BIO325H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Bone Density, Fibroblast, Divergent Evolution
Document Summary
Dynamic optimization illustrates the ideas of darcy thompson on direct effects of physical forces during growth. Definition: process by which the strength of structures can be tailored to the actual forces they have to withstand. Bones can detect and respond to mechanical stress. This is how broken bones heal and knit", why astronauts lose bone density in space, but gain it back on earth. Bone form is due to a continuing dynamic adjustment to the forces that the phenotype experiences. A trabecula (latin for "small beam") is a frequently microscopic tissue element in the form of a small beam, strut or rod that supports or anchors a framework of parts within a body or organ. But not just by selection it is also produced by the phenotype"s experience of forces. Bones are capable of detecting and responding to mechanical stress and so is the wood in tree trunks. Learning is necessary because the future experience is unknown.
