☆ Fundamental Properties of Living Organisms

Fundamental Properties of Living Organisms

What properties define a living organism? This question is not as simple as it seems. Most people would probably answer that something living must move, respond to stimulation, and be complex. However, these properties can also be found in non-living things. A cloud can move, bubbles pop when you touch them, and a computer is complex. So does that mean clouds, bubbles, and computers are living? Well, no. All living things also share five more fundamental properties passed down over millions of years: cellular organization, energy utilization, homeostasis, growth, development, reproduction, and heredity.

Cellular Organization: All living things are composed of one or more cells. Cells carry out the basic activities of living.

Energy utilization: All living things use energy. Moving, growing, and thinking require energy. Energy is captured from sunlight by plants and algae through photosynthesis. Other organisms extract energy from plants or from plant-eating animals.

Homeostasis: All living things maintain relatively constant internal conditions. Organisms keep their interior conditions relatively constant even when the environment varies. Your body acts to maintain an internal temperature of 37 C.

Growth, development, and reproduction: Bacteria increase in size and are split in two. Complex multicellular organisms grow by increasing the number of cells and develop by producing different cells.

Heredity: All organisms possess a genetic system based on the replication and duplication of DNA.​ DNA transmits the characteristics of an organism from parent to offspring.