Class 11/12 Biology

Strawberry Mould Hyphae

Class 12 Projects

Sharon Symes & Natalie Wheeler
Class 12 Project Coordinators

CEDAR ADAMS

My name is Cedar Adams, and for my year 12 project I will be asking the question:

“What are the psychological and biological mechanisms behind the placebo effect, and how can we enhance its effectiveness while considering its possible side effects?”

I’ve discovered that the placebo effect is a fascinating phenomenon where symptoms improve after receiving a nonactive treatment — all because of the belief that it will work. It’s not just in your head either; this belief triggers real changes in the brain, releasing feel-good chemicals like endorphins and dopamine, which can relieve pain and make you feel better.

While people often think of sugar pills as the classic example, placebos can take many forms — from medications and injections to diets, surgeries, and even exercise routines. However, the placebo effect does have its limits. It’s mostly effective for pain relief and mental health conditions, but unfortunately, it can’t cure diseases.

I’ve found that when people hear the word 'placebo,' they often think of large-scale medical studies or sugar pills. But placebos can be much simpler — even everyday moments we don’t think twice about.

Why does a child feel better when their mum kisses a scraped knee? Or why do we suddenly forget about a bruise once a band aid is placed over it? I’ve even wondered if cuddling a teddy bear at night is a kind of placebo — offering comfort and security, just like those small gestures that seem to have magical healing powers. I’ve had my own experiences with small-scale placebos too. Ever since a friend told me that making an 'X' over a mosquito bite helps with the itching, I’ve done it every time — even though there’s no scientific evidence that it works. It does seem to help me deal with the itching though.

As you can probably tell, psychology is something that has always interested me. Specifically, the power of the brain. It always fascinated me how just someone believing in something could cause such a change in both their body and mind.  The power of this connection is what underlies the placebo effect and I’m learning about how it to is used to treat patients with Parkinson disease and mental health issues such as depression. I’ve recently learnt that the use of placebos in treating drug and alcohol addictions is being explored as research has demonstrated that people can behave in an intoxicated way, even when they have been given a placebo in experiments.  Scientists attributed this to the power of expectation in their brain. Also, none of the participants knew they were taking a placebo.

Another thing that surprised me is that while placebo experiments often do not tell participants if they are taking the placebo, there are a lot that do. Even more surprising is that a person can be aware they have been given a placebo treatment and yet it can still work in resolving the medical condition.

I’ve also been researching ways to make placebos more effective. I’ve learned that factors like the pill’s label, color, size, the information given about it, the length of the consultation, and even the doctor’s attitude can all influence how well the placebo works.

I’ve got some ideas for my practical but it is still unfolding as it is still early on . I know I am interested in conducting some kind of experiment but as yet I am not sure with what. What I would like to know to help with this is what others may have experienced with the placebo effect in their lives.  If you have a story to share, I would love to hear from you. Alternatively, if this is an area of deep interest for you, I am also looking for a mentor to help me understand my topic better.

Please get in touch with me at: nwheeler@pws.wa.edu.au 

ISLA SOUTHALL

I began thinking about project topics last year in term 4. I have always been deeply affected by global issues, especially human rights violations, often feeling helpless when I looked out into the world. Over time this feeling led me to research the systemic causes for war, bigotry and wealth inequality. This led me personally to the belief that the capitalist system is both a root cause and contributing factor to these issues. I decided to choose a topic that could address the issues I care about by addressing capitalism.                      

Originally, I was looking at Mutual Aid (MA), which is the organising of communities to meet everyone’s survival needs while addressing the systems that harm people. It includes sharing resources such as food, protecting people from deportation or eviction and much more. All MA aims not only to help people in the short term but also to address the capitalist systems that are causing injustice. Therefore, MA also includes protesting, supporting strikes and educating people about anti-capitalism.

However, while researching all of this, I realised that I cannot address the entirety of capitalism and every form of MA in a 4000-word essay. I would need to narrow down my topic.

Just two weeks ago I chose my current and hopefully final question:

“How does Transformative Justice address the systemic violence in state systems?”

