What Is Life? A New Theory

This graph shows the operator hierarchy as a winding path towards higher complexity. (Image credit: Gerard Jagers op Akkerhuis)

Biology is often called the

Many attempts to classify life focus on a list

"People have focused on

Instead, he defines life in

To qualify as life, Jagers op

"From the level of the

Complexity, in this

For example, in a cell, the,

Using these concepts, the

In the case of a human

If all this is a little heady,

"I think the operator

One scientist, Rob Hengeveld

"This theory and

But Jagers op Akkerhuis said

The construction of the operator hierarchy is

Another common

One benefit of his theory,

But these things cannot be

Clara Moskowitz is a science and space writer who joined the Space.com team in 2008 and served as Assistant Managing Editor from 2011 to 2013. Clara has a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She covers everything from astronomy to human spaceflight and once aced a NASTAR suborbital spaceflight training program for space missions. Clara is currently Associate Editor of Scientific American. To see her latest project is, follow Clara on Twitter.