Ascientist believes that she has found a new life form. which of the following conditions is not considered essential in determining whether the putative new life form is alive?
a. the creature seems to react to being touched.
b. the creature possesses purposeful anatomical structures that differ from one another.
c. the creature's body is bilaterally symmetrical.
d. it appears to have cells when viewed under a microscope

Answer is C, the creature's body is bilaterally symmetrical.

Explanation:

Note that , when an organism is said to be bilaterally symmetrical, it means that , the right side and the left side of the body plan are just like mirror image of each other, when cut or divided along a plane.

In this case, since the scientist just found a new life form, the type of symmetry possess by the organism is never to be considered essential, because if it were to be considered, it will mean the new organism will be terminated or killed to confirm the symmetry, which has automatically negate the process of determining whether the new life form is alive.