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Green Tea, A 7th Grader's Cure To Fight Against Cancer [VIDEO]

By Alleah Kiamco | Update Date: Apr 15, 2017 11:41 PM EDT

A 7th Grader from Georgia has discovered cancer-fighting chemicals found in green tea for the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair.

Stephen Litt, a 12-year-old middle school student outside of Atlanta, Georgia, became interested in cancer-related research after two of their family friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, the CNN reports.

Lesley Litt, Stephen's father, said that his son started reading about the illness and found an article online about the decreased death rates of cancer diseases in Japan in connection with antioxidants found in green tea.

The 7th grader's project used antioxidant in green tea to fight cancer growth in worms. The experiment started with Stephen making a makeshift laboratory in their home where Stephen divided 100 planaria (worms) into four groups in order to test his hypothesis that a polyphenol component in green tea could prevent tumor formation in the worms even when it was exposed to carcinogens, Lesley Litt revealed to the
People  in an interview.

In the course of his son's experiment, Stephen found out that the worm exposed to both carcinogens and phytochemical found in green tea did not grow any tumors.

When his research won the fair, the project gained state attention and researchers at the Tufts University research lab invited Stephen and his family for a visit in the university's laboratory. Stephen said that he has never actually been to a professional lab before and the Tuft's offer is the coolest part of it all. He also added that he's looking forward to seeing experiments actually being done.

According to Lesley, the entire family is proud of his son's achievement for exceeding a middle school capability. His son also said that he feels good because he is doing something that is scientific which could potentially help people suffering from cancers and tumors.

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