What is life, anyway? Despite how often it is used, biologists have had difficulty coming up with a coherent definition which would distinguish between life and non-life. The line between the two is not nearly so clear and easy to find as people often assume. Read Article: Abiogenesis, the Nature of Life


Odd that you have this article today just as I finished reading this piece on panspermia in Popular Science. Fact or error, it makes for interesting reading.
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/2c21c0f98d07b010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html