Young Scientists impress at RDS

Two Virginia College projects received highly commended awards.

Cavan students are still on a high following their success at the 60th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

The exhibition took place from January 10 to 13, with Cavan schools showcasing 13 projects during the national competition.

Two Virginia College projects received highly commended awards.

Under the Social & Behavioural Sciences category, a project titled 'In the Eyes of the Beholder: An investigation into testing the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies in criminal convictions' was created by Evan Andrew Durston, Caelan Macken and Conor Sheehan.

“The purpose of our project was to determine whether eyewitness testimony would actually be a viable source or recognition in the court,” explained Conor during the exhibition.

The group showed viewers a video of a staged murder scene where the victim and the murderer were not identified. Ten photos were then shown to the viewers who were asked to identify the victim, murderer, accomplice and those who were simply present at the scene.

These tests were conducted at varying intervals after participants viewed the video - some straight away, some the following week and others over a month later. This demonstrated the impact time plays on the witness's memory and their ability to describe a situation in the context of lengthy waiting periods for today's court cases.

The test revealed the eye witnesses lost credibility the more time had passed.

“We found that [eye witness testing] wasn’t that reliable,” concluded Conor.

The second highly commended award went to 'You had me at Aloe! - An investigation into the antifungal efficacy of Aloe vera in vitro and its use as a treatment to maintain post harvest table Berry quality'.

The brains behind the project were Kayla Curran Doughty and Kate O’Sullivan who chose this topic because any time they got fresh fruit or berries in the shop, they found the berries grew mould or fungus really quickly.

“So we wanted to find a way to prevent that from happening,” said Kate.

The group found the introduction of Aloe Vera to the berries prevented 100 percent of mould forming on berries, while being refrigerated after 16 days.

The Virginia College group of students achieved the award under the Biological & Ecological category.

Loreto College also received an award for providing one of the best project displays during the exhibition.

Delving into the rising rate of cremation in the country, Sadhbh Daly and Aoibhinn Sexton exhibited ‘From Grave to Blaze: Uncovering the Cremation Craze’.

“Our project is about the inclining rate of cremation in Ireland. Our results showed that, when someone is making their end of life choice, it is all to do with religion, however when someone is changing their preference from burial to cremation it is all to do with personal beliefs.”

Aoibhinn outlined the factors that influence a person's decision including costs, availability of land, family preference, personal preference and concerns for the environment.

Other schools representing Cavan during the exhibition included Breifne College, Cavan Town; St Bricin’s College, Belturbet and Coláiste Dún an Rí, Kingscourt, all under the auspices of Cavan Monaghan Education and Training Board.