Quantum Biology and Biophysics are very recent disciplines that represent a revolution in our understanding of how the mechanisms associated with life function. For several years now, I have been discussing on my website the extraordinary importance of this research worldwide. Some universities with research departments in this field include Cambridge, Griffith in Australia, Innsbruck in Vienna, and the group led by Engel at the University of Chicago, among others.
Quantum biology, a very promising interdisciplinary field
In this regard, the University of Surrey in England is launching the world’s first three-year doctoral program in Quantum Biology. The researchers leading this groundbreaking program are Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili. This new interdisciplinary field requires experts from various fields, ranging from biology and biochemistry to physics, mathematics, and computer science. These are interdisciplinary fields of study of great importance that will need to be gradually integrated into many undergraduate degree programs over the next few years.
I have been doing research in this field for over a decade, reaching out to scientists and compiling a very thorough synthesis, part of which is included in the courses offered on the eQuantum.org web platform.
Colored portrait of Erwin Schrödinger
As early as 1944, Erwin Schrödinger, in his book What is Life?, pondered the nature of life, its remarkable efficiency, organization, and internal order. He did not understand how life could manifest itself in such an orderly way despite the thermal motion of its constituent particles. There must be an orderly, long-range network of interconnections capable of synchronizing isolated parts.
In order to understand these mechanisms, physicists and molecular biologists have been uncovering some truly surprising facts over the past two decades. While it was initially thought that quantum physics had effects only at the microscopic scale (atomic and subatomic), it is now known that these effects combine, giving rise to phenomena at the macroscopic scale, as occurs in a state of quantum coherence. For example, in 1995, the first Bose-Einstein condensate was created, a state in which atoms are subjected to extremely low temperatures (less than one-millionth of a Kelvin above absolute zero) and are trapped in a single quantum state. It is an extremely orderly and structured state in which extraordinary collective behavior emerges, and atoms and molecules no longer behave as independent entities.
In a state of quantum coherence, the wave-like properties of matter become apparent (the electromagnetic phase of the different components is not canceled out), giving rise to nontrivial quantum properties such as superposition, entanglement, and the tunneling effect. The first principle states that a particle can be in multiple places at once, take two paths simultaneously, or spin in two directions at the same time. The second principle demonstrates the instantaneous interconnection between two separate particles; if we measure the property of one, the other is instantly affected, regardless of the distance between them. The third one tells us about the possibility of overcoming seemingly insurmountable barriers. Although, according to Newtonian mechanics, a particle that does not have enough energy cannot overcome a certain energy barrier, according to the principles of quantum mechanics, it could do so by propagating as a wave.
Evidence of quantum coherence has been found in living organisms
Something similar happens with living beings. States of quantum coherence are observed in very brief moments, but these are long enough to have biological significance.
It was initially thought that the counterintuitive properties of quantum mechanics I just mentioned applied only to the realm of protons, electrons, or photons. However, there is evidence that contradicts this. At first, there was a widespread belief that these states of coherence and order were impossible at such high temperatures as, for example, those found in living organisms, ruling out a priori any quantum effects at the organism level. This idea is changing thanks to the latest research in the field of quantum biology and biophysics.
Photosynthesis, magnetoreception in birds, and enzymatic action are some examples
These include, for example, photosynthesis, enzymatic action, respiration, birds’ orientation using the geomagnetic field, the sense of smell, and neural transmission.
Photosynthesis, a process by which plants absorb sunlight.
With regard to photosynthesis, the first studies were conducted using green sulfur bacteria or a certain type of algae. The energy of the absorbed photon is transferred to the reaction center via multiple pathways simultaneously over a fraction of a femtosecond (10-15 sec), after which it ultimately settles on (by entering a state of decoherence) the most efficient pathway. This process explains the extraordinary ability of autotrophic organisms to capture and make the most of sunlight.
Enzymatic action and metabolic processes related to respiration are explained by the phenomenon of quantum tunneling, since the transfer of electrons over a distance of several tens of angstroms (10-10 m) can only be explained in terms of wave behavior. Electrons and protons are capable of crossing potential barriers, which has important implications for the acceleration of various types of chemical reactions.
Other fascinating studies focus on the sense of smell. Until now, the system by which olfactory receptors recognize odor molecules was not fully understood. It is known that, in addition to structural recognition, there must also be frequency-based recognition between molecular bonds.
A very interesting study on ionic conduction through neurons was conducted in 2012 by G. Bernroider of the University of Salzburg and J. Summhammer of the Atomic Technology Institute at the University of Vienna. They were able to perform a quantum-mechanical simulation of an ion traveling through a channel. They found that it behaved like a coherent wave, and was therefore delocalized. Furthermore, this wave associated with the ion oscillated at very high frequencies, transferring energy to the surrounding proteins through a resonance process. Resonance is a process by which information is transmitted through energy absorption when two systems or particles vibrate at similar frequencies. The particles do not necessarily have to be in contact for chemical reactions to occur. Quantum coherence plays an indispensable role in neurons. The field of quantum neurology will be essential in the coming years for understanding the extraordinary synchronization that occurs among very large numbers of neurons and also between separate regions of the brain.
It’s fascinating to learn that biology uses what we might call a form of small-scale quantum computing. Quantum computers are so efficient precisely because they are based on the principle of superposition, which allows quantum bits to exist in two states simultaneously. For this reason, they must be completely isolated from their environment to prevent the destruction of their quantum coherence.
Other areas currently under active research include biophotonics (the emission of light by organisms and the interaction of light with them), the study of the supramolecular properties of water, and genetic inheritance at the quantum level.
As McFadden and Al-Khalili say:
«The year 2018 is the perfect year for Quantum Biology to come of age.»
©Teresa Versyp
