{"id":8287,"date":"2026-09-20T12:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T10:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/2026\/09\/20\/adaptability-adaptive-potential\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T22:44:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T21:44:33","slug":"adaptability-adaptive-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/2026\/09\/20\/adaptability-adaptive-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Adaptability and Adaptive Potential: A Law of Living Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<article class=\"bp-satellite\">\n\n  <header>\n    <p class=\"bp-meta\">\n      <strong>By Gil Ayache<\/strong>, PhD \u2014 Mines Paris \u2013 PSL &nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp; co-founder of Blue Portance<br>\n      <time datetime=\"2026-09-20\">September 20, 2026<\/time> \u00b7 21 min read\n    <\/p>\n    \n  <\/header>\n\n  <section class=\"bp-summary\">\n    <p>Adaptability is the capacity of a living system to maintain its functions, or to reorganize them, when its environment changes. It appears from the cell to the ecosystem, but through different mechanisms: regulation, plasticity, learning, evolution, resilience. \u201cAdaptive potential\u201d refers to the space of responses a system can still mobilize.<\/p>\n    <p>This article distinguishes adaptation, plasticity, acclimatization, robustness, and evolvability, examines the mechanisms and costs of adaptability, then clarifies in what sense we can speak of a \u201claw of living systems\u201d: a shared organizing principle, not a single mechanism.<\/p>\n    <p>Blue Portance\u2019s SBNFA\u2122 framework transposes this principle to the seated human body through two expressions \u2014 postural adaptability and tissue adaptability \u2014 linked in the adjustment process by a sensory and proprioceptive loop. Finally, the article presents what the Aporia\u00ae architecture makes possible according to this evaluation, and what remains to be demonstrated.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <nav class=\"bp-toc\">\n    <h2>Contents<\/h2>\n    <ol>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-1\">Defining Adaptability<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-2\">Adaptive Potential<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-3\">Biological Mechanisms<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-4\">From Organism to Ecosystem<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-5\">Adaptability as a Cross-Cutting Property<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-6\">The Limits and Costs of Adaptability<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-7\">A Look Toward Artificial Systems<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-8\">From Living Systems to Human Posture: The Four SBNFA\u2122 Laws of Living Systems<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-9\">How Aporia\u00ae Makes Adaptive Potential Possible While Sitting<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#section-10\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#faq\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/a><\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"#references\">References<\/a><\/li>\n    <\/ol>\n  <\/nav>\n\n  <section id=\"introduction\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Adaptability is one of the most widely shared principles of life: organisms persist because they can maintain their functions despite variations in their environment, or modify them when those variations require it. Life, after all, unfolds under changing conditions. Temperature, resource availability, mechanical loads, interactions with other organisms, and reproductive conditions all vary over time.<\/p>\n    <p>This general capacity is thus often referred to as adaptability. However, the word covers several distinct phenomena. For example, a cell can change its metabolism within minutes, an organism can adjust its physiology over its lifetime, a population can evolve over generations, and an ecosystem can reorganize after a disturbance. These processes are certainly linked by the same question \u2014 how can a system maintain some functionality in the face of change? \u2014 but they do not rely on the same mechanisms.<\/p>\n    <h3>Adaptability, Adaptation, and Plasticity<\/h3>\n    <p>It is also important to distinguish adaptability from adaptation. First, adaptability refers to a capacity or a functional property. By contrast, adaptation, in its evolutionary sense, refers to the outcome of heritable changes selected within a population. Plasticity, for its part, allows an individual to change its phenotype during its lifetime without requiring a genetic change [<a href=\"#ref-2\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-4\">4<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Five Concepts Not to Confuse<\/h3>\n    <p>Five concepts, often confused, structure this entire article:<\/p>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Concept<\/th><th>Careful definition<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Evolutionary adaptation<\/strong><\/td><td>Heritable change in a population over generations through selection, drift, mutation, and gene flow<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Phenotypic plasticity<\/strong><\/td><td>The capacity of a single genotype to produce different phenotypes depending on the environment<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Acclimatization or physiological adjustment<\/strong><\/td><td>A reversible change in an individual exposed to a variation in its environment<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Robustness<\/strong><\/td><td>The capacity to maintain a function despite a disturbance<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Evolvability<\/strong><\/td><td>The capacity of a genetic system to produce heritable variation that can be selected<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <p>However, plasticity and robustness are not simply opposites. Indeed, an organism can change some characteristics while keeping other functions stable. Research on biological robustness also shows that robustness, plasticity, and evolvability can sometimes reinforce one another [<a href=\"#ref-1\">1<\/a>\u2013<a href=\"#ref-3\">3<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Purpose of This Article<\/h3>\n    <p>The purpose of this article is to offer an integrated view of adaptability across several levels of organization, from molecular networks to ecosystems, and then to show how this view sheds light on a specific case: the human body in a seated position. Here, the term \u201cadaptive potential\u201d refers to a system\u2019s latent capacity to produce different responses, maintain its functions, or generate new solutions when faced with a disturbance. For the seated body, the SBNFA\u2122 framework distinguishes two expressions of it \u2014 postural adaptability and tissue adaptability \u2014 presented in section 8.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"bp-highlight\">\n      <p>The title refers to a \u201claw of living systems.