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According to a new study by American physicist Philippe Kurian of Quantum Biology Laboratory at Howard University in Washington, D.C., living cells are able to process information at the quantum level.
According to estimates Kuriana, living cells have performed about 10 billion times over the 4.5 billion years of Earth’s existence60 elementary logical operations. The scientist claims that his work ties together the key principles of thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum physics.
Last year Kurian and his colleagues published data showing that cytoskeletal protein filaments demonstrate superradiation — a quantum phenomenon during which cells behave as a single unit. This allows energy to move through large groups of molecules at incredible speeds.
Scientists have been studying the amino acid tryptophan, which is capable of absorbing ultraviolet light and emitting it in longer wavelengths. Tryptophan is found in sufficient quantities in the cells of living organisms, in structures such as microtubules, receptors, and axons.
Cells in a super-excited state in tryptophan-rich fibers are able to process information at a rate of about 10 trillion operations per second. This is more than 1 billion times faster than traditional neural computing models.
«Quantum biology — in particular, our observations of super-emitting signatures using standard protein spectroscopy techniques based on this theory — may open new horizons for understanding the evolution of living systems», — explains the co-author of the 2024 study physicist Majed Cherghi.
The most controversial idea proposed by the Philip Kurian, argues that biological computation is not only performed by neurons. For many decades, neuroscientists have modeled an understanding of these complex processes in living organisms by relying on neurons as key information processing units. However, such models do not include life forms that do not have a nervous system, such as bacteria, fungi, and plants.
According to Kurian, it is these aneurysmal organisms can actually perform most of the biological computations. The scientist explains that the cells of these organisms also contain superemitting fibers capable of transmitting quantum signals.
For comparison, Kurian also gives an estimate of all logical operations performed in the universe, which is equal to 10120. This implies, that the number of all logical operations performed on Earth can be equal to the square root of all computations in the universe.
«Kurian’s predictions provide quantitative limits beyond the conventional Drake equation on how super-emitting living systems enhance the computational power of planets», — notes planetary scientist at the University of Arizona Dante Lauretta.
Kurian’s research has attracted the attention of physicists and specialists working on advanced technologies quantum computing. According to the scientist’s calculations, Biological systems already perform quantum computing with error correction rates and energy efficiency that surpass even the best artificial systems.
It would seem that biological systems should not be suitable for quantum computing because of their relatively high temperature and chaotic nature. In addition, cells themselves seem to be large compared to structures at the level of atoms. However, Kurian’s theory suggests that certain biological structures can naturally shield and stabilize quantum states.
Superradiation in cytoskeletal filaments occurs in about a picosecond tryptophan networks can function as quantum fiber optics, allowing eukaryotic cells to process information billions of times faster than using chemical processes alone.
Tryptophan and similar molecules have been discovered in interstellar space. Some astrochemists believe that they may be precursors of life. If super-radiative quantum signaling is a fundamental property of these structures, Kurian’s ideas could influence the way we search for life on other planets. He suggests that life — is not just a random process occurring in the universe, but rather an information processing phenomenon inextricably linked to the physical laws of the universe.
The results of the study are published in the journal Science Advances
Source: ZMEScience
