Should Physicists Study the Question: What is Life?

An astrophysicist at the University of Rochester writes that “many” of his colleagues in physics “have come to believe that a mystery is unfolding in every microbe, animal, and human.” And it’s a mystery that:

– “Challenges basic assumptions physicists have held for centuries”
– “May even help redefine the field for the next generation”
– “Could answer essential questions about AI.”

In short, while physicists have favored a “reductionist” philosophy about the fundamental laws…