\u201d It should therefore be understood as an organizing principle that every living system encounters \u2014 persisting in a variable world \u2014 and not as a single mechanism working identically from the molecule to the ecosystem. The rest of the article therefore distinguishes what is shared across levels of organization and what is not.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-1\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>1. Defining Adaptability<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Before discussing potential, we need to clarify what adaptability is \u2014 and what it is not.<\/p>\n    <h3>A Functional Property, Not a Single Mechanism<\/h3>\n    <p>Indeed, adaptability is not a single mechanism. Rather, it results from the interaction of several properties: plasticity, robustness, redundancy, modularity, repair capacity, memory, learning, and genetic variability.<\/p>\n    <p>Thus, an adaptable system can respond in several ways. It can change how it functions, maintain its configuration despite the disturbance, activate an alternative pathway, or change state when conditions become incompatible with its original organization.<\/p>\n    <p>This diversity therefore explains why it is difficult to give a single definition of adaptability. In evolutionary biology, it may be associated with a population\u2019s capacity to produce variants and respond to selection. In physiology, it refers more to an organism\u2019s regulation and plasticity. In ecology, it concerns the capacity of a population or ecosystem to absorb a disturbance and reorganize.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"bp-key-message\">\n      <p>The term adaptability should therefore always be accompanied by the level of organization concerned.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <h3>Adaptation, Plasticity, and Acclimatization<\/h3>\n    <p>Natural selection acts on heritable variation between individuals. It can favor certain traits when they increase survival or reproductive success in a given environment. In this framework, adaptation is therefore a property of populations, not an intentional transformation of an individual over its lifetime [<a href=\"#ref-6\">6<\/a>\u2013<a href=\"#ref-8\">8<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Phenotypic plasticity is the capacity of a single genotype to produce different characteristics depending on environmental conditions. This plasticity can involve morphology, physiology, development, or behavior, among others [<a href=\"#ref-2\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-4\">4<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-5\">5<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Acclimatization refers more specifically to a reversible adjustment in an individual exposed to natural or experimental conditions. Increased ventilatory capacity during exposure to altitude, seasonal changes in metabolism, and certain changes in thermal tolerance are general examples.<\/p>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Process<\/th><th>Time scale<\/th><th>Main level<\/th><th>Heritability<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Physiological regulation<\/strong><\/td><td>Seconds to hours<\/td><td>Cell or organism<\/td><td>Not necessarily<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Acclimatization<\/strong><\/td><td>Days to weeks<\/td><td>Organism<\/td><td>Generally not<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Phenotypic plasticity<\/strong><\/td><td>Development or life cycle<\/td><td>Organism<\/td><td>Depends on genotype and environment<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Evolutionary adaptation<\/strong><\/td><td>Generations<\/td><td>Population<\/td><td>Yes, at the population level<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Ecological resilience<\/strong><\/td><td>Years to decades<\/td><td>Community or ecosystem<\/td><td>Not in the direct genetic sense<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <p>This distinction is essential to avoid attributing to evolution changes that actually stem from plasticity or physiological regulation.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-2\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>2. Adaptive Potential<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Adaptive potential does not refer to a single measurable reserve. Rather, it can be defined as the full set of options a system has for producing a functional response when subjected to a variation or disturbance.<\/p>\n    <p>This potential depends in particular on the diversity of accessible states, the redundancy of functions, the modularity of the organization, and the capacity to generate variation without immediately losing the main function. It is latent: it exists before the disturbance, regardless of how it will be used, and this is what distinguishes it from adaptability itself, which is a capacity expressed in a given situation.<\/p>\n    <h3>Robustness and Plasticity<\/h3>\n    <p>Robustness is the capacity of a trait or function to remain relatively stable despite a genetic or environmental disturbance. Plasticity, by contrast, is the capacity to change the phenotype according to conditions [<a href=\"#ref-1\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-2\">2<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>These two properties may seem opposed. Yet an organism can be robust for some functions and plastic for others. It can thus maintain a relatively stable internal temperature while changing its behavior, metabolism, or blood circulation.<\/p>\n    <p>Theoretical and experimental work also suggests that robustness can promote evolvability. By tolerating certain genetic variations without losing its function, a system can accumulate a diversity of configurations and later produce phenotypic innovations under certain conditions [<a href=\"#ref-1\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-3\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-11\">11<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Redundancy and Modularity<\/h3>\n    <p>Redundancy first refers to the presence of several elements that can contribute to the same function. It can thus provide compensatory capacity when one element is impaired. Modularity, for its part, makes it possible to confine the effects of a disturbance to one part of the system.<\/p>\n    <p>These concepts are particularly important in biological networks. For example, a metabolic or regulatory network can sometimes use several pathways to reach a comparable result. This organization does not eliminate the limits of adaptation, but it can increase the number of available responses [<a href=\"#ref-3\">3<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Nevertheless, redundancy should not be presented as an absolute advantage. It can carry an energy cost, produce complex interactions, or become useless if several elements are affected by the same disturbance.