Prof. Dr. Sohan Raj Tater
No one has yet been able to synthesize a living cell in the laboratory, although we know now, in some detail, what the various material substances involved are in the making of a cell, because life is not merely a composition of material substances. A non material soul-substance (jīvāstikāya) is also essential to create a live cell. Soul is substance but not a physical one. And this non-material/non-physical substance is eternal, it can neither be created nor destroyed. A soul animates a particular organism and manifests itself in various vital functions of a living organism. They can be classified into ten groups, called prāṇa (vital force or bio-energy).
There is much evidence that all of living organisms on earth from plants, bacteria, jellyfish (the simplest of animals that has a nervous system) to apes and humans, use the same DNA code and similar amino acids. And yet no two organisms are totally identical. True that all members of a particular species and sub-species would possess the same genetic codes but the genes, themselves would vary from member to member. This is because, the genes are not only hereditary but are also significantly influenced by the karma of the individual member. Thus while the general behavior of all the members of a species would be the characteristic of the species, it would infinitely vary from member to member. This is because though humans alone appear to have consciousness or minds distinct from their bodies, each and every living organism, also has a non material soul associated with a material body. The existence of the soul distinct from the body is not merely a concept but a metaphysical reality.
Doctoral Thesis, JVBU