But life-like behaviour is not, to most people, the same as life.
There is a precedent for dual classification: three icy bodies classed as asteroids are also listed as comets because they have shown comet-like behaviour in the past.
Another idea that really does not stand up to scrutiny: of all the activities that humans engage in that competition for sex is almost certainly the most market like behaviour we indulge in.
Certainly, the best part of the book is Mr Grand's description of the inner workings of his artificial-life software, and the way it mimics biological processes to give rise to all kinds of life-like behaviour.
As in law firms, what looks like irrational behaviour may in fact be a community norm which efficiently discourages free-riding.
It points out, though, that there is little evidence things like the behaviour of the nitrogen cycle or the phosphate cycle in the Holocene were particularly well-suited to humans.
Behaviour like this, the researchers said, show similarities with other types of addictions such as alcoholism.
Free travel privileges can be withdrawn for a minimum period of six months for consistent bad behaviour like bullying or using threatening language.
"All these things that Mark is alleged to have taken were all taken within a 30-day period with no behaviour like that before and that suggests that there was some psychiatric episode, " the lawyer said.
"Alberto Micalizzi's conduct fell woefully short of the standards that investors should expect and behaviour like his has no place in the financial services industry, " said Tracey McDermott, the FSA's acting director of enforcement and financial crime.
They were worried about overcrowding, potential disruption and the fear that they might not like the attitude or behaviour of the other school's pupils.
The issue of course, is that there is so much private documentation, making the act of finding sneaky behaviour much like finding a digital needle in a haystack.
If you leave your laptop unlocked and someone else starts typing, then using almost like a neuro-net analysis we can say that the behaviour of this individual is most like this person, therefore the trust level falls, therefore you're asked to log onto the network again.
"They are coming closer, collecting food, rolling over, even allowing petting - in some instances the behaviour is more dog-like than fox-like, " says Dr Roger Mugford, an animal psychologist who runs the Animal Behaviour Centre.
As electrons are point-like, their quantum mechanical behaviour is well known.
This has mirrored progress in fields as diverse as speech recognition and credit-card fraud detection, where modern techniques combined with a continuing explosion in computer power have made possible behaviour that seems very like human intelligence, albeit limited to a specific domain.
The two species of mice were successively bred, and those hybrids built long, two-tunnel burrows like oilfield mice - showing that the behaviour is a "dominant" trait.
It is hard, indeed boring, to read at one go, and Wesley Hagood's tone is confused: he applauds stud behaviour but can sound also like an apprentice inquisitor.
ECONOMIST: The Clinton scandal is getting the books it deserves
"I want to know exactly what the behaviour of the players involved was like and if there were complaints made to the hotel by guests who may have been upset by what they saw or heard, " said Peat.
All of which sounds like typical master-of-the-universe behaviour, but Mr Esteves does not fit that mould precisely.
ECONOMIST: The troubled Swiss bank seeks to import its saviours
Twins studies like these unequivocally demonstrate the heritability of politically related behaviour.
The growth of engagement activities like games would give a brand deeper data on customer behaviour.
The result, published in the latest edition of Animal Behaviour, is that children who looked and smelled like their fathers did indeed enjoy more paternal care than those who did not.
ECONOMIST: Paternity and parental investment: Like father, like son | The
As well as serious crimes like burglary, it has also proven effective in reducing antisocial behaviour on our streets, a key factor in whether people feel safe and comfortable in their communities.
Lenders like the World Bank are cajoling governments, using aid not just to induce better behaviour but to pay for programmes to reform judiciaries and civil services.
"Nonetheless I would like to apologise unreservedly for anything that could be or may have been construed as inappropriate behaviour on my part, " he said.
The chief executive of the learning disabilities charity Mencap, Mark Goldring, said cases like Simone's highlight a system that has resorted to warehousing difficult patients with challenging behaviour.
He added that the policy of contrition was not even proving effective in changing the behaviour of countries in the world that were of concern to the US, like Iran or Cuba.
He, like Chris Foote-Wood has made a complaint to the council about the mayor's behaviour.
应用推荐