Life as a Self-Replicating System Functioning under Biological Electrical Voltage

This paper proposes defining life as a self-replicating system functioning under biological electrical voltage. Self-replication alone does not distinguish the living from the non-living (RNA in vitro self-copies; so, in the author’s program, do hypothetical dark particles). The distinguishing mark of the living is proposed to be a sustained, actively maintained bioelectric voltage (transmembrane potential) by which the system regulates itself as a whole. The definition is placed among the many existing definitions of life, the difficult case of dormant (cryptobiotic) forms is examined and resolved by refining the criterion to a “retained capacity to maintain voltage,” and an operational criterion and falsification condition are given. The work connects to the author’s ATP-based model of life and consciousness.