Bees, flies and horse treats on the minds of budding local scientists!

The long-term problem of world food security prompted three TY students from Athlone Community College to examine the possibility of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae being used as an alternative protein source for the future.

Entitled “A BSF Miracle?” and the brainchild of Sean Brennan, Shreyash Shukla and Jasper Ryan, the project is one of nine qualifying entries from the Athlone school to this year's BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, which opens its doors to the public tomorrow (Thursday, January 12) in Dublin's RDS.

During the research phase of the project, 16-year old Sean Brennan found himself housing 120 larvae in the family home in Kiltoom, while his fellow students were busy making batches of food for the larvae which they then delivered to Sean's home.

Jasper Ryan (16), son of Anthony and Caroline, lives in the countryside in the Roscommon townsland of Lecarrow and has always been very interested in nature and biology. The family grow their own fruit and vegetables and Jasper says it was “the sustainability aspect” of the science project that interested him most.

All three students would love to receive funding to continue their research into Black Soldier Fly larvae and firmly believe that they can become a very sustainable source of protein for future generations. “They have a much lower carbon footprint than other sources of alternative protein such as soya, and they are already consumed in certain Asian and African countries anyway though they are not classed as a foodstuff under EU law,” points out Jasper Ryan.

As part of their laboratory work, the Athlone Community College students managed to change the microbiomes in the gut of the larvae to make them safer for human consumption, and they would like to continue and expand on this work, if possible.

Both Sean Brennan, whose parents are Fiona and Richard, and Shreyash Shukla, son of Pritia and Rakesh, would like to pursue medicine as a future career, and are keen to work in the surgical field.

The students are indebted to their science teacher, Ms. O'Meara, who has worked closely alongside them for the past number of months on the development of their innovative project and to Ms Buckley for her assistance with the laboratory work.

On a closely related theme, and still focusing on the Black Soldier Fly, 15-year old TY students, George Mhitarjans, decided to undertake a project looking at the psychology of trying to convince people to consume alternative sources of protein such as the black soldier fly, aptly titled “Flies In Our Pies.”

As part of his research, the son of Ilona and Tigrans, decided to survey two specific groups of people in Athlone Community College, firstly the student population and then the older members of the school community.

“80% of the respondents perceived the Black Soldier Fly to be disgusting and said they would never eat them, and that view was particularly strong among young people, while older adults were willing to perhaps consider eating them in a social setting such as a restaurant” says George.

Most of the objections related to the health concerns associated with eating a fly, so that led George Mhitarjans to focus on “removing the stigma”.

One of the books he used as a secondary source of research was “The Power of Habit” by Richard Duhigg, which led him to conclude that if the Black Soldier Fly was made more familiar as a food source “nature would take care of the rest.”

George cites the experience of people in the United States who were convinced to eat internal organs of animals such as liver and kidney when all other sources of protein were sent abroad to feed troops at the front line during World War 2. “They originally found them disgusting, but bit by bit as they became more familiar people started eating them and now they are an important part of the food chain,” he says, adding that “black soldier flies could become the same.”

He says marketing would also have a huge role to play in making the Black Soldier Fly more acceptable to eat. “Obviously it would not be a good idea to market 'flyburgers' but if the idea was made more familiar to people and was properly marketed I could see a time when the black soldier fly will be on the menu here in Ireland” says the TY student.

The deeply personal experience of suffering from a chronic form of endometriosis led 15-year old Kayleigh McNamara from Grotto View, Athlone to submit a project called “Giving forgotten girls a voice.”

In particular, the young TY student examined the approach of the HSE in treating girls with endometriosis and found their approach to be woefully lacking. “I think it ties in with the attitude to women's health in general, which needs a lot of improvement,” she remarks.

As part of her research, Kayleigh surveyed almost 200 girls who suffer from endometriosis and her two main areas of focus were on treatment and quality of life.

