Chapter 2: What Is Life?

Colón-Santos, Stephanie; Vázquez-Salazar, Alberto; Adams, Alyssa; Campillo-Balderas, José Alberto; Hernández-Morales, Ricardo; Jácome, Rodrigo; Muñoz-Velasco, Israel; Rodriguez, Laura E.; Schaible, Micah J.; Schaible, George A.; Szeinbaum, Nadia; Thweatt, Jennifer L.; Trubl, Gareth

doi:10.1089/ast.2021.0116

Title: Chapter 2: What Is Life?

Journal Article · 17 March 2024 · Astrobiology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2021.0116 · OSTI ID:2341951

Colón-Santos, Stephanie ^[1]; Vázquez-Salazar, Alberto ^[2]; Adams, Alyssa ^[1]; Campillo-Balderas, José Alberto ^[3]; Hernández-Morales, Ricardo ^[3]; Jácome, Rodrigo ^[3]; Muñoz-Velasco, Israel ^[3]; Rodriguez, Laura E. ^[4]; Schaible, Micah J. ^[5]; Schaible, George A. ^[5]; Szeinbaum, Nadia ^[6]; Thweatt, Jennifer L. ^[7]; Trubl, Gareth ^[8]

University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, (Mexico); University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, (Mexico)
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States). NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Universities Space Research Association, Houston, TX (United States)
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT (United States)
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

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, here 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.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies (CONACyT); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 2341951

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-825392; 1039425

Journal Information:: Astrobiology, Journal Name: Astrobiology Journal Issue: S1 Vol. 24; ISSN 1531-1074

Publisher:: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Emergence Bedau, Mark A.; Humphreys, Paul https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262026215.001.0001	book	March 2008

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