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Summary
Areas of Science
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:
For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.
If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk (*) at the end of the title.
If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk (*) at the end of the title.
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?
Ask an Expert
Do you have specific questions about your science project? Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.
Global Connections
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
This project explores topics key to Good Health and Well-Being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Careers
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:
Career Profile
Life is all around you in beauty, abundance, and complexity. Biologists are the scientists who study life in all its forms and try to understand fundamental life processes, and how life relates to its environment. They answer basic questions, like how do fireflies create light? Why do grunion fish lay their eggs based on the moon and tides? What genes control deafness? Why don't cancer cells die? How do plants respond to ultraviolet light? Beyond basic research, biologists might also apply…
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Career Profile
Physicians work to ease physical and mental suffering due to injury and disease. They diagnose medical conditions and then prescribe or administer appropriate treatments. Physicians also seek to prevent medical problems in their patients by advising preventative care. Ultimately, physicians try to help people live and feel better at every age.
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Career Profile
Would you like to sew up a bad cut after fall? Order and interpret X-rays? Help with surgery? Conduct physicals? Prescribe medications? Physician assistants have many of the same duties as physicians, only they practice medicine under the supervision of a physician or a surgeon. In rural or inner-city areas, physician assistants might have considerable independence, since they might be the only healthcare provider available to these communities. Physician assistants can choose to study…
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Cite This Page
General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.MLA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
"Growth and Age." Science Buddies,
20 Nov. 2020,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Zoo_p033/zoology/growth-and-age?class=AQVnYHcXAAfCGHAXMrZx_Yvt-G6fWwDXsf5Sx7sBW-Rg4exy0UCaDeFz57PpaH1-ipnhdRCRt3yKN6Mz2OaBpyv6yReLLqQq2t3uFs54yOOQ4A.
Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
APA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
(2020, November 20).
Growth and Age.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Zoo_p033/zoology/growth-and-age?class=AQVnYHcXAAfCGHAXMrZx_Yvt-G6fWwDXsf5Sx7sBW-Rg4exy0UCaDeFz57PpaH1-ipnhdRCRt3yKN6Mz2OaBpyv6yReLLqQq2t3uFs54yOOQ4A
Last edit date: 2020-11-20
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