“88% of girls said they would opt for surgery to relieve their symptoms, but the surgical option is not open to teenagers like me in this country as it is considered to carry too high a risk, but my research has proven there is only an increased risk in patients aged over 65 years,” she says.

Early surgical intervention could prevent sufferers from having to have bowel reconstruction surgery and/or a hysterectomy in later life, she says, adding that Ireland does not have “a good model of care” for those suffering with this chronic condition.

Kayleigh, who hopes to join An Garda Siochana after school, has suffered so badly with her endometriosis for the past six years that she had a 22% attendance record in her Junior Cert year and has been hospitalised several times. “I have had to fight for every bit of medical care I have received so far, and when it comes to treatment for endometriosis teenage girls are completely overlooked.”

One in every 10 women suffer from endometriosis and, as part of her project, Kayleigh McNamara has made a number of recommendations to the HSE. She would also like to receive funding to continue her research into this topic, and hopes the day will come when women who are diagnosed with no longer have to “suffer in silence.”

Moate Community School 2nd year students, Katie Creggy and Hannah Higgins, both of whom are 14, will be exhibiting their bee project at the BT Young Scientist exhibition this week, along with Aoife Ross, whose parents, Richard and Katharine, are beekeepers. Aoife was on sporting duty for the school when visited on Monday so Hannah Higgins took up the story.

“Because Aoife's Dad is a beekeeper, we decided to research food sources for the bees during the winter season when it is more challenging to get food,” explains Hannah, whose parents are Beatrice and Desmond from Lake Road in Moate. “We collected all the flowers that are in season in the autumn/winter season and extracted the pollen which we then mixed with a sugar and water paste to make a food supplement for the bees,” she says.

The three students divided the bees into eight separate controlled hives and fed them with the food supplements they made. “We found the supplement made from roses to be the best,” says Katie Creggy.

“The honey produced by the bees was of a better quality and was sweeter so we were delighted with our results, and were pleased that we managed to create such a good food supplement.”

Katie, whose lives on the Hall Road in Moate and is daughter of Áine Feeley and Joe Creggy, will be taking part in the Young Scientist exhibition this year for the second time, having secured free entry last year as a result of winning a Science scholarship for her project on Ballinderry bog. She would like to study political science and become a human rights lawyer after school while Hannah is hoping to become an art teacher.

Also in Moate Community School, TY students from Rosemount, Emily Winters, Niamh Kelly and Evanna Farrell undertook a project to measure peripheral vision in elderly drivers, which saw them visit a local nursing home to survey the patients and also saw them conducting research among their peers.

The students created a video game aimed an enhancing peripheral vision and are hoping to continue their research into this area with a view to creating a game which is more “user-friendly for the older generation”, according to Evanna, who points out that this group are most affected by a deterioration in their peripheral vision as it is an age-related condition.

Áine Shortall from Castledaly and Katie Whyte from Ballymore will also represent Moate in Dublin this week with their project “A Sweeter Way to Treat Equine Parasites” which saw them create natural and chemical-free horse treats which treat all the parasites that affect horses.

Both students own horses and Katie comes from a farming background, so they created treats using mint, slippery elm, thyme and fennel which they mixed with oats, carrots, cod liver oil and honey to create a very palatable and envionmentally-friendly alternative to prescription wormers.

They are hoping to be in a position to get funding to bring their treats to commercial production at some stage in the future, and feel it is a “perfect solution” to the problem faced by many people in the equine field in treating parasitic infections.

