Young school students from the James R Jordan Boys and Girls Club in Chicago made a groundbreaking discovery while studying goose poop in a local park. The school students, under the supervision of researchers from the University of Illinois and Professor Brian Murphy at Chicago, identified a potential cancer-fighting compound. The students participated in a STEM program that turned them into bona fide biomedical scientists before they even started high school. Students carefully isolated a bacterium from the goose poop that showed antibiotic activity. The findings were published in the journal ACS Omega, with student Camarria Williams credited as a co-author.

Professor Murphy’s research laboratory is focused on discovering antibiotics from natural sources, and the cohort of young scientists participated by supplying environmental samples from their local communities.

According to a press release by the American Chemical Society, one of the 14 samples of goose poop collected from the Garfield Park Lagoon contained a strain of bacteria called Pseudomonas idahoensis. The students interpreted the bacterium’s bioassay data and concluded it had antibiotic activity and produced a never-before-seen compound.

Then, the university researchers determined the compound’s molecular structure using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, named it orfamide N after the family of molecules it belongs to, and investigated its biological activity.

Although orfamide N was not responsible for the antibiotic activity that the team initially observed from P idahoensis, the compound inhibited the growth of human melanoma and ovarian cancer cells in culture tests. Further studies could reveal other advantageous properties of this newly characterised molecule, as per the ACS release.

The researchers say that this work proves that it’s possible to combine educational outreach with natural product discovery research, and it emphasises the importance of a strong relationship between universities and their local communities.

These school students’ work is an inspiring example of how curiosity and learning can lead to significant breakthroughs, even in unexpected places.  Camarria Williams, a student, was listed as a co-author on the findings, which were published in the journal ACS Omega.