Northwestern Co-Hosts Quantum Biology Consortium in Chicago

What the workshop covers

The two-day consortium is aimed at both researchers and students and centers on photoactive proteins, defined in the source as proteins that respond to light. Organizers are interested in how quantum properties of these proteins might be observed, controlled and ultimately applied to better understand living systems. Songi Han, a chemistry professor at Northwestern, co-organized the event with Peter Maurer of the University of Chicago. Northwestern's Institute for Quantum Information Research and Engineering (INQUIRE), directed by Michael Wasielewski, sponsors it. The source said the workshop was scheduled for the following week relative to its Oct. 15 publication.

Where the science stands

Han separates quantum for biology, meaning quantum sensing used to interrogate biological systems, from quantum in biology, meaning quantum effects that drive biology. She called the first category solid and the second a matter for investigation. Wasielewski cited established examples: electron spins involved in converting light energy into stored charges during photosynthesis, known for 50 years, and energy migration through proteins. He said the mechanism by which magnetic sensitivity becomes a signal that guides migrating birds remains largely unknown, though avian magnetic reception derives from the same light-driven processes that generate coherent spin pairs.

Wasielewski said there is no evidence that consciousness rests on a quantum process, while noting that absence of evidence is not proof otherwise. Han attributed renewed interest partly to improved measurement tools, including transient electron paramagnetic resonance for capturing fast states, and said the field must demonstrate effects rather than rely on belief.