Ashleigh Fraser and Leah Guskjolen, both 18, wondered why they would not be allowed to wear nail polish or artificial nails during their training to become certified nursing assistants. But when they asked, the only response which they got was that "rules are rules." Not satisfied, the teens decided to explore the issue themselves.

For their new study, Ashleigh and Leah, seniors at Willcox High School in Willcox, Arizona., borrowed materials from the hospital where they had been trained as nursing assistants. Ten nurses there agreed to give them little scrapings off the top side of their nails. Half of the participants had natural nails. The other half wore nail polish or fake nails on top of their natural nails. The teens grew bacteria from the scrapings on plates; these are plastic dishes with a gel that feeds bacterial growth.

Natural nails produced an average of 4.3 bacterial colonies. In contrast, scrapings from nail polish or artificial nails produced an average of 17.5 colonies! Leah and Ashleigh had their answer to the question. Only natural nails are allowed because polished or artificial nails tend to harbor far more bacteria. The germs could be dangerous to sick patients.

Leah notes that they are not the first to look at nails in a medical setting. Still, she says, "It is something that should be taken much more seriously than it is." To emphasize that, she points to the large list of similar studies she and Ashleigh uncovered during their research.

When nurses touch patients, they often wear gloves, but many small tasks are performed bare-handed. The teens hope to raise awareness of how dangerous artificial nails can be in the medical setting. "What shocked me," Leah says, "is how unconcerned some of the nurses were. They did not think their nails were dangerous." Ashleigh agrees and observes that to preserve their manicures , nurses with polish or fake nails tended to scrub less vigorously when washing their hands. Their nails might look nice, but this might contribute to the large numbers of germs that hang onto their nails.

Ashleigh has never really liked nail polish, so she will not have to change much to pursue her dream of being a surgeon. But the results have reminded Leah, who wants to be a nurse, to give up her artificial nails for good. "They are very pretty," she says, "I love them." But now that she knows the risks they can cause, she admits that for a health professional they just are "not worth it."

1. What question did the two 18 year olds have?
2. Who were they?
3. Their names?
4. What did Ashleigh want to become?
5. After that?
6. What about Leah?
7. What was the answer they received to their question?
8. Did they find an answer themselves?
9. What was it?
10. On average, how much more bacteria do fake nails produce?
11. What's one of the reasons for this?
12. Who helped them with this research?
13. How did they help?
14. How did they collect the bacteria?
15. Were they the first to do a study like this?

Provide a numbered list of answers.
1. why they were not allowed to wear nail polish
2. teens
3. Ashleigh Fraser and Leah Guskjolen
4. certified nursing assistants
5. unknown
6. nurse
7. unknown
8. Yes
9. bacterial colonies
10. 13.2 bacterial colonies
11. bacteria
12. Ten nurses
13. give them little scrapings off the top side of their nails
14. unknown
15. No