thread of life

noun4

1. •
   A metaphor for a person’s lifespan, as generated by Clotho, measured out by Lachesis, and terminated by Atropos.
2. •
   (figurative) DNA.

   • His book also tells of the intense competition between various research workers and groups during the years in which the secrets of "the spiral thread of life" were finally unravelled. — 1998
3. •
   (figurative) The link of inheritance from past to present.

   • DOWN the unimaginable corridors of geologic time the thread of life has passed from generation to generation, ever varying but unbroken. — 1953
4. •
   (figurative) Destiny, fate.

   • Argo, their thred of life is spun. — 1591