Medical Hypotheses 73 (2009) 296–301
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Medical Hypotheses
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mehy
Photons and evolution: Quantum mechanical processes modulate
sexual differentiation
George E. Davis Jr. *, Walter E. Lowell
Psybernetics Inc. (Research Group), 28 Eastern Avenue, Augusta, ME 04330, United States
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 20 March 2009
Accepted 21 March 2009
s u m m a r y
This paper will show that the fractional difference in the human gender ratio (GR) between the GRat death
for those born in solar cycle peak years (maxima) and the GRat death in those born in solar cycle non-peak
years (minima), e.g., 0.023, divided by P, yields a reasonable approximation of the quantum mechanical
constant, alpha, or the fine structure constant (FSC) 0.007297. . . or 1/137. This finding is based on a
sample of approximately 50 million cases using common, readily available demographic data, e.g., state
of birth, birth date, death date, and gender. Physicists Nair, Geim et al. had found precisely the same fractional difference, 0.023, in the absorption of white light (sunlight) by a single-atom thick layer of graphene, a carbon skeleton resembling chicken wire fencing. This absorption fraction, when divided by P,
yielded the FSC and was the first time this constant could ‘‘so directly be assessed practically by the naked
eye”. As the GR is a reflection of sexual differentiation, this paper reveals that a quantum mechanical process, as manifested by the FSC, is playing a role in the primordial process of replication, a necessary
requirement of life. Successful replication is the primary engine driving evolution, which at a biochemical
level, is a quantum mechanical process dependent upon photonic energy from the Sun. We propose that a
quantum-mechanical, photon-driven chemical evolution preceded natural selection in biology and the
mechanisms of mitosis and meiosis are manifestations of this chemical evolution in ancient seas over
3 billion years ago. Evolutionary processes became extant first in self-replicating molecules forced to
adapt to high energy photons, mostly likely in the ultraviolet spectrum. These events led to evolution
by natural selection as complex mixing of genetic material within species creating the variety needed
to match changing environments reflecting the same process initiated at the dawn of life. Both evolutionary mechanisms coexist and are interactive. The periodic energy of solar maxima is likely modulating the
human genome from maternal integument to an embryo in utero with non-local mechanisms intrinsic to
quantum mechanics.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction
This paper will show that readily available demographic data,
e.g., birth date, death date and gender, can reveal that quantum
mechanical processes modulate the human gender ratio, (Nmale/
Nmale + Nfemale). Sunlight is crucial to life beginning 3.5 billion
years ago not only for its energy, but also for the evolutionary
changes forced upon the biosphere due to variation in light. Early
life had to devise an efficient method of collecting solar energy
and to protect itself against damaging photons, like ultraviolet
radiation (UVR); it also had to cope with variation in that energy.
Because of these stresses, life has developed several ingenious
ways of rearranging genetic material to increase survivability
through increased adaptability. Some changes are superimposed
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 207 622 2968; fax: +1 207 622 4084.
E-mail addresses: georgedavi@gmail.com (G.E. Davis Jr.), welowell@gmail.com
(W.E. Lowell).
0306-9877/$ - see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2009.03.028
upon life; e.g., mutation and drift, while others are endogenous
strategies; e.g., recombination and natural selection. The development of mitosis, parthenogenesis, semi-meiosis (the first stage of
meiosis), then the second stage of meiosis leading to sexual selection, and combinations of these mechanisms have been important
in bringing forth a myriad of organisms to match environmental
niches over the eons [1–4]. Darwin’s ‘‘forms most beautiful and
most wondrous” was the result. Although sexual selection might
not have been the main mechanism in producing multiple orders
such as occurred in the Cambrian, it has allowed life forms to adapt
to increasingly specific environments [1]. The human species employs the full meiotic process through sexual differentiation with
the potential along with epigenetic modifications, to create an infinite variety of phenotypes. The human gender ratio is a metric that
reflects this sexual differentiation. Here we present evidence that
the human gender ratio at death (GRat death) still reveals an intimate relationship between solar photons and the electrons in our
chromatin/nucleosomes as manifested by the fine structure constant (FSC) of quantum mechanics.
