North Liberty Teen's Amazing Invention Gets Her $10,000 On Ellen

I want to introduce you to a very impressive young woman from the Corridor, who is going to make a difference in this world. After hearing what she's invented, and seeing her on 'The Ellen Degeneres Show' on Monday, I have absolutely no doubt.

17-year-old Dasia Taylor of North Liberty, a student at Iowa City West High School, has invented low-cost stitches that change color when they detect infection. As she says during her appearance (below), a similar product already existed. There was just one problem. It used very expensive technology. Realizing the people who really needed something like this wouldn't be able to afford it, Dasia went to work to find a low-cost way to do virtually the same thing. That's exactly what she's done.

Dasia's invention of low-cost color-changing stitches uses, of all things, beets. The stitches change colors as the PH of your skin rises, as the infection becomes present. You can see her amazing explanation and watch Ellen present her with a giant trophy, along with $10,000, in the video below.

Last month, Daisa was named one of the 40 finalists in the 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search (RSTS). It's described as 'the nation's oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. RSTS paid a total of $3.1 million to students and their schools this year.

Though Daisa didn't finish in the Top 10, she received $25,000, along with some amazing recognition. This is what RSTS said about her:

Dasia Taylor, 17, of North Liberty, Iowa, was named the Seaborg Award winner and given the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Regeneron Science Talent Search Class of 2021. The 40 finalists chose Dasia as the student who most exemplifies their class and the extraordinary attributes of nuclear chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1951 and served on the Society’s Board of Trustees for 30 years.

I hope she gets that patent soon and, as I said, I have no doubt she's going to make a difference in this world. Someday, I hope we can officially add her to the list of Iowa inventors below.