Quantum biology is, according to some experts, a recent and increasingly popular scientific discipline. But the founders of the world's first quantum biology doctoral training center point out that it is not as new as many believe, with a complicated and somewhat dark history.
In an article published in the Royal Society, Proceedings A, two scientists from the University of Surrey, Johnjoe McFadden and Jim Al-Khalili , trace the origins of quantum biology back to the late 1920s when Danish physicist Niels Bohr, gave a lecture in which he speculated on whether the (then new) atomic theory could help solve the mystery of life.
McFadden and Al-Khalili examine nearly 100 years of pioneering and unlikely questions about the relationship between the world of quantum physics and the field of biology.
Quantum biology seeks to understand whether quantum mechanics plays a role in biological processes. Recent research discusses about it in phenomena such as photosynthesis , respiration , the orientation of birds , even the way we think , it has some influence from quantum mechanics.
Earlier this year, Professors McFadden and Al-Khalili opened the doors of their new Center for Doctoral Training in Quantum Biology. The center seeks to train a new generation of scientists who can operate across the boundaries of biology, chemistry and quantum physics to advance research in quantum biology.
"Quantum biology - explains McFadden in a statement - is mistakenly considered a very new scientific discipline, when in fact it began before World War II. Back then, a few quantum physicists tried to understand what was special about life and whether quantum mechanics could be linked to it. In this document we tell the story of how it all started and why it is now coming back. "