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FRAGMENT FROM NATURE is a contemplation of the role of fusion of similar and different plant organs to create flower parts, during floral adaptation, in a particularly brilliant article by Chelsea D. Specht. This insightful analysis of floral fusions reveals the subtlety and originality of flower construction, and how dynamic the process is from an evolutionary and developmental perspective. View in LinkedIn

DEFYING ENTROPY? "Entropy (disorder) must increase inevitably within a closed system, but living beings are not closed systems. It is a defining feature of life that it takes in free energy from the environment and unloads its entropy as waste. Living systems can even build themselves up from seed, and routinely repair themselves. There is no thermodynamic necessity for senescence." https://lnkd.in/dUX_Fna View in LinkedIn

DEATH AND TAXES. "Although any living creature anytime can lose its life, no creature can lose its death. This is why death is safe and secure in all living things." https://evmedreview.com/biology-of-death-2/ View in LinkedIn

LITERATURE SEARCHES on the biological meaning of death turn up lean pickings. It is the third rail of biological research, too dangerous to venture into, too full of religious or speculative opinions, and too difficult, it seems, for serious research. A curious vacuum for such an important subject. View in LinkedIn

FLORAL TUBE. "The majority of cases reported for fusion of floral whorls comes from studies of petals and carpels, which are often associated with reproductive success. A possible reproductive advantage of having a floral tube is the restriction of the access to the floral reward for nectar robbers. in addition, the accumulation of nectar in the bottom of the tube may reduce nectar evaporation and dilution by rain." https://lnkd.in/dAr4v3z View in LinkedIn

DEATHLY SILENCE. "Despite the fundamental nature and importance of both the process of dying and of death itself, the concepts have received almost no attention in the basic biological sciences—textbooks seldom contain any reference to death or dying." https://lnkd.in/dq_xyw3 View in LinkedIn

FUSION AND POLLINATION. "By creating a floral tube that restricts access to a reward, fusion also provides a means of directing specialized and efficient pollination, thereby potentially increasing individual fitness. The fusion of various floral organ whorls enables coordinated development among the fused parts, providing mechanisms for genetic isolation and differential selection via highly specialized coordination of pollen and stigma placement in the elaboration of pollination syndromes." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn

DEATH from a biological perspective is intriguing. It is the flip side of immortality. Trees kill off their autumn leaves rather than repair them. Tissues constantly sculpt themselves in development by programmed cell suicide. Numerous body cells like blood and skin cells have a brief life and are quickly replaced. Some creatures live for very long periods, and others are born and die within days. For what purpose? View in LinkedIn

STRUCTURE AND DIVERSITY. "Floral fusion provides enormous potential for the diversification of the flower. Fusion within (connation) or between (adnation) organ whorls provides the flower with a diversity of architectures that can be explored for adaptive fit to a variety of specialized pollination associations and to structural stability under diverse environmental conditions." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn

FLORAL FUSION LINKED TO INNOVATION. "The fusion (or lack of separation) of floral organs appears multiple times across the angiosperm tree of life and during different developmental phases of floral organogenesis, and is consistently linked with key innovations in floral shape, size and pollination interactions." https://lnkd.in/dD4GcAS View in LinkedIn