definitionof life

[Larry Marshall]

In <2jfhf7$8ei at mserv1.dl.ac.uk> suter at VAX.MPIZ-KOELN.MPG.d400.de writes:
>viroids are lifeforms, whereas single body cells, red blood cells, mRNA
>aren't.   

Really?  Do these not use nucleic acids to store replicating information
and maintenance information?  That's the very problem with these sorts
of definitions; they imply no organization of the biochemistry into 
what we point at and say "life".


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