Abstract
A definition of fundamental living units is given according to which they are constituted by the material support of some ‘memory’ the latter is required
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- to be stable,
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- to contain rich information,
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- to diffuse it into the surrounding medium.
It is then shown that the complex dislocation networks encountered in crystals can in some cases follow these criteria and lead to a crystalline physiology. The places of possible occurrence in nature of this kind of physiology, terrestrial and extraterrestrial rocks, interplanetary dust, white dwarfs and neutron stars are then discussed.
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Schneider, J. A model for a non-chemical form of life: Crystalline physiology. Origins Life Evol Biosphere 8, 33–38 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930937
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930937