Excellent interview with Sean Carroll on Quantum Mechanics and the Cosmos.
Sean Carroll tells Jim why he abandoned Einstein for quantum entanglement.
Category: quantum physics – Page 952
Quantum Interference and Selectivity through Biological Ion Channels
Nice report published in Jan on.
The mechanism of selectivity in ion channels is still an open question in biology for more than half a century. Here, we suggest that quantum interference can be a solution to explain the selectivity mechanism in ion channels since interference happens between similar ions through the same size of ion channels. In this paper, we simulate two neighboring ion channels on a cell membrane with the famous double-slit experiment in physics to investigate whether there is any possibility of matter-wave interference of ions via movement through ion channels. Our obtained decoherence timescales indicate that the quantum states of ions can only survive for short times, i.e. ≈100 picoseconds in each channel and ≈17–53 picoseconds outside the channels, giving the result that the quantum interference of ions seems unlikely due to environmental decoherence. However, we discuss our results and raise few points, which increase the possibility of interference.
Determining the Photoisomerization Quantum Yield of Photoswitchable Molecules in Solution and in the Solid State
Photoswitchable molecules are able to isomerize between two metastable forms through light stimuli. Originally being studied by photochemists, this type of molecule has now found a wide range of applications within physics, chemistry and biology. The extensive usage of photochromic molecules is due to the two isomers having fundamentally different physical and chemical properties. The most important attribute of a photoswitch is the photoisomerization quantum yield, which defines the efficiency of the photoisomerization event. Here we show how to determine the photoisomerization quantum yield in the solid state and in solution when taking thermal processes into account. The described method together with provided software allows for rapid and accurate determination of the isomerization process for this important class of molecules.
What role does electromagnetic signaling have in biological systems
Sounds definitely like DARPA could be looking at a more seamless BMI type technology and yes, Quantum Bio and telepathy is involved.
For decades scientists have wondered whether electromagnetic waves might play a role in intra- and inter-cell signaling. Researchers have suggested since the 1960s, for example, that terahertz frequencies emanate from cell membranes, but they’ve lacked the technology and tools to conduct reproducible experiments that could prove whether electromagnetic waves constitute purposeful signals for biological function-or if they’re merely background noise.
With recent advances in technology and modeling, experiments may now be possible to test signaling hypotheses. DARPA’s RadioBio program, announced this week, seeks to establish if purposeful electromagnetic wave signaling between biological cells exists-and if evidence supports that it does, to determine what information is being transferred.
The validity of existing and new electromagnetic biosignaling claims requires an understanding of how the structure and function of microscopic, natural antennas are capable of generating and receiving information in a noisy spectral environment.
For the First Time Scientists Have Observed a Quantum Phase Transition
In Brief
- Scientists were able to rig up a system in which they could view a “photon-blockade breakdown” where the system switched from opaque to transparent.
- This discovery has implications in both the development of advanced computer memory systems and better quantum simulations in the future.
For the first time, physicists have experimentally observed a first-order phase transition occur in a quantum system – verifying years of theoretical predictions.
Phase transitions are something that we see on a daily basis when our ice melts into water, or steam evaporates from a boiling kettle. While these transitions are easy for us to observe, phase transitions also happen on the very tiny, quantum-scale, where they play an important role in physics. But, up until now, no one had ever witnessed one experimentally.
Sorry, Einstein — physicists just reinforced the reality of quantum weirdness in the Universe
One of the strangest phenomena you’re likely to come across in all of science is quantum entanglement — where two particles interact in such a way that they become deeply linked, and essentially ‘share’ an existence, even if they’re light-years apart.
Einstein famously couldn’t get on board with this idea, and ultimately decided that it was just too weird to be true. But a new experiment has just made the strongest case yet for the reality of quantum entanglement, so it looks like our Universe is just as bizarre as we suspected.
“The real estate left over for the skeptics of quantum mechanics has shrunk considerably,” one of the team, David Kaiser from MIT, told Jennifer Chu at Phys.org.
Quantum principles and human bio system to enhance its abilities
Recent evidence suggests that a variety of organisms may harness some of the unique features of quantum mechanics to gain a biological advantage. These features go beyond trivial quantum effects and may include harnessing quantum coherence on physiologically important timescales.
Scientists Measure Single Quantum of Heat
IBM researchers have established experimental proof of a previously difficult-to-prove law of physics, and in so doing may have pointed to a way to overcome many of the heat management issues faced in today’s electronics. Researchers at IBM Zurich have been able to take measurements of the thermal conductance of metallic quantum point contacts made of gold. No big deal, you say? They conducted measurements at the single-atom level, at room temperature—the first time that’s ever been done.
These measurements confirm the Wiedemann–Franz law, which predicts that the smallest amount of heat that can be carried across a metallic junction — a single quantum of heat — is directly proportional to the quantum of electrical conductance through the same junction. By experimentally confirming this law, it can now be used with confidence to predict and to explore nanoscale thermal and electrical phenomena affecting materials down to the size of few atoms or a single molecule.
“Although the Wiedemann–Franz law is predicted, and should be valid for certain metals, it has turned out to be difficult to prove it when you go to the nanoscale,” explained Bernd Gotsmann, an IBM scientist and one of the lead researchers on this work, in an e-mail interview with IEEE Spectrum. “We think the difficulty is mainly a sign of the challenges related to the measurement of thermal transport on small scales.”
Quantum computing will revolutionize cancer research, says D-Wave co-founder Farris
It will and I know some folks are also applying Quantum properties to their bio-research to look at ways to tackle certain brain cancers via (you guessed it) Quantum Biology.
Quantum computing and machine learning will impact most all parts of human life, but one of the first and most compelling benefits we will see is in the field of cancer research, says one expert.
Zero and One Media’s Katya Pinkowski sat down with D-Wave co-founder Haig Farris recently to talk about the world-leading, Burnaby-based quantum computing company as it creeps closer to commercialization. Asked what areas of life quantum computing would impact, Farris said there really won’t be part of society that won’t be touched by it, but that one of the most noticeable out of the gate will be cancer research.
“Whether it’s brain research or cancer research, understanding and being able to model and learn from various ways you might design a drug to address a particular cancer this is going to be probably the most important application that you and I will benefit and notice,” said Farris.