<\/p>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Property<\/th><th>What it contributes to adaptive potential<\/th><th>Limitation<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Diversity of accessible states<\/strong><\/td><td>Several possible responses to the same disturbance<\/td><td>Not all are viable or equivalent<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Robustness<\/strong><\/td><td>Function maintained despite the disturbance<\/td><td>Can mask fragility until a threshold is crossed<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Redundancy<\/strong><\/td><td>Compensation when one element is impaired<\/td><td>Energy cost; ineffective if all elements are affected<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Modularity<\/strong><\/td><td>Disturbance confined to one part of the system<\/td><td>Can reduce exchanges between modules<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <div class=\"bp-key-message\">\n      <p>Adaptive potential is not a single quantity: it is the space of responses a system can still mobilize.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-3\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>3. Biological Mechanisms<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Adaptability draws on several families of mechanisms, which operate on different time scales and combine in most real-life situations.<\/p>\n    <h3>Phenotypic Plasticity<\/h3>\n    <p>Phenotypic plasticity allows a single genotype to produce different phenotypes depending on the environment. It can appear during development, for example, or result from a reversible change in physiological activity [<a href=\"#ref-4\">4<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-5\">5<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>For example, in plants, light availability can change leaf shape, resource allocation, or stem growth. Similarly, in animals, temperature, nutrition, population density, or social interactions can influence growth, morphology, or behavior.<\/p>\n    <p>However, plasticity is not always beneficial. A response can be incomplete, too slow, energetically costly, or ill-suited when the environment changes faster than the capacity for regulation. Plasticity should therefore be understood as a possible response, not as a guarantee of successful adaptation [<a href=\"#ref-4\">4<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Gene and Epigenetic Regulation<\/h3>\n    <p>Cells adapt their activity by modulating the expression of their genes. This regulation depends in particular on internal and external signals, transcription factors, chromatin organization, and signaling networks. The classic example is the lactose operon in the bacterium Escherichia coli: the genes needed to use lactose are expressed only when this sugar is available [<a href=\"#ref-21\">21<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>The term \u201cepigenetics\u201d was introduced by Conrad Waddington to describe the interactions between development, the genome, and the environment that lead to the expression of the phenotype. His concept of the epigenetic landscape thus illustrated how developmental trajectories can be stabilized or modified [<a href=\"#ref-9\">9<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>In contemporary biology, epigenetics refers in particular to mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and certain chromatin regulation processes. These mechanisms can contribute to cellular plasticity, but we should avoid concluding that individual experiences are systematically passed on to offspring.<\/p>\n    <p>Indeed, the reversibility of certain epigenetic marks and their possible transmission depend on the mechanism, the tissue, the species, and the context. Epigenetics therefore does not constitute general proof of the inheritance of acquired characteristics; the extent of epigenetic inheritance remains a matter of debate [<a href=\"#ref-10\">10<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Genetic Variation and Evolvability<\/h3>\n    <p>Evolutionary adaptation relies on the existence of heritable variation and on differences in reproduction among individuals in a population. Mutation, recombination, gene flow, and drift also contribute to the structure of this variation [<a href=\"#ref-6\">6<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-7\">7<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Natural selection therefore does not directly produce a response because an organism needs it. Rather, it changes the frequency of variants that are already present or that arise through mutation and recombination. The direction of evolution thus depends on the available variation, the environment, and the population\u2019s history [<a href=\"#ref-8\">8<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Finally, evolvability refers to a system\u2019s capacity to produce heritable variation that can lead to adaptation. It depends in particular on genome organization, developmental networks, the robustness of phenotypes, and the way genetic variations are translated into observable traits [<a href=\"#ref-1\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-3\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-11\">11<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Behavior, Learning, and Memory<\/h3>\n    <p>Behavior offers a fast route to adaptation, because it can change the interaction with the environment without waiting for a morphological or genetic transformation. Learning, in particular, makes it possible to select responses based on their consequences.<\/p>\n    <p>However, it is better not to reduce learning to operant conditioning theory alone. Adaptive behaviors also draw on memory, exploration, imitation, anticipation, and decision-making. In many species, behavioral flexibility thus makes it possible to exploit new resources or avoid risks [<a href=\"#ref-13\">13<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-14\">14<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>As early as the late 19th century, Baldwin proposed that learning and behavior could influence the evolutionary trajectory of a lineage \u2014 an idea since known as the Baldwin effect [<a href=\"#ref-12\">12<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>This flexibility, however, comes at a cost. It requires time, cognitive capacity, reliable information, and sometimes a long learning period. A behavior can also be adaptive in one environment and harmful in another.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-4\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>4. From Organism to Ecosystem<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">The mechanisms above come together at the level of populations, then ecosystems, where adaptability takes collective forms.<\/p>\n    <h3>Adaptation of Populations<\/h3>\n    <p>At the population level, adaptation therefore results from changes in the frequency of heritable variants. Natural selection can favor certain traits, while genetic drift changes frequencies randomly, especially in small populations. Finally, gene flow introduces or redistributes variants between populations [<a href=\"#ref-6\">6<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-7\">7<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Two examples illustrate how fast these processes can be. First, in experimental evolution studies on Escherichia coli populations over 10,000 generations, the lineages increased their fitness in a constant environment while diversifying [<a href=\"#ref-22\">22<\/a>]. Second, in disease-carrying mosquitoes, insecticide resistance emerged under strong selection pressure [<a href=\"#ref-15\">15<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>These mechanisms do not always produce better adaptation, however. A population can lose diversity through drift, suffer inbreeding depression, or receive variants poorly suited to its local environment.