What is life in terms of biology? This question sooner or later begins to excite every person. To date, there are several interpretations of this concept.
Term Definition
Life is a form of existence of living matter, as well as the totality of all chemical and physical processes that occur in every living cell. Such phenomena contribute to cell metabolism and reproduction. Life does not exist outside the cell, so viruses exhibit the characteristics of a living thing only after transferring their genetic information into the cell.
Having learned to adapt to the environment, each living cell begins to form a variety of living organisms. The most important attribute of all life on planet Earth is the genetic information that is used to replicate.
To designate the concept of "life", you need to list all the qualities that distinguish it from "not life".
What is life in terms of biology? To date, there is still no exact concept, but scientists have combined several basic criteria for living things:metabolism, growth, development, reproduction and response to external stimuli. In other words, life is the state of the organism at the moment.
The emergence of life on Earth
What is life in terms of biology? To answer this question will help to study its occurrence. Scientists have identified several hypotheses, each of which has not yet been scientifically proven:
- Biochemical evolution.
- Stationary state of life.
- Panspermia hypothesis.
- Spontaneous generation.
The second and fourth statements are simply of philosophical and historical interest. After all, the conducted scientific research and experiments deny them. Life (defined by biology in terms of biochemical processes) is an important concept that is still being studied by scientists.
The hypothesis of biochemical evolution is the only one accepted and recognized worldwide.
Complexity of living systems
The modern definition of life is as follows: "It is a huge system capable of hierarchical organization, as well as the ability to metabolism, self-renewal." All processes are finely and precisely regulated.
Living systems are characterized by a very high level of functional and structural order in time and space. Every living system has the ability to exchange information and energy with its environment. Therefore, systems are characterized by openness. Unlike non-living structures, work “against equilibrium” is uninterrupted in them.
Variety of livingorganisms
Define life - and you will understand that all the processes around you are logical and interconnected. The body is the most basic unit of life, because it is in its cells that all life processes take place. Being a separate individual, the organism is part of such concepts as populations and species. All the charm of the diversity of living organisms is engaged in biological systematics, which studies the structure of the entire organic world.
The entire integrity of wildlife is formed into ecosystems, which are an integral part of the biosphere.
He alth, birth and age
The definition of life is just a small part of what can be learned by studying biology.
The process of birth is the birth of a human or animal baby. This concept is very important not only in biology, but also in philosophy and religion.
He alth is a holistic state of a living organism, in which it as a whole and all its organs individually perform their functions smoothly.
What is life in terms of biology? Life can also be defined by he alth, because the better the body performs its functions, the better life manifests itself. A large number of sciences deal with the issue of he alth, each of which has a certain direction.
Age is characterized by the duration of life from birth to a certain point. Most often, this concept refers to the calendar age. Butthere is also a definition of "biological age".
What is behavior
Life (the definition of biology characterizes as living matter) is characterized by behavior, that is, the ability of living organisms to change their actions under the influence of the environment or internal factors. This concept has an adaptive meaning, therefore it helps living beings to avoid negative environmental factors. In higher organisms, behavioral responses are controlled by the nervous system.
Define the life of bacteria and plants - and you will see that they have the ability to move under the influence of external factors. But since such movements are only a physiological factor, it makes no sense to talk about the presence of a psyche and behavior in them. Plant movements are a pre-psychic level of reflection.
Living organisms
The modern definition of life cannot do without the concept of a living organism.
An organism is a living matter that has a system of properties that distinguish it from inanimate objects. Each individual is a structural unit of the population-species level.
Living organisms are the most important subjects of biology. For the convenience of study, all living bodies were categorized and biological classifications were created.
The simplest division is into nuclear and non-nuclear organisms. And only then on multi- and unicellular.
Human lifestyle
Define a person's life to understand all its intricacies. This isthe concept is characterized by way of life and lifestyle.
Lifestyle is the main factor on which human he alth depends. This includes social and cultural activities, work, habits, learning and other manifestations.
The definition of "human life" is based on four main categories: social, economic, psychological and socio-economic.
The way of life is defined by several concepts: lifestyle at the production level, socio-economic relations and views on the world around.
Lifestyle is formed according to the forms of being: education and hobbies, character and behavior, work and preferences.
