Exhibition entries by young scientists double last year's

With its wonderfully eclectic mix of research, entries for this year's Young Scientists Exhibition are more than double last year's figure. The students begin exhibiting at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge from Tuesday, January 6th, and the awards ceremony takes place the following Friday. The exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday week.

Esat Telecom, which has taken over Aer Lingus's sponsorship baton of 33 years, has embarked on a marketing campaign to repromote the event. The 350 projects for exhibition next week make this year's showcase among the largest ever.

For the first time, entrants have been able to apply via the Internet, which has proved "extremely successful", according to the organiser, Mr Frank O'Carroll.

Young Irish female boffins continue to give the lead, with 64 per cent of entries from girls. Among both sexes, the area of most interest is social and behavioural science (43 per cent of entries), followed by biological/ ecological sciences (37 per cent). There has been, nonetheless, a significant increase in chemistry and physics entries, up to 20 per cent.

Many entries have a marked topicality, reflected this year in those associated with food. Some genetically-modified tomatoes will be making an appearance, while another entry assesses food consumption and mood, including young people's feelings "after eating nothing but junk all day".

Entries from St Malachy's College, Belfast, show how young Irish science has advanced. Projects include consideration of the agility of fighter aircraft; the effects of near-orbit conditions on batteries; the construction of anti-sounds to cancel sounds (which could help counteract noise pollution); and the short-term effects of computer game-playing on the physical and mental abilities of young people.

As always, there is the esoteric - considered an important indulgence on the way to creating the scientists of tomorrow - beside projects which already have potential to join those at the cutting edge of science. An Esat Telecom Young Scientists Exhibition website carries such features as a chat room where visitors can meet and chat online and a science history page. It can be accessed at: http://www.esat.ie/ YoungScientists