The marks of life

Movement - not just in the traditional sense

Movement is part of the life of humans and animals. But plants can also move, albeit at a fixed location. This is particularly noticeable when plants, for example sunflowers, align themselves with the sun. Changes in pressure, the so-called turgor, allow the leaves and flowers to open and close. The evening primrose, which opens its flowers within seconds, is well known. Even single-celled organisms such as bacteria have the ability to move through small flagella

Growth - cell by cell

An important task of a living being is growth. The two cells, which (in multicellular living beings) fuse when they arise, start to multiply rapidly. Within a few days, the new living being consists of more than 100 cells. The cell itself can also grow, so that this characteristic also applies to unicellular living beings.

Metabolism - the hallmark of a living organism

This mark of life sets you apart from viruses. These do not have their own metabolism, only that of the host cell. So they are not living beings. Even if animals and plants differ greatly in this regard, both have a metabolism. Plants can photosynthesize. They produce glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. Animals, on the other hand, only use the opposite mechanism - breathing. These, and many other metabolic pathways, such as fat burning, urea cycle and other things, keep the body alive.

Reproduction - the cause of new life

The increase lies in the biology of every living being. It is the reason why a living being can survive in the long term. There are also different forms here. Single-celled organisms usually multiply through cell division. Certain bacteria can double in size every 20 minutes. Still others are able to self-fertilize, like some plants. Others need help, like a bee doing pollination.

Communication is everything - irritability

Living beings are able to absorb stimuli. In this way you can react to environmental influences. In humans and animals this is of course easy thanks to the familiar sense organs. But plants also take on stimuli, although they do not actually have a nervous system. An example is the mimosa, which rolls up its leaves when touched. But the plant, which knows where the sun is and aligns itself with it, also proves its irritability as a hallmark of life.