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<p>This can mean that a grad student spends years reading primary literature, creates a reagent through countless trials and errors, and finally builds an experimental test model, which the high school student comes in for the summer, gets briefed on what’s this fancy project about (so he/she can present alone at a science fair), and execute it one shot… or two.</p>
<p>It’s not that the high school student steals credit, it’s more of symbiotic: the busy grad student would have an array of experiments to perform under stress of competition (There’s not a lot of glory for the second place in science.) and be happy to sub-contract part of his/her research project.</p>
<p>I would look any publication with more than two authors (meaning a professor and a student) with a grain of salt.</p>