What is life?

• Living things are independent bounded physical entities
• The basic unit of life on Earth is the cell
  • Cells are separated from their environment
  • Cells are in communication with their environment
  • This arrows cells to generate order and organization
• Multicellular organisms are aggregates of cells
• Living things possesses the ability to evolve by natural selection
• To evolve, living things must:
  • Grow and reproduce
  • Have a hereditary system which exhibits cariability
• Living things are chemical, physical and informational machines
• They construct their own metabolism
• This metabolism is used to:
  • Maintain themselves
  • Grow
  • Reproduce
• Live on earth is based on carbon polymer chemistry
• The polymers produce nucleic acid information storage devices, and protein chemical and physical machines
• Life is based on information management with information storage in a linear form encoded in the polymers
• Liging things on Earth are related by common descent and are closely interconnected and dependent upon other living things