Can Quantum Theory Concepts Shed Light on Biological Evolution Processes?
451
matter over antimatter for elementary particles, levogyre aminoacids in proteins and
dextrogyre sugars in nucleic acids. The highest level of complexity presently achieved
involves international organizations using electronic communication, which extend
the lithosphere (matter) and biosphere (life) to a noosphere (spirit) [18].
The third rule given above starts applying at the lowest level: particles may form
complex systems without going through molecular structures and living organisms.
Hydrogen is the main constituent of complex stars like the Sun, while nucleons make
up neutron stars. Some stars drive a complex system of planets and satellites, comets
and asteroids, and in turn they belong to galaxies like the Milky Way. At the cosmic
scale, the first two rules make the very weak gravitational force control the selforganization process, although nuclear forces are still effective in the core of stars
and electromagnetic radiation in their vicinity. The rise of complexity in the living
systems is in fact conditioned by that in cosmic structures: all elements heavier than
hydrogen are synthesized in the core of stars through nuclear fusion, then dispersed
in galaxies through supernova explosion, and later gathered in colder bodies by
the gravitational force. It seems as if the whole process aims at producing life in
the Universe: small changes in the original conditions, motion laws, or universal
constants would prevent the process from being completed [20, 21].
The electrostatic force, in its quantum version involving antisymmetry of the wave
function with respect to permutation of coordinates for particles obeying the FermiDirac statistics, plays the main role in chemical bonding and in the structure and
properties of molecules, including biomolecules. However, according to our second
rule, magnetostatic and weak nuclear forces can also affect specific biological phenomena. On line with this idea, investigations have since long been made on a possible
role of the weak nuclear force in biomolecular homochirality [32]. Regarding the
magnetostatic force, it is indeed involved in an extra sense due to magnetosensitive
proteins [33], which allows various species (from bacteria to migrating birds) to
detect the magnetic fields resulting from motions in the Earth nucleus or storms in
the Sun corona.
Four features emerge from this short survey: (1) the role of coordinated events
(e.g. the joint evolution of proteins and nucleic acids); (2) the increase of complexity
(from prebiotic molecules to procariotic bacteria and then pluricellular organisms);
(3) the role of unexpected events (e.g. the meteorite that provoked the extinction
of dinosaurians, which boosted the expansion of mammals); (4) the fact that life
survives and even progresses through all events, however catastrophic (e.g. the 5
mass extinctions that occurred between 444 and 66 million years ago), due to the
variety of its forms. For an individual, this means homeostasis; for the phylum of
life, this entails evolution.
This can be related to Schrödinger’s conjecture [16] that, as Man is endowed
with a brain and limbs allowing him to replace missing organs or failing functions
by evolving artefacts (medicals, protheses, instruments, vehicles), ‘we have come
to a standstill as a developing species, and have little prospect of further biological
advance’. This is presently leading to the transhumanist novel paradigm [19].
451
matter over antimatter for elementary particles, levogyre aminoacids in proteins and
dextrogyre sugars in nucleic acids. The highest level of complexity presently achieved
involves international organizations using electronic communication, which extend
the lithosphere (matter) and biosphere (life) to a noosphere (spirit) [18].
The third rule given above starts applying at the lowest level: particles may form
complex systems without going through molecular structures and living organisms.
Hydrogen is the main constituent of complex stars like the Sun, while nucleons make
up neutron stars. Some stars drive a complex system of planets and satellites, comets
and asteroids, and in turn they belong to galaxies like the Milky Way. At the cosmic
scale, the first two rules make the very weak gravitational force control the selforganization process, although nuclear forces are still effective in the core of stars
and electromagnetic radiation in their vicinity. The rise of complexity in the living
systems is in fact conditioned by that in cosmic structures: all elements heavier than
hydrogen are synthesized in the core of stars through nuclear fusion, then dispersed
in galaxies through supernova explosion, and later gathered in colder bodies by
the gravitational force. It seems as if the whole process aims at producing life in
the Universe: small changes in the original conditions, motion laws, or universal
constants would prevent the process from being completed [20, 21].
The electrostatic force, in its quantum version involving antisymmetry of the wave
function with respect to permutation of coordinates for particles obeying the FermiDirac statistics, plays the main role in chemical bonding and in the structure and
properties of molecules, including biomolecules. However, according to our second
rule, magnetostatic and weak nuclear forces can also affect specific biological phenomena. On line with this idea, investigations have since long been made on a possible
role of the weak nuclear force in biomolecular homochirality [32]. Regarding the
magnetostatic force, it is indeed involved in an extra sense due to magnetosensitive
proteins [33], which allows various species (from bacteria to migrating birds) to
detect the magnetic fields resulting from motions in the Earth nucleus or storms in
the Sun corona.
Four features emerge from this short survey: (1) the role of coordinated events
(e.g. the joint evolution of proteins and nucleic acids); (2) the increase of complexity
(from prebiotic molecules to procariotic bacteria and then pluricellular organisms);
(3) the role of unexpected events (e.g. the meteorite that provoked the extinction
of dinosaurians, which boosted the expansion of mammals); (4) the fact that life
survives and even progresses through all events, however catastrophic (e.g. the 5
mass extinctions that occurred between 444 and 66 million years ago), due to the
variety of its forms. For an individual, this means homeostasis; for the phylum of
life, this entails evolution.
This can be related to Schrödinger’s conjecture [16] that, as Man is endowed
with a brain and limbs allowing him to replace missing organs or failing functions
by evolving artefacts (medicals, protheses, instruments, vehicles), ‘we have come
to a standstill as a developing species, and have little prospect of further biological
advance’. This is presently leading to the transhumanist novel paradigm [19].