[ExI] quantum effects in biological systems

Henrique Moraes Machado cetico.iconoclasta at gmail.com
Mon Jun 29 14:33:16 UTC 2009


Jeff Davis>I found this article unsettling:
> http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23748/
> I have always taken comfort in the (dubious) notion that macroscopic
> systems were deterministic; that quantum weirdness was exceedingly
> fragile, fleeting, and safely confined to an ultra-microscopic
> ultra-cold realm.  Nevertheless, I could not escape the conclusion
> that EVOLVED systems would/MUST integrate, without prejudice, any
> effect, quantum or otherwise, which enhanced survival.  The same 3.5
> billion years of "classical" biological evolution was simultaneously
> 3.5 billion years of "quantum" biological evolution.
> Lofty self-satisfaction with "modern" science cannot conceal our
> current ignorance of quantum effects generally, and of the particular
> role of quantum effects in biology. This vast gulf of the unknown
> worries me. How can I be confident (as I have been and would like to
> continue to be) of a successful restoration from cryonic suspension
> when the ignorance of crucial science is so vast?
> Still more late-breaking news of room temp quantum effects in biology.
> http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/23581/


"(...)And beyond that is the question that Whaley and co avoid altogether. 
If entanglement plays a role in photosynthesis, then why not in other 
important biological organs too? Anybody think of an organ where 
entanglement might be useful?(...)"

The brain perhaps?




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