Some high school students are satisfied watching TV or playing video games in their free time. Others, such as Eric Chen, are coming up with ways to improve the world.
Chen, a junior at the Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego took home the grand prize in Google's third annual Science Fair competition, which kicked off in January. To win the competition, Chen combined computer modeling and biological studies to discover "leads for a new type of anti-flu medicine, effective against all influenza viruses including pandemic strains."
Using computer modeling and virtual screening methods, it took Chen around six months to make his discovery, far quicker than it would have taken using conventional screening methods, he noted in his project report.
"Due to the significance of my findings, a patent on my discovery has been filed through UCSD [University of California, San Diego] and a manuscript is being prepared," Chen (pictured above right with other winners) wrote. "I hope that my work will attract pharmaceutical companies to put in more resources to this development and bring new types of flu medicine to patients in the near future. Since this study will help us combat influenza and save lives, it potentially has a great impact on human health and society."
Back in 2008, Google launched Google Flu Trends, which provides up-to-date flu-related activity estimate for all 50 states in the U.S.
Chen's project was selected from thousands of entries submitted by young scientists from more than 120 countries around the world. From those entries, Google selected 15 finalists ? representing eight different countries ? who gathered at the search giant's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. over the weekend to present their projects to a panel of judges.
"These projects were impressive and represented a vast range of scientific ingenuity ? from a multi-step system created for early diagnosis of melanoma cancers to the invention of a metallic exoskeleton glove that assists, supports, and enhances the movement of the human palm to help people who suffer from upper hand disabilities," Google Science Fair team member Clare Conway wrote in a blog post Monday.
In addition to Chen, who participated in the 17 to 18 age category, Google's panel of judges selected two other bright students as winners in their respective age categories. Among the 13-14 year olds, the judges selected Viney Kumar from Australia, who looked for new ways to provide drivers with notice about when ambulances are approaching, so they can take action to get out of the way. Canadian student Ann Makosinski won the 15 to 16 age category by "using Peltier tiles and the temperature difference between the palm of the hand and ambient air" to design The Hollow Flashlight, which provides bright light without batteries or moving parts.
Each of the winners will receive prizes from Google and its Science Fair partners, which include CERN, LEGO, National Geographic and Scientific American.
Source: http://feeds.ziffdavis.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/breakingnews/~3/KXdYzZwX1Qw/0,2817,2424779,00.asp
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