Illinois Junior Academy of Science - Yearbook (Urbana, IL)

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Experimentation showed that, in most cases, the routine stain Chematoxylin and eosinl does its job and leukemia can generally be diagnosed without further staining. Cyto- plasm was shown best by the Papanicolaou stain, while the Pappenheim stain showed very good cell differentiation. Wilder's reticulum stain was used for a little different reason. This stain, which demonstrates reticulum, a basic connective element, proved to this writer that the basic re- lationship of tissue elements was destroyed by the leukemia. hyperplasia. The invading leukemic cells. which seem to be centered around the blood vessels of the organs, killed the normal tissue cells, leaving vacules. Even individual cell components were changed. This course, taken by leukemia in living tissue, was clearly shown by the use of histological processes. The Inheritance of the Ability to Taste PTC LARRY GROVER i8l Leland Grade School Leland Sponsor: Norman G. Koerner IAN IL urs:-ml, 'rin-: mm nu we 1: or nm Al!ll.l'I'Y 'll IKSIIC l'll' N H Ninlu-fl-2 :sw 21 n ' ...l . 2' 1 T :mi 2:l 1. in mug is um- n 2l u M1 1 T 12 is in in s 1 ill IH W W! il: lull T T Ill so gil -a YL Ii 1I N ' ' , 1- 1 ,Q ll 'I 1'Y'l ':. in 1' 131 lg.: S 0 soul Ol s I . - .liil 21 1 ' 1 all ll iii . ill ig 94 E l 1 :till 4 :Nil g . n H sql a ill 'S ill 1 if .2 41' l1'1 'pl-'Qual I - - Phenylthiocanbamide CPTCJ is a chemical compound which is tasteless to some people, but definitely tasted by others. Its accidental discovery in the 1920's provided one of the keys which helped to unlock some of the mystery surrounding human inheritance. Most literature states that about 70 percent of American Caucasians are tasters of PTC, whereas 30 percent are non- tasters. Would my community test come close to these per- centages? All of the students in our eighth-year elementary school were tested. Sixty-six percent of the 262 children were tastersg 34 percent were non-tasters. There was a higher percentage of girl tasters than boy tastersg 68 per- cent compared to 63 percent. This fact is also true in larger samples. For the second part of my project several families were tested and studied for the inheritance of the ability to taste PTC. One four generation family consisted of 63 members: another was a small five generation family: and, of course, another was my own. Some family members were tested in person, but out-of-town members were tested through the mail. One limitation of taste testing is that it can only pro- vide the phenotype for each individual. However. since the ability to taste is provided by one or two dominant genes, non-tasters must possess a genotype of homozygous reces- sive. By employing the principles of genetics, I was able to assign genotypes to most members of all the families. Homotransplantation of Mouse Tissue CAROL EGEL Niles Twp. Comm. High School - West Division '0lf'4llQ!wi it ewan , !'5'f -.. -4 'anna l i , l , ii T 3 A possible method for homotransplant of mouse tissue using parabiosis of donor and host mouse to overcome re- jection of grafts. Fatalities during operative procedure was due for the most part to anesthesia overdose. Restraining pairs of parabionts also caused some difficulty. Grafts at the site of parabiosis and other sites flourished until the apparently violent death of the mice twenty-one to twenty- lfour days post-operatively. It was concluded that para- biotic union of mice preceding homotransplants favorably influences the acceptance of tissue'homotransplants. Toler- ance of parabionts to each other's tissue results in temporary inhibition of antibody synthesis, andg therefore, conditional acceptance of homotransplants. GARY GRUNSCHEL Fenton High School Bensenville Sponsor: Mr. Donald Wallrwitx Working from the question: What would happen to a mouse if it is subjected to a gravitational force making it many times its own weight? I built several pieces of equip-

