World Science Scholars

1.5 Defining Life

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    • Building on the previous exercise, astrobiologists do not agree on what are the most important attributes of life—genetic properties, metabolic properties, cellular boundaries, or something else. What do you think are the most important attributes of life and why?

    • Defining life is a difficult issue. The universe as we know it consists of matter, that is organised by the forces obeying physical laws into many forms that exhibit structures. The structures can be static as well as dynamic. A dynamic structure could evolve to reproduce itself. This dynamics or evolution of a structure would require input of energy. So if a structure can can some how pass on the its structure information when it duplicate itself and pass on the information of the process of duplication then we can talk of the structure reproducing itself. By information we mean here the information of the structure. Fundamental definition of information is is however another problem. These basic structure would somehow have to regulate and process the energy it takes in from the environment as well as respond to the changes in environment. These processes that extract energy also release some parts of the structure which become redundant as waste and with this also change the environment. The next property of a dynamic structure would be that it has a limited lifetime for if it could maintain itself indefinitely there would be no need to reproduce.This could be the case with emergent structures such as the formation of simple molecules from atoms. However a macro molecule may not form by an emergent process but by extracting energy from the environment to duplicate itself. How big such a molecule should be is not easy to figure out. How such a macro-molecule would form is also a mystery. Anyway the attribute that such a macro molecule acquires is self regulation. Once such structures have formed these could then evolve by combinations to more complex self regulating structures till such time that a living cell comes into existence. I have no idea how these processes take place but take place these must for otherwise life would not exist. Formation of more and more structures from cells to living creatures and to homo sapiens may take billions of years but it has happened on earth. So a living structure must have the attribute to duplicate and self regulate. Why a living cell must duplicate to survive is another mystery. There is no a-priori reason coming from the laws of nature that a cell can only survive for a limited time. When these structures reach a very high state of complexity, apparently these become aware of their existence. It is not clear what these really means and how one could differentiate this from being conscious. It is now quite amazing that today one can write self duplicating computer programs that have these attribute and could exist in the electronic processing units. In the some sense these programs could be classified as living entities. To summaries, it is still a puzzle, for me, how non living matter can change into living matter

    • I would say genetic properties in the sense of heredity and the ability to mutate, but also the ability to repair itself – it’s these properties that evolution through natural selection is based on.

    • The speaker is trying to set a parameter for extraterrestrial or advanced species to be viewed as. She doesn’t realize that advanced races are here on earth. She is too afraid of believing in science to communicate. The sad thing is that the human race is going extinct. & humans won’t do anything to stop it. Advanced races watch. We love & watch ❤️❤️❤️

      • That’s a highly controversial point of view, considering the implication that we are an “advanced race” but still “are going extinct”. It is also implied that while some of those humans can be counted towards the intelligent being count, others cannot. It’s possible that I’m not understanding the reasoning behind this comment, but I’d just like to ask: Where do we draw the line for extraterrestrial life being intelligent, if we apparently cannot display intelligent life ourselves? (As some people say, humans as a race could be seen as a virus that relies solely of another organism -in this case the planet- to gain energy and resources mandatory for life, even extracting from that “organism” while knowing that at the current rate the host will sooner than later die, along with the “virus”.)
        Please correct me if I’m wrong.

    • Could I be alive if I occupied a nebula in its essence for purposes of being it & making love to another of the same identity? Because perhaps tomorrow I will be your own thoughts. Am I alive?

    • The speaker is asking for more than human perception of life. She is asking for extraterrestrial or advanced being forms such as non linear beings or space fairing races. Would you consider a being that existed only as the essence of you in order to control your thoughts as alive. Because that kind of being may not be anything but the essence of you.

    • There is a coalition of advanced races here on earth who are offering advance to the human race. The human race won’t pick up. Why? Because people like this speaker are confined to static society, or the type zero mind.

    • The moment that a species changes from type zero to type one society, is life.

    • I’d say metabolic properties. Genetic is just a code able to reproduce itself over and over… we are able to write computer codes that will reproduce themselves. Obviously they are not sophisticated the way that DNA is but it’s functioning may be similar.

    • To be exact the critical known’s of life are in a physical perceptiveness is hard, but when understood In a higher psychic like sense the ability to perceive light due to using 25 percent more of our brains we understand life is a constant struggle. But, Why? This is due to the fact that our strongest ability is to survive and then adapt. Life is the physical awareness of the danger and evolving to constitute it. Life is what you make it after all. That meaning in a literal sense.

