Fa
built
he
ow
$200
device
i stead
of
usi g
NASA’s
$50,000
cli ostat.
(Society
fo
scie ce
photo)
Lea e
Fa ,
a
18-yea -old
stude t
f om
Sa
Diego,
has
bee
amed
a
fi alist
i
the
2026
Rege e o
Scie ce
Tale t
Sea ch
fo
he
esea ch
i to
wou d
heali g
i
space.
He
p oject
looks
at
whethe
ed
light
the apy
ca
help
wou ds
heal
whe
g avity
is
g eatly
educed.Acco di g
to
the
o ga ise s
of
the
tale t
hu t,
Fa ,
a
stude t
at
Westview
High
School,
studied
how
wou ds
espo d
to
photobiomodulatio ,
a
tech ique
that
uses
ed
o
ea -i f a ed
light
to
t igge
biological
effects.
He
esea ch
focused
o
a
p oblem
that
could
become
impo ta t
du i g
futu e
space
missio s,
whe e
ast o auts
may
have
limited
access
to
medical
ca e.Wou ds
ca
heal
mo e
slowly
i
space
because
tissues
do
ot
expe ie ce
the
same
mecha ical
loadi g
caused
by
g avity.
To
study
this,
Fa
built
a
device
that
could
simulate
mic og avity
o
Ea th.
The
device
co ti uously
otates
alo g
two
axes,
p eve ti g
g avity
f om
acti g
o
the
wou d
sample
i
o ly
o e
di ectio .Fa
developed
he
ow
ve sio
of
the
device
athe
tha
usi g
a
NASA
cli ostat,
which
costs
about
$50,000.
He
device
cost
a ou d
$200.
She
the
used
pla a ia s,
o
flatwo ms,
as
a
model
fo
studyi g
wou d
heali g
because
they
ca
ege e ate
body
pa ts.
Red
light
speeds
up
heali g
Fa
t eated
i ju ed
flatwo ms
i
simulated
mic og avity
with
660- a omet e
ed
light.
The
t eatme t
i c eased
tissue
ege e atio
by
95.2%.Fa
also
fou d
that
five
mi utes
of
daily
photobiomodulatio
accele ated
heali g
by
47%
u de
o mal
g avity
a d
by
95%
u de
simulated
mic og avity.
She
also
tested
the
t eatme t
o
wou d
models
made
with
huma
cells.Those
tests
showed
that
ed
light
t eatme t
i c eased
cell
mig atio
du i g
wou d
closu e
by
29.4%
u de
o mal
g avity
co ditio s.
The
huma
cell
tests
we e
impo ta t
because
they
allowed
Fa
to
exami e
whethe
he
fi di gs
could
pote tially
apply
beyo d
the
flatwo m
model.“I
tested
photobiomodulatio ,
a
tech ique
that
uses
ed
o
ea -i f a ed
light
to
t igge
biological
effects,”
Fa
explai ed.
“Si ce
I
could ’t
test
i
actual
space,
I
eeded
to
simulate
mic og avity.”He
fi di gs
could
have
applicatio s
beyo d
space
t avel.
The
Society
fo
Scie ce
said
the
wo k
could
help
develop
ew
ways
to
t eat
i ju ies
i
emote
a eas,
du i g
atu al
disaste s
a d
i
othe
situatio s
whe e
access
to
medical
ca e
is
limited.Fa
said
the
tech ology
could
also
make
wou d
ca e
easie
to
p ovide
i
places
whe e
weight,
cost
a d
powe
use
a e
impo ta t
co ce s.“This
tech ology
would
e able
us
to
build
wou d
heali g
i te ve tio s
that
cost
u de
a
dolla ,
weigh
less
tha
a
g am,
a d
equi e
mi imal
powe ;
eve
beyo d
space,
photobiomodulatio
ca
add ess
c itical
global
health
eeds,”
she
said.
A
low-cost
alte ative
Fa ’s
p oject
was
selected
f om
mo e
tha
2,600
e t ies
fo
the
2026
Rege e o
Scie ce
Tale t
Sea ch,
acco di g
to
the
Poway
U ified
School
Dist ict.
The
dist ict
said
this
was
the
la gest
applica t
pool
fo
the
competitio
si ce
1967.The
fi alist
ecog itio
came
afte
mo ths
of
expe ime ts.
Fa
said
she
spe t
lo g
hou s
wo ki g
o
the
p oject
afte
completi g
he
schoolwo k,
i cludi g
measu i g
a d
studyi g
the
flatwo ms
used
i
he
esea ch.“It’s
i c edibly
exciti g
a d
my
mi d
was
blow
whe
I
got
the
a ou ceme t
pho e
call,”
she
said.
“I
spe t
mo ths…
measu i g
a d
decapitati g
wo ms
late
i to
the
ight
afte
fi ishi g
hou s
of
schoolwo k,
so
bei g
a
fi alist
makes
it
feel
like
my
effo t
paid
off.”Fa
pla s
to
co ti ue
the
esea ch
to
bette
u de sta d
how
photobiomodulatio
wo ks
at
a
biological
level.
She
said
the
p oject
has
also
cha ged
how
she
app oaches
difficult
esea ch
p oblems.“It’s
such
a
amazi g
feeli g
to
be
able
to
build
a d
esea ch
somethi g
with
you
ow
two
ha ds
that
has
the
pote tial
to
help
cou tless
people,”
she
said
as
quoted
by
Poway
u ified
school
dit ict.
“Resea ch
has
come
with
so
ma y
difficulties,
but
the
mo e
I
ove come
them,
the
mo e
comfo table
I
feel
with
explo atio
a d
pushi g
the
bou ds
of
my
comfo t,
i
esea ch
but
also
i
life,”
she
adds.
F om
AI
headpho es
to
wou d
heali g
The
wou d-heali g
p oject
is
ot
Fa ’s
fi st
esea ch
effo t
i volvi g
light
a d
tech ology.
Ea lie ,
she
wo ked
o
a
p oject
that
used
headpho es
to
detect
bacte ial
ea
i fectio s
with
a tificial
i tellige ce
a d
t eat
them
with
blue
light.Outside
he
esea ch,
Fa
is
the
edito -i -chief
of
he
school
ewspape .
She
helped
b i g
the
publicatio
back
afte
the
Covid-19
pa demic,
whe
the
pape
had
lost
staff,
its
p i te
we t
out
of
busi ess
a d
the
publicatio
shifted
o li e.She
was
also
a
US
youth
delegate
at
COP29,
the
2024
U ited
Natio s
climate
co fe e ce
i
Aze baija ,
a d
se ved
as
the
elected
stude t
boa d
membe
fo
he
school
dist ict.Co o
Hill,
17,
of
State
College,
Pe sylva ia,
wo
the
top
awa d
of
$250,000
i
the
2026
Rege e o
Scie ce
Tale t
Sea ch
(STS).
This
yea
ma ks
the
85th
a ive sa y
of
the
Scie ce
Tale t
Sea ch.
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