TITLE:
Quantum process in living cells
AUTHORS:
Robert W. Finkel
KEYWORDS:
Cooperative Process; Kleiber Law; Smallest Cell Size; Ultrafast Energy Transfer; Water Dimer
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.4 No.4,
April
19,
2013
ABSTRACT: Coherent quantum effects have been confirmed for several
biological processes. These processes exist in the environment of a warm wet cell
where decoherence can be a serious concern. Here we propose a mechanism whereby
quantum coherence may extend through the water matrix of a cell. The model is based on coherent waves of established ultrafast energy
transfers in water. Computations based on the model are found to agree
with several experimental results and numerical and descriptive predictions are
presented. We compute wave speed, ~156 km/s,
and wavelength, ~9.3 nm, and determine that these waves retain local coherence. Close agreements are found for the
dipole moment of water dimers, results of microwave radiation on yeast, and the
Kleiber law of metabolic rates. The theory requires that a spherical cell must have
a minimum diameter of ~20 nm to accommodate a standing energy wave.
The quantum properties of the modelsuggest that cellular chemistry favors reactions that support perpetuation of the
energy waves.