2019-11-11, 02:08 PM
A natural biomolecule has been measured acting like a quantum wave for the 1st time
Quote:Physicists have watched a chain of 15 amino acids interfere with itself, in an experiment that paves the way for a new era of quantum biology.
Quote:“The molecular coherence is delocalized over more than 20 times the molecular size,” say Shayeghi and co. This kind of “smearing“ of the biomolecules would be impossible if the gramicidin molecules were pure particles. It is possible only with wavelike interference.
Other researchers have measured wave-particle duality for larger molecules. But they have used techniques that would tear apart the delicate molecules of life. The new technique will allow more detailed study of the quantum properties of biomolecules.
“The successful realization of quantum optics with this polypeptide as a prototypical biomolecule paves the way for quantum assisted molecule metrology and in particular the optical spectroscopy of a large class of biologically relevant molecules,” say the researchers.
That’s interesting research with significant potential to help to tease apart the fabulously complex processes at work in the machinery of life.