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Physiology is the study of life processes, the way living systems work. Physiological mechanisms may be investigated from the molecular level to the level of organ systems to the whole organism. Physiologists may study how the genome translates into function both within the cell and whole organism, how disease can affect living systems, or how the organism responds to physical activities and to the environment around it (see www.the-aps.org).
In the Biology Department at Portland State University we have research programs that investigate both plant and animal function at cellular, organ system, and whole-organism levels of organization. Both biomedical as well as comparative approaches are used to study fundamental physiological processes.
Comparative physiology is a sub-discipline of physiology that focuses on the wide diversity of physiological adaptations possessed by different organisms. These diverse adaptations allow plants and animals to exploit particular habitats, particular food types, and to sense and processes environmental signals necessary for survival.
Many organisms thrive in "harsh" environments, while others are adapted to deal with variable or unstable environmental conditions. The comparative physiology approach studies the natural variations in physiological, biochemical or molecular function that enable organisms to exploit such diverse habitats.
Comparative physiology is also about the regulation of physiological functions, how these functions are integrated into a whole-organism response, and how this information is transmitted to future generations. Some examples of questions that comparative physiologists might ask, and which touch on current PSU research programs, are:
- What allows some amphibians such as toads to live a terrestrial environment while others are totally aquatic?
- How do organisms sense temperature and adjust their physiology to compensate for the profound effects of temperature on biological processes?
- How did neural and sensory systems evolve to allow organisms to exploit and integrate the diversity of environmental and biological cues available?
- How are physiological traits acquired during development and how do environmental and physiological processes contribute to the generation of a reproductive organism?
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