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Today, 40 high school seniors from across the country learned of their selection as Finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) 2011. Finalists have created better ways to train robots, treat liver cancer, test water quality, and keep the body from rejecting a transplanted organ. The Intel STS is the country's oldest and most prestigious precollege science competition.
For the first time ever, California has surpassed New York as the state with the most young innovators in the competition, with 11. New York has seven finalists, followed by Texas with three; Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania each with two; and Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska each with one.
Finalists will gather in Washington, D.C. from March 10-15 to compete for $630,000 in awards. The top winner will receive $100,000 from the Intel Foundation. Learn about all 40 projects on the SSP website, and meet the Finalists at Intel STS Public Day on March 13 in Washington, DC.
Amy Chyao, winner of the first place Gordon E. Moore Award at Intel ISEF 2010, was recognized by the President and First Lady for her scientific achievements with an invitation to sit in the First Lady's box at the President's State of the Union address on Tuesday. During the speech, Obama acknowledged Amy and other young scientists when he declared, "we need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair."
Amy, a 16-year-old high school junior from Richardson, Texas, developed a photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT), an emerging cancer treatment which uses light energy to activate a drug that kills cancer cells. Amy came up with an idea for improving the way medicines are administered, and so over her summer vacation taught herself basic chemistry and began her research. Since taking home the top prize at the Intel ISEF last year, she and her teacher have received inquiries from researchers all over the world who are working on implementation of the therapy. Amy will work with the biology department at the University of Texas at Dallas to improve her project. Along with other SSP alumni, Amy met President Obama last fall when she was selected to participate in the White House Science Fair.
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One of the meteorite pieces that fell to Earth after asteroid 2008 TC3 broke up in Earth’s atmosphere. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Asteroid carried unlikely cargo
By Stephen Ornes
In 2008, an asteroid broke apart in Earth’s atmosphere. Its pieces showered an African desert with meteorites. That was the end of the asteroid, but just the beginning of the story. Since then, scientists have been studying the meteorites to learn more about our neighborhood in the galaxy. Those rocks that fell from space brought pieces of a story about planets, asteroids, and the possibilities for life in the solar system. Read More
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