Life -- a concept, not a reality

Scientists have struggled for many years to define life. What is living and what is not? Is a virus alive? What about a growing crystal? No one has been successful, and I think I agree with Ferris Jabr in the New York Times: there is no answer. There simply is no sharp dividing line between what is alive and what is not. The idea that there should be is a confusion, a prejudice, and it is all in our heads; it's not a part of reality.