DON’T even bother asking what life is. Coming up with a definition right now is impossible, according to US researchers.
In recent decades, scientists have been worrying about this question more than ever. Without a definition, how will astronomers looking for life on other planets know if they’ve found it? If we created life artificially, would we even know? Last week, news that scientists had made a polio virus from scratch sparked renewed discussions about what is alive (Â鶹´«Ã½, 20 July, p 6).
But in an upcoming issue of Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, philosopher…
