Attributes of Living Things (Characteristics of Life)

1. Reproduction—replication with within itself

2. Must be in cells, made up of cells—membrane bound

3. Differentiate between different levels of complexity, eg., prokaryotes and eukaryotes

4. DNA or RNA—has in it its own blueprint—blueprint enables self-corrections when errors take place

5. Growth—increase in mass (in cell number or in cell size)

6. Respond to stimuli—stimulus is a change in state

7. Maintains a stable state—

8. use energy—respiration—oxidative phosphorylation—anerobic respiration

9. adaptive—evolve—transform themselves through time.

Is the sum greater than all the parts?

Reductionism has been one of the techniques that have resulted in our increase in knowledge about living things, but is there more to life than simply all the parts it is composed