The Quantum Biology DAO is a non-profit that supports the field with community building, governance tokens and an open competition for research grants.
Joined July 2024
- Tweets2.5K
- Following429
- Followers7.3K
- Likes9.7K
Medicine has spent decades learning how to change biology through chemistry. What if physics offers another way?
Consider how many treatments are developed today. Scientists identify a biological process, find a molecule that influences it, and design a therapy around that interaction. But cells don't respond to chemistry alone.
Studies have reported that even weak magnetic fields can affect biological processes, including oxidative stress-related activity and cell proliferation.
Understanding these effects could eventually give medicine another dial to turn.
Instead of only asking which molecule changes this process?, researchers could one day also ask: which magnetic field conditions change it? Field strength, frequency, orientation, and timing could become variables for influencing cellular behavior.
The next generation of medicine might not just be about what enters the body, but also the physical conditions surrounding it.
What does quantum physics have to do with everyday biology?
In our latest video, we explore some of the most commonly discussed examples of quantum biology and how they connect to processes we encounter in everyday life.
While quantum biology might seem like an abstract area of science, many of the questions researchers are investigating are closer to home than you might think.
Watch here >> youtu.be/0zV02XWby64
We believe quantum biology has the potential to change how we understand life itself.
By exploring the role quantum physics plays in biological processes, this field could offer new insights into how living systems function and open new possibilities in health, medicine, biomanufacturing, and beyond.
Have you been paying attention?
What happens when you reduce Earth's magnetic field? 🧲
Earth has a natural magnetic field that's present all around us. But what happens when scientists significantly reduce it in a controlled experiment?
This creates what's known as a hypomagnetic environment.
Researchers can produce these conditions using magnetic shielding or specially designed coils that counteract Earth's magnetic field.
The goal is to study how biological systems respond when the magnetic field they're normally exposed to becomes much weaker.
Experiments have reported changes in cellular activity, growth, development, and behavior under hypomagnetic conditions. But one questions is: how?
Quantum mechanisms are among the possible explanations, but observing a biological response to a reduced magnetic field doesn't automatically establish a quantum cause. Ultimately, understanding these effects could help researchers uncover more about how magnetic fields interact with living systems.
Drum roll, please...
The answer is: crossing barriers! ✅
Quantum tunneling is a phenomenon where particles can pass through energy barriers that they wouldn't have enough energy to overcome according to classical physics.
So, what does this have to do with biology?
Quantum tunneling is proposed to play a role in certain biological chemical reactions, including some enzyme-catalyzed reactions where electrons or hydrogen nuclei move between molecules... and understanding these processes could help researchers better understand how quantum mechanics influences the chemistry that makes life possible.
What the heck is spin chemistry? 🧲
Spin chemistry is the study of how electron spin, a quantum property, can influence chemical reactions.
The field took shape in the 1960s and 70s, when researchers found that magnetic fields could change the outcomes of certain reactions. This work helped establish the radical-pair mechanism, in which a pair of molecules, each with an unpaired electron, can react differently depending on how their spins interact.
So what does this have to do with quantum biology?
Scientists have proposed that this same mechanism could help explain how some animals, like migratory birds, sense Earth’s magnetic field. That biological link is still being investigated, but spin chemistry gives researchers an important foundation for studying it.
The word "quantum" is often used in advertising, sometimes in ways that can be misleading.
But quantum biology itself is a legitimate field of scientific research.
Quantum mechanics describes how matter and energy behave at the smallest scales. Since living organisms are made of atoms and molecules, quantum physics is fundamental to biology.
Quantum biology takes this a step further.
Researchers are investigating how specific quantum phenomena influence biological functions and whether they can help explain processes we don't yet fully understand.
This involves developing scientific models, building specialized instruments, and conducting experiments to measure what's happening in biological systems. Some quantum effects in biology are well established, while other proposed mechanisms are still being investigated. The real science is about what we can measure, what we can demonstrate, and what we still have left to discover.
Quantum Biology DAO retweeted
Why does quantum biology need multiple disciplines working together?
