“Quantum Biology”: How nature might be optimized to harness quantum mechanics

Clarice D. Aiello examines evidence that quantum effects influence biological function, including magnetic sensing used in animal navigation, cellular metabolism and enzyme activity, and the capture of light energy in photosynthesis. The talk reviews proposed biophysical mechanisms and their implications for human, plant and environmental biology, while considering the difficulty of connecting observations from nanometre scales to whole organisms. A central question is whether quantum mechanics can be established or ruled out as the explanation for physiologically relevant effects, and whether those effects can be controlled for useful applications. Potential directions include biomimetic electromagnetic probes, quantum-computing architectures that operate at room temperature, improved solar-energy devices and new therapies. Progress will require work across disciplines and scales, with theory and experiment developed together.