What is called a biosystem. biological system

Biosystem

-s , and.

A biological structure, which is a unity of regularly arranged and functioning parts.

Ideally, it is necessary to create a biosystem that would be a mirror exchange image of a person.[Izvestia 27 Oct. 1973].

Small academic dictionary. - M.: Institute of the Russian Language of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Evgenyeva A. P. . 1957-1984.

See what a "biosystem" is in other dictionaries:

Biosystem ... Spelling Dictionary

1) a system composed of (usually two) living organisms; 2) a system of relations between two or more types of organisms; 3) for some authors, a synonym for the ecosystem. See also Biotic relationships. Ecological Encyclopedic Dictionary ... Ecological dictionary

Exist., Number of synonyms: 1 system (86) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

biosystem- biological system biol. Source: http://www.regnum.ru/news/418119.html … Dictionary of abbreviations and abbreviations

CELL- CELL. Contents: Historical outline.................... 40 Structure of K.................... 42 Shape and size of K... .......... 42 Cell body ................ 42 Nucleus .................. ... 52 Shell .................... 55 Vital activity K ... Big Medical Encyclopedia

- (from eco ... and system), a term introduced into science by A. Tensley (1935) to refer to any unity (of a very different volume and rank), including all organisms (i.e., biocenosis) in a given area (biotope) and interacting with the physical environment ... ... Ecological dictionary

- (Australia), Australian Union (Commonwealth of Australia), state in the Commonwealth (Brit.). Located on mainland Australia, o. Tasmania and small coastal islands: Flinders, King, Kangaroo, etc. Pl. 7.7 million km2. Hac. 14.9 million… … Geological Encyclopedia

BIO... 1. BIO... [from Greek. bios life] The first part of compound words. 1. Denotes the relatedness of something l. to living organisms, their condition, life. Biosensor, biogenetic, biomolecule, biorhythm, biosystem, biosphere, bioeconomics. 2. Denotes ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

A biosystem is a complex network of biologically relevant organizations, from global to subatomic. the illustration reflects multiple nesting systems in nature - populations of organisms, organs and tissues. On the micro- and nanoscale, examples of biological systems are cells, organelles, macromolecular complexes, and regulatory pathways.

The body as a biosystem

In biology, an organism is any adjacent living system along with animals, plants, fungi, protists, or bacteria. All known types of creatures on Earth are able to respond to stimuli to some extent, reproduce, grow, develop and self-regulate (homeostasis).

An organism as a biosystem consists of one or more cells. Most single-celled organisms are on a microscopic scale and therefore belong to microorganisms. Humans are made up of many trillions of cells grouped into specialized tissues and organs.

The multitude and diversity of biological systems

Estimates of the number of Earth's modern species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which only about 1.2 million have been officially documented.

The term "organism" is directly related to the term "organization". The following definition can be given: it is an assembly of molecules functioning as a more or less stable whole, which exhibits the properties of life. An organism as a biosystem is any living structure, such as a plant, animal, fungus, or bacteria, that is capable of growing and reproducing. Viruses and possible anthropogenic inorganic life forms are excluded from this category because they depend on the biochemical mechanism of the host cell.

The human body as a biosystem

The human body can also be called a biosystem. It is the totality of all organs. Our bodies are made up of a number of biological systems that perform specific functions necessary for daily life.

• The job of the circulatory system is to move blood, nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hormones through organs and tissues. It consists of the heart, blood, blood vessels, arteries and veins.
• The digestive system is made up of a series of connected organs that together allow the body to absorb and digest food, and to remove waste. It includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. The liver and pancreas also play an important role in the digestive system because they produce digestive juices.
• The endocrine system is made up of eight major glands that release hormones into the blood. These hormones, in turn, travel to different tissues and regulate various bodily functions.
• The immune system is the body's defense against bacteria, viruses, and other harmful pathogens. It includes lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow, lymphocytes, and white blood cells.
• The lymphatic system includes lymph nodes, ducts, and vessels, and also plays a role as the body's defenses. Its main job is to form and move lymph, a clear fluid containing white blood cells that help the body fight infection. The lymphatic system also removes excess lymphatic fluid from bodily tissues and returns it to the blood.
• The nervous system controls both voluntary (such as conscious movement) and involuntary actions (such as breathing) and sends signals to various parts of the body. The central nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system is made up of nerves that connect each to the central nervous system.
• The muscular system of the body is made up of about 650 muscles that aid in movement, circulation, and a number of other physical functions.

