What is quantum biology?
Quantum biology in a nutshell
Traditionally, quantum principles have been applied to physics and environments that are not warm and wet, i.e. the human body. Today, the emerging field of quantum biology explores the mechanisms and phenomenon of non-trivial quantum effects in living cells (i.e. quantum tunneling, quantum coherence, quantum entanglement, etc.). These phenomena occur at the subatomic level (protons, electrons, neutrons) and perhaps even smaller subatomic units.
I believe quantum biology opens up new possibilities for understanding human biology, healing, and cell-to-cell communication, and more efficiently in a more efficient way than creating ATP in our mitochondria. Moreover, I think quantum biology is a microcosmic representation of the Hermetic saying, “As above, so below.” More on that later.
History of quantum biology
Before we explore the main principles of quantum biology, I think providing some historical context is important. Let’s go way back to René Descartes´ Discourse on the Method from 1637 that first discussed how the human body functions like a machine with separate working parts, a concept that has been widely criticized by Dr. Rupert Sheldrake (read The Science of Delusion) and others, yet it’s how most molecular biologists work. Contrary to this theory were the Vitalists who believed that humans had some inner spark that’s governed by some unknown law in nature. Keep this concept in mind for later on.
Then we come to the development of early physics with Sir Isaac Newton who developed his laws of motion in 1687. Then in 1850 Rudolf Clausius created the law of thermodynamics, which describes how heat, energy, and entropy (degree of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty in a system) characterize thermodynamic systems.
These are important to understand because quantum biology spins these laws of physics on its head. For example, according to the first law of thermodynamics, energy that enters into or out of a system (heat, work, matter) causes the system's internal energy to change in agreement with the law of conservation of energy (i.e. energy in = energy out). In the context of human biology, calories and metabolism have been applied to this first law, although this line of thinking is largely flawed. According to this concept, a person’s body mass stays constant when caloric intake (i.e. energy input) equals caloric expenditure (i.e. calorie burning). So eating increases the amount of energy we have by changing the chemical potential energy in our bodies (i.e. increasing ATP and heat production in our body).
Quantum physics emerged in the 1920s, followed by quantum biology in the 1930s. Quantum physics led to discoveries in organic chemistry, and then molecular biology. In 1953, biologists James Watson and Francis Crick “discovered” DNA’s double-helical structure, which led to a compartmentalized biological view of human health and biology and put quantum physics to the wayside. Geneticists and molecular biologists didn’t feel there was a need to look into the potential existence of quantum mechanics in biology.
It wasn’t until the past 15–20 years that progress has been made in the field thanks to improved experiments. Scientists have now confirmed quantum physics principles in living organisms. Quantum biologists believe that some physical phenomena are not fully understood according to the laws of classic physics, as discussed in Schrödinger book What is Life. What’s talked about less is that quantum biology also explored psychic phenomena and consciousness, which likely depends on quantum entanglement. As we will now see, energy production, photosynthesis, vision, and circadian rhythm regulation all depend on quantum principles.
Quantum biology principals
Quantum tunneling
Quantum tunneling is when a particle, like an electron or proton, can penetrate a barrier without enough energy according to classical mechanics. This occurs with DNA mutations, enzymatic reactions, cellular respiration (in the mitochondria), photosynthesis, and with ferritin in our bodies.
Quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement is when aspects of one particle of an entangled pair depend on aspects of the other particle, no matter their distance or what lies between them.
The most studied occurrence of quantum entanglement in living organisms is magnetoreception. Animals like the robin that can find its way home with the help of the Earth’s magnetic field and the cryptochrome found in its retina.
Basically, all organisms are intimately connected to their environment, which is an example of quantum entanglement. Something that occurs in our environment will ultimately affect us. As I mentioned previously, quantum entanglement is believed to be involved in psychic phenomena and consciousness.
Quantum coherence
It’s the idea of quantum entities multi-tasking where it can follow multiple pathways at the same time. This concept is beautifully described in the book “The Rainbow and the Worm.” It can be observed in heart rate variability, brain waves, and how well all the parts of our body is intimately connected to each other. Therefore, this idea goes directly against Descarts’ mechanical view of the human body.
What does this mean for classical biology?
Therefore, we need to re-think what we know about biology and molecular biology. Matter and light have what's called wave-particle duality meaning they can act as both particles and as waves. The lock-in-key concept of how cell-to-cell communication occurs like with cellular receptors is inaccurate. In reality, the communication that happens within our bodies is coordinated electrical flow within our cells and atoms that regulates our biology-- particularly how excited the electrons in our atoms are.
Biology cannot completely follow the laws of thermodynamics, otherwise we would heat up tremendously to make the amount of energy needed to survive. Instead, specific light-absorbing pigments precisely catch excited electrons, which creates energy without overheating the body.
