Related papers: The Physics of Life: one molecule at a time
The conventional, time-dependent Schroedinger equation describes only unidirectional time evolution of the state of a physical system, i.e., forward or, less commonly, backward. This paper proposes a generalized quantum dynamics for the…
Why life is complex and --most importantly-- what is the origin of the over abundance of complexity in nature? This is a fundamental scientific question which, paraphrasing the late Per Bak, "is screaming to be answered but seldom is even…
This technical monograph provides a comprehensive overview of the field of quantum biology. It approaches quantum biology from a physical perspective with core quantum mechanical concepts presented foremost to provide a theoretical…
It is often stated that there are no laws in biology, where everything is contingent and could have been otherwise, being solely the result of historical accidents. Furthermore, the customary introduction of fundamental biological entities…
Molecular rotation, vibration, internal rotation, isomerization, tunneling, intermolecular dynamics of weakly and strongly interacting systems, intra-to-inter-molecular energy transfer, hindered rotation and hindered translation over…
Quantum mechanics, one of the most successful theories in the history of science, was created to account for physical systems not describable by classical physics. Though it is consistent with all experiments conducted thus far, many of its…
A particular science is not only defined by its object of study, but also by the point of view and method under which it considers that same object. Taking space and time as an illustrative example, our main aim here is to bring out an…
The Schrodinger equation based on the de Broglie wave is the most fundamental equation of the quantum mechanics. There can be no doubt about it's prediction validity. However, the probabilistic interpretation on the quantum mechanics has…
The question of "what is life?" has challenged scientists and philosophers for centuries, producing an array of definitions that reflect both the mystery of its emergence and the diversity of disciplinary perspectives brought to bear on the…
In the past decades, advances in microscopy have made it possible to study the dynamics of individual biomolecules in vitro and resolve intramolecular kinetics that would otherwise be hidden in ensemble averages. More recently,…
Quantum physics is a linear theory, so it is somewhat puzzling that it can underlie very complex systems such as digital computers and life. This paper investigates how this is possible. Physically, such complex systems are necessarily…
Why is it interesting to try to understand the origin of the universe? Everything we observe today, including our existence, arose from that event. Although we still do not have a theory that allows us to describe the origin itself, the…
We draw a picture of physical systems that allows us to recognize what is this thing called "time" by requiring consistency not only with our notion of time but also with the way time enters the fundamental laws of Physics, independently of…
It is shown that the Schrodinger equation is a byproduct of more deterministic Boltzmann-like equation. All physical information is derived from the solution of this equation, which is a function of space and momentum. The additional terms…
Diffusion of molecules within biological cells and tissues is strongly influenced by crowding. A key quantity to characterize diffusion is the particle lifetime, which is the time taken for a diffusing particle to exit by hitting an…
Biomolecules carry out very specialized tasks inside the cell where energies involved are few tens of k_BT, small enough for thermal fluctuations to be relevant in many biomolecular processes. In this paper I discuss a few concepts and…
Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is prima facie…
This short text summarizes the work in biology proposed in our book, Perspectives on Organisms, where we analyse the unity proper to organisms by looking at it from different viewpoints. We discuss the theoretical roles of biological time,…
Current efforts in the biomedical sciences and related interdisciplinary fields are focused on gaining a molecular understanding of health and disease, which is a problem of daunting complexity that spans many orders of magnitude in…
Quantum foundations are still unsettled, with mixed effects on science and society. By now it should be possible to obtain consensus on at least one issue: Are the fundamental constituents fields or particles? As this paper shows,…