Quantum physics is weird, but has been proved to the most exacting levels by thousands of experiments over almost a hundred years. The subatomic particles have a different non-classical behaviour which seem almost miraculous. They are counter-intuitive but what started initially as mathematical models have been proved correct with ubiquitous applications in the field of technology revolutionizing our lives. Einstein was not comfortable with it and so were a good number of physicists. But as Stephen Hawking has said, ‘Einstein was confused, quantum physics was not.’
The quantum world of sub-atomic particles like electrons, photons, neutrons, protons have some peculiar qualities like wave-particle duality, entanglement, quantum tunneling across impenetrable barriers and superposition. A particle behaves like a wave when there is no observation; and on observation it becomes a particle. A particle can be in two places at the same time and can be in two different states at the same time. Two particles can be separated by the length of the universe and still be attached in a very intimate fashion; a phenomenon known as entanglement. The observation of one particle immediately determines the outcome of the other particle, as an example its spin, when it is inconceivable that information can travel faster than the limiting speed of light. Entanglement has been termed as ‘spooky action at a distance’ by the greatest of them all, Einstein.
‘For those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it’, said Niels Bohr in 1952. Or sample the quote of Michio Kaku, ‘It is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory. In fact, some say that the only thing that quantum theory has going for it is that it is unquestionably correct.’ There is a phenomenon in the quantum world called tunneling where a particle can simply pass across a barrier as if it never existed. The size of the barrier as compared the particle itself would be of many orders of higher magnitude. It is like a man going across a thick wall. Quantum mechanics does not make sense, it is shocking to seasoned physicians at the end of their careers, but it simply happens to be the most beautiful theory explaining the natural world like no other.
The collapse of the wave like function into a particle is called a transition from coherence to decoherence, and any kind of surrounding molecular noise can cause the decoherence. Human or any other supernatural observation need not be evoked to explain the decoherence or the collapse of the wave function. This is the reason that at the macroscopic level, the world of footballs, cars, bats, games, houses, and humans, the quantum effects simply melt away and the classical world obeying the laws of Newton take over. There are three layers of reality as the authors say. At the most superficial level, is the macroscopic world of Newtonian mechanics. Beneath that is the layer of thermodynamic world where there is a molecular motion and constant collisions. The order sometimes arising from the disorder at this level gives rise to the islands of animate and inanimate matter. The deepest level is comprised of the quantum reality which is the bedrock of all matter, inanimate and animate. The quantum world is where all the real action and explanation takes place. The outer world of solid reality is rooted in the fluffy, almost illusory world of quantum reality.
The authors say that the three biggest mysteries of science are the origin of the Universe, the origin of life, and the origin of consciousness. Quantum mechanics has found its place firmly in the explanation of the Universe origins. Quantum fluctuations in a vacuum may have led to the Big-Bang origin of the Universe. The Sun uses quantum processes all in the time in creation of solar power when hydrogen gets converted to helium. This power is the engine for entire life on Earth. Science is now trying to explain the first origin of life itself and the origin of consciousness by quantum processes involving the atomic matter. The first ‘life’ may have been in the form of a replicating RNA molecule.
Biology was very late in integrating quantum processes in its workings. It was stuck to Newtonian paradigms for a very long time. Perhaps the biologists were not comfortable with the mathematical intricacies of quantum physics or it could have been that in a packed cell filled with molecules of all kinds, quantum processes would have been thought to be instantly collapsed into the classical realm. It is no longer true as a field of quantum biology has evolved and is on an accelerating path of development. Quantum processes are explaining biological phenomenon which were previously never understood. The humble leaf uses quantum biology to generate energy from solar energy with almost 100% efficiency. The photosynthetic processes have been responsible for the generation of almost the entire bio-mass on Earth and this is made possible by quantum processes involving electrons and intricate energy transfers. There is a lot of speculation involved in looking at plants like quantum computers, but research is going on at a fast pace.
Enzymes in the cells are responsible for driving the life’s machinery and the catalysis of many reactions by these enzymes occur at an unbelievable speed. In fact, the author almost claims that enzymatic activity is the bedrock definition of life. The speeding up of reactions in the DNA repairs, protein transcription, DNA to RNA conversion is so fast that they cannot be explained by classical reactions involving the enzymes. It is only when the quantum mechanics are applied that enzymatic activity is understood. The author energetically makes a statement that the spark of life is not the so-called soul but quantum processes! DNA mutations leading to evolution may be again related to quantum processes inside the cell. Oh yes! Quantum Biology is the catchword.
However, the greatest mystery is how living cells can use quantum processes in an extremely wet, mushy, and an overcrowded environment. The cells are packed to the brim with hundreds and thousands of molecules and remember, the ‘coherence’ of quantum processes turns into ‘decoherence’ in the presence of surrounding interacting molecules. The European Robin has a migratory route which seems to involve magnetoreception interacting with the extremely weak Earth’s magnetic field. The final mechanism of magnetoreception seems to lie in the entanglement process of atoms inside some specialised cells in the retina of the eye! The sense of smell, the migratory behaviour of Monarch butterflies across long distances, and ultimately the workings of the mind is coming under the ambit of quantum biology. It is presently in a highly speculative stage, but consciousness is being explained as the quantum jiggling of the microtubules in the brain. The ultimate mystery of consciousness, the feeling of the self- awareness may have quantum explanations.
This is an important book which must be read by every student of biology. The book is exciting, fast paced as the reader is taken on a roller-coaster ride. The only difficulty is it can be a slightly hard read for someone who is a little uninitiated. The author sometimes goes too fast and sometimes too intricate in the explanations which may be daunting to the reader. Apart from this smallest bit of criticism, the great book is fascinating and educative. A lot of issues in the book are speculative; the authors say that very emphatically without trying to hide, like true scientists. As Jim Al-Khalili says in his TED talk on quantum biology which is recommended to be seen before reading the book, ‘Watch the space.’
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