Defining Life: The Complexity and Origin of Life

The common understanding of life as something that is either alive or dead creates a false dichotomy in the scientific world. The richness of the taxonomy of life surpasses this simplistic classification, with a much broader spectrum of complexity. The origin of life on Earth marks a significant milestone when the planet transitioned from being barren to hosting the first living organism. This process involved the gradual evolution of chemical systems becoming increasingly complex until the emergence of the first cell with proteins and DNA. The challenge lies in defining the precise moment when non-life transformed into life, blurring the clear boundaries between the two states.