Poisonous Trace - An Animation about Toxins

Project by Polygence alum Su

Poisonous Trace - An Animation about Toxins

Project's result

Animation, Video Game, The Symposium of Rising Scholars

They started it from zero. Are you ready to level up with us?

Summary

In nature, many organisms have evolved toxins that impact other organisms in their ecosystem. For example, many mushrooms, plants, amphibians, and fish use poison to protect themselves from predation. Humans have also produced new industrial toxins that have a huge impact on both human health and the environment. In this project, I want to compare the different impacts of natural toxins and industrial toxins. To create an engaging educational resource, I created an animated video game style story where we follow the main character who explores different kinds of toxins and learns how both toxins have an impact on our health, as well as our environment. He learns that man-made toxins have more impact than natural toxins because we have made so much and severely polluted natural ecosystems. While some natural toxins are very strong, they have a smaller environmental impact because fewer organisms are affected. There are two versions of this learning resource, where members of the public can either watch the video or choose to action or responses throughout the reaction. After learning about these differences, I conclude that pollution has a serious impact on the environment. So, this is an educational video to warn the public that we need to reduce pollution to keep our environment healthy. By combining the scientific research about pollution with my creative storytelling, I hope this information will be more accessible to people who are concerned about toxins and environmental issues.

Edith

Edith

Polygence mentor

PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate

Subjects

Biology

Expertise

environmental biology, plant ecology, disease ecology, soil microbiology

Su

Su

Student

Graduation Year

2024

Project review

“Have a chance to research what I am passionate about and get to showcase my project. ”

About my mentor

“My mentor guide me with how to improve my project overall and had helped me a lot on what to do in the future when I am in college. ”