Non-cellular life

This article is about life that has no cellular structure. For the syncytial and plasmodial forms of cellular life sometimes referred to as "acellular", see Multinucleate.

Non-cellular life, also known as acellular life, is life that exists without a cellular structure for at least part of its life cycle.[1] Historically, most definitions of life postulated that an organism must be composed of one or more cells,[2] but, for some, this is no longer considered necessary, and modern criteria allow for forms of life based on other structural arrangements.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ "What is Non-Cellular Life?". Wise Geek. Conjecture Corporation. 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2009.[unreliable source?]
  2. ^ "The 7 Characteristics of Life". infohost.nmt.edu. Archived from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2017.[better source needed]
  3. ^ Benner SA (26 January 2017). "Defining Life". Astrobiology. 10 (10): 1021–1030. Bibcode:2010AsBio..10.1021B. doi:10.1089/ast.2010.0524. ISSN 1531-1074. PMC 3005285. PMID 21162682.
  4. ^ Trifonov E (2012). "Definition of Life: Navigation through Uncertainties" (PDF). Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics. 29 (4): 647–650. doi:10.1080/073911012010525017. PMID 22208269. S2CID 8616562. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2017 – via JBSD.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ Ma W (26 September 2016). "The essence of life". Biology Direct. 11 (1): 49. doi:10.1186/s13062-016-0150-5. ISSN 1745-6150. PMC 5037589. PMID 27671203.