Teen Jack Andraka Develops Inexpensive Test for Pancreatic Cancer for Science Fair Project

Recently two of my kids announced that they were preparing for another Science Fair.  My high-schooler was looking for a good project idea while my middle-schooler had already figured that out, and was pairing up with partners.  They know how hard it is to come up with an original idea for Science Fair-- unless you are obsessed with one or another tangent of Science.  After all, judges have seen countless volcanic explosions with baking powder and vinegar, styrofoam solar systems, and the like.  It seems like the kid with passion about a subject, passion with enough force to propel the student on a true journey to understand a process; that kid is the one to really make a great Science Fair project.  More- that is the kid who might make a real discovery as well.

Jack Andraka had just seen some cool carbon nanotubes his Civil Engineer dad brought home.  They intrigued Jack so much that he read up extensively on them.  Jack said, "They have these amazing properties.  They are stronger than steel. They conduct electricity better than copper.”  Teachers thought he was daydreaming when he was half-listening in class when he was really chewing on what he was learning.  His Biology teacher confiscated a magazine Jack was reading because she could tell he wasn't paying attention.  She was surprised to see the magazine he was reading was Science, and he was reading about the uses of Nanotubes.

A few weeks earlier, a close family friend died of Pancreatic cancer.  This must have been in his mind as he learned more about those cool nanotubes.  Jack realized that the nanotubes could be used to detect an early marker of Pancreatic cancer, an overabundance of the protein Mesothelin in the blood.  Early detection of Pancreatic cancer changes the odds considerably in the treatment and cure of this deadly cancer. 

Jack wrote up his idea and sent it off to over 200 researchers.  Only one responded-- a researcher named Dr. Anirban Miatra who was working at John Hopkins University nearby.  Dr. Miatra liked the idea and gave Jack a chance to pursue this research.  Meeting in his lab after school for several months, Jack perfected the system and it worked!

Jack tweaked this system to use paper as the testing strip, not nanotubes.  This makes his test inexpensive (3 cents per test).  Initial evidence shows that his test is 90% accurate and only takes 5 minutes and a fraction of a drop of blood to administer.  It is also accurate at testing for Ovarian and Lung cancers as well, since they also throw off the same Mesothelin protein as an early marker.


Along with over $100,000 in grant and prize money, this must have been a great Science Fair project!  Jack earned the distinction of inventing a revolutionary life-saving test, all while he was still barely a teenager.  Now when he submits research ideas to researchers, I'm convinced they will listen.

Dr. Miatra thinks Jack is destined for greatness.  He said, "You're going to read about him a lot in the years to come... What I tell my lab is, 'Think of Thomas Edison and the light bulb.' This kid is the Edison of our times. There are going to be a lot of light bulbs coming from him."

What makes Jack special?  He does have the advantage of having a passion for Science and a family that fosters that.   Jack's mom is a Anesthesiologist, and the family admits to being science nerds. Jack's mom said, "... we're not a super-athletic family. We don't go to much football or baseball.  Instead we have a million [science] magazines [and] sit around the table and talk about how people came up with their ideas and what we would do differently."

Jack's brother Luke won nearly $100,000 a few years ago for another Science Fair project involving acid mine drainage as pollution.  That shows that the family supports and encourages deeper thinking about these school assignments.  

Passion and willingness to work hard to pursue these new ideas may be the key to Jacks' future successes.  And truly these qualities are key for all successes.  Don't give up, even when you get 199 rejection notices.  You only need one person to believe in you.

Sources:  

Dansby, Donisha. "Teen Genius Develops Cancer Test." National Geographic 10 April 2013. Web: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/10/teen-genius-develops-cancer-test/.

Tucker, Abigail. "Jack Andraka, the Teen Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer ." Smithsonian December 2012. Web: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Jack-Andraka-the-Teen-Prodigy-of-Pancreatic-Cancer-179996151.html?c=y&page=3.

Wikipedia. 7 Sept 2013. Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Andraka. 12 Sept 2013.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Quinto, found at Wikipedia.

Our New In-Laws and the 9 Nanas Quietly Love Others

Yesterday my husband and I returned home from Newport Beach, California, after seeing my son marry his sweetheart.  (Aren't they cute?)  It was a wonderful whirlwind weekend of good food and sunshine.  With our rainy Atlanta summer starting to wear on me, this switch was welcome.  The sweetest part of it was meeting our new family-- the family behind my son's new wife.

I must admit that I was worried about meeting her family.  I had spoken to her mom on the phone and she seemed really nice.  But my insecurities kept whispering in my ear that they wouldn't like us or that it would be awkward.  Instead they pulled me in-- all of us in, hugged us and made us feel at home and like the family we were to be.  One soon-to-be in-law even called me 'beautiful Melanie.'  Repeatedly!  Wow.

They made us feel comfortable enough to just walk in their home without knocking.  Or help ourselves to something in the kitchen, which was constantly full of yummy food.  Or go to use the restroom without politely asking.  They made us feel like it was our home and we felt comfortable in it.  Even when we spilled water on the beautiful sofa and dropped food on the floor.

