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| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Effects in Biology Masoud Mohseni, Yasser Omar, Gregory S. Engel, Martin B. Plenio, 2014-08-07 Explores the role of quantum mechanics in biology for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in physics, biology and chemistry. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Aspects of Life Abbott, 2008 This book presents the hotly debated question of whether quantum mechanics plays a non-trivial role in biology. In a timely way, it sets out a distinct quantum biology agenda. The burgeoning fields of nanotechnology, biotechnology, quantum technology, and quantum information processing are now strongly converging. The acronym BINS, for Bio-Info-Nano-Systems, has been coined to describe the synergetic interface of these several disciplines. The living cell is an information replicating and processing system that is replete with naturally-evolved nanomachines, which at some level require a quantum mechanical description. As quantum engineering and nanotechnology meet, increasing use will be made of biological structures, or hybrids of biological and fabricated systems, for producing novel devices for information storage and processing and other tasks. An understanding of these systems at a quantum mechanical level will be indispensable. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Life on the Edge Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili, 2015-07-28 New York Times bestseller • Life on the Edge alters our understanding of our world's fundamental dynamics through the use of quantum mechanics. Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how did it come to be? Even in an age of cloning and artificial biology, the remarkable truth remains: nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we still missing a vital ingredient in its creation? Using first-hand experience at the cutting edge of science, Jim Al-Khalili and Johnjoe Macfadden reveal that missing ingredient to be quantum mechanics. Drawing on recent ground-breaking experiments around the world, each chapter in Life on the Edge illustrates one of life's puzzles: How do migrating birds know where to go? How do we really smell the scent of a rose? How do our genes copy themselves with such precision? Life on the Edge accessibly reveals how quantum mechanics can answer these probing questions of the universe. Guiding the reader through the rapidly unfolding discoveries of the last few years, Al-Khalili and McFadden describe the explosive new field of quantum biology and its potentially revolutionary applications, while offering insights into the biggest puzzle of all: what is life? As they brilliantly demonstrate in these groundbreaking pages, life exists on the quantum edge. Winner, Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Quantum Doctor Amit Goswami, 2011-07-15 For quantum physicist Amit Goswami, medicine is a timely area of application for the new science based on the primacy of consciousness. This new science has a spectacular ability to integrate conventional science, spirituality, and healing. If any field needs integration, says Goswami, it is medicine and healing. Goswami boldly reinterprets the leading methods of alternative medicine--homeopathy, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, Ayurveda, and conventional medicine in this new edition of his popular book. He shows how these seemingly different models can be combined into a new system of integrative medicine and offers profound insights into the relationship between physics and consciousness. This approach offers physicians and patients a whole new way of applying healthcare with a greater potential for healing and could be the basis for a major paradigm shift in medicine. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Adaptivity in Biology: From Genetics to Cognition Masanari Asano, Andrei Khrennikov, Masanori Ohya, Yoshiharu Tanaka, Ichiro Yamato, 2016-10-09 This book examines information processing performed by bio-systems at all scales: from genomes, cells and proteins to cognitive and even social systems. It introduces a theoretical/conceptual principle based on quantum information and non-Kolmogorov probability theory to explain information processing phenomena in biology as a whole. The book begins with an introduction followed by two chapters devoted to fundamentals, one covering classical and quantum probability, which also contains a brief introduction to quantum formalism, and another on an information approach to molecular biology, genetics and epigenetics. It then goes on to examine adaptive dynamics, including applications to biology, and non-Kolmogorov probability theory. Next, the book discusses the possibility to apply the quantum formalism to model biological evolution, especially at the cellular level: genetic and epigenetic evolutions. It also presents a model of the epigenetic cellular evolution based on the mathematical formalism of open quantum systems. The last two chapters of the book explore foundational problems of quantum mechanics and demonstrate the power of usage of positive operator valued measures (POVMs) in biological science. This book will appeal to a diverse group of readers including experts in biology, cognitive science, decision making, sociology, psychology, and physics; mathematicians working on problems of quantum probability and information and researchers in quantum foundations. |
| what is a quantum biologist: What is Life? the Physical Aspect of the Living Cell & Mind and Matter Erwin Schrödinger, 1967 |
