T. V. Danylova¹*, S. V. Komisarenko²

1National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
*e-mail: danilova_tv@ukr.net;
²Palladin Institute of Biochemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv;
e-mail: svk@biochem.kiev.ua

Received: 11 March 2020; Accepted: 15 May 2020

The brilliant book “What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell” authored by the prominent Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger became a successful attempt to bridge the gap between physics and biology. The philosophical thought of one of the founders of quantum mechanics inspired him to look closer at the enigma of life through the lens of quantum physics. A prominent physicist was focused on the thermodynamics of the living organisms and the nature of heredity. Schrödinger introduced the concept and notion of “negative entropy”, suggested the idea of a genetic code and argued that the genetic material had to have a non-repetitive molecular structure. He considered a molecule as a solid – aperiodic crystal that forms the hereditary substance. Despite the fact that his book provoked different interpretations and his ideas were modified by later scientific development, it was Schrödinger who paved the way for the future research of genes: his book inspired the next generation of scientists to look for a secret life code, which was eventually found. His outstanding writing is still one of the most profound introductions into the subject and raises new questions. Schrödinger’s genius reshapes our view on the nature and essence of life creating a launching pad for the new transdisciplinary paradigm, which can contribute to the development of a unified theory of everything in the spirit of Schrödinger’s philosophy.

Keywords: code-script, Erwin Schrödinger, negative entropy, quantum theory, Schrödinger equation, Schrödinger’s cat paradox