The old vinegar and baking soda volcano trick might have cut it at your high school science fair, but at the Google Science Fair one teenager took on a lethal virus.


This year’s grand prize winner and winner in his age group was 17-year-old Eric Chen from San Diego[1] , Calif., whose project introduced a new approach to fighting ever-expanding strains of the flu.


“The emergence of new highly lethal influenza viruses such as H5N1 and H7N9 poses a grave threat to the world,” Chen wrote on his project’s page. His research uncovered compounds that tackle a viral protein, the endonuclease.


“By combining computer modeling and biological studies, I identified a number of novel, potent endonuclease inhibitors,” Chen wrote. “I also performed comprehensive structural analysis, laying ground work for further design and optimization of the anti-flu drug candidates[2] .”


On Monday, Chen was awarded a $50,000 scholarship[3] and a trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic.


Winners in other age groups include 16-year-old Elif Bilgin from Turkey, who created bioplastics from banana peels[4] ; 15-year-old Ann Makosinski from Canada, who engineered a flashlight powered solely by body heat[5] ; and 14-year-old Viney Kumar from Australia, who created an application that lets drivers know when an ambulance is headed their way[6] so that roads may be cleared faster.


All of the winners received a $25,000 scholarship[7] and, along with Chen, a Chromebook, a tablet, a Lego Mindstorms kit and subscriptions to National Geographic and Scientific American, according to Business Insider.



The Google Science Fair is a global online competition inviting all students ages 13-18. Teens can enter the 2014 competition starting in January.

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