Adaptation as organism design

Adaptation as organism design.

The problem of adaptation is to explain the apparent design of organisms. Darwin solved this problem with the theory of natural selection. However, population geneticists, whose responsibility it is to formalize evolutionary theory, have long neglected the link between natural selection and organismal design. Here, I review the major historical developments in theory of organismal adaptation, c...

Virus as Organism

Szent-Gy6rgi. The nerve is described as an electro-chemical generator, although it is admitted that the events at the synapses are pirobably "not purely electrical." The theory envisages the electrotonic current as the "master tool of nervous integration." This may be true, but probably will not be proven for many years. In the meanwhile it is confusing to use the vocabulary of the electrical p...

Adaptation as a Design Method in Architecture, Case Study: a House at Martha’s Vineyard

Chlamydomonas as a Model Organism.

The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas offers a simple life cycle, easy isolation of mutants, and a growing array of tools and techniques for molecular genetic studies. Among the principal areas of current investigation using this model system are flagellar structure and function, genetics of basal bodies (centrioles), chloroplast biogenesis, photosynthesis, light perception, cell-cell recogn...

Heat shock proteins and heat adaptation of the whole organism.

Adaptation to heat may occur through acclimatization or thermotolerance; however, the linkage of these phenomena is poorly understood. The importance of heat shock proteins (HSPs) in thermotolerance and differences in their accumulation in organisms adapted to the heat suggest a role for HSPs in acclimatization as well. The role of HSPs in heat adaptation of the whole organism and the interrela...