One Month Later by Tara Al-Saleem

These past few weeks have flown by! I can’t believe how much I’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time. To start, I am proud to announce that my original hypothesis was not far from the truth! When fed artificial food coloring, larvae showed a decrease in memory skills. I decided to study artificial food dyes because they have such a secretive status in the health world. According to the FDA, they are safe for consumption in small amounts. While dyes may be safe to eat, that does not necessarily mean they should be pumped into every snack imaginable.

A study by the Univeristy of Southampton showed that there may be a link between artificial dyes and hyperactivity in children. This data was taken seriously in Europe, where today, almost all foods are free of artificial colors. The United States, however, has not adopted this culture and much of our food (specifically children’s food) contains artificial dyes. I decided to discover whether this unnecessary addition to our foods would have an effect on the brains of larvae. I chose larvae because this model is comparable to testing on small children.

To test this hypothesis on my own, I employed a larval memory assay. The larvae were trained to associate a pineapple scent with a sugar reward, and a banana scent with no reward. When put on a plate with both scents, the larvae that go towards the pineapple are determined to have “passed” the test.

I set up 4 vials: one with no dye, and three with various colors (Red #40, Blue #1, and Yellow #5). When I tested the memory assay on all of these, the control larvae passed with flying colors (pun intended) while the color-fed larvae wandered towards the banana side and into the middle of the test plate. Given TRIP’s succinct schedule, there are many factors I am still eager to test, but I do not have enough time.

I scaled down the maximum dose of dyes for children 2-5 y/o into a fly dose, but this measurement can be tweaked to test the effects of less/more dye in the diet. The specific dyes I used can also be switched out for other artificial dyes. I tested the effect on larvae, but adult flies may also have a reaction. I am also interested in more extensive neural effects that dyes may have, such as energy and aggression levels.

Thank you, TRIP, for allowing me to dive deeper into the world of research! I sincerely appreciate all the work my advisors have put in to help me and my peers, and hope to see everyone at the symposium