Some problems have been around for so long that it takes a really young mind to recognise them and come up with a solution. For instance, correctly locating the pancreas for treating
pancreatic cancer
, or the unchanging survival rate for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. The answers to these have, refreshingly, come from teenagers. And, what's more, these are teenagers of Indian origin have been named in
Time
magazine's list of the 25 Most Influential Teens of 2018. A look...
MACHINE LEARNING
TO PINPOINT PANCREAS RISHAB JAIN | 14
An eighth grader from Oregon in US, Rishab developed a software that helps doctors identify the pancreas more accurately during cancer treatment. He’s won the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for devising an algorithm that uses machine learning to allow doctors to zero in on the pancreas, a difficult task since the pancreas is often obscured by other organs and can move around the abdominal area. “He’s now trying to find hospital and physician partners who could help him run a
clinical trial
to continue testing,” Time said.
BRAIN TUMOUR MEETS AN INVENTIVE FOEKAVYA KOPPARAPU | 18
A news report on late US senator John McCain’s fight against glioblastoma, a type of brain tumour, set Kavya on to her next innovation: a deep-learning system that scans slides of tissue from brain cancer patients to pick up elements that are unique to a specific patient’s case. Presently at Harvard, the US-based Kavya was seized of the matter after reading that the survival rate of glioblastoma has not improved in the past 30 years. At 17, she had invented Eyeagnosis, a 3D-printed lens system and mobile app to detect diabetic retinopathy.
'FREE PERIODS' TO EMPOWER GIRLSAMIKA GEORGE | 19
The UK-based Amika was “really upset” on learning that many girls missed school during their periods as they couldn't afford sanitary pads. That made her start the #FreePeriods campaign, which has seen nearly 200,000 signatures for her petition to help end ‘period poverty’. Amika’s efforts were recognised with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers Campaign Award. But she is for sure not done yet. “We can’t trust our policymakers to take action on issues... If we want to see change, it falls on us to create that change,” Time quoted her as saying.