Sophia Hou
8th Grade, Newark Academy
Livingston, NJ
Sophia and her mother both take vitamin B12 supplements. Sophia鈥檚 mom takes one 鈥渂ecause she is vegetarian, and plants do not contain substantial amounts of B12,鈥� Sophia explains. She knew that B12 helps people produce blood cells and is necessary for brain development. It is also an antioxidant 鈥� a chemical that can stop reactive molecules from forming. Antioxidants are important to helping bodies respond to stress. Sophia began to wonder if B12 could help plants respond to stress, too.
The Effect of Methylcobalamin on Vigna radiata Germination Under Heat Stress
Project Background
Sophia wanted to see if methylcobalamin, an activated form of B12, could change how quickly seeds germinate when they are at high temperatures. She tested 120 mung bean (Vigna radiata) seeds. 鈥淢y grandmother and I grew Vigna radiata sprouts together when I was younger, and they are a staple in Asia,鈥� Sophia says. She separated her seeds into six groups. Three groups were germinated at 80 degrees, and three at 98 degrees. Each of the three groups received either zero, three percent or eight percent methycobalamin in their water.
After a week, Sophia showed that the groups germinated at 80 degrees had no differences. At 98 degrees, seeds grown with methylcobalamin has longer lengths than seeds grown in water alone. This could mean that the seeds were under stress at the high temperature, and that methylcobalamin helped them by acting as an antioxidant.
Beyond the Project
Sophia is a competitive swimmer who has swum at the state championships and practices six days a week. She has a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She also loves cooking, drawing and painting. 鈥淢y most recent painting was of a groundhog,鈥� she recalls. She鈥檇 like to be a biologist. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 decided on a field within biology that I would like to pursue, but I am interested in cancer biology, immunology and cell biology,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much to be discovered that can help people.鈥�
