Was life once thought to be exempt from the laws of physics and chemistry?

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: For centuries, a stubborn belief called vitalism suggested that living organisms operated by a mysterious force beyond ordinary science. It took the synthesis of urea and the rigorous work of chemists like Lavoisier and Liebig to prove that the same chemical laws govern both inanimate matter and the living cell.

Biochemistry, the study of chemical processes within living organisms, emerged from the intersection of physiology and chemistry. Its foundations were laid between 1650 and 1780, a period when chemistry transitioned into a pure science. Pioneers like Robert Boyle redefined the field by focusing on the composition of substances, while John Mayow and Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier established the chemical nature of respiration by drawing parallels to oxidation. These early insights into respiration and photosynthesis provided the necessary chemical framework for understanding life.

Progress was long hindered by vitalism, the erroneous idea that biological phenomena were exempt from the physical and chemical laws governing inanimate matter. Vitalists argued that natural products could never be synthesized in a laboratory. This view faced its first significant challenge in 1828 when Friedrich Wöhler synthesized urea, an organic compound. Although vitalists initially dismissed this as merely a breakdown product, subsequent successes in synthesizing complex natural products eventually forced them to abandon their position. It is now axiomatic that the laws of chemistry are universally valid within the living cell.

The 19th century saw the field mature through the work of figures like Justus von Liebig and Louis Pasteur. Liebig, who established a prominent research laboratory at Giessen, popularized organic chemistry and described nature's great chemical cycles. Meanwhile, Pasteur investigated fermentation, initially attributing it to a vital force within yeast. While his specific mechanism was later refined, his work, alongside the development of structural organic chemistry, allowed scientists to move beyond descriptive observations toward elucidating the complex molecular structures and metabolic pathways that define modern biochemistry.

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