• The reproductive system allows humans to reproduce. The male includes the penis and testicles, which produce sperm. The female reproductive system consists of the vagina, uterus, and ovaries. During conception, sperm fuse with an egg, which creates a fertilized egg that grows in the uterus.
• Our bodies are supported by a skeletal system made up of 206 bones that are connected by tendons, ligaments and cartilage. The skeleton not only helps us move, but is also involved in the production of blood cells and the storage of calcium. Teeth are also part of the skeletal system, but they are not considered bones.
• The respiratory system allows vital oxygen to be taken in and carbon dioxide to be removed in a process we call respiration. It consists mainly of the trachea, diaphragm and lungs.
• The urinary system helps eliminate a waste product called urea from the body. It consists of two kidneys, two ureters, bladder, two sphincter muscles and an urethra. Urine produced by the kidneys travels down the ureters to the bladder and exits the body through the urethra.
• The skin is the largest organ of the human body. It protects us from the outside world, bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, and helps regulate body temperature and eliminate waste products through sweat. In addition to skin, includes hair and nails.

vital organs

Humans have five organs that are essential for survival. These are the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and lungs.

• The human brain is the body's control center, receiving and transmitting signals to other organs through the nervous system and through secreted hormones. It is responsible for our thoughts, feelings, memory and general perception of the world.
• The human heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout our body.
• The job of the kidneys is to remove waste and extra fluid from the blood.
• The liver has many functions, including detoxifying harmful chemicals, breaking down drugs, filtering the blood, secreting bile, and producing proteins for blood clotting.
• The lungs are responsible for removing oxygen from the air we breathe and transporting it to our blood, where it can be sent to our cells. The lungs also remove the carbon dioxide we exhale.

funny facts

• The human body contains about 100 trillion cells.
• The average adult takes over 20,000 breaths a day.
• Every day, the kidneys process about 200 quarts (50 gallons) of blood to filter out about 2 quarts of waste and water.
• Adults excrete about a quarter and a half (1.42 liters) of urine each day.
• The human brain contains about 100 billion nerve cells.
• Water makes up over 50 percent of an adult's body weight.

Why is an organism called a biosystem?

A living organism is a specific organization of living matter. It is a biosystem, which, like any other system, includes interconnected elements, such as molecules, cells, tissues, organs. Everything in this world consists of something, a certain hierarchy is also characteristic of a living organism. This means that cells are made of molecules, tissues are made of cells, organs are made of tissues, and organ systems are made of organs. The properties of biosystems also include emergence, which means the emergence of qualitatively new characteristics that are present when elements are combined and absent at previous levels.

Cell as a biosystem

One single cell can also be called a complete biosystem. This is an elementary unit that has its own structure and its own metabolism. It is able to exist independently, reproduce its own kind and develop according to its own laws. In biology, there is a whole section devoted to its study, which is called cytology or cell biology.

A cell is an elementary living system that includes individual components that have specific features and perform their functional duties.

A complex system

The biosystem consists of the same type of living matter: from macromolecules and cells to population communities and ecosystems. It has the following levels of organization:

• gene level;
• cellular level;
• organs and organ systems;
• organisms and systems of organisms;
• populations and population systems;
• communities and ecosystems.

The biological components of various levels of organization in a certain order interact with inanimate nature, energy and other abiotic components and substances. Depending on the scale, different systems are the subjects of study of different disciplines. Genetics deals with genes, cytology deals with cells. Organs are taken over by physiology. Organisms are studied by ichthyology, microbiology, ornithology, anthropology, and so on.

The evolution of living things has led to the formation of the biodiversity that currently exists on the planet . Throughout the history of the Earth, it has been inhabited by one to two billion species of living beings, most of which have become extinct. However, the modern diversity of biological species is amazingly large. Scientists know at least 1.4 million species living on the planet, including at least 4,000 species of mammals, 9,000 birds, 19,000 fish, 750,000 insects, 210,000 flowering plants. Considering as yet undescribed species, the total number of species is estimated to be in the range of 5-30 million (Grant, 1991). “It is believed that now our planet is inhabited by over a million species of animals, 0.5 million plant species, up to 10 million microorganisms, and these figures are underestimated” (Mednikov, 1994).

Organisms as diverse as tiny bacteria and giant blue whales, single-celled rhizomes and great apes, flowering plants and insects are all part of a single planetary "bios body". Like an integral organism, the bios depends for its existence on the harmonious, well-coordinated functioning of all “organ systems”. Various groups of living beings act as "organs" and their "systems". The description of this biodiversity in its various aspects and facets is very important both from the point of view of the protection of this diversity and from a conceptual point of view. For biopolitics, the application of a principle similar to “biodiversity” to political systems with their pluralism, complementarity and interdependence is of particular importance. The concept of “biodiversity” includes several different aspects.

