{"id":606,"date":"2025-04-01T06:23:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T06:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/606\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T06:23:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T06:23:10","slug":"study-finds-cells-may-compute-faster-than-todays-quantum-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/606\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Finds Cells May Compute Faster Than Today\u2019s Quantum Computers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Insider Brief<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A new study in Science Advances proposes that cells may process information using quantum mechanisms far faster than classical biochemical signaling.<\/li>\n<li>The research identifies superradiant quantum effects in protein structures containing tryptophan, enabling picosecond-scale information transfer in warm, biological environments.<\/li>\n<li>These findings suggest eukaryotic cells may perform quantum information processing with robustness and speed that rival current quantum error correction methods.<\/li>\n<li>Image: Quantum Biology Laboratory, Philip Kurian<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>PRESS RELEASE \u2014 More than 80 years ago, Erwin Schr\u00f6dinger, a theoretical physicist steeped in the philosophy of Schopenhauer and the Upanishads, delivered a series of public lectures at Trinity College, Dublin, which eventually came to be published in 1944 under the title\u00a0What is Life?<\/p>\n<p>Now, in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/quantum2025.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology<\/a>, Philip Kurian, a theoretical physicist and founding director of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantumbiolab.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Quantum Biology Laboratory<\/a>\u00a0(QBL) at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.howard.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Howard University<\/a>\u00a0in Washington, D.C., has used the laws of quantum mechanics, which Schr\u00f6dinger postulated, and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1042789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">QBL\u2019s discovery of cytoskeletal filaments exhibiting quantum optical features<\/a>, to set a drastically revised upper bound on the computational capacity of carbon-based life in the entire history of Earth. Published in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.adt4623\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science Advances<\/a>, Kurian\u2019s latest work conjectures a relationship between this information-processing limit and that of all matter in the observable universe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis work connects the dots among the great pillars of twentieth century physics\u2014thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum mechanics\u2014for a major paradigm shift across the biological sciences, investigating the feasibility and implications of quantum information processing in wetware at ambient temperatures,\u201d said Kurian. \u201cPhysicists and cosmologists should wrestle with these findings, especially as they consider the origins of life on Earth and elsewhere in the habitable universe, evolving in concert with the electromagnetic field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thequantuminsider.com\/data\/\" onclick=\"_gs(&#039;event&#039;, &#039;DATA IN CONTENT NEW&#039;)\" class=\"responsive-image\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"Responsive Image\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Banners_Quantum-800-x-80-px-Option-1b.gif\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Quantum Mechanics And Superradiance<\/p>\n<p>The effects of quantum mechanics\u2014the laws of physics that many scientists think apply at only small scales\u2014are sensitive to disturbances. This is why quantum computers must be held at temperatures colder than outer space, and only small objects, such as atoms and molecules, typically display quantum properties. By quantum standards, biological systems are quite hostile environments: they\u2019re warm and chaotic, and even their fundamental components\u2014such as cells\u2014are considered large.<\/p>\n<p>But Kurian\u2019s group\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1042789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">last year discovered a distinctly quantum effect in protein polymers<\/a>\u00a0in aqueous solution, which survives these challenging conditions at the micron scale, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1055890\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">may also present a way for the brain to protect itself from degenerative diseases<\/a>\u00a0like Alzheimer\u2019s and related dementias. Their results have suggested new applications and platforms for quantum computing researchers, and they represent a new way of thinking about the relationship between life and quantum mechanics.<\/p>\n<p>In his single-author\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.adt4623\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science Advances<\/a>\u00a0paper, Kurian considered a mere trifecta of overarching assumptions: standard quantum mechanics, the relativistic speed limit set by light, and a matter-dominated universe at critical mass-energy density. \u201cCombined with these rather innocuous premises, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1042789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">remarkable experimental confirmation of single-photon superradiance<\/a>\u00a0in a ubiquitous biological architecture at thermal equilibrium opens up many new lines of inquiry across quantum optics, quantum information theory, condensed matter physics, cosmology, and biophysics,\u201d said Professor Marco Pettini of Aix-Marseille University and the CNRS Center for Theoretical Physics (France), who was not associated with the work.<\/p>\n<p>Quantum Information Processing, Beyond Biochemical Signaling<\/p>\n<p>The key molecule enabling these remarkable properties is tryptophan, an amino acid found in many proteins that absorbs ultraviolet light and re-emits it at a longer wavelength. Large networks of tryptophan form in microtubules, amyloid fibrils, transmembrane receptors, viral capsids, cilia, centrioles, neurons, and other cellular complexes. The QBL\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1042789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">confirmation of quantum superradiance in cytoskeletal filaments<\/a>\u00a0has the profound consequence that all eukaryotic organisms can use these quantum signals to process information.