Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology

Not sure what to make of this book because the authors do not seem to know either. Overall, the book intends to present the idea of quantum biology as a new field of study that will revolutionize our idea of life and evolution. And it hopes to convince readers of this. Problem is, it dumbs down everything that might be meaningful. This leads me to believe this book is aimed at the non-scientist reader. In particular it tries to reduce the complexity of quantum behavior to the point that footnotes remind the reader that what they are saying is wrong! They tell us that, at the quantum level, particles can be in two places at the same time. This is never true! They do mention that what is really meant is that quantum mechanics describes the probabilities of finding a particle at any specified location. Why not simply describe this and move on? More surprisingly, they dumb down genetics and DNA structure as well. Remember that the structure and function of DNA has been taught in high school since the 60's! And where's the entire field of quantum chemistry? The research on the quantum chemistry of the DNA bases is over 50 years old!

Having taken several graduate courses in quantum chemistry I can easily say that all chemistry is quantum chemistry, including biochemistry! It's not always necessary to understand chemistry at this level, just as it's not necessary to describe all of physics using the equations of special or general relativity. Nevertheless, the authors present several scenarios that they suggest are examples of some special quantum effect that make quantum biology special beyond 'ordinary' biology or chemistry. These include some interesting biology; migration, homing, photosynthesis, odor receptors, and more. The level of discussion is quite high, suggesting the reader is a somewhat more educated reader, at least in biology. Yet in every case, they suggest that none of these examples really proves quantum biology!

The authors draw on historic conjectures of famous physicists that quantum mechanics may play a role in biology. Schrödinger suggested that genes (genes, not DNA) may be examples of aperiodic crystals. Of course this was a decade before Watson and Crick proposed the helical structure of DNA. (The correct idea but not proven for quite a few years later; there were many other possible structures proposed.) Feynman suggested that in photosynthesis, biology had found a way to 'kick the oxygen' out of CO2 and keep the C for building tissue. Of course the O2 released in photosynthesis comes from the water not the carbon dioxide. (The authors might have corrected this is their discussion of photosynthesis.) They also credit Feynman for nanotechnology, but this was a simple aside is a general lecture in 1959 and did not have the effect of creating the rather new field of nanotechnology decades later. These historical references are strained and do not really attach any relevance to their quantum biology ideas.

Overall, the book is pleading and unconvincing. It is undeniably true that biology and biochemistry have roots in quantum chemistry and quantum mechanics. These are not always necessary to describe biological phenomena, but there are no special cases presented here, and none expected.

Here we go again on the "Magical Mystery Tour" - roll up, roll up; we'll sell you on a mind-blowing trip by dripping in some quantum magic.
The number of books that are written using the magic of quantum mechanics to sell thousands of copies to the gullible public just keeps going on and on. Let's not stop a band-wagon when it's so profitable.
This is another 300 page book (how else to charge $20/copy?) for what could be usefully said in ONE chapter (max. 30 pages).
Life is built around cells, cells contain proteins. Proteins with between 5,000 and 100,000 atoms each that interact with each other across small space and time separations in an exquisite manner that utterly confounds any rational understanding. Physics, since Newton has NOT, repeat NOT, been able to solve the Three-Body Problem (3 objects continuously interacting amongst themselves). This has NOT been solved by quantum mechanics, although most people still think Bohr solved the multi-electron atomic model, when quantum mechanics could only approximate the helium atom and nothing more. Quantum Field Theory (QFT) just introduced further infinities that blew the math sky-high and this was NOT solved by the trick of "normalization" that embarrassed Dirac (the Father of QFT) until his dying day.
Now, we have more of this nonsense being brought in to "solve" the biological mysteries of life with molecules of gigantic complexity.
Bah, Humbug!!

Every now and then (very rarely, in fact) someone has the gumption to write an exposition of a difficult concept in a way that a reasonably (that's me, I'd like to think) intelligent person can grasp it. The last time I can recall that sensation was with James Glieck's Chaos. But these guys have hit a home run, explaining how quantum "stuff" can be here, there, and everywhere, all at once, and not even BE, but kinda be, since it may not be someTHING, but rather just a diaphanous wavy kind of thing that might be anywhere, as identified by some pointy headed mathematician describing some kind of a wave. Schrodinger's cat notwithstanding, the concepts, and especially the importance and application of this kind of quantum gobledygook has heretofore escaped me (and frankly has extinguished any interest in understanding it, since it normally is presented an an enigma). This book got me over the activation energy required, and I couldn't put it down. Beyond that, there's a nice touch here and there of humor, and mundane examples which, though necessarily imperfect, illustrate some really basic ideas. One comes away wishing there was an opportunity to meet these guys in a pub somewhere just to chat over a pint. I'll bet they're really good company.

