What is Life?

From a scientist’s perspective, life is a self sustained chemical system that is capable of Darwinian evolution—has a metabolism can transfer information and replicate,  and can undergo mutations in order to evolve. But the bigger question is: where did life come from and how exactly did it get started? Since the beginning of time, humans have been trying to find where we came from. Those who agree with the Big Bang Theory are even more interested in how life started on earth. Why did life form on Earth? And did life or could life form on any other planet? Technology, which has become an important part of our everyday life is rapidly evolving, in a sense like life. Furthermore, technology is producing things that DNA tissue can’t even produce. Erwin Schrodinger, a physicist and theoretical biologist, wrote What Is Life? in 1994, in which he posed many questions about humans and how we got on earth. Did life come about spontaneously or with divine intervention? James Watson, an American molecular biologist, geneticist, zoologist, and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, frequently asked himself that question. He wanted to believe that life was nothing but molecules, and in making the DNA structure, he was able to prove that. In his book, Schrodinger laid the groundwork of thinking of life as completely made of chemical structures. Although we are certain of how molecules form cells, which make up our body, and we know the chemical composition of our bodies, we are still unsure of how certain properties that we contain, such as generosity and our personality, arose, and, more importantly, how our mind works. How can we store thousands of memories and then recall them whenever we want?
Human Genome Sequence
John Craig Venter, an American biologist and entrepreneur who is most famous for his role in being one of the first to sequence the human genome, is fascinated by the vast different types of organisms that scientists are still discovering. Scientists have found organisms in our Earth that can undergo ionizing radiation and exist in a vacuum, two conditions that humans are incapable of surviving in. Once these organisms find water, they are able to rehydrate and repair themselves. There are Archaea bacteria that can live 120 degrees centigrade, or Celsius. In May 2010, Venter was the first scientist to create “synthetic life”. This was done by synthesizing a long DNA molecule containing an entire bacterium genome, and introducing this into another cell. The single-celled organism contains four "watermarks" written into its DNA to identify it as synthetic and to help trace its descendants. The actual term synthetic life is associated with creating life “from scratch”, which has not yet been achieved. Venter was driven to search for the Human Genome, even though he didn’t work with the government Human Genome Project, because he wants to find the origin of life, like many other scientists in the world. 
When Did Life Arise on Earth?
In South Africa, archeologists have found fossils of ancient bacteria and rocks that prove that life existed as early as 3.8 billion years ago. Aside from developing the world into what we call life today, life has also made a huge effect on the environment. Oxygen didn’t exist in the original atmosphere of the earth. However, around 2.7 billion years ago, photosynthetic bacteria evolved that developed the ability to make organic compounds by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Thus, organisms soon adapted to this surplus of oxygen in the atmosphere and evolved into oxygen-consuming organisms. Therefore, life didn’t only evolve on this planet, but in a sense, life is creating new life. Especially with all the new technology that is being created today, what is going to come next?

We interviewed Mr. Schwalm, chemistry and psychology teacher, who gave us insight about the love of learning, and how it is sparked in children and adults alike. He also spoke much about the origins of psychology in general.

  • Human Genome:
  • Video: audio recorded by Wisconsin Public Radio (picture sources in