• Dasus@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    8 months ago

    Are my red blood cells alive, per se?

    Also, not to be a quenchcoal, but a single paper suggesting a classification doesn’t really mean scientific consensus on the matter.

    As I said, most current definitions. I am aware of different views as well. It’s not my personal opinion, just the prevailing definition.

    • angrystego@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      About the red blood cells - in my opinion, individual cells of multicellular organisms are alive per se, yes.

      You’re right about the consensus, but I think times are changing and thinking differently about viruses is becoming a trend.

      • Dasus@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        About the red blood cells - in my opinion, individual cells of multicellular organisms are alive per se, yes.

        So your nails are also alive? Or just the nailbed? Or the nails rven alive after you discard them?

        Red cells are a part of an organism, but they’re not an organism themselves, so they’re not exactly " alive".

        But viruses, that debate is nowhere near as simple, haha.

          • Dasus@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            8 months ago

            Yeah, it isn’t.

            Definitions in biology, man. There’s always an exception, and an exception to the exception and…