On 22 Mar., 17:09, "Martin Larsen" <mlar...@post7.tele.dk> wrote:
> Da jeg ikke har behov for at få belyst dette emne i dette forum, men
> alligevel aner at her findes et stort savn af helt elementær information,
> bringes denne biologiske definition, som desværre kun findes engelsk.
> (Bemærk venligst: Begrebet har naturligvis også *filosofiske og andre*
> aspekter.)
>
> Life may (somewhat irreverently) be defined in general terms as:
>
> "The phenomenon associated with the replication of self-coding informational
> systems",
>
> or specifically as:
>
> "The phenomenon associated with the replication of nucleic acids".
>
> - Rybicki EP, 1996.
>
> Another more serious view:
>
> "Life can be viewed as a complex set of processes resulting from the
> actuation of the instructions encoded in nucleic acids. In the nucleic acid
> of living cells these are actuated all the time; in contrast, in a virus
> they are actuated only when the viral nucleic acid, upon entering a host
> cell, causes the synthesis of virus-specific proteins. Viruses are thus
> "alive when they replicate in cells, while outside cells viral particles are
> metabolically inert and are no more alive than fragments of DNA."
>
> - Dulbecco R and Ginsberg HS, 1980. Virology, p.854-855 (originally
> published as a section in Microbiology, 3rd Edn., Davis et al., Harper and
> Row, Hagerstown).
>
>
http://www.mcb.uct.ac.za/tutorial/virolife.htm
>
> Mvh
> Martin
Hermed, også på engelsk, tanker om 'livets kvanter'.
Hilsen fra
Louis Nielsen
Bionitoner - Livets kvantesystemer.
Er liv knyttet til stoffets mindste
kvanter?
By Louis Nielsen
http://www.rostra.dk/louis
In the following I will postulate that the most fundamental
characteristics of 'Life' exists already in the nature of the smallest
and most fundamental energy-/matter quanta in the Universe. These
smallest energy-/matter quanta - the true atoms - I have given the
name UNITONS, the unit 'particles' of the Universe.
The existence of unitons I postulate in my "Unified Quantum Theory
about the Universe".
The theory is based on the smallest fluctuating quantum of length -
the elementary length, the smallest fluctuating quantum of time - the
elementary time, and the smallest and fluctuating energy-/matter
quantum - the uniton.
The theory is based on quantization of 'space', 'time' and 'mass', and
gives a unification of Microcosmos and Macrocosmos - a unification of
the smallest with the greatest.
The quantitative magnitudes of these smallest and most fundamental
quanta are determined by the total 'mass' of the Universe.
Formulas and calculations can be studied in my treatise:
http://www.rostra.dk/louis/
WHAT IS LIFE?
Some fundamental questions about the concept of 'life' is:
- What are the most fundamental principles of 'life'?
- What defines a 'living system'?
- What are the characteristics of the most fundamental form of
'life'?
- Is the most fundamental nature of 'life' associated with the most
fundamental energy-/matter quanta?
- Is 'life' a natural aspect of the evolution of the Universe?
My answer to the last two questions are: Yes!
The most primitive living system is characterized by:
1: Reproduction that is the possibility of production of more and
more 'building blocks'.
2: Mobility of the interacting 'building blocks'.
3: Metabolism that is exchange of energy and 'matter'.
THE COSMIC EMBRYOTON. THE COSMIC EVOLUTION QUANTUM NUMBER.
The smallest and most fundamental quantum-fluctuating energy-/matter
quanta - the true atoms I have given the name UNITONS.
The unitons are the 'building blocks' of all 'matter' and 'fields' and
they exist also in so-called 'vacuum'. The unitons are responsible for
ALL interactions in the Universe. The different forces gravitational,
electromagnetic, strong- and weak nuclear forces as we have introduced
in our physical description of the processes in Nature are - I suppose
- basically determined by different intensity of uniton interactions.
The Universe came into existence in the 'shape' of ONE fluctuating
matter-quantum - 'THE COSMIC EMBRYOTON'. The Universe began its
evolution about 14 billion years ago, when the 'cosmic embryoton' came
into existence and made the first reproduction into two energy-/matter
quanta - two unitons. The quantum-evolution of the Universe can be
described by a 'Cosmic Evolution Quantum Number', a cosmic quantum
clock, 'ticking' up through the natural numbers. When the Universe was
'born' the 'Cosmic Evolution Quantum Number' had the value one.
The created actual total number of unitons is equal to the actual
value of the 'Cosmic Evolution Quantum Number'. In our epoch the
Universe exists of about 7*10^(127) unitons. We are living in a
'Cosmic Uniton-Sea' pervading the whole Universe, also so-called
vacuum. For every 'quantum tick' of the 'Cosmic Evolution Quantum
Number' one new uniton is coming into existence.
REPRODUCTION AND LIFE.
The quantum evolution of the Universe is characterized by the
reproduction of more and more unitons giving a greater and greater
Universe.
The effect of reproducing copies of special matter-systems is one of
the fundamentals of 'life'.
CONDENSATES OF UNITONS.
As a consequence of the formation of more and more moving unitons the
Universe is expanding, and along with this expansion the cosmic uniton-
temperature of the Universe is decreasing.
Below some critical value of the cosmic uniton-temperature the unitons
can form uniton-condensates.
Particles as electrons and protons are 'stable' quantum dynamical
uniton-condensates of a huge number of unitons. Unstable 'particles'
for example produced in collision experiments are local unstable
condensates of unitons.
THE BIONITON, THE QUANTUM OF LIFE.
My postulate about 'The Quantum of Life':
- The primordial aspect of 'life' is associated to the reproduction of
unitons.
- 'Life' is already in its most primitive nature in existence in the
unitons - the true atoms.
Exchange of unitons - metabolism - can only take place in a system
with more interacting unitons.
Let us introduce the name Bioniton for the most 'simple' system that
has the following characteristics:
- The Bioniton consists of a huge number of interacting unitons in a
specific uniton-condensate.
- The Bioniton can reproduce itself into a new scale-invariant
bioniton.
- The Bioniton can exchange unitons - that is energy and matter - with
the surroundings.
The Bioniton can be regarded as 'The Quantum of Life', or the 'Life-
Quantum'.
Best regards
Louis Nielsen
Denmark