Talk about girl power -- three American high school girls made headlines in November when they swept the 2011 international Google Science Fair, earning the grand prize awards in all three age groups.
Over 10,000 students from 91 countries entered the first-annual Google Science Fair, and 15 finalists (nine of whom were boys) were selected to present their research to judges at Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley.
17-year-old Shree Bose from Fort Worth was awarded for her research on a chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, that is commonly used to treat women with ovarian cancer. Bose discovered a cellular energy protein that could keep cells from growing resistant to cisplatin over time.
In the 15-16 age group, Naomi Shah won with her study of the effects of air quality on lungs, focusing on individuals with asthma. Lauren Hodge dominated the 13-14 age group with her research on whether various marinades reduce the level of carcinogens and other cancer-causing compounds produced when grilling meat.
This year, the competition will heat up again for Google's second-ever student science competition. The 2012 Google Science Fair launched yesterday, and is now accepting entries from students ages 13-18 from around the world.
Watch the above TED talk to hear the girls discuss their award-winning research!