In multicellular organisms, growth/protection behaviors are controlled by the nervous system. It is the nervous system’s job to monitor environmental signals, interpret them, and organize appropriate behavioral responses. In a multicellular community, the nervous system acts like the government in organizing the activities of its cellular citizens. When the nervous system recognizes a threatening environmental stress, it alerts the community of cells to impending danger. The body is actually endowed with two separate protection systems, each vital to the maintenance of life. The first is the
...more