3.3.1. Diversity of living species in terms of taxonomy. Species are grouped into genera, genera into families, and so on, until we reach the largest of the main subdivisions of the diversity of living things - empires, which are subdivided into kingdoms. The most fundamental difference modern taxonomists see is between prokaryotes (“pre-nuclear”) and eukaryotes ("true nuclear"). These are two empires: to the empire of prokaryotes ( Prokaryota) include microscopic creatures - bacteria; to the eukaryotic empire ( Eukaryota) - all other forms of life - protozoa, fungi, plants, animals (including humans).

“A prokaryotic cell is distinguished by the fact that it has one internal cavity formed by an elementary membrane, called cellular, or cytoplasmic (CPM). In the vast majority of prokaryotes, the CPM is the only membrane found in the cell. In eukaryotic cells, unlike prokaryotes, there are secondary cavities. The nuclear membrane, which delimits DNA from the rest of the cytoplasm, forms a secondary cavity ... Cellular structures limited by elementary membranes and performing certain functions in the cell are called organelles. Organelles typical of eukaryotes are absent in prokaryotic cells. Their nuclear DNA is not separated from the cytoplasm by a membrane. (Gusev, Mineeva, 2003). Within each empire, different authors distinguish a different number of kingdoms. Thus, in Whittaker's classification (Whittaker, 1969), the eukaryotic empire is divided into 4 kingdoms - protists, or protozoa, fungi, plants and animals, and prokaryotes (synonymous - moners) are considered a single kingdom. In the following classification, the only deviation from Whittaker's scheme is allowed - prokaryotes are divided into 2 kingdoms - eubacteria and archaea (archaebacteria), which corresponds to the fundamental nature of the differences between them.

1. Empire of prokaryotes ( Prokaryota). Organisms, in most cases, representing a single cell. An unattainable variety of living conditions for other groups and often incredible plasticity. Types of food are very diverse. They are characterized by the nature of the sources of the three necessary components of life: energy, carbon and hydrogen (the source of electrons). According to the energy source, two categories of organisms are distinguished: phototrophs (using sunlight) and chemotrophs (using the energy of chemical bonds in nutrients. Autotrophs (CO 2) and heterotrophs (organic matter) are isolated according to the carbon source. Finally, according to the source of hydrogen (electrons), they distinguish organotrophs (consuming organic matter) and lithotrophs (consuming derivatives of the lithosphere - the stone shell of the Earth: H 2, NH 3, H 2 S, S, CO, Fe 2+, etc.) According to this classification, green plants (see below) - photolithoautotrophs, animals and fungi are chemoorganoheterotrophs.In the world of prokaryotes, there are a wide variety of combinations.Prokaryotes can be further subdivided into

The kingdom of eubacteria ( eubacteria,"ordinary bacteria"). The cell wall usually contains a specific substance - peptidoglycan (murein). The kingdom includes a variety of representatives - from peaceful cohabitants of a person such as Escherichia coli ( Escherichia coli) to dangerous pathogens (causative agents of plague, cholera, brucellosis, etc.), from soil enrichers with valuable nitrogenous substances (for example, representatives of the genus Azotobacter) to iron oxidizers (iron bacteria Thiobacter ferooxidans) and those who are able to photosynthesize like plants, including those with the release of oxygen (cyanobacteria). In recent years, in some works, the kingdom of "bacteria" is divided into several independent kingdoms.

The kingdom of archaea (or archaebacteria – Archaea or Archaebacteria), living in exotic conditions (some in the complete absence of oxygen; others - in a saturated salt solution; others - at 90-100 ° C, etc.) and having a peculiar structure of the cell wall and intracellular structures. According to some features (for example, the organization of ribosomes), archaea are closer not to pro-, but to eukaryotes (“sister relationship” of archaea and eukaryotes, see Vorobyova, 2006).

2. Empire of eukaryotes ( Eukaryota). As already emphasized, the eukaryotic empire includes organisms with secondary cell cavities - organelles, including the nucleus. Eukaryotes include the kingdoms: protozoa, fungi, plants and animals:

The kingdom of protozoa ( Protista) Unicellular or colonial (loose association of cells capable of existing independently) organisms that have a cell nucleus surrounded by a double membrane. According to the method of obtaining energy, they are divided into groups resembling the 3 kingdoms given below (there are protists like fungi, plants and animals).

plant kingdom ( plantae). Multicellular organisms capable of assimilating light energy (photosynthesis) and therefore often do not need ready-made organic compounds (leading an autotrophic lifestyle). Water, mineral salts and, in some cases, organics come in by suction. Plants supply organic matter for other kingdoms of the living and produce life-giving oxygen (the latter role is also played to a certain extent by prokaryotes - manobacteria).

