Quantum Aspects of Life

Articles and debates on quantum theory and life, circa 2003-2004

978-1848162532

Quantum Aspects of Life, a book published in 2008 with a foreword by Roger Penrose, explores the open question of the role of quantum mechanics at molecular scales of relevance to biology. The book contains chapters written by various world-experts from a 2003 symposium and includes two debates from 2003 to 2004; giving rise to a mix of both sceptical and sympathetic viewpoints. The book addresses questions of quantum physics, biophysics, nanoscience, quantum chemistry, mathematical biology, complexity theory, and philosophy that are inspired by the 1944 seminal book What Is Life? by Erwin Schrödinger.

Foreword by Roger Penrose

Section 1: Emergence and Complexity

Chapter 1: "A Quantum Origin of Life?" by Paul C. W. Davies
Chapter 2: "Quantum Mechanics and Emergence" by Seth Lloyd

Section 2: Quantum Mechanisms in Biology

Chapter 3: "Quantum Coherence and the Search for the First Replicator" by Jim Al-Khalili and Johnjoe McFadden
Chapter 4: "Ultrafast Quantum Dynamics in Photosynthesis" by Alexandra Olaya-Castro, Francesca Fassioli Olsen, Chiu Fan Lee, and Neil F. Johnson
Chapter 5: "Modeling Quantum Decoherence in Biomolecules" by Jacques Bothma, Joel Gilmore, and Ross H. McKenzie

Section 3: The Biological Evidence

Chapter 6: "Molecular Evolution: A Role for Quantum Mechanics in the Dynamics of Molecular Machines that Read and Write DNA" by Anita Goel
Chapter 7: "Memory Depends on the Cytoskeleton, but is it Quantum?" by Andreas Mershin and Dimitri V. Nanopoulos
Chapter 8: "Quantum Metabolism and Allometric Scaling Relations in Biology" by Lloyd Demetrius
Chapter 9: "Spectroscopy of the Genetic Code" by Jim D. Bashford and Peter D. Jarvis
Chapter 10: "Towards Understanding the Origin of Genetic Languages" by Apoorva D. Patel

Section 4: Artificial Quantum Life

Chapter 11: "Can Arbitrary Quantum Systems Undergo Self-Replication?" by Arun K. Pati and Samuel L. Braunstein
Chapter 12: "A Semi-Quantum Version of the Game of Life" by Adrian P. Flitney and Derek Abbott
Chapter 13: "Evolutionary Stability in Quantum Games" by Azhar Iqbal and Taksu Cheon
Chapter 14: "Quantum Transmemetic Intelligence" by Edward W. Piotrowski and Jan Sładkowski

Section 5: The Debate

Chapter 15: "Dreams versus Reality: Plenary Debate Session on Quantum Computing" For panel: Carlton M. Caves, Daniel Lidar, Howard Brandt, Alexander R. Hamilton; Against panel: David K. Ferry, Julio Gea-Banacloche, Sergey M. Bezrukov, Laszlo B. Kish; Debate chair: Charles R. Doering; Transcript Editor: Derek Abbott.
Chapter 16: "Plenary Debate: Quantum Effects in Biology: Trivial or Not?" For panel: Paul C. W. Davies, Stuart Hameroff, Anton Zeilinger, Derek Abbott; Against panel: Jens Eisert, Howard M. Wiseman, Sergey M. Bezrukov, Hans Frauenfelder; Debate chair: Julio Gea-Banacloche; Transcript Editor: Derek Abbott.
Chapter 17: "Non-trivial Quantum Effects in Biology: A Skeptical Physicist’s View" Howard M. Wiseman and Jens Eisert
Chapter 18: "That’s Life! — The Geometry of π Electron Clouds" Stuart Hameroff

References

Kibble, Tom (December 2010). "Book Review: 'Quantum Aspects of Life' Edited by Derek Abbott, Paul C. W. Davies and Arun K. Pati". International Journal of Quantum Information. 08 (8): 1427–1432. doi:10.1142/S0219749910006939.
McClintock, Peter V.E. (January 2011). "Quantum aspects of life". Contemporary Physics. 52 (1): 71–73. Bibcode:2011ConPh..52...71M. doi:10.1080/00107514.2010.524806. S2CID 29174319.
Rinaldi, Andrea (January 2012). "When life gets physical: Quantum effects in selected biological systems have been confirmed experimentally, but how widespread is their role remains unclear". EMBO Reports. 13 (1): 24–27. doi:10.1038/embor.2011.236. PMC 3246260. PMID 22173031.