It is truly amazing what young minds are capable of accomplishing. In recent years, young men and women - people who are not yet out of high school - have given us things like litmus tests for pancreatic cancer, or flashlights powered by nothing more than body heat. And now, thanks to a high schooler named Andrew Jin, researchers may have another resource in helping them to find cures for genetic conditions and deadly diseases.

Having been interested in genetics and human evolution since he was a boy, Jin - a 17 year-old from San Jose, California - recently began researching genetic permutations that have played a role in human evolution over the past 100,000 years. This involved Jin going over human genetic data that was obtained from several massive public genomic datasets; specifically 179 different human DNA sequences from different parts of the world.

"I was doing it out of curiosity," he said in a recent interview with FastComany. "I started thinking about natural selection and evolution, and that we understand so much about its theory, but we know nothing about reality. I was curious about what mutations help us be sophisticated human beings."

Examining these sequences was no easy task, as each one contained the usual 3 million base pairs of DNA. This works out to about 537 million pieces of genetic data that Jin needed to sort through. In order to process this monumental amount of data, Jin developed a special machine-learning algorithm to look through all the DNA sequences to search for indications of adaptive mutations.

Working from a summer program at MIT, Jin refined his research and was able to identify 130 different mutations in total, including ones that were related to human immune response, metabolism, brain development and schizophrenia, as well as some that have been shown to be involved in resistance to meningitis and decreased susceptibility to viruses like influenza and HIV.

The 40 finalists of the Intel Science Talent Search meeting with President Obama. Credit: student.societyforscience.org

These findings represent a potential windfall for biomedical researchers and pharmaceutical companies looking to create new drugs, vaccines or gene therapies for these and other conditions. They also became the basis of Jin's research project which he presented at this year's Intel Science Talent Search - an annual competition that brings high school seniors from all the US together to showcase original research.

For his invention, Jin was one of the 2015 ISTS's three first-place winners, alongside fellow students Noah Golowich (who developed a proof in the area of Ramsey math theory) and Michael Hofmann Winer (who studied how fundamental quasi-particles of sound, called phonons, interact with electrons).

In addition to a first-place prize of $150,000, Jin was also awarded the First Place Medal of Distinction for Global Good, which rewards finalists who demonstrate great scientific potential through their passion to make a difference.

The next step, according to Jin, will be confirming that the mutations he uncovered do in fact play a role in disease resistance. In order to do this, he has begun conducting biological experiments to study the mutation's protective mechanisms. When he's not working on evolutionary biology, Jin is likely to be found playing piano at Carnegie Hall or with his Boy Scout troop. Whoever said there are no Renaissance men left obviously never met Jin!

Already, medical researchers are looking to machine-learning to help sort through the mountain of genetic information that has been obtained from things like the Human Genome Project or Encode. And as always, many of the breakthroughs that are pushing the boundaries of what is possible are coming from the young minds, individuals who combine real passion with a fascination for scientific research.

When these qualities come together with the right kind of resources, incentives and encouragement, just about anything is possible.

Want to help make a difference in people's lives? Then check out the Clinical Trials Innovation Prize, or head on over to the Launch your Challenge page and be prepared to make a difference!