Focus on quantum effects and noise in biomolecules

The role of quantum mechanics in biological organisms has been a fundamental question of twentieth-century biology. It is only now, however, with modern experimental techniques, that it is possible to observe quantum mechanical effects in bio-molecular complexes directly. Indeed, recent experiments have provided evidence that quantum effects such as wave-like motion of excitonic energy flow, delocalization and entanglement can be seen even in complex and noisy biological environments (Engel et al 2007 Nature 446 782; Collini et al 2010 Nature 463 644; Panitchayangkoon et al 2010 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107 12766). Motivated by these observations, theoretical work has highlighted the importance of an interplay between environmental noise and quantum coherence in such systems (Mohseni et al 2008 J. Chem. Phys. 129 174106; Plenio and Huelga 2008 New J. Phys. 10 113019; Olaya-Castro et al 2008 Phys. Rev. B 78 085115; Rebentrost et al 2009 New J. Phys. 11 033003; Caruso et al 2009 J. Chem. Phys. 131 105106; Ishizaki and Fleming 2009 J. Chem. Phys. 130 234111). All of this has led to a surge of interest in the exploration of quantum effects in biological systems in order to understand the possible relevance of non-trivial quantum features and to establish a potential link between quantum coherence and biological function. These studies include not only exciton transfer across light harvesting complexes, but also the avian compass (Ritz et al 2000 Biophys. J. 78 707), and the olfactory system (Turin 1996 Chem. Sens. 21 773; Chin et al 2010 New J. Phys. 12 065002). These examples show that the full understanding of the dynamics at bio-molecular length (10 Å) and timescales (sub picosecond) in noisy biological systems can uncover novel phenomena and concepts and hence present a fertile ground for truly multidisciplinary research.