G.E. Davis Jr., W.E. Lowell / Medical Hypotheses 73 (2009) 296–301
We read a paper by physicists Nair, Geim and colleagues regarding the calculation of the FSC in quantum mechanics by measuring
white light (sunlight) absorption through a single layer of graphene, a form of graphite with a carbon skeleton resembling chicken
wire fencing [5,6]. Absorption was 2.3%, an incredible amount given that this two-dimensional gossamer of graphene was only a
single atom in thickness. According to quantum mechanical calculations, this percentage, expressed as a fractional change (e.g.,
0.023) divided by P, yields a fair approximation of the FSC, also
called alpha, which is equal to 0.00729735. . .. or 1/137. We
noted that the 2.3% absorption by graphene matched, within
0.1%, our findings of the fractional difference in the human GRat
death between those conceived (and likely born) in peak solar cycle
years as compared to those conceived in non-peak years [7]. If
macroscopic, albeit extremely thin, carbon reveals a fundamental
quantum mechanical constant, is it possible that the carbon skeleton in our DNA or chromatin is performing the same feat? We set
out to answer this question by gaining access to a large database of
death records from the entire United States.
Gender ratio
The gender ratio (GR), defined as (Nmale/Nmale + Nfemale) is a
rarely used metric in medical reports. The GR can refer to this ratio
at birth, which favors males, or at death which favors females, as
the latter live between 2 and 10 years longer (average in USA is
7 years) depending upon social resources and environmental hazards. GRat death is an indicator of lifestyle differences as well as the
susceptibility to genetic and epigenetic diseases which manifest
themselves over a lifetime. The GRat birth is reflective of gender bias
at conception, favoring males in the human species, and lethal genetic mutation or environmental stressors in utero [8].
Reports show that the GRat birth is greater at lower latitude; they
also reveal that birth in certain seasons may disadvantage males
[9–12]. It is not clear whether temperature or decreased variation
in light determine these phenomena [13–15]. Increasing solar
intensity, especially over the past century, is possibly also a factor
in decreasing the GRat birth [16]. However, the GR can be a sensitive
indicator of environmental conditions, especially in animals like
reptiles [17]. Temperature is a reflection of ambient infrared radiation, but other wavelengths of light have profound biological effects, especially ultraviolet radiation (UVR) [18,19].
Our research has concentrated on the variation in radiation due
to 11-year solar cycles and the relationship between the human
GRat death and the peaks of solar cycles [7]. We found that in the
state of Maine there is a 2.2% increase in GR from birth to death
and a 2.4% increase in GRat death from non-peak solar years to peak
years, averaging 2.3% between the two measurements and we
were puzzled by this. Because of known variation in environments
and regional mores, we thought it necessary to recalculate GR in a
larger population over a wide geographic area using data from
other states [20,21].
Solar cycles
Our Sun is a variable star [22]. It cycles in its energy output on
average every 11 years, with a range from 8 to 14 years. During the
peaks of these cycles, which occur over about 3 years, solar storms
increase in number and strength proportionate to the number of
sunspots as measured by astronomers for many centuries and
meticulously recorded since the mid-18th century. During solar
peaks, photonic energy increases by 0.1% overall, but the UVR moiety increases disproportionately up to 19% of total solar insolation
during these approximately 3-year periods [23]. Photons of UVR
are more energetic than photons of visible light and one would
297
expect that an increase in these photons would affect life. Previous
research has shown that 308 nm (UV-B) light has the most biological effect on DNA [24]. Not until the year 1984 did we have evidence that sunlight had an effect on the human central nervous
system in its role in seasonal affective disorder [25]. Subsequently,
many investigators have reported effects related to solar cycle and
seasonal changes in light on the incidence of human disease
[26,27]. We recently reported that solar peaks affect human longevity and several human diseases, particularly mental illness
[28,29]. We, and others, hypothesized that UVR was the likely
wavelength of radiation responsible for altering the genome [24].
The non-peak years of solar cycles have been associated with an increase in birth defects and cancer, probably because during these
solar minima the magnetosphere is weaker thus allowing increased atmospheric penetration of cosmic rays (high-energy neutrons and protons) which are capable of damaging DNA through
point mutations [30–33]. Major mental illnesses have a higher incidence in those conceived/born during solar maxima, and since
these maladies are usually polygenic, they are more likely to be
epigenetic in nature. We recently found that persons conceived/
born during these maxima had an average 1.5 year decrease in lifespan suggesting that modifications in the genome, especially the
epigenome, result in enough variety to produce disease that shortens life by about 3% [34].