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some relationships that might explain the turtles entry and downward movement. I found that the turtles entered the ground a few days after the minimum air temperatures got. below 40 degrees. The minimum air temperatures in 1964 and 1965 appeared to follow a similar pattern in the 3 weeks prior to the entry. Precipitation also occurred 1 day before the turtles entered the ground. ' I found that the turtles downward movement was rela- tively' slow and constant until the soil temperatures fell rapidly. Thus, the speed of the turtles dovsmward motion apparently is related to temperatures. 1' ATIQN or max f1,W+,iyrHr:.lz Body Function Changes in Lizards at Various Temperatures HILLARD L CHEMERS lay Rogers Elementary School Chicago Sponsor: Mr. Alvin Blackman The body functions being measured in this project are metabolism, oxygen consumption, heartbeat, and body tem- perature. The collared lizard is the test animal being used for the experiments. The test animals were placed in a specially designed ap- paratus. For measuring metabolism and oxygen consumption the amounts of water vapor and carbon dioxide exhaled by the lizard during the test are weighed. The weights are put through various formulae and the answer is -found. Heart- beat is measured on an electrocardiograph obtained on loan from the manufacturer for this purpose. Twenty-five guage hypodermic electrodes were used. These were inserted sub- cutaneously into the animal's chest. A modified version of the Wheatstone Bridge was built for measuring body tem- perature. Two thermistors were connected into the circuit. One is inserted into the lizard's cloaca and measures body temperature. The other is used for measuring environmental temperature. As temperature decreased the measured body functions also declined. There was a sharp decline in all the body functions at a temperature range of 45-50 degrees F. I call this point the hibernation point. At temperatures lower than this the functions decline only slightly. GEORGIANN ESSLINGER ll Il Bowen High School Sponsor: Mr. Kenneth Lightle, Jr. My project was designed to determine the results of ultra-violet light on the healing of wounds in relationship to the effects on the skin. When xiptra-violet light was used, the wounds made a definite ad ancement in their healing rateg but with a con- tinuation of the exposures a deterioration of the skin be- came present. The first exposures brought about an erythema reaction, telangiectasia, and an advancement in healing. After ex- tended exposures of definite strength and time, the skin re- vealed small yellow patches on the treated area. The yellow patches are the last warning before the skin shows a local- ized thickening with scaling or a pearly tumor which are the basics of skin cancer being either squamous or basal. This project is still a question in the minds of doctors. The light with further study and experimentation might prove to be a great healing factor when used for a maximum time twhich at this time is unknown? without endangering the patient with the danger of epithelioma. Histologic Technic in Diagnosing Leukemia NORMAN LOUIS Fosren lei Jacksonville High School Jaclcsonville, Illinois After discovering by experimentation last year that at least 7506 leukemic prone mice developed the disease by the age of eleven months, the writer wished to discover whether there were basic changes in the tissue caused by the malady. Histology, the method of taking living tissue and pro- cessing it so that the tissue may be microscopically ex- amined, was the next logical step. The complete procedure of histologic technic was learned and, after much practice, perfected. Nine stains were em- ployed in an attempt to find one that would be of assistance in the diagnosis of leukemia. Tissue from the 55 AKRXJ mice disected during the previous experimentation was taken from the solution of 1092 buffered neutral formalin, cut dehydrated, cleared, in- filtrated with paraffin, embedded, cut at about six microns with a microtome, mounted, stained, and coverslipped. Staining was done in three different ways: the staining raclil rgethod, the coplin jar dip method, and the routine met o .

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ment to test the respiratory rate and nervousness of a mouse. I also built a centrifuge to bring the mice up to any number' of 'G's and devised a system to take pictures of them while they were being subjected to this force. I took each mouse's heart rate, respiratory rate, and kymograph reading, tnervousnessl, before and after each test, that way each mouse was its own control. To figure out how many 'G's, I was running at, I used the following formula, 'G' I KRPM C 60 X 21 IRJ2 32 X R In my centrifuge I can produce up to 185 'G's, but none of the mice I tested were able to go over 20 'G's. Some could not go past 18 'G's. I found that the gravitational force greatly increases the heart rate, breath rate, and nervousness. I believe that this increase is due to the rapid decrease in 'G's. The body, working hard at more 'G's is suddenly brought into its normal range again, therefore, it speeds up rapidly. I also found that if I subjected a mouse to 3 'G's for 48 hours and slowly stopped him his rates were almost identical to when he went in. I can prove thy picturesl that they became comfortable , would build a nest, and could live as they would at one 'G'. Therefore I conclude that though rapid 'G' stresses do have a great effect, the mice can learn to live under the pressure of above normal gravitational forces. ,,. ,l -.,.. V-: FQ it THE EFFECTS OF HIGH G Probing the Mysteries ot Animal Intelligence DIANE JECKEL Animal intelligence is a baffling and everyday mystery. My project was a study of how fast, intelligent, and efficient hamsters and white mice can be when running through a maze. I started my project December 1, 1965. This gave me a chance to build and purchase my apparatus before I was ready to experiment. I set up my apparatus in our warm, moisture-free basement and conducted my tests there. I terminated my experimentation March 10. 1966. My experimentation included many things. First, I had to purchase the equipment that would serve the purpose of my project. I purchased my equipment in West Palm Beach, Florida. and Peoria, Illinois. My apparatus can be seen in my display. The maze was my main piece of apparatus. This formed all the stages which educated the animals. Comparing the hamsters and white mice, I learned that the hamsters could he educated much easier. The results of my project are pictured on my display. Metabolism and Body Temperature DONNA KUMIEGA gay LEONARD KRUZYSKI m Our Lady of Grace School Chicago, Illinois Sponsors: Mrs. Frances Fu. Miss Therese Donatello The purpose of the project was to study the relationship between metabolism and body temperature of different ani- mals under various factors. The materials needed to proceed were: 1. A temperature gradient chamber. 2. Three volumeters to measure the volume of oxygen consumption. 3. A quick reading thermometer to take the body temperature of the animals. 4. The animals used were mice, frogs, chickens and turtles. The results obtained were: 1. The metabolic rate of a homoiotherm increased with a decrease in the environmental temperature while the body temperature remained constant. 2. In poikilotherms the opposite is true, the metabolic rate decreased with a decreased environmental tem- perature and the body temperature decreased also. 3. Thyroid extract increased the metabolic rate of all animals tested. 4. Aspirin decreased both the metabolic rate and body temperature of all animals. Conclusions drawn were: 1. Homoiotherms possess a heat regulating mechanism in the brain, which aids in keeping a constant body temperature through increased or decreased meta- bolic activity. 2. Poikilotherms do not possess a heat regulating methanism, therefore the body temperature varies with the environmental temperature. 3. Thyroid extract contains thyroxin which is an en- docrine substance liberated by thyroid gland that regulates and controls the metabolism, therefore it increased the metabolic rate in all animals. 4. Aspirin lowers the body temperature which is a well known fact in pharmacology. It lowered the metabolic rate in this experiment presumably due to the lowered temperature in the protoplasm and it is not favorable to some enzymatic reactions.