1. Homeostasis By Max Leal, Sasha Fenimore and Will Fyfe

2. “there is nothing permanent except change” Ah yes another wise quote by Heraclitus. If you are not familiar with him it’s alright, the quote is what matters. In all forms of life, life is constantly changing, the environment in which the life is sustained in and the life form itself.

3. Homeostasis As an environment changes, the life form adapts to this through homeostasis. (HOH –me-oh STAY-sis) This ability to adapt to ever changing environments has been one thing that has kept life living.

4. Life as we Know It Life, as we know it, is only present within certain boundaries and environments. So how do organisms maintain stability in a changing environment?

5. Sure, homeostasis… what’s that? Homeostasis is the life form being able to adapt and change itself within the changing environment. For example; if you are in a cold room, your body may begin to shiver. This is your body attempting to adapt to the cold room and make you warmer.

6. The advantage of having homeostasis is that an organism can function effectively in a broad range of environments. For example, ectotherms can be slow in cold temperatures while endotherms have full functionality.

7. Thermal image of a cold blooded tarantula and a warm blooded human

8. Oh…. So how does it work then? Good question, it’s not a direct reaction of your skin to the cold, but a little more complex. Your body relies on a system of things to happen before you start to shiver.

9. Step 1 First the signal is sent from a receptor. This receptor senses that there is something wrong. (cold, hot etc)

10. Step 2 Next the signal that the changing environment may possibly pose a threat to the organism, is sent to the control center. In most instances this would be the brain of the organism.

11. Step 3 After the signal is received in the brain, the brain replies with a command for some action. The action is then sent from the control center to whatever the operation calls for. (muscles blood pressure etc.)

12. More examples, juts to be clear Another human example of the use of homeostasis is the opposite of the first one. When you are hot, your body sweats to cool you. This simple action really helps and if it were altered in any way there would be serious consequences.

13. Homeostatic Imbalance Some problems with homeostasis are some of the illnesses that can become from it. (homeostatic imbalance) This happens when an organism either over estimates or under estimates the extent of which the reaction to the initial disruption was. Or in other words, you sweat too much.

14. Diseases from this imbalance Diabetes Dehydration Hypoglycemia or many other diseases that occur when a toxin is present in the bloodstream.