Students innovate in food, medicine and more at Las Vegas science fair
Science says you're wrong. More specifically, 12-year-old James Junghans has found — using the scientific method — that you're wrong.
James' project is one of many that filled the hall of New Mexico Highlands University's Student Union building Saturday for the Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science and Engineering Fair. This was the college's 67th year as host.
Another student, Evie Odiamar, 13, tested the ideal fermentation times in glucose content for a batch of kimchi. She noted results might be different for adding fish sauce, which she said her family prefers.
The projects weren't all food-related, though. The fair takes entries in 17 categories. Both avocados and kimchi fell under the biochemistry umbrella.
The two projects awarded Best in Show among the ninth to 12th graders advance to the International Science and Engineering in Columbus, Ohio, held by the nonprofit Society for Science.
Students are judged on a variety of criteria from methodology and design to execution, but they all have one thing in common — they must use the scientific method for a real-world application.
Lilly Viteva's real-world application was to use science to examine ways to reduce plastic waste.
'Plastics make up most of the waste in our environments, in our oceans, even in our backyards. So what I wanted to do was find a quicker, more effective way, because recycling takes a lot more than just putting it into the blue bin. It takes time, energy, money — which most people aren't willing to spend,' said the 15-year-old Los Alamos High School student.
Her method? To heat plastic until just below the melting point to classify it, thereby making otherwise flimsy plastic into a solid chunk that could be used in structures like homes.
Daniel Rodriguez, a special awards judge at the show, was keenly interested in the project, noting other judges sent him over to check it out.
'It's very cool,' said Rodriguez, who works at Los Alamos National Laboratory and is presenting the special award on behalf of the American Chemical Society's Central New Mexico chapter.
He said he looks for presentations that communicate the research — but conversation with the student is equally important.
'Never judge a project just by what you see,' he said. 'It's always the balance between that and the student.'
Los Alamos High student Alyssa Sun, 16, aimed to use artificial intelligence to make medical diagnoses.
She downloaded 6,000 of the 112,000 X-ray images of pneumonia-afflicted lungs available on the National Institutes of Health public database. Then she wrote 200 lines of code to create an AI model able to look at new X-ray images, compare them with the models and estimate the likelihood that a given lung X-ray contained pneumonia.
She was pretty successful — her model boasts around a 95% accuracy rate, beating trained radiologists, she said, who report around 90% to 95% diagnosis accuracy for comparable tests.
She got the idea from a friend who contracted pneumonia. When the friend saw Sun's project, she asked, 'Where was this when I had it?' Sun said.
Joshua Bala, a student at Mandela International Magnet School in Santa Fe, got his idea for a medicine reminder app from someone in his life who takes medicine, 'and especially some people who have to take their medicine exactly on time, and they can't even be like 10 minutes late or 10 minutes early.'
'So I was wondering, there must be some other way that's more effective than just using memory,' he continued.
He devised a study that found cellphone reminders greatly improved rates of on-timeness compared to plain memory or a sticky note on the fridge.
The youthful inventiveness was an inspiration to Jenn Aldred, director of the fair and of its organizing body, the Achieving in Research Math and Science Center at Highlands.
'If you're feeling sad and hopeless in everything that's happening in the world, all you have to do is come down here and talk to these kids who have these amazing ideas for how to make the world a better place,' she said.
Aldred, who holds a doctorate in geology, is in her third year organizing the fair. Since her first year, she's been pushing to increase participation by students from underresourced areas, noting northeastern New Mexico encompasses some of the wealthiest and poorest counties in the state.
'We need more support for these students,' Aldred said.
The college received several grants to provide additional mentorship for students and for International Science and Engineering Fair training for teachers to help correct those disparities. Aldred said this has helped, citing the first- and second-time appearances of a few schools at Saturday's show.
