Final answer:
In 'The Lives of the Cell', Lewis Thomas compares Earth's atmosphere to a living cell, indicating the planet's complex biosphere which is necessary to support life, a feature unique to Earth in our solar system.
Step-by-step explanation:
Lewis Thomas, in his book The Lives of the Cell, compared Earth's atmosphere to B) A living cell. This metaphor highlights the complex and interconnected nature of our planet's biosphere, where the atmosphere, like a cell's membrane, plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance necessary for life.
The Earth's atmosphere is part of a robust biosphere that includes atmospheres, surfaces, and oceans capable of planet-scale changes, all of which are telescopically observable due to their biological origins. Earth is currently the only known planet in our solar system to host such a biosphere, although the possibility of life in the subsurface of Mars or inside the icy moons of the outer solar system exists. However, any life in these regions would likely not cause changes observable at the scale we see on Earth.