PopSci's High School Inventors Of 2012
Ryota Ishizuka's Flexible Solar Cells Courtesy Ryota IshizukaTen amazing projects built by teens. Every year thousands of high school students take part in national and regional science fairs. PopSci scours those events to find 10 students with truly world-changing ideas backed by functioning prototypes. Turns out, some of the country's most brilliant inventors aren't yet even old enough to drive. Name: Jack Andraka Age: 15 High school: North County High School, Glen Burnie, Maryland Invention: Early cancer-screening method Jack Andraka's pancreatic cancer test is 168 times faster and 400 times more sensitive than current diagnostics. To create his test, he coats filter paper with carbon nanotubes and antibodies. Mesothelin, a protein over-expressed in the blood and urine of pancreatic-cancer patients, binds to the antibodies. That pushes the nanotubes apart and raises the electrical resistance, which doctors can then measure. What's next: Andraka plans to build a company around his cancer test. Name: Marian Bechtel Age: 17 High school: Hempfield...