| Next we have (H). It stands for Hypothesis
or educated guess. After forming a question, scientists will use everything
they know about their question to predict what will happen. Sometimes
this can involve years of research and study. This prediction is called
the Hypothesis and will help determine how the experiment is designed.
(E) stands for Experiment. After a good question has been asked, it's time
to make a step by step plan and follow it in order to see if the
Hypothesis is correct. Neurolab experiments are especially hard
to design because of the unique conditions in space. Special equipment
must be engineered to insure the safety of all animals and people
involved. It's even harder to make sure this special equipment functions
properly since the low gravity of space can only be simulated on
Earth.
(R) stands for Results or what happened. The experiments on Neurolab will
generate a lot of data. Data refers to what is measured in the experiment.
The number of hours slept by an astronaut or the amount of weight
gained by a rat are examples of data. Both the astronauts and scientists
on Earth will carefully observe and record the necessary data for
each experiment.
Finally, we have (C) for Conclusion. Once Neurolab returns to Earth, scientists can
look at the data from each experiment. They will try to understand
and explain what happened in their experiment. This is called the
conclusion. The conclusions drawn from the Neurolab experiments
will help us understand more about the nervous system and the brain,
how they develop and function, and will hopefully improve life in
space and here on Earth.
In this experiment you used yourself as a human study subject.
The astronauts are also human study subjects in some life science
experiments.
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