Winners of Regeneron Science Talent Search announced

The winners of the 78th annual Regeneron Science Talent Search, which recognizes ambitious science and math projects completed by high school seniors, were announced last night. The top winner was 17-year-old Lillian Petersen, who won $250,000 for developing a tool that predicts harvests early on in the growing season and could help address food shortages around the world. Nine other winners were recognized, and won between $40,000-$175,000 for their work, including a project investigating how natural killer cells are influenced by cancer cells in their environment, a fruit fly study on the impact of diet and caffeine on seizures, and an AI tool that can weed out language often used in cyberbullying. The competition, sponsored by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the Society for Science and the Public, was held virtually for the first time this year.