Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology

334 Pages·2015·7.01 MB·English

by  Johnjoe McFadden

ALSO BY JOHNJOE MCFADDEN
Quantum Evolution
Human Nature: Fact and Fiction
ALSO BY JIM AL-KHALILI
Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines
Nucleus: A Trip into the Heart of Matter
Paradox: The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Science

Copyright © 2014 by Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
CROWN is a registered trademark and the Crown colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
Originally published in hardcover in Great Britain as Life on the Edge by Bantam Press, an imprint of
Transworld Publishers, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., in 2014.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 9780307986818
eBook ISBN 9780307986832
Illustrations by HL Studios
Cover design by Na Kim
v3.1
For
Penny and Ollie
Julie, David and Kate
Contents Cover
Other Books by These Authors
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
2 What is life?
3 The engines of life
4 The quantum beat
5 Finding Nemo’s home
6 The butterfly, the fruit fly and the quantum robin
7 Quantum genes
8 Mind
9 How life began
10 Quantum biology: life on the edge of a storm
Epilogue: quantum life
Notes
Index
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
THIS BOOK has been three years in the writing, although the authors have
collaborated on research in this exciting new field, which brings quantum physics,
biochemistry and biology together, for almost two decades. But when it comes to
such a cross-disciplinary area of science as quantum biology, it is impossible ever
to become expert enough to explain in sufficient depth and with sufficient
confidence all the science that is needed to paint the full picture—particularly
when it comes to writing the first ever book on the subject for a lay audience.
It is certainly true that neither of the authors could have written this book
alone, since we each bring our own expertise from the worlds of physics and
biology, respectively, to the table. It is even truer that we would not have been able
to produce a book that we are both immensely proud of without the help and
advice of many people, most of whom are world leaders in their areas of research.
We are grateful to Paul Davies for many fruitful discussions he has had with
both of us over the past fifteen years about quantum mechanics and its potential
relevance in biology. We are also indebted to the many physicists, chemists and
biologists now making great strides in this new field whose expertise and deep
knowledge of their specialist areas we did not, and do not, have. In particular, we
are indebted to Jennifer Brookes, Gregory Engel, Adam Godbeer, Seth Lloyd,
Alexandra Olaya-Castro, Martin Plenio, Sandu Popescu, Thorsten Ritz, Gregory
Scholes, Nigel Scrutton, Paul Stevenson, Luca Turin and Vlatko Vedral. We also
wish to thank Mirela Dumic, the coordinator of the University of Surrey’s
Institute of Advanced Studies, who almost single-handedly put together our highly
successful international workshop, “Quantum Biology: Current Status and
Opportunities,” at Surrey in 2012, which was jointly funded by the IAS, BBSRC
(Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) and MILES (Models
and Mathematics in Life and Social Sciences) project. This workshop brought
together many of the leading figures—this is still an emerging field and the number
working in it is relatively small—currently involved in quantum biology research
from around the world and helped us feel as though we were truly part of this
exciting research community.
Once the book was in draft form, we asked several of those colleagues listed
above to read through it and give us their opinions. We are thus especially grateful
to Martin Plenio, Jennifer Brookes, Alexandra Olaya-Castro, Gregory Scholes,
Nigel Scrutton and Luca Turin. We would also like to thank Philip Ball, Pete
Downes and Greg Knowles for reading through some or all of the final draft and
providing so many insightful and useful comments that have improved the book
tremendously. A big thank-you goes to our agent, Patrick Walsh, without whom
the book would not have got off the ground, and to Sally Gaminara at Random
House, for her faith in us and for being so excited about the project. An even
bigger thank-you has to go to Patrick and to Carrie Plitt at Conville & Walsh, for
their advice and suggestions about the book’s structure and format, and in helping
to mold it into a final version that is light years away from its initial clunky state.
We are also indebted to Gillian Somerscales for her editorial brilliance.
Last, but by no means least, we wish to thank our families for their unstinting
support, particularly during those periods when we were facing self-and publisher-
imposed deadlines, which meant putting all other commitments to one side and
shutting ourselves away with our laptops. We have lost count of the evenings,
weekends and family vacations during which quantum biology has had to come
first. We hope the book has been worth it.
For both for us, and for the new field of quantum biology, we hope that journey
has only just begun.
Jim Al-Khalili and Johnjoe McFadden
August 2014
1
Introduction
THE WINTER frost has arrived early this year in Europe and there is a penetrating
chill in the evening air. Buried deep within a young robin’s mind, a once vague
sense of purpose and resolve grows stronger.
The bird has spent the past few weeks devouring far more than her normal
intake of insects, spiders, worms and berries and is now almost double the weight
that she was when her brood flew the nest back in August. This extra bulk is
mostly fat reserves, which she will require as fuel for the arduous journey upon
which she is about to embark.
This will be her first migration away from the spruce forest in central Sweden
where she has lived for the duration of her short life and where she reared her
young chicks just a few months ago. Luckily for her, the previous winter was not
too harsh, for a year ago she was not yet fully grown and therefore not strong
enough to undertake such a long journey. But now, with her parental
responsibilities discharged until next spring, she has only herself to think about,
and she is ready to escape the coming winter by heading south to seek a warmer
climate.
It is a couple of hours after sunset. Rather than settle for the night, she hops in
the gathering gloom to the tip of a branch near the base of the huge tree that she
has made her home since the spring. She gives herself a quick shake, much like a
marathon runner loosening up her muscles before a race. Her orange breast
glistens in the moonlight. The painstaking effort and care she invested in building
her nest—just a few feet away, partially hidden against the moss-covered bark of the
tree trunk—is now a dim memory.
She is not the only bird preparing to depart, for other robins—both male and
female—have also decided that this is the right night to begin their long migration
south. In the trees all around her she hears loud, shrill singing that drowns out the
usual sounds of other nocturnal woodland creatures. It is as though the birds feel
compelled to announce their departure, sending out a message to the other forest
inhabitants that they should think twice before contemplating invading the birds’
territory and empty nests while they are gone. For these robins most certainly plan
to be back in the spring.