ABSTRACT
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, organisms have fascinated the human mind. This is not because we are ourselves organisms, but because in organisms the parts appear to be in some sense subordinate to the whole and to cooperate so as to sustain life. It is clear from recent structural studies that the functional regions in organisms consist of very accurately and subtly arranged and coordinated parts: the atoms, molecules, polymers, micelles, and so on. Very new problems are sometimes intimidating; one may lack a starting point and a direction. But the approach to a theory of organism in the 1970s has one signal set favorable. It is, undoubtedly timely. Every functional structure in an organism when it is not at rest or merely being moved from one spot to another, that is when it is actually functioning, is undergoing myriads of pulsations, perhaps more than a million every second. The organism's environment provides the necessary energy and materials.
