Abstract
Although life is all around us, and we believe we can identify it when we see it, a clear definition of ‘life’ still eludes us. The main characteristics of life that are often mentioned are metabolism, replication and evolution. Metabolism involves the conversion of external energy into the activity and essential components of the living entity, and the elimination of waste products. Replication involves copying and heredity, and evolution follows from variations in the presence of a challenging environment.
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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Shaver, P. (2011). The Astonishing Diversity of Life. In: Cosmic Heritage. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20261-2_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20261-2_9
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20260-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20261-2
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