Three students from Booker T. Washington High School are heading to Stillwater to compete in the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair.
Students Yeriel Ko, Divya Ramnath and Juliette Jackson developed projects focused on health and science, topics they say could have a real-world impact.
Ko, a freshman, studied how acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, affects people with low metabolism. Her project was inspired by her own experience with jaundice as a child.
“I wanted to know how to treat patients with liver conditions with fever reducers,†Ko said.
To test her hypothesis, Ko conducted a three-day experiment using pig liver she bought from a grocery store, exposing tissue samples to varying doses of the medication.
Because the tissue had no metabolism, Ko said it served as a model for patients whose bodies cannot properly process the drug.
“I did the experiment for three days, and I got my results, which showed that there was a really drastic decrease in the mass of each liver piece as the dose increased,†Ko said. “Since dead livers don't have metabolism, it really models people with really low metabolism.â€
Her project earned second place at the regional competition, qualifying her for state.
Across the classroom, Ramnath and Jackson focused on a different health concern: hearing loss among young people.
Their project, titled “The Ever Changing Ear,†examined the relationship between modern technology use and declining hearing ability. The pair tested 50 participants between the ages of 6 and 19, asking about headphone use and measuring hearing levels.
“Something interesting that we found is that 100% of the college students had hearing loss with theirs, so in the hearing test, the way we knew whether they had a hearing loss or not was if their number was more than 16 and the average number that the college students had was about 40, which shows like higher hearing loss,†Ramnath said.
Ramnath and Jackson said their research was inspired by earlier studies suggesting that hearing ability among young people has declined over time. Their project placed first in its category at regionals.
Beyond the data, both said the experience taught them the importance of collaboration.
“I would say a lot of teamwork and collaboration,†Jackson said. “We have done so many personal projects over the years, but it's just like a whole different thing, learning to work with someone who's really different from you.â€
The Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair will take place on Friday in Stillwater, where hundreds of students from across the state are expected to present their work.
Ko said she is looking forward to meeting other students and learning about their projects.
“There's so many people with a variety of interests in science,†Ko said. “I'd like to know their projects and also share mine.â€
All three students said the experience reinforced the importance of continued research, especially in fields like biochemistry and health sciences.
“No matter what happens, we are always going to need more research on how to save lives,†Ko said.
