| Adaptive |
An agent such as an organism may
both adapt to and alter its environment. |
| Algorithm |
A set of rules which specify
a sequence of actions to be taken to carry out
a procedure such as solving a problem. |
| Allele |
A sequence of genetic material contained within
chromosomes which is alleomorphic or relational
to other sequences. |
| Allometric |
The growth and size of one part of an organism
in relation to the whole. |
| Altruism |
Unselfish behavior for someone else’s benefit,
often at an expense to oneself, but which is of
value to a larger social group. |
| Amino Acid |
One of the 20 molecular
components of proteins. Each contains an amino
group at one end and a carboxyl group at the other. |
| Anthropic Principle |
A theory that comes in 2 levels: the weak anthropic
principle holds that the universe is the way it
is because we are here; the strong version asserts
that the universe was made to evolve into humans. |
| Archetype |
In biology, a universal bodily form for organisms
and in psychology, a psychic attractor state which
shapes human personality. |
| Astrobiology |
The study of and search for life elsewhere in
the universe. |
| Attractor |
A region or state toward which a complex system
moves and settles into. |
| Autocatalytic |
The process whereby networks such as biochemical
reactions sustain their own self-propagation without
an external influence. |
| Autopoiesis |
A term for the ability of living systems to organize
and regenerate themselves. |
| Axon |
Fibrous connections in a brain that carry signals
between neurons. |
| Bauplan |
The common anatomical body plan of a related
species of organisms.
|
| Bicameral |
Brain hemispheres which employ in general either
discrete or holistic modes of cognition. |
| Bifurcation |
A branching split of a complex system under critical
conditions. |
| Biosphere |
The sum total of earth life from geological strata
to its crustal surface and stratosphere. |
| Biota |
The composite plant flora and animal fauna of
a certain region |
| Bonobo |
A smaller cousin of the common chimpanzee. |
| Cambrian Era |
A period 540 million years ago when a burst of
multicellular life took place. |
| Catalyst |
A chemical substance or surface able to accelerate
a reaction without being changed itself. |
| Cenozoic Era |
The most recent paleontological period from 65
mya to the present. |
| Cerebral Cortex |
The outer layer of the brain hemispheres. |
| Chaos |
Complex behavior now found to be characterized
by predictable periodic domains along with much
sensitivity to initial or external conditions. |
| Chloroplasts |
Membrane bounded structures inside plants which
contain chlorophyll
for photosynthesis. |
| Chromosome |
One or more long strands of DNA located in the
cell’s
nucleus. |
| Cladistics |
A theory of taxonomy by which organisms are grouped
on the basis of the most recent phylogenetic branching
point. |
| Closed System |
An isolated system that cannot exchange matter
and energy with
its surroundings. |
| Coevolution |
An evolutionary pattern based on the interaction
between flora and fauna within an environment,
such as flower and pollinator.
|
| Complementarity |
Originally from quantum physics to designate
the particle/wave nature of light, it can apply
to any macroscopic complex system composed of discrete
elements and relational connections. |
| Complex Adaptive System |
A generic term to represent the communicative
interaction of many free agents, guided by common
protocols, from which emerges a nested scale of
whole entities. |
| Connectionism |
Another term for neural network activities derived
from the many links between functional elements
in a cerebral or artifactual circuit. |
| Convergence |
In evolution, a process where features such as
eyes or intelligence consistently appear in independent
lineages and different environmental conditions. |
| Dissipative Structure |
An open system sustained by a flow of energy
which is
then expended. |
| DNA |
Deoxyribonuleic acid—a polymeric molecule arranged
in a double helix which carries genetic prescriptions
for the assembly of proteins. |
| Dynamical Systems |
A general phrase for activities that change
over time with
novel results. |
| Ecosystem |
The totality of flora, fauna,
and physical/chemical environment of a locale such
as a rainforest or desert. |
| Ecozoic |
One of the proposed names for the emerging period
following the present Cenozoic era, to be distinguished
by mutually enhancing human-Earth relations. |
| Ediacarian |
A term for the Precambrian age of primitive bacteria,
taken from a region of Australia where such traces
were found.
|
| Emergence |
The resultant appearance of a higher degree
of organization in a complex system due to multiple
interactions between simpler elements or entities. |
| Encephalization |
The steady development of larger, more capable
brains in evolution. |
| Entropy |
A measure of randomness or disorder in a system
associated with energy
or heat loss. |
| Enzyme |
A protein catalyst that promotes and regulates
biochemical reactions
in cells. |
| Epigenesis |
Developmental phases of an organism due to factors
other than molecular
genetic effects such as topological constraints or environmental influences. |
| Ergodic |
Relating to a system or process in which the
final distribution of states is independent of
the initial conditions. |
| Eukaryotic |
A designation for a cell which contains a distinct
nucleus with genetic
material. |
| Flagella |
A microtubular appendage for cells that provides
mobility.