Quantum biology cannot be approached as a branch of physics alone, or biology alone. The questions we're trying to answer sit at the intersection of several fields, and understanding them requires us to work across traditional scientific boundaries.
At the Quantum Biology Institute (QBI), we bring together biology, physics, engineering, computation, and more because the research depends on how these fields inform one another. The questions we ask shape the experiments we design, while the tools we develop and the data we collect can change how we approach those same questions. This ongoing exchange of ideas, methods, and expertise allows us to explore scientific problems from different perspectives.
Rather than treating quantum biology as one narrow specialty, we see it as a field that requires different ways of thinking to come together. Each discipline brings its own perspective, challenges assumptions, and helps strengthen the research process.
As we continue exploring the role of quantum effects in living systems, our ability to work across these boundaries will be essential to advancing the science.
Living cells are warm, wet, and noisy. Exactly the conditions that can disrupt delicate quantum states.
So how could quantum effects possibly influence biology? And why are they so difficult to measure?
New video introducing these ideas, check it out >> youtu.be/1_kn7D9CNkA
PSA: You don't need to be a scientist to get involved in science!!
There are communities dedicated to making science more accessible and creating opportunities for people from all backgrounds to get involved.
(Like the Quantum Biology DAO 🚀)
"The Terrifying Theory of Quantum Biology" 👀
What do you think?
youtu.be/bjvlGibYSoU?si=z5_x…
Quantum Biology DAO retweeted
Every living thing on Earth has grown up inside a magnetic field. It’s about 50 µT, and it’s so constant that we never notice it.
So here’s a simple question: what happens to life when you take it away?
At QBI, we create hypomagnetic conditions, reducing magnetic fields to a tiny fraction of Earth's normal strength, sometimes below 1 nT.
Why? Removing Earth's magnetic field helps us investigate whether biological systems respond to it, and whether quantum effects might help explain how.
Here’s some of what we've seen so far:
- Frog embryos developed faster. In a carefully controlled hypomagnetic environment below 1 nT, Xenopus laevis embryos showed accelerated development compared with those in Earth's normal magnetic field: doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.10.6…
- Bacteria took longer to start growing. At 19 nT, E. coli spent about 50% longer in its initial adjustment phase, but grew at the same rate once rapid growth began: doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.03.…
- We identified 81 genes in E. coli whose expression differed between hypomagnetic and normal magnetic conditions during that initial adjustment phase: doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.03.…
- Fluorescent proteins responded to magnetic fields. We've observed magnetic-field-dependent fluorescence in both engineered and naturally occurring proteins. In our MagLOV2 experiments, the results were consistent with the quantum radical pair mechanism: biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
We're still figuring out what causes these responses. But understanding them could reveal more about how living systems interact with magnetic fields and whether quantum mechanics plays a role.
Our experiments, methods, and data are openly documented in QBI's electronic lab notebooks (ELNs): data.quantumbiology.org/
Let's start off your week with a Quick Quantum Quiz!
Question: What is quantum tunneling? Simply put, it's particles _________ (fill in the blank)
17%changing spin
0%losing energy
0%forming bonds
83%crossing barriers
6 votes • Final resultsWhat is spin??
Electron spin is a purely quantum property... there's nothing quite like it in our everyday experience. To find it, we have to look at the microscopic level.
Dr. Jonathan Woodward intros this phenomenon in this clip from his recent presentation. For the full video, check out the link below ⬇️
Quantum Biology DAO retweeted
Meet the QBI Team! (Part 2/2)
Continuing our introductions, meet four more people behind the Quantum Biology Institute! From scientific computing and microbiology to research infrastructure and operations, each plays an important role in supporting QBI's mission.
Dr. Michael Montague | Chief Technology Officer
A microbiologist with research experience at Johns Hopkins and the J. Craig Venter Institute, Michael brings expertise in synthetic biology, bioinformatics, and microbiology. At QBI, he oversees technology efforts and investigates how microorganisms respond to weak magnetic fields through multi-omics research.
