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Experiment in Medical Biotechnology Science Projects (16 results)

Explore how scientists do research to improve the wellbeing of all people while also taking into account that each person responds differently because of their own individual genes. Use free online tools and databases for genetics projects, or test how medications or cosmetics work with hands-on experiments.

A Prescription for Success: Drugs & Your Genetics
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Have you ever known someone who had a bad reaction to a prescription drug? Although pharmaceutical companies test new drugs on a large number of people to make sure the drug works the way it is supposed to, often a small percentage of people respond differently to the drug. A person's genetics plays a large role in determining his or her response to a given drug. Our genes are made up of hundreds to millions of nucleotides of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the genetic code. If just a single… Read more
Cosmetic Science: Testing Lip Balm Recipes
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Did you know that cosmetics companies employ teams of specialized scientists to develop and test each new line of makeup, perfume, lotion, or soap? This science project lets you be the cosmetics scientist. You will create your own lip balm right in your kitchen using a short list of ingredients, then test it, and follow up with some creative cosmetics science of your own! Read more
Creating a Kidney: How Stem Cells Might Be Used to Bioengineer a Vital Organ
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
The human kidney is the most commonly transplanted organ in the United States, numbering more than 17,000 transplants in 2010 alone! But kidney transplantation technology faces a lot of challenges, including a shortage of kidney donors and the need for recipients to take immunosuppressant drugs to keep their bodies from rejecting a transplanted kidney. In this science project, with the help of bioinformatics databases, you will explore how a kidney could be bioengineered using stem cells,… Read more
Drugs & Genetics: Why Do Some People Respond to Drugs Differently than Others?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
In a survey conducted from 2007 to 2010, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 49% of people in the United States had taken at least one prescription drug during the past month, and about 22% of people had taken three or more prescription drugs. People are prescribed drugs all the time, but prescriptions can be dangerous because people can have different responses to drugs. These responses largely have to do with genetic mutations. Why are some genetic… Read more
Foldit: Playing a Game While Solving Protein Structures
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Unlocking the three-dimensional structure of a protein is crucial to help scientists understand how it functions in our bodies and how it can cause devastating diseases if it becomes disrupted or interacts in the wrong way. However, figuring out the structure of a protein in three-dimensional space can be very challenging. Proteins are the functional units of our cells, and every protein is made up of a long chain of amino acids. Amino acids come in different shapes and sizes, and they have… Read more
From Genes to Genetic Diseases: What Kinds of Mutations Matter?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Our genes are made up of hundreds to millions of building blocks, called DNA nucleotides, and if just a single nucleotide of DNA becomes mutated it might cause a devastating genetic disease. But sometimes a mutation actually does no damage. What kinds of mutations have to occur to cause a genetic disease? In this science project, you will explore online genetic databases to identify how a mutation in a gene can result in a dysfunctional protein, and how other mutations may have no effect at all. Read more
How Antacids Relieve Heartburn
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Have you ever experienced heartburn after eating a large, greasy meal? Or have you heard of someone complaining about heartburn pains? It's very common; over 60 million people in the U.S. have heartburn at least once every month. Heartburn pain usually results from stomach acids escaping from the stomach and irritating the esophagus above it. Luckily, there are medical drugs, called antacids, which can help relieve heartburn pain. But how do antacids work, and how effective are they? In this… Read more
How Are Antibodies Used for Blood Typing?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Have you ever heard about different blood types? Do you know what your blood type is? Antibodies help scientists determine different human blood types. This project is a practical introduction to the human immune system in which you will learn about what antibodies are, how they are formed, and how they can be used to identify different types of cells. Read more
How Direct Reprogramming Can Transform One Type of Cell Straight into Another
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
In the first decade of the 21st century, scientists found ways to make one adult cell type turn into a completely different cell type. This has huge implications for the medical field, including being able to take some cells that a person could spare, such as skin cells or blood cells, and turn them into another cell type that might be much more important for that person to have, such as cells to make a new kidney. How are scientists able to accomplish this amazing feat of "reprogramming" the… Read more
Modeling the Chances of Getting an Autoimmune Disease
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Do you know someone who has an autoimmune disease? Autoimmune diseases are fairly common, affecting more than 23.5 million people in the United States, which is about 1 in 13 people! You may have heard of some of them, such as diabetes (type 1), rheumatoid arthritis, and celiac disease. Many autoimmune diseases are poorly understood, but they all have one thing in common: they happen because a person's immune system (which normally fights off germs to keep the person healthy) attacks the… Read more
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