Absolutely excellent. The best explanation of quantum mechanics ever and this from an undergrad business major with a master's degree in writing who dabbles in 'weird science' to stretch her brain (and to write convincingly--a factor she's not yet proven). I've recommended this to the very few people I know who also love the challenge of modern physics or those who simply cannot help themselves when it comes to weird science or those who thirst to understand the basis of life. Next time I'm in London, I'm going to look these guys up. A true wow! And also a bit gutsy, especially the ending.

I think one of the first questions asked about books like this is: How accessible is it? With Life on the Edge, McFadden and Al-Khalili do their best to bring physics, quantum mechanics, chemistry, and biology to a lay audience but honestly, this is still one very dense read. It's incredibly exciting and fascinating—some scientists are now attempting to answer life's puzzles using the perspective of the quantum world. But don't go into this book expecting to learn through a fun, pop-science tone à la Mary Roach. Life on the Edge falls somewhere between having a textbook feel (and honestly, I don't see how that could have been avoided) and narrative nonfiction. Worried it'll be over your head? If you enjoyed and paid attention in your high school science classes, you should be able to hang—the authors fill in the rest of the gaps very well. If you're interested in the topic, you'll find that this book is well worth the effort.

The book starts out well in an interesting, fairly easy to read style. I was particularly interested in the focus of this book as I have been looking for one that addressed the role of consciousness in the sub-atomic world. However as the book progressed it became a little consumed by the desire to place quantum mechanics at the core of everything in biology including consciousness. Since it was highly speculative it seemed more like metaphysics than physics. This is rather consistent with most of the science in the past 35 years, much of which, until just recently, has dealt with string or "M" theory. I'm beginning to think that Einstein and Schroedinger were right or even, perhaps, the Zen Buddhists. In any case I did not feel that the book lived up to some of the hype as exemplified by the rave review in the Wall Street Journal.

This was an immensely enjoyable read.The approach that the authors took clearly showed that their discussion of quantum biology was not some theoretical musings but based on hard science.They would begin with current accepted ideas such as robins' ability to use the EM fields to navigate, to how the chlorophyll process work. They would then identify areas where there was no clear explanation of of how certain processes worked such as the remarkable efficiency of the chlorophyll molecule to transfer virtually 100 % of the energy received to the reaction center. They then showed how certain quantum processes could be a useful area of research such as quantum superposition states to explain for example the the remarkable energy transfer rates. They also made it absolutely clear all the way through the book that while quantum processes could explain many areas currently not understood, it was too early to conclusively say that the biological processes did make use of all the variety of quantum processes. The mark of serious scientists.

They assumed that the reader had very little deep knowledge of molecular biology (thankfully!) or of basic quantum mechanics and made extensive use of analogies most of which were extremely helpful. This book is a great introduction to this new and expanding field of quantum biology and would recommend it to anyone fascinated by this subject.

"Life on the Edge" is not a reference to "Survivor," but to the authors' argument that an understanding of what life is and how it works may be found at the "edge" between classical/thermodynamic systems and quantum mechanics. In making their case (to borrow from the dust jacket), they bring together "first-hand experience at the cutting edge of science with unparalleled gifts of explanation." In short: A fascinating topic, a lively writing style, and exceptional explanatory skill makes for very good science writing.

Prospective readers are presumably as curious as I am about the possible application of quantum ideas to understanding of biological/living systems. The authors' make a clear argument for the significance of quantum biology as the next and essential step in understanding biologic life. They draw on both underlying theory and contemporary research (some of it their own) to show how the quantum world is critical to our understanding of our larger, classical world, and specifically to critical biological processes. Some arguments pertain to increasingly recognized relevance of quantum mechanics to such critical functions as enzymes and photosynthesis; other chapters (e.g., "Mind" and consciousness) are more preliminary and speculative. But even while advocating for the significance of quantum theory, the authors' treatment is balanced, and allows the reader to appreciate what is more solid or more speculative. Overall, an illuminating account of work being done in this area. But what makes the book not just worthwhile but terrific is its outstanding explanation of the underlying quantum "weirdness" that is key to understanding their argument.

