One of Science’s Most Enduring Riddles: What Is Life?
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Summary
What This Article Is About
Thomas R. Verny M.D. confronts one of biology’s oldest puzzles: what exactly is life, and how did it arise from inert matter? Drawing on examples from viruses to fire and crystals, he shows that every conventional definition — reproduction, metabolism, growth — collapses under scrutiny. He traces how early asteroid bombardment of Earth may have triggered the chemical cascade that eventually produced LUCA (the Last Universal Common Ancestor), and charts the long arc from single-celled organisms to the Cambrian explosion and the emergence of central nervous systems.
Verny brings the debate into the present by highlighting two cutting-edge conferences. At ALIFE 2025 in Kyoto, Mike Levin of Tufts University argued that goal-directedness and agency are essential features of living systems. At the Oxford 2026 Evolution Conference, engineer-turned-scientist Raju Pookottil proposed BEEM (Biological Emergence-based Evolutionary Mechanism), a heretical framework suggesting that organisms may actively direct their own evolutionary trajectories rather than being passively shaped by natural selection — upending the dominant Darwinian narrative.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
No Definition Survives Scrutiny
Every biological definition of life — reproduction, metabolism, growth — breaks down when applied to edge cases like viruses, fire, or crystals.
Asteroids Sparked Life’s Origins
Early asteroid impacts on Earth triggered chemical transformations that eventually led to primitive membranes and the emergence of LUCA.
NASA’s Definition Has Limits
NASA defines life as “a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution” — a useful shorthand, but one that many scientists now consider incomplete.
Organisms May Drive Evolution
Raju Pookottil’s BEEM framework proposes that organisms actively assess challenges and direct their own evolutionary trajectories — challenging pure natural selection.
Agency Is Central to Life
Mike Levin of Tufts University argues that goal-directedness and agency — not just metabolism — are critical features that distinguish living from non-living systems.
From Molecules to Consciousness
Life’s journey from self-organizing molecules to memory, agency, and consciousness unfolded gradually over billions of years — a slow ascent from matter to mind.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Defining Life Remains Biology’s Greatest Unsolved Problem
Despite centuries of inquiry, science still cannot produce a watertight definition of life. Verny argues that life is best understood not as a fixed property but as an emergent continuum — from self-replicating molecules to conscious organisms — shaped by processes far richer than Darwinian natural selection alone.
Purpose
To Inform and Challenge Scientific Orthodoxy
Verny’s primary purpose is to inform general readers about the current state of origin-of-life science, while simultaneously challenging the orthodoxy of Darwinian natural selection by introducing frontier ideas from recent international scientific conferences.
Structure
Anecdotal Hook → Problem Framing → Historical Survey → Contemporary Debate
The article opens with a personal anecdote (Rufus the dog), moves into the definitional problem, surveys the fossil and chemical record of life’s origins, and culminates with cutting-edge conference debates — ending with a lyrical metaphor of life as symphony.
Tone
Curious, Intellectually Adventurous & Poetic
Verny writes with the curiosity of a scientist and the warmth of a storyteller. The tone is accessible yet intellectually ambitious — willing to embrace heterodox ideas and ending with a genuinely lyrical flourish that elevates the scientific into the sublime.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
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Lacking the ability to move, react chemically, or sustain biological processes; chemically or physically inactive.
“…how cells that metabolize, replicate, and adapt emerged from matter that was once inert.”
A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds; used metaphorically to describe the chaotic, voiceless early Earth before life emerged.
“From the cacophony of the voiceless early Earth, over vast stretches of time and space, a few notes gradually arose…”
Involving or limited to basic principles; undeveloped or primitive in form — referring here to the earliest, simplest biological structures.
“…packaged them into primitive membranes, and allowed rudimentary selection to occur.”
Capable of being passed from parent to offspring through genetic transmission; a core requirement in Darwinian evolutionary theory.
“‘Darwinian evolution’ served as shorthand for replication with heritable variation and differential fitness.”
A continuous heavy attack; in geology, refers to the intense period of asteroid and meteorite impacts on the early Earth that may have seeded life’s chemistry.
“Many scientists speculate that the early bombardment of Earth by asteroids set in motion a cascade of chemical and environmental changes…”
Reaching the highest or most decisive point after a period of development; ending in a significant result or outcome.
“…set in motion a cascade of chemical and environmental changes, culminating in the appearance of the ‘last universal common ancestor’…”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, NASA’s definition of life fully satisfies the scientific community and is considered the accepted standard with no significant limitations.
2What is the central claim of Raju Pookottil’s BEEM framework as described in the article?
3Which sentence best describes what the word “system” was meant to acknowledge in NASA’s definition of life?
4Evaluate whether each of the following statements is true or false based on the article.
Mike Levin of Tufts University argued at ALIFE 2025 that goal-directedness and agency are critical features of living systems.
Viruses are classified as fully alive according to the article because they evolve and replicate independently.
The Cambrian explosion, which saw an abrupt diversification of body forms, occurred approximately 540 million years ago.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5What can be most reasonably inferred from the author’s use of fire and crystals as examples alongside viruses when discussing definitions of life?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
LUCA stands for Last Universal Common Ancestor — the hypothetical single organism from which all life on Earth is thought to have descended. The article describes it as the culmination of a cascade of chemical and environmental changes, possibly triggered by asteroid bombardment of the early Earth, representing the first appearance of a truly living system.
BEEM (Biological Emergence-based Evolutionary Mechanism) is a framework proposed by engineer-turned-scientist Raju Pookottil at the Oxford 2026 Evolution Conference. It challenges Darwinian orthodoxy by arguing that organisms may actively direct their own evolutionary trajectories — assessing challenges, devising solutions, and transmitting them across generations — rather than being passively shaped by random mutation and natural selection.
Viruses occupy a grey zone in biology: they do evolve, satisfying one criterion for life, but they cannot replicate independently — they hijack a host cell’s machinery to reproduce. This makes them a powerful counterexample to any simple definition. If life requires self-replication, viruses fail; if it requires evolution, they qualify. This ambiguity illustrates why no single definition of life holds universally.
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This article is rated Intermediate. It introduces scientific and philosophical concepts such as abiogenesis, LUCA, and evolutionary mechanisms, and requires readers to follow an argument that spans multiple disciplines — biology, chemistry, and philosophy. Some technical vocabulary is present, but Verny’s accessible, conversational style ensures the ideas remain approachable for motivated non-specialist readers.
Thomas R. Verny is a medical doctor who writes the “Explorations of the Mind” column for Psychology Today, with a focus on evolutionary psychology and the nature of consciousness. He is known for bridging clinical medicine with broader scientific and philosophical questions. This article also appeared in The Globe and Mail, reflecting his reach as a public science communicator across multiple high-profile publications.
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