Barry Boggin Plasticity

The aim of this paper is to cover the subject of plasticity in humans. Plasticity refers to the ability of many organisms to change their biology or behavior to respond to changes in the environment, particularly when these are stressful. After reading the article, The Tall and the Short of It by Barry Bogin, I feel that his article has gone into great detail. Bogin included information from numerous studies and research not only his own but also the research and studies of other professionals. I found the information in this article interesting and informative for someone like me who is taking physical anthropology for the first time. Most interestingly is how he believes that diseases such as Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s can possibly be
Back in the 1850’s Americans were considered the tallest people in the world, but now they are the third tallest around the world. This study revealed that this change is due to the plasticity in people’s childhood and in their mother’s childhood as well. Girls that are undernourished and in poor health causes them to be shorter in height as an adult due to the compromise her body makes while growing up. Her short height can then be passed down to her fetus. The small reproductive system of the mother most likely does not supply an adequate level of nutrients and oxygen to her fetus. Therefore, the child can be born weighing less than normal and will continue the slow growth through out their childhood. Stronger evidence used to support the study among height of group of people is the studies on monozygotic twins. Monozygotic twins are identical genetically, but sometimes can end
One group of children lived in Guatemala and the other part were immigrants living in the United States. Evidently, the children in Guatemala proved to be shorter than the group in the United States due to the environment they lived in. The children and their parents in Guatemala were exposed to contaminated water, lack of food supply and suffer from poor health. On the other hand, not only the children but their parents living in the United States, have access to purified drinking water and a reliable source of food which improved the health and growth. Plasticity demonstrates that such changes are dependent on external conditions and not only