A record number of students entered this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, with 4,616 students from across the country submitting projects into the competition. Irish Country Living met a few of the entrants.
Wicklow
Category winner
Title: Which cattle breed has the
lowest carbon hoofprint?
Category: Biological and ecological
Fifth-year students Una Sinnott, Pádraig Doyle and Tommy McGing from Coláiste Bhríde, Wicklow, investigated whether or not Aberdeen Angus cattle have a lower carbon footprint (or hoofprint) than continental breeds such as Charolais or Limousin. They also looked into how consumers and farmers would react to that.
“It is possible for an animal to have such a thing as a carbon footprint. Many farmers don’t realise that,” says Una.
“Our results showed the traditional Irish breeds have a lower carbon hoofprint than continental breeds. We also found Irish breeds to have a higher calving rate and consume a lower rate of concentrate feed,” says Una.
Cork
Title: An investigation into the
effect of LEDs on plant growth
Category: Biological and ecological
Fourth-year science enthusiasts Robbie Matthews, Tom O’Donovan and James Hayes from Clonakilty Community College, Cork, carried out an experiment to determine the effect of LEDs on plant growth. Their aim was to design and create an LED plant propagator to improve and develop plant growth, when compared with traditional propagation methods.
“Using a propagator with an LED light allowed us to upscale and observe more growth of seeds as the original technique we were using did not show us accurate results,” Tom says. “We used water as moisture at the beginning of our investigation, but we were not happy with the results we obtained. We decided to convert to a different horticultural solution which increased the growth of seeds.”
Their results proved successful, explains Robbie. “The LED bulb had a dramatic effect over regular incandescent bulbs. Our results showed plant growth using an LED bulb allowed plants to become 19.7% taller and contain 25.3% more mass.”
Offaly
Title: Cow calving alert
Category: Technology
A different approach to alerting farmers when cows are calving was created by second-year students Sean Flynn and Clive Kenna from Gallen Community School, Offaly. Their project is a system that alerts farmers via SMS that their cow has started calving.
“We are both from a farming background and we want to pursue a career in this area in the future,” Sean says. “Creating this alert wasn’t hard for us as we consistently have calving problems on our farms.”
The system involves three sensors which gather data from the cow: a moisture sensor, a sensor connected to the cow’s tail and a temperature sensor.
“Once the sensors go off a message is sent to the farmer to alert him that his cow is in labour,” says Sean.
They also used an Arduino pad to help process the sensors, which their teacher Catherine Hopkins helped them locate.
“We were delighted with our results. We didn’t think the sensors would work so well,” says Clive. They hope to use this equipment on their own farms.
Cork
Title: The development of a prototype citizen water quality monitoring test kit
Category: Chemical, physical and mathematical sciences
Transition year students Emily Kellett and Orlaith Nyhan from Kinsale Community School, Cork, evaluated the use of an oxygen-demand test as an indicator of water pollution to be used in citizen monitoring. “We contacted Dr Glen Jones, a retired water chemist, and he showed us an old commercial test for testing water quality. We thought if we could make this test more modern and user-friendly it would appeal to more people,” says Emily. The girls carried out the experiment using potassium permanganate and an acidifier tablet to lower the ph and dropped them into water. They found this test to be quick and user-friendly.
“The estimated cost of the water quality test was less than €1. This type of water quality test kit would be ideal in developing countries, where resources are scarce,” adds Emily. They hope their project will have an impact on areas where water is unsanitary and that a lot of money will be saved through this method.
“Dr Glenn Jones taught us Leaving Certificate chemistry, which I know will stand to us in the future. Although it was a challenge at the time, it will be worth it when we sit our Leaving Certificate in a couple of years,” says Emily.
Cork
Title: Effects of raw milk on asthma
Category: Chemical, physical and mathematical sciences
Representing Bandon Grammar School in Cork, second-year students Lauren Bateman and Grace Kingston set out to prove that raw cow’s milk has a positive effect on asthma sufferers.
“Our idea came from personal experiences. We have a friend who suffers heavily from asthma. She even had to spend €30,000 on an injection once a year to reduce her asthma. She was recommended to drink raw milk, which she was told helps,” Lauren says.
They surveyed several schools with asthma sufferers. Seven students took part, three with severe asthma.
After two weeks of monitoring, one student who initially rated her asthma as eight out of 10 (10 being the worst) rated it at three out of 10 after having consumed raw milk. She noticed she could breathe better and playing sport became easier.
“Not only is raw milk more nutritionally beneficial, fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C are higher as pasteurisation has not denatured them,” Lauren adds.
Derry
Title: Investigating the effect of various fruit and vegetable juices on the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide from an Alzheimer’s disease perspective
Category: Chemical, physical and mathematical sciences
Rebecca Wright and Lauren McCallion from year 11 at St Mary’s College, Derry, undertook a project relating to hydrogen peroxide and Alzheimer’s disease. They investigated the effect of various fruit and vegetables juices on how quickly hydrogen peroxide is broken down.
“This is a topic that is close to both me and Lauren as my dad suffers from dementia and Lauren’s great aunt had the disease.” says Rebecca.
“When carrying out our investigations we discovered hydrogen peroxide slows down the brain.”
The St Mary’s students researched information into the background of dementia and its diagnosis.
They found that fruit and vegetable juices could help slow down the breakdown of brain cells.
“There is no cure for dementia, but a piece of fruit or a vegetable, something we eat every day, could slow it down.”
Overall, apricots showed the best results, followed by pears and cherries.
“We thought apples or oranges, typical fruit we eat every day, would have a more significant effect,” says Lauren.
A special mention
• Students from New-Bridge Integrated College in Down investigated the presence of microorganisms on the rind of lemons that are found in restaurants and bars. They discovered the rind contains antimicrobial bacteria and suggested the use of UV light to kill the bacteria.
A record number of students entered this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, with 4,616 students from across the country submitting projects into the competition. Irish Country Living met a few of the entrants.
Wicklow
Category winner
Title: Which cattle breed has the
lowest carbon hoofprint?
Category: Biological and ecological
Fifth-year students Una Sinnott, Pádraig Doyle and Tommy McGing from Coláiste Bhríde, Wicklow, investigated whether or not Aberdeen Angus cattle have a lower carbon footprint (or hoofprint) than continental breeds such as Charolais or Limousin. They also looked into how consumers and farmers would react to that.
“It is possible for an animal to have such a thing as a carbon footprint. Many farmers don’t realise that,” says Una.
“Our results showed the traditional Irish breeds have a lower carbon hoofprint than continental breeds. We also found Irish breeds to have a higher calving rate and consume a lower rate of concentrate feed,” says Una.
Cork
Title: An investigation into the
effect of LEDs on plant growth
Category: Biological and ecological
Fourth-year science enthusiasts Robbie Matthews, Tom O’Donovan and James Hayes from Clonakilty Community College, Cork, carried out an experiment to determine the effect of LEDs on plant growth. Their aim was to design and create an LED plant propagator to improve and develop plant growth, when compared with traditional propagation methods.
“Using a propagator with an LED light allowed us to upscale and observe more growth of seeds as the original technique we were using did not show us accurate results,” Tom says. “We used water as moisture at the beginning of our investigation, but we were not happy with the results we obtained. We decided to convert to a different horticultural solution which increased the growth of seeds.”
Their results proved successful, explains Robbie. “The LED bulb had a dramatic effect over regular incandescent bulbs. Our results showed plant growth using an LED bulb allowed plants to become 19.7% taller and contain 25.3% more mass.”
Offaly
Title: Cow calving alert
Category: Technology
A different approach to alerting farmers when cows are calving was created by second-year students Sean Flynn and Clive Kenna from Gallen Community School, Offaly. Their project is a system that alerts farmers via SMS that their cow has started calving.
