what makes an amoeba alive?

Answer 1

People like you.

Answer 2

The question of what is alive and what isn't really is a deep question. There are several classifications for life. One of the most common is it must have: Organization, Metabolism, Growth, Adaptation, Response to stimuli, Reproduction

But I could argue that fire (a simple chemical reaction) has those qualities. It produces offspring, it metabolizes, etc. I guess everything is alive in some way. Its just that things we consider living have a certain apparent complexity to thier processes.

Answer 3

I like the answers thus far, but an important point is being overlooked that would help us differentiate between fire and a living organism. Heritable reproduction is a prerequisite for life. It is not enough to simply reproduce. For life, reproduction must be coupled with inheritance. This is something that a fire never achieves, but all living organisms do.

Put simply, we might consider life as anything affected by evolutionary processes.

Answer 4

as was said - it has metabolism, internal organization, reproduction. If u regard it as a very dumb organism, let me note that some Enteroamoeba strains cause severe digestive troubles, horrible runs and bellyache to be more specific. Like any infectious disease teaches us not to underestimate microscopic life...

Answer 5

It can grow, use nutrients, has a metabolism, and reproduces. It can respond to stimuli.

Answer 6

Hi there, just wanted to mention, I loved this discussion. very inspiring replies

Answer 7

Never thought about it too much