Abstract
Motivated by the need to paint a more general picture of what life is—and could be—with respect to the rest of the phenomena of the universe, we propose a new vocabulary for astrobiological research. Lyfe is defined as any system that fulfills all four processes of the living state, namely: dissipation, autocatalysis, homeostasis, and learning. Life is defined as the instance of lyfe that we are familiar with on Earth, one that uses a specific organometallic molecular toolbox to record information about its environment and achieve dynamical order by dissipating certain planetary disequilibria. This new classification system allows the astrobiological community to more clearly define the questions that propel their research—e.g., whether they are developing a historical narrative to explain the origin of life (on Earth), or a universal narrative for the emergence of lyfe, or whether they are seeking signs of life specifically, or lyfe at large across the universe. While the concept of “life as we don’t know it” is not new, the four pillars of lyfe offer a novel perspective on the living state that is indifferent to the particular components that might produce it.
Highlights
The Need for a New Definition of LifeWe contend that most standard definitions of life are restrictive and may blind future astrobiological research from life that is hiding in plain sight
In the search for extraterrestrial life, we must consider that: (1) Life exactly as we know it may be rare in the universe, but a more general class of phenomena with life-like characteristics may be far more common; (2) There may be systems, yet to be discovered or even imagined, that more successfully satisfy the living criteria than even earthly life does; (3) By loosening our constraints on the definition of life, we open ourselves up to exploring the full parameter space of physical and chemical interactions that may create life
We have presented a new conceptual definition of life that encompasses four pillars: dissipation, autocatalysis, homeostasis, and learning
Summary
We contend that most standard definitions of life are restrictive and may blind future astrobiological research from life that is hiding in plain sight. NASA’s current working definition of life is “a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution.”. While this is a fair description of the life that is present at this moment on planet Earth, searching the universe for phenomena that fit this definition is similar to playing darts by focusing solely on the bullseye.
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