Animal Kingdom ( Animalia). Multicellular organisms that feed on ready-made organic compounds (lead a heterotrophic lifestyle), which they acquire through active nutrition and movement, with living organisms serving as the primary object of nutrition. Within the framework of this book, of particular interest are organisms with a pronounced sociality - the ability to form complex supraorganismal systems with the division of functions, coordination of the behavior of individuals on the scale of the entire system. These are the colonial coelenterates, whose colonies sometimes resemble a single organism (siphonophores), insects such as termites, bees or ants, whose social life has long been admired by thinkers and evoked analogies with human society (for example, reflected in the 18th-century fable "About bees", belonging to Peru Mandeville) and, finally, chordates, especially mammals.

"Command posts" in the Earth's biosphere are occupied by representatives of the chordate type: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, led by humans. They are characterized by the following features:

Chord (dorsal string) - the axis of the internal skeleton, an elastic flexible rod. Higher chordates have only in the early stages of embryo development, then being forced out by the spine.

The central nervous system (spinal cord and brain) has a tubular structure and is formed as an invagination of the dorsal side of the embryo.

All chordates, at least at the embryonic stage, have gill slits - paired transverse openings that pierce the pharyngeal wall.

The most highly organized class of chordates is mammals (animals). They have a constant high body temperature, a highly developed nervous system. First of all, the brain. They give birth to cubs that develop in the mother’s body, receiving nutrition through the placenta, and after birth they are fed with milk” (Mednikov, 1994).

3.3.2. Diversity within one taxonomic group of living beings, in particular within a single species (say, diversity within a domestic cat species). This diversity, in turn, includes a number of important aspects. So, we can talk about the diversity of groupings of individuals within the same living species. For example, all chimpanzee monkeys belong to the same species, but there are differences in behavior and communication languages, as well as rituals among different groups of chimpanzees. The primatologist de Waal notes that in only one of the groups of chimpanzees he studied did the monkeys greet friends by raising their hands above their heads and shaking them. No less important is diversity within one such group - be it a pride of lions or a colony of microorganisms.

First, individuals differ in age (“age pyramid”), and in many cases in sex characteristics. Even bacteria can have two types of individuals - F + and F- cells (in Escherichia coli that inhabits the human intestine).

Second, there are countless individual variations. Biopoliticians pay attention to the fact that even a person in families has great individual differences, for example, between brothers. In human society, and in groups of any other living species, such diversity is the result of a complex interplay of innate (genetic) characteristics and the influence of differences in living conditions (environmental factors). It should be noted that even in the same family, older and younger brothers, beloved and unloved children live in different conditions.

All these individual differences are superimposed by other differences dictated by the distribution of roles and functions in the entire group, family, colony, and the biosocial system in general. And then it turns out that individuals with different inclinations are better suited for different social roles, and different roles can be distributed according to the ages and sexes of individuals. For example, with all its “egalitarianism” (equality in wealth, authority, rank, see below, 3.7), primitive society took into account age, gender, and simply individual differences. Men mainly hunted, women - collected fruits, roots, berries, and to a greater extent participated in the upbringing of children; elderly people mostly became elders, shamans, at the same time, the leader during the war was more often a young man. People with individual talents could develop them - artistic talents to make rock paintings, skillful dancers and storytellers to amuse fellow tribesmen with their dances and stories, respectively.

Therefore, biodiversity in all its facets is truly a necessary prerequisite for the optimal, harmonious functioning of the whole ensemble of living things - the biosphere. Organisms with different characteristics and environmental requirements, entering into a variety of relationships with each other, can be functionally specialized within the "bios body". Each of the biological species can represent a vital organ of this "body". There are numerous examples of the negative global consequences of the destruction of a single biological species.

3.3.3. Levels of organization of living organisms. One of the important aspects of biodiversity is the multilevel nature of living objects. We recommend that the reader return for a moment to the end of section 2.1 above, where we touched upon the question of the multilevel (layered) nature of the world as a whole. Within the framework of N. Hartmann’s scheme, the living corresponds to the “organic” layer (although it is not limited to it, showing elements of the “mental” and even “spiritual” - on which, in fact, the possibility of a comparative biopolitical approach to man and other forms of the living is based). But, even remaining within the organic layer (level), we can distinguish several levels of the second order in it - Hartmann (Hartmann, 1940) called them “stages of being” (Seinsstufen). These "levels of being" - levels within the biological - serve as a criterion for distinguishing living objects. A multicellular organism (plant, animal, fungus) differs from a single-celled one, because it has additional levels of organization within itself (tissue, organismal - a little lower we will give our version of the scale of these levels).

