[M.D. Holloway]

How would one define life? What does it mean to be alive? John Keosian, author of The origin of Life wrote "The origin of life...as an examination of the mechanisms operating in the transition of matter to higher and higher levels of organizations."

So what is life? I was thinking about what the properties of what it means to be living...
To Be Able To Reproduce
To Be Able To Change/Adapt even Mutate
To Be Able to Move, Adjust Position
To Metabolize - respire, injest, digest to sustain or grow, excrete
To Grow and experience a Life Cycle
To Respond to Stimuli
To Maintain, Stabilize Internal Functions

Are there exceptions? I guess it could be said that someone in a coma or life support doesn't fit the criteria, but I guess the whole may not, but various parts may - cells that is.

So what is the criteria for something to be alive?