Kevin Anderson
ENGR 1050
15 April 2015
Quantum Biology: Life Reimagined
If you’re familiar with quantum mechanics at all; I imagine the first thought in your head
doesn’t necessarily include biology. We live in a world governed by the laws of physics and
chemistry. Every cause has an effect, and they can easily be anticipated. When you drop a glass,
you can expect it to shatter when it hits the floor. The same correlation is associated with
biology. Every type of cell plays a specific role, and every organelle in every cell has a similar
function. What if that wasn’t entirely true? Recent discoveries have suggested that nature
doesn’t always function the way that physicists and biologists want. That’s the beauty of
nature; living organisms have a special way of using what works. It is for that reason that some
researchers have started talking about an emerging field known as quantum biology. These
researchers argue that quantum effects play a vital role in the way that nature works. Physicists
that are interested in the practicality of quantum mechanics are paying close attention to the
research being done. Having a better understanding of how these quantum effects are achieved
may lead to the path to reproducing the effects in a laboratory. To better understand quantum
biology, I’m going to explain what quantum biology is and give examples of theorized quantum
biology. (Ball, 2011)
Physics has been ruled by Newtonian mechanics; which is commonly known as classical
mechanics by physicists. These are the laws that we all learn about in our middle/high school
physics classes. The physics I will be referencing is called quantum mechanics. Quantum
mechanics is often referred to as baffling and weird, based on its inconsistencies and defiance
of the more commonly held Newtonian mechanics. Quantum mechanics describes a reality on
the tiniest scales that many people can’t imagine. It’s a world where atoms and molecules can
be in more than one place at a time, move through barriers they shouldn’t be able to, stay
connected across great distances, exist as both waves and particles, and expand their surface
area. Quantum biology is essentially a mesh of nanoscale physics in reference to biology. (AlKhalili & McFadden, 2014)
Biology is a set of chemical reactions supporting biological functions and their
structures, but did you know that these chemical reactions may be happening on the nanoscale
as well? Recent evidence has suggested that some life forms may be using some of the baffling
and weird properties of quantum mechanics, and these effects may have a hand in many of
these life form’s engineering successes. Quantum mechanics has been studied by some of these
last centuries’ greatest human minds, using the most controlled conditions possible, and has
been incredibly elusive; however, nature has been functioning without these analytical thinkers
and conditions for millions of years. How is that? (Al-Khalili & McFadden, 2014)
Many physicists attribute quantum effects to something called coherence. Coherence is
in reference to particles being waves, and the waves all lining up. The troughs and peaks of
every wave must line up exactly, similar to how musical notes come in tune together. When the
waves aren’t lined up, then the troughs and peaks cancel each other out, which will destroy
coherence and eliminate any bizarre behavior. When you have millions of particles near one
another it may be impossible to get every wave in “tune” with the others; which may be why
large objects don’t experience the same weirdness. It’s presumed that this is why quantum
mechanics happens on the nanoscale. When you only have one particle with one wave, it’s
“tune” is already lined up with itself.
Molecular biologists and biochemists have been focusing on large biological processes,
such as metabolism, for decades; however, with the understanding of these large biological
functions, modern biologists have now started looking at smaller systems, even individual
molecules inside cells. With this glance at individual atoms and molecules, biologists have
discovered that perhaps life does depend on bizarre effects found inside living organisms. A few
examples of quantum biology stem from plants, algae, and possibly even Mankind. (McFadden,
2014)
The sun is a source of energy for millions of forms of life. This life survives by using
photosynthesis, the process in which light is transformed into a form of sugar.
Figure 1: chlorophyll & light-energy harvesting
In 2007 scientists who were researching how plants convert sunlight found something
they didn’t anticipate. They found that the energy was experiencing quantum coherence. The
energy was hitting the chlorophyll, and spreading. The light was being split and traveling across
every path to find the most efficient route. It was in multiple places at the same time, so that it
could get from where it was collected to where it was going to be used. Once this discovery was
announced, many other scientists started looking for quantum mechanics in other forms of life.
(The Economist Magazine, 2014)
A research team based out of Australia has found that algae, which survive in very low
light levels, are able to switch on and off the same quantum effect which is suspected to occur
during photosynthesis. These single celled algae called cryptophytes live at the bottom of pools
of water or under ice, where very little light gets to them.
Figure 2: algae evolved to switch quantum coherence on and off
Most of these cryptophytes have a photosynthetic capability, but recently a different
variety has been found with a mutation that doesn’t allow for photosynthesis. This may not
sound exciting to most people, but to scientists this presents a unique research opportunity.
The general thought is, with these two different classes of algae, scientists may be able to
determine how this quantum phenomenon occurs. (University of New South Wales, 2014)
If quantum biology exists in some life forms, does it exist in us as well? In the science of
smell, many researchers think that our olfactory receptors pick up aspects of the shape of
molecules which make up odors. The only issue is nobody has ever been able to prove that this
is what actually happens. Researchers don’t even know what is actually detected, whether the
molecules themselves smell or if the molecules have a “chaperone” connected which smells as
well. This has brought recent studies toward considering quantum tunneling. Researchers have
given similar smells to many different kinds of molecules, and our receptors still pick up a
different odor than the one given. Thus, this gives rise to the theoretical explanation that our
sense of smell has a quantum connection. (Cobb, 2014)
Quantum mechanics have been proven to exist around us in the natural world, but the
degree of its perpetuity is still unknown. With the rise of its usefulness in practical applications,
such as microchips, many researchers have started looking at what else quantum mechanics
has to teach us. This will be especially useful in the coming decades, and even centuries, when
we need new technology to deal with the coming threats to mankind; and an understanding of
mankind, which will be needed to protect us from ourselves.
Bibliography
Al-Khalili, J., & McFadden, J. (2014, October 25). Life on the Edge, The Coming of Age of
Quantum Biology. Ealing, London: Transworld Publishers Ltd.
Ball, P. (2011, June 15). Physics of life: The dawn of quantum biology. Nature, 272-274.
Cobb, M. (2014, November 17). Are we ready for quantum biology? New Scientist, pp. 48-49.
McFadden, J. (2014, October 29). Life is Quantum. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from Aeon.co:
http://aeon.co/magazine/science/quantum-biology-the-uncanny-order-of-life/
The Economist Magazine. (2014, November). Nature, the physicist. Retrieved April 21, 2015,
from The Economist: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21633813-it-closercrisis-west-or-vladimir-putin-realise-wounded-economy
University of New South Wales. (2014, June 16). Quantum biology: Algae evolved to switch
quantum coherence on and off. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from phys.org:
http://phys.org/news/2014-06-quantum-biology-algae-evolved-coherence.html