Source: Science and Life, 1962, issue 4. Translated by Herrkomm.
The living is characterized by assimilation and dissimilation, in other words, the living is inherent in the need to eat; nonliving things do not have this property. This is where all the differences between living and non-living come from.
Although all biological processes pass only through corresponding physical and chemical movements and transformations, nevertheless, all these movements, each occurring separately according to the laws of physics and chemistry, are subject to the characteristics and essence of living things.
Chemistry, physics and other sciences about inanimate things, for example, geology, were and are necessary prerequisites for the study of life. Therefore, biology is extremely interested in the ever-increasing development of scientific knowledge about inanimate nature. For the development of biological science, the progress of biophysics and biochemistry is especially important.
But this does not mean at all that biology is the chemistry and physics of living things. Unfortunately, often chemists and physicists, instead of studying more and more the chemistry and physics of living bodies, try to replace biological laws, for example, the laws of heredity, with physical and chemical laws and thereby reduce biology to chemistry and physics. In fact, the study of the chemistry and physics of living things, as already mentioned, is, although the most important, still only a prerequisite for the development of biological sciences for the discovery of objective biological laws.
Biological science is a system of biological laws according to which the organic world lives and develops. Knowledge and skillful use of these laws makes it possible to develop various methods of controlling living bodies in the most diverse areas of practical human activity.
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