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Energy, information and light

This page provides online resources relating to Chapter 8 of Quantum Biology: A Glimpse into the Future of Medicine. Read a chapter extract, or scroll down to access figures and terminology, additional resources published by The Guy Foundation, and a list of further reading.

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In the old days, if you wanted to know whether you were being fired at by a cannon, you’d look for the flash. You didn’t listen for the sound because the sound would arrive at the same time as the cannonball, and it was too late by then. We think the little flash of a biophoton may well be part of a signalling system. Even if it is a by-product, that by-product is still being utilised. It would be very unusual to conclude that something which has survived billions of years of evolution isn’t being utilised in some way.

We think a biophoton can take both energy and information with it. When it impacts on a target atom, it will alter the excitation state of that target. An electron will jump from its original location to an orbit with higher energy that is further away from the nucleus of the atom. That’s part of the reason why holding a copper rod in a flame turns the flame from yellow to green. But that biophoton is also carrying information.

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The term synchrony is used in different branches of science, from mathematics to oceanography, to describe the way in which two or more things happen at the same time or speed. It may be a pattern such as tidal rhythm, animal mating behaviour or a group of musicians playing together. It can also refer to the precise moment in time an event takes place, such as two photons arriving together at the same point.

2022 Autumn Series Proceedings

Quantum mitochondria: energy, information and implications for health and disease

December 2022

The Guy Foundation online symposia have explored topics ranging from the fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics to their application in new therapeutics. A consistent theme has been the importance of mitochondria in almost every context and with this in mind, mitochondria form our focus for the 2022 Autumn Series. We explore how they respond to different conditions, how they have optimised their function with respect to Earth’s specific magnetic and gravitational field and consider the implications for health and disease.

Find out more, or read the proceedings here.

2019 Autumn Colloquium Proceedings

What biophotonics can tell us about the bioquantome

June 2020

In October 2019, The Guy Foundation held its inaugural scientific meeting in Dorset, UK. The meeting considered two key principles about life: it is both affected by, and generates, photons and electromagnetic fields. The diverse speakers highlight the Foundation’s aim to bring together scientists from different backgrounds but who have common interests to provide a forum for inter-disciplinary discussion on quantum biology and bioenergetics. The proceedings include the following papers: ‘Photonic resonance in the “mitocytosome”’ by Philip Kurian, ‘Optimal health: from quantum bioenergetics to body fat’ by Jimmy Bell, ‘F1Fo ATP synthase rotary mechanisms’ by Wayne Frasch and ‘The quantum beat of life & the amplification of a principle’ by Alistair Nunn.

Read the proceedings here.

Videos

The Guy Foundation 2024 Autumn Series

Electrical circuits in biology – quantum or classical?

Professor Gregory Scholes, Princeton University

The Guy Foundation 2021 Spring Series

At the interface of quantum and classical behavior in nature: looking into the eye of quantum tunneling in enzymes and the role of a noisy environment

Professor Judith Klinman, UC Berkeley

The Guy Foundation 2020 Spring Series

Quantum Dynamics and Biology

Professor Martin Plenio, Ulm University

Also visit The Guy Foundation YouTube Channel Mitochondria Playlist

Mitochondria are double membrane-bound organelles found in most eukaryotic cells. They are thought to have evolved from bacteria. Electron transport chains in mitochondrial membranes generate proton gradients that drive the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), whose energy-rich bonds fuel most cellular processes. It was thought their primary purpose was purely respiration, which is the process of extracting energy via electron transport from food to oxygen. However, they are now known to be key in generating precursor molecules for growth and suppression of oxidative stress, as well as acting as signalling hubs via ROS and calcium manipulation, and they play key roles in immunity and inflammation, and thus ageing.

See the Playlist.

A. P. Bat’yanov, ‘Distant-optical interaction of mitochondria through quartz’, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine 97 (1984), doi.org/10.1007/BF00804160

V. V. Chaban, T. Cho, C. B. Reid and K. C. Norris, ‘Physically disconnected non-diffusible cell-to-cell communication between neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y and DRG primary sensory neurons’, American Journal of Translational Research 5:1 (2013), pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3560476/

Ashkan Farhadi, Christopher Forsyth, Ali Banan et al., ‘Evidence for non-chemical, non-electrical intercellular signaling in intestinal epithelial cells’, Bioelectrochemistry 71:2 (2007), doi.org/10.1016/j.bioelechem.2007.03.001

Lucas Freitas de Freitas and Michael R. Hamblin, ‘Proposed mechanisms of photobiomodulation or low-level light therapy’, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 22:3 (2016), doi.org/10.1109/JSTQE.2016.2561201

M. Gori, P. Kurian and A. Tkatchenko, ‘Second quantization of many-body dispersion interactions for chemical and biological systems’, Nature Communications 14 (2023), doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43785-z

S. N. Mayburov, ‘Photonic communications and information encoding in biological systems’, arXiv q-bio (2011), doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1205.4134

Rhys R. Mould, Elizabeth L. Thomas, Geoffrey W. Guy, Alistair V. W. Nunn and Jimmy D. Bell, ‘Cell-cell death communication by signals passing through non-aqueous environments: a reply’, Results in Chemistry 4 (2022), doi.org/10.1016/j.rechem.2022.100538

Ian Nodurft, Thomas Searles, Brian Kirby and Ryan Glasser, ‘Forced entanglement of circularly polarized photons’, NASA/ADS (2022), ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022APS..MARS35002N/abstract

Chad Orzel, How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog (London: Oneworld, 2010)

X. Shen, W. Mei and X. Xu, ‘Activation of neutrophils by a chemically separated but optically coupled neutrophil population undergoing respiratory burst’, Experientia 50 (1994), doi.org/10.1007/BF01923488

Yan Sun, Chao Wang and Jiapei Dai, ‘Biophotons as neural communication signals demonstrated by in situ biophoton autography’, Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences 9 (2010), doi.org/10.1039/b9pp00125e

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8Energy, information and light

8
Energy, information and light