LOL .. both 17 .. wow! .. it's GREAT to see such young people getting stuck into so many "cool" science projects, and good to see they are getting heaps of good encouragement ..
Google Science Fair 2011 – Global Science Competition for Teenagers
This post is sponsored by Unruly Media.
Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 years old are invited to submit science projects in the Google Science Fair 2011.
Participating in the global science fair could be a wonderful life changing experience for a young,budding scientist, or team of scientists, and could result in receiving one of the wonderful prizes available.
Google Science Fair 2011 Video [short, inside]
Google Science Fair 2011 is a global online science competition for teenagers between the ages of 13-18 years old. Quite a few highly recognizable scientists and science organizations are helping with the science fair. Notable organizations such as CERN, National Geographic, Scientific American, The LEGO Group and Google have partnered to make Google Science Fair 2011 happen.
One Grand Prize winner will be picked from 3 finalist winners. The three finalist winners will represent their appropriate age category from 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18 years old. One from each age group will be a finalist and in the running for the Grand Prize.
Prizes include a $50,000 (US) scholarship, 10 day trip to the Galapogos Islands with National Geographic Endeavour, $25,000 (US) scholarship, LEGO prizes, 12 month access to Scientific American archives for their school, trips to CERN, trips to Google, virtual internship with LEGO Mindstorms R&D team, trip to Scientific American’s New York office and many others. Visit the Google Science Fair 2011 Prizes page for the full list and descriptions of prizes.
Visitors and members from NeuroscienceNews.com may want to give their best attempt at a neuroscience project. Neuroscience projects could fit into a few of the categories available including behavioral and social sciences, computer science and math, biology, chemistry, inventions and innovations, physics and electricity and electroncs.
Some of the scientists, teachers and innovative leaders scheduled to be involved include:
* Kary Mullis – Nobel Laureate in Chemistry * Rolf Heuer – Director General of CERN * Spencer Wells – Geneticist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence * Tierney Thys – Biologist and Filmaker at National Geographic * Alice Bell – Senior Teaching Fellow: Science Communication, Imperial College * Vint Cerf – Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google * Mariette DiChristina – Editor in Chief, Scientific American * Dean Kamen – Inventor & Physicist * Marion Nestle – Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies,and Public Health, New York University * Peter Norvig – Google, Director of Research * Veena Sahajwalla – Director Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology * Thomas Taha Rassam Culhane – Urban Planner, National Geographic
Many great scientists fell in love with science after participating in a science fair. If you know of any young teenagers with a thirst for science information, or if you are a teenager that has been visiting this site to read up on the latest neuroscience news, the Google Science Fair 2011 awaits.
Go forth and start your path to making the world a better place with science.
Teenage Cancer Researcher Wins Top Prize at Google Science Fair
Shree Bose of Fort Worth, Tex., won a $50,000 scholarship and a trip to the Galapagos
By John Matson | July 12, 2011 | 2
Image: Google Science Fair
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—A high-school student from Fort Worth, Texas, won top honors July 11 at the first annual Google Science Fair for her project on drug resistance in ovarian cancer. Shree Bose, 17, investigated the connection between an enzyme called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and resistance to the chemotherapy drug cisplatin.
Bose inhibited the activity of AMPK to see how it affected the death of cancer cells. She found that inhibiting AMPK in cells produced two different reactions to cisplatin, depending on whether or not the cells were resistant to the drug. Inhibiting AMPK reduced cell death in regular cancer cells treated with cisplatin, but the inhibitor actually boosted the cancer-killing effects of cisplatin in cells that were resistant to the drug. "Since there's such a shift in what this inhibitor does, all our evidence suggests that there's some sort of shift in what the activity does," Bose said after being awarded the grand prize here at Google headquarters. "This tells us that this protein might be changing roles or it might be playing a role in cancer cells becoming resistant."
Bose attends Fort Worth Country Day School, where she will be a senior in the fall. But her project was carried out at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, where she found a mentor in Alakananda Basu, a professor of molecular biology and immunology there.
As the contest's grand prize winner, Bose will receive a $50,000 scholarship from Google, a trip to the Galapagos Islands and other prizes. She will also take home two Lego trophies (Lego was another partner in the event), one for the grand prize and one for winning her age group of 17–18 years old. The winners of the other age groups were Naomi Shah, 16, of Portland, Ore. (15–16 age group); and Lauren Hodge, 14, of York, Pa. (13–14 age group). Shah looked at the connection between airborne pollutants and respiratory disease, and Hodge tested the effects of various marinades on the formation of carcinogens in grilled chicken. Shah and Hodge will each receive $25,000 scholarships.
Bose says she became interested in cancer research after a death in the family. "Two summers ago, actually, my grandfather passed away from cancer," Bose said. "And after that—I had already known I wanted to do research, but I didn't know what field—and that kind of decided it for me. I knew I wanted to go into cancer research." Then, one day, she saw a link on the Google home page for the company's first online science fair, which ultimately drew some 7,500 entries from 91 countries. (Scientific American partnered in the event, and Editor in chief Mariette DiChristina served as a judge.) For Bose, a veteran of local science fairs, it seemed a good fit: "I thought, well, I love Google and I love science fairs, so maybe this could work for me."
