Natures wonders: rock bacteria know quantum theory (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, July 10, 2020, 20:10 (1595 days ago) @ David Turell

They understand, interpret and use electron spin:

https://phys.org/news/2020-07-rock-breathing-bacteria-electron-doctors.html

"Researchers at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have found that protein "wires" connecting a bacterial cell to a solid surface tend to transmit electrons with a particular spin.

"This ability to select an electron's quantum spin could have implications for the use of bacteria in the biotechnology industry and in burgeoning efforts to create bacteria-based energy cells, as well as future electronic technologies, they said.

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"...the scientists have been studying certain bacteria that can use solid surfaces in the same way animals use oxygen to breathe. Instead of dumping electrons generated during metabolism onto inhaled oxygen molecules, the bacteria send the electrons down specialized proteins that plug into an external surface.

"'Unlike most organisms that are able to use oxygen as the electron acceptor," said USC Dornsife Senior Research Associate Sahand Pirbadian, "these bacteria transfer the electrons to a solid mineral or, as they do in our lab, to electrodes that are outside the cell."

"In terms of metabolism, they "breathe" the minerals or electrodes.

"To reach the external surface, the electrons are shuttled through various protein molecules that form electrical conduits. These proteins have magnetic fields that can favor a particular spin as the electrons shuttle through.

"Scientists found, says Pirbadian, that these magnetic fields are affected by a characteristic of the proteins called "chirality."

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"'By the time the electrons traverse the molecular wire, the majority end up having the same quantum spin—up or down—depending on the chirality," said El-Naggar, who holds the Robert D. Beyer ('81) Early Career Chair in Natural Sciences. "This study is the first to confirm that the electrically conductive proteins in these cells are selecting the spin of electrons."

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"Understanding how proteins affect electrons' quantum spin could also help the scientists understand how magnetic fields affect some biological processes."

Comment: Bacteria are the earliest life form, and I've shown the quantum activity in photosynthesis. Quantum mechanics is the basis of reality, and God has used this activity through life forms.