rently, for purposes of comparison and generalization, planktonic 
and benthic organisms in the adjacent deep seas and in waters on the 
continental shelves should also be studied intensively. 
Unique Characteristics of Marine Organisms. Existence and be- 
havior of marine organisms in specific habitats depend on unique 
physiological characteristics which deserve investigation in their own 
right. For example, organisms deep in the oceans live under extra- 
ordinarily constant and extreme conditions. In the deepest areas, 
pressures are more than 500 atmospheres, temperatures are less than 
4° C. and darkness is total except for occasional flashes of light pro- 
duced by luminescent organisms. The environment is unlike any- 
thing encountered elsewhere in the solar system. Investigation of 
organisms adapted to live under such extreme conditions, though 
difficult and requiring special laboratory facilities, may provide new 
insights into man’s basic metabolic processes and physiological 
mechanisms. 
Biomedical Applications. Our present understanding of many bio- 
medical problems is based largely upon research initially conducted 
on lower organisms. The insights so afforded are valid because many 
biological processes of most kinds of organisms are fundamentally 
alike. Understanding of mammalian genetics stems in part from re- 
search on insects and micro-organisms; our understanding of human 
biochemistry derives from studies of lower animals and plants; and 
many of our present insights into the phenomena of fertilization and 
embryonic development are derived primarily from investigations of 
marine organisms. 
One of the most challenging areas of contemporary biological re- 
search concerns growth and development. We still know little about 
how a human egg, one cell, is transformed into an adult composed of 
billions of cells in a thousand varieties, all precisely organized to pro- 
duce a normally functioning individual. When normal development 
goes awry, various abnormalities or birth defects result. Much of our 
knowledge of fertilization and development has been obtained from 
studying marine organisms, some of which develop from egg to adult 
in 1 day and during this time are open to continuous observation and 
experimental manipulation. Study of the development of diverse 
marine organisms remains the best opportunity for enhancing our 
understanding of developmental biology. 
Other general biochemical and physiological processes have also 
been investigated effectively with marine organisms. The use of 
squid axons to study conduction in nerves is a dramatic example. Our 
knowledge of the structure and function of sensory receptors and the 
significance of neurosecretion have also been enriched greatly through 
use of marine organisms. 
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