The human DNA molecule contains about three billion bases and replicates daily about two trillion times. In order for the cellular structure to be preserved, the replication process must be remarkably accurate, but at the same time the emergence of mutations shows that the process is not error-free. In England they have shown that replication errors may occur following quantum tunneling.
The traditional approach to the study of diseases and genetic mutations focuses mainly on the impact of biological and chemical processes, and tends to ignore basic quantum phenomena. Few articles in the field prove that the prevailing opinion among physicists is that the biological environment is too hot for quantum processes to affect living things. In an article published in one of the journal Nature, researchers from Surrey University try to challenge this perception and prove that quantum tunneling causes genetic mutations.
To understand how quantum tunneling takes place in the DNA molecule, we open with a few preliminary sentences. The double helix that makes up the DNA is connected with the help of interatomic bonds. To be precise, the connection between the two sides of the coil is formed by hydrogen bonds, i.e. a proton that sticks to both sides of the molecule. The same proton is sometimes described as a step in a winding scale that creates the famous structure discovered in 1952 by James Watson and Francis Creek based on the work of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. The DNA molecule is a wonderful way for nature to encode information using four bases called A, C, T, G with a clear coupling between A to T and C to G. The natural connection between the building blocks is based on their molecular structure, which are placed next to each other Like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Rarely are coupling laws destroyed because the hydrogen bond changes resulting in “unnatural” connections. More than the scientific community thought.In this process, the protons can easily cross energy barriers, i.e. maneuver, and change their position.If the process occurs even before the two strands have unraveled along the replication, the error can roll over during cell copying and potentially create mutations.
In an article published about two weeks ago in the journal Nature Communications PhysicsThe research team used the principles of quantum mechanics to predict the dynamics of the DNA molecule. Based on simulations developed specifically for research, the authors claim that tunneling processes are a significant factor in mutation formation. In the same breath it is important to note that particle tunneling Physical systems). In the tunneling process, a particle manages to “skip” over an energy barrier that classical mechanics forbids it to pass through (because it does not have enough energy). That the probability of crossing energy barriers fades strongly with distance, or with the thickness of the barrier. I will emphasize that this is not necessarily a physical barrier, but an energy barrier. Whether their internal properties such as radioactive decay or external properties such as position, momentum, etc.) but quantum mechanics shows that there is still a probability that the particles, even if in a related state, are in a different state. Based on the DNA molecule, the researchers used the mathematics of open quantum systems that statistically predict physical phenomena depending on temperature and other parameters. The present study found that in conjunction with a hot environment, proton tunneling occurs more frequently between the two strands and is even more likely than classical transitions (the classical transition occurs when the proton suddenly receives enough energy from the environment to change its position). As a result of the tunneling, the proton can be on the wrong side of the coil and create a copying error during priming.
Dr. Louis Slocombe, one of the authors of the article, explains: “The protons in DNA can accumulate along the hydrogen bond and change one of the bases in the genetic code. The defective base is called a ‘tautomer’ that can survive the replication process and create mutations.” Dr. Slocombe was led by Professor Jim al-Khalili, who is known to the public from the scientific docu-films broadcast on the BBC network. Professor Al-Khalili, who also appears on the list of authors, adds that Significant in DNA, but such a mechanism will never be tested. “
This is not the first time that researchers have discovered how dominant quantum mechanics is in biological systems. In recent years the possibility has been raised that birds use quantum entanglement to sense the Earth’s magnetic field, that the high efficiency of photons in absorbing leaves is due to superposition, that animals are able to smell thanks to molecular software explained only by quantum mechanics. Apart from basic demonstrations on plants, to the best of my knowledge quantum phenomena have not been demonstrated directly in animals and are still only hypothetical. The reason researchers find it difficult to accept the fact that quantum processes such as weaving and superposition can occur in biological systems stems from the fact that the biological environment is hot, and temperature tends to destroy “coherence”, i.e. the possibility of maintaining the quantum state over time.
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