10 Characteristics of Life

1. 1. Living Things are Composed of Cells

As is defined in Cell Theory, the cell is the unit of structure, physiology, and
organization in living things.Every life form begins with one cell.

2. Living Things Have Different Levels of Cellular Organization

Through the process of cell division within organisms, the process of
"differentiation" occurs. This means that cells will begin to change, or "differ."
from one another and each cell type will perform different "jobs" such as skin
cells, brain cells, nerve cells, etc.

3. Living Things Use Energy

All organisms must have a metabolic system which provides them with the
energy to perform different tasks. Plants generally obtain energy from the sun
through the process of photosynthesis, while animals ingest food for energy
production.

4. Living Things Are Homeostatic

Homeostasis is the stable regulation of an organism's internal state. A living
organism controls things like temperature, heartbeat, and hydration. Some
scientists consider homeostasis to be a sub-characteristic to energy use.

5. Living Things Respond to Their Environment

Living organisms exhibit "behavior," which is in its most basic form a set of
responses to various external stimuli. For example, certain plants may turn
their leaves towards the sun to better obtain energy. Likewise, animals will
contract away from a source of pain..

6. Living Things Grow

All living organisms grow and change. They increase in size through one of
two methods - cell division and cell enlargement.Cell division is when cells
divide to form new, identical cells. As the number of cells increases, the
organism's overall size increases. Cell enlargement occurs when the size of
the individual cells themselves increase.
 7. Living Things Reproduce or Have DNA
All living organisms must be able to reproduce in order to ensure the survival
of their respective species. Reproduction may be asexual (from a single
parent organism) or sexual (from two parent organisms).

This characteristic used to state only that "living things reproduce." It became
apparant, though, that there are exceptions to every rule. The most often
cited exception to this rule was the mule! Mules are the sterile offspring of a
donkey and a horse. Two mules, therefore, cannot mate and reproduce
themseleves. However, mules are indeed living creatures. This characteristic
therefore has been adapted to include the presence of DNA.

8. Living Things Move

All living things are capable of some degree of locomotion. This may be
walking and running for animals, or the simple movement of a plant's leaves
throughout the day. On the simplest level, this characteristic applies even to
the movement of cells within a living organism.

9. Living Things Adapt to Their Environment

The ability of a species to survive and thrive is dependent upon organisms
being able to adapt to changes in their environment. The process of evolution,
in fact, can be boiled down simply to the process of change through time in
response to environmental change.

10. Living Things Die

10 Famous Biologists

Aristotle famous for the classification of living things

384322 BC

Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, is often not considered when it comes to great
biological discoveries but his work on the classification of living things was revolutionary
at the time. Referred to as the 'Ladder of Life', Aristotle's classification system was still
in use up until the 19th century that's a long time. Aristotle was the first to person to
recognise the relationships between species and organise accordingly.

Galen famous for introducing medical experimentation

129161 AD

The life work of Greek physician, Galen, revolutionised the way in which medical
research was and is conducted. Galen had a major influence on the development of
many fields of medicine including anatomy, pathology, physiology and neurology.
Notable discoveries include the identification of the differences between veins and
arteries, and recognising that the larynx generates voice.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek known as the father of microbiology

16321723

Leeuwenhoek is well known for his contributions to microscopy, and how he applied this
to the field of biology. He revolutionised a technique for creating powerful lenses, which
some speculate were able to magnify up to 500 times. Leeuwenhoek used the
microscopes to find out more about the living world his discoveries include bacteria,
the vacuole of the cell, and the banded pattern of muscle fibres.

Robert Hooke famous for discovering the cell

1635 1703

Hooke was primarily a physics and chemistry specialist but his discovery of the cell has
been monumentally impactful on the world of biology. Hooke had an extraordinary
ability to manipulate microscopes, and when applying this ability to looking closely at a
thin slice of cork observed empty spaces contained with walls - terming them cells. We
now know that cells are the building blocks of all life.
Carl Linnaeus known as the father of modern taxonomy

17071775

A botanist, physician and zoologist all at the same time, Linnaeus came up with the
system of naming, ranking, and classifying organisms that we still use today. It was his
vast collection of specimens of plants, animals, and shells that lead to Linnaeus' coming
up with a way of grouping and naming species. He separated all living things into 3
kingdoms; animals, plants and minerals, subdividing them into classes, then into orders
and then finally into genura and species. You've heard of Homo sapiens right? Homo is
the genus and sapiens the species as you can see still very much in use today.

Charles Darwin famous for the theory of evolution

18091882

Probably the most famous naturalist of all time, Darwin's contribution to biology and
society is beyond imagination. He established that all species of life have descended
over time from common ancestors, the existence of new species occuring via the
process of natural selection. His theory of evolution was published in On the Origin of
Species in 1859 and it caused quite the stir Darwin was disputing the longheld belief
that all species had been created by God at the beginning of the world. Evolution by
natuaral selection combined with Mendelian genetics is now accepted as the modern
evolutionary synthesis and forms the foundations of much biological scientific
endeavour.

Gregor Mendel the founder of modern genetics

18221884

Mendel's extraordinary contribution didn't receive its just recognition until long after the
friar's death you could call him the Van Gogh of the biological world. Mendel used
peas to discover and demonstrate the laws of genetic inheritance, coining the terms
dominant and recessive genes in the process. The laws were rediscovered at the turn of
the 20th century and provided the mechanism by which Darwin's theory of natural
selection can occur. The two theories combine to form our current understanding of the
evolutionary process.

Alfred Russel Wallace famous for the Wallace Line

18231913

Another famous naturalist on the list and another one who came up with the theory of
evolution. In fact it was Wallace's independent synthesis of evolution by natural
selection that lead to Darwin hurrying up and publishing his On the Origin of Species.
Fortunately Wallace was an accomplished scientist and his discoveries didn't end there.
Wallace noted the distinction of fauna between Asia and Australia, drawing a line
between now known as the Wallace Line.

Watson and Crick famous for discovering the structure of DNA

1962

Francis Crick and James Watson shot to fame in 1962 for their discovery of the
structure of DNA, winning the medical Nobel Prize in the process. Their model of DNA
(double helix) explains how DNA replicates and how hereditary info is coded and
passed on. The discovery of structure has led to a much more developed understanding
of function used in disease diagnosis and treatment, forensics, etc.

Wilmut & Campbell famous for being the first scientists to clone a mammal

1996

Need we say more? Keith Campbell and Ian Wilmut cloned a mammal, famously named
Dolly the Sheep! The pair cloned Dolly using a single adult sheep cell and a process of
nuclear transfer. Dolly died after only 6 years but cloning continues - although still not
perfected and certainly not ready for human application yet!