What is life? This question has haunted mankind for ever. Several axioms are listed to define life. None of them are entirely sufficient to describe life. The idea of soul or athma hasn't gained scientific acceptance mainly because there is no proof of its existence in any part of the body. The logic of indestructibility of soul, karma, rebirth are all beautiful religious concepts built to govern life. But let's say science hasn't caught up to those properties of life yet! So let's stick to understanding the definition of life scientifically.
From a material perspective, after the DNA structure was discovered mid 20th century it made sense how life expressed itself from primitive organisms to giant and intelligent life forms on earth. But then, DNA to life is like baking soda to cake. Apparently sufficient as constituents for most life forms, but not necessary! The fundamental atoms that form the proteins that constitute the DNA molecules can be replaced with non-carbon atoms. Through recent discoveries scientists have found that silicon, sulpher based life forms exist in acidic and hot environments under ground! Those life forms have not evolved to fit in the earth's atmosphere that is filled with oxygen and water at atmospheric temperature. So the ingredients of life need not be carbon based organic form. That left us sorta open ended. We don't know what other forms of life are possible beyond the well known four base (ACGT) based DNA that forms organic life.
Another definition of life went with the process of reproduction. Life is the process that is identified with the reproduction of species. Mathematician Von Newmann posed the following experiment and ended that definition. Imagine a robot in a warehouse with all parts required to make another robot and a storage tape that has instructions to build a robot. If the robot reads and executes the instructions from the tape, it can build a robot. In the end, if there is an instruction on the tape which says 'now replicate all the instructions in the storage tape to another tape, this time treating the instructions as simple text instead of executable instruction set', the robot can replicate the contents of the tape and stick it to the new robot. Now the new robot can be made to make another robot and so on. This thought experiment lead to the invention of self replicating software programs or Darwinbots. Software viruses are one such incarnations. Is that life? University of Michigan Professors call it ALife aka artificial life.
Well. Truth is, we are not even able to scientifically define life yet...let alone understanding its properties, transitions or indestructibility. So the pursuit continues!
From a material perspective, after the DNA structure was discovered mid 20th century it made sense how life expressed itself from primitive organisms to giant and intelligent life forms on earth. But then, DNA to life is like baking soda to cake. Apparently sufficient as constituents for most life forms, but not necessary! The fundamental atoms that form the proteins that constitute the DNA molecules can be replaced with non-carbon atoms. Through recent discoveries scientists have found that silicon, sulpher based life forms exist in acidic and hot environments under ground! Those life forms have not evolved to fit in the earth's atmosphere that is filled with oxygen and water at atmospheric temperature. So the ingredients of life need not be carbon based organic form. That left us sorta open ended. We don't know what other forms of life are possible beyond the well known four base (ACGT) based DNA that forms organic life.
Another definition of life went with the process of reproduction. Life is the process that is identified with the reproduction of species. Mathematician Von Newmann posed the following experiment and ended that definition. Imagine a robot in a warehouse with all parts required to make another robot and a storage tape that has instructions to build a robot. If the robot reads and executes the instructions from the tape, it can build a robot. In the end, if there is an instruction on the tape which says 'now replicate all the instructions in the storage tape to another tape, this time treating the instructions as simple text instead of executable instruction set', the robot can replicate the contents of the tape and stick it to the new robot. Now the new robot can be made to make another robot and so on. This thought experiment lead to the invention of self replicating software programs or Darwinbots. Software viruses are one such incarnations. Is that life? University of Michigan Professors call it ALife aka artificial life.
Well. Truth is, we are not even able to scientifically define life yet...let alone understanding its properties, transitions or indestructibility. So the pursuit continues!
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