<\/p>\n    <p>A population\u2019s adaptability therefore depends on its genetic diversity, effective size, reproductive rate, habitat structure, and the speed of environmental change.<\/p>\n    <h3>Ecosystem Resilience<\/h3>\n    <p>At the ecosystem level, resilience generally refers to the capacity to absorb a disturbance and retain part of its functioning, or to reorganize after a major change. Holling distinguished stability around an equilibrium state from resilience, which concerns the persistence of functional organization despite a disturbance [<a href=\"#ref-17\">17<\/a>]. This approach was later extended to social-ecological systems, where adaptive capacity plays a central role [<a href=\"#ref-18\">18<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>A resilient ecosystem therefore does not necessarily return to its initial state. Instead, it can adopt a new configuration, with other dominant species, other flows of matter, and other relationships between organisms.<\/p>\n    <p>Diversity, functional redundancy, connectivity, and the presence of several energy transfer pathways can also contribute to resilience. However, they do not guarantee recovery when the disturbance exceeds a critical threshold.<\/p>\n    <h3>Climate Change and the Limits of Adaptation<\/h3>\n    <p>In the face of climate change, organisms and populations can thus change their distribution, behavior, physiology, or breeding calendar. For example, some species move toward more favorable areas; others adjust their flowering, breeding, or activity periods. The migration of monarch butterflies, which relies on complex sensory and physiological mechanisms, thus illustrates the scale of such seasonal responses [<a href=\"#ref-16\">16<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Yet these responses are limited by the speed of change, habitat fragmentation, the availability of ecological corridors, interactions between species, and physiological limits. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasizes that adaptation options decrease as climate risks increase and ecological thresholds are crossed [<a href=\"#ref-19\">19<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>Coral bleaching illustrates this limit in particular. A rise in temperature can trigger a physiological response, but prolonged or overly intense exposure can exceed the compensatory capacities of the organism and its associated ecosystem [<a href=\"#ref-20\">20<\/a>].<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-5\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>5. Adaptability as a Cross-Cutting Property<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Adaptability appears at different levels, but it does not work through the same mechanisms everywhere.<\/p>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Level of organization<\/th><th>Main form of adaptability<\/th><th>Example<\/th><th>Main limitation<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Molecular<\/strong><\/td><td>Regulation of gene expression<\/td><td>Lactose operon in E. coli [<a href=\"#ref-21\">21<\/a>]<\/td><td>Response dependent on resources and signals<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Cellular<\/strong><\/td><td>Homeostasis, repair, autophagy<\/td><td>Recycling of cellular components<\/td><td>Damage exceeding repair capacity<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Organism<\/strong><\/td><td>Physiological plasticity, behavior, learning<\/td><td>Adjustment of metabolism or behavior [<a href=\"#ref-4\">4<\/a>]<\/td><td>Energy cost and developmental constraints<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Population<\/strong><\/td><td>Selection, mutation, drift, gene flow<\/td><td>Insecticide resistance in mosquitoes [<a href=\"#ref-15\">15<\/a>]<\/td><td>Generation time and available diversity<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Ecosystem<\/strong><\/td><td>Resilience, reorganization, succession<\/td><td>Recomposition after a disturbance [<a href=\"#ref-17\">17<\/a>]<\/td><td>Critical thresholds and loss of functions<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <p>Comparisons between these levels should therefore remain cautious. A cell does not \u201cadapt\u201d in the same way as a population. A population does not learn in the individual sense, and an ecosystem does not necessarily have an intention or a purpose.<\/p>\n    <p>Rather, the common thread is the capacity to change a state, maintain a function, or explore another organization when conditions change. It is in this sense, and in this sense only, that adaptability can be called a general principle of life.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-6\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>6. The Limits and Costs of Adaptability<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Every adaptation has limits. An adaptive response can require energy, reduce another function, or become ineffective when the disturbance exceeds a certain threshold.<\/p>\n    <p>Life-history theories have thus shown that organisms must make trade-offs between growth, survival, and reproduction. Investing in defense, repair, or stress tolerance, for example, can reduce the resources available for other functions [<a href=\"#ref-23\">23<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>These trade-offs therefore explain why an organism cannot maximize all its capacities at once. A plant that invests more in defense may grow more slowly. Similarly, an animal that maintains a high level of vigilance may reduce its feeding or reproduction. A population that adapts quickly to one condition may become more vulnerable when the environment changes again.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"bp-key-message\">\n      <p>Adaptability should not be confused with an unlimited capacity for recovery: it reflects a balance between the available responses, their associated costs, the time available, and the intensity of the disturbance.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-7\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>7. A Look Toward Artificial Systems<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Artificial systems draw on several properties of living systems: learning, selection, real-time adaptation, modularity, and fault tolerance. Evolutionary algorithms and neural networks, in particular, use certain analogies with selection, learning, and biological networks [<a href=\"#ref-24\">24<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>However, these analogies remain partial. An algorithm does not necessarily have a metabolism, biological reproduction, or physiological self-regulation. It is better to speak of formal inspiration rather than complete similarity with living systems.