Standby Agreement. An agreement between the issuer of a security and its underwriters stating that the underwriters are responsible for any unsold portion of the issue. That is, the underwriters agree to buy the remainder of a new issue if they are unable to place its entirety with investors.
A sponge has water flow in through the pores. The water contains the food and oxygen the sponge needs. Respiration. A sponge takes in water through its pores and in more advanced forms, with canals that move the water to all throughout the sponge.
Sponges have unspecialized cells that can transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes. Sponges were first to branch off the evolutionary tree from the common ancestor of all animals, making them the sister group of all other animals.