The following paper would outline a process which would allow the researcher to grasp an understanding of the way life is created in order to fulfill all the different functions and operations of a cell. A cell is the basis of life itself and hence, involves fulfilling certain characteristics which have to be fulfilled in order to create a cell.
Life is based on a number of characteristics and each of the characteristics forms an integral part of life itself. All organisms which exist on planet earth today are composed of these characteristics and cannot exist without any of these. This paper would review these characteristics while at the same time outline a way of making and checking the life of a cell.
The first basic characteristic of life is organization. All forms of life are structurally composed of cells which are the basic components of life. Everything is composed of cells and they are the building blocks of tissues, organs which go onto create entire organisms.
The second characteristic of life is homeostasis, which is defined as the regulation of the internal environment or area in order to monitor the constant state which has to be kept at all times. It can be compared to the sweating of the body in order to reduce the body temperatures or electrolyte concentration.
Another basic characteristic of life is defined as metabolism; it is defined as the use of energy by the body through the conversion of the chemicals and energy into the cellular components and the decomposition of matter. It is required by the living organisms to produce energy in order to survive and in order to produce the internal level of organization. Even for the production of the other components of life, it is necessary to produce energy.
Growth; defined as the maintenance of a high rate of synthesis than the one observed in catabolism. Any living organism in the world of today does grow in size over a certain period of time rather than simply increasing the matter size. As the process of evolution takes place, the size variation and expansion also takes place.
Another basic characteristic of life is the ability to adapt to any environment and this process is closely linked with the process of evolution and is determined in turn by the organism’s hereditary structure and the metabolized substances.
The sixth and an important characteristic of life would be the response to stimuli. The response can be in different forms and variations –including the unicellular organism to external chemicals. As well as the complex reactions which are connected to all the living organisms? The reaction can be measured by the motions which express the responses of the living things on the planet.
The last but not the least basic characteristic of life is the ability to reproduce. This process is done through the division of one cell into two cells. This division process defines the process of growth of the organisms and living things as well
The above characteristics all define the basic elements of life. In order to build any cell, the cell would have to include all the above elements. It would have to be able to reproduce, grow and multiply, respond, adapt, organize, have a certain metabolism rate and lastly, have the state of homeostasis.
The cell would be build this way as all the above elements allow it to not only grow and evolve with a different environmental setting but also react to different setting. The ability to reproduce allows it to continue and to exist for longer than its own life period and by organizing it self it would be able to follow a certain structure.
The way I would know for certain that the cell is alive would be done so through the ability to respond. The cell would be tested by throwing matter onto the cell and if it gets infected etc, that would show that it is alive as it has the ability to respond.
Hence, the cell would have to contain these fundamental aspects in order to be tested if it’s alive or not.
References
“organism”. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (online ed.). 1999.
Schrödinger, Erwin (1944). What is Life?. Cambridge University Press.
Margulis, Lynn; Sagan, Dorion (1995). What is Life?. University of California Press.