The idea that research involving bacteria could go dreadfully wrong.<p>Imagine if she had somehow fostered a deadly pathogen on her toothbrush and through a mistake outside of her level of expertise managed to contaminate something&#x2F;herself.<p>The mentorship of a professional was probably for safety reasons. Safely handling bacteria, avoiding contamination, etc. Which is partially why a risk assessment had to be filed (what are the chances of a deadly pathogen being raised in the samples?). Please correct me if I&#x27;m wrong, but that&#x27;s how I understood the situation.<p>I don&#x27;t believe safety regulations should be waived for minors because &quot;reasons&quot; or &quot;fostering an interest in science&quot;. Even if that makes life unfair.