How long would your nail grow in an week!? 🤔 - Discussion on Khushi and Prithviraj sir's work


:sparkles: On 2nd May 2023 we started discussion with khushi’s experiment on nail regeneration
:sparkles: Khushi presented nail regeneration and it’s connection with acne and hair fall in an orientation program for RIE (NCERT) Bhopal students on 24th April she got inspired to perform this work
:sparkles: Where Khushi told that she will be cutting the nails she has been collecting data from, once a week
:sparkles: There was a question on how long the nail would grow in a week
:sparkles: Majority believed in it would grow between 1-2 mm but @Theertha told it could be more than 2mm and according to @dhanraj7 it should be upto 1mm, not more than that
:sparkles: So let’s design an experiment to see how long our nail grows in a week - if this bold part is our aim, please try to design an experiment around it by writing
2) Requirements
3) Procedure
4) Expectations
5) Observation - way of collecting data (i would prefer uploading data on metastudio so it would be easy to maintain it and find it anytime needed)
6) Result & Conclusion


Take this image and reference given below as a hint to design your experiment!

Nail anatomy
[Figure, Nail anatomy, Lateral nail fold,...] - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

:sparkles: Then we discussed about what error we might get and how can we get precise and accurate data
Precision and accuracy are two ways that scientists think about error. Accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the true or accepted value. Precision refers to how close measurements of the same item are to each other. Precision is independent of accuracy. That means it is possible to be very precise but not very accurate, and it is also possible to be accurate without being precise. The best quality scientific observations are both accurate and precise.
https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/physical/world-ocean/map-distortion/practices-science-precision-vs-accuracy#:~:text=Accuracy%20refers%20to%20how%20close,Precision%20is%20independent%20of%20accuracy.

:sparkles: Here @anindita8820 explained that we can take observation for like 4 week and if we observe growth between 2 numbers let’s say between 1-2mm we can precisely say that this is the standard range and to actually standardize it we can perform same experiment with various people and see if we get results in same range

:sparkles: On 4th May we continued discussion about Prithviraj sir’s work on nail on nail growth
:sparkles: This picture was taken after applying nail paint on 1st may by Prithviraj sir
:sparkles: Here we can see nail paint has been applied on index finger (one which is towards the bottom side) and middle finger

:sparkles: These are same nails after 4 days of applying nail paint
:sparkles: Here we can see he has applied nail paint on index finger and middle finger and index finger is made rough with knife before applying nail paint so that it will stay on nail for longer period of time as some nail paints peels off easily after drying
:sparkles: This picture has been taken after 4 days of applying nail paint, do you observe any nail growth yet :interrobang: Cause i can’t see any growth here


:sparkles: According to khushi’s observation, in 3 days there is 1mm growth in an 20 year old adult female and 3 year old boy but in 60 year old female it’s 0.9mm growth
:sparkles: Why is there such differences seen in 20 year old female and 60 year old female? Anyway it’s just 0.1 mm difference which isn’t a big deal but more shocking :astonished: fact is we can see nail growth in 60 year old female that too within 3 days but there is on growth in 75 year old male’s nail even after 4 days!? (According to Prithviraj sir’s data)… Why do we see such differences here :question:
:sparkles: Here we also discussed about how to measure nail growth? We can measure it by measuring the gap between the nail paint mark and proximal end of nail (nail cuticles) as nail grows for proximal end


:sparkles: As we were discussing about nail growth and khushi’s work on same @KiranyadavR ma’am asked me to hypothesize how long a nail would grow in a week for different age of male and female
:sparkles: I have heard that in females nail growth is :chart_with_upwards_trend: faster than males and rate of growth decreases :chart_with_downwards_trend: as we grow old. So i made hypothesis accordingly (upper right of whiteboard)
:sparkles: There was a question asked by @magpie ma’am that does hormone affect nail growth and are these hormones common in male and female? In female it’s estrogen (according to first reference shared below :point_down:) But in m
males? Can we find it out :question:

:sparkles: Also we were looking for what affects rate of nail growth to see that we were looking for mutants that do not have nails in both fingers and toes
:sparkles: There we got to know about Anonychia Congenita which is a rare autosomal-recessive disorder characterized by the absence of finger- and toe nails (according to 2nd reference shared below :point_down:)
:sparkles: According to @khushi this disorder is related or associated with a wide variety of syndromes (according to 3rd reference shared below :point_down:) and here i got super confuse because of that reference and the word syndrome
:sparkles: So to know the meaning of word syndrome @Himanshu sir asked us to first discuss about what are signs and symptoms…
:sparkles: In very easy way we can say that a symptom is something that is happening with patient and they notice those changes like if we talk about diabetes then if someone feels hungry most of the time, has a blurry vision and urinates frequently, etc then these are symptoms that a patient would observe (Patient’s perspective) but when that person would go to doctor then Dr would perform tests and there if blood glucose level has increased then it’s a sign that is Doctor’s perspective
:sparkles: Now we know what is a sign and what is a symptom… So what is a syndrome?
:sparkles: Syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms occuring together and that is and covary over time (according to 4th reference shared below :point_down:)… This is something I Never Knew Earlier, yes that was my TINKE moment!

  1. Estrogen therapy has a beneficial effect upon collagen, thus improving the texture of the skin, the nails, the intervertebral discs and bone matrix. Discussion of side-effects should not be avoided, particularly the 1% extra lifetime risk of breast cancer.
    Ten reasons to be happy about hormone replacement therapy: a guide for patients - PubMed.

  2. RSPO4 is the major gene in autosomal-recessive anonychia and mutations cluster in the furin-like cysteine-rich domains of the Wnt signaling ligand R-spondin 4. Congenital anonychia is a rare autosomal-recessive disorder characterized by the absence of finger- and toenails. Recently, we and others identified the secreted Wnt signaling ligand R-spondin 4 (RSPO4) as the first gene known to be responsible for inherited anonychia. R-spondins are secreted proteins that activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. This puts anonychia on the growing list of congenital malformation syndromes caused by Wnt signaling pathway defects.
    https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=mutation+that+causes+Anonychia+congenita&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1683386414088&u=%23p%3D8CgliFBYa1AJ

  3. Congenital anonychia has been described in association with a wide variety of other congenital anomalies like nail-patella syndrome, DOOR syndrome (deafness, onychodystrophy, osteodystrophy and mental retardation), AEC syndrome (ankyloblepharon, ectodermal defects, cleft lip/palate), EEC syndrome (ectodactyly, ectodermal dysplasia, cleft lip/palate), TOOD syndrome (tricho-odonto-onycho-dermal), hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with multiple anomalies and various craniofacial malformation syndromes 2. As an underlying bone is a prerequisite for the development of a normal nail, anonychia or hyponychia may occur when the terminal phalynx is either hypoplastic or completely absent 10. Simple anonychia, meaning the congenital absence of the nails without any other coexisting major congenital anomaly, is an extremely rare variety of this condition. This is mostly due to autosomal recessive inheritance. Isolated anonychia without any associated phenotypical disturbances is one of the rarest anomalies of congenital nail disorders. Some or all fingers of the hands or feet could be affected. Anonychia can also be encountered in dermatologic disorders like pemphigus, lichen planus, icthyosis, severe infection, severe allergic contact dermatitis, self-inflicted trauma, Raynaud phenomenon, severe exfoliative diseases, epidermolysis bullosa, and as a sequel of Stevens-Johnson syndrome
    Anonychia, anonychia congenita, causes, symptoms, diagnosis & treatment

  4. A syndrome is a constellation of signs and symptoms that occur together and covary over time. A disorder is also a collection of signs and symptoms, but it has known associated features that are presumed to be related.
    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118625392.wbecp154%23:~:text%3DA%2520syndrome%2520is%2520a%2520constellation,are%2520presumed%2520to%2520be%2520related.&ved=2ahUKEwjo-uPpieH-AhUIsFYBHXYVB3kQFnoECBQQBQ&usg=AOvVaw166dXngTFExojNl4QdRCB_

  5. https://images.app.goo.gl/r6kZBYJ22WjEbTeh9

  6. Anonychia congenita is a condition that affects the fingernails and toenails. Individuals with this condition are typically missing all of their fingernails and toenails (anonychia). This absence of nails is noticeable from birth (congenital). Anonychia congenita: MedlinePlus Genetics.

  7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/anonychia

  8. Anonychia refers to the absence of nail plates owing to an autosomal dominant or recessive inheritance. Congenital anonychia is a rare condition that may be associated with other ectodermal or mesodermal malformations like epidermolysis bullosa, (deafness, onychodystrophy, osteodystrophy, and mental retardation) syndrome and Iso-Kikuchi syndrome. Here, we report 3 cases with anonychia congenita appearing in different generations of a single family in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Anonychia congenita in different generations of a single Saudi family - PMC

  9. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/syndrome

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