Shawndra L Fordham

Research in Biotechnology Shawndra L Fordham

Welcome to the third edition of the Rock Canyon High School Research in Biotechnology Journal, a product of the the Principles of Experimental Design in Biotechnology and Technical Writing classes at Rock Canyon High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Students conducted authentic scientific research from start to finish: designing their research experiments, finding an expert mentor in the field, writing and defending a research proposal, writing a budget and securing their own sources of funding, ordering their materials, conducting research, making a scientific poster, presenting at a research symposium, and writing a full-text journal article. After a year of intense research filled with triumph and struggle, 9 student teams are proud to present their final research in this journal: 1. Analyzing goat browsing as a form of wildlife mitigation and its environmental impacts (Featured Research) 2. The effect of fluoxetine on the development of Danio rerio embryos' sensory hair cells 3. The efficacy of varying methods for the genetic engineering of morning glories (I. purpurea) with the AtPCS1 gene 4. The effects of ingestion of genetically engineered insulin-like peptide-producing Escherichia coli on the trehalose levels in Drosophila melanogaster 5. The effects of radio frequency exposure on the proliferation of squamous cell carcinoma cells 6. Effect of Hypericum perforatum (St. Johns Wort) on the morphological and neurological development in Danio rerio embryos 7. The effect of Piracetam on beta-amyloid plaque formation and subsequent paralysis on an Alzheimer's model Caenorhabditis elegans 8. Utilizing CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering to disrupt the function of the tnaA gene in HME63 Escherichia coli 9. Effect of cannabidiol on the rate of proliferation of mouse skin squamous cell carcinoma Any profits from the sale of this journal (approximately $5 per copy) will go to funding the next year's research, so your support of our students and their work is truly appreciated!