Open System
Open System - Related Videos
09:43
Modification and Application of a Leaf Blower-vac for Field Sampling of Arthropods
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Cited by 18 •
2016
Assessment of arthropod abundance in crops is critical for investigating population dynamics and species interactions. Here we describe the modification and application of a leaf blower-vac for suction sampling of arthropods in rice.
08:48
Using Live Cell STED Imaging to Visualize Mitochondrial Inner Membrane Ultrastructure in Neuronal Cell Models
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Cited by 2 •
2023
This protocol presents a workflow for the propagation, differentiation, and staining of cultured SH-SY5Y cells and primary rat hippocampal neurons for mitochondrial ultrastructure visualization and analysis using stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy.
07:13
The Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Protocol for Inducing Anhedonia in Mice
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Cited by 62 •
2018
Here we present the unpredictable chronic mild stress protocol in mice. This protocol induces a long-term depressive-like phenotype and enables to assess the efficacy of putative antidepressants in reversing the behavioral and neuromolecular depressive-like deficits.
09:56
Epigenetic Engineering of K562 Cells: Dual-Vector Episomal Strategy for Stable Targeted DNA Methylation using dCas9-DNMT3A and -HDAC1 Fusion Proteins
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2025
This protocol describes a non-integrative, episomal CRISPR/dCas9-based system for targeted epigenetic editing in K562 cells, combining dCas9-DNMT3A and dCas9-HDAC1 effectors with specific sgRNAs to induce locus-specific DNA methylation with precision and reduced off-target effects.
05:42
Measurement of Ion Concentration in the Unstirred Boundary Layer with Open Patch-Clamp Pipette: Implications in Control of Ion Channels by Fluid Flow
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Cited by 2 •
2019
Mechanosensitive ion channels are often studied in terms of fluid flow/shear force sensitivity with patch-clamp recording. However, depending on the experimental protocol, the outcome on fluid flow-regulations of ion channels can be erroneous. Here, we provide methods for preventing and correcting such errors with a theoretical basis.
FAQs
It maintains organization through continuous exchanges with its surroundings rather than by remaining isolated. Inputs such as nutrients, gases, light, or other energy support internal processes, while heat, waste, and metabolic products leave the system. This ongoing movement enables biological systems to regulate conditions as the environment changes, supporting metabolism, growth, and reproduction.
Matter supplies physical materials, energy supports biological activity, and information connects the system to changing conditions in its surroundings. These exchanges are not interchangeable, but together they help explain how biological systems remain active and organized. Considering all three also clarifies why an open system differs from closed or isolated systems in biological analysis.
Metabolism depends on continuing exchanges with the environment, including the uptake of nutrients, gases, or energy and the release of heat and metabolic products. Regulation uses these ongoing interactions to support relatively organized internal conditions. Consequently, the open-system perspective links chemical and energetic activity with homeostasis rather than treating internal regulation as separate from environmental exchange.
The distinction concerns what crosses the system boundary. An open system exchanges matter, energy, or information with its surroundings, whereas closed and isolated systems are defined by more restricted exchanges. In biology, this comparison helps researchers recognize why organisms and ecosystems must be examined through their environmental interactions, not only through internal events.
Researchers can examine what enters and leaves the system, identifying exchanges of nutrients, gases, light, energy, information, heat, waste, and metabolic products. They can then relate those flows to internal organization and biological outcomes such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, or regulation. This approach provides a structured way to connect environmental conditions with system behavior.
The framework applies across molecular, organismal, and environmental levels. At the molecular level, it can organize analysis of cellular respiration; at broader levels, it supports examination of nutrient cycling and ecosystem dynamics. Linking these scales shows how exchanges occurring in one part of biology can be considered alongside regulation and activity at larger levels.
It is useful when internal stability depends on ongoing interaction with the environment. Rather than viewing homeostasis as isolation, the framework emphasizes that organisms receive needed materials or energy and release heat, waste, or metabolic products while maintaining organized conditions. This perspective helps interpret regulation as an active process supported by continuous exchange.