Any single biological object (bacteria cell, flowering plant, bonobo monkey, etc.) is a complexly organized system, consisting of at least several levels, from among those given below. The situation is somewhat reminiscent of a Russian nesting doll, in which there are smaller nesting dolls. Different authors, in addition to the mentioned criterion of “part and whole”, introduce various other criteria for singling out levels (size, complexity of the organization, etc.), prefer to single out different levels as the main ones. Various specific schemes of living levels have been proposed, where from 4 to 8 levels are distinguished (for example, see Kremyansky, 1969; Setrov, 1971; Miller, 1978; Miller, Miller, 1993) levels. Below we present our scheme, as if representing the common denominator of the views of various authors:

1. Molecular (molecular biological). Molecules that serve as building blocks of biosystems (the role of proteins, polysaccharides and other large organic molecules - biopolymers), carriers of hereditary information (nucleic acids - DNA and RNA), signals for communication (often small organic molecules), forms of energy storage (primarily ATP), etc.

2. Subcellular (intracellular). Microstructures composed of molecules (membranes, organelles, etc.) that make up a living cell.

3. Cellular. The level is of particular importance, since the cell (as opposed to a single molecule or organelle) is the elementary unit of life. Many individuals exist all their lives in the form of a single cell - unicellular. In multicellular cells, cells do not separate, but form a single organism. For example, the human body consists of about 10 15 cells.

4. Organ-tissue level. The principle of "matryoshka" works further. In multicellular creatures, cells of the same type form the tissues that make up the organs of plants (leaf, stem, etc.) and animals (heart, liver, etc.).

5. Organism level. A whole living being (note that in unicellular life forms, for example, protozoa, bacteria, the concepts of cellular and organismic levels are identical to each other). Within the framework of this level, not only the specific structures and functions of a living organism are considered, but also the behavior of biological individuals, the range of their relationships with each other, which leads to the formation of supraorganismal (biosocial) systems. Here we see a transition to even higher - supra-organismal - levels of organization.

6. Population level. The level of groupings of individuals of the same species (populations).

7. Ecosystem (biocenotic-biogeocenotic) level. The level of communities of many species of organisms that form a single local system (biocenosis), and often the environment surrounding organisms (landscape, etc.) is also included in consideration; in this case, the whole system is called an ecosystem (biogeocenosis).

8. Biosphere level. Corresponds to the totality of living organisms of the planet, considered as an integral system (biosphere, bios in the terminology of Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis).

This is a general outline of the levels of the living, the classification of which varies significantly among different researchers, who bring their own specific interests to the level classifications. Moreover, new scientific discoveries from time to time introduce new, previously unrecognized levels. Example: laboratory research by V.L. Voeikova and L.V. Belousov at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University, following the earlier works of N.G. Gurvich allowed us to suggest the presence of another level of bios (between molecular biological and subcellular) - the level of molecular ensembles. Such ensembles (for example, a DNA molecule) already have many “living” properties, such as memory, activity, integrity (coherence).

The table below outlines the most important characteristics of the levels of organization of the living and their social applications. In principle, each of the main levels of organization of biosystems has biopolitically important aspects. Each level allows for quite fruitful analogies and extrapolations that provide food for thought for researchers of human society with its political systems.

Table. Levels of organization of the living and their biopolitical significance

Organization levels	Biopolitically important aspects
Molecular biological	Biopolymers (nucleic acids, proteins, etc.). Molecular genetics. Genetics of human behavior. Psychogenetics. Human genetic diversity. Races. genetic technologies
Cellular, organ-tissue (intraorganismal)	regulatory factors. Intercellular communication. Neurotransmitters. Hormones. The functioning of the nervous system and its blocks (modules). Neurophysiology of the psyche and behavior.
Organismic, population (biosocial)	behavior in general. Social behavior and its political aspects. biosocial systems. Hierarchical and horizontal (network) structures. The political system from a biosocial (biopolitical) point of view.
ecosystem, biospheric	Diversity of ecosystems. Protection of the bio-environment as a task of biopolitics. Environmental monitoring. Ecosystems inside the human body (microbiota) and their role in maintaining the somatic, mental and social health of people.

At the molecular biological level, of biopolitical interest are the so-called chaperones (from the English chaperon - an elderly lady accompanying a young girl) - protein molecules that ensure the functionally correct stacking of other molecules (for example, enzymes). It seems that self-organizing political movements of our time, including all kinds of network structures (see about them 5.7 below) should be under the influence of some helping organizations - "chaperones" that would direct their activities in a reasonable direction. Creation of similar "chaperones" at the level of the whole state, which would direct the democratic process along the most constructive channel, without depriving the participants of this process of scope for activity, but only creating optimal conditions for them, including in terms of people's vital needs (implementing "biopolitics ” in the understanding of M. Foucault) - this, according to the author of this book, is the “rational kernel” of the political term “managed democracy”.

At the cellular level, the proposed R. Virchow in the 19th century is of undoubted value. (see 1.1) comparison of tissues in a multicellular organism with “cell states”, and the patterns of cell growth and division with social norms of behavior of citizens in a state. The comparison of the whole organism with the political system is the basic analogy for the organismic approach in sociology and political science (see Franchuk, 2005a, b).

