SciENtiSt IN
SIrS
Arooba
Lodhi
Codename:
Ms. Give Thielsen Sass
But Get Work Done
As a child, curiosity often got the
best of me as I found myself
questioning the physical state of
the world around me. Gravitating
toward a field in science in high
school, I uncovered the potential
of research to truly make an
impact on everyday life through
countless implications of studies
regarding a variety of topics. With
a desire to bridge the gap
regarding the natural world
explained through science vs.
through religion, I became
interested in finding distinctions
and similarities between those two
prominent ideas governing my
existence. Progressing through my
three years in the SIRs program, I
have gained skills as an
independent researcher which fuel
my desire to continue to push the
boundaries of human knowledge
and interaction with the evolving
universe.
VItaLs:
High school: Niles North High School
Year in school: Senior
Dream college: Anywhere with sunny weather &
activism opportunities
Dream degree: Biological & Political Sciences
Role model and why: Inayah Lodhi because her
work ethic is remarkable, her humor is
contagious, and her state of being is unique
In a world without environmental science, I would
be planning a revolution to counteract the
oppression of women of color and searching to
bring more compassion to the world.
ResEaRcH at A GlaNcE:
The Effect of Atrazine and Glyphosate on the Cell
Development of Spirogyra Algae
With a purpose of modeling pesticide runoff in Midwest drinking
water sources, the hypothesis states that spirogyra groups
exposed to atrazine will have a lower rate of cell division whereas
groups exposed to glyphosate will have a lower chloroplast count.
Atrazine and glyphosate are the two most commonly used
pesticides in the Midwest. Spirogyra is a filamentous, green algae
which undergoes the process of cell division through fragmentation
and contributes to its environment through its photosynthetic
process. The results display that the hypothesis was supported
because the spirogyra exposed to atrazine had a lower count of
filaments and the spirogyra exposed to glyphosate had a lower
count of chloroplasts in comparison to the control. All groups with
pesticide exposure had significantly low counts of filaments and
chloroplasts because the addition of a harmful chemical weakened
the internal systems of spirogyra fragmentation and
photosynthetic processes. Research such as this is vital because
with the consistent use of potentially harmful pesticides comes the
need to first understand how manmade toxins can affect marine
and land life to then design improved, safer purification methods.