Dr. Morgan Sosa | Head of Computational Research and Data Infrastructure
A computational physical chemist and research software developer, Morgan built QBI's research data infrastructure from the ground up. Her work includes developing the systems that automatically publish our electronic lab notebooks, helping make QBI's experiments, methods, and scientific progress openly accessible.
Bret Gaitan | Grants & Operations Consultant
With a background spanning military intelligence, education, business management, and operations, Bret brings experience in research, analysis, and organizational planning. At QBI, he supports grant-related work and helps improve the processes that keep the Institute running smoothly.
Jennilyn Gaitan | Head of Operations
Certainly not least, the woman who helps keep everything together! With more than two decades of experience in administration and operations, Jennilyn has been part of QBI since 2023. She oversees day-to-day operations and develops the systems and processes that allow the team to focus on their research.
We're grateful for the expertise, dedication, and perspectives each person brings to QBI. It's this kind of collaboration that makes interdisciplinary research possible, and we're excited to share more of the work happening across the Institute.
Sharing this resource if you haven't come across it yet >>
Back in June, we had the pleasure of sitting down with quantum biologist Dr. Nathan Babcock to discuss his work and the field more broadly.
In addition to his publications, Nathan has a YouTube series covering topics ranging from quantum fundamentals to photosynthesis, spin chemistry, and more.
Check it out if you're interested in learning more about quantum biology: youtube.com/@drbabcock
How can weak magnetic fields affect biological processes?
Scientists have proposed several mechanisms to explain how living organisms detect and respond to magnetic fields. Here are four possibilities:
1. Magnetic particles (magnetite): Certain organisms, including magnetotactic bacteria, contain tiny magnetic particles that help them align with Earth's magnetic field.
2. Electrical conduction: Sharks and rays use specialized sensory systems to detect weak electrical fields in their surroundings.
3. New physical mechanisms: It's always possible that undiscovered physics could explain certain biological responses, although there is currently little evidence to support this possibility.
4. Electron spin superpositions: This is where quantum biology comes in. The radical pair mechanism involves quantum properties of electrons that may allow weak magnetic fields to influence chemical reactions and, potentially, biological processes.
Of these possibilities, electron spin dynamics are a particularly promising area of research for understanding magnetic field effects that cannot be explained by established classical mechanisms.
Join us as we dive into the frontier of quantum biology, where physics and life sciences converge.
Quantum Biology DAO retweeted
Meet the QBI Team! (Part 1/2)
We wanted to take a moment to introduce (or reintroduce) the people behind the Quantum Biology Institute. Our team brings together researchers from different scientific backgrounds, each contributing their expertise to a shared goal: understanding the role quantum physics may play in living systems.
Here are some of the people working to make that happen:
Dr. Clarice D. Aiello | Chief Scientific Officer
A quantum engineer with a PhD from MIT and research experience at Stanford and UC Berkeley, Clarice leads QBI's scientific direction. Her work focuses on understanding how quantum physics may inform biological processes at the nanoscale.
Dr. Venkatesh K. Sridharan | Head of Redox Biology
With a background in cardiovascular research and biopharmaceutical discovery, Venkatesh investigates how weak magnetic fields and electron-spin dynamics may influence cellular redox processes, signaling, and metabolism.
Dr. Brian L. Ross | Head of Biochemistry
A molecular biologist specializing in protein design and evolution, Brian earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins and conducted postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute. At QBI, he brings expertise in protein engineering and molecular biology to the investigation of magnetosensitive proteins.
Dr. Alessandro Lodesani | Co-founder
With a PhD in Physics from the Polytechnic University of Milan and previous research at MIT, Alessandro helped build QBI's experimental capabilities. His work has included designing specialized instruments to investigate the effects of weak magnetic fields on biological systems.
Joseph Mansour | Applied Physicist
A patented inventor, and STEM polymath, with 40 years developing laser, and electronic commercial products. Completed graduate studies in Applied Physics at Stanford, after Physics B.S. from UCLA. At QBI, he is developing the Quantum Bacterioscope.
We're excited to show off some of the people driving this research forward.