However, the most significant for biopolitics is the comparison of biosystems at their population level with the objects of political science. The interaction of individuals in the composition of biosocial systems in comparison with the political systems of human society will be the main theme of the fourth and fifth chapters of this book.

Of interest, however, are even higher levels of organization of biosystems. For example, while representing a genetically single biological species, humanity nevertheless consists of different cultures (with different norms of behavior). With a certain right, humanity in cultural terms can be considered as an analogue of a multi-species association (biocenosis).

due to different diets.

Two piglets of the same litter became dissimilar

The whole range of possible changes in a given genotype under different developmental conditions is called the reaction norm. Thus, we can say that it is not the trait that is inherited, but the norm of the genotype reaction.

Non-hereditary (paratypic modification) phenotypic changes are the reaction of a particular genotype to different environmental conditions. Under different environmental conditions, the same genotype will be expressed by different phenotypes.

biological system(in psychophysiology) - a set of functionally related elements or processes combined into a whole to achieve a biologically significant result. The most complete content of B. s. is revealed in the principles of a functional system (P.K. Anokhin). The main property of B. with. - Obtaining a useful adaptive result. B. s. refers to dynamic systems. One and the same biological object can act both as an integral system and as a subordinate one. B. s. has a number of properties: 1) the result as a system-forming factor; 2) the presence of connections and relationships (considerable attention is paid to backbone connections); 3) existence of structure and organization; 4) hierarchy of links; 5) self-regulation; 6) sustainability; 7) emergence (the system has a property or properties that its components do not have); 8) multiparametric regulation, etc.

An essential feature of B. with. is the hierarchy of its structure, connections, organization, management, etc. B. s. is a complex dynamic system. A biological object can simultaneously act as an integral system, and as a subsystem of a higher level. For example, the respiratory system as a self-regulating homeostatic system for regulating the exchange of gases in the body is at the same time a subsystem in the system of the whole organism, the latter is a subsystem of the population biosystem, etc. A system of a higher rank subordinates systems of a lower rank to its laws. Hierarchy of the structure, connections, organization of management of B. s. - the result of a long evolutionary development of organisms. According to the theory of functional systems (P.K. Anokhin), the interaction between B. s. of different rank is carried out through the result (principle of the hierarchy of results). The result of the activity of the lower hierarchical B. s. is included as a component in the result of the activity of a higher hierarchical B. s.

In contrast to the classical sciences, which relied in their constructions mainly on substratum concepts (weight, mass, etc.), in the system approach, conceptual concepts are based on qualitatively different concepts - "correlation", "organization", "management", etc. connections in B. with. leads to the concept of "structure" and "organization" that ensure the orderliness of B. s. The system approach directs the attention first of all to identification in the whole of the organization B. of page. through the study of its connections, relationships and management. The development of the concept of "organization" makes it necessary to introduce such concepts as "management", "goal setting", "result", etc. The concept of "organization" is most fully disclosed in the principles of a functional system

Fundamental properties of living systems.

All levels of organization of living systems are characterized by properties that distinguish living matter from non-living matter. The main, fundamental properties of living things include:

1. Consumption from the environment and conversion of nutrients (subsystems) with low entropy (metabolism ). This is necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the biosystem, its growth and reproduction.

2. Exchange of matter and energy with the environment. In this way, the influx of the structural elements of the living, necessary for life, their transformation, utilization, and the release of products with high entropy and thermal energy are ensured.

3. Regulation . Maintaining the structural and functional organization of a biological system requires the orderliness of the flow of metabolic processes. To do this, highly organized organisms form special regulatory mechanisms that modulate the activity of individual organs and systems, the intensity of the processes occurring in them. The mechanisms of regulation ensure the adaptation of the system to changing environmental conditions.

4. Irritability and reactivity . Various chemical and physical environmental factors are a kind of signals or sources of information to which a living organism reacts in one form or another. Structures intended for the perception and processing of relevant information use the incoming irritation, which allows the body to adequately respond to it.

5. Reproduction . This property ensures the maintenance or increase in the number of biological objects of all kinds and types. Reproduction is based on the process of cell division. In the course of cell division, the transfer of DNA (genetic material) of mother cells to daughter cells is carried out, and due to this, subsequent reproduction of all other components of the living is ensured. The preservation of information about the properties of previous generations, encrypted in DNA molecules (genes), transmitted from generation to generation is the essence of heredity.

6. Homeostasis. This is self-renewal and self-maintenance of the internal environment of the body.

7. Heredity is the ability of organisms to transmit their characteristics, properties and developmental features from generation to generation.

