From owner-cellbiol@net.bio.net Fri Jan 24 22:00:00 1997 Path: biosci!agate!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news-xfer.netaxs.com!feed1.news.erols.com!news.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news.bc.net!info.ucla.edu!nnrp.info.ucla.edu!psgrain!news.rain.net!news.teleport.com!not-for-mail From: acorania@teleport.com (Sean Mahoney) Newsgroups: bionet.cellbiol Subject: Re: Are Sperms Alive? Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 22:31:18 GMT Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016 Lines: 18 Message-ID: <5ce1ho$dog$1@nadine.teleport.com> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: ip-longv1-23.teleport.com X-Newsreader: Forte Free Agent 1.0.82 sung@UTMDACC.MDA.UTH.TMC.EDU (GongQin Sun) wrote: >1) I agree with the five characteristics, but think a sperm meets number 4 >(self propagation) only partially at best. Sperms can not reproduce >themselves first of all. With the help of an egg, only half of the sperm >population (those carrying the Y chromosome) can eventually "reproduce" >themselves. Am I missing something here? Unless I am mistaken in what you are saying, in your opinion sexual creatures are not alive since they cannot independantly reproduce. Because a sexual creature has to have input from a similar creature of the opposite sex it can not reproduce by itself and is therfor not alive. I would have to say the the sperm and egg are alive but are part of their "parents" body. So when a woman ovulates she has an egg that is alive just like she has epithilial cells that are alive. Sean Mahoney .