Perhaps you have heard the statement that was originally made by Thomas Edison, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” We may have even experienced the truthfulness of that statement in our own life. For Thomas Edison, it was the creation of the lightbulb that took more than 3000 theories before it became a reality. He also tried thousands of times to extend the life of the lightbulb.
Edison was able to create a 16 W bulb in 1880 and it burned for 1500 hrs. Most of us would have given up long before that point, but thanks to his determination and drive, we have the lightbulb still to this day. It really has to do with what our actions after we have a failure.
Teenage Boy Develops Pancreatic Cancer Test
Jack Andraka is a 15-year-old boy, but he is wise beyond his years. He had a family friend who died of pancreatic cancer and he wanted to do something about it. He became proactive in his approach.
He realised that part of the difficulty was early detection of the cancer. He set out to come up with a test that could detect cancer in its early stages. As for pancreatic cancer, it is responsible for taking 34,000 lives annually and is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. This disease is often detected late after it has progressed significantly.
How is his test different?
The current testing methods for cancer cost approximately $800, are 60 years old and are only 70% accurate for pancreatic cancer.
The test that Jack developed is:
168 times faster
26,000 times less expensive
400 times more sensitive than the current standard of detection
He did his research using Google and Wikipedia as his primary research tools – online resources that are
available to virtually anyone on the planet with an internet connection.
The cost for his test: Three cents
It only takes five minutes but it is 100% accurate. When compared to the current standard, it really is amazing.
You can learn more about it in this video:
Via: The Hearty Soul