| what is a quantum biologist: What Is Real? Adam Becker, 2018-03-20 A thorough, illuminating exploration of the most consequential controversy raging in modern science. --New York Times Book Review An Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review Longlisted for PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing Longlisted for Goodreads Choice Award Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's solipsistic and poorly reasoned Copenhagen interpretation. Indeed, questioning it has long meant professional ruin, yet some daring physicists, such as John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth. An excellent, accessible account. --Wall Street Journal Splendid. . . . Deeply detailed research, accompanied by charming anecdotes about the scientists. --Washington Post |
| what is a quantum biologist: Biocentrism Robert Lanza, Bob Berman, 2010-05-18 Robert Lanza is one of the most respected scientists in the world — a US News & World Report cover story called him a “genius and a “renegade thinker, even likening him to Einstein. Lanza has teamed with Bob Berman, the most widely read astronomer in the world, to produce Biocentrism, a revolutionary new view of the universe. Every now and then a simple yet radical idea shakes the very foundations of knowledge. The startling discovery that the world was not flat challenged and ultimately changed the way people perceived themselves and their relationship with the world. For most humans of the 15th century, the notion of Earth as ball of rock was nonsense. The whole of Western, natural philosophy is undergoing a sea change again, increasingly being forced upon us by the experimental findings of quantum theory, and at the same time, towards doubt and uncertainty in the physical explanations of the universe's genesis and structure. Biocentrism completes this shift in worldview, turning the planet upside down again with the revolutionary view that life creates the universe instead of the other way around. In this paradigm, life is not an accidental byproduct of the laws of physics. Biocetnrism takes the reader on a seemingly improbable but ultimately inescapable journey through a foreign universe—our own—from the viewpoints of an acclaimed biologist and a leading astronomer. Switching perspective from physics to biology unlocks the cages in which Western science has unwittingly managed to confine itself. Biocentrism will shatter the reader's ideas of life--time and space, and even death. At the same time it will release us from the dull worldview of life being merely the activity of an admixture of carbon and a few other elements; it suggests the exhilarating possibility that life is fundamentally immortal. The 21st century is predicted to be the Century of Biology, a shift from the previous century dominated by physics. It seems fitting, then, to begin the century by turning the universe outside-in and unifying the foundations of science with a simple idea discovered by one of the leading life-scientists of our age. Biocentrism awakens in readers a new sense of possibility, and is full of so many shocking new perspectives that the reader will never see reality the same way again. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Biophysics William Bialek, 2012-10-28 A physicist's guide to the phenomena of life Interactions between the fields of physics and biology reach back over a century, and some of the most significant developments in biology—from the discovery of DNA's structure to imaging of the human brain—have involved collaboration across this disciplinary boundary. For a new generation of physicists, the phenomena of life pose exciting challenges to physics itself, and biophysics has emerged as an important subfield of this discipline. Here, William Bialek provides the first graduate-level introduction to biophysics aimed at physics students. Bialek begins by exploring how photon counting in vision offers important lessons about the opportunities for quantitative, physics-style experiments on diverse biological phenomena. He draws from these lessons three general physical principles—the importance of noise, the need to understand the extraordinary performance of living systems without appealing to finely tuned parameters, and the critical role of the representation and flow of information in the business of life. Bialek then applies these principles to a broad range of phenomena, including the control of gene expression, perception and memory, protein folding, the mechanics of the inner ear, the dynamics of biochemical reactions, and pattern formation in developing embryos. Featuring numerous problems and exercises throughout, Biophysics emphasizes the unifying power of abstract physical principles to motivate new and novel experiments on biological systems. Covers a range of biological phenomena from the physicist's perspective Features 200 problems Draws on statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and related mathematical concepts Includes an annotated bibliography and detailed appendixes |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Demon in the Machine Paul Davies, 2019-01-31 'A gripping new drama in science ... if you want to understand how the concept of life is changing, read this' Professor Andrew Briggs, University of Oxford When Darwin set out to explain the origin of species, he made no attempt to answer the deeper question: what is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question. Life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling that no human engineer can match it. And yet, huge advances in molecular biology over the past few decades have served only to deepen the mystery. So can life be explained by known physics and chemistry, or do we need something fundamentally new? In this penetrating and wide-ranging new analysis, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name, a domain where computing, chemistry, quantum physics and nanotechnology intersect. At the heart of these diverse fields, Davies explains, is the concept of information: a quantity with the power to unify biology with physics, transform technology and medicine, and even to illuminate the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe. From life's murky origins to the microscopic engines that run the cells of our bodies, The Demon in the Machine is a breath-taking journey across the landscape of physics, biology, logic and computing. Weaving together cancer and consciousness, two-headed worms and bird navigation, Davies reveals how biological organisms garner and process information to conjure order out of chaos, opening a window on the secret of life itself. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Biology Now Anne Houtman, Megan Scudellari, Cindy Malone, 2018-07 The perfect balance of science and storyBrief chapters are written like science news articles, combining compelling science with intriguing stories. The Second Edition features NEW stories on exciting topics such as CRISPR and the human microbiome, and expanded coverage of the course's most important content areas. Biology Now is written by an author team made up of a science writer and two experienced teachers. Expanded pedagogy in the book and online encourages students to think critically and engage with biology in the world around them. |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Optics of Life Sönke Johnsen, 2012-01-19 Optics—a field of physics focusing on the study of light—is also central to many areas of biology, including vision, ecology, botany, animal behavior, neurobiology, and molecular biology. The Optics of Life introduces the fundamentals of optics to biologists and nonphysicists, giving them the tools they need to successfully incorporate optical measurements and principles into their research. Sönke Johnsen starts with the basics, describing the properties of light and the units and geometry of measurement. He then explores how light is created and propagates and how it interacts with matter, covering topics such as absorption, scattering, fluorescence, and polarization. Johnsen also provides a tutorial on how to measure light as well as an informative discussion of quantum mechanics. The Optics of Life features a host of examples drawn from nature and everyday life, and several appendixes that offer further practical guidance for researchers. This concise book uses a minimum of equations and jargon, explaining the basic physics of light in a succinct and lively manner. It is the essential primer for working biologists and for anyone seeking an accessible introduction to optics. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Introduction to a Submolecular Biology Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 2012-12-02 Introduction to a Submolecular Biology focuses on the study of the electronic interactions of biological molecules. This book discusses the energy cycle of life, units and measures, electronic mobility, and problems of charge transfer. The three examples of charge transfer—quinone-hydroquinone, riboflavine (FMN) and serotonin, and cortisone I2 are elaborated. This text deliberates the problems and approaches on the mechanism of drug action, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), chemistry of the thymus gland, and living state. Brief remarks on water, ions, and metachromasia are also included. Other topics covered include the redox potentials, ionization potentials and electron affinities, orbital energies, electromagnetic coupling resonance transfer of energy, and semiconduction. This publication is a good source for biochemists, biologists, and specialists aiming to acquire basic knowledge of submolecular biology. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Evolution Johnjoe McFadden, 2000 Marrying physics and biology, McFadden theorizes that evolution may not be random but directed, and that quantum mechanics endows living organisms with the ability to initiate specific actions, including new mutations. Illustrations. |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Infamous Boundary David Wick, 1995-10-18 reprinted in the British trade journal Physics World in 1990, three separate and 5 lengthy replies from establishment physicists were printed in subsequent issues. For outsiders, especially scientists who rely on physicist's theories in their own fields, this situation is disquieting. Moreover, many recall their introduction to quantum mechanics as a startling, if not shocking, experience. A molecular biologist related how he had started in theoretical physics but, after hearing the ideology of quantum mechanics, marched straight to the Reg istrar's office and switched fields. A colleague recalled how her undergraduate chemistry professor religiously entertained queries from the class - until one day he began with the words: No questions will be permitted on today's lecture. The topic, of course, was quantum mechanics. My father, an organic chemist at a Midwestern university, also had to give that dreaded annual lecture. Around age 16, I picked up a little book he used to prepare and was perplexed by the author's tone, which seemed apologetic to the point of pleading. It was my first brush with the quantum theory. 6 Eventually, I went to graduate school in physics. By then I had acquired an historical bent, which developed out of an episode in my freshman year in college. To relieve the tedium of the introductory physics course, I set out to understand Einstein's theory of relativity (the so-called Special Theory of 1905, not the later and more difficult General Theory of 1915). This went badly at first. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Master of Modern Physics D. ter Haar, 1998 The author shows us that Kramers's remarkable and diverse work makes him at least the equal of such celebrated physicists as Fermi and Landau. He takes us through Kramers's groundbreaking research in such subjects as quantum theory, quantum electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, and solid-state physics. |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Physics of God Joseph Selbie, 2017-09-18 Setting aside the pervasive material bias of science and lifting the obscuring fog of religious sectarianism reveals a surprisingly clear unity of science and religion. The explanations of transcendent phenomena given by saints, sages, and near-death experiencers—miracles, immortality, heaven, God, and transcendent awareness—are fully congruent with scientific discoveries in the fields of relativity, quantum physics, medicine, M-theory, neuroscience, and quantum biology. The Physics of God describes the intersections of science and religion with colorful, easy-to-understand metaphors, making abstruse subjects within both science and religion easily accessible to the layman—no math, no dogma. This intriguing book: Pulls back the curtain on the light-show illusion we call matter. Connects string theory’s hidden brane worlds to religion’s transcendent heavens. Reveals the scientific secret of life and immortality: quantum biology’s startling discovery that the human body is continuously entangled. Demonstrates the miracle-making power of our minds to effect instantaneous physiological changes. Explains how the intelligent observer effect confirms our high spiritual potential. Compelling and concise, The Physics of God will make you believe in the unity of science and religion and eager to experience the personal transcendence that is the promise of both. |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Quantum and the Lotus Matthieu Ricard, Trinh Xuan Thuan, 2004-10-26 Matthieu Ricard trained as a molecular biologist, working in the lab of a Nobel prize—winning scientist, but when he read some Buddhist philosophy, he became drawn to Buddhism. Eventually he left his life in science to study with Tibetan teachers, and he is now a Buddhist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama, living in the Shechen monastery near Kathmandu in Nepal. Trinh Thuan was born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam but became intrigued by the explosion of discoveries in astronomy during the 1960s. He made his way to the prestigious California Institute of Technology to study with some of the biggest names in the field and is now an acclaimed astrophysicist and specialist on how the galaxies formed. When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan met at an academic conference in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. That conversation grew into an astonishing correspondence exploring a series of fascinating questions. Did the universe have a beginning? Or is our universe one in a series of infinite universes with no end and no beginning? Is the concept of a beginning of time fundamentally flawed? Might our perception of time in fact be an illusion, a phenomenon created in our brains that has no ultimate reality? Is the stunning fine-tuning of the universe, which has produced just the right conditions for life to evolve, a sign that a “principle of creation” is at work in our world? If such a principle of creation undergirds the workings of the universe, what does that tell us about whether or not there is a divine Creator? How does the radical interpretation of reality offered by quantum physics conform to and yet differ from the Buddhist conception of reality? What is consciousness and how did it evolve? Can consciousness exist apart from a brain generating it? The stimulating journey of discovery the authors traveled in their discussions is re-created beautifully in The Quantum and the Lotus, written in the style of a lively dialogue between friends. Both the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and the discoveries of contemporary science are introduced with great clarity, and the reader will be profoundly impressed by the many correspondences between the two streams of thought and revelation. Through the course of their dialogue, the authors reach a remarkable meeting of minds, ultimately offering a vital new understanding of the many ways in which science and Buddhism confirm and complement each other and of the ways in which, as Matthieu Ricard writes, “knowledge of our spirits and knowledge of the world are mutually enlightening and empowering.” “The Quantum and the Lotus is a mind-expanding, eye-opening exploration of the exciting parallels between cutting-edge thinking in physics and Buddhism–a scintillating conversation any thinking person would delight in overhearing.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence “The Quantum and the Lotus is the rich and inspiring result of a deeply interesting dialogue between Western science and Buddhist philosophy. This remarkable book will contribute greatly to a better understanding of the true nature of our world and the way we live our lives.” —His Holiness the Dalai Lama |
| what is a quantum biologist: Absolutely Small Michael D. Fayer, 2010-06-16 Absolutely Small presents (and demystifies) the world of quantum science like no book before. Physics is a complex, daunting topic, but it is also deeply satisfying?even thrilling. When liberated from its mathematical underpinnings, physics suddenly becomes accessible to anyone with the curiosity and imagination to explore its beauty. Science without math? It’s not that unusual. For example, we can understand the concept of gravity without solving a single equation. So for all those who may have pondered what makes blueberries blue and strawberries red; for those who have wondered if sound really travels in waves; and why light behaves so differently from any other phenomenon in the universe, it’s all a matter of quantum physics. This book explores in considerable depth scientific concepts using examples from everyday life, such as: particles of light, probability, states of matter, what makes greenhouse gases bad Challenging without being intimidating, accessible but not condescending, Absolutely Small develops your intuition for the very nature of things at their most basic and intriguing levels. |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Mechanics of Life Timothy Ganesan, 2017 This book is devoted to current ideas and developments in the biological sciences which stretch into fields such as engineering, medicine, quantum physics, computer modeling and genetics. In the past couple of years, biology and medicine have significantly evolved. The picture of the solitary biologist taking samples from the field and working in a lab with test tubes and chemical apparatus is a thing of the past. Today, bio-labs are filled with scientists across various disciplines like physics, mathematics and engineering. Most equipment are completely automated and robotic. They are often controlled by powerful computers acquiring and processing vast amounts of data for rigorous analysis. These advances have sped up the rate at which research is done in those fields. The topics presented in this book are simplified versions of these advances. Focusing on the how it works explanation, the notions presented here are made easy and simple to follow. Besides current research, the book elaborates on novel innovations in bio-related research (eg: ecosystem simulators, robotic surgery, natural experimentation and state-of-the-art instrumentation). Social and economic aspects of modern biology and medicine are also explored throughout this book; touching on issues related to disease spread, medical efforts and best scientific practices. The final part of this book walks through the mechanisms involved in the evolution of life on our planet. Along these lines, the evolution of Homo sapiens is briefly visited. In essence, this book involves taking a closer look at the mechanics of life. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Enigma Bruce Rosenblum, Fred Kuttner, 2008-06-16 The most successful theory in all of science--and the basis of one third of our economy--says the strangest things about the world and about us. Can you believe that physical reality is created by our observation of it? Physicists were forced to this conclusion, the quantum enigma, by what they observed in their laboratories. Trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics and found, to their embarrassment, that their theory intimately connects consciousness with the physical world. Quantum Enigma explores what that implies and why some founders of the theory became the foremost objectors to it. Schrödinger showed that it absurdly allowed a cat to be in a superposition simultaneously dead and alive. Einstein derided the theory's spooky interactions. With Bell's Theorem, we now know Schrödinger's superpositions and Einstein's spooky interactions indeed exist. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all of this in non-technical terms with help from some fanciful stories and bits about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, with an emphasis on what is and what is not speculation. Physics' encounter with consciousness is its skeleton in the closet. Because the authors open the closet and examine the skeleton, theirs is a controversial book. Quantum Enigma's description of the experimental quantum facts, and the quantum theory explaining them, is undisputed. Interpreting what it all means, however, is controversial. Every interpretation of quantum physics encounters consciousness. Rosenblum and Kuttner therefore turn to exploring consciousness itself--and encounter quantum physics. Free will and anthropic principles become crucial issues, and the connection of consciousness with the cosmos suggested by some leading quantum cosmologists is mind-blowing. Readers are brought to a boundary where the particular expertise of physicists is no longer a sure guide. They will find, instead, the facts and hints provided by quantum mechanics and the ability to speculate for themselves. |
| what is a quantum biologist: A Physicist Looks at Biology Max Delbrück, 1949 |
| what is a quantum biologist: Ultimate Computing S.R. Hameroff, 2014-04-11 The possibility of direct interfacing between biological and technological information devices could result in a merger of mind and machine - Ultimate Computing. This book, a thorough consideration of this idea, involves a number of disciplines, including biochemistry, cognitive science, computer science, engineering, mathematics, microbiology, molecular biology, pharmacology, philosophy, physics, physiology, and psychology. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Beyond Weird Philip Ball, 2020-10-14 “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.” Since Niels Bohr said this many years ago, quantum mechanics has only been getting more shocking. We now realize that it’s not really telling us that “weird” things happen out of sight, on the tiniest level, in the atomic world: rather, everything is quantum. But if quantum mechanics is correct, what seems obvious and right in our everyday world is built on foundations that don’t seem obvious or right at all—or even possible. An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means—and what it doesn’t. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience. Over the past decade it has become clear that quantum physics is less a theory about particles and waves, uncertainty and fuzziness, than a theory about information and knowledge—about what can be known, and how we can know it. Discoveries and experiments over the past few decades have called into question the meanings and limits of space and time, cause and effect, and, ultimately, of knowledge itself. The quantum world Ball shows us isn’t a different world. It is our world, and if anything deserves to be called “weird,” it’s us. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Biology S. P. Gupta, 1996-07 The Book Aims At Providing The Fundamental Concepts Of Quantum Theory And Its Applications To Biological Problems. Since The Advent Of Quantum Theory, Physicists Started Thinking That It Must Play An Important Role In Biology, Because Organisms, Like Everything Else, Are Made Of Matter And It Is One Of The Functions Of Quantum Theory To Describe The Matter. The Quantum Mechanics, The Subject Dealing With The Quantum Theory And Its Applications, Stands Today To Explain Almost All Biological Phenomena Ranging From The Growth Of A Cell To The Death Of An Organism. Therefore, A Need Has Always Been Felt To Have A Book On The Subject Which Specifically Deals With The Quantum Mechanical Methods Applicable To Biology. The Present Book Fulfils This Need And Is Expected To Be Highly Useful Not Only To The Students Graduating In Biological Sciences But Also To Those Doing Research In Any Area This Branch Of Science.The Book Starts With The Fundamental Concept Of Quantum Theory And Goes Upto Explaining, Eloquently, Its Applications To Various Biological Phenomena Including Drug-Receptor Interactions. It Covers All, Simplest To Sophisticated, Quantum Mechanical (Molecular Orbital) Methods Developed So Far, And Presents Them In A Very Lucid Way. To Understand The Book, A Reader Does Not Require More Than A Background In College-Level Physics, Chemistry, And Mathematics. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Effects in Biology Masoud Mohseni, Yasser Omar, Gregory S. Engel, Martin B. Plenio, 2014-08-07 Quantum mechanics provides the most accurate microscopic description of the world around us, yet the interface between quantum mechanics and biology is only now being explored. This book uses a combination of experiment and theory to examine areas of biology believed to be strongly influenced by manifestly quantum phenomena. Covering subjects ranging from coherent energy transfer in photosynthetic light harvesting to spin coherence in the avian compass and the problem of molecular recognition in olfaction, the book is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in physics, biology and chemistry seeking to understand the applications of quantum mechanics to biology. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Plant Physics Karl J. Niklas, Hanns-Christof Spatz, 2012-02-06 From Galileo, who used the hollow stalks of grass to demonstrate the idea that peripherally located construction materials provide most of the resistance to bending forces, to Leonardo da Vinci, whose illustrations of the parachute are alleged to be based on his study of the dandelion’s pappus and the maple tree’s samara, many of our greatest physicists, mathematicians, and engineers have learned much from studying plants. A symbiotic relationship between botany and the fields of physics, mathematics, engineering, and chemistry continues today, as is revealed in Plant Physics. The result of a long-term collaboration between plant evolutionary biologist Karl J. Niklas and physicist Hanns-Christof Spatz, Plant Physics presents a detailed account of the principles of classical physics, evolutionary theory, and plant biology in order to explain the complex interrelationships among plant form, function, environment, and evolutionary history. Covering a wide range of topics—from the development and evolution of the basic plant body and the ecology of aquatic unicellular plants to mathematical treatments of light attenuation through tree canopies and the movement of water through plants’ roots, stems, and leaves—Plant Physics is destined to inspire students and professionals alike to traverse disciplinary membranes. |
| what is a quantum biologist: The Way of the Cell Franklin M. Harold, 2001-06-21 What is life? Fifty years after physicist Erwin Schrodinger posed this question in his celebrated and inspiring book, the answer remains elusive. In The Way of the Cell, one of the world's most respected microbiologists draws on his wide knowledge of contemporary science to provide fresh insight into this intriguing and all-important question. What is the relationship of living things to the inanimate realm of chemistry and physics? How do lifeless but special chemicals come together to form those intricate dynamic ensembles that we recognize as life? To shed light on these questions, Franklin Harold focuses here on microorganisms--in particular, the supremely well-researched bacterium E. coli--because the cell is the simplest level of organization that manifests all the features of the phenomenon of life. Harold shows that as simple as they appear when compared to ourselves, every cell displays a dynamic pattern in space and time, orders of magnitude richer than its elements. It integrates the writhings and couplings of billions of molecules into a coherent whole, draws matter and energy into itself, constructs and reproduces its own order, and persists in this manner for numberless generations while continuously adapting to a changing world. A cell constitutes a unitary whole, a unit of life, and in this volume one of the leading authorities on the cell gives us a vivid picture of what goes on within this minute precinct. The result is a richly detailed, meticulously crafted account of what modern science can tell us about life as well as one scientist's personal attempt to wring understanding from the tide of knowledge. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Every Life Is on Fire Jeremy England, 2020-09-15 A preeminent physicist unveils a field-defining theory of the origins and purpose of life. Why are we alive? Most things in the universe aren't. And everything that is alive traces back to things that, puzzlingly, weren't. For centuries, the scientific question of life's origins has confounded us. But in Every Life Is on Fire, physicist Jeremy England argues that the answer has been under our noses the whole time, deep within the laws of thermodynamics. England explains how, counterintuitively, the very same forces that tend to tear things apart assembled the first living systems. But how life began isn't just a scientific question. We ask it because we want to know what it really means to be alive. So England, an ordained rabbi, uses his theory to examine how, if at all, science helps us find purpose in a vast and mysterious universe. In the tradition of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Every Life Is on Fire is a profound testament to how something can come from nothing. |
| what is a quantum biologist: A Universe from Nothing Lawrence Maxwell Krauss, 2013 This is a provocative account of the astounding new answers to the most basic philosophical question: Where did the universe come from and how will it end? |
| what is a quantum biologist: Beyond Biocentrism Robert Lanza, Bob Berman, 2016-05-03 Biocentrism shocked the world with a radical rethinking of the nature of reality. But that was just the beginning. In Beyond Biocentrism, acclaimed biologist Robert Lanza, one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2014, and leading astronomer Bob Berman, take the reader on an intellectual thrill-ride as they re-examine everything we thought we knew about life, death, the universe, and the nature of reality itself. The first step is acknowledging that our existing model of reality is looking increasingly creaky in the face of recent scientific discoveries. Science tells us with some precision that the universe is 26.8 percent dark matter, 68.3 percent dark energy, and only 4.9 percent ordinary matter, but must confess that it doesn't really know what dark matter is and knows even less about dark energy. Science is increasingly pointing toward an infinite universe but has no ability to explain what that really means. Concepts such as time, space, and even causality are increasingly being demonstrated as meaningless. All of science is based on information passing through our consciousness but science hasn't the foggiest idea what consciousness is, and it can't explain the linkage between subatomic states and observation by conscious observers. Science describes life as a random occurrence in a dead universe but has no real understanding of how life began or why the universe appears to be exquisitely designed for the emergence of life. The biocentrism theory isn't a rejection of science. Quite the opposite. Biocentrism challenges us to fully accept the implications of the latest scientific findings in fields ranging from plant biology and cosmology to quantum entanglement and consciousness. By listening to what the science is telling us, it becomes increasingly clear that life and consciousness are fundamental to any true understanding of the universe. This forces a fundamental rethinking of everything we thought we knew about life, death, and our place in the universe. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Pre-Parenting Thomas R Verny, Pamela Weintraub, 2003-10 Originally published as: Tomorrow's baby. |
| what is a quantum biologist: What is Life? Erwin Schrödinger, 1992-01-31 Nobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger's What is Life?, one of the great science classics of the twentieth century appears here together with Mind and Matter. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Decoding Reality Vlatko Vedral, 2018 In this engaging and mind-stretching book, Vlatko Vedral explores the nature of information and looks at quantum computing, discussing the bizarre effects that arise from the quantum world. He concludes by asking the ultimate question: where did all of the information in the Universe come from? |
| what is a quantum biologist: Final Theory Mark Alpert, 2012-12-11 'Einheitliche Feldtheorie'. The final words of his dying mentor will change David Swift's life forever. Within hours of hearing those words, David is arrested, interrogated and almost assassinated. But he's too busy running for his life to work out what it all means. Has he accidentally inherited Einstein's Unified Theory -- a set of equations with the power to destroy the world? Einstein died without discovering the theory. Or did he? Teaming up with his ex-girlfriend and an autistic teenager addicted to video games, David must ensure he survives long enough to find out the truth -- and deal with the terrifying consequences. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Quantum Theory in Biology; a Research Conducted by Herman Schneider ... and George Sperti ... University of Cincinnati. Basic Science Research Laboratory, 1928 |
| what is a quantum biologist: Reflections on a Theory of Organisms Walter M. Elsasser, 1998-10-16 In a thought-provoking and controversial work first published in 1987, eminent geophysicist Walter M. Elsasser argues that the behavior of living organisms cannot be reduced to physico-chemical causality. Suggesting that molecular biology today is at the same point as Newtonian physics on the eve of the quantum revolution, Elsasser lays the foundation for a theoretical biology that points the way toward a natural philosophy of organic life. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Life on the Edge Johnjoe McFadden, Jim Al-Khalili, 2014 Originally published in hardcover in Great Britain as Life on the Edge by Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd. in 2014.--Title page verso. |
