Growth and Age *
| Difficulty | |
| Time Required | Average (6-10 days) |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Material Availability | To see other people's medical records, you will need their permission. Since this project involves medical data, it may require SRC approval. |
| Cost | Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety | No issues |
*Note: This is an abbreviated Project Idea, without notes to start your background research, a specific list of materials, or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated Project Ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.
Abstract
One thing that all living things have in common is that they grow through cell division. How is this growth regulated? Sometimes growth occurs when it is not supposed to, leading to cancer. Scientists are trying to discover how growth is regulated, hoping to find potential cures for cancer. One idea is that cells keep track of growth using special regions of the chromosome called "telomeres" that count how many divisions a cell has made. If this is true, then growth, cell division and age are all potentially related. Do organisms grow at the same rate throughout their lifetimes? Are there periods of rapid growth or regulated growth? Are there patterns in the rate of growth between different individuals? You can get your medical records to find out your growth history. Calculate the rate of growth by dividing the amount of growth by the time period during which the growth was measured. What periods of your life had the most rapid growth? When has there been little growth? Try to get similar data from different individuals in as many different age groups possible. Do you notice a relationship between the rate of growth and age?Share your story with Science Buddies!
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Last edit date: 2013-01-10
Share your story with Science Buddies!
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