生命現象的本質和生命的起源問題,是历来生物科学和哲学研究中最复杂和最深奥的問題之一。很古的时候,就有人开始探索生命的奥妙,还曾經有人尝試用人工制造生命。但是另一方面也有人强調生命和無生命之間的鸿溝,說生命是“神”造的;也有人說:“細胞只能来自細胞”;这些論点大大地阻碍了生物科学的發展。直到十九世紀七十年代,问题才逐漸明朗化起来。恩格斯总結了当时的科学成就以后,断然地說:“生命是 The nature of life phenomena and the origin of life are one of the most complex and profound issues in the history of biological science and philosophy. In ancient times, some people began to explore the mysteries of life, and there have been attempts to artificially create life. But on the other hand, some people also emphasize the gap between life and lifelessness, saying that life is made by “gods”; others also say: “Cells can only come from cells”; these arguments greatly hinder the development of biological sciences. It was not until the 1970s that the problem became clear. After summing up the scientific achievements of the time, Engels stated flatly that "Life is