' We know science is not equitable,' she said. 'We know that most sciences are not diverse. We know that most sciences are not inclusive, and I know that those are dirty words these days. But I believe wholeheartedly that we aren't going to solve any problems if we do not have DEI and our sciences. You'll see kids from all walks of life, different backgrounds ... ranges of mentorship and education, and it's truly inspiring.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
X-Bow Systems and U.S. Army Announce $13.9 Million Joint Investment for Next-Generation GMLRS Rocket Motor
Investment to Boost Production of Critical Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Components ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Aug. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- X-Bow Systems Inc (X-Bow), the leading non-traditional producer of advanced solid rocket motors (SRMs) and defense technologies, and the U.S. Army, with support from the Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), have announced a $13.9 million joint investment. This collaboration aims to design, prototype, and test an advanced manufactured SRM for the standard-range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). This joint investment, facilitated by OSC, is a strategic effort to address constraints in the nation's production capacity for missiles, munitions, and SRMs, which are currently limited by older manufacturing processes. The initiative seeks to establish an alternative supply source and strengthen the solid rocket motor industrial base, using X-Bow's patented advanced-manufactured solid-propellant (AMSP) processes for SRMs. "This investment will introduce next-generation manufacturing for critical defense systems," said Jason Hundley, CEO of X-Bow Systems. "Our Luling, Texas campus, using these advanced methods, will have the capability to produce thousands of SRMs, including GMLRS." OSC is supporting the U.S. Army in this effort through a cost-matching structure that facilitates this partnership, combining U.S. Government funding with private sector matching funds. This collaboration directly supports the Army's objectives to secure a robust and reliable supply of critical munitions. This Advanced Manufacturing Pathfinder is being coordinated by OSC on behalf of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) and in support of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)) and the Army's Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space (PEO MS). X-Bow will partner with Kord Technologies, LLC (Kord), a wholly owned subsidiary of KBR, to develop this Pathfinder. Kord will provide systems engineering and technical support. The project will culminate in a static fire demonstration of the GMLRS propulsion prototype, supporting the development of a new non-traditional supplier for DoD. About X-Bow SystemsX-Bow Systems is disrupting the aerospace industry with innovative and cost-effective advanced manufactured energetics for the solid rocket motor and launch vehicle market. X-Bow is also designing and building a suite of modular solid rocket motors and small launch vehicles for both orbital and suborbital launch services. X-Bow is led by CEO Jason Hundley, Chairman Mark Kaufman, CTO Max Vozoff, CRO Maureen Gannon, General Counsel John Leary, COO Mike Bender and a growing team of seasoned industry veterans and new space entrepreneurs. X-Bow is a dual-use technology company with investment from: Crosslink Capital, Razor's Edge Ventures, Balerion Space Ventures, Boeing, Arkenstone Capital, The Capital Factory, Upsher Management Company, Event Horizon Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures. Headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, X-Bow has additional presence in California, Alabama, Colorado, Texas, Utah, Maryland and Washington, DC. For more information visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE X-Bow Systems Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Six year study on Spaceport America's economic impact on New Mexico released
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – A six-year study on Spaceport America's economic impact on New Mexico was released this month and found that the Spaceport showed growth from 2019 to 2024. 'The results are significant, showing that Spaceport America in 2024 supported 313 direct jobs and 790 total jobs in New Mexico, up from 242 direct jobs and 396 total jobs in 2019, while contributing nearly $240 million to economic output, up from $72 million in 2019,' Arrowhead Center program director and co-author of the report Dr. Kramer Winingham stated in a news release. Story continues below News: District Attorney joins City of Albuquerque against lawsuit filed by homeless group Investigation: The Rio Grande Murders: New Mexico's most notorious unsolved crime New Mexico News Insiders: Addressing Education With New Mexico's Lt. Governor Trending: Mother charged after child tests positive for cocaine in Albuquerque The report was published by New Mexico State University (NMSU) Arrowhead Center and the Center for Border Economic Development (C-BED) and covers the spaceport's tenant employment, privately funded construction, out-of-state visitor spending, spaceport revenues, tax revenue impact, and total economic impact. 'Most recently, our estimates indicate Spaceport America has totaled $110.8 million in value-added production and $73.1 million in labor income for our state in 2024,' Winingham added. The study found the spaceport's competitive advantages about restricted airspace access, weather, and elevation draw tenants to New Mexico and can continue to support growth in the future. 