Quantum Physics and Life How We Interact with the World Inside and Around Us

This book reveals glimpses of how the quantum physics of atoms and molecules influences, and even controls, the way our cells function and how we and our fellow animals interact with our environment. Simply put, how birds fly and why grass grows. Certainly, biochemistry and molecular biology are the foundations for the biology of living cells, but there is more—quantum coherence and entanglement influencing the functioning of proteins and enzymes, and strictly speaking, without the quantum phenomena we wouldn’t even be here. In the end, however, this book is based on the solid ground of science, presenting the many fascinating phenomena of how quantum physics makes life possible without any unwarranted mystification.

Quantum Biology: Where It Came From 1. Life and Quantum Physics 2. Our World Is Just a Small Part of the Whole 3. The Gecko and Life Upside Down 4. The Quantized World 5. Evolution: About the Origin of Life 6. From the Big Bang to Black Holes 7. As Time Goes By: The Arrow of Time 8. The Art of Finding Your Way Back Home 9. The Vision in New Light 10. Photosynthesis and the Golf Putt 11. The Respiratory Chain Sustains Our Lives 12. A Sense of Smell 13. DNA Repair: A Matter of Survival and Development 14. Quantum Physics in Diagnostics and Therapy 15. Not More Mysterious Than Necessary 16. Consciousness: The Greatest Mystery 17. A Glance at the Future of Quantum and Life

Ingemar Ernberg is a professor at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, doing research on cancer and cell biology. Since more than 15 years, he is leading a popular lecture series on "What is life? The future of biology." Göran Johansson is a professor of applied quantum physics at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He iscurrently activein the WACQT quantum computer project. Tomas Lindblad is a Swedish science journalist, publishing his work with Sveriges Radio, the National Swedish Public Service radio company, and several other outlets. Joar Svanvik is a professor emeritus ofsurgeryat Linköping University. Hehas practicedsurgery in Swedenat the University of California San Francisco, in Kenya, and as a shipboarddoctor in Antarctica. Currently, he is active at the Transplant Institute, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Go¨ran Wendin is a professor of theoretical physics at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. He has coordinated seven major EU projects on neuromorphic and quantum computing and is engaged in current and future Swedish and EU quantum computer missions.