Genes in Space, the five finalists: Zakaria and Nikhil

AL AIN // What began as an attempt to hasten a pupil’s integration into his new school by one of his teachers has led to a winning partnership in the Genes in Space competition. Guy Schooley, a physical education teacher at Brighton College in Al Ain, came across an advert for the contest and thought it would be perfect to help Zakaria Rahman, 13, fit in with his schoolmates more quickly. Zakaria, a quiet and shy boy, arrived from Manchester in September, Mr Schooley said. “I had spoken to Zak’s dad and he told me he was interested in space and already had a GCSE in astronomy,” he said. “I thought this would be a good way for him to get to know the others.” Zakaria accepted his teacher and mentor’s challenge by picking a partner, Nikhil Potula, 13, and surpassed expectations by having his team’s proposal picked as one of the five best. With only three days between finding out about the contest and its submission deadline, Zak and Nikhil worked round the clock to come up with their winning experiment. After learning about the tardigrade, a water-dwelling organism that can survive in the vacuum of space for at least 10 days, they decided to see if its ability could be transferred to human genomes to aid long-term space travel. “If we could use the same damage-suppressing protein in the tardigrade’s genes, which encloses their DNA from radiation without impairing its functions, we could extend the time astronauts are able to stay in space,” Zakaria said. Nikhil, who first became interested in science through his doctor father, said he was ecstatic when he learnt they were finalists. “When I told my dad he gave me a hug and said good luck winning it all,” he said. “I felt proud of myself, getting congratulated from my dad.” Zakaria said he felt proud to win his school the mini-PCR – or polymerase chain reaction machine – used to amplify DNA in genetic experiments, which he is looking forward to using. “Being one of the finalists makes me want to excel in all my subjects,” he said. Mr Schooley said the experience of competing and being chosen as one of the finalists has gone a long way to helping Zakaria settle in. “You can see his personality has changed in PE, where he is now more confident,” he said. “If you speak to him now you would not think he’s a new boy.” __________________________________ Genes in Space: Full coverage ■ Profiles: Meet the five finalists for Genes in Space ■ In pictures: UAE pupils get chance to fine tune their entries ■ National Editorial: More than a contest ■ A step closer: Eight UAE pupils among final five __________________________________ tsubaihi@thenational.ae

Genes in Space, the five finalists: Zakaria and Nikhil

When Guy Schooley, a physical education teacher at Brighton College in Al Ain, came across an advertisement for the contest he thought it would be the perfect way to better engage Zakaria Rahman, 13, with his schoolmates.