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Team Number: 076 School Name: High School Area of Science: Biology Project Title: Bone and Brain Sizes Project Abstract: http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/97.98/abstracts/076.html Interim Report: http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/97.98/interims/076.html Final Report: http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/97.98/finalreports/076/finalreport.html
We have discovered that the brain size has shrunk at a slower rate than that of the bone structure. The bones gradually began getting larger due to the colder climate. The climate has made a person's body and bone structure increase, as one theory stated by Chris Ruff suggests. He has teammed up with Erik Trinkaus, a paleoanthropolist of the University of New Mexico. We are in the process of trying to contact Mr. Trinkaus in order to get a possible formula for our program.
Our program is going to be focusing on taking variables of time, cranial capacity, and body size of the early man, the anatomically modern human, neandertals, and present day humans. We will use the formula given to come up with a program that will allow us to predict if , in the future, our brain and bone structure will increase or decrease in size.
Although the brain and bone structure of the body in our ancestors has decreased, the ratio of brain size to that of body size points out that our brain today is proportioned larger thatn that of early man. This is due in part because of the fact that early man did not use his brain to the extent that we are using it today. Today we are using our brain more efficiently than before.
We are trying to predict if the brain and body size of the future human will be bigger or smaller in the future. With the data we have discovered and the help of Erik Trinkaus we hope that we will find a solution to theis problem.