“We are both from a farming background and we want to pursue a career in this area in the future,” Sean says. “Creating this alert wasn’t hard for us as we consistently have calving problems on our farms.”
The system involves three sensors which gather data from the cow: a moisture sensor, a sensor connected to the cow’s tail and a temperature sensor.
“Once the sensors go off a message is sent to the farmer to alert him that his cow is in labour,” says Sean.
They also used an Arduino pad to help process the sensors, which their teacher Catherine Hopkins helped them locate.
“We were delighted with our results. We didn’t think the sensors would work so well,” says Clive. They hope to use this equipment on their own farms.
Cork
Title: The development of a prototype citizen water quality monitoring test kit
Category: Chemical, physical and mathematical sciences
Transition year students Emily Kellett and Orlaith Nyhan from Kinsale Community School, Cork, evaluated the use of an oxygen-demand test as an indicator of water pollution to be used in citizen monitoring. “We contacted Dr Glen Jones, a retired water chemist, and he showed us an old commercial test for testing water quality. We thought if we could make this test more modern and user-friendly it would appeal to more people,” says Emily. The girls carried out the experiment using potassium permanganate and an acidifier tablet to lower the ph and dropped them into water. They found this test to be quick and user-friendly.
“The estimated cost of the water quality test was less than €1. This type of water quality test kit would be ideal in developing countries, where resources are scarce,” adds Emily. They hope their project will have an impact on areas where water is unsanitary and that a lot of money will be saved through this method.
“Dr Glenn Jones taught us Leaving Certificate chemistry, which I know will stand to us in the future. Although it was a challenge at the time, it will be worth it when we sit our Leaving Certificate in a couple of years,” says Emily.
Cork
Title: Effects of raw milk on asthma
Category: Chemical, physical and mathematical sciences
Representing Bandon Grammar School in Cork, second-year students Lauren Bateman and Grace Kingston set out to prove that raw cow’s milk has a positive effect on asthma sufferers.
“Our idea came from personal experiences. We have a friend who suffers heavily from asthma. She even had to spend €30,000 on an injection once a year to reduce her asthma. She was recommended to drink raw milk, which she was told helps,” Lauren says.
They surveyed several schools with asthma sufferers. Seven students took part, three with severe asthma.
After two weeks of monitoring, one student who initially rated her asthma as eight out of 10 (10 being the worst) rated it at three out of 10 after having consumed raw milk. She noticed she could breathe better and playing sport became easier.
“Not only is raw milk more nutritionally beneficial, fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C are higher as pasteurisation has not denatured them,” Lauren adds.
Derry
Title: Investigating the effect of various fruit and vegetable juices on the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide from an Alzheimer’s disease perspective
Category: Chemical, physical and mathematical sciences
Rebecca Wright and Lauren McCallion from year 11 at St Mary’s College, Derry, undertook a project relating to hydrogen peroxide and Alzheimer’s disease. They investigated the effect of various fruit and vegetables juices on how quickly hydrogen peroxide is broken down.
“This is a topic that is close to both me and Lauren as my dad suffers from dementia and Lauren’s great aunt had the disease.” says Rebecca.
“When carrying out our investigations we discovered hydrogen peroxide slows down the brain.”
The St Mary’s students researched information into the background of dementia and its diagnosis.
They found that fruit and vegetable juices could help slow down the breakdown of brain cells.
“There is no cure for dementia, but a piece of fruit or a vegetable, something we eat every day, could slow it down.”
Overall, apricots showed the best results, followed by pears and cherries.
“We thought apples or oranges, typical fruit we eat every day, would have a more significant effect,” says Lauren.
A special mention
• Students from New-Bridge Integrated College in Down investigated the presence of microorganisms on the rind of lemons that are found in restaurants and bars. They discovered the rind contains antimicrobial bacteria and suggested the use of UV light to kill the bacteria. 
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