Sara Volz, Bio-Fuel Researcher
Sara Volz set out to “use guided evolution – so artificial
selection – to isolate populations of algae cells with abnormally high oil
content.”
Right. So if you, like most people, are not entirely sure
what that means, let me put it in basic terms: she started growing algae under her bed to make bio-fuel.
Is it just me, or did saying it more simply actually make
her project sound more complicated???
Not only was 17-year-old Sara undaunted by a challenge the
green-energy community has been researching for ages, but her fresh perspective
may have brought about a game-changer in the field. She found that by using a
certain herbicide, she could eliminate the low-oil producing cells in her
algae, leaving only “a population cells with very high oil production.”
Good news for science, future Earth, and for Sara herself,
who went on to win the Intel Science Talent Search, a competition that’s had
SEVEN winners go on to win Nobel prizes.
To see the other entrants’ work or to enter the contest
yourself, visit:
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