8. Variability - this is the ability of organisms to acquire new signs and properties; it is based on changes in biological matrices - DNA molecules.

9. Growth and development . Growth- a process that results in a change in the size of an organism (due to the growth and division of cells). Development- a process that results in a qualitative change in the body. Under development living nature - evolutions understand the irreversible, directed, regular change of objects of living nature, which is accompanied by the acquisition of adaptation (adaptations), the emergence of new species and the extinction of pre-existing forms. The development of a living form of the existence of matter is represented by individual development, or ontogeny, and historical development, or phylogenesis.

10. Fitness. This is the correspondence between the characteristics of biosystems and the properties of the environment with which they interact. Fitness cannot be achieved once and for all, since the environment is constantly changing (including due to the impact of biosystems and their evolution). Therefore, all living systems are able to respond to changes in the environment and develop adaptations to many of them. The result of the ability of living systems to develop adaptations is the amazing perfection and expediency of living organisms and life in general. Long-term adaptations of biosystems are due to their evolution. Short-term adaptations of cells and organisms are provided due to their irritability.

11. Discretion (dividing into parts). A separate organism or other biological system (species, biocenosis, etc.) consists of separate isolated, i.e., isolated or delimited in space, but, nevertheless, connected and interacting with each other, forming a structural and functional unity. Cells consist of individual organelles, tissues - from cells, organs - from tissues, etc. This property allows the replacement of a part without stopping the functioning of the whole system and the possibility of specializing different parts for different functions.

12 . Integrity(integration) is a necessary condition for considering an object as a system. This is the result of the interconnection and interdependence of parts of biosystems, the basis for the emergence of emergent properties in a system. Systems of different levels differ in the degree of interdependence of their parts. So, a cell and an organism are relatively more integral biosystems than a biogeocenosis. This is manifested in the fact that the composition of the parts of the cell and the body is less variable than the composition of the biogeocenosis. At the biogeocenotic and biospheric levels, biosystems include both living and non-living components (moreover, non-living components, such as dead tissues, can be re-integrated

The fundamental properties of living things are closely related, inseparable phenomena. Nevertheless, the primary effects of highly toxic compounds are sometimes associated with a selective violation of certain fundamental properties of living things - metabolism, plastic metabolism, energy metabolism, regulation, irritability, reproduction, homeostasis. The more toxic the compound, the more pronounced this selectivity.

Substances necessary for the body: - enzymes (biological catalysts, regulate metabolic processes); - vitamins (necessary for all living organisms for metabolism); - hormones (coordinators of metabolism).

Haeckel's biogenetic law - each organism during the period of embryonic development repeats the stages that its species had to go through in the process of evolution. That is, as an individual passes through the stages of the embryo and early fetus, his body repeats or re-passes the evolutionary history of its species. For example, a human embryo in nine months spent in the uterus goes through many stages - from invertebrate to fish, then to amphibian, to reptile, to mammal, to primate, to the likeness of hominids and to man as such. The universality of this law has been refuted by modern biologists.

The main biological systems are cell, organism, population, species, ecosystem, biogeocenosis, biosphere. The formation and generalization of knowledge about a biosystem can be organized in such aspects as structural organization, functional organization and basic properties.

Structural organization of the biosystem - it is the existing ordered state of existence of the constituent parts of the system. The analysis of the structural organization is carried out using the classification method - a multi-stage, sequential division of the system under study in order to obtain new knowledge about its construction, composition, connections. Description of the structure of a biosystem is the selection of elements (subsystems, components) of a biosystem that will be studied, that is, a morphological analysis. Because biosystems are open,

flows of matter, energy and information pass through them and they are constantly affected by the external environment, it is advisable to single out biotic and abiotic components in the structure of biosystems.

Functional organization of the biosystem- this is the coordinated functioning of the interconnected components of the system. The study of the functional organization is carried out by determining the functions that each of the selected elements (subsystems, components) performs in the studied holistic process, that is, by conducting a functional analysis.

Basic properties of biosystems express the essence of the system in relation to other systems, therefore, to determine the properties, it is necessary to establish regular relationships that are formed between the selected elements (subsystems, components) in the conditions of their functioning as an integrity, that is, to conduct a structural analysis.

