Schrödinger's cat among biology's pigeons: 75 years of What Is Life?

In 1944, physicist Erwin Schrödinger published "What Is Life?" where he pondered the unique aspects of living systems that seem to defy known physical laws. He proposed the idea of a "code-script" directing cellular organization and heredity, foreshadowing the discovery of DNA's structure by Crick and Watson in 1953. Schrödinger's work bridged physics and biology, exploring how genetic mutations lead to observable traits and how living organisms maintain order against entropy. While his ideas influenced future biologists, some critics found his treatment of thermodynamics and genetics vague and lacking depth. Schrödinger's book highlighted the importance of understanding biology as a non-equilibrium complex system interacting with its environment, a concept resonating with modern studies in genomics and quantum mechanics. Despite criticisms, Schrödinger's interdisciplinary approach and thought-provoking questions continue to inspire scientific inquiry into the nature of life.