Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology, is the mechanism by which evolution is driven, favoring organisms that are best adapted to their environments. This process enhances their chances of survival and reproduction. Adaptation, a key outcome of this process, involves genetic modifications that optimize an organism's functionality under specific environmental challenges, such as extreme cold or thinner air at high altitudes.
Beyond physical adaptations, psychological...

Cellular Adaptation I: Introduction and Atrophy

Cellular Adaptation I: Introduction and Atrophy

Cells can adapt to environmental changes to maintain function and avoid injury, a process called cellular adaptation. Adapted cells exist in a reversible intermediate state with changes in size, number, phenotype, metabolism, or function. These responses help cells meet altered physiological or pathological demands; for example, enlargement of breast and uterine tissues during pregnancy. Early adaptations may enhance function, but persistent stress eventually causes tissue damage.Types of...

Transduction

Transduction

Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...

What is Natural Selection?

What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...

Stress Response System

Stress Response System

The stress response system, also known as the fight-or-flight response, is the body's automatic physiological reaction to perceived threats. Hans Selye introduced the concept of General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) to describe the predictable pattern of changes that occur in response to stress. GAS consists of three sequential stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. This model helps explain how chronic stress can contribute to health problems.
Alarm stage
In the alarm stage, the body's initial...

Responses to Salt Stress

Responses to Salt Stress

Salt stress—which can be triggered by high salt concentrations in a plant’s environment—can significantly affect plant growth and crop production by influencing photosynthesis and the absorption of water and nutrients.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Structured Play Therapy Groups for Preschoolers: facilitating the emergence of social competence.

International journal of group psychotherapy·2012

Same author

"Something is better than nothing": psychotherapy with an older woman.

Harvard review of psychiatry·2012

Same author

The sandpile model: optimal stress and hormesis.

Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis Society·2012

Same author

Martha Stark, MD: "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" Interview by Karen Burnett and Suzanne Snyder.

Alternative therapies in health and medicine·2012

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Kinematic History of a Salient-recess Junction Explored through a Combined Approach of Field Data and Analog Sandbox Modeling

Kinematic History of a Salient-recess Junction Explored through a Combined Approach of Field Data and Analog Sandbox Modeling

Published on: August 5, 2016

Hormesis, adaptation, and the sandpile model.

¹Faculty, Continuing Education Program, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. marthastarkmd@hms.harvard.edu

Critical Reviews in Toxicology

|August 19, 2008

Summary

Hormesis, a nonmonotonic dose-response relationship, shows that lower medication doses may be more effective due to adaptive stress responses. These adaptations, however, deplete the body's reserves, illustrating the principle of "no gain without pain."

More Related Videos

Using Caenorhabditis elegans for Studying Trans- and Multi-Generational Effects of Toxicants

Using Caenorhabditis elegans for Studying Trans- and Multi-Generational Effects of Toxicants

Published on: July 29, 2019

Sandwich-like Microenvironments to Harness Cell/Material Interactions

Sandwich-like Microenvironments to Harness Cell/Material Interactions

Published on: August 4, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Kinematic History of a Salient-recess Junction Explored through a Combined Approach of Field Data and Analog Sandbox Modeling

Kinematic History of a Salient-recess Junction Explored through a Combined Approach of Field Data and Analog Sandbox Modeling

Published on: August 5, 2016

Using Caenorhabditis elegans for Studying Trans- and Multi-Generational Effects of Toxicants

Using Caenorhabditis elegans for Studying Trans- and Multi-Generational Effects of Toxicants

Published on: July 29, 2019

Sandwich-like Microenvironments to Harness Cell/Material Interactions

Sandwich-like Microenvironments to Harness Cell/Material Interactions

Published on: August 4, 2015

Area of Science:

Toxicology
Pharmacology
Systems Biology

Background:

Hormesis describes nonmonotonic dose-response curves where effects reverse at different doses.
This phenomenon, known in toxicology, has implications for clinical pharmacology.
Calabrese's hypothesis links hormesis to the body's adaptive response to stress.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the clinical relevance of hormesis in medication dosing.
To emphasize the adaptive cost associated with hormetic responses.
To propose a complex adaptive systems model for understanding stress responses.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of dose-response relationships.
Review of Calabrese's hypothesis on hormesis and stress adaptation.
Application of the sandpile model to biological stress response.

Main Results:

Nonmonotonic dose-response curves challenge the assumption that higher doses are always more efficacious.
Adaptive responses to stress, while beneficial, incur costs in nutrient and energetic reserves.
The sandpile model offers a framework for understanding the cumulative effects of stress and the body's complex adaptations.

Conclusions:

Clinicians must consider hormesis to optimize medication efficacy, as lower doses may be more therapeutic.
Hormetic adaptations involve a trade-off, depleting system reserves.
Complex adaptive systems, like the sandpile, can model the dynamic interplay between stress and the body's resilience over time.