<\/p>\n<p>To break down food, cells undergoing aerobic respiration use oxygen and generate free radicals, which can emit damaging, high-energy UV light particles. Tryptophan can absorb this ultraviolet light and re-emit it at a lower energy. And, as the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1042789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">QBL study<\/a>\u00a0found, very large tryptophan networks can do this even more efficiently and robustly because of their powerful quantum effects.<\/p>\n<p>The standard model for biochemical signaling involves ions moving across cells or membranes, generating spikes in an electrochemical process that takes a few milliseconds for each signal. But neuroscience and other biological researchers have only recently become aware that this isn\u2019t the whole story. Superradiance in these cytoskeletal filaments happens in about a picosecond\u2014a millionth of a microsecond. Their tryptophan networks could be functioning as quantum fiber optics that allow eukaryotic cells to process information billions of times faster than chemical processes alone would allow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe implications of Kurian\u2019s insights are staggering,\u201d said Professor Majed Chergui of the \u00c9cole Polytechnique F\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne (Switzerland) and Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste (Italy), who supported the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1042789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2024 experimental study<\/a>. \u201cQuantum biology\u2014in particular our observations of superradiant signatures from standard protein spectroscopy methods, guided by his theory\u2014has the potential to open new vistas for understanding the evolution of living systems, in light of photophysics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aneaural Life And Planetary Computing Capacity<\/p>\n<p>By thinking of biological information processing primarily at the level of the neuron, many scientists overlook the fact that aneural organisms\u2014including bacteria, fungi, and plants, which form the bulk of Earth\u2019s biomass\u2014perform sophisticated computations. And as these organisms have been on our planet for much longer than animals, they constitute the vast majority of Earth\u2019s carbon-based computation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are signatures in the interstellar media and on interplanetary asteroids of similar quantum emitters, which may be precursors to eukaryotic life\u2019s computational advantage,\u201d said Dante Lauretta, professor of planetary science and cosmochemistry at the University of Arizona and director of the Arizona Astrobiology Center, who was not associated with the work. \u201cKurian\u2019s predictions provide quantitative bounds, beyond the colloquial Drake equation, on how superradiant living systems enhance planetary computing capacity. The remarkable properties of this signaling and information-processing modality could be a game-changer in the study of habitable exoplanets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Performance Comparisons With Quantum Computers<\/p>\n<p>This latest analysis has likewise drawn the attention of researchers in quantum computing, because the survival of fragile quantum effects in a \u201cnoisy\u201d environment is of great interest to those who want to make quantum information technology more resilient. Kurian has had conversations with several quantum computing researchers who were surprised to find such connections in the biological sciences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese new performance comparisons will be of interest to the large community of researchers in open quantum systems and quantum technology,\u201d said Professor Nicol\u00f2 Defenu of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich in Switzerland, a quantum researcher who was not associated with the work. \u201cIt\u2019s really intriguing to see a vital and growing connection between quantum technology and living systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.adt4623\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science Advances<\/a>\u00a0article, Kurian explains and revisits foundational quantum properties and thermodynamic considerations, from a long line of physicists who made clear the essential link between physics and information. With his group\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1042789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">discovery of UV-excited qubits in biological fibers<\/a>, almost all life on Earth has the physical capacity to compute with controllable quantum degrees of freedom, allowing storage and manipulation of quantum information with error correction cycles far outpacing the latest lattice-based surface codes. \u201cAnd all this in a warm soup! The quantum computing world should take serious notice,\u201d Kurian said.<\/p>\n<p>The work also piqued the attention of quantum physicist Seth Lloyd, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and a pioneer in the study of quantum computing and the computational capacity of the universe. \u201cI applaud Dr. Kurian\u2019s bold and imaginative efforts to apply the fundamental physics of computation to the total amount of information processing performed by living systems over the course of life on Earth. It\u2019s good to be reminded that the computation performed by living systems is vastly more powerful than that performed by artificial ones,\u201d Lloyd said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the era of artificial intelligences and quantum computers, it is important to remember that physical laws restrict all their behaviors,\u201d Kurian said. \u201cAnd yet, though these stringent physical limits also apply to life\u2019s ability to track, observe, know, and simulate parts of the universe, we can still explore and make sense of the brilliant order within it, as the cosmic story unfolds. It\u2019s awe-inspiring that we get to play such a role.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Insider Brief A new study in Science Advances proposes that cells may process information using quantum mechanisms far&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[482,483,484,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-howard-university","9":"tag-quantum-biology","10":"tag-quantum-biology-laboratory","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114261275981588761","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}