Life Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Descriptive === {{further|Organism}} Since there is no consensus for a definition of life, most current definitions in biology are descriptive. Life is considered a characteristic of something that preserves, furthers or reinforces its existence in the given environment. This implies all or most of the following traits:<ref name=McKay/><ref name=Koshland>{{Cite journal |title=The Seven Pillars of Life |journal=Science |date=22 March 2002 | first=Daniel E. Jr. | last=Koshland |volume=295 |issue=5563 |pages=2215β2216 |doi=10.1126/science.1068489 |pmid=11910092 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-618-70173-5 |edition=4th |chapter=life }}</ref><ref name=merriamwebster>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life|title=Life|publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|access-date=25 July 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213211541/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life|archive-date=13 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars141.php |title=Habitability and Biology: What are the Properties of Life? |access-date=6 June 2013 |website=Phoenix Mars Mission |publisher=The University of Arizona |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416114923/http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars141.php |archive-date=16 April 2014 }}</ref><ref name="JBS-2012Feb">{{cite journal |last=Trifonov |first=Edward N. |title=Definition of Life: Navigation through Uncertainties |journal=Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=647β650 |doi=10.1080/073911012010525017 |pmid=22208269 |year=2012 |s2cid=8616562 |doi-access=free }}</ref> # [[Homeostasis]]: regulation of the internal environment to maintain a constant state; for example, [[Perspiration|sweating]] to reduce temperature. # [[Biological organization|Organisation]]: being structurally composed of one or more [[cell (biology)|cells]] β the basic units of life. # [[Metabolism]]: transformation of energy, used to convert chemicals into cellular components ([[anabolism]]) and to decompose organic matter ([[catabolism]]). Living things [[bioenergetics|require energy]] for homeostasis and other activities. # [[Cell growth|Growth]]: maintenance of a higher rate of anabolism than catabolism. A growing organism increases in size and structure. # [[Adaptation]]: the evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its [[habitat]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Dobzhansky |first=Theodosius |author-link=Theodosius Dobzhansky |chapter=On Some Fundamental Concepts of Darwinian Biology |date=1968 |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8094-8_1 |title=Evolutionary Biology |pages=1β34 |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Springer US |doi=10.1007/978-1-4684-8094-8_1 |isbn=978-1-4684-8096-2 |access-date=23 July 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730033922/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4684-8094-8_1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Guanyu |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/868928102 |title=Analysis of complex diseases : a mathematical perspective |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4665-7223-2|oclc=868928102 |access-date=23 July 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730033921/https://www.worldcat.org/title/analysis-of-complex-diseases-a-mathematical-perspective/oclc/868928102 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/906025831 |title=Climate change impact on livestock : adaptation and mitigation |date=2015 |editor-last1=Sejian |editor-first1=Veerasamy |editor-last2=Gaughan |editor-first2=John |editor-last3=Baumgard |editor-first3=Lance |editor-last4=Prasad |editor-first4=C. S. |isbn=978-81-322-2265-1 |oclc=906025831 |access-date=23 July 2022 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730033921/https://www.worldcat.org/title/climate-change-impact-on-livestock-adaptation-and-mitigation/oclc/906025831 |url-status=live }}</ref> # Response to [[stimulus (physiology)|stimuli]]: such as the contraction of a [[unicellular organism]] away from external chemicals, the complex reactions involving all the senses of [[multicellular organisms]], or the motion of the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun ([[phototropism]]), and [[chemotaxis]]. # [[Reproduction]]: the ability to produce new individual organisms, either [[asexual reproduction|asexually]] from a single parent organism or [[sexual reproduction|sexually]] from two parent organisms. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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