Well, it has been suggested that I poke around and try to come up with some laws regarding life (laws of biophysics). I guess I will start by saying that life requires water. I'll mention a few possible laws as well.
1) The water law
Water is the universal medium in which life's chemical reactions take place. If you took all of the water out of a cell of bacteria, for instance, the enzymes inside the cell couldn't react with the substrates -- and life would stop.
2) The motion law
Life seems to require motion. This is related to the water law above. In the above example, water allows for motion and eventual reaction of the enzymes and substrates needed for metabolism.
3) The energy law
Because life involves motion, it involves (kinetic) energy. Since energy cannot be created or destroyed, life requires a process of energy release. There's a minimum amount of energy required for a single cell to effectively function. If you take a multicellular organism such as a 150-lb human, that minimum amount of energy -- required to maintain this human in a vegetative state -- is something around 500 kcals a day. Now, you couldn't live on 500 kcals a day because living your life requires more than that minimum. For instance, if you get out of bed in the morning, then you will require more than 500 kcals a day. That is because getting out of bed requires energy, above and beyond the energy needed to sustain life in a vegetative state. If you talk and laugh during the day -- you will require more than 500 kcals. If you think hard about philosophy, you will require more than 500 kcals a day.
4) The nutrient law
Beyond energy, some chemicals required for metabolism need to be acquired from the environment. An example for humans is vitamin C. Without it, the collagen protein holding your body together would deteriorate. First you would bruise easily. Then, as the vitamin C deficiency gets worse, your teeth and hair will fall out. Eventually, you'll die of internal bleeding, because your very blood vessels will not be able to hold blood under pressure (or a bump against furniture will rupture your blood vessels).
5) The space law
Cells require space. You could not fit an elephant into the volume normally displaced by the body of a flea. There is an absolute minimum cell size. While this minimum cell size hasn't been measured, it is still possible to make statements about it, if the statements are vague enough. For instance, what can be known with certainty is that the minimum cell size prevents any elephant from being the size of a flea. The difference in cell count between an elephant and a flea is a difference of a few orders of magnitude. This creates a chasm so large that it could not be crossed even if it is discovered that cells could exist at half of (or even a fifth of) their "normal" size.This is an inductive inference that is known with absolute certainty. It is certain because there is a biophysical law regarding cell size (i.e., the "space law").
:-)
That's all I can think of for now. Can you think of any potential 'life laws' (or make comment on those above)?
Ed
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