Principles of Life

Let's now start with the beginning. All those capable of basic reasoning have at some point wondered what life is. What's the purpose of life? How do I know I am alive? These are just a few questions that seem to have swept humans for a long time. For a moment, let's move away from humans, and focus specifically on life as a general entity. Think of a frog, a bacterium, a rose, or even an extraterrestrial life form. We are going to look at the principles which govern universal life.

As chemistry lies on physics, so does biology lie on chemistry. That is, in order to understand the development of life, we must look at the development of those which make up life: chemical compounds and their behaviour. It is conclusively established that atoms seek stable electron configuration, and this is what drives atoms. The pursuit of chemical stability ultimately results in the development of life forms. By definition, all life is self-supporting (survival) and self-propagating (multiplication). The chemical and physical properties that are correct in the known Universe, say Earth, may differ elsewhere. However, regardless of properties, the Fundamental Principle applicable to atoms still remains the same (whether light or heavy, positively or negatively charged, atoms still seek the same property of stability).

The same applies for the principles of life. Whether on Earth or elsewhere, complex or simple, microscopic or giant, all life follows the principles that say life is self-supporting and self-propagating. Bearing this in mind, the following Post is about Alien Life, and how other principles of life may be a guide to predicting life on other planets.

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4 Reasons Google's Calico Won't "Solve Death"

The on-line world has been taken ablaze by Calico's bid to end ageing, and thus death itself, but is this what they will actually focus on, and will they achieve it? The fact is ageing will be reversed, and death by "natural causes" will go with it. The questions are "When?" and "By whom?". Until recently, not a lot was known about the approach Calico would take in this venture dubbed "moonshot thinking" - a term touted by Google as the source of all considerable human progress throughout history. This we don't doubt, but is this what Calico is all about? CNN's Dan Primack has revealed details about Calico's plan , which hint at a less-than-moonshot thinking approach, and cast a serious question mark on its ability to deliver the punchy TIME headline. Here is why: 1. The man with the idea, Bill Maris, arrived at the conclusion that the root of all death-causing disease is simply ageing itself. Not only is this widely

The evolution of the human body

In order to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and be able to answer the question "Why do I look like this?", we must look back to our ancestry and their lifestyle, over a very long period of time. For the purpose of this analysis, let's look at the human versus the neanderthal. Recently there have been found neanderthal genes within the human gene pool, but the two species are different enough to compare, yet not too different (human versus fly would be too different). As you can see, the construction of the human pelvis and toes is different, and the human has less hair. This results in humans being able to run easily for long distances, in the detriment of short-distance running which we are worse at. We sweat better, so we can do more long-term effort. This feat is essential to better settlements, as we can discover a larger area with potentially better resources. It might seem counterproductive to not be able to run quickly for a short period, when it come

How do you experience evolutionary selection pressure?

Evolutionary selection permeates the consciousness of members of a species at a level higher than the individuals themselves. Everyone comes into awareness about the selection pressures and adaptations taking place across their population. This happens independently of who they happen to be. Awareness of “life”, being alive, what it takes to survive, exist in each individual even when they lack it in some perceived manner e.g. being unattractive, having low self-esteem, being a failure. Indeed, it’s what enables self-deprecation and sometimes suicide based on some of these beliefs in an individual. Each individual is not out for themselves, with the selection pressure encouraging them to succeed, but rather they are out for the collective they are part of, whether they realise it or not, whether they like it or not. It is detrimental to individuals to feel bad about themselves. However, this is the effect of collective selection. Individuals therefore place themselves

Principles of Evolution

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