Archer Student STEM Symposium

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a degenerative disease of the brain that causes dementia; a gradual loss of memory. The disease occurs as two abnormal protein fragments called Beta Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles accumulate in the brain. Pyrroloquinoline quinone, caffeine, Methylene Blue, Withania somnifera, circumun, and grape seed extract will be combined into one product to test the mixture’s effects on AD in drosophila melanogaster (drosophila). The substances have been studied separately and have been suggested to help prevent Beta Amyloid plaques and/or neurofibrillary tangles from forming. The prediction can be made that there will be a greater result from the mixture of the combined substances because the performance will be stronger. The treated flies’ memory will be tested 24 hours after the treatment, 48 hours after the treatment, and a week after the treatment. Around 5.5 million people in the United States alone have this life-threatening disease of the brain, which increases the importance of this research.