Major
Biology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2022
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Species Divergence Through Time
Lauren Kempf
American
Class of 2022
Acrylic and colored pencil on paper
The piece “Species Divergence Through Time” is inspired by the research article, “Reintroduction of the archaic variant of NOVA1 in cortical organoids alters neuro development” by Cleber A. Trujillo et al. Through the use of CRISPR-Cas9, it was possible to create the brain organoids of Neanderthals by substituting the archaic version of NOVA1 into the human genome. By comparing the brain organoid of the Neanderthal to the human, the differences became clear. This is depicted through the organoids drawn around the clock in the center of the piece. Going around the perimeter clockwise, the organoid starts out as smaller and rough, representing the Neanderthal organoid. Then as time goes on around the clock, the organoids become smoother and larger, ending with the human brain organoid. Neanderthals being one of human’s closest evolutionary relatives allows for comparison to discover more about how humans evolved. The Neanderthal brain, skull shape, and facial structure varies a significant amount in comparison to the human. This is displayed through the side profiles which include these features of both the Neanderthals and humans. As humans evolved, it is evident that their divergence from Neanderthals had resulting changes in neurological development through substitution in NOVA1.
Acrylic paint was used to cover the background solid black and carve out the outlines of the Neanderthal and human side profile silhouettes. This highlights the white of the silhouettes and clock by contrasting against the darkness of background. Metallic gold acrylic paint was used for the details of the clock as well as the skulls to call attention to the differences in skull shapes as humans diverged through evolution from the Neanderthal. Colored pencil was then used for the two brains and the brain organoids to capture the three-dimensional details through layering of colors, shading, and highlighting.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Species Divergence Through Time
Species Divergence Through Time
Lauren Kempf
American
Class of 2022
Acrylic and colored pencil on paper
The piece “Species Divergence Through Time” is inspired by the research article, “Reintroduction of the archaic variant of NOVA1 in cortical organoids alters neuro development” by Cleber A. Trujillo et al. Through the use of CRISPR-Cas9, it was possible to create the brain organoids of Neanderthals by substituting the archaic version of NOVA1 into the human genome. By comparing the brain organoid of the Neanderthal to the human, the differences became clear. This is depicted through the organoids drawn around the clock in the center of the piece. Going around the perimeter clockwise, the organoid starts out as smaller and rough, representing the Neanderthal organoid. Then as time goes on around the clock, the organoids become smoother and larger, ending with the human brain organoid. Neanderthals being one of human’s closest evolutionary relatives allows for comparison to discover more about how humans evolved. The Neanderthal brain, skull shape, and facial structure varies a significant amount in comparison to the human. This is displayed through the side profiles which include these features of both the Neanderthals and humans. As humans evolved, it is evident that their divergence from Neanderthals had resulting changes in neurological development through substitution in NOVA1.
Acrylic paint was used to cover the background solid black and carve out the outlines of the Neanderthal and human side profile silhouettes. This highlights the white of the silhouettes and clock by contrasting against the darkness of background. Metallic gold acrylic paint was used for the details of the clock as well as the skulls to call attention to the differences in skull shapes as humans diverged through evolution from the Neanderthal. Colored pencil was then used for the two brains and the brain organoids to capture the three-dimensional details through layering of colors, shading, and highlighting.