<\/p>\n    <p>The value of these comparisons lies in the search for systems capable of changing their behavior based on data, maintaining certain functions despite disturbances, and producing new solutions within a given space of constraints. The same logic of careful transposition guides the next section, devoted to the seated human body.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-8\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>8. From Living Systems to Human Posture: The Four SBNFA\u2122 Laws of Living Systems<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Blue Portance\u2019s SBNFA\u2122 \u2014 <strong>Systemic Biological Neuro-fascial Adaptive Framework<\/strong> \u2014 applies the principle of adaptability to a specific case: the human body in a seated position. It does not claim to prove that adaptability is a \u201claw\u201d in the physical sense. Rather, it identifies four operating principles of living systems, called \u201claws of living systems,\u201d and derives from them what a seat must allow the body to do [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>The Four SBNFA\u2122 Laws of Living Systems<\/h3>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Law of living systems<\/th><th>What the principle states<\/th><th>What it implies for a seat<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Motor variability<\/strong><\/td><td>Living systems do not function through prolonged immobility, but through adjustments, micro-corrections, and changes in postural strategy<\/td><td>Do not impose a fixed geometry; allow discreet movement of the pelvis, trunk, and limbs without excessive control effort<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Tissue flow<\/strong><\/td><td>Tissues need circulation, oxygenation, mechanical stimulation, and alternation between compression and decompression<\/td><td>Avoid continuous pressure on the same support areas<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Segmental independence<\/strong><\/td><td>The body is a kinematic chain, not a monolithic block<\/td><td>Let the pelvis, hips, trunk, and spine cooperate without being fused together by the seat<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Autonomous regulation<\/strong><\/td><td>The body constantly adjusts its posture based on sensory feedback<\/td><td>Offer a zone of dynamic stability: enough support to prevent collapse, enough freedom to correct and reorganize posture<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <h3>From Variability to Natural Posture<\/h3>\n    <p>Here we find, applied to sitting, the concepts from the previous sections. The first law extends the question of variability: Bernstein showed that movement coordination does not consist of repeating an identical gesture, but of solving a motor problem anew each time [<a href=\"#ref-25\">25<\/a>]. Research in neurologic physical therapy has also proposed that variability that is neither too low nor excessive characterizes a healthy system, while variability that is too reduced or disordered would be associated with a lower capacity for adaptation [<a href=\"#ref-26\">26<\/a>]. This hypothesis concerns movement in general: it has not been established specifically for sitting.<\/p>\n    <p>Human rest, moreover, is not synonymous with immobility: among the Hadza of Tanzania, adults spend a notable share of their non-ambulatory rest time squatting, a posture in which muscle activity remains higher than that observed in a chair [<a href=\"#ref-27\">27<\/a>]. The framework thus defines a natural posture as a configuration in which the body retains a capacity for adjustment, load redistribution, and active regulation [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Adaptability and Adaptive Potential While Sitting<\/h3>\n    <p>Transposed to the seated human, the \u201cadaptive potential\u201d of section 2 \u2014 the space of responses that can still be mobilized \u2014 takes a precise form. The Blue Portance glossary distinguishes three related concepts:<\/p>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Term<\/th><th>Definition in the Blue Portance framework<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Adaptability<\/strong><\/td><td>Capacity expressed in a given situation<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Adaptive potential<\/strong><\/td><td>The options available to a person, in a given situation, to change their postural organization and vary the loads on their tissues, without losing balance or concentrating those loads over time<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Postural adaptive reserve<\/strong><\/td><td>Remaining functional margin<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <p>In this reading, adaptive potential therefore results from the interaction between the person, the task, and the environment, which includes the seat. It is analyzed in particular through freedom of movement, dynamic stability, the capacity to adjust and redistribute loads, and variation in points of support [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>]. The \u201caccessible states\u201d of biology thus become, here, the stabilizable balance configurations and the degrees of freedom that can actually be used.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"bp-highlight\">\n      <p>\u201cAdaptive potential\u201d is a construct specific to Blue Portance: the studies cited support certain components of the analysis, but do not provide a validated measure of it. It therefore cannot be inferred from the seat\u2019s mobility alone. The framework itself points out that an analogy with living systems is not proof: it serves to identify functions to be investigated [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>]. To learn more, see the SBNFA\u2122 framework.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <h3>Postural Adaptability, Tissue Adaptability, and the Sensory Loop<\/h3>\n    <p>In the framework, <strong>adaptability<\/strong> is the integrating concept: the body\u2019s capacity to adjust its postural organization and tissue responses in the face of loads, while preserving balance, mobility, and load distribution. It has two expressions to distinguish: <strong>postural adaptability<\/strong>, the adjustment of the body\u2019s organization, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/2026\/05\/19\/tissue-adaptability-back-pain\/\">tissue adaptability<\/a><\/strong>, the response of tissues to mechanical loading. Immediate postural adjustment and longer-term tissue adaptation should not be confused [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <p>A sensory, informational, and proprioceptive loop contributes to the process that enables adaptation: body movement, mechanical information transmitted to the seat, the seat\u2019s response, sensory feedback to the body, sensorimotor adjustment. The seat does not produce proprioception: it handles the mechanical information the body gives it, including micro-movements, and may or may not respond to it without delay. This dimension is therefore not a third adaptability: it is a cross-cutting mechanism of adjustment, which the fourth law of living systems \u2014 autonomous regulation \u2014 sums up as follows: the body constantly adjusts its posture based on sensory feedback [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>].