Wantagh High senior honored for ‘a-maze-ing’ work

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Wantagh High School senior Julia Forese was recognized for he in-depth study on the memory of fruit flies. She will receive her award from the Nassau County chapter of the Science Teachers Association of New York State at a May 17 dinner.

A member of Wantagh’s after-school program science research program, Forese’s project focused on answering the question if a micro-green diet could improve the fruit flies’ memory. Schools were asked to nominate one candidate for the award.

Feeding the fruit flies a solution of water, cornmeal and different percentages of micro-greens, Forese, who also included a control group that received none of the above substances, then released the insects into a maze and documented how they fast they moved through the maze each time.

On the second time through the maze, the fruit flies that ate a solution that included micro-greens went through faster, showing that the micro-greens had a positive effect on their memory.

“I’m very honored to have this opportunity to do research and explore something that I’m passionate about,” Forese said in a news release. It is her first year in the science research program.

Science teacher Christen Bellucci said she is proud of Forese’s hard work and commitment, and said she is very deserving of the award.

After graduation from Wantagh High, Forese is headed to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and plans on studying neuroscience.