Energy is necessary to create new molecules and, in the long run, to build new cells. The organs and tissues also need it for their work. All the energy used by an organism is supplied by the oxidation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates or, in other words, by the combustion of these substances. Oxidation cannot […]
Practically all physiologists start with an implicit or explicit assumption which is something like this: that all the phenomena of the behavior of living organisms are compatible with a mechanistic interpretation of the universe. In other words, living organisms in their behavior are physicochemical machines, and the future behavior of living organisms is determined by […]
It has been difficult to obtain data pertinent to the question of whether fever has a beneficial or harmful effect on an infected host. As the result of indirect evidence, it has often been assumed that fever has survival value. This is because fever is an energetically costly process. As a febrile organism elevates its […]