Alpha, the fine structure constant
The FSC is derived from quantum theory and first described by
physicist Arnold Sommerfeld in 1916. It has several physical interpretations in quantum mechanics depending upon context. While
a detailed explanation is beyond the scope of this article, the FSC
essentially relates the strength of the interaction of photons (energy) to relativistic electrons (matter). The most recent value for
this dimensionless constant FSC is 1/137.035999084 (51), with
an uncertainty twenty times smaller than for any previous independent determination [35]. Slight deviation from the numerical
value of this constant can result in a universe totally unlike the
one in which we exist [36]. Its numerical value was a mystery to
Nobel physicists P.A.M. Dirac, a founder of quantum mechanics,
and Richard P. Feynman, one of the creators of quantum chromodynamics. The FSC appears recurrently in many applications and
is one of the fundamental constants of nature [37,38]. Outside of
the world of cyclotrons and other exotic devices in physicists’ laboratories, no one expected to be able to derive the FSC from macroscopic material. This was recently accomplished by Geim and
colleagues as mentioned above. In this article we show that the
FSC can also be derived from simple demographic data.
Methodology
Death data
Data were obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for deaths in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
from 1979 to 2005, a total of 58,733,243 death records. Data used
in this study included sex, state of birth, date of birth (month and
year), date of death (month and year), and race. This study reports
the GR by state of birth and sex for White only race category
(N = 50,778,214). The race category White included individuals of
Hispanic race, since data on Hispanic Origin was not recorded from
1979 to 1988 these represented approximately 6% of the sample.
Birth dates ranged from 1854 to 2005; however, birth dates prior
to 1870 were not used (N = 392) since they antedate the first solar
cycle used in the analysis. Sex data for the total sample is displayed
in Table 1.
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G.E. Davis Jr., W.E. Lowell / Medical Hypotheses 73 (2009) 296–301
Table 1
Gender table for White onlya.
Table 4
Gender ratios for 47 states.
Gender
Count
Percent
Statea
GRpeak
Male
Female
25,749,412
25,028,812
50.71
49.29
Total
50,778,214
100.00
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Mean
Median
SD
0.5164
0.5076
0.5689
0.5291
0.5232
0.5135
0.5582
0.5135
0.5529
0.5275
0.5082
0.5123
0.4993
0.4994
0.5148
0.5192
0.5132
0.5113
0.5113
0.5285
0.5138
0.5137
0.4982
0.5259
0.5005
0.5139
0.5220
0.5575
0.5139
0.5236
0.5180
0.5170
0.5198
0.5316
0.5093
0.5144
0.5199
0.5148
0.5196
0.5291
0.5207
0.5067
0.5140
0.5345
0.5171
0.5136
0.5356
0.5202
0.5164
0.0149
a
Included 6% Hispanic race.
Solar data
The average number of annual sunspots per year was also collected from the NOAA Web site and the three peak years (of sunspots) of each of the past 12 cycles was obtained. The average
annual sunspot number for the past 250 years was found to be
49; for the past 60 years the average is 107.5; for the most powerful cycles (sunspots > 135), the average is 154, about three times
the 250-year average.
Methodology
Birth year data were grouped by solar maximum or solar minimum defined as follows: the three highest sunspot years to include
the peak year and/or the year before or the year after were defined
as the Maximum Solar Period (MAX); the years before and after
each 3 year MAX cycle were grouped as Minimum Solar Period
(MIN). Solar cycles used in the study ranged from 1870 to 2005.
These data are displayed in Table 2. The gender ratio (GR) was
determined using 2X2 table for MAX MIN group and sex for each
state (see Table 3 for an example table for the state of Florida
where GRpeak = 0.5582 and GRnon-pk = 0.5479). Chi Square analysis
was calculated for each state, respectively, using SAS software (version 9.1, SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Data are summarized in Tables 4
and 5; all states have a P-value < 0.0001.
Results
Table 4 presents the GRat death at peak years in column A, at nonpeak years in column B, and the mean, median and standard deviations for each column are in the last three rows of the table. In
Table 2
Totals for MAX MIN groups all races.
Count
Percent
MAX
MIN
15,966,378
42,766,473
27.18
72.82
Total
58,732,851
100%
Table 3
Example calculation of the Gender Ratio.
