Sarah Seeley, a junior at Benjamin Logan High School, was the second place winner of the Ohio Soybean Council State Science Day award. Seeley’s project tested which type of soybean has the most peroxidase. Peroxidase is an enzyme found in soybeans that initiates the growth process when the plant is growing or injured.
The hypothesis of this project was that there would be no difference in the levels of peroxidase between the different strains of soybeans regardless whether they are genetically modified (GMO) or non-genetically modified (non-GMO). To check her hypothesis, Seeley tested four strains of soybean seed, two genetically modified and two non-genetically modified, to determine if there were differing levels of peroxidase.
And the result? The hypothesis was proven incorrect because the results showed that the non-genetically modified soybeans had more peroxidase than genetically modified soybeans.
Seeley received $500 for her project. The Ohio Soybean Council offers awards for the best projects using soybeans in the areas of biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, or earth/environmental sciences at both district competitions and at State Science Day. You can find more information here.
