Quantum fluctuations and life

Paul C. W. Davies

doi:10.1117/12.561309

25 May 2004 Quantum fluctuations and life

Paul C. W. Davies

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5472, Noise and Information in Nanoelectronics, Sensors, and Standards II; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.561309
Event: Second International Symposium on Fluctuations and Noise, 2004, Maspalomas, Gran Canaria Island, Spain

Abstract

There have been many claims that quantum mechanics plays a key role in the origin and/or operation of biological organisms, beyond merely providing the basis for the shapes and sizes of biological molecules and their chemical affinities. These range from Schroedinger's suggestion that quantum fluctuations produce mutations, to Hameroff and Penrose's conjecture that quantum coherence in microtubules is linked to consciousness. I review some of these claims in this paper, and discuss the serious problem of decoherence. I advance some further conjectures about quantum information processing in bio-systems. Some possible experiments are suggested.

Citation Download Citation

Paul C. W. Davies "Quantum fluctuations and life", Proc. SPIE 5472, Noise and Information in Nanoelectronics, Sensors, and Standards II, (25 May 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.561309

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