Building the Most Complex Structure on Earth

Building the Most Complex Structure on Earth

An Epigenetic Narrative of Development and Evolution of Animals
2013, Pages 193-238
Building the Most Complex Structure on Earth

4 - Living and Adapting to Its Own Habitat

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Due to the inherent thermodynamic instability, living systems must respond to equilibrium changes at both the cellular and organismic levels. Changes in the environment complicate this inherent problem. Living organisms emerged, survived, and thrived because they evolved an integrated control system that monitors the state of the system, identifies deviations from the norm, and sends instructions for restoring normal structure and function. This system controls the routine adaptation of the organism’s physiology, behavior, life history, and morphology, and makes adjustments in response to the actual environmental conditions. To adapt to predictable changes in the environment, living organisms evolved time-keeping capabilities, such as the circadian clock and the circannual calendar, that allow them to prepare for daily and seasonal changes in the environment. These also control the long-term inherited adaptations and the transgenerational developmental plasticity.

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