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Marais A, Adams B, Ringsmuth AK, Ferretti M, Gruber JM, Hendrikx R, Schuld M, Smith SL, Sinayskiy I, Krüger TPJ, Petruccione F, van Grondelle R. The future of quantum biology. J R Soc Interface 2018; 15:20180640. [PMID: 30429265 PMCID: PMC6283985 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Biological systems are dynamical, constantly exchanging energy and matter with the environment in order to maintain the non-equilibrium state synonymous with living. Developments in observational techniques have allowed us to study biological dynamics on increasingly small scales. Such studies have revealed evidence of quantum mechanical effects, which cannot be accounted for by classical physics, in a range of biological processes. Quantum biology is the study of such processes, and here we provide an outline of the current state of the field, as well as insights into future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Marais
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - Betony Adams
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - Andrew K Ringsmuth
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia
| | - Marco Ferretti
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J Michael Gruber
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ruud Hendrikx
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Schuld
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
| | - Samuel L Smith
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ilya Sinayskiy
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
- National Institute for Theoretical Physics, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Tjaart P J Krüger
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
| | - Francesco Petruccione
- Quantum Research Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa
- National Institute for Theoretical Physics, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Rienk van Grondelle
- Institute for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics, Faculty of Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Notararigo V, Passante R, Rizzuto L. Resonance interaction energy between two entangled atoms in a photonic bandgap environment. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5193. [PMID: 29581454 PMCID: PMC5980077 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23416-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
We consider the resonance interaction energy between two identical entangled atoms, where one is in the excited state and the other in the ground state. They interact with the quantum electromagnetic field in the vacuum state and are placed in a photonic-bandgap environment with a dispersion relation quadratic near the gap edge and linear for low frequencies, while the atomic transition frequency is assumed to be inside the photonic gap and near its lower edge. This problem is strictly related to the coherent resonant energy transfer between atoms in external environments. The analysis involves both an isotropic three-dimensional model and the one-dimensional case. The resonance interaction asymptotically decays faster with distance compared to the free-space case, specifically as 1/r2 compared to the 1/r free-space dependence in the three-dimensional case, and as 1/r compared to the oscillatory dependence in free space for the one-dimensional case. Nonetheless, the interaction energy remains significant and much stronger than dispersion interactions between atoms. On the other hand, spontaneous emission is strongly suppressed by the environment and the correlated state is thus preserved by the spontaneous-decay decoherence effects. We conclude that our configuration is suitable for observing the elusive quantum resonance interaction between entangled atoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Notararigo
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Roberto Passante
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 36, I-90123, Palermo, Italy. .,INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, I-95123, Catania, Italy.
| | - Lucia Rizzuto
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 36, I-90123, Palermo, Italy.,INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, I-95123, Catania, Italy
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Duan HG, Prokhorenko VI, Cogdell RJ, Ashraf K, Stevens AL, Thorwart M, Miller RJD. Nature does not rely on long-lived electronic quantum coherence for photosynthetic energy transfer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:8493-8498. [PMID: 28743751 PMCID: PMC5559008 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1702261114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
During the first steps of photosynthesis, the energy of impinging solar photons is transformed into electronic excitation energy of the light-harvesting biomolecular complexes. The subsequent energy transfer to the reaction center is commonly rationalized in terms of excitons moving on a grid of biomolecular chromophores on typical timescales [Formula: see text]100 fs. Today's understanding of the energy transfer includes the fact that the excitons are delocalized over a few neighboring sites, but the role of quantum coherence is considered as irrelevant for the transfer dynamics because it typically decays within a few tens of femtoseconds. This orthodox picture of incoherent energy transfer between clusters of a few pigments sharing delocalized excitons has been challenged by ultrafast optical spectroscopy experiments with the Fenna-Matthews-Olson protein, in which interference oscillatory signals up to 1.5 ps were reported and interpreted as direct evidence of exceptionally long-lived electronic quantum coherence. Here, we show that the optical 2D photon echo spectra of this complex at ambient temperature in aqueous solution do not provide evidence of any long-lived electronic quantum coherence, but confirm the orthodox view of rapidly decaying electronic quantum coherence on a timescale of 60 fs. Our results can be considered as generic and give no hint that electronic quantum coherence plays any biofunctional role in real photoactive biomolecular complexes. Because in this structurally well-defined protein the distances between bacteriochlorophylls are comparable to those of other light-harvesting complexes, we anticipate that this finding is general and directly applies to even larger photoactive biomolecular complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Guang Duan
- Atomically Resolved Dynamics Department, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- I. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Hamburg, 20355 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Valentyn I Prokhorenko
- Atomically Resolved Dynamics Department, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Richard J Cogdell
- Institute of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Khuram Ashraf
- Institute of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Amy L Stevens
- Atomically Resolved Dynamics Department, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3H6
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3H6
| | - Michael Thorwart
- I. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Hamburg, 20355 Hamburg, Germany;
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - R J Dwayne Miller
- Atomically Resolved Dynamics Department, Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, 22761 Hamburg, Germany;
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3H6
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3H6
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Abstract
Recent experiments aimed at probing the dynamics of excitons have revealed that semiconducting films composed of disordered molecular subunits, unlike expectations for their perfectly ordered counterparts, can exhibit a time-dependent diffusivity in which the effective early time diffusion constant is larger than that of the steady state. This observation has led to speculation about what role, if any, microscopic disorder may play in enhancing exciton transport properties. In this article, we present the results of a model study aimed at addressing this point. Specifically, we introduce a general model, based upon Förster theory, for incoherent exciton diffusion in a material composed of independent molecular subunits with static energetic disorder. Energetic disorder leads to heterogeneity in molecule-to-molecule transition rates, which we demonstrate has two important consequences related to exciton transport. First, the distribution of local site-specific hopping rates is broadened in a manner that results in a decrease in average exciton diffusivity relative to that in a perfectly ordered film. Second, since excitons prefer to make transitions that are downhill in energy, the steady state distribution of exciton energies is biased toward low-energy molecular subunits, those that exhibit reduced diffusivity relative to a perfectly ordered film. These effects combine to reduce the net diffusivity in a manner that is time dependent and grows more pronounced as disorder is increased. Notably, however, we demonstrate that the presence of energetic disorder can give rise to a population of molecular subunits with exciton transfer rates exceeding those of subunits in an energetically uniform material. Such enhancements may play an important role in processes that are sensitive to molecular-scale fluctuations in exciton density field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Y Lee
- †Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - William A Tisdale
- †Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Adam P Willard
- ‡Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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Mossbridge JA, Tressoldi P, Utts J, Ives JA, Radin D, Jonas WB. Predicting the unpredictable: critical analysis and practical implications of predictive anticipatory activity. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:146. [PMID: 24723870 PMCID: PMC3971164 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2014] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent meta-analysis of experiments from seven independent laboratories (n = 26) indicates that the human body can apparently detect randomly delivered stimuli occurring 1-10 s in the future (Mossbridge etal., 2012). The key observation in these studies is that human physiology appears to be able to distinguish between unpredictable dichotomous future stimuli, such as emotional vs. neutral images or sound vs. silence. This phenomenon has been called presentiment (as in "feeling the future"). In this paper we call it predictive anticipatory activity (PAA). The phenomenon is "predictive" because it can distinguish between upcoming stimuli; it is "anticipatory" because the physiological changes occur before a future event; and it is an "activity" because it involves changes in the cardiopulmonary, skin, and/or nervous systems. PAA is an unconscious phenomenon that seems to be a time-reversed reflection of the usual physiological response to a stimulus. It appears to resemble precognition (consciously knowing something is going to happen before it does), but PAA specifically refers to unconscious physiological reactions as opposed to conscious premonitions. Though it is possible that PAA underlies the conscious experience of precognition, experiments testing this idea have not produced clear results. The first part of this paper reviews the evidence for PAA and examines the two most difficult challenges for obtaining valid evidence for it: expectation bias and multiple analyses. The second part speculates on possible mechanisms and the theoretical implications of PAA for understanding physiology and consciousness. The third part examines potential practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jessica Utts
- Department of Statistics, University of California at IrvineIrvine, CA, USA
| | | | - Dean Radin
- Consciousness Research Laboratory, Institute of Noetic SciencesPetaluma, CA, USA
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