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Related Concept Videos

Communication01:03

Communication

Communication between two animals occurs when one animal transmits an information signal that causes a change in the animal that receives the information. Organisms communicate with one another in a host of different ways. Signals can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a combination of these. Communication is a critical behavioral adaptation that promotes survival, growth, and reproduction.
What is Cell Signaling?02:03

What is Cell Signaling?

Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate to respond to the environment.
What is Cell Signaling?02:03

What is Cell Signaling?

Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate to respond to the environment.
Overview of Cell Signaling01:23

Overview of Cell Signaling

Despite the protective membrane that separates a cell from the environment, cells need the ability to detect and respond to environmental changes. Additionally, cells often need to communicate with one another. Unicellular and multicellular organisms use a variety of cell signaling mechanisms to communicate with the environment.
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
Communication01:28

Communication

Sharing information, concepts, and emotions to foster mutual understanding is communication. The sender, recipient, and transaction must be considered in this manner. The sender is the person who shares the message, the recipient is the person who receives and understands the message, and the transaction is the method used to deliver the message and the variables that affect the communication's context and surroundings. The nurse-client connection is built on therapeutic communication.
Within...
Neuronal Communication01:28

Neuronal Communication

Neurons, the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, communicate through complex electrochemical signals that underpin all cognitive and bodily functions. This communication is primarily facilitated by a process involving the generation and propagation of an action potential along the axon of the neuron. When the internal electrical charge of a neuron surpasses a certain threshold, an action potential is triggered. This rapid change in voltage travels swiftly along the axon to the...

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Bridging the Bio-Electronic Interface with Biofabrication
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Published on: June 6, 2012

Defining biological communication.

T C Scott-Phillips1

  • 1Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. thom@ling.ed.ac.uk

Journal of Evolutionary Biology
|January 22, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Defining biological communication is crucial for scientific progress. This study argues for an adaptation-based definition, requiring both signal and response to be adaptive for clear biological communication.

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Area of Science:

  • Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Biological communication is fundamental but lacks a universally agreed-upon definition.
  • Current definitions often focus on adaptation, but with inconsistent criteria.
  • Information transfer is an alternative proposed definition for biological communication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and compare adaptation-based and information-transfer-based definitions of biological communication.
  • To propose a refined definition of biological communication.
  • To address concerns regarding the definition of communication and information transfer.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of existing definitions of biological communication.
  • Comparative analysis of adaptation-based and information-transfer-based approaches.
  • Conceptual argumentation to support a preferred definition.

Main Results:

  • Adaptation-based definitions are preferred, but require both signal and response to be adaptive.
  • Definitions based solely on information transfer are considered derivative.
  • Existing definitions exhibit significant variability in invoked criteria.

Conclusions:

  • A robust definition of biological communication necessitates that both the signal and the response are adaptive.
  • This refined adaptationist approach provides a clearer framework for studying biological communication.
  • The study clarifies the relationship between adaptation and information transfer in defining communication.