Hypothesis of macroscopic quantum state in biological systems and discussion on the possibility of its experimental verification

Abstract

Earlier it was noted that the functioning of biological systems is accompanied by a very low level of energy dissipation, and it was assumed that a physical mechanism similar to that which works in superconductivity can operate here. The paper proposes a hypothesis that the phenomenon of life is not based on superconductivity, but on some so far unexplored macroscopic quantum state of organic structures making up the cell. It is assumed that this state is also characterized by the presence of an energy gap in the electronic spectrum, which makes the state stable and provides a low level of energy dissipation. The possibility of using optical spectroscopy methods for identifying the energy gap in biological objects is analyzed. It is assumed that the virus is alive inside the host cell, but not alive outside the host cell. It is proposed to use Raman spectroscopy of the process of bacterial infection with phages to search for the energy gap. This should confirm or refute the main hypothesis, as well as provide an opportunity to answer the question: “Are viruses alive?”