DNA Can Discern Between Two Quantum States

[Ichingcarpenter]

Do the principles of quantum mechanics apply to biological systems? Until now, says Prof. Ron Naaman of the Institute's Chemical Physics Department (Faculty of Chemistry), both biologists and physicists have considered quantum systems and biological molecules to be like apples and oranges.

But research he conducted together with scientists in Germany, which appeared recently in Science, shows that a biological molecule -- DNA -- can discern between quantum states known as spin

DNA turns out to be a superb "spin filter," and the team's findings could have relevance for both biomedical research and the field of spintronics. If further studies, for instance, bear out the finding that DNA only sustains damage from spins pointing in one direction, then exposure might be reduced and medical devices designed accordingly. On the other hand, DNA and other biological molecules could become a central feature of new types of spintronic devices, which will work on particle spin rather than electric charge, as they do today.



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110331104014.htm

[ixion]

1. very cool!

k/r

[nashville_brook]

2. wow.

[Occulus]

3. Wow.

Another Nobel candidate. IMO, at least.