After our children married, with this prelude of welcome and acceptance, we felt like family.  In the course of just 2 days together, we were no more strangers but now 'family' and felt like it!  It was amazing!

There was nothing dramatic in their actions-- just lots of love.  For us.  We were the family behind the man their daughter was marrying and that was enough to treat us like family.  It was amazing. 

Today I read a wonderful article about a group of women doing similar quiet acts of love.  They emulated the love they saw in their parents and broadened it to serve individuals in need in their community.  I couldn't help but link the two-- my experience with this kind family and the women of the article.  Read about the women here:  9 Women Quietly Serve Others

In my scripture reading this morning, I read that if we have a strong relationship with our Father in Heaven, we won't have the disposition to do evil, but we will want to do good.
Verses in Mosiah 4 read:

• 11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have ^atasted of his love, and have received a ^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own ^cnothingness, and his ^dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ^ehumility, ^fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing ^gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
•  12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the ^alove of God, and always ^bretain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the ^cknowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
•  13 And ye will not have a ^amind to injure one another, but to live ^bpeaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.
•  14 And ye will not suffer your ^achildren that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye ^bsuffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and ^cquarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the ^devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.
•  15 But ye will ^ateach them to ^bwalk in the ways of truth and ^csoberness; ye will teach them to ^dlove one another, and to serve one another.
•  16 And also, ye yourselves will ^asuccor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the ^bbeggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
•  17 Perhaps thou shalt ^asay: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
•  18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
•  19 For behold, are we not all ^abeggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
•  20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a ^aremission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his ^bSpirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with ^cjoy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
•  21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to ^aimpart of the substance that ye have one to another.

Seems like a good relationship with our God cures a lot in our interactions with others and certainly makes us kinder to others.  Clearly these wonderful people-- my new family and these 9 kind women-- have that relationship with God.  You can see it easily in how they well treat others. 

I'm grateful to this kind family, my new in-laws, for making us feel loved and that we belonged.  Now as I watch my son and his new wife make a life together, I know behind them there are two loving supportive families-- ours and hers.  I know because they loved and supported us over a glorious weekend.

Athlete Jill Kinmont Succeeded Surmounting New Challenges After Paralyzing Accident

Flipping through Netflix recently, my family and I came across ‘The Other Side of the Mountain.’  It’s the story of Jill Kinmont, an Olympic-bound Alpine skier and her courageous struggles as a paraplegic.  We watched it, and even watched the sequel too.  Although these movies may not fit the description of blockbusters, they certainly show the life of a hero.

Aspiring Olympian Jill Kinmont was featured on the cover of ‘Sports Illustrated’ the week a crash in a race changed her life forever.  In Alta, Utah, Jill was speeding down the course when she lost control and careened off the mountain.  (I have to say that watching that scene in the movie was amazing!  She literally skied off a cliff, just as scary as any skiing nightmare.)  Laying in the snow, not feeling anything, she wondered if she was dead.  Instead, her neck was broken, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down.  Although at first Jill thought she could work hard enough to ski again, her injury was significant enough to confine her to a wheelchair.  She could only use her arms with effort, her hands were curled up into fists.

Faced with a complete change in direction, Jill square her shoulders and got to work.  Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she worked tirelessly to regain what mobility she could.  After considerable effort, she learned to feed herself, write and paint with the use of devices clamped to her hand.  Anyone who has had to rehabilitate through an injury knows that this takes concentrated effort.  

Jill’s parents took care of Jill, doing for her the things she couldn’t do for herself.  Jill needed help to sit up in bed and to dress.  Once dressed, she needed help getting into a wheelchair.  Without functioning fingers, many routine tasks were taken over by her parents.  With their support, Jill decided to get a college education.  She graduated from UCLA with degrees in German and English.  When she set her sights on teaching, she faced a new foe:  discrimination.

Los Angeles schools refused to hire disabled teachers.  California colleges followed suit and refused to admit disabled students into the School of Education.  Jill pressed on, moving north to Washington State where she earned her teaching certificate at the University of Washington.  She taught remedial reading at a local school there until she and her mom returned to Los Angeles a few years later.  The California school districts continued to refuse to hire her, even with teaching experience under her belt.  Finally, she got a teaching job in Beverly Hills, a city district.  Jill taught remedial reading there for several years.  Later she taught disabled students in another district, and started a scholarship fund for Native Americans. 

In spite of her disability, Jill enjoyed a full wonderful life.  She married for love and stayed married.  And she painted and participated in shows.  She never let her disability be an impediment to her happiness or her life goals. 

Jill explained, "My way of wanting to do all this stuff probably stems a lot from my competitive endeavors because I like to focus on something, I'm sort of determined."

When Jill faced a new and unconquerable challenge in her injury, she took the same energy and determination and applied it to her new challenges.  Regaining as much mobility as she could, then becoming a teacher against the ‘system’ took real effort and stamina.  She knew how to train to be an Olympian; she applied the same skills to her new future and succeeded.  We can do the same with any of our challenges.

Sources:

Boxall, Bettina. "Jill Kinmont Boothe Dies at 75; Ski Champ Disabled in Crash Became Role Model." Los Angeles Times 11 February 2012: No Page. Web.