Cell - elementary biological system, the main structural and functional unit of the living, which is capable of self-regulation, self-renewal and self-healing. Structural organization. The main components of the cell is the surface apparatus, the cytoplasm and the nucleus (nucleoid), which are built according to certain subsystems and elements. There are two types of cell organization - prokaryotic and eukaryotic. The basic level of organization for cells is the molecular level. functional connections. Any function of a cell is a consequence of the coordinated work of all its parts and components. The organization and functioning of all cell components are primarily associated with biological membranes. External relationships between cells occur through the release of chemicals and the establishment of contacts, and the internal between the elements of the cell are provided by hyaloplasms. Most of the cells in a multicellular organism are specialized to perform one main function. Basic properties. The cell has the same properties as other biosystems, but they will differ in a simpler nature of implementation. The cell is an elementary biosystem, since it is at the level of cells that all the properties of life are manifested. These properties are determined by the structural and functional organization of biomembranes, cytoplasm and nucleus.

organism - an open biological system, which, thanks to regulatory systems and adaptive mechanisms, can maintain its integrity and orderliness and relatively independently exist in a certain environment of life. Structural organization. In unicellular and colonial organisms - the cellular level of organization, multicellular organisms combine the cellular, tissue, organ and system levels, due to which the organismal level of organization of living systems is the most diverse of all others. The elementary structural and functional unit of organisms is the cell. Functional links: a) since cells, tissues, organs, organ systems participate in the implementation of a certain vital function, this function will have a more complex and perfect character; 6) the specialization of the constituent parts of the body to perform a certain function makes them dependent on other parts, therefore, along with differentiation, integration processes take place, due to which internal connections are formed between the parts (physiological, genetic, nervous, humoral, etc.), which determine the subordination of their body as complete system. Basic properties. Since the properties of an object reflect its internal structural and functional essence, we conclude that there are complications and a variety of basic properties of organisms (for example, reproduction can be asexual, sexual and vegetative).

population - a genetically open biological system, a group of interbreeding individuals of the same species living for a long time in a certain territory and relatively isolated from other similar groups. Structural organization. Organisms are divided into groups depending on age, sex, distribution in space, behavioral characteristics, etc., which makes it possible to distinguish, respectively, age, gender, spatial, ethological population structure. This section determines the allocation of such intrapopulation divisions as ecoelements, biotypes. Organisms are the elementary structural unit of populations. functional connections. The different structure of populations causes different relationships between organisms (for example, reproductive, trophic, topical, ethological, etc.), which allows them to form quite often friendly formations(for example, families, flocks, herds, colonies) for the perfect implementation of vital functions. Basic properties depend on such signs of populations as abundance, birth rate, mortality, growth, biomass, density, which are largely formed under the influence of the conditions of existence of population organisms. Each population as an integral system has mechanisms of self-regulation, self-renewal and self-healing of individuals included in it, therefore, within populations, there are complex systems of signals that determine the behavior of one individual relative to another.

View - a set of populations of individuals that are characterized by: a) morphophysiological similarity; b) free intraspecific crossing; in) the formation of fertile offspring; G) non-breeding with other species; d) total habitat area - range; e) adaptability to the conditions of existence within the range; there is) common origin. Structural organization. Within the range of the species, the following main intraspecific structures are distinguished: subspecies, ecotypes and populations. The elementary structural unit of a species is the population. Functional links: a) the implementation of vital functions at the species level is carried out by different organisms, the individual characteristics of which are provided by non-hereditary and hereditary variability; b) intraspecific competition acquires great importance, entails natural selection; c) external ecological relations with the abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic environment are expanding. Basic properties. The main criterion that determines the specificity of the properties of a species is the genetic unity of diversity within the species and reproductive isolation (nonbreeding) from other species, which makes the species genetically closed system. The unity of diversity ensures a high degree sustainability and adaptability, which makes the species the main form of organization of living matter.

Ecosystem - a set of organisms of different species and their habitats, connected by the exchange of matter, energy and information. Biogeocenosis - a certain territory with homogeneous conditions of existence, inhabited by organisms of various species, interconnected by the habitat by the rotation of substances and the flow of energy. Structural organization. Within the biosystems of this rank, a biotic ( biocenosis) and abiotic ( biotope) components interconnected by rotation of substances. The elementary structural unit is the species that form groupings. Functional links: a) the functioning of the biosystem as a whole is ensured by the "internal" biological circulation of substances and the "external" flows of matter, energy and information; b) the links between the populations of the biocenosis can be very diverse (direct and indirect; symbiotic, neutral and antibiotic; trophic and topical), but the most important are trophic and energy. Main properties is integrity, openness, sustainability, self-regulation and self-reproduction.

Biosphere - the only global ecosystem of a higher order, the composition, structure and properties of which are determined by the activity of organisms. Structural organization: a) the biotic component is represented living matter - a set of organisms of our planet; b) the abiotic component includes chemical components and physical conditions of geological shells: atmo-, hydro- and lithosphere; b) the elementary structural and functional unit is biogeocenoses. Functional links: a) bio- and geocomponents are interconnected by rotation of substances in the form of biogeochemical cycles, the most important properties of which are openness and isolation; b) the main functions of living matter in the biosphere are redox, concentration and gas. Basic properties determined by the properties of living matter.