'We are excited to see these numbers and the growing contribution the spaceport is making to the region,' Scott McLaughlin, executive director of the NMSA, the state agency that designed, developed, and oversees operations of Spaceport America, stated in the release. 'Besides bringing jobs and new money to New Mexico, Spaceport America is also helping Space Valley to grow and get noticed by the national aerospace community.' Companies in the commercial space industry that are tenants at Spaceport America include Virgin Galactic, HAPSMobile/ AeroVironment, UP Aerospace, Prismatic Ltd., Swift Engineering, Isotropic, ISC/Sirius Technologies, and SpinLaunch. Additional customers Spaceport America partners with include the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, Venus Aerospace, and Precision AI. The report is the second economic impact study released by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) and the Arrowhead Center/C-BED team. Click here to view the full report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Fossils show two types of ancient human ancestors lived at the same place and time. One was possibly an unknown species
Ancient, fossilized teeth, uncovered during a decades-long archaeology project in northeastern Ethiopia, indicate that two different kinds of hominins, or human ancestors, lived in the same place between 2.6 million and 2.8 million years ago — and one of them may be a previously unknown species. The discovery provides a new glimpse into the complex web of human evolution. Ten of the teeth, found between 2018 and 2020, belong to the genus Australopithecus, an ancient human relative. Meanwhile, three teeth, found in 2015, belong to the genus Homo, which includes modern humans, or Homo sapiens. The results were published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Such an overlapping of two hominins in the fossil record is rare, which had previously led scientists to believe that Homo appeared after Australopithecus, rather than the two being contemporaries. Australopithecus species walked upright much like modern humans, but had relatively small brains, closer in size to those of apes. The emergence of Homo species, with their larger brains, is easy for people today to view as some sort of evolutionary upgrade on a path to modern humanity. But the coexistence of the two demonstrates that hominins developed, and lived, in multiple varieties at once. 'This new research shows that the image many of us have in our minds of an ape to a Neanderthal to a modern human is not correct — evolution doesn't work like that,' said study coauthor Kaye Reed, research scientist and president's professor emerita at the Institute of Human Origins and emeritus professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University, via email. 'Here we have two hominin species that are together. And human evolution is not linear, it's a bushy tree, there are life forms that go extinct.' Since 2002, Reed has been a codirector of the Ledi-Geraru Research Project, which is focused, in part, on searching for evidence of early Homo species. In 2015, the team announced the discovery of the oldest known Homo jawbone at 2.8 million years old. It has also searched for later evidence of Australopithecus afarensis, which first appeared 3.9 million years ago, but there is no sign of these ancient human relatives in the fossil record after 2.95 million years ago — suggesting they went extinct before Homo's first appearance. Australopithecus afarensis is best represented by the famed fossilized remains of Lucy, discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia. Lucy was shorter than an average human, reaching about 3.3 feet (1 meter) in height, had an apelike face and a brain about one-third the size of a human brain. Her fossil showcased a mixture of humanlike and apelike traits and provided proof that ancient human relatives walked upright 3.2 million years ago. When the team discovered the Australopithecus teeth during two separate digs in 2018 and 2020, it compared them with species such as afarensis and another hominin group known as garhi, but they didn't match up. Instead, the scientists believe the teeth belong to a previously unknown species of Australopithecus that walked the Earth after Lucy — and alongside an early Homo species. 'Once we found Homo, I thought that was all we would find, and then one day on survey, we found the Australopithecus teeth,' Reed said. 'What is most important, is that it shows again, that human evolution is not linear. There were species that went extinct; some were better adapted than others, and others interbred with us — we know this for Neanderthals for sure. So anytime that we have another piece to the puzzle of where we came from, it is important.' Cracks in Earth's surface The teeth were found in Ethiopia's Afar region, a key place for researchers seeking answers about human evolution. A variety of preserved fossils have been found there as well as some of the earliest stone tools, Reed said. The Afar region is an active rifting environment — the tectonic plates beneath its earth are actively pulling apart and exposing older layers of sediment that shed light on almost 5 million years of evolution, Reed said. 'The continent is quite literally unzipping there, which creates a lot of volcanism and tectonics,' said study coauthor Christopher Campisano, associate director and associate professor at the Institute of Human Origins and associate professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State, in a video the school released. 