On a possibly fundamental principle in chemistry as viewed in a cosmogoniccontext

Subject to the condition that atoms be conserved - i.e. without nuclear tra nsmutations - we conjecture that it is impossible to synthesise organic mat erials in appreciable quantity from inorganic materials without the interve ntion of biological systems. The restriction is not a consequence of a myst ic quality in the laws of physics and chemistry but of the practical dispos ition of materials on the Earth and in the cosmos generally. It is a coroll ary that biology is the means by which an approximation to thermodynamic eq uilibrium is maintained in materials at temperatures similar to 300 K.