The Human Body: A Microcosm

“I’m not so simple, after all.”

By: Philip Jarrett

What I will do

• Compare the human body to a natural environment

You can already see the resemblance!

What Are We?

• Approximately 50 trillion cells (5 x 1013 cells!)

Nerve Cell Cancer Cell Heart Cell

Does it look like outer space? Not quite! It’s you!(Hopefully not the cancer cell)

What Are We?

• Approximately 10% Eukaryotic• The rest are Microbes!

Intestinal Bacteria Bacteria in Mouth Biofilm

Bacteria may either help us or hurt us.But we can’t live without them.

Then, Who Are We?

• We are a bundle of cells constantly trying to maintain balance

-Extracted from dictionary.reference.com

This reminds me of the interactions between species in a community

Hibernation and Panting

Community vs. Cells of the Body

Human Cells constantly seek homeostasis

Organisms seek homeostasis in nature

Same Phenomenon, Different Environment

First Level of a Community

“Primary Producers” : earliest organisms that provide nutrition/means for other living organisms

Typically include:• Plants• Algae

• Plankton

In the same way, the brain provides means through which the rest of the body survives.

Second Level of a Community

“Primary Consumer” : organisms that directly consume primary producers

Typically include:• Small Insects

The peripheral nerve cells do this by receiving and transmitting impulses from the brain.

Third Level of a Community

“Secondary Consumer” : organisms that directly consume primary consumers

Typically include:• Large Insects• Pesky Rats

• Fish

The rest of the cells in the body act like this within communities.

Mob Rule

In a population, organisms communicate with each other to share information.

A Community requires Diversity

A community includes numerous forms of life, from flora to fauna (plants to animals)

Our body has diversity too!

Adaptation Keeps Things Fair

In nature, species adapt and evolve to overcome the equal progress of other species

Our body adapts also!

Neutrophils

Conclusion

Our bodies have countless similarities with the natural world.

In other words, we aren’t so different from the rest of nature.