Finding science in an old wives' tale

An overheard folk tale inspired two Kinsale students to develop a winning device for testing blood in cattle

RINGING EARS, folk beliefs and flood disasters – there are many sources of inspiration for entrants to the BT Young Scientist Exhibition. With over 1,000 entries and 500 projects, the competition among students is fierce.

One school, however, has managed to stand out from the crowd: pupils at Kinsale Community College in Co Cork have walked away with top honours for two of the last four years. This year’s winners, Kinsale students John D O’Callaghan and Liam McCarthy, also won first prize at the EU Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in Paris last month, pocketing a cool €7,000.

John O’Connor, a science teacher at the school, says that there is a strong emphasis on experience in class, especially in Transition Year. “In the coming weeks, all TY students here will have a real taste of physics, biology, and chemistry, whether or not they did science for the Junior Certificate,” he says. “We try to focus on experiments rather than simple book learning.”

In physics, TY students at Kinsale Community College have designed small rockets and competed to get them as high in the air as possible. The biology programme focuses on disease research projects, while the chemistry course examines everyday chemistry such as food colourings.

The school’s focus on science is carried through at all levels. John D and Liam are third year students, and have been friends since primary school. Both hail from farming backgrounds; both have grown up helping their fathers on the dairy farm. The idea for their project was inspired by a nugget of agricultural folklore – the belief that a small amount of detergent can help a farmer to determine the level of somatic (white) cells in a cow’s blood. If there are too many, the farmer faces a fine. Below a certain amount, and he or she receives a bonus.

At the moment, farmers must send samples to a laboratory and wait several weeks for a result. The process is costly and time-consuming, so the boys wanted to develop a simple device to speed it up.

“I heard a saying or an old wives’ tale about using washing-up liquid,” Liam explains. “We realised nobody had ever put this to the test. After a lot of testing, and various ups and downs, we found that a simple apparatus could be used by the farmer to quickly test the milk.”

Like last year’s winning project by Emer Jones, “Research and Development of Emergency Sandbag Shelters”, the boys’ research has a clear social and commercial application. They are currently patenting their research; the next step is to develop and market a commercial product.

Both boys hope to capitalise on their success. “For work experience in Transition Year, I’d like to go to a science laboratory, perhaps at University College Cork, or maybe the Dairygold laboratory in Mallow,” says John D. “I think I’d like a career in science or agricultural science. It’s what I’ve grown up with, it’s a part of my life.” Spurred on by his success, meanwhile, Liam is also considering a career in agricultural science.

Over the next few years, they’ll have plenty of opportunity to fine-tune those talents.

The closing date for entries to the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition is next Monday, Oct 5. Projects can be accepted from groups and individuals. For more information visit www.btyoungscientist.com or call 1800-924362