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• n  a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently
• n  a system considered analogous in structure or function to a living body
  the social organism

• If so, do the pieces count as one organism or many? There's no agreed upon answer, says Clive Brasier, a British botanist.
• A remarkably adaptive microorganism in Antarctica suggests how life could have survived on Mars.
• Stocktrek Corbis The fact that organisms can survive in extreme seemingly lethal conditions is nothing new.

• being

News & Articles

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• Electrofuels: Charged Microbes May "Poop Out" a Gasoline Alternative
  Run current through genetically engineered microorganisms, and they produce gasoline substitute. Can U.S.-funded electrofuels research finish the drive from lab to market?
  June 17, 2013 - National Geographic
• ‘World War Z’ Features Brad Pitt and Undead Hordes
  For “World War Z,” his zombie spectacular, the director Marc Forster sought to create legions of the undead that move together like a collective organism.
  June 14, 2013 - New York Times
• Scientists identify neurons that control feeding behavior in Drosophila
  Scientists have developed a novel transgenic system which allows them to remotely activate individual brain cells in the model organism Drosophila using ambient temperature. This powerful new tool for identifying and characterizing neural circuitry has lead to the identification of a pair of neurons-– now called Fdg neurons-- in the fruit fly that decide when to eat and initiate the subsequent ...
  June 14, 2013 - Science Daily

Quotes

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• Julie Gerberding in KVOA.com
  CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding says "We are considering his ability to transmit, but also the seriousness of this organism and the chance that some passenger on this plane could be one that was at a special risk for serious TB."
• Craig Venter in Ninemsn
  What we are reporting in this Science paper is not anything about a synthetic organism,Venter said.