Schoolgirl has winning recipe
A schoolgirl scientist has discovered that the antibiotic properties of ma¯nuka honey can be boosted more than 200 per cent by combining it with an extract from the to¯tara tree.
Sophia Fotheringham, 18, was the joint overall winner, with fellow Kerikeri High School student Tea Rasclas, at this year’s Far North Science and Technology Fair in Kerikeri.
A record of close to 200 projects made the grade for this year’s fair, with girls making a clean sweep of the top prizes.
Sophia, who lives in Taipa, said the antibiotic effect of ma¯nuka was well known, but she was curious whether ka¯nuka and to¯tara had similar properties, because they were also used in traditional Ma¯ori medicine. By creating ka¯nuka and to¯tara infusions, and testing them on bacteria in agar dishes, on their own and in combination with ma¯nuka honey, she found the ma¯nuka-to¯tara mix was 232 per cent more effective than ma¯nuka alone.
More research was needed, but the finding could have practical applications in an era when superbugs and resistance to standard antibiotics were becoming more common, Sophia said.
Tea Rasclas, who studied alternative methods for controlling the varroa bee mite, found that placing a cloth soaked in naturally occurring oxalic acid in the beehive was both effective and safe for the bees.
Tea is keen to pursue a career as a vet, while Sophia wants to study health sciences.
Meanwhile two premier Joint Year 11-13 winner Sophia Fotheringham (Taipa) found the antibacterial properties of ma¯ nuka honey could be greatly increased when combined with to¯ tara. awards went to home-schooled sisters Anika and Zara Riddle, from Peria.
Anika, 11, said she had grown sick of clambering down a steep river bank with a 15kg pump to fill the family farm’s troughs. She wanted to be able to leave the pump at the top of the bank and suck the water up instead, so she carried out a series of experiments to see how high the pump could draw water. She now only had to climb down to within 4m of the river.
Zara, 13, established that Alicante and Dalmatian oxheart were the most productive varieties of tomato plant, a finding that would be put to use in her family’s vegetable plot.
Kerikeri High student Lucy
Clent, 12, won the top Year 8 prize for a study of the town’s Wairoa Stream, using water clarity and identifying macroinvertebrate species to gauge water quality.
Fair convener Jackie Robertson, head of science at Kerikeri High School, said as well as a record number of entries overall this year’s event included a record 17 senior entries, well up on the previous maximum of 10. New sponsors had also come on board, expanding the number of prizes on offer.
Interest in the fair, and the number of girls excelling in science and technology, were very encouraging. “Tall poppy syndrome is not a problem in the North. All the students are very proud of their achievements,” she said.