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CTV News
3 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
Young minds explore big questions at National Science Fair
Sarah Plowman has the story of the 63rd annual Canada-wide Science Fair in Fredericton, N.B. showcasing some of the country's brightest scientific minds. Canada's brightest whiz kids converged on Fredericton, N.B., this week for a national science fair, showing off their research projects and hoping to earn a chance to win some of the event's $1.3 million in prize and scholarship money. Reni Barlow, executive director of Youth Science Canada, said his organization is on a mission to engage youth in doing projects through STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. 'It's a way of understanding what science, technology, engineering and math are really about and experiencing it firsthand,' said Barlow, adding that topics range from aerospace to natural resources and climate change. The nearly 400 students competing were previously recognized at one of 100 regional science fairs in Canada. Six universities are providing scholarships to medal winners. The weeklong event wraps up this weekend. Sara Waqas, a 16-year-old from Calgary's STEM Innovation Academy High School, won the award for Best Project in the Discovery category. She focused her project on schizophrenia and treatment, developing a prototype molecule that would target schizophrenia patients who are currently treatment-resistant—which she points out is about a third of patients. 'I look into neurobiological profiling,' she said. 'I designed a prototype molecule that would target those defects, rather than just being like a large, nonspecific treatment.' Waqas says her research is all 'very preliminary' and that more validation tests and research need to confirm it. Evan Budz, a grade 9 student from Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School in Burlington, Ont., won the award for Best Project in the Innovation category. After getting inspired by the fluid movement of a snapping sea turtle, he created a robot that moves like one. 'I thought it'd be interesting to try to replicate it with a robot that would have a much lower impact on the swimming environment, compared with more traditional propeller-based systems,' he said. Budz's robot uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and monitor threats in aquatic environments, such as invasive species and coral bleaching. 'I'm working at adding more in the future,' he said. 'This allows a variety of important organizations to go and conduct remedial efforts in these areas, essentially allowing them to improve the health of aquatic ecosystems.' Mateo Jarquin, a first-year CEGEP student at Champlain College-Lennoxville in Sherbrooke, Que., developed a robotic hand called F.L.E.X (Fully Leveraged Exo-Hand). The hand tracks and mirrors finger movements in real time and can be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world with a camera. It doesn't require gloves or physical attachments. His cousin, who lives in Ontario, tested it and was able to control the robotic hand. 'And he was able to control the robotic hand from Ontario all the way to Quebec, as if it was his actual hand in front of me,' he said. 'This type of technology could one day be used to perform tasks that are too dangerous for humans, such as disarming a bomb or performing space station repairs. Maybe even surgery from across the world could all be possible.' Sarah McGrath, a grade 10 student at Halifax Grammar School in Nova Scotia, focused her project on whether she could make fish feed for aquaculture by growing microalgae with recycled fish byproducts, like bones, tails and eyes. 'This microalgae is rich in Omega-3s, which is important because fish don't produce Omega-3,' she said, noting that the important dietary nutrient for human health is sourced from what fish eat. She said her method is a cost-effective and sustainable way to grow microalgae. 'This matters because fish stocks are depleting and the quality of our fish is rapidly decreasing,' she said. 'My results show that there's potential to use even more fish byproducts and utilize this waste that exists.' Amy Clark, a 15-years-old from Sanford Collegiate in Sanford, Man., combined her passion for physics and the environment into a research topic and looked at which Prairie province has the highest amount of radon in its soil. In her study, where she sampled soil from a few spots in Manitoba, along with Regina and Calgary, Manitoba had the highest levels of radon. She explained that increased levels of radon in soil can attribute to health risks, noting that radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. As fun as it was to build the project, Clark is also excited to be at nationals, saying the event is more than just talking about your project. 'It's about making friends and meeting new people. Connecting with people who are like-minded individuals,' she said. 'They love science. You love science, so they're really easy to talk to you.'
CBC
4 days ago
- Science
- CBC
Canada's brightest young minds gather in N.B. to showcase solutions to global challenges
Some of the brightest young scientific minds in Canada are in Fredericton this week, presenting their research into how to solve many of the world's problems, including in the fields of climate change, public health, food security and sustainable energy. "We're a long way from the old days of the baking-soda volcanoes and Styrofoam-ball solar systems," said Reni Barlow, executive director of Youth Science Canada The 63rd annual Canada-Wide Science Fair began Monday, featuring about 340 projects, the best from 100 regional fairs across the country. It's open to the public for a final day on Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fifteen of the competitors are from New Brunswick. "These are real-world scientific investigations or engineering innovations, and they really are quite astounding," Barlow said. Project categories include aerospace, agriculture, fisheries and food, digital technology, disease and illness, energy, environment and climate change, natural resources and plain old scientific curiosity. "It really spans quite the gamut," he said. The student scientists are in Grades 7 through 12 and some are from the CEGEP level in Quebec. Grade 7 student Arnav Samanth of Saint John's Millidgeville North School did a project to help improve radiotherapy cancer treatment for patients who have a tumour in the thoracic region. His dad works in cancer treatment. "When the patient breathes, the cancer tumour can move and radiation can go to the wrong areas," Arnav said. "So this is dangerous for the patient." He built a model of a device to coach patients on their breathing during this treatment that is more user friendly and portable than what's currently available. First-year CEGEP student Mateo Jarquin of Sherbrooke, Que., built a robotic hand that can use a camera from anywhere in the world to detect and copy finger movements in real time. "It was a real Tony Stark moment," when he first got it to work, he said. Then, he tested out the remote capability with the help of his cousin in Ontario. "He was able to control the robotic hand as if it was his actual hand," said Mateo. "He didn't have to wear any gloves or physical attachments … that kind of restrict your movements." He said it could have all kinds of applications, like disarming bombs, space exploration or remote surgery. Mateo posts videos on YouTube under the name Mateotechlab. He said he hopes it inspires others to try hands-on learning. "I didn't know how to do any of this before I got started … 3D printing, coding. ... In my opinion, there's no better way to get good at something than to simply start doing it." Grade 10 student Sara Waqas goes to STEM Innovation Academy in Calgary. She likes to read journal articles and watch science videos online and thinks about what she might do to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge. For her project, Sara designed a molecule that she hopes could help the 33 per cent of patients who are resistant to current antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia. She said it's more effective at targeting dysfunction in the brain, and she hopes it will help improve quality of life and function for people with schizophrenia. Grade 8 student Callie Dennis of Highview Public School in Pembroke, Ont., developed a way to compost plastic using mushrooms. "I see blue oyster mushrooms growing all over in the back behind my cottage, and I saw an article that said maybe mushrooms might have the potential to degrade plastic. So I decided I'm curious about this. I'd like to see for myself." She used mycelium spores on barley to grow mushrooms on plastic bottles. The mushrooms degraded 24 per cent of the plastic. She sees a day when instead of putting plastic bottles in a recycling bin, they can be composted in the backyard. "Our Earth is just infested by this gross plastic stuff. I feel like we should take better care of the place that helps us stay alive." From science fair to real-life applications Almost all of the projects at the science fair are based on a personal interest or hobby, Barlow said. "It's an opportunity to explore what science, technology, engineering and math are about by immersing yourself in a real problem or a real research situation and taking it as far as you can go," he said. "Many of them tell us afterwards that it was a life-changing experience." Some go on to publish or commercialize their projects or start companies. For example, Adam Noble of Peterborough, Ont., won best project in 2013 and went on to found Noblegen, which produces food materials from algae, Barlow said. About 5,000 students from the area are also visiting the fair and a trade show related to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, which is happening at the same time.