Teens Claim Top Prizes in 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology For Designing Nanoparticle to Fight Cancer and Applying Gaming Technology to Human Health
Released: 12/5/2011 8:00 PM EST
Source: George Washington University
Newswise — The year’s highest science honor for high school students was awarded today to biochemistry research on cancer stem cells and an innovative use of gaming technology in the area of leg injuries and prosthetics in the 2011 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, America’s premier science research competition for high school students.
[...]
The Winning Individual
Angela Zhang won a $100,000 college scholarship for her project, Design of Image-guided, Photo-thermal Controlled Drug Releasing Multifunctional Nanosystem for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells.
“Angela created a nanoparticle that is like a Swiss army knife of cancer treatment,” said competition judge Dr. Tejal Desai, professor, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco. “She showed great creativity and initiative in designing a nanoparticle system that can be triggered to release drugs at the site of the tumor while also allowing for non-invasive imaging. Her work is an important step in developing new approaches to the therapeutic targeting of tumors via nanotechnology.”
In her project, Angela aimed to design a targeted gold and iron oxide-based nanoparticle with the potential to eradicate cancer stem cells through a controlled delivery of the drug salinomycin to the site of the tumor. The multifunctional nanoparticle combines therapy and imaging into a single platform, with the gold and iron-oxide components allowing for both MRI and Photoacoustic imaging.
“Angela’s commitment to the research was truly impressive,” said Dr. Desai. “She has a deep understanding of the multitude of disciplines that went into her project, from designing the nanoparticles to showing their efficacy in vivo.”
Angela won the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) Grand Award for medicine and health science in 2011 and 2010. She plays golf and the piano and would like to major in chemical or biomedical engineering or physics. She is a 2010 Siemens Competition Regional Finalist who began her work on this project in 2009 and spent an estimated 1,000 hours on her research. Angela hopes to become a research professor. Her mentor was Dr. Zhen Cheng of Stanford University.
The Winning Team
Ziyuan Liu and Cassee Cain will share a $100,000 college scholarship for their bioengineering project, Using Kinect for Xbox 360 and Computer Vision to Analyze Human Gait, which uses gaming technology to analyze human walking patterns. An accurate understanding of a person’s motion is important in prescribing treatment for those with injuries or ailments that affect movement, such as amputees or people with joint replacements.
Their work could ultimately contribute to prosthesis design.
“This team’s project involved the creative reuse of new gaming technology – the Kinect sensor – with advanced computer vision algorithms,” said competition judge Sudeep Sarkar, professor of computer science and engineering, University of South Florida. “When further developed, their system could open avenues to bring personalized rehabilitation to the home. This could potentially reduce medical costs, allowing clinicians to monitor a patient’s progress from a remote site.”
Ziyuan dreams of becoming the head of a software company or a banking firm. He is the founder of a committee to educate others in his school and community about solar energy. A member of the International Relations Club and French National Honor Society, he enjoys playing the alto saxophone and swimming.
Cassee is the drum major of her high school marching band and costume designer for the drama club. Long interested in healthcare, she dreams of becoming an oncologist. A National Honor Society National Achiever, Cassee plans to major in chemical engineering. The team’s mentors on the project were Dr. John K. Mueller and Dr. Boyd McCutchen Evans III., Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
National Finalists
Six individuals and six teams competed at the Siemens Competition National Finals. The remaining National Finalists were awarded the following scholarships:
Individuals
• $50,000 scholarship – Brian Kim, Stuyvesant High School, New York, N.Y. (Mathematics)
• $30,000 scholarship – Joshua Kubiak, Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, Natchitoches, La. (Chemistry)
• $20,000 scholarship – John Wen, West High School, Iowa City, Iowa (Biology)
• $10,000 scholarship – John Solder, Staples High School, Westport, Conn. (Biology)
Teams
• $50,000 scholarship – Edgar Wang, Wayne Shu and Justin Yuan, Troy High School, Troy, Mich. (Biology)
• $40,000 scholarship – Julia Crowley Farenga and Patrick Loftus, Evanston Township High School, Evanston, Ill. (Astrophysics)
• $30,000 scholarship – Blake Smith, Oceanside High School, Oceanside, N.Y., and Vickram Gidwani, Horace Mann High School, Bronx, N.Y. (Biochemistry)
• $20,000 scholarship – Andrew Xu, Lowell High School, San Francisco, Calif., Kevin Chang, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, Texas, and Kevin Tian, Westwood High School, Austin, Texas (Mathematics)
• $10,000 scholarship – Jeffery Ling, Palo Alto Senior High School, Palo Alto, Calif., and Helen Jiang, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto, Calif. (Bioengineering)
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
