Reflection for Week of May 8-12th -- Genius Hour Update #1

So, I, per usual, have run through a number of ideas in order to arrive at my final one.  I started out looking at comparing the effectiveness of natural remedies to the effectiveness of modern medicine.  I found a study looking specifically at the effectiveness of green tea and a modern heart medicine at lowering heart rate, and was thinking perhaps I could use something like ginger as well, or maybe compare different teas, but then I stumbled on a new and more interesting idea.  In researching other natural remedies, I found that sage and rosemary both have active ingredients that serve as neuroprotectors and help enhance memory.  I was thinking I could use the mice, expose them to the two different plants, and see if that exposure decreased the time it took for them to get through a maze.  But then I decided that I didn’t want to deal with the increased numbers of variables that using animals brings.  At home, having run through several different ideas, I was feeling a little desperate, and asked my dad at breakfast if he could think of anything.  He mentioned phototherapy having a positive effect on metabolism, so I came into school that morning and looked up phototherapy.  I found a study that detailed how blue light kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria, then stumbled on another than detailed how the compound methylene blue does the same thing.  What it seems no one has done, however, is compare the effectiveness of the two, so that’s what I will be looking at.  

Now that I have my question (which will be more effective), I have begun looking at my procedure and laying it out.  I plan using plates with antibiotic resistant E. coli and stock bacteria.  I will have a control with no substance present (with one plate antibiotic-resistant, one plate stock bacteria), two plates with antibiotics, two plates with methylene blue, and one exposed to blue light. I'm doing pretty well drafting up my procedure, and am hoping to start this week. I guess the only problem with that is that I don't know how long it's going to take...Away, I'm really looking forward to this!