Emergent Properties
- Multicellular organisms are able to undertake functions that unicellular organisms cannot, e.g. move over vast distances and digest large macromolecules
- This is a result of properties emerging when individual cells organise and interact to produce living organisms
- Scientists sometimes summarise this with the phrase "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
- Traditionally, scientists have approached the study of biology from a reductionist perspective, looking at the individual cells, however, due to emergent properties there is an argument that the systems approach should be used
The organisation of multicellular organisms
- In multicellular organisms, specialised cells of the same type group together to form tissues
- A tissue is a group of cells that work together to perform a particular function. For example:
- Epithelial cells group together to form epithelial tissue (the function of which, in the small intestine, is to absorb food)
- Muscle cells (another type of specialised cell) group together to form muscle tissue (the function of which is to contract in order to move parts of the body)
- Different tissues work together to form organs. For example:
- The heart is made up of many different tissues (including cardiac muscle tissue, blood vessel tissues and connective tissue, as well as many others)
- Different organs work together to form organ systems
- Organ systems work together to carry out the life functions of a complete organism
The organisation of multicellular organisms
Levels of Organisation in Humans Table