Inspired by Erwin Schrödinger - "What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell" from 1944 ?
> Schrödinger explains that living matter evades the decay to thermodynamical equilibrium by homeostatically maintaining negative entropy in an open system.
Oh, I'm certain that Asimov wasn't the first to think of it. It could have been thought up in the 19th century, and it would be very surprising if Asimov was the first to write down the idea.
> Schrödinger explains that living matter evades the decay to thermodynamical equilibrium by homeostatically maintaining negative entropy in an open system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Life%3F