Thoroughbred...it is alive!

Life. Nobody ever really thinks about it, either something is alive or it is not. Take a rock for example, it doesn’t take a genius to conclude that it isn’t alive. Though with more complex things, such as a human or animal we know they are alive, but we don’t exactly know how or why. When somebody is asked “Is that leaf alive? How do you know?” and they respond yes, the next common answer is “ I don’t know they just are!” There are seven characteristics of life that will unquestionably determine whether a subject is really alive or not. Take an Thoroughbred racehorse for example, they are obviously alive, proving that by being made of cells, being able to regulate homeostasis, reproduce, grow and develop, have a metabolism, respond to stimuli and show biological evolution.

One of the characteristics of life is that the organism is made of cells. Thoroughbreds are multicellular organisms, which means that their cells are eukaryotic and specialized. They easily demonstrates this by the lightening fast hooves at the bottom of their legs, they may look indestructible, but actually are not at all. They are made of live bone that is covered in Keratin and proteins. Keratin is a Scleroprotein and like collagen, elastin, and fibroin its purpose is to form connective tissue, bone matrices and tendons. The keratin is produced in the cells and is important in horns, hair, hooves, and skin cells. In the specific case of hooves, it attaches and bonds to the live bone which makes up their shell. Hooves are only one example of the cells they have, their inner systems have millions of millions of cells. Red blood cells to carry oxygen, white blood cells to help with immunity and also DNA cells.

Secondly, the ability to regulate an inner system,...

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...s are demonstrated. The Thoroughbred breed originated in England in the 17th century, but quickly spread throughout the world in the 18th and 19th centuries. Native mares were crossbred with Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman stallions. Any modern Thoroughbred can trace their pedigrees back to three original stallions imported to England in the 17th century. They are the only breed that can consistently reach speeds of 40 miles per hour due to their physique. They are at least 15hh but can be well over 17hh with usually solid coats, only rarely are there white or palomino Thoroughbreds.

In conclusion, using the seven characteristics of life are a very accurate way to prove the life of an object or organism. When studied with the seven parts in mind, metabolism, homeostasis, reacting to stimuli, reproducing, growing and developing, made of cells and biological evolution.