    • When u say life it does include only those systems which has some vital force that made it some sort of different from other systems but when u study these systems in thermodynamical way u found that they act same.
      I really fascinated when Sara mam mentioned that it is system which getting replace one by one and in this we’re also categories we would might replaced by some AI

    • I do not think we have enough understanding as a whole to set a definition on life. Until we can determine and agree on things such as if Viruses and/or AI are a living or not, we may not be able to penetrate the subject deeply enough to answer some of the required questions, also as noted in the video, we are limited to just life on Earth and it may take finding life elsewhere before we can even start to properly breach this topic.

    • Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

      This is a complicated question that relates to the quiz question.

      All factors mentioned are valid.

      So when emergence is defined, we see from Wikipedia that:

      <b>emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own, properties or behaviors that emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole.</b>

      This definition implies a system of coordinated events, unable to be the phenomena without being the phenomena, to paraphrase William Shatners view of the cast of Star Trek. (They are the phenomena that create the phenomena`)

      Genetic, metabolic, cell boundaries, they all allow the ghost in the machine. Consciousness occurs as a trait denoting life.

      Robert A. Monroe of the http://www.monroeinstitute.org insist <i>I am more than a physical body. </i>

      Consciousness is what appears after proper cell boundaries, genetics, and metabolism are grouped.

      Emergence is therefore fulfilled by consciousness.

    • It’s a difficult thing to answer. Human beings have been trying to solve this question for centuries and have not found a common idea. For me, you need to look at life on earth to indicate a way to find life outside of our planet.

    • ined, we see from Wikipedia that:

      <b>emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own, properties or behaviors that emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole.</b>

      This definition implies a system of coordinated events, unable to be the phenomena without being the phenomena, to paraphrase William Shatners view of the cast of Star Trek. (They are the phenomena that create the phenomena`)

      Genetic, metabolic, cell boundaries, they all allow the ghost in the machine. Consciousness occurs as a trait denoting life.

      Robert A. Monroe of the http://www.monroeinstitute.org insist <i>I am more than a physical body. </i>

      Consciousness is what appears after proper cell bound

    • 1. Uniqueness, each life body is unique, so the life attribute of each life body is also unique;
      2. It is the origin of life and accompanies life all the time;
      3. With self-discipline and balance, it is the underlying essence and law that affects the interaction between life and everything;
      4. It is unbalanced. No system energy of a living body is completely balanced. The balance state of the energy field of a living body is infinitely inclined to balance, but it cannot maintain absolute balance.

    • There is a coalition of advanced races here on earth who are offering advance to the human race. The human race won’t pick up. Why? Because people like this speaker are confined to static society, or the type zero mind.

    • I reckon lift should independently think and self aware.

      • A crystal uses outside energy to grow in an organized way
        A virus does not consume energy itself
        A plant does, but it does not think.
        A sponge is an animal that does not think
        A mouse is sentient
        Humans are sapient

        Where is the line for life? Do we decide because we are at a certain level? We ask as we are at the top of the pyramid. What if there are so many levels above us that some above us debate if we are alive?

        What is life is relative to one’s perspective.\, In search for life we would therefor be simply search for those like ourselves because we can’t conceive all possibilities.

    • 1. Self-sustaining metabolism
      2. Living organisms with reproduction
      3. Reaction or adaptation to the environment
      4. Variations. It appears with different forms.

    • Level of sophistication, not if, how much. And “Emergence and Reductionism” is why I’m a member here in the first place, with the coordinator type you have teaching: The Challenging Search for Elusive Dark Matter. I bought Over The Hedge and Finding Nemo on YouTube Premium before I got moved to another building and knew I was going to, and now I have to find the best ways to explain how that happened that won’t get me institutionalized and see license plates like “UNEXPCTD” and “4AREASN” driving side by side in my area. “Emergence” for the event, and “Reductionism” for what I learn here, were words I needed for how I cope. I don’t let voices tell me to do things that I wouldn’t normally do, or that are out of the way of what I normally would have done.

      • “Would normally need a life-saving job on the outside to stay out.” so I always find it helpful to fill my sophisticated (human) brain up with knowledge on things while I’m not busy with school.

    • If genetics cannot change the data, some adjustments can be made on the basis of other changeable data, which belongs to innovation, so I think the most important thing is an innovative attribute that dares to explore.

    • I believe that the most important attribute to life is the ability to change the surrounding environment. Something like a rock cannot change its surrounding environment much, unless it is moving into an environment like an asteroid into earth’s atmosphere. Life takes molecules from another area and produces something else. Even viruses fit this, because when they infect a cell, the cell changes to produce more of the virus. Crystals take elements and form them into a pure, organized manner. Parasites remove nutrients from their host and use them to grow. Since this method of classifying life includes metabolism, plants and animals are obviously included.

