A 17-year-old Iowa scientist has invented color changing stitches which can detect infection at the site of surgical incisions. Dasia Taylor’s development is groundbreaking and could prevent illness and death caused by surgery-related infections. 

Taylor, who graduated from Iowa City West High School in June, said she has been working on this development since her junior year of high school, AfroTech reported.

Her chemistry honors teacher Carolyn Walling helped her cultivate the idea one day after school, while discussing what the teen would do for the school’s upcoming science fair.  

“I read an article about how these scientists created these stitches that involved this really fancy technology that I perceived to be inequitable to those that would actually be able to need this technology. I said, hey, I can do it better. I can do it more equitable,” Taylor recalled during an interview with PBS.

The teen said she created the color changing sutures due to the alarming number of deaths incurred by those who undergo surgery in developing countries.

“I came up with color-changing stitches that provide early detection for infections, with the specific focus on surgical site infections in developing countries, because those can be very deadly if they’re found too late,” Taylor said. 

The high school graduate said in order for the stitches to change color, she dyes them in beet juice because beets are natural indicators and when pH levels change, so does the color. 

“When you have an infection, there’s chemical imbalances going on, and my stitches pick up those chemical imbalances, and then they change color because of what’s going on all, all the science stuff,” Taylor said.

In Mar. 2020, the teen entered her project into the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. While there, she couldn’t help but notice she was the only Black person in the competition. 

“Being in the room knowing stereotypes were flying and to be able to prove them wrong and win first place was phenomenal,” Taylor said. 

“My mom and I talk about it all the time,” she continued. “I often find myself in white-dominated spaces. That’s definitely one for the books.”

Although Taylor was the only Black person in the competition she did not let that deter her from reigning victorious over the other competitors.

The teen was also named a finalist in the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search, a national science competition geared toward pre-college students.