<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Life is a characteristic distinguishing physical entities having biological processes, such as signaling and self - sustaining processes, from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased, or because they never had such functions and are classified as inanimate . Various forms of life exist, such as plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria . The criteria can at times be ambiguous and may or may not define viruses, viroids, or potential artificial life as "living". Biology is the primary science concerned with the study of life, although many other sciences are involved . </P> <P> The definition of life is controversial . The current definition is that organisms maintain homeostasis, are composed of cells, undergo metabolism, can grow, adapt to their environment, respond to stimuli, and reproduce . However, many other biological definitions have been proposed, and there are some borderline cases of life, such as viruses . Throughout history, there have been many attempts to define what is meant by "life" and many theories on the properties and emergence of living things, such as materialism, the belief that everything is made out of matter and that life is merely a complex form of it; hylomorphism, the belief that all things are a combination of matter and form, and the form of a living thing is its soul; spontaneous generation, the belief that life repeatedly emerges from non-life; and vitalism, a now largely discredited hypothesis that living organisms possess a "life force" or "vital spark". Modern definitions are more complex, with input from a diversity of scientific disciplines . Biophysicists have proposed many definitions based on chemical systems; there are also some living systems theories, such as the Gaia hypothesis, the idea that the Earth itself is alive . Another theory is that life is the property of ecological systems, and yet another is elaborated in complex systems biology, a branch or subfield of mathematical biology . Abiogenesis describes the natural process of life arising from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds . Properties common to all organisms include the need for certain core chemical elements to sustain biochemical functions . </P> <P> Life on Earth first appeared as early as 4.28 billion years ago, soon after ocean formation 4.41 billion years ago, and not long after the formation of the Earth 4.54 billion years ago . Earth's current life may have descended from an RNA world, although RNA - based life may not have been the first . The mechanism by which life began on Earth is unknown, though many hypotheses have been formulated and are often based on the Miller--Urey experiment . The earliest known life forms are microfossils of bacteria . In July 2016, scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes believed to be present in the last universal common ancestor (LUCA) of all living organisms . </P>

What are the criteria for something to be considered living