life definition

In this Back To School episode we consider the "List of Life": the criteria that define what it is to be a living thing. Some are easy calls: A kitten is alive. A grain of salt is not. But what about the tricky cases, like a virus? Or, more importantly, what about futuristic android robots? As part of our Black History Month celebration, developmental biologist Crystal Rogers and scientist-in-residence Regina G. Barber dig into what makes something alive, and wade into a Star-Trek-themed debate.

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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Gabriel Spitzer and fact-checked by Anil Oza. The audio engineer was Josh Newell.

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Carl Zimmer is a science writer, journalist and an author who specialises in evolution, parasites, and heredity. Life is the thing which illuminates our corner of the universe. It gives colour to an otherwise cold, brutal void. But what is life? How is it defined? Despite seeming obvious at first glance, this question is one of the most contested in science. Expect to learn what are the most extreme forms of life which can live in the vacuum of space, how life might have begun in rock pools, why aliens might be so different to us that we don't even recognise them, how a slimemould that looks like dog vomit can learn its way through a maze and much more... Sponsors: Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Get 20% discount on the highest quality CBD Products from Pure Sport at https://puresportcbd.com/modernwisdom (use code: MW20) Get perfect teeth 70% cheaper than other invisible aligners from DW Aligners at http://dwaligners.co.uk/modernwisdom Extra Stuff: Buy Life's Edge - https://amzn.to/3pZZLZx  Follow Carl on Twitter - https://twitter.com/carlzimmer Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices