Question

At what point does a cell become a living thing?

Answer 1

When the cell is able to self sustain itself (Survive , reproduce etc.)

Answer 2

read up a little bit on Henrietta Lacks' "immortal" cell.

Answer 3

Techniquely when a cell can reproduce or self sustain itself. In most cases all cells are alive. Even neurons which cannot really reproduce. Essentially you would have to look at the characteristics of a living thing and see if the cell is capable most (not necessarily all) of the criteria. In a nut shell the characteristics of a living thing are the abilities to: reproduce, has a metabolism, growth, responds to environment, and potentially evolve. Of course a door responds to its environment (open/close) but is not alive because it does not do all the other things. Yet barnacles don't appear to respond to their environment but meet the other criteria so they are alive. Does that help?

Answer 4

@panlac01 :thanks! learnt a new thing!

Answer 5

@sakib.bmbdu no problem.

Answer 6

All cells come from other cells, so I suppose they're "living" from the start. Life on the level of a cell isn't really the same as life on the level of e.g. a human being, though. Our white blood cells, for example, are undeniably alive (and even motile!), but we instinctively know that life they have isn't the same as the life of even the simplest animals. It's an arbitrary distinction, but such arbitrary distinctions play big a role in our lives and in science too.

Answer 7

a living thing?....... i dnt thinkcells exist as dead before living.. i think it's vice versa