Solar group count
Row percent
Column percent
Male
Female
MAX
69,502
55.82
28.50
174,404
54.79
71.50
55,003
44.18
27.65
143,915
45.21
72.35
243,906
55.08
198,918
44.92
Total
GRnon-pk
(B)
0.5044
0.4998
0.5581
0.5237
0.5102
0.5036
0.5479
0.4986
0.5310
0.5189
0.4965
0.5009
0.4886
0.4897
0.5028
0.5061
0.5010
0.5000
0.4998
0.5188
0.5016
0.4997
0.4885
0.5122
0.4927
0.4978
0.5104
0.5491
0.5020
0.5104
0.5085
0.5056
0.5099
0.5207
0.4972
0.5047
0.5091
0.5025
0.5075
0.5152
0.5095
0.4943
0.5004
0.5265
0.5062
0.5011
0.5216
0.5086
0.5047
0.0149
a
Solar cycle group
MIN
(A)
Total
124,505
28.12
318,319
71.88
442,824
100.00
p < 0.0001. Excluded from calculations: Arizona, Alaska, Nevada – NS, too few
native-born.
Table 5 the results of Table 4 are repeated in the second and third
columns, A and B respectively; the difference between column A
and B in column 4; the fractional difference between columns A
and B with the divisor being B in column 5. Finally, in column 6
is the value from column 5 divided by P which gives the estimate
for the FSC. The fourth row in Table 5 is the average of the mean
and median GRs, which by minimizing a slight skewness, giving
a value for the FSC which is only [(0.007319 0.00729735)/
0.00729735 = (2.17E 05)/(7.297E 03) = 0.0030]0.3% in error from
the accepted value noted in the section ‘‘Introduction”. The states
of Arizona, Alaska and Nevada, which have experienced large
immigrations over the past half-century, were not used in the analysis because there were insufficient native-born for the GRat death to
reach statistical significance. Note that the average of the mean
and median GR fractional change in the fifth column of Table 5 is
0.02299, very close to the ideal of [0.00729735P = ] 0.022925,
based upon the best published value for the FSC.
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G.E. Davis Jr., W.E. Lowell / Medical Hypotheses 73 (2009) 296–301
Table 5
Calculation of the FSC.
Mean values
Median values
Standard deviation
Avg. of mean + median
A
B
[A
B]
0.5202
0.5164
0.0149
0.5183
0.5086
0.5047
0.0149
0.5067
0.01160
0.01170
0.02281
0.02318
0.007256
0.007378
0.01165
0.02299
Actual FSC =
Actual FSC =
0.007319
0.00729735
0.3%
Error from
Discussion
We have shown that simple demographic data reveals a close
estimate of the FSC of quantum mechanics. We hypothesize that
a quantum mechanical process (QMP) is in some way involved in
modulating the GR as it relates to greater insolation during solar
cycle peaks. In addition, if GR is affected by a QMP, then one must
consider that RNA, the probable initial replicating molecule in the
primordial ‘‘organic soup” was also created by a QMP, and from
that initiation, the innate complexities of biological enzymes, proteins and genome replication were also driven by a QMP [39,40].
According to a recently published paper, even a complex molecule
like RNA has the potential of self-sustained replication with a doubling time of approximately one hour; although a QMP was not
specifically addressed, it is likely that such complexity could be
accomplished only through the multiple pathways of a QMP [41].
The notion that multiple complex chemical pathways could occur
over a short period of time has been based upon the multiple universe concept first put into mathematical form by Everett in 1957
and embraced by others since [42–44]. A study of photosynthesis
gives a concrete example of a QMP in action through the technique
of two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy first developed at the
University of California at Berkeley. There, and at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, Fleming, Engel and colleagues
showed that photosynthesis linking photons to matter is nearly
100% efficient due to a quantum coherence phase that was surprisingly long in duration, a 660 femtoseconds (660 10 15 s) [45].
According to Graham, a wavelike behavior during that time span
‘‘enabled the system to simultaneously sample all the potential energy pathways and choose the most efficient one”. Similar events,
though not fully worked out in humans, possibly occur in human
chromosomes at conception where, at the union of X–X or X–Y
chromosomes, a process of X-inactivation takes place [46]. This
inactivation is necessary to equalize the dosage of X alleles with respect to males, which have a single X [47]. What determines
whether the male or female allele in an X–X pairing will prevail
is enigmatic, but it may also be a QMP which ‘‘selects” the allele
that works the most efficiently in ensuring survival. A similar argument is made for the evolutionary optimization of enzymes [48].
However, the single X-allele in an X–Y pairing puts males at risk
for disease if there are any deficient X-alleles. We have previously
reported that males will have 28% more disease on average than females, thereby shortening male lifespan by 7 years [34,49].
