  Organisms that grow and survive in uncertain environments may need to change
their physiological state as the environment changes. When the environment is
uncertain, one strategy known as bet-hedging is to make these changes randomly
and independently of the environment, to ensure that at least part of the
population is well adapted. Organisms that collect information from their
environment may also use this information to modulate their changes of
physiological states. We review these different strategies and point out
parallels with the theory of optimal financial investments.
