Students prepare for March science fair

With the first semester drawing to a close, some students are already planning for their second semester activities such as the annual science fair. The 2012 Synopsis Championship hosted by the Santa Clara Valley Science and Engineering Fair Association takes place on March 7.

The most recent deadline for the fair was Nov. 11 for projects requiring SRC (Scientific Review Committee) approval. The committee needs to review projects including human subjects, vertebrate animals, controlled substances and dangerous chemicals.

As of the deadline, there were three Saratoga entries. Students gave their papers to science teacher Bob Kucer to be submitted.

Juniors Ramya Swami and Sanjna Verma have teamed together for their project, entitled “Effects of Dietary Vitamin D on the Progression of Breast Tumors in Mice.”

The two decided on the topic because Swami’s mother, Srilatha Swami, works as an endocrinologist at Stanford University, and the girls found the subject fascinating.

“The most interesting part for me was learning what we were actually going to do,” Verma said.

They have not begun the experiment yet, since they have to undergo a required training program to work in the lab at Stanford. However, according to Verma, their research is almost completed. The two will probably have to stay two to three hours every other day in the lab during second semester for the experiment, working under the guidance of Swami’s mother.

The girls completed a related project regarding feeding cells in eighth grade and have realized that they can cooperate well.

“We’re pretty good when it comes to dividing roles,” Verma said. “If both of us want to do something, then we switch off. It helps also that I get to do this project with my best friend because we both know our ‘quirks.’”

Junior Jackie Gu has decided to compete in the science fair for the second year in a row. Her project this year is called “Chemical Mapping of Ribosomal RNA extracted from S. cerevisiae cells,” which deals with RNA in yeast cells.

This past summer, Gu returned to the Stanford biochemistry department lab where she has worked for the past two summers. Professor Rhiju Das, whom she works under the guidance of, gave her three directions for her project. Gu then conducted research and decided the most appealing direction.

During the summer, Gu spent seven to eight hours, five days a week in the lab.

“Mapping the synthetic primers with the natural ‘in vivo’ RNA was pretty cool,” Gu said.
Since then, she has not returned to the lab but plans to spend at least 10 hours a week in the upcoming weeks to meet her deadline.

“I have to basically do the project all over again to corroborate the result of the experiment with more evidence, [since] the more times you repeat an experiment and come out with the same result, the more valid your hypothesis is,” Gu said.

In the next few months, students will have to complete their experiments and research. By early March, they will have to put together a poster board and prepare a presentation and answers to possible questions for the judges.

Students will compete for merit prizes and special awards from local organizations. Winners of individual divisions will compete in the California State Science Fair in Los Angeles on May 1. Grand prize winners will receive a trip to the Intel ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair) in Pittsburgh, Pa., during the middle of May.