A cybernetic view of biological growth

"Maia is the story of an idea - and its development into a working hypothesis - that provides a cybernetic interpretation of how growth is controlled. Growth at this level is controlled by regulating the specific rate of growth. Access to control mechanism output is achieved by perturbing the growing system (using low levels of toxic agents) and then filtering out the consequences. The output of the growth control mechanism is then accessible for interpretation and modelling. This approach has been used to provide interpretations of hormesis, homeodynamic adaptation to increased loads and acquired tolerance, and catch-up growth due to relaxation stimulation. The book begins with an introduction to cybernetics in relation to the regulation of growth and population increase in animals and man, and goes on to describe this new experimental technique for accessing growth processes. This book is intended for postgraduate students of biological cybernetics and researchers into biological growth, endocrinology, population ecology and toxicology"--