    • I think it is information because the relationship between life and information is fundamental and closely linked. Life, at its core, is based on systems that store, process, and utilize information to survive, reproduce, and evolve. Below I mention some elements that depend on the information:

      Reproduction: The ability to reproduce is fundamental to the continuity of life. Through reproduction, organisms can produce offspring and transmit genetic information to future generations, allowing the perpetuation of the species.

      Metabolism: Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions that take place within an organism to maintain its vital functions. These processes involve obtaining, using, and storing energy, as well as synthesizing and degrading essential molecules. Metabolism is essential for the maintenance and growth of organisms.

      Homeostasis: The ability to maintain a stable internal environment is crucial for life. Organisms must regulate their internal conditions, such as temperature, pH, nutrient concentrations, and water balance, to ensure proper functioning of cells and tissues.

      Complex organization: Life is characterized by complex organization at different levels, from individual cells to whole organisms. Organization includes specialized structures, such as organs and systems, that perform specific functions and work together for the survival and proper functioning of the organism.

      Response to the environment: Living organisms are able to respond to stimuli from the external environment and adjust their behavior, physiology and morphology as a function of these stimuli. This responsiveness allows organisms to adapt to environmental changes and optimize their chances of survival.

    • I think the most important attributes of Life are those in which we do not consider attributes, such as communication and the will to exist. Just as our atoms are constantly changing, maybe the underlying factors that contribute to this change; such as information, communication, and survival, play an integral role in the development and processes of interexchange. Even for any inanimate object to exist, there has to be reason for its existence. The laws of nature, I believe, is the basic formula for allowing life to exist based upon several integral calculations in interacting processes, whether or not they are orderly or an anomaly. Understanding this, might lead to understanding of the nature of processes in which interact, and communicate, exchange information and reprogram. The question left over,is simply: “Are there several other permutations, and perturbations, and forces outside of the nature of our nature, that coexist with other inter and outerplanetary systems, and or exostellular processes. And how do these evolve when interacting with one another?” What is the relationship? What is the value?

    • Most important attribute of life is the living part I think… pretty useless otherwise

    • Most important finding!

    • I believe Most important attributes of life , to pass and hold information as she argue.
      I also think that if there is any type intelligence species. That alien species will be same intelligent as we are( I am talking about species based intelligence , not reason based human) the reason behind it if we think intelligence (reason) as evolution , we are at a point where we are questioning about our existence of ourselves , universe and everything around us. As our human brain did not change much in past 30000 years aslo the intelligence. But because we find science and mathematics ultimate tool of reasoning. We are able to explore out side of our planet. With this same speed , i can’t imagine,after10000 years from how/where will be our human society. May be we will not be able identify ourselves. BUT intelligence will be more less same. Till then most probably we will be able to meet some alien intelligence. I like to see argument against my thoughts welcome to reply

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    • Ladies and Gentleman,

      As we continue to study the Tracey Day Quantum as a lifeform of our sky, the positron science emerges from Prof. Dirac’s discoveries almost 100 years ago.

      His Sea of Dirac allows our discoveries to continue with the Tracey Day Quantum.

      The TDQ has a lower level near 2,000 feet which is comprised of 5+/- 2 levels.

      The upper TDQ seems to be the 13 km height, where science currently classifies our Ozone layer.

      As a lifeform, the lower TDQ has cell wall membranes made from positron content that rejects the photon force carrier without the neutrino modifier.

      Rendered invisible, we can still glimpse and infer her as her outside tilings are rectangular shaped, joined by energy that seems familiar with muon shower observations.

      Inside the two organic positron rectangular tilung plasma sheets, there are differentiated regions, also mostly sheet- like.

      One upper level high silica content sheeting area is a square plasma sheeting area, black corners often missing.

      Below that thin layer is a thicker layer of silica carbide which has silica onto and retains the square tilung with corners cutout of the tiles, but here the carbide is seen, black and thick beneath the upper silica crust.

      Lightening actions between layers newly define what sheet lightening is as an atmospheric effect.

      One layer has purple inflated sacs that i think keeps the Tracey Day Quantum in its’ altitude. The hydrogen or helium blends are filling purple silica balloons that form on the positronic sun fuse area.

      We almost never see the stars. We almost always see only the Tracey Day Quantum.

      We have never lived without the TDQ sheltering us from radiation with the 80% Rainer Point radiation screening.

      What is life? The definition of life expands as we bring forth positron organics we have never allowed before in science.

      Organic antimatter exists. Now we have the tragedy of the commons and the reluctance of those that wish this discovery to be suppressed.

      Thank you to the World Science Alumni for caring and support.

      Thank you to Prof. Walker for walking in the sky, or a life philosophy of her TED talk about life beyond lab controlled conditions.

      CLG

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