Paola Sofia Lumbreras
8th Grade, Acton Middle School
Granbury, TX
Investigating Natural Antioxidants as Protective Agents Against Alcohol and Nicotine-Induced Fetal Developmental Abnormalities
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Project Background
When Paola learned about the effects that vaping nicotine can have on fetal development, she began to wonder how to protect developing fetuses from the effects of alcohol and nicotine. “What really inspired me was thinking about maternal health disparities and how some pregnancies don’t receive adequate protection,” she says. “I kept asking myself – what if there was something simple and natural that could help?” Paola decided to look at the effects of antioxidants on fetal development in zebrafish.
Tactics and Results
Paola knew that nicotine and alcohol both cause damage to fetuses by creating highly reactive oxygen species that attack other molecules in the cell, including DNA. She reasoned that antioxidants might neutralize the harmful chemicals and reduce damage to developing cells. She exposed fish embryos in her high school science department to alcohol, nicotine, or both for an hour, and tested some of the groups as well with vitamin C or with spinach extract, two sources of antioxidants. Paola measured embryo survival, heartrate, length and if they developed abnormalities. She found that nicotine caused the largest drop in embryo survival, from 91.4 percent to 72.3 percent, and that it also made embryos’ hearts beat faster and increased deformity. Alcohol slowed heart rate, and both alcohol and nicotine slowed growth. Paola showed that both vitamin C and spinach extract helped protect the fish, increasing survival and growth, and reducing abnormalities.
Beyond the Project
Paola plays the tuba and has been in middle school honors band for two years. Heading into high school, she’s excited to join the marching band. “I now get to join my older brother on the tuba marching line,” she says. Paola continues to volunteer with her middle school band, teaching the youngest kids the ropes, though “the kids were a handful.” She also likes weightlifting. After taking an engineering class and doing a project about planes, Paola would like to become an aeronautical engineer.
