Biological complexity, quantum coherent states and the problem of efficient transmission of information inside a cell

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe intracellular channel of information transmission was analyzed from the point of view of complexity. The most important steps in the transfer of information within a cell are the folding, transport and recognition of proteins. It was shown that the large number of conformational degrees of freedom that proteins possess can paradoxically lead to an information channel with an exponentially small capacity. To resolve this paradox, a model, which assumes a quantum collective behavior of biologically important molecules, was proposed. Experiments to test the quantum nature of the intracellular transfer of information were also proposed.

Comment on Masanari Asano et al.: A model of epigenetic evolution based on theory of open quantum systems

“…Regrettably, the authors appear to have been influenced by an earlier mischaracterization of my position in McFadden and Al-Khalili's paper [4]. Another author making a similar error is Melkikh [6] 1 . I am concerned that this misunderstanding will be perpetuated in this nascent field for years to come.…”

Synchronicity among Biological and Computational Levels of an Organism: Quantum Biology and Complexity

“…Melkikh [13] claims that the folding, transport and recognition of proteins are the most important steps in the transfer of information in the cell, and studies how large number of conformational degrees of freedom that proteins possess can paradoxically lead to an information channel with an exponentially small capacity. As a result, parallel processing is tenable and useful for the cell.…”

“…Some (indirect) hints for this argument can be driven from Bischof and Del Giudice [54]: "The main actor of the time evolution of the organism is not the ensemble of molecules but the ensemble of their correlations". The lack of synchrony can be seen as metabolic instability, and according to Melkikh [13], such instability can lead to aging and cancer.…”

“…Non-trivial effects lie at the bottom of a healthy normal organism that moves in her environment and strives for living. According to Melkikh [13] the relationship of QI and movement can play an important role in the maintenance of coherent states, and can be taken as the real ground that supports, so to speak, the classicality of life as it can be perceived in the standard sense.…”

The No Free Lunch Theorem and hypothesis of instinctive animal behavior

“…Melkikh [75,76] proposed that some of the coherent (characterized by a wave function, which is the solution of the Schrödinger equation) quantum states of the intracellular molecules are abnormally stable. "It can be assumed that the structure of biological molecules involves additional selection rules for quantum particles, which significantly slow decoherence.…”