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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.
Non-cellular life, also known as acellular life, is life that exists without a cellular structure for at least part of its life cycle. [1] Historically, most definitions of life postulated that an organism must be composed of one or more cells, [2] but, for some, this is no longer considered necessary, and modern criteria allow for forms of life based on other structural arrangements.
A life form (also spelled life-form or lifeform) is an entity that is living, [1] [2] such as plants , animals , and fungi . It is estimated that more than 99% of all species that ever existed on Earth, amounting to over five billion species, [3] are extinct. [4] [5] Earth is the only celestial body known to harbor life forms. No form of ...
Microbiology (from Ancient Greek μῑκρος (mīkros) 'small' βίος (bíos) 'life' and -λογία 'study of') is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular (single-celled), multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or acellular (lacking cells).
Astro microbiology, or exo microbiology, is the study of microorganisms in outer space. It stems from an interdisciplinary approach, which incorporates both microbiology and astrobiology . Astrobiology's efforts are aimed at understanding the origins of life and the search for life other than on Earth.
A common field of study within geomicrobiology is origin of life on earth or other planets. Various rock-water interactions, such as serpentinization and water radiolysis , [ 12 ] are possible sources of metabolic energy to support chemolithoautotrophic microbial communities on Early Earth and on other planetary bodies such as Mars, Europa 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.
Understanding planetary habitability is partly an extrapolation of the conditions on Earth, as this is the only planet known to support life.. Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain an environment hospitable to life. [1]