Unsavoury bugs that lurk in your MP3 player's earphones, how sports injuries mend, young people's awareness about over-the-counter painkillers and the use of bizarre images to aid study for exams: the focus is squarely on teens in many of the health-related projects on display next week at the 2007 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in the RDS.
Two students from Armagh have found that people who exchange MP3 player earphones could be sharing more than their music. Anita McGurgan (13) and Brian Watters (14) from St Patrick's High School, Keady, took swabs from earpieces and grew cultures in the lab.
"The stuff we found was gross," said Ms McGurgan, who has been put off sharing her own earphones by the project. "We found spit, bacteria for acne and stuff that would be in toilets on the earpieces. If you are sharing earphones you should have a spare or use a wipe."
Using a sound sensor, the pair also discovered that MP3 players expose students at the school to an average noise level of 85 decibels, which Ms McGurgan said could have an effect on hearing over long periods and should encourage parents to put a lock on their children's MP3 player volume controls.
For Robbie McPartlind (16) in Kilkenny, the focus was not a gadget, but himself. He and fellow transition-year students John Cahill (15) and Eddie O'Shaughnessy (16) at St Kieran's College looked at how hurler McPartlind's leg healed over 14 weeks, after an operation to stabilise his kneecap, which was prone to dislocation.
Using his other leg as a comparison, they measured the muscle mass and flexibility of his knees. "Every week I was able to bend my leg about 10-15 degrees more," said Mr McPartlind, who added that the group was producing an information booklet for other people undergoing the same operation.
While sports injuries may need painkillers, Aaron Creighton (15) from Balbriggan Community College looked at the more general habits of teenagers taking over-the-counter medication.
Under the guidance of mentor Teresa Gannon, he surveyed 100 students aged 13-18 on their use and awareness of general painkillers.
"I wanted to get an overview of their uses of drugs and if they knew what was contained in them," he said.
The survey indicated that girls tended to take over-the-counter painkillers more frequently and openly than boys and Mr Creighton added that his project had prompted some participating students to become more aware of safe dosages.
Meanwhile, exams were on the minds of entrants Jamie Twohig and Kyle McNally, both 16, from Colaiste Choilm in Ballincollig, Co Cork.
Inspired by teacher Liam Mulcahy, they looked at how using bizarre imagery can enhance study and learning techniques.
"There has been a lot of research recently on the brain and memory so we thought it was timely," said Mr Twohig.
They worked with around 60 ten-year olds at a local primary school, using different flashcards to teach them German words. Children shown a card with a German word alongside a bizarre-but-related image were the most likely to recall the word afterwards, according to Mr Twohig.
One example taught the word "tasche" for bag by showing a picture of a bag with moustaches jumping out of it.
"We said to the kids 'look at the 'taches coming out of the bag' - it was to make them think of it in a different way," said Mr Twohig.
He added that the techniques the pair learned for their project will help them study for the Leaving Cert.
"We are going to try to apply it to our study and a few of the lads are going to try it too," he said.
The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition runs from January 9th-13th at the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Doors open to the public from Thursday, 11th to Saturday, 13th inclusive.
For more information visit www.btyoungscientist.ie