The authors' skillful use of imaginative and lucid analogies is delightful and effective. As I suspect will be true of many readers, I have read dozens of explanations and considered even more examples of quantum theory and phenomena. This book provides the best (non-mathematical) explanations of quantum theory and its relation to classical and thermodynamic systems that I have read. This is not trivial. Most scientific concepts (even as those in literature and art) are founded on metaphor and analogy: It is simply the way most humans (including the most clever) think most of the time. Before we quantify or translate into provable theorems, mathematical or otherwise, we typically conceive of and fundamentally grasp ideas through imaginative comparison with other phenomena or ideas. The analogies and metaphors employed by the authors are exceptionally cogent and effective, which not only strengthens their arguments in the present case, but are likely to stick with many readers whenever they wrestle with quantum "weirdness." A great service by itself.

This is a book full of marvels and exquisitely written. The authors are very clever at explaining difficult concepts of quantum physics, so that even the non-expert reader has the impression, at least for a little while, that the great physicist Richard Feynman was wrong when he said that “If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.”
At present, the science of quantum biology is in its infancy and many issues are still controversial. But authors’ appraisal of the different positions is always balanced and fair. For instance, the authors’ judgment about the idea that quantum phenomena occurring within microtubules might play a fundamental role in the emergence of consciousness is highly commendable: in a nutshell, this is very unlikely (anyway, we are going to see that the authors have in mind another theory of consciousness in which quantum mechanical processes might intervene). In sum, the investigation of the role of quantum mechanics in living processes is extremely interesting and this research field is rapidly growing. The future is certainly ripe for new exciting discoveries.
Overall, the book is of great quality; it is therefore unfortunate that it is flawed by some neuroscientific inaccuracies.
At page 247 it seems that the mind-body problem and the so-called hard problem are the same problem. They are not. The former is the problem of how mental processes (the mind) and physical processes (the body) can interact (for example, how is it possible that the desire of a beer makes a human body move towards the fridge?); while the latter is the problem of how consciousness can have a phenomenal aspect (why do sensations have distinct flavors or, in philosophical jargon, qualia?). In the same page it is also stated that “consciousness, or free will, just doesn’t figure in an entirely deterministic universe”. First, consciousness is not tantamount to free will: the two phenomena are utterly different. In fact consciousness appears to be independent of free will, even though the other way round, namely, that free will ought to be independent of consciousness, seems to be unlikely. Second, why a deterministic universe and consciousness are supposed to be incompatible? On the contrary, according to compatibilism, which is a respectable philosophical position, the conscious mind emerges and develops naturally in a deterministic world. Perhaps this position is wrong, but who knows?
At page 269 authors discuss an interesting theory of consciousness based on the electromagnetic (EM) field produced by the brain, in which quantum phenomena could play a pivotal role. The authors ask what changes in the brain when we pass from an unconscious percept to a conscious one (in the authors’ example, a pair of glasses that suddenly appears to be seen). Since “neural firing itself doesn’t seem to change: the same neurons fire whether or not we see the glasses” [emphasis not mine], their answer is that the EM field is able to synchronize the neurons and thereby to make the percept the content of a conscious state. There are at least two caveats that need to be addressed here. First, synchronization is not the hallmark of consciousness. In fact the synchronization of the firing rates of neurons does not necessarily lead to consciousness, albeit a certain amount of synchronization could be one of the ingredients that are essential for the recipe of consciousness. Second, to say that the neural firing doesn’t seem to change from the moment in which the glasses are unconsciously seen to the moment in which the glasses are consciously seen is inaccurate. Indeed the same neurons appear to fire more intensely during the conscious state and this leads to activate other neurons and thereby spread information more widely within the brain.
But perhaps the main flaw of the book is when authors equate neurons with the logic gates of a computer (page 254). Although the metaphor of the brain as a computer has become a commonplace, neuroscience has repeatedly demonstrated that the analogy is very feeble and, strictly speaking, totally untenable. It is therefore regrettable that distinguished scientists still propagate it. In brief, neurons are much more interconnected than the logic gates of computers; they can vary the intensity and frequency of their firing, and synapses (the places where neurons meet each other) can excite, inhibit, and modulate the firings. Moreover, some synapses can grow, others wither. And last but not least, neurons use more than 100 neurotransmitters to convey information, each of which has its own function. Thus, it is as plain as a pikestaff that the logic gates of computers cannot behave at all as neurons do.
These imperfections notwithstanding, the book remains a valuable text that provides a fascinating picture of the emergent science of quantum biology.

Not much here. Larded with asides that have no relevance to quantum biology.