then research into the more advance topics.

4. There is a lot you can do in bioinformatics without a lab at all.

You can do sequence/genome comparisons, annotate unknown pathways, etc. A lot of the data is there, but not everyone has
made use of it all.

Here are some links of interest:

http://www.bisti.nih.gov/

http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi

http://www.embnet.org/ (take a look at their guides and links)

--

Keep it up!

Thank you for your responses!

So I decided I'm going to continue exploring what I can do as well as pursue my computer science project, which I might consider doing this year and keep looking into other ideas for next year/other fairs (or not). The bioinformatics websites are very interesting, and I'll definitely look into choosing a mentor. I wonder how likely for a mentor to actually be interested, since he/she would probably have to teach me an entire class just to under the basic concepts.

The stuff I'm interested in sounds very complicated, but I'll try to read up on it and understand what I can. By "what the judges want," I figured that if I was passionate enough about something I thought they'd like it (it'd probably show). But I remember hearing that judges do like applied sciences more than just "pure" sciences made for no apparent purpose? (I haven't read ALL the articles, so I'm sorry if I'm asking for something that's in the guide.) I'll keep reading up on the guides and some potential project ideas.

Meanwhile, are there any project ideas for agricultural/plant sciences? I've always been interested in plant genetics--like making food more tolerant in dry climates, or resistant to pests without potentially endangering human health. In fact, I like the idea of DNA and genetic code in general, which is why I looked into the bioinformatics stuff.
Biofuels seem popular ideas nowadays, perhaps too popular. I remember one person who did their project on algae as a biofuel. So, sustainable energy (solar, wind, hydro) also interests me.
My chemistry teacher just briefly described nuclear chemistry and all that, which sounds really, exceedingly complicated, but still intriguing.

That's basically what I'm really interested in, if anybody has any suggestions, I'd really, really appreciate it.
And I'm curious (phonghuynh)--what things in basic science don't we already know? ... I'm not aware of any off the top of my head.

Thank you!

Hey,

I hope things are going well and you are thinking up of potential experimental ideas. Get your brain clicking early.

One big question is learning and memory. There are several models for
memory but there is still to be done to answer such questions as how is memory stored/

But in terms of your project. One of the things is that we have sequenced a lot of genomes for many organisms (especially
lower organisms). However, many of them are not "annotated" meaning we have not assigned any biologically useful
information to it, nor have we fully classified it. We may have the sequence, but what sequences encodes for what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome_project (scroll down to the discussion about annotation).

Here is a great article from Science (but it was back i 2005), some 125 fundamental questions in science that still needs to be answered.

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~turk/science_ ... ce_125.pdf

I hope that answers some questions you may have had!

Nuclear chemistry is indeed an interesting subject. I would read more articles if I were you and seeing what research is taking place already.

Begin reading articles (pubmed.gov) early so you can get use to the language of the sciences, it is extremely important.

Keep on going strong!

Hi!
There are some really great suggestions been thrown around already, but just to add, science fair judges are really looking for your passion in your work as well as your breadth and depth of your knowledge in your topic/field. ISEF is a really amazing experience, and you will find that the students who go are truly well-versed in their research and their fields. Definitely find a topic that interests you and don't worry so much about the applications. It is true that applications are important, but most projects are very applicable in some area, whether it be medicine/health, technology, or industry. Once you get more into your research you will able to better understand what potential applications your work may have. Best of luck!

Hi,

Thanks for your suggestions. I decided I'd like to use BLAST, which seems like an interesting tool.
I talked with my science teacher, who said it might be a good idea to trace the evolutionary pathways of certain organisms (like the whale evolution project on Science Buddies).
I thought I should also look up certain animals who have interesting characteristics, and see if I can find out the genes that encode for the animal's proteins. For example, I thought I would look into the naked mole rat's cancer resistance. It seems, however, that the genes have already been identified and located, and that the scientists require more sequencing of naked mole rat DNA to explore further, something that I can't do.

Also, I'm confused on how to look at the BLAST results. Once I find out that certain genes/proteins are similar, what can I do with them?

I'd appreciate it if you could answer these questions!