The more coherent the electrical flow of energy is, the healthier our bodies are. Importantly, most of the energy to catalyze reactions in our body comes from quantum tunneling. We simply don't produce enough ATP to account for all the enzymatic reactions that occur. In a way, we are walking semiconductors with a coherent electrodynamical field that's constantly vibrating. The electricity in our bodies controls everything from cell communication to wound healing and limb regeneration. This is what Mae Wan-Ho calls quantum jazz in her book, "The Rainbow and the Worm". For example, the coherence of our energy (rhythmic vibrations) controls our heartbeat which consequently affects our brain, hormones, and nervous and immune systems. A lot of what regulates this coherence is light.
Lastly, our cells are not how they're described in biology books-- organelles floating around in a liquid sac bound by a membrane. Instead, our cells are in what's called a "solid-state" in which the whole cell is a tightly packed, interconnected system that contains a lattice work of proteins that allows for these electrical vibrations to communicate with other parts of the cells and even cells from other parts of the body in a fast and coordinated way. The solid-state nature of cells enable it to be mechanically and electrically connected, and all our cells in our body are interconnected to one another by connective tissue, which is an extracellular matrix. Basically, it allows for electricity and therefore cellular communication to happen instantaneously, which allows for cells to enable the electromechanical continuum within us. The connective tissues (skin, bones, cartilage, tendons, fascia, etc) are liquid crystalline in nature (James Oschman, Energy Medicine book). So we are not separate pieces put together in a meat suit, but rather an integrated, interconnected whole. Below are the most studied quantum biology concepts, but certainly not the only ones.
As above, so below
At a basic level, we are made up of the same elements as the cosmos, mainly hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Here are some more examples of how human biology is a microcosm of the macrocosm:
Humans have evolved with the cycles of the sun, otherwise called our circadian rhythm.
The cosmos is made up of ether, just like our bodies, and that’s how information travels. I know this sounds “woo woo”, but there is a science behind this statement. The quantum properties of the crystalline water in our bodies, especially inside our mitochondria, cells, and fascia, has similar properties to the plasma of the cosmic ether so that energy can flow and to explain electric and magnetic phenomena within ether and to understand that light is an electromagnetic wave.
Sunlight is the main source of energy on this planet and powers all life on Earth. The human body is filled with photoreceptors in our skin, eyes, mitochondria, and microbes that carryout aspects of the photoelectric effect, which was developed by quantum mechanics. More on this topic in another blog post.
Quantum tunneling occurs inside our cells, like with enzymes and DNA mutations.
We are intimately connected to our environment, and react to stimulus and the state of our environment, (this is called resonance in quantum physics). Read Mae-Ho Wan’s book The Rainbow and the Worm an in-depth explanation on this topic.
Why I use quantum biology concepts in my work
You don’t have to be a nuclear physicist or have a PhD to understand the basic concepts of quantum biology. For me, quantum biology serves as a framework to get back to the patterns and intelligence of nature that is reflected in our own bodies. It also allows me to get back in touch with the wisdom of nature and getting back to the most basic units of life and energy.
My experience working in the health and wellness and medical writing fields has showed me that nutrition and health advice have become too polarized and myopic. To be completely honest, nutrition and exercise can take your health only so far. That’s not to say they aren’t useful and often necessary tools, BUT they aren’t the whole picture when it comes to health. If I were to create a pyramid of health, nutrition and exercise would not be at the base.
I firmly believe that human science and health have become too compartmentalized. Human bodies are often viewed as machines with separate working parts that happen to be placed within the same organism. Scientists are also fall into the same research trend trap— The Human Genome project in the early 2000s led researchers to obsess over our 20,000 genes, (although the human population has more chronic conditions than ever). This led to a new obsession over pathways, cell receptors, and metabolites. Again, they were not focusing on the whole resonant, functioning of the whole organism but rather a tiny aspect of the overall “machine”. Then, human microbiome research has exploded over the past two decades (I know, I am one of those “researchers”, yet my approach to how the gut microbiome affects human health is widely different from most).
I hope biology is moving in the direction of realizing that humans, and most living organisms for that matter, are true light beings. And once we understand that our genes, diet, and cholesterol levels don’t matter nearly as much as our external and internal light environments do, will be freed from the shackles of compartmentalized biology.
Recommended reading
The Rainbow and the Worm, 3rd Ed., Mae-Ho Wan
Living Rainbow H2O, Mae-Ho Wan
The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life, Dr. Robert Becker
Light Shaping Life: Biophotons in Biology and Health, Dr. Roeland van Wijk
Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis, 2nd Ed., James Oschman
Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology, Jim Al-Khalili and Johnjoe McFadden
Light Medicine of the Future, Dr. Jacob Lieberman
