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It's just a fact about the evolutionary history. You are a "multicellular" organism; you are composed of a bunch of genetically identical cells that fuse with e
by thaumasiotes 4mo ago
It's just a fact about the evolutionary history. You are a "multicellular" organism; you are composed of a bunch of genetically identical cells that fuse with each other and differentiate their development to specialize in certain tasks. It's not just your organs; your entire being is like that.
Siphonophores are identical, except that they can be subdivided into units that are, much like organs, composed of multiple cells. Those units can be identified as evolutionary derivations of certain branches of the tree of life. This is more similar to your mitochondria, which are (like zooids) identifiable as having once been independent organisms, though unlike zooids your mitochondria are not genetically identical to you.
- thaumasiotes 4mo ago> It's not just your organs; your entire being is like that. Actually, it bears pointing out that significant parts of you, like your blood, remain single-celled even though you're "multicellular".
- UltraSane 4mo agoImmune system is mostly single cells
- timschmidt 4mo agoTrue. And also amazing how complex their interactions can be! Just because immune cells are often individually motile, does not mean they're not intimately interoperating within an incredibly complex social ecology of cells. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_cell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_cell is full of surprises.