Questions tagged [life]

A process defining organisms that grow and adapt to stimuli while maintaining a state of organization and energy production and being capable of reproduction.

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3 votes
3 answers
398 views

Is reverse senescence/"anti-aging" actually scientifically possible among humans yet?

I have been very interested in this since I myself am interested in reversing my skin's aging/genes/damage/etc. I also am interested in volunteering any future genetic altering of skin quality. ...
31 votes
6 answers
11k views

Why did abiogenesis only happen once?

If the "primordial soup" theory of abiogenesis is to be believed, self-reproducing organisms spontaneously arose on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago, surprisingly soon after the Earth cooled down ...
22 votes
5 answers
10k views

How did the cardiovascular system evolve?

How has evolution created our blood, lungs and the heart? We can't exist without blood, which transports the oxygen to all areas of our body. However, the blood needs a lung, which gives it the ...
-1 votes
1 answer
139 views

Are all animals “information seeking”?

I read on Britannica that all animals down to microorganisms are "information seeking", but there was no source to back up the claim. One way to begin exploring curiosity is to understand ‘...
4 votes
0 answers
74 views

Newts in a rodent larder. Limits of regeneration? (NSFSqueamish)

Observation. In the Surrey woodland of southern UK mainland I chanced upon a piece of corrugated metal. Lifting it up I found a bare patch of soil except for what appeared to be a nest of dry plant ...
0 votes
0 answers
47 views

Minimum conditions for human life

I don't know so much about biology, my strengths it is in physical science and mathematics. Well i like rifle shooting, I don't hunt, i think that is cruelty and coward. In some conditions of temp,...
0 votes
0 answers
28 views

Is there a theoretical limit to how long an animal can live? [duplicate]

I'm talking about potential life on other planets as well. On earth, most animals live decades, and only a handful over 100 years. What has led to such a 'short' lifespan across the board? Assuming ...
7 votes
3 answers
20k views

Why is dimethyltryptamine (DMT) released during death?

Many times I've come across a theory that the meaning of life itself is procreation - we simply live in order to make our species exist as long as possible. In the light of this theory, units like ...
4 votes
4 answers
294 views

Understanding why the definition of life is so challenging

The Wikipedia article on the definition of life states that there is no consensus for the definition of life with at least 123 definitions being proposed. I am unclear why this is the case.
-1 votes
2 answers
91 views

What if all virus suddenly disappear? [closed]

Exactly as the question says: Let's say that all the viruses suddenly disappear (it doesn't matter the cause, just evaporate!): what would happened with the life on Earth? I know: if this question ...
26 votes
4 answers
1k views

Do immortal organisms exist?

Do organisms exist that are able to live indefinitely if they are not killed by external factors? Under external factors I would consider things like predators and natural disaster but not illness by ...
6 votes
2 answers
649 views

Changing the definition of life?

Viruses at this period of time do not fit the current definition of life. Much of the reasoning behind this is that we currently believe that all life must be made up of cells. Also, many biologist/...
19 votes
3 answers
4k views

Is atmospheric nitrogen chemically necessary for life?

It is my (very basic) understanding that neither plants nor animals utilize the nitrogen in the atmosphere. Humans do not make use of atmospheric nitrogen through respiration and plants do not ...
-4 votes
2 answers
481 views

Difference between live and dead body from atomic perspective?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, recently I have been interested in the question of how "life" should be defined and got a specific question: If we compare a live body of a person and a ...
4 votes
4 answers
1k views

Plants without bacteria? is it theoretically possible?

I know from school, that all live on the Earth need bacteria as low-level "machines" that break down/extract/convert/produce chemical elements and combinations, other high-level organisms needed. But ...
-1 votes
2 answers
248 views

Do plants originate from a single cell

I read the generalization that life originates from a cell, and from my understanding animals, they originate from a single cell, produced as a result of sexual reproduction. And then life begins to ...
1 vote
0 answers
54 views

How long can zooxanthellae survive on their own, after being expelled from coral after a bleaching event?

