Life
hideLife on Earth:
Life (cf. biota) is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have self-sustaining biological processes ("alive," "living"), from those which do not —either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as "inanimate."
In biology, the science that studies living organisms, "life" is the condition which distinguishes active organisms from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, functional activity and the continual change preceding death. A diverse array of living organisms (life forms) can be found in the biosphere on Earth, and properties common to these organisms—plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria — are a carbon- and water-based cellular form with complex organization and heritable genetic information. Living organisms undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, possess a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce and, through natural selection, adapt to their environment in successive generations. More complex living organisms can communicate through various means.
In philosophy and religion, the conception and nature of life varies, and offer interpretations in the frameworks of existence and consciousness, and touch on many other related issues, such as, ontology, value, life stance, purpose, conceptions of God, the soul and the afterlife.
For more information about Life, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with life
Social scientists build case for 'survival of the kindest'
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (36) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are challenging long-held beliefs that human beings are wired to be selfish. In a wide range of studies, social scientists are amassing ...
Why females live longer than males: is it due to the father's sperm?
Dec 01, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (20) |
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Researchers in Japan have found that female mice produced by using genetic material from two mothers but no father live significantly longer than mice with the normal mix of maternal and paternal genes. Their findings provide ...
Qualcomm's next e-book to use a mirasol display
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (11) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Qualcomm subsidiary Mirasol is developing a new e-book reader with a color display that uses ambient light. The reader will be capable of displaying video smoothly, but the new features will ...
Couples who do the dishes together stay happier
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
20 hours ago |
4 / 5 (1) |
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A new study published by The University of Western Ontario reveals that couples who share the responsibility for paid and unpaid work report higher average measures of happiness and life satisfaction than those in other family ...
'Anti-social network' aims to be Facebook killer app
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Facebook makes you despair? Social networking makes you want to end it all? You may be ready for online ritual suicide with the aid of a new website that helps you kill your virtual identity.
Extra pores on plants could ease global warming: Japan study
Dec 10, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (10) |
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Japanese researchers said Thursday they had found a way to make plant leaves absorb more carbon dioxide in an innovation that may one day help ease global warming and boost food production.
Playing favorites: Parents still involved after children are grown
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Middle-aged parents are more involved in their grown children's lives than ever, according to new research from Purdue University.
Researchers customizing electric cars for cost-effective urban commuting
Nov 16, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (7) |
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have converted a 2001 Scion xB into an electric commuter vehicle that will serve as a test bed for a new community-based approach to electric vehicle design, ...
How to encourage big ideas
Dec 09, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study suggests certain types of funding -- which provide more freedom and focus less on near-term results -- lead to more innovative and influential research.
Brain imaging shows kids' PTSD symptoms linked to poor hippocampus function
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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Psychological trauma leaves a trail of damage in a child's brain, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Their new study gives the first direct evidence that children ...
US tops world in health care spending, results lag
Dec 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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(AP) -- The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on health care than the industrialized world's average, an economic group said Tuesday.
Gift Guide: Tech gadgets can boost your workouts
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 05, 2009 |
1.3 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- In simpler times, maintaining good health was a matter of joining a gym or lacing up running shoes for a loop in the park. At most, you'd buy a watch with a digital display so you could time your laps.
Obesity will snuff out health benefits gained by smoking declines
Dec 02, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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If obesity trends continue, the negative effect on the health of the U.S. population will overtake the benefits gained from declining smoking rates, according to a study by U-M and Harvard researchers published today in the ...
Diabetes cases to double and costs to triple by 2034
Nov 27, 2009 |
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In the next 25 years, the number of Americans living with diabetes will nearly double, increasing from 23.7 million in 2009 to 44.1 million in 2034. Over the same period, spending on diabetes will almost triple, rising from ...
Probing life's extremes in Yellowstone (w/ Podcast)
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Idaho National Laboratory biologist Frank Roberto squats on a bare, gravelly patch of ground in Yellowstone National Park's rolling backcountry. At his feet, scalding water churns in a mustard-yellow ...
