Three students from Booker T. Washington High School are gearing up for the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair in Stillwater. Yeriel Ko, Divya Ramnath, and Juliette Jackson have all created projects that could help address real health issues.
Yeriel, a freshman, focused on acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol. She wanted to see how it affects people with low metabolism, inspired by her own childhood experience with jaundice. “I wanted to find ways to treat patients with liver issues,” she said. To test this, she ran a three-day experiment using pig liver from a grocery store, exposing it to different doses of the drug. She found that increasing the dosage led to a significant decrease in liver tissue mass, demonstrating how it might affect people whose bodies can’t process the medication properly. Her project earned her second place at the regional competition, securing her spot at the state fair.
Meanwhile, Divya and Juliette tackled another crucial health topic: hearing loss in young people. Their project, “The Ever Changing Ear,” explored how modern technology affects hearing abilities. They surveyed 50 participants aged 6 to 19, focusing on headphone usage and hearing levels.
“Surprisingly, all the college students showed signs of hearing loss,” Divya noted. They found that the average score for college students was around 40, indicating significant hearing decline. Their work highlights a worrying trend; research has recently shown that nearly 1 in 5 adolescents has some form of hearing loss, a notable increase over the past two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Divya and Juliette’s project won first place in their category at regionals. They emphasized how teamwork fueled their success, stating, “It’s a whole new experience working with someone who has a different perspective.”
The upcoming fair will host hundreds of students from across Oklahoma, showcasing diverse interests in science. Yeriel is excited about engaging with peers and learning from their projects. “There are so many different fields in science to explore,” she said. “I can’t wait to share my work and hear about theirs.”
All three students agree that continued research in health sciences is essential. “We always need more studies to better understand how to save lives,” Yeriel concluded.