How might the complicated structure of DNA, entwined in its
tertiary conformation as chromatin, absorb photonic energy in
the same amount as does the simple carbon skeleton of graphene?
We refer the reader to a website which cleverly shows an animated
image of chromosome composition [50]. The chromosome is composed of DNA spooled about histone protein cores, forming beads
called nucleosomes. Chromatin is the combination of DNA and
these histone proteins. The purpose of this complicated conformation may not only be to compact an extremely long DNA strand
into a small space in the cell nucleus, but it may also conceivably
form a structure that maximizes photon absorption while minimizing the formation of damaging free radicals, similar to what oc-
[A
B]/B
[A
B]/BP
curs in photosynthesis. There is recent evidence that the
conformation of RNA or DNA affects how energy is dissipated in
UVR-induced excited states [51].
One wonders how light can affect an embryo in a uterus patently shielded from light. There can be no doubt from the results
of many studies that environmental events in fetal development
predispose to various disorders in adult life [34,52]. There is, as
previously referenced, considerable evidence that photons can
engender disease processes by making epigenetic/genetic alterations in the genome which is especially vulnerable at conception
and early gestation. Known mechanisms include hormones like
vitamin D made by UVR in the skin, and melatonin, whose concentration is affected by ambient light and which modulates
wakefulness. Chemokines, cytokines, and neurotransmitters like
serotonin, which affects mood in seasonal affective disorder or
depression, are also proven mechanisms of the action of light at
a cellular level. However, quantum mechanisms are ‘‘non-local”
in that they work without direct contact or apparent connection
with the affected tissue. This reality of ‘‘action at a distance”
was proven by physicist John S. Bell in 1964 with his non-equality
theorem, and in essence all reality on a quantum level is non-local
[53,54]. But there is also increasing evidence that quantum
mechanical events have macroscopic manifestations in crystals,
ferromagnets and superconductors [55]. Although it is likely that
a QMP is ongoing in the human soma, evidence similar to that
which was recently discovered in photosynthesis is still in
development.
Conclusions
The gender ratio at peaks and non-peaks of solar cycles reveals
the FSC. The likelihood of this unusual constant appearing by
chance alone is negligible, but a large database of 50 million
death records was required to have the statistical power to discover it.
A QMP modulates the human GR using the difference in photonic energy between solar cycle peak years and non-peak years.
We hypothesize that X-inactivation is also a QMP.
Because the QMP-modulated GR is the result of sexual selection
(natural selection), and because sexual selection is a meiotic
process that evolved from mitosis, then it is likely that the primordial replication of molecules (probably RNA) was also a
QMP.
There must be at least two types of evolution in Earth’s history:
(a)
A molecular evolution (3.5 billion years ago), produced
by the waxing and waning of solar energy that perturbs
genetic material on average at least (3 years/11 years =
0.28) 28% of the time.
(b)
A more recent evolutionary process (<2.5 billion years
ago), utilizing meiosis and Darwinian natural selection
to match the variety imposed by an ever-changing
environment.
This study is evidence of another macroscopic manifestation of
quantum mechanics.
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G.E. Davis Jr., W.E. Lowell / Medical Hypotheses 73 (2009) 296–301
Study strengths
Because of a large N the study has great statistical power. Nevertheless, three states (Alaska, Arizona and Nevada) were excluded
for this analysis because relatively few persons were born in those
states; the difference in GR from MAX to MIN was not statistically
significant. The study had a range of latitudes and elevations across
the USA that created variation, yet the mean and median of FSC calculation values converged.
Study weaknesses
The study examined the White race category to avoid having
race as a possible confounding effect; however, this category included cases that were of Hispanic origin. Other races will be analyzed in the future.
How this study contributes to new knowledge
This work also presents a macroscopic manifestation of quantum mechanics in the biological world, in this case, the human
gender ratio. This study proposes a quantum theory of evolution
from the onset of life in the ‘‘primordial soup” to the combinations
of reproductive strategies that have subsequently developed.
Future work
We would like other researchers with backgrounds in quantum
mechanics, genetics, statistics, biochemistry and molecular biology, among other disciplines, to replicate our findings and to explain how chromatin (or DNA) absorbs the same fraction of
photon energy between peaks and non-peaks of solar cycles as a
two-dimensional layer of graphene absorbs from white light.
Acknowledgments
We thank Arialdi M. Minino, demographer at the National Center for Health Statistics, for his expertise in supplying dates of
birth, death, gender and race for all 50 of the United States, the District of Columbia and territories.
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