<\/p>\n    <h3>Three Cross-Cutting Dimensions of Analysis<\/h3>\n    <p>Three dimensions of analysis make it possible to read the framework\u2019s seven functions without replacing or redistributing them: the postural or biomechanical dimension (body organization, degrees of freedom, accessible balance states), the sensory, informational, and proprioceptive dimension, and the tissue dimension (loads, variation and redistribution, tissue responses). A single function can involve several of them: the first cuts across all three, since adaptive potential concerns postural organization, balance, and the variation of loads on the tissues alike.<\/p>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Level<\/th><th>Question<\/th><th>Content<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Integrating concept<\/strong><\/td><td>What are we trying to preserve?<\/td><td>Adaptability: the capacity to keep adjusting in the face of loads<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Two expressions<\/strong><\/td><td>What adapts?<\/td><td>Postural organization (postural adaptability); weight-bearing tissues (tissue adaptability)<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Three dimensions of analysis<\/strong><\/td><td>Through which functional processes?<\/td><td>Postural or biomechanical; sensory, informational, and proprioceptive; tissue<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Operational structure<\/strong><\/td><td>How is it observed and scored?<\/td><td>Seven functions, nineteen state variables, 0-to-4 scale or N\/A, unchanged<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <p>These levels of analysis do not add, remove, or redistribute any function or variable, and they are not scored: they serve as an explanatory grid for the framework.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-9\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>9. How Aporia\u00ae Makes Adaptive Potential Possible While Sitting<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">In the SBNFA\u2122, the first of the seven functions evaluated is \u201cpreservation of the subject\u2019s adaptive potential.\u201d It rests on a simple idea: the subject must remain the initiator of change, with the seat responding to their mechanical demand without imposing its own trajectory [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>]. This function is cross-cutting: adaptive potential concerns postural organization, balance, and the variation of loads on the tissues alike.<\/p>\n    <h3>First Function: Two Variables<\/h3>\n    <p>Two variables are distinguished. The first concerns the governance of movement: who initiates it, chooses its direction, and controls its amplitude, speed, and stopping point. The second, for its part, concerns the mechanical resolution of the interface: does it respond to very small adjustments, without an excessive threshold, dead zone, notch, or dominant return force? [<a href=\"#ref-28\">28<\/a>]\n    <h3>The Aporia\u00ae ExoBase Architecture<\/h3>\n    <p>The Aporia\u00ae ExoBase thus combines a curved, mobile base with four articulated, mechanically independent pads, each with its own foam and its own cover. The framework also describes a continuous space of balanced oscillations up to \u00b145\u00b0, within which the person can move from one stabilized position to another without having to maintain an imbalance imposed by the seat [<a href=\"#ref-29\">29<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-30\">30<\/a>]. It is in this sense that Aporia\u00ae makes adaptive potential possible while sitting: not by setting the posture on the subject\u2019s behalf, but by opposing them with no threshold, no notch, and no imposed zero point.<\/p>\n    <h3>What the Evaluation Shows<\/h3>\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr><th>Level<\/th><th>Statement<\/th><\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr><td><strong>Design<\/strong><\/td><td>Four independent pads on a curved, mobile base, designed to allow relative variations in points of support [<a href=\"#ref-29\">29<\/a>]<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Evaluated capacity<\/strong><\/td><td>Bor\u00e9al\u2013Aporia scores 3.75\/4 across the framework\u2019s seven functions, compared with 1.76 to 2.62 for five seats on the market; 4.00\/4 for adaptability, compared with 3.50 for the best competitor [<a href=\"#ref-30\">30<\/a>]<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Effect to be tested<\/strong><\/td><td>Postural variability, pressure distribution, muscle activity, comfort, and tolerance during a prolonged task<\/td><\/tr>\n        <tr><td><strong>Clinical effect<\/strong><\/td><td>Not demonstrated: pain reduction cannot be claimed without a dedicated study<\/td><\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n    <div class=\"bp-highlight\">\n      <p><strong>Methodological note \u2014<\/strong> The scores presented here are the raw functional scores from the seven SBNFA\u2122 functions. They do not include the effects of interdependencies between functions, which are taken into account in the benchmark\u2019s in-depth systemic analysis.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <h3>Limitations and Upcoming Measurements<\/h3>\n    <p>However, this evaluation is expert-based, not instrumented: it covers the capacities offered by the architecture, not how a given person uses them, and it concerns a prototype that is not yet commercially available. The framework also documents limitations: horizontal displacements and spine\u2013pelvis pivoting are bounded by the geometry of the assembly, pressure distribution depends on body type, and firmness cannot be adjusted separately on each pad [<a href=\"#ref-29\">29<\/a>, <a href=\"#ref-30\">30<\/a>]. In addition, instrumented measurements are scheduled with the GIBOC laboratory of the Institute of Movement Sciences in the first half of 2027.<\/p>\n    <p>The full benchmark is presented in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/2026\/08\/25\/dynamic-chairs-sbnfa-comparison\/\">Bor\u00e9al\u2013Aporia vs. Dynamic Seats<\/a>.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"section-10\" class=\"bp-section\">\n    <h2>10. Conclusion<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"bp-lead\">Adaptability is a cross-cutting property of living systems, but it is not a universal law in the sense of a single mechanism working identically at every level. Rather, it refers to a family of capacities that allow a system to maintain a function, change its state, or produce a new organization in the face of variation. It is as an organizing principle that it can be called a \u201claw of living systems.\u201d<\/p>\n    <p>In the organism, it relies first on physiological regulation, plasticity, behavior, and learning. In populations, it then depends on heritable variation and evolution. In ecosystems, finally, it takes the form of resistance, resilience, and reorganization.