16-year-old won the Google Science Fair with a way to detect Ebola

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While Hallisey wasn't able to test her invention on real Ebola patients or virus, she showed it could detect a protein from the virus.

The test uses the typical components of an Ebola test, which is made up of antibodies (the tags that our immune system uses to mark viruses and bacteria as invaders) and chemicals that cause the test to change colors if these antibodies bind to Ebola proteins in the sample.

The big innovation: To make the test stable, Hallisey used silk fibers to stabilize the chemicals on card stock, allowing them to sit around at room temperature for up to 3 weeks and still be effective. No refrigeration required, unlike with current Ebola tests.