International Rules & Guidelines
Changes and Modifications for 2010 - 2011

Eligibility:

• At Intel ISEF, team projects will now compete in the scientific category of their research and will no longer be a separately judged category.
• Each Intel ISEF-affiliated fair may send the number of projects provided by their affiliation agreement. There is no longer a restriction within this set number of how many may be individual projects or team projects.

Human Subjects:

• When written parental permission is required and the study includes a survey or questionnaire, the survey/questionnaire must be attached to the consent form.

Vertebrate Animals:

• SSP strongly endorses the use of non-animal research methods and encourages students to use alternatives to animal research.
• Students are now prohibited from designing or being directly involved in all behavioral experiments with vertebrate animals involving conditioning with aversive stimuli, not just those using operant conditioning.

Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents:

• Laboratory studies utilizing MRSA and VRE are now permitted but must be conducted in a Registered Research Institution under the supervision of a qualified scientist.
• Studies of mold growth on food items are exempt from prior SRC review if the experiment is terminated at the first evidence of mold.
• Pasteurized milk and eggs obtained from food stores do not need to be treated as Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents

Form Changes:

• Project proposed start and end dates have been eliminated from Form 1A – Student Checklist. The actual start/end dates are still required.
• Form 6A, Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents Risk Assessment Form, was modified to clarify the approval process associated with the project.
• The wording of the project components on Form 7, Continuation Projects Form, was slightly modified to better identify differences between this year’s research project and previous research projects.