Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

05:30
Large Scale Energy Efficient Sensor Network Routing Using a Quantum Processor Unit
Published on: September 8, 2023
Towards quantum simulations of biological information flow
Ross Dorner1, John Goold, Vlatko Vedral
1Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK ; Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Interface Focus
|August 7, 2013
Summary
Quantum coherence may play a role in biological energy transport. This study proposes an analogue quantum simulator to investigate quantum effects in biological systems, offering insights into quantum transport models.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Biology
- Spectroscopy of Biomolecules
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Recent spectroscopy advances suggest quantum coherence in biomolecular energy transport.
- The survival of quantum coherence in biological environments sparks debate.
- The extent and advantage of non-trivial quantum effects in biology are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of quantum coherence in biological energy and electron transport.
- To explore the validity of theoretical models for biological quantum transport.
- To utilize an analogue quantum simulator for studying quantum effects in biological systems.
Main Methods:
- Proposing an analogue quantum simulator using ultra-cold atom physics techniques.
- Simulating energy and electron transport based on the Holstein Hamiltonian.
- Employing a tunable laboratory setup to model biological system aspects.
Main Results:
- The study aims to provide insights into biological quantum transport models.
- It will explore various relevant parameter regimes for quantum transport.
- The results will help clarify the role and advantages of quantum effects in biology.
Conclusions:
- Analogue quantum simulation offers a novel approach to studying biological quantum transport.
- This research can bridge the gap between physics and biology in understanding quantum effects.
- The findings will contribute to validating theoretical models and understanding biological energy transfer mechanisms.
Related Concept Videos
Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary science that involves using principles from disciplines such as engineering, molecular biology, cell biology, and systems biology. It involves remodeling existing organisms from nature or constructing completely new synthetic organisms for applications such as protein or enzyme production, bioremediation, value-added macromolecule production, and the addition of desirable traits to crops, to name a few.
Golden rice
Golden rice is a genetically modified...
Golden rice
Golden rice is a genetically modified...
The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
Shortly after de Broglie published his ideas that the electron in a hydrogen atom could be better thought of as being a circular standing wave instead of a particle moving in quantized circular orbits, Erwin Schrödinger extended de Broglie’s work by deriving what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. When Schrödinger applied his equation to hydrogen-like atoms, he was able to reproduce Bohr’s expression for the energy and, thus, the Rydberg formula governing hydrogen spectra. Schrödinger...
Non-equilibrium in the Cell
An important concept in studying metabolism and energy is that of chemical equilibrium. Most chemical reactions are reversible. They can proceed in both directions, releasing energy into their environment in one direction, and absorbing it from the environment in the other direction. The same is true for the chemical reactions involved in cell metabolism, such as the breaking down and building up of proteins into and from individual amino acids, respectively. Reactants within a closed system...
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Different fluorescence-based techniques are used to study the protein dynamics in living cells. These techniques include FRAP, FRET, and PET.
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Maxam-Gilbert Sequencing
In the same year as the discovery of the Sanger sequencing method, another group of scientists, Allan Maxam and Walter Gilbert, demonstrated their chemical-cleavage method for DNA sequencing. The Maxam-Gilbert method relies on using different chemicals that can cleave the DNA sequence at specific sites, the separation of resulting DNA fragments of variable size using electrophoresis, and deciphering the DNA sequence from the resulting gel bands.
Challenges of the Maxam-Gilbert Method
The...
Challenges of the Maxam-Gilbert Method
The...