in what way you visualise life?

[kala bharath]

---------- Forwarded message ----------

In what way do you visualise life..

do you think every thing are simple complexed chemical reactions.

All molecules or atoms striving to attain their stable low energy confirmations..

I want to know what people think of it..
                                                            the way they define life..
                                                                                                  the way students think..the way the professors think..


                                    can you please post your opinion.. to the id  kalab...@gmail.com .
         

I am kala bharath doing my UG in life sciences...
                                                                               thank you

[William Knight]

The way to define the meaning of life is an interesting question and
one that is certainly relevant to ribosomes, because of their central
position in the construction and maintanence of all living cells.

I would break down the question of life into two parts: first, the
question of what is life in relation to how life came to be and how it
changes over time. This definition of life would consider an individual
living organism in the context of its ancestors and descendants. In
this context, the ability to replicate or reproduce a living organism
would be an essential element for what it means to be alive.

A second part for considering the definition of life would be a more
limited one, in which we might ask, what does it mean for an individual
organism to be alive, independent from its ability to reproduce. For
such a definition, one could propose that to be alive includes the
ability to take in energy and material building blocks, and to be able
to autonomously construct, maintain and repair all of the component
parts of the organism. This is a rather general definition of life and
I would be interested in the opinion of others about what limitations
this definition might have, and to hear other definitions that may
provide different insights into the question.

[jake]

William Knight's definition of life is about as good as i've ever
seen. Congratulations for stating it so fairly, short and sweet. For
further elaboration on the question, i wholeheartedly recommend several
books: THE WAY OF THE CELL: Molecules, Organisms and the Order of Life
(2002, Oxford University Press) by Franklin M. Harold is not too
technical and is exciting to read. BLUEPRINT FOR A CELL: The Nature and
Origin of Life (1991, Neil Patterson Publishers, Carolina Biological
Supply Company, Burlington, NC) by Christian DeDuve is a bit technical
and definitely an enrichment to any education.

Later, Jake

[William Knight]

Jake: thanks for the compliment and suggestions for further reading on
the question.

[Meiotico]

This question is so particular in this moment for me. A few days ago, i
was thinking in that, but the view that i got, not my actual point of
view was: Life can be like a parasite of energy...but i know that, this
speculation could get so much free problems....but life is charged of
nice mysteries...