8,706 research outputs found
Quantum Effects in Biology and Their Applications to Light Harvesting and Sensing
AbstractThis session introduced the novel area of quantum effects in biological systems: it presented its seminal experimental discoveries and theoretical ideas, namely regarding photosynthetic systems and olfactory recognition, and discussed their potential applications to the development of artificial devices for more efficient light harvesting and finer sensing
Roadmap on semiconductor-cell biointerfaces.
This roadmap outlines the role semiconductor-based materials play in understanding the complex biophysical dynamics at multiple length scales, as well as the design and implementation of next-generation electronic, optoelectronic, and mechanical devices for biointerfaces. The roadmap emphasizes the advantages of semiconductor building blocks in interfacing, monitoring, and manipulating the activity of biological components, and discusses the possibility of using active semiconductor-cell interfaces for discovering new signaling processes in the biological world
Quantum physics meets biology
Quantum physics and biology have long been regarded as unrelated disciplines,
describing nature at the inanimate microlevel on the one hand and living
species on the other hand. Over the last decades the life sciences have
succeeded in providing ever more and refined explanations of macroscopic
phenomena that were based on an improved understanding of molecular structures
and mechanisms. Simultaneously, quantum physics, originally rooted in a world
view of quantum coherences, entanglement and other non-classical effects, has
been heading towards systems of increasing complexity. The present perspective
article shall serve as a pedestrian guide to the growing interconnections
between the two fields. We recapitulate the generic and sometimes unintuitive
characteristics of quantum physics and point to a number of applications in the
life sciences. We discuss our criteria for a future quantum biology, its
current status, recent experimental progress and also the restrictions that
nature imposes on bold extrapolations of quantum theory to macroscopic
phenomena.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures, Perspective article for the HFSP Journa
Quantum metrology and its application in biology
Quantum metrology provides a route to overcome practical limits in sensing
devices. It holds particular relevance to biology, where sensitivity and
resolution constraints restrict applications both in fundamental biophysics and
in medicine. Here, we review quantum metrology from this biological context,
focusing on optical techniques due to their particular relevance for biological
imaging, sensing, and stimulation. Our understanding of quantum mechanics has
already enabled important applications in biology, including positron emission
tomography (PET) with entangled photons, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using
nuclear magnetic resonance, and bio-magnetic imaging with superconducting
quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). In quantum metrology an even greater
range of applications arise from the ability to not just understand, but to
engineer, coherence and correlations at the quantum level. In the past few
years, quite dramatic progress has been seen in applying these ideas into
biological systems. Capabilities that have been demonstrated include enhanced
sensitivity and resolution, immunity to imaging artifacts and technical noise,
and characterization of the biological response to light at the single-photon
level. New quantum measurement techniques offer even greater promise, raising
the prospect for improved multi-photon microscopy and magnetic imaging, among
many other possible applications. Realization of this potential will require
cross-disciplinary input from researchers in both biology and quantum physics.
In this review we seek to communicate the developments of quantum metrology in
a way that is accessible to biologists and biophysicists, while providing
sufficient detail to allow the interested reader to obtain a solid
understanding of the field. We further seek to introduce quantum physicists to
some of the central challenges of optical measurements in biological science.Comment: Submitted review article, comments and suggestions welcom
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Bacteria photosensitized by intracellular gold nanoclusters for solar fuel production.
The demand for renewable and sustainable fuel has prompted the rapid development of advanced nanotechnologies to effectively harness solar power. The construction of photosynthetic biohybrid systems (PBSs) aims to link preassembled biosynthetic pathways with inorganic light absorbers. This strategy inherits both the high light-harvesting efficiency of solid-state semiconductors and the superior catalytic performance of whole-cell microorganisms. Here, we introduce an intracellular, biocompatible light absorber, in the form of gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), to circumvent the sluggish kinetics of electron transfer for existing PBSs. Translocation of these AuNCs into non-photosynthetic bacteria enables photosynthesis of acetic acid from CO2. The AuNCs also serve as inhibitors of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to maintain high bacterium viability. With the dual advantages of light absorption and biocompatibility, this new generation of PBS can efficiently harvest sunlight and transfer photogenerated electrons to cellular metabolism, realizing CO2 fixation continuously over several days
Leaf Optical Responses to Light and Soil Nutrient Availability in Temperature Deciduous Trees
Leaf optical parameters influence light availability at the cellular, leaf, and canopy scale of integration. While recent studies have focused on leaf optical responses to acute plant stress, the effects of changes in plant resources on leaf optics remain poorly characterized. We examined leaf optical and anatomical responses of five temperate deciduous tree species to moderate changes in nutrient and light availability. Spectral reflectance in the visible waveband generally increased at high light, but decreased with increased nutrient availability. Patterns of both spectral reflectance and absorptance were primarily determined by chlorophyll concentration although carotenoid concentration was also influential. While most anatomical features did not explain residual variation in reflectance, cuticle thickness was significantly related to reflectance at complementary angles compared to the angle of incidence. Absorptance did not change with light environment; however, absorption efficiency per unit biomass increased by approximately 40% under low light, due to reduced leaf mass per area. We conclude that changes in resource availability differentially influence leaf optical properties and that such changes are driven primarily by changes in pigment concentrations. The magnitude of leaf optical responses to moderate changes in resource availability was comparable to those of acute stress responses and varied among species
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