In this paper we formally present a methodology that, by using genetics, allows us to adapt the optimal intelligence of the elements conforming a living system. We call these environments meta-adaptable systems. We propose systems in which the capability of the agents to adapt themself to the environment (via intelligence) is itself adapted according to the changes of their own environment. We show a simple but illustrative example of such a meta-adaptable system, which can be easily extended to deal with more real situations as the construction of software systems based on intelligent mobile agents. This system has been fully implemented, and some interesting conclusions have been extracted from it.