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Sophia Hou

8th Grade, Newark Academy
Livingston, NJ

Sophia and her mother both take vitamin B12 supplements. Sophia’s mom takes one “because she is vegetarian, and plants do not contain substantial amounts of B12,” Sophia explains. She knew that B12 helps people produce blood cells and is necessary for brain development. It is also an antioxidant — a chemical that can stop reactive molecules from forming. Antioxidants are important to helping bodies respond to stress. Sophia began to wonder if B12 could help plants respond to stress, too.

The Effect of Methylcobalamin on Vigna radiata Germination Under Heat Stress

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2024 Thermo Fisher JIC Finalist Sophia Hou poster: The Effect of Methylcobalamin on Vigna radiata Germination Under Heat Stress
The Effect of Methylcobalamin on Vigna radiata Germination Under Heat Stress Sophia Hou
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Project Background

Sophia wanted to see if methylcobalamin, an activated form of B12, could change how quickly seeds germinate when they are at high temperatures. She tested 120 mung bean (Vigna radiata) seeds. “My grandmother and I grew Vigna radiata sprouts together when I was younger, and they are a staple in Asia,” Sophia says. She separated her seeds into six groups. Three groups were germinated at 80 degrees, and three at 98 degrees. Each of the three groups received either zero, three percent or eight percent methycobalamin in their water.

After a week, Sophia showed that the groups germinated at 80 degrees had no differences. At 98 degrees, seeds grown with methylcobalamin has longer lengths than seeds grown in water alone. This could mean that the seeds were under stress at the high temperature, and that methylcobalamin helped them by acting as an antioxidant.

2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific JIC Junior Innovators Challenge Public Day Washington DC - Sophia Hou
Lisa Fryklund/Licensed by Society for Science

Beyond the Project

Sophia is a competitive swimmer who has swum at the state championships and practices six days a week. She has a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She also loves cooking, drawing and painting. “My most recent painting was of a groundhog,” she recalls. She’d like to be a biologist. “I haven’t decided on a field within biology that I would like to pursue, but I am interested in cancer biology, immunology and cell biology,” she says. “There’s so much to be discovered that can help people.”

2024 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (JIC) Finalist - portrait Sophia Hou
Lisa Fryklund/Licensed by Society for Science