Living beings grow and develop. Each organism begins its journey with a single cell. Gradually formed tissues and organs. The growth and development of living organisms is not the same thing. Growth is an increase in size and weight. But living organisms also go through a series of transformations, which include a process such as development.
What is the growth of a living organism?
Think of a newborn baby. It has all the features of an adult, but it is very tiny. After many years, the kids become larger and gradually become the same adults. This process is the growth or increase in the size and mass of living organisms. But a small child was once a single cell, which later turned into a zygote, then into a fetus, and then into a tiny baby.
In some organisms, growth is associated with a radical transformation. Take, for example, a butterfly. It begins its journey as a larva, then turns into a caterpillar, then into a chrysalis, from which a beautiful butterfly flies out. All living things grow and develop.
So, plants arise from a seed and turn into a large tree, flower or bush. Some organisms in the process of growth maintain an external resemblance to their parents, and some may have some minor changes - it all depends on genetics.
Is growth and development the same thing?
These two concepts sometimes appear interchangeably, but still the growth and development of living organisms describe individual events in the organization of growing up. Development is a progression from earlier to later stages of ripening, for example, a seed develops into a mature tree. This is the process by which tissues, organs and entire plants are formed. It includes growth, morphogenesis (the acquisition of form and structure) and differentiation. The interaction of the environment and the genetic instructions inherited by the cells determine how a particular organism will develop.
Growth is not just an increase in the size and mass of living organisms, it is also an irreversible change in the size of cells and organs due to their division and expansion. It happens that, having reached a certain stage, this process is inhibited or terminated, but sometimes the cells continue to divide indefinitely (this is more true for plants).
Plants differ from animals in their growth. So, as young animals grow up, all parts of their bodies grow until they reach a genetically determined size for each species. Plant growth, on the other hand, continues throughout life and is limited only to certain meristems.
Biomass growth
The increase in the size and mass of living organisms can be measured in terms of biomass, that is, by determining the amount of organic material with the exception of water. The body grows by dividing mitotic cells (mitosis). This process is accompanied by an increase in cell size. Therefore, the increase in the size and mass of living organisms - their growth - is one of the main signs of all living organisms, along with the presence of metabolism, the ability to respond to irritations, movements, reproduction and so on.