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- Current: Jan 11, 2023 (see old versions)
Life
Life is a condition that distinguishes living things from non-living things. It also means a living organism itself or a collection of organisms (biota).
There are many conditions that serve to define life, but in this dictionary a thing is defined to be alive when it is capable of:
- maintaining the homeostasis of the organic body
- replicating and transmitting genetic information without relying too much on other systems
Definitions in the literature
- Life is a characteristic of a living organism that distinguishes the latter from a dead organism or a non-living thing, as specifically distinguished by the capacity to grow, metabolize, respond (to stimuli), adapt, and reproduce [1].
- All living organisms share several key characteristics or functions: order, sensitivity or response to the environment, reproduction, adaptation, growth and development, regulation/homeostasis, energy processing, and evolution. When viewed together, these eight characteristics serve to define life [2].
