Chapter 2: What Is Life?

Stephanie Colón-Santos^{1

2}, Alberto Vázquez-Salazar^{3

4}, Alyssa Adams², José Alberto Campillo-Balderas³, Ricardo Hernández-Morales³, Rodrigo Jácome³, Israel Muñoz-Velasco^{3

5}, Laura E Rodriguez^{6

7}, Micah J Schaible⁸, George A Schaible⁹, Nadia Szeinbaum¹⁰, Jennifer L Thweatt¹¹, Gareth Trubl¹²

Affiliations

¹ Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
² Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
³ Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, California, USA.
⁵ Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁶ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
⁷ Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁸ School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁹ School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
¹¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA. (Former).
¹² Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, USA.

PMID: 38498820
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0116

Chapter 2: What Is Life?

Stephanie Colón-Santos et al. Astrobiology. 2024 Mar.

. 2024 Mar;24(S1):S40-S56.

doi: 10.1089/ast.2021.0116.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
² Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
³ Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, California, USA.
⁵ Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
⁶ NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
⁷ Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁸ School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁹ School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
¹¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA. (Former).
¹² Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, USA.

PMID: 38498820
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0116

Abstract

The question "What is life?" has existed since the beginning of recorded history. However, the scientific and philosophical contexts of this question have changed and been refined as advancements in technology have revealed both fine details and broad connections in the network of life on Earth. Understanding the framework of the question "What is life?" is central to formulating other questions such as "Where else could life be?" and "How do we search for life elsewhere?" While many of these questions are addressed throughout the Astrobiology Primer 3.0, this chapter gives historical context for defining life, highlights conceptual characteristics shared by all life on Earth as well as key features used to describe it, discusses why it matters for astrobiology, and explores both challenges and opportunities for finding an informative operational definition.

Keywords: Astrobiology; Complexity; Emergence; Evolution; Life; Virus.

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Chapter 2: What Is Life?

Affiliations

Chapter 2: What Is Life?

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

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