Final Product

Acknowledgements

Although this was my own research project, there were multiple individuals who were vital in guiding my research and allowing me to be successful throughout the year. I would like to give a huge thank you to my AP Research course instructor Mrs. Nikki Dobos for guiding me throughout the research process and allowing me to gain this amount of knowledge throughout the course of the year. In addition, I would like to extend a large amount of gratitude to Mrs. Kerry Reilly for serving as my chemical safety coordinator and ensuring that the chemicals that I was researching with were safe for me to utilize this year. Finally, I would like to thank Mrs. Susanne Petri for serving as my mentor as well as the bio safety coordinator. She was intergral in guiding my research as well as providing lab equipment and space for me to ensure that I was performing my research in the best environment possible.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to observe whether or not a natural metabolic supplement, claiming to increase metabolism, was effective in its claims. This study was performed with wild type Drosophila melanogaster as well as the natural metabolic-boosting supplement, 7-Keto Dehydroepiandrosterone, more commonly known as 7-Keto DHEA. With a lack of research backing the supplement’s overall effectiveness, 7-Keto DHEA was expected to increase the metabolic rate of D.melanogaster, subsequently decreasing the organism’s lifespan. Ultimately, it has been previously hypothesized that if the 7-Keto DHEA was effective, there would be a negative correlation regarding the lifespan of the D. melanogaster. Following the administration of the supplement, the lifespan of each D. melanogaster was recorded and an average was taken for each dosage level. In order to determine whether or not there was statistical significance, a Chi-Square test was utilized, concluding that there is a negative relationship between the administration of 7-Keto DHEA and D. melanogaster. Future research studies may determine whether or not these results are also applicable to humans, allowing consumers to be aware of the supplements that they are consuming.

Key Words: 7-Keto-DHEA, metabolism, lifespan, Drosophila melanogaster

Although this chapter has come to an end, I will be continuing my overall knowledge from this class and utilizing it in years to come! Next year I will be attending the University of Iowa as a biomedical engineering major on the premed track! Throughout my time there I will likely perform a large amount of research and each step of the way I will reflect upon the lessons that I learned in this class. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I will continue to use these lessons forever!