The geese were having a blast, huffing and puffing in the 25-degree weather as the sun painted the sky gold. (Video: Sean Wheeler / Tandem Wheels Photography)
CHICAGO – A group of middle school-aged scientists have made a groundbreaking and possible cancer-fighting discovery after an exploration of collecting goose poop in an Illinois park.
It was all thanks to a unique partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The young learners from the Boys and Girls Club in Chicago collected and analyzed environmental samples to find new antibiotic candidates.
Through a partnership with a local university, a middle school student (seated) discovered a never-before-seen compound using specialized programmable equipment.
(Chicago Antibiotic Discovery Lab)
Little did they know, one seemingly ordinary sample of goose poop taken from Garfield Park Lagoon in Chicago held a hidden treasure. The mundane material contained a novel bacterium, Pseudomonas idahoensis, which produced a never-before-seen compound.
This compound, named orfamide N, has shown promising results in laboratory tests, inhibiting the growth of human melanoma and ovarian cancer cells.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) said the students’ achievement showed the power of early science education and addressed STEM inequities.
“The researchers say that this work proves that it’s possible to combine educational outreach with natural product discovery research, and it emphasizes the importance of a strong relationship between universities and their local communities,” the congressional nonprofit said in a written statement.
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The middle school students used specialized programmable equipment to discover orfamide N.
(Chicago Antibiotic Discovery Lab)
The 14-week applied science program was led by UIC associate professor Brian Murphy, whose lab is focused on discovering antibiotics from natural sources.
However, the students didn’t just collect samples. They got their hands dirty, becoming bonafide biomedical scientists.
“They stayed actively involved throughout the scientific discovery process by programming a specialized robot to scoop up bacterial colonies from growth plates and test them for antibiotic activity,” the ACS said.
While orfamide N may hold medical promise, the discovery highlights nature’s untapped potential, the ACS said. Future research could uncover additional benefits of the molecule.