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Gerard Jagers' operator theory proposes that life is a general term for the presence of the typical closures found in organisms; the typical closures are a membrane and an autocatalytic set in the cell [26] and that an organism is any system with an organisation that complies with an operator type that is at least as complex as the cell.
The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. [1] In a broader sense, ageing can refer to single cells within an organism which have ceased dividing , or to the population of a species .
Biology is the overall natural science that studies life, with the other life sciences as its sub-disciplines. Some life sciences focus on a specific type of organism. For example, zoology is the study of animals, while botany is the study of plants. Other life sciences focus on aspects common to all or many life forms, such as anatomy and ...
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from matter that does not. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli, and reproduction.
The key to life history theory is that there are limited resources available, and focusing on only a few life history characteristics is necessary. Examples of some major life history characteristics include: Age at first reproductive event; Reproductive lifespan and ageing; Number and size of offspring
Successful ageing may be viewed an interdisciplinary concept, spanning both psychology and sociology, where it is seen as the transaction between society and individuals across the life span with a specific focus on the later years of life. [40] The terms "healthy ageing" [4] and "optimal ageing" have been proposed as alternatives to successful ...
Raunkiær's life-form scheme has subsequently been revised and modified by various authors, [6] [7] [8] but the main structure has survived. Raunkiær's life-form system may be useful in researching the transformations of biotas and the genesis of some groups of phytophagous animals.
Altogether, these three developments in science presented the wider scientific community with a seemingly paradoxical situation regarding the origin of life: life must have evolved from non-biological precursors after the Earth was formed, and yet spontaneous generation as a theory had been experimentally disproved.