Transformative Justice (TJ) is essentially working to resolve crimes within the community and fixing the socioeconomic contributors that motivate crime. It is a form of MA which aims to mitigate the harms of the state justice system and eventually replace it. The state justice system is failing to address the root causes of crime as it functions on a penal modal. This means that it does not aim to rehabilitate offenders into society, nor does it try to address what motivated their crime. Rather, the state justice system simply locks them away. It also actively contributes to offenders recommitting. By locking largely vulnerable, marginalised people in an environment that creates trauma and dehumanises them, then releasing them into a world which stigmatises them, the current system condemns offenders to increased poverty by affecting their access to housing, employment and benefits. Poverty and trauma are both huge drivers in the committing of crimes, and the state justice system exacerbates these issues amongst those who come in contact with it.

There are undeniable fundamental issues within our current justice system and TJ works against this system. The most common form of TJ is community mediation, the process in which crimes are resolved between the offender and victim along with a trained mediator from the community. This process centres the voice of the victim and works with the offender to ensure that they never recommit. This can look like providing the offender with counselling for childhood trauma or anger management classes. Most importantly community mediation opens dialog between both parties, allowing the offender to see the effects of their crime and the victim to see why and how the crime was committed. TJ includes other aspects as well, such as educating the community on misogyny and healthy relationships, supporting community members’ sobriety, and working with youth to reduce violent behaviour. An improvement in crime rates and quality of life, especially in marginalised communities, should be a priority and Transformative Justice will be a vital step towards such an improvement.

Since beginning my research my eyes have been opened to what justice could be. Reading about TJ programs gives me hope for the future and ignites in me a drive to help change the problematic system we live in. For now, I can broaden my understanding of this topic and share what I’ve learned with my community. My greatest hope with this project is to inspire all of you to question the systems around us that cause harm and look for ways to change them.

LINCOLN BROOKES

As most Steiner kids will know, or will soon find out, during the many years leading to Year 12, there is always a question circling around in the back of your head: "What will I do for my Year 12 Project?"

I have been pondering this question for quite some time now, however, I have always known what I wanted to do. In fact, even baby Lincoln knew what he wanted to do.

Growing up, I have always had a love for sport. From the moment I came into the world, I was surrounded by sport. Even as a baby, my big brother would place a ball in my hands, desperate for me to throw it to him. I always had a batting partner, someone to kick to, someone to practice my fast bowling with. It was a blessed childhood filled with sport, fun, and backyard banter.

Sport has continued to fill my life. That little baby has grown up playing footy, cricket, hockey, basketball and many other sports and so exploring a project based around sport was always the obvious choice. Whilst there were many different areas I could explore around sport, after much considered deliberation, I have decided to focus my research on:

“How can elite athletes reach their peak performance, and what individual and environmental factors play a role in achieving this?”

During these early stages of the Project, I have discovered so much, and one interesting aspect has been my research into the impact of injuries and other setbacks. Looking at some of the greatest athletes of their respective sports: Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan, just to name a few. I found that they have all had a major setback in their careers, whether it be a serious injury or even mental health issues, which in some instances have led to early retirement. What has been interesting to me is what these athletes did following these major setbacks.  The common thread appears to be how they viewed their setback as a positive rather than a negative and were able to come back from the setback even better than before. This shines a light on the role mindset and mental toughness play in the development of the elite athlete, and I will definitely be exploring this theme more.

Other interesting research I have come across are new and creative training regimes – such as: soccer teams training in the dark to improve their visual-motor-skills and NFL players training in ballet in the off-season to work on increasing their ankle strength.  I am also exploring the growing role of technological innovations in sport.  One example of this was how the US swim team trained for the Paris Olympics, utilising new technology to essentially create a “digital twin” of each swimmer, which could analyse everything from stroke patterns and technique to acceleration, power, and force. 

Finding unique training factors such as these has been a focus of mine, with my goal being to try and bring to light how a great athlete is formed. As a Practical idea, I have been wanting to bring together all the knowledge I have learned from these elite athletes, and I am currently looking at putting together a ‘recipe for success’ and applying these strategies for myself in the context of running. I want to try and tackle something that seems almost impossible at the moment. I have been researching a challenge known as a ‘Backyard Ultra Marathon,’ which is essentially running 6.7 kilometers every hour, with some athletes doing this for 24 hours straight. I feel that this sort of challenge would be incredibly satisfying.  Am I a runner?   Well, sort of.  I do the odd Saturday morning Park Run; I can consistently run out a full game on the footy field—but running a marathon, let alone a Backyard Ultra Marathon, is not something I have considered before. It will be interesting to see how this ambitious practical idea evolves.

This Project journey has been an exciting one so far, and I look forward to sharing my journey of discovery this year with you all.