The Physical Basis of Life

Abstract

The properties of living systems are divisible into three classes: microscopic, macroscopic, and consciousness. The comprehensibility of a property in the semi—classical framework is the basis of division; a property in the microscopic class is comprehensible, in the macroscopic class has a few gaps in its comprehension, and in the consciousness class is incomprehensible. The properties of quantum objects are also of three types: classical, non-classical but local, and non-classical and non-local. Non-classical properties are incomprehensible in the classical framework and are of holistic character. The two classifications are suggestive of a conjecture that a living system is a macroscopic quantum object and its properties in the macroscopic and consciousness classes are manifestations of its holistic quantum features. The conjecture gets support from the behaviour of photon signals needed for fulfilling thermodynamic requirements of energy conservation and information degradation in biological processes. Photon signals associated with the quantum aspects of living systems will be in pure quantum states. It appears that the photons identified as biophotons are in pure quantum states and are emitted in the fundamental biological processes at the genetic level. Living system emerges as a collage of intermittent coherent quantum patches of moderate size from the behaviour of biophoton signals. The patches (or domains) act as quantum objects during selections and detections at genetic level. The information generated in selections is stored in an erasable memory. The contents of the memory associated with a patch are accessible to other patches. The erasure of the memory of different patches is need based and gives rise to a burst of photons.