Crowe, Jerry. "Jill Kinmont Boothe is Still Going Strong More Than 50 Years After Paralyzing Skiing Accident." Los Angeles Times 22 May 2011: No Page. Web.

The Other Side of the Mountain. Dir. Larry Peerce. 1975. Film.

The Other Side of the Mountain: Part 2. Dir. Larry Peerce. 1978. Film.

My Top 5 Heroes for Starting Running

Last night as I drove through Atlanta, I noticed a sign on the interstate that read, “Dial 511 for HERO help.”  I thought of this today as I prepared to go running again.  I am trying to get fit and healthy, which is requiring changes that take effort and determination.  And running today took courage!  I needed HERO help, but not to change a tire or help in an emergency.  I needed heroes for courage.

I have been told that running is all mental—it takes more mental exertion to succeed than physical strength.  I believe that!  Today I needed a hero to help me put the ‘I think I can’ into my head.  Here are my top 5 heroes for starting a running program.

1.  Gail Devers.  As a runner, she fought back from a cancer that nearly killed her.  While sick she could only crawl, so she had to work really hard to run fast again.  She eventually won gold in two Olympic games.  Anyone who can walk can run.  Read about Gail here: Gail Devers

2.  Dick Hoyt.  Another runner, he’s an old man by most standards (age 73) but still competes in Triathlons while pushing his disabled son!  Yes, he shows that old bodies can still perform well.  Read about Dick here:  Dick Hoyt

3.  Glenn Cunningham.  After suffering terrible burns over most of his body as a child, he taught himself how to walk, then run again.  As a runner, he went on to win silver in Olympic games.  If you don’t have any serious problems with your legs like Glenn did, you can run again.  Read about Glenn here: Glenn Cunningham

4.  Oksana Chusovitina.  As an aging gymnast, she continued to compete in her sport well beyond the age of retirement to help her son.  If she can do those difficult moves in her late thirties, one can certainly teach a body how to run again.  Read about Oksana here:  Oksana Chusovitina

5.  Don Magee.  As a middle aged man, he began slowly to do push-ups in support of his wife’s exercise regime.  Now he can do 4000 in a day at nearly 80 years old.  He shows us that a little bit every day adds up to a lot over time.  Read about Don here:  Don Magee 

 

I can train this body again to run because I know others have done harder things than this.  There are many more heroes we can look to, but these are my top 5 for today.  I ran 2 miles and walked 1.5 miles over hilly terrain today and I felt great.  I’ll get to be running all of it as I continue to train myself for health and fitness.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft.com

Don Magee Pushes LImits With 4000 Push-Ups

Don Magee just set an amazing record:  he did 4000 push-ups in one day.  That is not a typo.  He did four thousand push-ups in one day.  For most people, doing 40 in one day would be a challenge.  For elite athletes, doing 400 in one day would be remarkable.  But Don did multiple times that.  

The kicker is that Don is almost 80 years old!  

Don wasn’t always a super-push-up athlete.  He didn’t really begin doing lots of push-ups until he was in his fifties, when his wife Florence was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.  Doctors advised her to fight it through exercise, which she did.  Don and Florence began visiting a gym early each morning to work out.  Florence didn’t realize that when Don joined her in exercising, he would become obsessed with performing push-ups.  He does at least 1000 daily, dropping for 20 between golf rounds and while standing in line during errands.  

When Don started doing pushups, it hurt to do just 25.  He added 5 each time he tried and just kept adding them.  He likes doing push-ups because they don’t require any special equipment, and they really helped him get in shape.  After several months, Don could do 100 without stopping and his obsession flamed.  He set goals which propelled him to this latest milestone.  In 2007, he topped 3,000 at the age of 74.  It was then that he set his sights on the number 4,000.  It wasn’t until recently that he realized he was rattling off more than his usual number of push-ups and this goal was reachable.  

To reach 4,000, Don did sets of 250 with just a few minutes rest in between sets.  When he had exhausted himself, he took a nap!  Refreshed, he started anew and reached 4,000.  For good measure, he threw in 50 more.   

He wants to show people, particularly the elderly, that everyone can exercise and improve their fitness levels.  “I wanted to make a statement that just because you’re old, it doesn’t mean you can’t do things.  You can stay active.” 

Now that he’s reached this goal, what will he do?  He said, “I’m still going to continue doing my 1,000 a day.  That’s what is keeping me in condition.  But it doesn’t make any difference how many you can do.  If you can do three, do three as many times as you can, and then add two to it.”  

Don is doing a terrific job showing this with this new record.  His training plan is applicable to most endeavors; start small and keep adding.  Slow and steady work can pay off big.  Like Don, we can set goals and reach them with hard work and determination. 

Works Cited

Cline, Todd. "New Record for Push-Up King." Gwinnett Daily Post 3 July 2013: 8A. Print.

Sugiura, Ken. "3010 Push-ups at 74 Years Old." Atlanta Journal Constitution 8 Nov 2007. Print.

Need Inspiritation? Read This. BodyBuilding.com. 14 Jan 2008. Web. 3 July 2013.

Photo courtesy of Mathnexus.com