<\/p>\n    <p>Adaptive potential can then be understood as the combination of several properties: diversity of responses, robustness of functions, modularity of organization, repair capacity, and the ability to produce usable variation. This potential, however, is not unlimited. It depends on resources, the time available, the speed of change, and the system\u2019s own thresholds.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"bp-key-message\">\n      <p>Adaptability is not a single response of living systems, but a capacity to maintain, modify, or reorganize functions according to constraints. It is thus expressed through plasticity, robustness, regulation, learning, evolution, and resilience. Adaptive potential corresponds to the space of responses a system can still mobilize before reaching its limits.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <h3>From Principle to Seating<\/h3>\n    <p>Applied to sitting, this principle therefore leads to one criterion: not \u201cdoes the seat move?\u201d but \u201cwhat space of responses does it leave the body?\u201d This criterion is read through two expressions of adaptability: postural, where the person reorganizes their posture, and tissue, where the weight-bearing tissues respond to loads. Aporia\u00ae is designed to meet this criterion; its effects, however, remain to be measured.<\/p>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"faq\" class=\"bp-faq\">\n    <h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n    <details>\n      <summary>What is the difference between adaptability and adaptation?<\/summary>\n      <div class=\"faq-content\"><p>Adaptability refers first to a capacity or functional property: the ability to respond to a variation. Adaptation, in the evolutionary sense, refers instead to the outcome of heritable changes selected within a population. Plasticity and acclimatization, for their part, are adjustments in an individual that do not involve genetic change.<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/details>\n    <details>\n      <summary>Is adaptability really a \u201claw\u201d of living systems?<\/summary>\n      <div class=\"faq-content\"><p>It is indeed an organizing principle that every living system encounters: persisting in a variable environment. It is therefore not a single mechanism working identically from the molecule to the ecosystem. Thus, a cell does not adapt like a population, nor a population like an ecosystem.<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/details>\n    <h3>Adaptive Potential<\/h3>\n    <details>\n      <summary>What is adaptive potential?<\/summary>\n      <div class=\"faq-content\"><p>It is the full set of options a system has for producing a functional response to a variation or disturbance. It depends in particular on the diversity of accessible states, redundancy, modularity, and robustness. However, it is not unlimited and cannot be reduced to a single measurable reserve.<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/details>\n    <details>\n      <summary>Aren\u2019t robustness and plasticity contradictory?<\/summary>\n      <div class=\"faq-content\"><p>Not necessarily. An organism can indeed be robust for some functions, such as internal temperature, and plastic for others, such as behavior or metabolism. Research also suggests that robustness can promote evolvability.<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/details>\n    <h3>Adaptability and Sitting<\/h3>\n    <details>\n      <summary>What are postural adaptability, tissue adaptability, and the sensory loop?<\/summary>\n      <div class=\"faq-content\"><p>In the SBNFA\u2122 framework, adaptability is the integrating concept: the body\u2019s capacity to adjust its postural organization and tissue responses in the face of loads. Postural adaptability concerns the body\u2019s organization; tissue adaptability, the response of weight-bearing tissues. A sensory and proprioceptive loop contributes to the adjustment: it is not a third adaptability. This reading changes neither the seven functions nor the nineteen variables.<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/details>\n    <details>\n      <summary>What does adaptive potential mean while sitting?<\/summary>\n      <div class=\"faq-content\"><p>In the SBNFA\u2122 framework, it refers to the options available to a person to change their postural organization and vary the loads on their tissues, without losing balance or concentrating those loads over time. It is a construct specific to Blue Portance, with no validated measure to date. Aporia\u00ae\u2019s effects on this potential have, however, been evaluated by experts, but not yet measured with instruments.<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/details>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <div class=\"bp-cta\">\n    <h2>Aporia\u00ae in Practice<\/h2>\n    <p>Discover the architecture that makes adaptive potential possible while sitting.<\/p>\n    Discover Aporia\u00ae \u2192\n  <\/div>\n\n  <section class=\"bp-links\">\n    <h2>Further Reading<\/h2>\n    <ul>\n      <li><a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/2026\/08\/25\/dynamic-chairs-sbnfa-comparison\/\">Bor\u00e9al\u2013Aporia vs. Dynamic Seats: What Their Architecture Reveals<\/a><br>The SBNFA\u2122 benchmark of six seating devices, with detailed results.<\/li>\n      <li>The SBNFA\u2122 Framework<br>Blue Portance\u2019s framework on adaptability while sitting.<\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/2026\/05\/19\/tissue-adaptability-back-pain\/\">Tissue Adaptability and Back Pain<\/a><br>How tissues respond to the loads of prolonged sitting.<\/li>\n      <li>Prolonged Sitting and Mechanical Variability<br>Why varying your points of support matters when you sit for long periods.<\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/2026\/01\/07\/pelvic-mobility-micro-movements\/\">Micro-Movements and Pain While Sitting<\/a><br>The role of small pelvic adjustments while sitting.<\/li>\n      <li><a href=\"https:\/\/blueportance.com\/en\/2025\/12\/02\/from-2d-to-3d-ergonomics\/\">Static Ergonomics: A Good Idea That Falls Short?<\/a><br>Why imposing a posture is not enough to preserve the body\u2019s adaptability.<\/li>\n    <\/ul>\n  <\/section>\n\n  <section id=\"references\" class=\"bp-sources\">\n    <h2>References<\/h2>\n    <h3>Plasticity, Robustness, and Evolvability<\/h3>\n    <ol start=\"1\">\n      <li id=\"ref-1\"><strong>Masel &amp; Trotter, 2010<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.tig.2010.06.002\">Robustness and evolvability<\/a>. Trends in Genetics, 26(9), 406\u2013414.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-2\"><strong>Pigliucci, 2001<\/strong> \u2014 Phenotypic plasticity: beyond nature and nurture. Johns Hopkins University Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-3\"><strong>Wagner, 2008<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1098\/rspb.2007.1137\">Robustness and evolvability: a paradox resolved<\/a>. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 275(1630), 91\u2013100.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-4\"><strong>Via et al., 1995<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0169-5347(00)89061-8\">Adaptive phenotypic plasticity: consensus and controversy<\/a>. Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution, 10(5), 212\u2013217.