The quantum realm seems to lend itself to
extremes: extremely small, cold, fast, and
extremely accurate.
As technology evolves and our ability to see
the universe on a quantum scale increases
what will we do with this new visibility?
The scale at which quantum effects are often
studied is on the order of nanometers or less.
How small is a nanometer?
Well, there are 25.4 million nanometres in
one inch and about 100,000 nanometres in the
width of a piece of paper.
So, really, really, extremely small.
A system *that* tiny is also delicate and
difficult to study because it is so susceptible
to disruption.
The famous physicist Richard Feynman was one
of the pioneers of quantum physics and even
he is on record as saying “nobody really
understands quantum mechanics”.
That’s partially because, particles behave
very differently and counterintuitively on
the quantum scale,and also because it’s
difficult for scientists to understand effects
that they cannot observe.
Quantum effects are everywhere, even in biological
systems.
Since Feynman’s day, technology has advanced
and researchers have designed clever ways
to observe quantum interactions.
One research group in Japan aligned an array
of quantum sensors called ‘nitrogen vacancy
centres’, and this is first step towards
measuring the behavior of protons within a
protein sample
6.
When measuring effects that are really tiny
and subtle, a common trick scientists use
is indirect observation.
They don’t measure exactly what’s going
on, they measure the effect *that* behaviour
has on something else that is easier to record.
In the case, of a protein sample the behavior
of the protons in the protein would have a
measurable effect on the nitrogen vacancy
centres that form the quantum sensor.
The nitrogen vacancy centers basically act
as the canary in the coal mine -- indicating
to the scientists what is happening at the
quantum scale that they CAN’T observe in
a way that they CAN observe.
NV centers occur as impurities in the crystal
structure of diamond.
These impurities happen at specific locations
throughout the crystal structure and each
provides a single-photon signal that can be
detected by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.
Quantum interactions with the sample, would
perturb the NV centers in a predictable way,
and researchers would be able to measure these
changes.
But our measurement abilities are limited
and it takes a lot of these NV centers perfectly
aligned to create a readable signal.
Until now, such alignment was not possible,
but thanks to a processing technique engineered
by the group in Japan, we may soon be able
to make real-time measurements of quantum
processes within biological systems.
Tools like this could tell us about the quantum
mechanical relationships that drive behavior
of molecules and could even help us detect
individual proteins inside a cell.
Until this point, scientists and engineers
have relied on classical computer models and
supercomputer simulations of quantum mechanical
interactions to predict complicated biological
effects on a sub-atomic scale, but we are
moving inextricably closer to the day when
we might get just close enough to image quantum
behavior in a living organism.
Which would be BANANAS!
As a molecular neuroscientist, I’m excited
about what this could mean for cellular biology
and drug discovery.
Better understanding of the entire process
when a drug binds its target protein, could
make experiments performed during the research
and development phase more targeted, speeding
up the discovery process and reducing the
large failure rate of candidate drugs.
On a more basic level, the ability to measure
and observe quantum interactions will contribute
to our fundamental understanding of the universe
and maybe one day soon, we can prove Feynman
wrong.
If you love all things quantum, you should
check out this video I did a few years back
on just how quantum computing could change
the world!
And while we’re on the subject, Nitrogen
Vacancy Centres in diamonds could also be
important for engineering quantum computers.
Thanks for watching Seeker.
