When Jack Andraka was 15 years old, he created a new diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer. Jack's test is 28 times faster, 26,000 times less expensive and over 100 times more sensitive than the current diagnostic tests. His test earned him first prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which is like the Olympics of science fairs.
It was after a close family friend died of pancreatic cancer that Jack Andraka became interested in finding a better early-detection diagnostic test. Jack said the solution came to him during his high school biology class. He was secretly reading an article about nanotubes while the teacher was talking about antibodies. Jack said the two ideas came together in his head, and he thought he could combine what the teacher was saying with what he knew about nanotubes to create an early detection test for pancreatic cancer.
Jack Andraka used what he found through Google searches and free online science journals to develop a plan and a budget. Jack contacted about 200 people including researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health with a proposal to work in their labs. He got 199 rejections before he finally got an acceptance from Dr. Anirban Maitra, Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Jack worked after school every day, on weekends and over holidays at Maitra's lab until he developed his test.
So, think about Jack Andraka the next time you hear that something can't be done. Or, if you receive numerous rejections (close to 200 in Jack Andraka's case) or you're simply hesitating to give one of your ideas a shot. Also, keep in mind that you don't necessarily need a giant team, billions of dollars in resources or even more than 15 years of life experience to do something amazing.
【小题1】Why did Jack decide to work on the diagnostic test?| A．The existing test was not widely used. | B．He wanted to win a prize in a science fair. |
| C．A family friend died of pancreatic cancer. | D．He got inspired in his high school biology class. |
| A．By cooperating with Google. | B．By doing experiments in the lab. |
| C．By conducting researches online. | D．By contacting about 200 people. |
| A．Life Style & Trends | B．Hospitals & ICUs |
| C．Inspirational Stories | D．Interesting Discoveries |