So many sites (and books and journals and such) discuss how long different types of coral can survive without their dinoflagellate algae (zooxanthellae), but... How long can the poor little symbiotic ...
18 votes
5 answers
3k views

Are viruses self-propelled?

So obviously, viruses are nonliving. But when my teacher was teaching viruses in the video (we're doing "flip" learning this semester), the way he described it, it seemed like the viruses responded to ...
0 votes
1 answer
48 views

Is there any evidence or example of "trade" or "money" in single cell organisms?

Single cells (like bacteria or eukaryotes) are extremely complex "machines" which can take input and produce output, and generally just live life. The question is, is there any example of &...
2 votes
3 answers
403 views

Is designing alien life still just science fiction?

As we continue to search for life in very different environments than the earth, it would make sense to me to think about and design lifeforms (theoretical) that could work in these environments. I ...
0 votes
1 answer
78 views

The very first living organism model

Can you advice me where I can find explanation, what was the very first living organism on Earth? I am looking for nicely explained material, preferably with some 3d models and animation, showing how ...
-2 votes
1 answer
75 views

Atom or Cell? Which is the basic unit of life? [closed]

As it is said that everything in this universe is made up of atom and molecules and atoms is called the building block of matter. But then why the cell is called the basic unit of life, why not atoms?
-1 votes
1 answer
629 views

Why is movement of water through cell walls considered the apoplast and symplast pathway?

Why would the movement of water through cell walls be considered the apoplast and symplast pathway? I understand why it's considered the apoplast pathway (as the water is moving through a non-living ...
5 votes
2 answers
221 views

Are specialized cells considered to have life?

A common definition of life, including the one in Biology SE Life requires physical entitites to have the capability of being able to reproduce. A process defining organisms that grow and adapt to ...
1 vote
1 answer
772 views

Relation/difference between metabolism and cellular organisation

In the highlighted paragraph from NCERT textbook, they mention that cellular organisation is the defining property of life forms while metabolism without exception is also the defining property of ...
3 votes
1 answer
200 views

What is the name of this sea creature?

I found this creature on the beach in San Diego. It is 8cm long and the end to the right is the mouth. The underside is exactly the same as what is visible. What is the name of this species.
1 vote
1 answer
286 views

Examples of things that are undefined in terms of living and non-living

I'm putting together a class on basic biology for kids and I will discuss living and non-living. I'm looking for examples of things which are undefined in terms of living and non-living, if there are ...
1 vote
0 answers
88 views

Is this trial that reversed aging in humans worth taking seriously?

In September 2019 Fahy et al. published results from the TRIIM (Thymus Regeneration, Immunorestoration, and Insulin Mitigation) trial. Their stated goals were to investigate whether they could restore ...
-5 votes
1 answer
229 views

Why aren't viruses considered to be non-cellular life? [duplicate]

I have always thought of viruses as being non-cellular lifeforms. And no, it isn't just because of Wikipedia. I have heard that there are viruses that are so complex, that they are very close to being ...
0 votes
2 answers
115 views

Have we found any other life form outside our planet?

I'm not asking about the possibility of formation of life on other planets instead has there been any real evidence of life(such as micro organisms or even very basic structures) that might suggest an ...
10 votes
4 answers
3k views

Why don't we see life form again and over again?

If life formed on earth by natural laws, why can't we observe the formation of life from matter today? Is it because this is a rare phenomenon? It seems just after formation of earth life formed on ...
-1 votes
1 answer
439 views

Should consciousness be a defining property of living organisms?

High school students in India under the CBSE Board are taught that consciousness is a defining property of living organisms. This question lies under the topic of 'What defines living organisms?' ...
0 votes
0 answers
53 views

life based on different elements [duplicate]

It is commonly proposed to look for life based on silicon, based on it's relative abundance and similarity to carbon. However, carbon and silicon are not completely interchangeable. The bond strength ...
0 votes
0 answers
109 views

Has anyone 'broken' an organism and then restored it to life?

