Sample Competition Projects
Following are some sample student projects that earned finalist and semifinalists honors in recent competitions:
Zachary M. Feldman: 2008 Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist
This project investigates how sporulating Bacillus subtilis cells determine which direction to transport their chromosomal DNA. Sporulation is a developmental process initiated by poor nutrients in the environment, by which a polar spore is formed inside a mother cell (sporangium) and released, requiring the lysis of the mother cell. Once the polar spore has begun to form, 70% of the spore’s chromosome is still on the mother cell side and must be transported to the forespore. The DNA translocase protein SpoIIIE has been shown to use its ATPase activity to pump this DNA into the forming spore. Specifically, this investigation focuses on the role of a proposed DNA-interaction domain (the gamma domain) of SpoIIIE in controlling or influencing the direction of DNA pumping. The gamma domain is thought to determine the direction of transport by reading the direction of a set of non-palindromic skewed nucleotide sequences. In this study, fluorescence microscopy and assays for sporulation efficiency were used to demonstrate that the gamma domain is necessary and sufficient for successful directional pumping of the DNA and for successful formation of viable spores. Specific residues within the domain were also identified as being necessary for pumping and sporulation.
Sebastian J. Caliri and Joshua R. Infantine: 2008 Siemens Competition Semifinalists
Succinimidyl ester of 6-((acryloyl)amino)hexanoic acid is a bioconjugator that can be incorporated into a polyacrylamide gel through inclusion in the radical polymerization process. Adding an antibody to a gel containing this molecule enables the covalent attachment of antibody to the succinimdyl ester units. Such a complex yet durable acrylamide-antibody matrix has the capability to capture viruses for which the antibody is specific when they are passed over its surface. We selected Enterobacteria phage T4, a type of bacteriophage that infects Escherichia coli and antibody that is specific for it to prove this concept. After the creation of the gel-antibody hybrid and the addition of bacteriophage, we eluted the coliphage from the matrix via a salt wash. Subsequently, we found it possible to prove its presence by observing plaques formed on plates of E. coli that had been grown from a mixture with the extracted viruses. Our data indicates that this idea is a feasible one, with each gel sample that contained the correct antibody capturing a high percentage of the T4 virus. In the future, this filtration system will have myriad applications in the detection and extraction of viruses in biological systems, as well as the removal of infected cells by attaching a CD4+ protein to the gel in lieu of a specific antibody.
Gary G. Cao: 2007 Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist
Resveratrol: A Natural Cyclooxygenase Inhibitor Induces Head and Neck Cancer Cell Arrest throughActivation of p53 and Inhibition of PGE2 Production
Song Kim: 2007 Siemens Competition Semifinalis
Katherine Chen: 2006 Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist
Effect of Electrical Stress on Gate Current in Metal-Insulator-Silicon Structures
Krisha K. Gupta: 2005 Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist and Siemens Westinghouse Finalist
Photochemistry of CH3COCClO and Dissociation of the Nascent CH3OCO Radical
Vaishali K. Grover: 2005 Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist
The Development of an Environmentally-Friendly Enzyme Based Antifouling System