Why Don't Our Bones Keep Growing Forever?

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Download the Tab For Animals browser extension at https://tabforanimals.org/minuteearth2 Fish, amphibians, and reptiles –actually, almost all vertebrates– get bigger throughout their lives; they generally keep on growing until they die. Then, there are humans, who, by the age of 20 or so, just stop getting bigger… or at least taller. Why do we stop growing partway through life? LEARN MORE ************** To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: - Cartilage: firm, whitish, flexible connective tissue found in various forms in the larynx and respiratory tract, in structures such as the external ear, and in the articulating surfaces of joints. It is more widespread in the infant skeleton, being replaced by bone during growth. - Estrogen: any of a group of steroid hormones that regulate sexual development and function. - Growth plate: areas of cartilage located at the ends of long bones in children and adolescents. - Indeterminate growth: a biological process where an organism continues to grow throughout its life, rather than stopping at a genetically predetermined size. If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: @SamWebster did a great and detailed video on the histology of the growth plate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QAXY1Jec04 SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH ************************** If you like what we do, you can help us!: - Become our patron: https://patreon.com/MinuteEarth - Our merch: http://dftba.com/minuteearth - Our book: https://minuteearth.com/books - Sign up to our newsletter: http://news.minuteearth.com - Share this video with your friends and family - Leave us a comment (we read them!) CREDITS ********* Cameron Duke | Script Writer, Narrator and Director Ever Salazar | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation Nathaniel Schroeder | Music MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC https://neptunestudios.info OUR STAFF ************ Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes Henry Reich • Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida OTHER CREDITS ****************** Robert Wadlow postcard (Public Domain) - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Wadlow_postcard.jpg OUR LINKS ************ Youtube | https://youtube.com/MinuteEarth TikTok | https://tiktok.com/@minuteearth Twitter | https://twitter.com/MinuteEarth Instagram | https://instagram.com/minute_earth Facebook | https://facebook.com/Minuteearth Website | https://minuteearth.com Apple Podcasts| https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minuteearth/id649211176 REFERENCES ************** Ağırdil, Yücel. “The Growth Plate: A Physiologic Overview.” EFORT Open Reviews, vol. 5, no. 8, Aug. 2020, pp. 498–507, https://doi.org/10.1302/2058-5241.5.190088 Hariharan, Iswar K., et al. “Indeterminate Growth: Could It Represent the Ancestral Condition?” Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, vol. 8, no. 2, 27 July 2015, p. a019174, https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a019174 Reno, Philip L, et al. “Growth Plate Formation and Development in Alligator and Mouse Metapodials: Evolutionary and Functional Implications.” Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B, Molecular and Developmental Evolution, vol. 308, no. 3, Autumn 2007, pp. 283–96, https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.b.21148 Weise, M., et al. “Effects of Estrogen on Growth Plate Senescence and Epiphyseal Fusion.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 98, no. 12, 29 May 2001, pp. 6871–6876, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.121180498 Wikipedia Contributors. “Robert Wadlow.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Aug. 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadlow