However, over the years, this specific branch of science, quantum biology, has gotten much attention and credit for its research that will overturn the theories of biology. Now, contemporary scientists are actively investigating how, specifically, superposition and entanglement, two of the most critical aspects of quantum mechanics, are linked to life’s most fundamental processes. Quantum biology is one of the bright trends of the present stage of scientific development and within the framework of the given article, the subject will be analyzed in terms of the further perspective of science and medicine.
Quantum biology is a relatively new area of research that is based on the principles of quantum mechanics and biochemistry. In contrast to traditional biology where life is explained by the laws of mechanistic physics, quantum biology aims to find out how quantum physics affects life. This field is to try and explain such primary quantum attributes as coherence, tunneling, and last but not least entanglement in connection with phenomena for instance, photosynthesis in plants, birds with their orientation in space, and consciousness in humans.
Another area that forms part of quantum biology concerning quantum mechanics principles is quantum superposition, whereby particles are in more than one state at the same instance. In photosynthesis, for instance, superposition helps the plants maximize the efficiency of harnessing energy from the sun in packaging it into chemical energy.
Also, the integration of quantum tunneling is paramount in the activation of biochemical reactions in a cell. They prefer to stay in a ground state but can also pass through energy barriers – in a roundabout fashion, in a sense – and get to their target faster. This process is critical to help enzymes induce reactions with the desired speed necessary for life’s processes to occur.
Moreover, quantum entanglement has been suggested for the account of how birds can migrate using the magnetic field of the Earth. Some scientists claim that some birds can navigate over great distances with the help of entangled quantum states in their retinas to determine slight differences in the earth’s magnetic field.
The new claims and breakthroughs in quantum biology will assist in altering some bulkier industries including, medicine, IT, and environmental management. Therefore, increasing knowledge on the process and occurrence of quantum events in living organisms might aid in finding cures for diseases, and improved ways of generating energy as well as the development of quantum computers, which can perform certain operations much faster than modern computers.
In the sphere of medicine, quantum biology contributes to understanding the nature of diseases and the determination of the methods of the treatments based on the approach shown. Thus, it might restore what has been called the quantum research activity about the investigation of several biological processes such as protein folding, DNA replication, and others mainly which can develop effective methods of coping with genetic diseases of cancer and neurodegenerative features.
Data and computing are also enveloped by quantum biology; even the process of data coding can be changed with the help of quantum computers. Maximizing the comprehension of how biological systems incorporate quantum events gives individuals the ability to fine-tune the objective, meaning, application, and utility of quantum computations that are currently under construction to improve the outlook of computing systems and networks that are better, and more secure.
In the original evolution scenario that Sri Aurobindo developed, evolution proceeds with first, the progressive evolution of the representations of the vital and after that is over, the progressive evolution of the representations of the mental. The drive is for consciousness to know itself in manifestation.
In this way of looking at the quantum theory of evolution, evolution is initially the evolution of the vital, giving rise to newer and newer forms and functions and enabling progressively more and more expressions of consciousness. Also, evolution has two tempos: one slow, continuous, and mechanical as in Darwin’s theory; the other is rapid, conscious, and creative, consisting of an instantaneous quantum leap followed by many mini quantum leaps and natural selection in the manifestation stage of creativity.
By and large, the fossil data supports this quantum scenario of evolution as we have seen in the last chapter. There comes a crisis, most often brought about by large-scale climate change. A significant portion of the manifest populations respond to the crisis, consciousness chooses to manifest new organs from the available genetic variations waiting in potentiality and quantum leaps occur. A new homeostasis comes about after a brief manifestation stage of biological creativity.
The creative process is the mechanism for the macroevolution of life—macroevolution is an expression of biological creativity. The creative process is not an isolated idea just to explain the evolution data; the same creative process is used by us humans not only for our creativity in science, the arts, literature, and music but also for our personal and social transformation.
The idea that evolution is a creative act of species group consciousness is considered a heretical idea in conventional biology; however, the idea is implicit in Lamarckian theory of evolution. And this idea has now been verified.
Recall, please! In 1988, the biologists John Cairns and his collaborators demonstrated that a certain kind of bacteria, when proffered food that it cannot directly digest, but can digest if it undergoes a one-step mutation, hastens up its mutation rate and survives. This phenomenon, directed mutation, was heralded by the popular Newsweek magazine as evidence for Lamarckian evolution. The biologist Dennis Todd and I (1997) explained the data of Cairns et al in terms of Lamarckism and biological group creativity.
Quantum Biology
In conventional biological thought, genes are the only hereditary material and therefore the only player in evolution; it is from chance genetic variations that nature selects in the evolutionary process. There is no room for any contribution to evolution from the acts of living. The prejudice of the central dogma of biology—information can only flow from the genes to proteins, not the other way around—prohibits that.
Yet the fossil data shows repeated evidence that the same biological forms repeat again and again as evolution proceeds. These forms, in other words, are remembered in some way; some kind of Lamarckian mechanism prevails. So, there must be a side door through which development can enter the discussion of evolution; we must use the side door without challenging the central dogma which is supported by experimental data.
In quantum biology, the straightforward explanation of the repetition of biological forms over and over again is that the universal biological software consciousness bestows an organ with when the organ evolved consists not only of function but also of form as our name for the fields responsible for the software indicates.
In this way, the biological evolution of organs and their software also produces templets of form-making in one fell-swoop of quantum leaping; in other words, consciousness and the morpho-liturgical fields not only provide the organs with functional software but also guide their forms during evolution. Like all quantum objects, once the software is manifested and collectively, for the entire species, it returns to the unconscious as nonlocal memory with increased probability for future use. Note: although the software is the result of repeated use and involves some conditioning, the conditioning is far from 100%; some quantum behavior continues; in particular, nonlocality.
Organisms exist in homeostasis. When a crisis occurs, they respond as a group with intention-making for survival. When this intention resonates with the availability of a gestalt of possibilities for a biological expression such as an organ, the quantum leap takes place. With increased survivability, the organism survives its existential crisis as the crisis passes after eliminating all but a small percentage of the old life forms. After a brief period of adjustments (the manifestation phase of creativity), some of the new organisms settle down to a period of homeostasis of adaptation and continuous evolution. Often a flurry of biological creativity occurs in the aftermath of the crisis producing a period of rapid radiation.
Often a whole bunch of new organs or major modifications of the old take place. As for forms, consciousness uses old templates of forms whenever available. Each such period of rapid change will additionally produce a lot of new forms.
And then another geological catastrophe, again a lot of extinction, and another flurry of quantum leaping giving rise to a lot of modifications of old forms/functions and the addition of new forms and functions. These new forms then will act as templates for forms to be used in future periods of rapid evolution.
Avantgarde biologists (Carrol, 2005) have named this process appropriately evo-devo—evolution, and morphogenesis take place hand in hand; evolution is not only based on inherited genes but also on inherited forms. However, without quantum science, no mechanism of inheritance of form can be given; hence I rename this evolutionary process quantum evo-devo.
Old forms that appear early in evolution become potentialities for later use with higher and higher probability as they are reused again and again. Just like in any memory retrieval of human experience—recall enhances the probability of recall.
Vital evolution geared to survival more or less culminates with the evolution of the human being with the neo-cortical brain. The quantum in every form or organ of our physical body, the P-organ, comes correlated with a vital software—the V-organ–that guides the on-off of the gene activators that make proteins for the organ functioning (see fig. 5). I repeat: It is the movement of the V-organ in response to a stimulus that you experience as a feeling. Vital energy is the energy of movement (collapse or cessation of ongoing collapse) of the V-organ.
Fig. 5. Physical organs (P-organ hardware including physiology) come with a correlated vital counterpart (V-organ software)
Is there evo-devo in the microevolution of Darwinian vintage driven by blind chance and survival necessity? Is there a deviation from randomness? Recent findings show that even Darwinian evolution is not as random as was once thought (https:/www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240108125801.htm); it seems to depend on history and conditioning. This is likely an effect of evo-devo.
Keep this important but necessary modification of Darwinism with you:
Fig. 6. Psychophysical parallelism: How feelings and organ functions are related
One final comment before passing. It is easy to make fun of Lamarckism and the idea of evolution via acquired characteristics. An unnamed author recently wrote a piece called I Ain’t a Joke in Illuminations Mirror, July 19, 2023, issue that I found on the Internet:
My high school teacher laughed while describing the theory of Lamarck.
He used giraffes.
Giraffes can’t stretch their necks and make them longer every generation.
It [Lamarckism] would mean mice whose tails are consistently cut in labs should have shorter and shorter tails over time. We can expect mice without tails after a few generations.
Jews could have had their male children born without the foreskin.
In Kenya, the Luo men would have had their boys born without their six lower front teeth.
The idea is laughable.
So my high school teacher laughed.
It was not my biology teacher. He had some decency. Maybe he knew the idea could be possible. Maybe not the lengthening of the necks, but another acquired trait. I never asked him.
Our theory of quantum evo-devo, I hope, has cleared up the situation for you. Acquired characteristics of organs that propagate are changes in the software of form and function, not hardware changes.
Closing the Disconnection between Quantum Mechanics and Biology
As a foundation, quantum mechanics and biology seem to have things in common but are vastly distinct from each other. Now quantum mechanics with its probability and its peculiarities of micro world is in sharp contrast with the clear-cut and observable mechanisms of biology. However, with advancing science, the distinctions between these fields gradually become erased, and it is found that quantum physics and biology are closer than they seem.
The basic tenets of quantum mechanics – and what is often referred to as ‘spooky action at a distance’, such as superposition, entanglement, and tunneling, are not just limited to particles and atoms only. They bear close similarities with biosystems; it is in the biological systems that the phenomena of life are integrated. According to the concepts of Quantum mechanics biology, all these principles exist and are utilized in such processes as photosynthesis, enzyme reactions, and even in the structure and function of consciousness.
Quantum Biology
Quantum physics biology is also evident within photosynthesis which is the process of using light energy in the conversion of energy in plants. One additional thing that scientists noted is that energy transfer in the process of photosynthesis is more efficient than the laws of classical physics allow. This situation triggered the idea that there could be quantum coherence where particles could be in two different places at the same time. That is, a feature of photosynthesis is that energy transition could exist in a superposition of states in a plant, and therefore plants could efficiently absorb sunlight.
Nevertheless, biology and quantum physics are bigger than photosynthesis. Thus, enzyme reactions, or the reaction that drives life as a catalyst also display traits that defy classical notions. Some enzymes appear to use quantum tunneling; subatomic particles traverse through places that, by Newtonian mechanics, ought not to be crossed. This quantum behavior enables biological processes to take place at speeds and accurately compared to what would otherwise be possible demonstrating the link between quantum mechanics biology and existence.
Another appealing feature of the age of physics and biology is that they are inextricably connected to consciousness. The complex organ that is the human brain with its tens of billions of neurons and their networks has been of interest to humanity for centuries. Is it possible that some aspects of the brain and the processed information do not conform to the laws of classical physics? Certain theories consist of the idea that consciousness may be a quantum phenomenon.
It is revolutionary and at the same time has scientists in the scientific community divided with the idea that entanglement or when particles link in a certain way so that whichever way they are affected the other is also bound to experience the same influence in brain activity. If so, then we have a kind of biological and quantum entanglement, along with the fact that we are quantum creatures to the extent that we are conscious ones.
Thus, quantum biology is not merely a specific research field but is a testament to the unity of all things. Thus, biology combined with quantum mechanics allows the representation of the process of human evolution. It implies that fire’s beginning and ability to spread is in the same which births life from the basic organism that can however grow and develop to an elevated state of thinking. Thus, if we dig further into this particular field of interest, one might discover that the process of moving up the evolutionary ladder is not solely associated with the improvement of the species’ physical characteristics but the quantum potential of life as well.
Excerpt from Quantum Biology and Ascent of Humanity
By Amit Goswami, PhD, a retired physicist from the University of Oregon, USA. For more insights and educational resources, visit Facebook, Cqaedu.
