What's Alive?

How do you determine what is alive? If it walks, talks, breathes, or eats? Well we came up with a list that we believe characterizes all living things. But we did learn the official "working definition of life". Number one is growth; number two is reproduction, number three is homeostasis (the ability of keeping internal balance), number four is sensory and response to stimuli, and finally number five is the ability to obtain and use energy. Now what I have just listed is what we are aware of as life on earth! Could there be other life forms that do not require water or food or air, sure. But we just do not know!There are questions that make you really ponder the idea of life. For example, If you die and your still beating heart is given to a transplant patient, are you still alive, or are you dead? In my opinion once you are pronounced dead, you are dead. There is no brain activity and no ability to do the five things i listed earlier, therefore I believe you are dead and your heart now belongs to someone else. Enough of the morbid talk though, life is beautiful and asking if you are alive is a different question than if you are living!