Over the past few weeks, Grade 8 students at The KAUST School have been diving into the world of journalism. They’ve explored different styles of writing and even set up their own media agencies to report on stories happening all around the KAUST community. From school sports and campus gardeners to cutting-edge science, coral restoration, and local start-ups — their coverage has been wide-ranging and full of energy.
Through interviews and hands-on research, these young journalists have shown real curiosity, creativity, and professionalism. As part of a fun competition, eight top articles have been chosen by TKS to appear in The LENS over the next month as part of the ‘KAUST through the lens of TKS students’. As a note, these articles reflect the students’ creative work as part of a school project and have been selected based on their creative writing skills. We hope you’ll enjoy reading their work and help us celebrate what they’ve accomplished!
“Battling the Silent Invaders” – Why Invasive Weed Research Deserves Your Attention
– By Sami Al-Babili, Grade 8, The KAUST School
What was your first thought when you read: “Weed Research”? Something you can push over and ignore, or “Why in the world would anyone invest in weeds?” “I am not reading this,” or worse of all, that this article covers the illegal alley of the word weed. Guess what? All of you are wrong and should be educated if you think so. Even as an 8th grader, I understand why this topic matters. Why do I think so? Because I have Professor and Associate Dean Salim Al-Babili to back me up and prove why “Silly Weed Research” can determine humanity’s survival in the future.
My Perspective on the Value of Weed Research
Plants and Animals are the leading food sources, but only plants are sustainable. Animals as a food source are bound to run out eventually. Overfishing, habitat loss, overgrazing, and many other causes make it impossible for animals to survive as a food source. We must look beyond. Plant agriculture is the future of food and should be protected, which leads me to invasive weeds. The modern world developed much of its research on drought-resistant crops, which is excellent and should be the number 1 priority. However, not enough is being put into weed research, as it can potentially eradicate all those crops entirely. Imagine a situation where the perfect crops are created, but a straightforward weed takes them all out and ruins much of the work. That could be a reality if weed research isn’t taken seriously. “As climate change and other world problems worsen, agriculture will become more and more valuable. This is why weed research should be a priority,” as stated by Salim Al-Babili. Salim Al-Babili is an example to all. He proposed weed research to his superiors at KAUST and received funding multiple times from the Bill and Melinda Foundation. He knows just how valuable this research is.
Behind the Scenes
I’ve told you why you should fight, but not what you’re fighting for. What is Striga? What exactly is being researched and invested in? And how do they test it? (This is the part where I educate you.). First off, Striga is the invasive, parasitic weed that my father (Professor Al-Babili) directly targets. It’s most commonly found in Africa, particularly in the Sahel zone and East Africa. Striga primarily targets cereal crops like rice, maize, and millet. Striga is such a problem for many reasons. The first is that striga is parasitic; unlike other weeds, it attaches to the crop’s roots and steals water and nutrients, severely impacting growth and productivity. Striga is hidden and often takes weeks to surface, meaning it will damage without anyone knowing it was even there. Striga, on average, causes up to 100% crop loss in infested fields, while other weeds generally have a lower yield reduction. Striga produces huge amounts of seeds that remain viable in the soil for more than 10 years, while weed seeds degrade much quicker. So to conclude, it reduces crop yields drastically, is hard to control once established, and is especially devastating in low-input, smallholder farms and threatens their food security and economic wealth, where control methods are limited.
What exactly is being done to try to stop Striga? Well, it is relatively simple; they trick Striga. The team has created a chemical based on a hormone that induces Striga germination (seed sprouting). This combats Striga because of one crucial detail: Striga is parasitic; it needs a host to survive. So, when it’s intentionally sprouted with no host, the seed dies. This process is called Suicidal Germination and has proved to be very successful. The chemical is first tested in a controlled environment to avoid any side effects, such as the chemical inducing germination for crop seeds, too, destroying the point of suicidal germination. Once tested, it is then applied to infested fields in Africa, combating them one field at a time.
What you may think…
Many argue that it isn’t worth investing in this research under the terms that climate change will worsen instead of directly funneling funds into climate change itself. If you agree with that idea, then you are lying to yourself. Be honest with yourself: Do you think the money invested in climate change will make a difference? Salim Al-Babili has already done so much with a fraction of the funds. I’m not saying climate change will never be solved; I’m saying that a low amount of money can benefit weed research and won’t matter for climate change. With low funds, weed research has made significant progress here at KAUST; weeds have yet to become a world concern. It is an early issue that has the potential to end before it causes more damage. On top of that, climate change getting worse isn’t the only term that gives this research its value; as I said before, plant agriculture is the future of food, and making it resistant to weeds and droughts will make sure we have a reliable and sustainable food source for a long, long time.
What I think…
To conclude, my name is Sami Al-Babili. I’m an 8th grader who thinks weed research isn’t given enough attention, and I’m not the only person who thinks so. This research can determine humanity’s survival because it’s our only sustainable food source, and protecting it is key. One man working at KAUST who saw the vision did this work. If Salim and KAUST can do it, who’s to say other universities and research facilities shouldn’t either? This is worth the investment. People believe in this idea, and so should you; investing in this doesn’t mean other topics will be cut off. It just means this topic will get the light of day it deserves.