Overall, there are 32 qualifiers from local schools for BT Young Scientists, nine each from Moate Community School and Athlone Community College, four each from Marist College and Mean Scoil an Chlochair, Kilbeggan, and three each from Our Lady's Bower, Athlone and Colaiste Chiarain. Full details of all the 32 qualifiers are as follows:

BT Young Scientist Projects 2023

Athlone Community College

Does Heat make you "Pitch Perfect", Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Lucas Carlin

A chemical examination of the biological effects of alcohol-based hand sanitizers on overall health, Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Daniel Sierpinski, Matthew Parker

Can Magnets be used to Fuel Cars?, Technology, Heather McDermott

Wrist Assist, Technology, Shauna Walsh, Rachel Rourke

Investigation of sustainable methods for waste water bioremediation: including Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and alginate from seaweed, Biological & Ecological, Mia Olwill

A BSF Miracle?, Biological & Ecological, Jasper Ryan, Seán Brennan, Shreyash Shukla

Giving forgotten girls a voice: How Successful is the HSE at treating girls with endometriosis?, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Kayleigh McNamara

Flies in Our Pies: why we should (and can) turn to environmentally friendly sources of protein, Social & Behavioural Sciences, George Mhitarjans

Do Schools Accommodate for the needs of Neurodivergent Individuals?, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Oliwier Sikora

Our Lady's Bower

Universe's Foundation, Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Xhesika Gica, Tara Rodrigues, Ritcha Lee

From a Distance - A Risk Assessment Machine Learning Algorithm for Vulnerable Adults, Technology, Emma Fallon, Sofia McGorisk

Wanted - Dead or Alive?, Biological & Ecological, Michelle Hughes

Marist College

Here-ing Aid, Technology, Michael Commins, Sean O'Neill, Luke Duffy

An Investigation into the Feasibility of Using Microcontrollers in Buoyancy Aids to Prevent Marine Casualties, Technology, Donal McDermott, Tega Awhinawhi

Does Lego make you more creative?, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Martin Murray

Lough Funsinagh; The Disapearing Lake That's Here to Stay, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Michael Henehan, Finnan Kilcommons

Moate Community School

Plan Bee: A Natural Nutritious Feed for Bees during Autumn, Biological & Ecological, Hannah Higgins, Aoife Ross, Katie Creggy

Garden Greening: Designing a Biodiversity Pillar to Remedy the Problems of Modern Gardening, Biological & Ecological, Kerry Sun, Terry Heffernan, Domhnall Molloy

Bio Enzymes: A Cooler Way to Wash, Biological & Ecological, Leah Winters, Lilly Daly, Millie O'Donovan

A Sweeter Way to Treat Equine Parasites, Biological & Ecological, Aine Shortall, Kate Whyte

Driving the Elderly to a Safer Future: Using Video Games to Improve the Peripheral Vision of Elderly Drivers, Biological & Ecological, Emily Winters, Evanna Farrell, Niamh Kelly

Can Native Waterweeds Solve Farmer's Feed and Pollution Problems?, Biological & Ecological, Nathan Downes, Daniel Lynam, Èanna Maxwell

Reducing Laminitis Incidence among Connemara Ponies: A Practical Approach, Biological & Ecological, Lauren Finan, Trina Fox

Talent or Gender? The Real Secret to a Good Game, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Sarah Jayne Hasson, Róisín Slevin

Lifestyle vs Low Carbon Footprint: Identifying the Factors that Influence Public Support for Environmental Initiatives, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Arina Tsarkova, Brendan Egan

Coláiste Chiaráin

A Safer Swim, Technology, Éle McCarthy, Antoni Wawrzyniak, Keela Plunkett

An investigation into the microbial properties of pine tree sap, Biological & Ecological, Abigail Fitzgerald, Emma Sharkey

Music + Maths = a Perfect Pair, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Aristide Selve

Meán Scoil an Chlochair, Kilbeggan

Breakfast is the way to go!!, Biological & Ecological, Luca-Gabriel Fazekas, Sabrina Cunningham, Múireann Ward

Comparing the effects of a pre-workout supplement to coffee and a control on a workout, Biological & Ecological, Eric Martin, Nathan Gowran, Daniel Keenan

How images affect your decisions, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Chloe O Sullivan, Áine Keegan

Is working during the school term having a positive or negative impact on a teenagers life?, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Aoife Keegan, Kate Mohan