All organisms obey the laws of chemistry and physics. Until the turn of the century there were scientists who defined themselves as vitalists. They believed that living systems contained vital spirits which enabled them to perform certain activities and these specific activities could not be reproduced outside of a living system. This is no longer believed. The first organic substance produced in the lab was urea.
All organisms require energy.
The laws of thermodynamics are pertinent to biology. The disciplines are interrelated. C. Characteristics of Life defn - life is a particular set of processes that result from the organization of matter 1. It begins with subatomic particles which organize to form atoms which combine to form cell which are the simplest units with all the characteristics of life. Communities include all the populations in an area.