| what is a quantum biologist: Secrets of the Aether David W. Thomson, Jim D. Bourassa, 2005 |
| what is a quantum biologist: Creative Evolution , 2008 By denying evolution altogether, says quantum physicist Amit Goswani, intelligent design believers fly in the face of scientific data. But the idea of intelligent design does contain substance that neo-Darwinists cannot ignore. Goswani posits that consciousness, not matter, is the primary force in the universe. Biology must come to terms with feeling, meaning, and the purposefulness of life, as well as with the idea of a designer. What's more, reconciling the question of life's purposefulness and the existence of the designer with neo-Darwinism also answers many other difficult questions. |
Quantum - Wikipedia
In physics, a quantum (pl.: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a property can be "quantized" …
Quantum | Definition & Facts | Britannica
May 31, 2025 · Quantum, in physics, discrete natural unit, or packet, of energy, charge, angular momentum, or other physical property. Light, for example, appearing in some respects as a …
What Is Quantum Physics? - Caltech Science Exchange
Quantum physics is the study of matter and energy at the most fundamental level. It aims to uncover the properties and behaviors of the very building blocks of nature. While many …
Demystifying Quantum: It’s Here, There and Everywhere
Apr 10, 2024 · Quantum, often called quantum mechanics, deals with the granular and fuzzy nature of the universe and the physical behavior of its smallest particles. The idea of physical …
Quantum mechanics: Definitions, axioms, and key concepts of quantum …
Apr 29, 2024 · Quantum mechanics, or quantum physics, is the body of scientific laws that describe the wacky behavior of photons, electrons and the other subatomic particles that make …
What is quantum in physics and computing? - TechTarget
Feb 27, 2025 · A quantum, the singular form of quanta, is the smallest discrete unit of any physical entity. For example, a quantum of light is a photon, and a quantum of electricity is an …
Science 101: Quantum Mechanics - Argonne National Laboratory
So, what is quantum? In a more general sense, the word “ quantum” can refer to the smallest possible amount of something. The field of quantum mechanics deals with the most …
DOE Explains...Quantum Mechanics | Department of Energy
Quantum mechanics is the field of physics that explains how extremely small objects simultaneously have the characteristics of both particles (tiny pieces of matter) and waves (a …
Quantum for dummies: the basics explained | Engineering and …
Apr 16, 2019 · Professor Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey attempts to demystify the quantum world by explaining key terminology and theory. Which atoms and particles does …
Quantum - definition of quantum by The Free Dictionary
A unit of energy, especially electromagnetic energy, that is the smallest physical quantity that can exist on its own. A quantum acts both like a particle and like an energy wave. Photons are …
Quantum - Wikipedia
In physics, a quantum (pl.: quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a property can be "quantized" …
Quantum | Definition & Facts | Britannica
May 31, 2025 · Quantum, in physics, discrete natural unit, or packet, of energy, charge, angular momentum, or other physical property. Light, for example, appearing in some respects as a …
What Is Quantum Physics? - Caltech Science Exchange
Quantum physics is the study of matter and energy at the most fundamental level. It aims to uncover the properties and behaviors of the very building blocks of nature. While many …
Demystifying Quantum: It’s Here, There and Everywhere
Apr 10, 2024 · Quantum, often called quantum mechanics, deals with the granular and fuzzy nature of the universe and the physical behavior of its smallest particles. The idea of physical …
Quantum mechanics: Definitions, axioms, and key concepts of quantum …
Apr 29, 2024 · Quantum mechanics, or quantum physics, is the body of scientific laws that describe the wacky behavior of photons, electrons and the other subatomic particles that make …
What is quantum in physics and computing? - TechTarget
Feb 27, 2025 · A quantum, the singular form of quanta, is the smallest discrete unit of any physical entity. For example, a quantum of light is a photon, and a quantum of electricity is an …
Science 101: Quantum Mechanics - Argonne National Laboratory
So, what is quantum? In a more general sense, the word “ quantum” can refer to the smallest possible amount of something. The field of quantum mechanics deals with the most …
DOE Explains...Quantum Mechanics | Department of Energy
Quantum mechanics is the field of physics that explains how extremely small objects simultaneously have the characteristics of both particles (tiny pieces of matter) and waves (a …
Quantum for dummies: the basics explained | Engineering and …
Apr 16, 2019 · Professor Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey attempts to demystify the quantum world by explaining key terminology and theory. Which atoms and particles does …
Quantum - definition of quantum by The Free Dictionary
A unit of energy, especially electromagnetic energy, that is the smallest physical quantity that can exist on its own. A quantum acts both like a particle and like an energy wave. Photons are …