'At 2 1⁄2, 3 million years ago, these volcanoes spewed out ash that contain crystals called feldspars that allow us to date the eruptions that were happening on the landscape when they're deposited.' The Australopithecus teeth documented in the new study were dated to 2.63 million years ago, while the Homo teeth are from 2.59 million and 2.78 million years ago. But the team is cautious about identifying a species for any of the teeth until it has more data and more fossils. 'We know what the teeth and mandible of the earliest Homo look like, but that's it,' said Brian Villmoare, lead study author and associate professor in the department of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in a statement. 'This emphasizes the critical importance of finding additional fossils to understand the differences between Australopithecus and Homo, and potentially how they were able to overlap in the fossil record at the same location.' The Australopithecus teeth broadly resembled those of the afarensis species in contour and the size of the molars, but features of the cusps and canine teeth had not been previously seen in afarensis or garhi teeth, Villmoare said. The teeth were also different in shape than those of any Homo species, or of the ancient human relative Paranthropus, known for its large teeth and chewing muscles. 'Obviously these are only teeth,' Villmoare said, 'but we are continuing field work in the hopes of recovering other parts of the anatomy that might increase resolution on the taxonomy.' Even just finding the teeth was a complicated task, according to Campisano. 'You're looking at little teeth, quite literally, individual teeth that look just like a lot of other of the little pebbles spread on the landscape,' he said in the video. 'And so, we have a great team of local Afars that are excellent fossil hunters. They've seen these things their entire lives walking around the landscape.' A blip for evolution The new study is important because it provides insight into a time frame from 3 million to 2 million years ago, a mysterious period in human evolutionary studies, said Dr. Stephanie Melillo, paleoanthropologist and assistant professor at Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania. Melillo was not involved in this research, but she has participated in the Woranso-Mille Paleontological Research Project in the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia. Part of the problem in learning about this stretch of prehistory is how ancient layers of dirt were deposited over the course of history in eastern Africa. 'Erosion in rivers and lakes were at a low level and only a little bit of dirt was deposited in the Afar,' Melillo wrote in an email. 'That deposited dirt contains the fossils — of our ancestors and all the animals that lived with us. When there is little deposition, there are few fossils.' A key feature helping archaeologists to understand humanity's evolution are structural basins, or 'bowls' on Earth's surface that naturally collect layers of sediment better than the surrounding landscape does — like the Turkana Basin stretching across southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya, Melillo said. Previous research has found evidence to suggest that Homo and Paranthropus coexisted there 1.5 million years ago. The new study focuses on the Afar Depression, a basin to the north of the Turkana. 'This contribution by Villmoare and colleagues demonstrates that in the Afar there was also some other species around with Homo — but it isn't Paranthropus,' Melillo said. 'Instead, they identify this 'non-Homo' genus as Australopithecus. They do a very convincing job of demonstrating why the new fossils are not Paranthropus.' The study adds to growing evidence that Australopithecus was not roaming the Afar Depression alone, she said. A mysterious coexistence When Australopithecus and Homo were alive, the Afar Region, now mostly a semidesert, had much more seasonal variation in rainfall than it does today, Reed said. Millions of years ago, the environment there was still dominated by a dry season, but it was interrupted by a brief wet season. Rivers that carried water across the landscape existed for only part of the year. Few trees grew near the river, and the environment nearby was largely wetlands and grasslands. 'We have a fossil giraffe species that was eating grass, which probably indicates they were stressed as they eat trees and bushes almost every place else,' Reed said. 'Were the hominins eating the same thing? We are trying to find out by examining isotopes in their teeth and microscopic scratches on their teeth.' Understanding whether or not Homo and Australopithecus had the same food sources could paint a portrait of how our ancient ancestors shared or competed for resources, Reed said. The team also wants to try to identify which hominin made the stone tools found at the site. At the moment it's impossible to tell exactly how the two hominins coexisted, but Reed said she is hoping that future findings will provide more answers. 'Whenever you have an exciting discovery, if you're a paleontologist, you always know that you need more information,' Reed said. 'You need more fossils. More fossils will help us tell the story of what happened to our ancestors a long time ago — but because we're the survivors we know that it happened to us.' Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
