Quantum Reports (Jan 2021)
Quantum Biology: An Update and Perspective
- Youngchan Kim,
- Federico Bertagna,
- Edeline M. D’Souza,
- Derren J. Heyes,
- Linus O. Johannissen,
- Eveliny T. Nery,
- Antonio Pantelias,
- Alejandro Sanchez-Pedreño Jimenez,
- Louie Slocombe,
- Michael G. Spencer,
- Jim Al-Khalili,
- Gregory S. Engel,
- Sam Hay,
- Suzanne M. Hingley-Wilson,
- Kamalan Jeevaratnam,
- Alex R. Jones,
- Daniel R. Kattnig,
- Rebecca Lewis,
- Marco Sacchi,
- Nigel S. Scrutton,
- S. Ravi P. Silva,
- Johnjoe McFadden
Affiliations
- Youngchan Kim
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Federico Bertagna
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Edeline M. D’Souza
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Derren J. Heyes
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
- Linus O. Johannissen
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
- Eveliny T. Nery
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Antonio Pantelias
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Alejandro Sanchez-Pedreño Jimenez
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Louie Slocombe
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Michael G. Spencer
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Jim Al-Khalili
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Gregory S. Engel
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Sam Hay
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
- Suzanne M. Hingley-Wilson
- Department of Microbial and Cellular Sciences, School of Bioscience and Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Kamalan Jeevaratnam
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Alex R. Jones
- Biometrology, Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Hampton Road, Middlesex TW11 0LW, UK
- Daniel R. Kattnig
- Living Systems Institute, Department of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QL, UK
- Rebecca Lewis
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Marco Sacchi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Nigel S. Scrutton
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
- S. Ravi P. Silva
- Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- Johnjoe McFadden
- Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/quantum3010006
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 3,
no. 1
pp. 80 – 126
Abstract
Understanding the rules of life is one of the most important scientific endeavours and has revolutionised both biology and biotechnology. Remarkable advances in observation techniques allow us to investigate a broad range of complex and dynamic biological processes in which living systems could exploit quantum behaviour to enhance and regulate biological functions. Recent evidence suggests that these non-trivial quantum mechanical effects may play a crucial role in maintaining the non-equilibrium state of biomolecular systems. Quantum biology is the study of such quantum aspects of living systems. In this review, we summarise the latest progress in quantum biology, including the areas of enzyme-catalysed reactions, photosynthesis, spin-dependent reactions, DNA, fluorescent proteins, and ion channels. Many of these results are expected to be fundamental building blocks towards understanding the rules of life.
Keywords
- quantum biology
- non-trivial quantum effects in biology
- quantum tunnelling in enzyme-catalysed reactions
- photosynthesis
- synthetic light harvesting system
- ion channel
