Most Active Stories
Thu June 20, 2013
Young Scientists Look To Traditional Herb For Cancer Cure
Over the past year, a group of Taos High School students have been literally trying to cure cancer. Specifically mouth cancer caused by
Most Active Stories
Thu June 20, 2013
Young Scientists Look To Traditional Herb For Cancer Cure
Over the past year, a group of Taos High School students have been literally trying to cure cancer. Specifically mouth cancer caused by chewing tobacco. After long hours toiling over laboratory equipment, their extracurricular endeavor has paid off. The multi-ethnic crew, who call themselves The Wyrmies, have been chosen as finalists in the E-Cybermission competition for their use of the traditional Native American herb Cota.
Almost everyday after school, during the summer months, and even on weekends, depending on how the experimentation is going, ninth graders Priscilla Martinez, Arasely Rodriquez and Nora White can be found hanging out in their old middle school science laboratory. They say it's their home, where they come to explore their passions. Recently, they have been experimenting on earth worms whose tissue is almost identical to human mouth tissue.
Priscilla points to a photograph and explains it shows the epidermal tissue of a healthy worm. But many of the creatures were exposed to chewing tobacco. The Wyrmies then paid very close attention, looking to see if any tumors or edemal swelling would take place. According to Priscilla, it happened a lot faster than what they expected. Within a mere 