a cell to survive, ion concentrations inside and outside the cell need to be the same, extra ions are not pumped out of the cell, water can enter the cell, causing things to swell and burst.
Osmosis and dialysis are of prime importance in living organisms, where they influence the distribution of nutrients and the release of metabolic waste products.
The last cold episode of the last glacial period ended about 10,000 years ago. Earth is currently in an interglacial period of the Quaternary, called the Holocene
