bio

Degeneracy (biology)

The pervasive biological property where *structurally different* elements can perform the *same* function. Not two copies of one part, but several unlike parts that happen to overlap in what they can do: kidneys, sweat glands, and lungs can all rid the body of waste. Degeneracy buys a robustness redundancy cannot — it lets a system absorb a blow it was never specifically designed to survive, because the substitute was never a dedicated backup, just a different part with an overlapping talent. Defined by Edelman and Gally (2001) as a hallmark of complex living systems.