Has anyone 'broken' an organism, rendering it unable to reproduce, then repaired it and observed it returned to being able to reproduce? An example would be to restore the reproductive capacity to a ...
1 vote
1 answer
285 views

Did the first cell self-replicate or was it multiple first cells? [closed]

We're almost sure by now that the first cell was born in a some kind of underwater vents environment which harvested all the necessary conditions for it to exist. However, did the first cell self-...
10 votes
1 answer
693 views

Star-like organism seen in microscope

I found this strange star-like thing while observing a slide of onion root somatic cells. I don't know that it is; I even doubt if it is an organism. It has conical arms directed radially outwards ...
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Which are the last cells of the human body to die?

When somebody dies, which are the last surviving cells of his/her body? Those of hair, nails, or some other obscure but resilient cells? Shedding light on why and how they are so vital might boost ...
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the name of the smallest self-replicating thing?

Some time last year, I found an article on Wikipedia about the smallest something to be able to reproduce. I don't remember exactly what it was, but I am fairly certain that after the initial ...
0 votes
0 answers
31 views

Why can't a genetically sound human stay alive for an indefinite amount of time given all the ideal conditions? [duplicate]

I have read that even if we can control our food and lifestyle and keep things as ideal as possible, there are other factors beyond our control like effects from neutrinos passing through our body ...
0 votes
0 answers
59 views

Can creatures that can see color in completely different visible spectrum exists?

From wikipedia - "The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye." So humans can see the light from 400-700 nm and this is because our eyes can ...
0 votes
0 answers
20 views

Could something akin to Cyanobacteria evolve on earth today or are all available niches taken for different kind of life to come to be?

The most basic form of my question would have to be: could new life form from molecules as happened with the first life on earth, here on earth? If not why not?
65 votes
8 answers
12k views

Why does evolution not make our life longer?

Why does evolution not make life longer for humans or any other species? Wouldn't evolution favour a long life?
0 votes
2 answers
645 views

What is the philosophical definition of life? [closed]

How does philosophy define life? And how does it overlap and contrast with the concepts and nuances of other sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics?
1 vote
1 answer
118 views

What is Growth and how can we define it to be a defining property of life?

I was reading a book and it said that internal/intrinsic growth is defining property of life and not extrinsic growth as saying accumulation of dust on a book makes it a bit bigger, even if it is by a ...
-1 votes
1 answer
143 views

Is life deterministic in nature? [closed]

I am wondering, according to our current understanding, whether life is completely deterministic. To begin with, consider a single-celled organism, do we have any evidence of any single celled ...
1 vote
1 answer
48 views

Why are Arabidopsis plant seeds being sent to the moon and not other seeds?

The latest Chang'e-4 rover brings an entire ecosystem with it, including Arabidopsis plant seeds and silkworms. My question is: why Arabidopsis? Is this question conclusive without having to ask ...
9 votes
2 answers
15k views

Are all cells organisms?

As the title says, are all cells organisms? Why or why not? As I understand, not every cell is an organism because some of them -those which aren't organism- require the rest of the organism to live. ...
3 votes
0 answers
83 views

Light/Heavy Isotopes in Living Organisms

I was wondering, why are lighter isotopes (e.g. carbon-12 as opposed to carbon-13) preferentially used by life on Earth? Is their increased stability the only factor? Thanks in advance!
-1 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why are the cells the smallest unit of life? [closed]

Please Tell me why the cells are called the smallest unit of life. According to me I know that they are called so because they are smallest entity which is alive that is they show the properties of ...
1 vote
1 answer
22k views

Lifeless Lake in Siberia

There is a lake in Siberia called Lake Pustoye. No life exists in the lake. There are no fishes and no plants and even trees around the lake die . No birds even visit this lake .The lake even has ...