Dasia Taylor was 17 years old when she invented surgical sutures that change color to warn of infection, using beet juice concentrate that shifts from bright red to dark purple when a wound's pH indicates an infection is developing. She designed the low-tech solution with developing countries in mind, where surgical wound infection rates can reach up to 11% and smartphones needed for existing detection technology are not widely available.

Dasia Taylor was 17 years old when she invented surgical sutures that change color to warn of infection, using beet juice concentrate that shifts from bright red to dark purple when a wound's pH indicates an infection is developing. She designed the low-tech solution with developing countries in mind, where surgical wound infection rates can reach up to 11% and smartphones needed for existing detection technology are not widely available.