Benjamin Franklin Science Corner Report: March-August 2016 Benjamin Franklin Science Corner | Page 5

PROFILE

“International
Women's Day
is March 8 .”

In commemoration of Paraguay’s
Women’s Day, the Science Corner
hosted a science club every Wednesday
with four women scientists. The goal of
this activity was to highlight young
inspiring engineers and scientists and
to inspire the public about gender
equity.

YOUNG
SCIENTISTS

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SCIENCE CORNER
Participants explored water filtration
devices, form cells using everyday materials,
extracted DNA from yeast, and build a
scribble machine using toys and markers.
The young women scientists were from the
Engineer department at the National
University and Peace Corps volunteers.

MARCH 2015

INTERVIEWS
Natalie Chicultt is a Peace Corps
Volunteer that studied biochemistry
with an emphasis in genetics.

RESEARCH AREA
Molecular biology research. I've been
in labs doing research on genetic
origins of marine bacteria that
"breathe" sulfur, stem cells research,
and prion research. My favorite topic
is prion diseases which are rare
diseases like Alzheimer's,
Parkinson's, and Mad Cow Disease
caused by misfolded protiens that
clump together in the brain and
nervous system.

INTERESTS AS A GIRL
I used to spend hours in my room
concocting "potions" by combining
things in my teapot and heating it in
the microwave to see what
happened. It's a miracle I never blew
anything up! I also really liked
"exploring" in the woods with
friends or pets.

HOW DID YOU GET
INTERESTED IN SCIENCE
My mom went back to college when
we were in middle school. She was
taking a biology course; I loved
looking through the textbook and
playing on the internet companion
course. One of my favorite games
was a tutorial that explained
peppered moth evolution through
genetics and natural selection.
My interest in prions started when I
went to Peru. We were part of a
medical mission trip and I spent the
two weeks with the medical team
acting as a translator. One of the
doctors gave me a book The Family
That Couldn't Sleep which details the
mysterious nature of prion diseases.

A BIT MORE ON NATALIE'S
WORK IN PARAGUAY

She has started an advanced science
club in Fram, Paraguay. The mostly
girl club has studied advanced topics
such genetics and biotechnology.

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REPORT