"[A] broader definition of individuality won’t just allow scientists to search for new kinds of life. They can also probe how different boundary conditions might affect an entity’s degree of individuality and its relationship to its surroundings. For instance, how “individual” is an ecosystem? What happens to that individuality if a species disappears or a crucial environmental factor changes? What happens if an organism’s boundary is drawn not around its skin but further out to include some of its environment, too?" [https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-an-individual-biology-seeks-clues-in-information-theory-20200716/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-quantamag&utm_content=later-8615138&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram](https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-an-individual-biology-seeks-clues-in-information-theory-20200716/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-quantamag&utm_content=later-8615138&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram)