Credible/Honest Apologetics?

[Jehanne]

Scientific first principles are universal, things like the Conservation laws, empirical observation, testability, repeatability, predictability and falsifiability of theories, philosophical realism, methodological naturalism, etc.

Conservation laws aren't first principles.  Just saying

I agree with the rest, but there is the philosophy of science is an ongoing thing.  Popper wasn't the end of it.

I'm not a practicing scientist nor do I have a PhD, but, the professional chemists that I have read presume the basis of things like Conservation of Mass, entropy, etc.; in fact, such is the basis of stoichiometry, as far as I can tell. Granted, such principles are ultimately testable, but chemists simply presume such when they are designing and testing their reactions.