The DuPont Challenge: National Science Essay Awards
WILMINGTON, Del., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Two first-place winning teens went to Walt Disney World and the Kennedy Space Center last week as winners of the DuPont Challenge National Science Essay Awards Program. Masooma Raza, 14, a freshman at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., and Yocheved Kramer, a junior at Manhattan High School for Girls in New York City, won the $3,000 prize in the junior and senior divisions respectively.
The DuPont Challenge winning essays cover a broad range of scientific topics from medical advances to astrophysics — and more. First place winners in each division receive a $3,000 educational grant plus an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World and the Kennedy Space Center, accompanied by a parent and a sponsoring science teacher. The trip includes an awards luncheon and ceremony plus VIP tours of Kennedy Space Center. The four finalists in each division receive a $1,000 educational grant.
Both winners researched and wrote about medical mysteries and discoveries. Raza described how the cone shell snail’s venom, 1,000 times stronger than morphine, may be a potent pain reliever, and Kramer discussed how the discovery of Prion disease in humans and the ongoing scientific research may help in understanding dementia-related diseases.
The DuPont Challenge National Science Essay Awards Program received more than 11,000 entries in 2007. It is one of the foremost student science and technology prize programs in the country. It is sponsored by DuPont in cooperation with General Learning Communications (GLC).
In her essay "Venomous Remedy," Raza explained how the venom from a cone shell snail, whose sting is strong enough to kill 12 people, can have a therapeutic effect on people who suffer from chronic pain and neurological disorders and diseases. "Milking" toxins from cone shells is no easy feat, since the snail can sting its prey from almost any angle. Although this small snail can pack a wallop, its venom has tremendous potential to help stop chronic pain for people who suffer from cancer, arthritis, and spinal injuries.
Raza has set her sights on science and medicine. "Ever since I was little, I’ve always been interested in medicine and medical discoveries. I find the cone shell snails fascinating. Most of our medicines come from plant sources; tapping this potential from an animal source is another, possibly better, choice."
When Kramer started researching mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE), she came across a human medical mystery – a disease called fatal familial insomnia that affected an Italian family over several generations. The disease was found to be similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the human form of BSE. Kramer’s essay, "Prion Disease: Fatal Folds," focuses on Nobel Prize winner Stanley Prusiner’s discovery: prion disease. Prions (proteinaceous infectious particles) are found in the brain. Prion diseases, which include CJD, BSE, and fatal familial insomnia, can be either inherited or communicable, caused by normal proteins mutating, or changing shape (fatal folds). Kramer concludes that although there is much to be discovered about Prion disease, she is hopeful that researchers will find treatment strategies and possibly a cure for these and other related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Kramer really enjoys science. "I find medicine fascinating and would like to become a doctor. It would be nice to help cure people."
For more information about the 2007 competition, visit the DuPont Challenge website at http://www.glcomm.com/dupont or write to The DuPont Challenge, c/o GLC, 900 Skokie Boulevard, Suite 200, Northbrook, IL 60062.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
For photo of winners of the DuPont Challenge: http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/Newsroom/ViewAttachment.aspx?SiteName=Dupon tNew&Entity=PRAsset&AttachmentType=F&EntityID=105952&AttachmentID=94b1392b- 041f-4499-9678-acd8fbe11cdf&NewWindow=true (Due to length of URL, please cut and paste into browser.)
Caption: From left to right: Brenda Kramer, science teacher from Manhattan High School for Girls; Rivka Kramer, parent; Yocheved Kramer, Senior Winner; Masooma Raza, Junior Winner; Themina Raza, parent; Jennifer Seavey, science teacher from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Back row left to right: Welmon F. Speed, Jr., NASA KSC engineer; Joe Fowler, DuPont Florida site engineer.
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