|
| Fractals |
A geometric form where irregular, fractional
features are repeated
in kind at every scale. |
| Gene |
A unit of heredity composed of DNA which contains
certain characteristics
of an organism. |
| Genome |
The total genetic endowment of an organism and
a species. |
| Genotype |
The genetic constitution of an organism. |
| Heterochrony |
A term for evolutionary variations in the timing
rate of the appearance of bodily features and cognitive
abilities in an organism or species. |
| Holistic |
A perspective that takes in an entire scene or
system at once. |
| Holarchy |
A nested scale or hierarchy composed of integrally
whole components. |
| Hologram |
An optical interference illuminated by coherent
laser light where each minute fraction contains
the entire image. |
| Homology |
The presence of similar evolved characters which
have descended from
a common ancestor. |
| Homoplasy |
The relationship of common characters which arise
independently within
a phylogenetic kingdom. |
| Hypercycle |
A theory for the origin of self-replicating molecular
systems which involve feedback loops by which they
bootstrap themselves. |
| Isomorphic |
Similar in form, shape or structure. |
| Iteration |
Repetition of the same mathematical steps or
procedural processes
over and over. |
| Metazoan |
The overall class of multicellular animals. |
| Mitochondria |
An organelle of eukaryotic cells for energy production
through
oxygen respiration. |
|
Modularity |
The tendency of complex, evolving systems to
form
differentiated
functional modules. |
| Morphogenesis |
The unfolding, sequential development of the
bodily morphology
of an organism. |
| Neural Network |
An interconnected, variable mesh of sensitive
neurons in the
brain or a computer. |
| Neuron |
A basic nerve cell in brains with an emitter
extension and a receiving
dendrite. |
| Niche |
An environmental habitat to which an organism
is adapted and within which
it evolves. |
| Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics |
A quantitative treatment of irreversible processes
and of the rates at which they occur. |
| Nonlinear |
A property of open systems whereby the output
is not directly proportional
to the input. |
| Nonlocality |
The quantum mechanical property whereby elements
separated over any distance are instantaneously
related, also known as entanglement. |
| Noosphere |
A term for an emerging brain-like envelope over
the earth due to the composite contributions of
all peoples. Mainly derived from Vladimir Vernadsky
and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. |
| Ontogeny |
The developmental life history of an individual
organism.
|
| Open System |
A system that receives inputs of matter and energy
from external
sources. |
| Organelle |
A variety of organized and specialized bounded
structures in cells. |
| Parallel Distributed Processing |
From cognitive science, whence information is
handled more efficiently by the use of many processing
units connected in parallel. |
| Phanerozoic Era |
The later of the two principal divisions of Earth
history which span from the Precambrian some 540
million years ago to the present. |
| Phenotype |
The observable characters of an organism, dependent
upon genotype
ane environment. |
| Phylogeny |
The evolutionary stages involved in the formation
of a species. |
| Power Law |
A mathematical relationship between the intensity
and frequency of an event or pattern whence the
greater the intensity, the lesser the frequency.
Examples are earthquakes
or networks. |
| Prokaryote |
A bacterial cell without a distinct nucleus. |
| Protein |
An organic macromolecule formed by amino acids
joined by peptide bonds. |
| Recursive |
A process that operates by feeding new experience
or information back
to a prior frame of reference. |
| Reductionism |
An analytical method by which an object, organism,
or environment can be understood by taking it apart
into component pieces. |
| Representation |
A term for cerebral, experiential images held
in ones memory.
Schema. Another name for cognitively remembered, content-rich, modularized experience. |
| Self-Organization |
The emergence of order in a complex system from
the collective interactions of many autonomous
members. |
| Self-Organized Criticality |
The state of a complex systems poised at a critical
point between too much order or destructive anarchy. |
| Semiotics |
The study of communications through signs and
signification. |
| Singularity |
The physical conditions beyond description by
currents mathematics such as the origin of the
universe. |
| Statistical Mechanics |
Mathematical procedures for dealing with large
numbers of items in a system such as molecules
in a gas. |
| Stochastic |
Any process characterized by random variables
or probabilities.
|
| Symbiosis |
The process by which several biological or societal
components come
together to mutual advantage. |
| Synapse |
The junction between nerve cells across which
an impulse is transmitted. |
| Synergy |
When two or more components reinforce each other
to produce a greater
result than their sum. |
| Syntax |
In grammar, rules and principles for ordering
words into clauses and
sentences. |
| Taxonomy |
The theory and practice of classify organisms
in evolution. |
| Teleology |
A philosophical term for an evolution which is
oriented and proceeds
toward a future state. |
| Thermodynamics |
The science of explaining and quantifying the
flow and usage
of energy. |
| Undulipodia |
A cellular tail composed of flagella and cilia
used for motion. |
| |
|
| A general source for the glossary
was the McGraw Hill Dictionary of Science and
Technical Terms. 6th Edition. New York: McGraw
Hill, 2003. |
| |
