The continual innovation and progression of science and the recreation of life processes will eventually cause a paradigm shift in regards to the uniqueness of life and what should be considered alive.
2. Humans have been trying to
understand and classify life ever
since they had the ability to
question their surroundings.
We now have a better
understanding of life with the
knowledge of evolutionary
processes.
The view of life has been
continuously changing over
time , and the advances of science seem to be causing a
reevaluation of life once again.
3. The continual innovation and progression of science and the
recreation of life processes will eventually cause a paradigm
shift in regards to the uniqueness of life and what should be
considered alive.
4. Many definitions of life exist in multiple areas of study.
No definition is officially accepted as the correct definition.
Many are incomplete and convoluted.
Examples:
“the tendency to individuation”
“a collection of phenomena which succeed each other during a limited time
in an organized body”
“the two-fold internal movement of composition and decomposition, at once
general and continuous”
5. Christoph Adami’s work with life’s definition began when NASA
asked him to create a biosignature that could be used on the
search for life on other planets.
His idea transcended the confines of organic chemistry and
focused on life processes.
6. The most usable definition of life is a list of attributes composed by
NASA.
Attributes:
Complex and organized
Able to take in energy and use it for growth and reproduction
Engaged in homeostasis
Responsive to its surroundings
Able to reproduce
7. A jellyfish that does not die- Turritopsis nutricula.
Single-celled organisms that live in the
Earth’s most extreme environments-
Archaea.
8. Viruses act alive when they are replicating, but they do not act alive
when they are not replicating. Their definite classification has not been
decided.
Crystals can act alive when they grow
and respond to their surroundings.
9. Allows scientist to alter natural life
Spider Goats- given the
genes to produce
spider silk.
Doctors could correct
genetic errors and
prevent diseases and
disorders.
Organizations like UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization, will become increasingly important to regulate and
restrict the inappropriate use of this technology.
10. After 15 years of research, Craig Venter
and his team created cells with genetic
codes written by humans.
The new species is called Mycoplasma
mycoides.
It’s the only life form with a computer as a
parent.
It has messages written in its genes.
The ability to custom make
organisms could lead to more effective
vaccines and improved fuels.
11. Any organism with mechanical or synthetic parts can be considered a
cyborg.
Advancements of prosthetic technology has led to appendages that function
with the body through neural controls.
Stelios Arcadiou, a man with an ear
growing from his arm, believes
“technology is, and always has been, an
appendage of the body”
12. Some believe man-made life cannot be considered alive because it
lacks a soul or consciousness.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia defines soul as “the vital,
immaterial, life principle, generally conceived as existing within humans
and sometimes within all living things, inanimate objects, and the
universe as a whole.”
Ideas about the origin of consciousness range from the non-physical to
the interaction of particles in quantum mechanics.
Because these are difficult to define and even more difficult to test, the
attributes of life should be the only qualification for a living system.
13. The programs in Christoph Adami’s digital world replicate evolution
nearly perfectly . The system is called AVIDA.
Scientists and computer designers have realized the
power and efficiency in the design of the brain.
The pursuit of more complex computers falls under the
category of artificial intelligence.
The AAAI defines AI as “the scientific
understanding of the mechanism underlying
thought and intelligent behavior and their
embodiment in machines”
14. In order to understand the brain, Henry Markram downloaded the
entire structure of the brain onto a computer.
DARPA is funding several companies to develop artificial brains
equivalent to mammalian brains.
IBM is one of the major companies
receiving the funding.
The ultimate goal of the project is
to create a synthetic brain structure
with 10 billion neurons and
100 trillion synapses, consuming only one kilowatt
of energy.
The progress of these projects shows how life’s
systems can be recreated through synthetic
means.
15. As long as we can find benefits in living machines, their eventual
existence will always be a possibility.
Although some might be cautious of a robot takeover, machines have
already become intertwined into our society.
While life is still important and should be respected, many of life’s
process have already been replicated by humans.
If a machine has all of the attributes of life, then it should be
considered alive.
We may soon have to accept new, synthetic life forms and place them
on Earth’s list of living organisms.
16.
17. Pictures
Herd Animals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Herds_Maasi_Mara_(cropped_and_straightened).jpg
Evolution of Life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Geological_time_spiral_-_sharper.png
Graphs on slide 5: http://talkminer.com/viewtalk.jsp?videoid=F17_KiAZOxg&q=
Adami’s image: http://www.kgi.edu/news-and-events/news-stories/2010/news-story-prof-adami-to-speak-at-international-artificial-life-
conference.html
Bacteria on slide 6: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EscherichiaColi_NIAID.jpg
Plants, animals and other eukaryotes on slide 6: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eukaryota_diversity_2.jpg
Archaea organisms on slide 6: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Halobacteria.jpg
Turritopsis nutricula images: http://a-z-animals.com/blog/swarms-of-immortal-jellyfish/
Volcanic Hotspring slide 7: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_prismatic_spring.jpg
First virus on slide 8: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marburg_virus.jpg
Second virus on slide 8: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tevenphage.svg
Crystal on slide 8: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amethist_quartz.jpeg
Spider Goats: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/03/29/ottawa-spider-goats-display-at-agriculture-museum.html
Craig Venter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Craigventer2.jpg
Craig Venter’s cells: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7762711/Synthetic-life-Dr-Craig-Venter-seeking-monopoly-claims-
gene-pioneer.html
Advanced prosthetic: http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/meet-the-real-life-human-cyborgs-600543
Stelios Arcadiou: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-487039/Artist-implants-ear-arm.html
AVIDA logo: http://www3.uakron.edu/biology/moore/Pacos_homepagefiles/Links.html
AAAI logo: http://www.aaai.org/home.html
DARPA logo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DARPA_Logo.jpg
Computer Chip: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/first-generation-cognitive-chips-based-brain-architecture-will-
revolutionize-computing-ibm-says
Final Robot Image: http://www.barringtonroundup.com/?p=246
