Brachymeiosis
Brachymeiosis is a big word that means something very specific. When our bodies make babies, they do it by copying our cells and splitting them in half over and over again until a new body forms. Sometimes, something goes wrong and the cells don't split the way they're supposed to, and that's when brachymeiosis happens.
Imagine you have a big puzzle that you need to copy. You start by making a scratch of each piece on a piece of paper. Then, you make a copy of each page with the scratch using a machine. Soon, you have a lot of pieces of paper with the scratches, and you use those papers to put together your new puzzle.
Now, imagine that when you were making the copies, the machine didn't work right and it made some scratch marks too short. You wouldn't be able to use those pieces of paper to make a complete puzzle because they wouldn't fit with the other pieces.
That's kind of what happens with brachymeiosis. Sometimes, the cells copy themselves, but the copies are shorter than they should be. The result is a baby or a body part that's smaller than it's supposed to be, like a leg that's shorter than the other or a person that's shorter than everybody else.
Usually, brachymeiosis happens because of a genetic problem, which means that something happens in our DNA that makes the cells copy themselves incorrectly. But scientists are still studying how this happens and how they can fix it.
Imagine you have a big puzzle that you need to copy. You start by making a scratch of each piece on a piece of paper. Then, you make a copy of each page with the scratch using a machine. Soon, you have a lot of pieces of paper with the scratches, and you use those papers to put together your new puzzle.
Now, imagine that when you were making the copies, the machine didn't work right and it made some scratch marks too short. You wouldn't be able to use those pieces of paper to make a complete puzzle because they wouldn't fit with the other pieces.
That's kind of what happens with brachymeiosis. Sometimes, the cells copy themselves, but the copies are shorter than they should be. The result is a baby or a body part that's smaller than it's supposed to be, like a leg that's shorter than the other or a person that's shorter than everybody else.
Usually, brachymeiosis happens because of a genetic problem, which means that something happens in our DNA that makes the cells copy themselves incorrectly. But scientists are still studying how this happens and how they can fix it.