This.

Arrow is representing electrons from this oxygen.

When Noah Cook lost his vision at 18 years old, the option of studying chemistry in college seemed implausible.

All people see, a lot of the times, is the disability.

But we met Noah, who is now 23 at Baylor University's Chemistry Lab.

I know immediately which samples are mine based on these tactile stickers that we got on here.

Where he's conducting experiments alongside his sighted classmates and working directly with Professor Dr. Brian Shaw, who's made it his mission to make chemistry accessible to students who are blind or visually impaired.

The lab is the final frontier of learning. So if you don't make the lab accessible, you're not really making science accessible.

Funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health, Dr. Shaw and his graduate students developed a suite of revolutionary tactile tools like 3D printed molecules, a tabletop robot that mixes chemicals, and a tool that serves as a guide for intricate experiments.

Labs are trending towards total automation. These tools that can help people with blindness are already being implemented to help sighted people work more efficiently. So in many ways, a chemistry lab is a perfect place for a person with blindness because they're used to visualizing and thinking about things they can't see.

Today's experiment run in tandem with the Texas School for the Blind, bringing high school students into the lab to try out the tactile tools. 14 year old Emma Olec props herself for the first round, attempting the experiment as a sighted scientist would.

I didn't even try. I was like, it's not.

Going to happen. But for the second round, she snaps on what Dr. Shaw caused the zambonia, and can now seamlessly guide her pipec to run the test perfectly.

I did the form. Yep, that was perfect. Okay. How did the whole process feel?

It felt very surreal. It was amazing how simple it was, especially after doing it without the Zimbodri.

The.

Results of the experiment are printed out on something like this, and it's done in a way that the data can be analyzed by someone who is sighted or visually impaired. It's showcasing all in one tool how inclusivity can be integrated in a lab. Were you intentional about trying to design something that could be used by everybody, not creating two.

Different tools? No, I got to be honest, that was an accident. It's funny how that works. It's just going to make everyone's life.

Convenient now. Building that bridge may be the key to unlocking new discoveries.

Do you think there's an added benefit in a way of having that tactile perspective, of having a different perspective of looking at the elements of chemistry.

We know the diverse groups of scientists, people who think differently because they live differently, they produce.

Better science. For Emma, just getting into the lab has been life-changing.

It has really helped me a bunch and helped me to maybe come closer to deciding what I want to do in my future.

Do you think there's potential to be a chemist in the future?

Yes, at least some part of it, for sure.

To Professor Shaw and his grad students, the real power of these tools reaches far outside the lab, with the ability to spark confidence and a passion for science in thousands of kids like Emma across the country. Maura Barrett, NBC News, Waco, Texas.

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