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-5\"><strong>West-Eberhard, 2003<\/strong> \u2014 Developmental plasticity and evolution. Oxford University Press.<\/li>\n    <\/ol>\n    <h3>Evolutionary Adaptation and Epigenetics<\/h3>\n    <ol start=\"6\">\n      <li id=\"ref-6\"><strong>Dobzhansky, 1937<\/strong> \u2014 Genetics and the origin of species. Columbia University Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-7\"><strong>Fisher, 1930<\/strong> \u2014 The genetical theory of natural selection. Clarendon Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-8\"><strong>Darwin, 1859<\/strong> \u2014 On the origin of species by means of natural selection. John Murray.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-9\"><strong>Waddington, 1942<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/150563a0\">Canalization of development and the inheritance of acquired characters<\/a>. Nature, 150(3811), 563\u2013565.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-10\"><strong>Jablonka &amp; Lamb, 2005<\/strong> \u2014 Evolution in four dimensions: genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbolic variation in the history of life. MIT Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-11\"><strong>Kirschner &amp; Gerhart, 1998<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.95.15.8420\">Evolvability<\/a>. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 95(15), 8420\u20138427.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-12\"><strong>Baldwin, 1896<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1086\/276408\">A new factor in evolution<\/a>. The American Naturalist, 30(354), 441\u2013451.<\/li>\n    <\/ol>\n    <h3>Behavior, Populations, and Ecosystems<\/h3>\n    <ol start=\"13\">\n      <li id=\"ref-13\"><strong>Reader &amp; Laland, 2002<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.062041299\">Social intelligence, innovation, and enhanced brain size in primates<\/a>. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(7), 4436\u20134441.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-14\"><strong>Shettleworth, 2010<\/strong> \u2014 Cognition, evolution, and behavior (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-15\"><strong>Hemingway &amp; Ranson, 2000<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev.ento.45.1.371\">Insecticide resistance in insect vectors of human disease<\/a>. Annual Review of Entomology, 45, 371\u2013391.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-16\"><strong>Reppert &amp; de Roode, 2018<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cub.2018.02.067\">Demystifying monarch butterfly migration<\/a>. Current Biology, 28(17), R1009\u2013R1022.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-17\"><strong>Holling, 1973<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev.es.04.110173.000245\">Resilience and stability of ecological systems<\/a>. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4, 1\u201323.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-18\"><strong>Folke, 2006<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.gloenvcha.2006.04.002\">Resilience: the emergence of a perspective for social\u2013ecological systems analyses<\/a>. Global Environmental Change, 16(3), 253\u2013267.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-19\"><strong>IPCC, 2022<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/9781009325844\">Climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability<\/a>. Cambridge University Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-20\"><strong>Hughes et al., 2017<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/nature21707\">Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals<\/a>. Nature, 543, 373\u2013377.<\/li>\n    <\/ol>\n    <h3>Gene Regulation, Costs, and Artificial Systems<\/h3>\n    <ol start=\"21\">\n      <li id=\"ref-21\"><strong>Jacob &amp; Monod, 1961<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0022-2836(61)80072-7\">Genetic regulatory mechanisms in the synthesis of proteins<\/a>. Journal of Molecular Biology, 3(3), 318\u2013356.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-22\"><strong>Lenski &amp; Travisano, 1994<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.91.15.6808\">Dynamics of adaptation and diversification: a 10,000-generation experiment with bacterial populations<\/a>. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 91(15), 6808\u20136814.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-23\"><strong>Stearns, 1992<\/strong> \u2014 The evolution of life histories. Oxford University Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-24\"><strong>Holland, 1975<\/strong> \u2014 Adaptation in natural and artificial systems. University of Michigan Press.<\/li>\n    <\/ol>\n    <h3>Motor Variability, Natural Postures, and the SBNFA\u2122 Framework<\/h3>\n    <ol start=\"25\">\n      <li id=\"ref-25\"><strong>Bernstein, 1967<\/strong> \u2014 The co-ordination and regulation of movements. Pergamon Press.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-26\"><strong>Stergiou et al., 2006<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/17029655\/\">Optimal movement variability: a new theoretical perspective for neurologic physical therapy<\/a>. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, 30(3), 120\u2013129.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-27\"><strong>Raichlen et al., 2020<\/strong> \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1911868117\">Sitting, squatting, and the evolutionary biology of human inactivity<\/a>. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(13), 7115\u20137121.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-28\"><strong>Blue Portance, 2026 (a)<\/strong> \u2014 SBNFA\u2122 Framework for Evaluating Seating Devices \u2014 Part I: Scientific and Methodological Framework. Internal document, version of August 3, 2026.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-29\"><strong>Blue Portance, 2026 (b)<\/strong> \u2014 SBNFA\u2122 Framework \u2014 Part III: Monographs and Comparative Evaluation (V14). Internal document, August 25, 2026.<\/li>\n      <li id=\"ref-30\"><strong>Blue Portance, 2026 (c)<\/strong> \u2014 SBNFA\u2122 Framework \u2014 Evaluation Summary (V20). Internal document, August 25, 2026.<\/li>\n    <\/ol>\n  <\/section>\n\n<\/article>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Gil Ayache, PhD \u2014 Mines Paris \u2013 PSL \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0 co-founder of Blue Portance September 20, 2026 \u00b7 21 min read Adaptability is the capacity of a living system to maintain its functions, or to reorganize them, when its environment changes. It appears from the cell to the ecosystem, but through different mechanisms: regulation, plasticity, [\u2026]\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[438,434],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-body-dynamics-adaptability","category-uncategorized-en-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.7 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Adaptability and Adaptive Potential: A Law of Life | Blue Portance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is adaptive potential? 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