Biological defense
Encyclopedia
In biology
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In law
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Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
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- often biological defense mechanism, a form of adaptationAdaptationAn adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
that promotes the survivability of an organism by protecting it from its natural enemies. Also see chemical defenseChemical defenseChemical defense is the use of compounds by plants and animals to deter herbivory and predation.-In plants:Chemical defense against herbivory is common. The production of capsaicin in many strains of bell peppers is one such defense familiar to humans....
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In law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
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- a claim that some biological factor present in the defendant provides a defense against the accused crimes, as in the so-called Twinkie defenseTwinkie defense"Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catchall term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor...
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