When Fred Turner noticed the physical differences between his brother and himself, namely their wildly different hair colors, he decided to do a little investigative work by conducting his own brand of UK DNA testing. With a deep-seated love of science, it wasn’t long before Fred was looking at the basic building blocks of his brother Gus and his own.
After facing years of harsh jokes about the possibility of he and his brother having different fathers, Fred wanted to know once and for all why he had brown hair and his brother had red hair.
What Was His Plan?
With that in mind, the seventeen year old went to work by building his home-brew DNA machine in his bedroom. It wasn’t long before he had fully converted it into a lab that would suit his needs. After constructing the polymerase chain reaction machine, it simply a matter of comparing how the two brother’s DNA would react under various temperatures. Fred’s analysis was a little shocking, to say the least. He discovered that his brother had a mutated genetic structure which caused him to have the red hair.
The successful accomplishment did more than reveal his brother’s genetic code, it also gave Fred enough attention to be awarded the Young Engineer of the Year Award. It would seem that this is just the first of many future accomplishments for the young scientist, as he is preparing to study at Oxford University in biochemistry.
Are There Others?
Of course, Fred Turner is not the first to turn his bedroom into a fully realized science lab. Just a few weeks ago, Sara Volz earned a sizable scholarship for converting her bed into an algae biofuel lab.
By discovering specific oils that are naturally produced by algae, Volz was able to win the Intel Science Talent Search for 2013. Her discovery has a direct effect on diesel engines, which are able to use the oils generated by the algae.
Sara believes that her discovery will have far-reaching implications, as it eases the reliance consumers have on fossil and petroleum-based fuel supplies. With alternatives to these traditional fuel supplies available, there’s no telling what effect this will have on the market.
Helping to Cure Cancer?
Finally, Jack Andraka is yet another of the budding teenage scientists that won’t let the lack of a lab hold him back. Just fifteen years old, Andraka has already made a name for himself with his innovative insight into pancreatic cancer. In fact, Andraka has devised a test for diagnosing pancreatic cancer that is not only a hundred times more effective, but is also almost thirty times more affordable and quicker to produce. Andraka’s accomplishments have earned him first place in the Intel Science Competition of 2012. Clearly, he and these other bright-eyed scientists of the future are helping to innovate the field of science as we know it.
Image Credit: Nemo’s great uncle