DNA - is it alive?
rolf at lx.student.wau.nl
Tue Apr 15 19:59:04 EST 1997
Matthew Stanfield wrote:
> Hi I'm writing a university essay on artificial life. What I would like to
> know is if DNA could under any circumstances be considered alive? What about
DNA is just a (very large) molecule, like proteins, RNA, sugars, starch etc. Definitly
not alive (in my not so very humble opinion).
> proteins? Bacteria, presumably, are considered alive as are viruses. At what
Bacteria are generally considered alive. However viruses are somewere in the
twilight zone between live and dead. They can't replicate with their own
system alone. The discussion will never end, but I favor the 'dead' option.
> point do 'simple things' cease to be alive and become, say, just a chemical
IMHO: -should be an organised system (of molecules) that can self replicate without
outside interference and able to adopt a bit to the environment.
This is crude and probably not complete, but it's just my humble opinion.
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