Philip Kurian’s research reveals how biological systems process quantum information—billions of times faster than traditional signaling—reshaping physics, computing, and the search for life.
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1 Apr, 2025
4 min read
Updated 1 Apr, 2025
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Philip Kurian, a theoretical physicist and founder of the Quantum Biology Laboratory at Howard University, has significantly revised the estimated computational capacity of carbon-based life on Earth. Using the quantum mechanics principles proposed by Erwin Schrödinger nearly 80 years ago, along with findings on cytoskeletal filaments exhibiting quantum optical properties, his work suggests a profound shift in understanding biological information processing.
This research bridges key areas of 20th-century physics—thermodynamics, relativity, and quantum mechanics—to explore quantum information processing in biological systems under normal, everyday conditions.
Kurian said, “Physicists and cosmologists should wrestle with these findings, especially as they consider the origins of life on Earth and elsewhere in the habitable universe, evolving in concert with the electromagnetic field.”
Last year, Philip Kurian made an exciting discovery: a special quantum effect in protein structures within watery environments, even under harsh conditions. This breakthrough could lead to a better understanding of how the brain might protect itself from diseases like Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Besides, the findings also hint at exciting possibilities for quantum computing, offering a fresh perspective on the intersection of quantum mechanics and biological systems.
In this study, Kurian utilized three foundational assumptions: the principles of standard quantum mechanics, the speed limit defined by the speed of light, and the critical mass-energy density of a matter-dominated universe.
Professor Marco Pettini of Aix-Marseille University and the CNRS Center for Theoretical Physics (France), who was not associated with the work, said, “Combined with these rather innocuous premises, the remarkable experimental confirmation of single-photon superradiance in a ubiquitous biological architecture at thermal equilibrium opens up many new lines of inquiry across quantum optics, quantum information theory, condensed matter physics, cosmology, and biophysics.”
Tryptophan, an amino acid found in various proteins, is crucial in absorbing ultraviolet (UV) light and re-emitting it at lower energy levels. It forms extensive networks in cellular structures like microtubules, amyloid fibrils, and neurons.
The Quantum Biology Laboratory (QBL) discovered quantum superradiance in these structures, revealing that eukaryotic organisms can utilize quantum signals for efficient information processing.
During aerobic respiration, cells utilize oxygen and produce free radicals, which release harmful high-energy UV light. Tryptophan, an amino acid, can absorb this UV light and re-emit it at a safer, lower energy level. Extensive networks of tryptophan exhibit quantum effects, enabling them to perform this protective function more efficiently and robustly.
Biochemical signaling traditionally relies on ions moving across membranes, creating electrochemical spikes that take a few milliseconds per signal. Recent discoveries, however, reveal a faster mechanism.
Superradiance in cytoskeletal filaments—enabled by tryptophan networks—occurs in a picosecond, a millionth microsecond. These networks act like quantum fiber optics, allowing eukaryotic cells to process information billions of times faster than conventional chemical signaling methods.
Professor Majed Chergui of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) and Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste (Italy), who supported the 2024 experimental study, said, “The implications of Kurian’s insights are staggering. Quantum biology—in particular, our observations of superradiant signatures from standard protein spectroscopy methods, guided by his theory—has the potential to open new vistas for understanding the evolution of living systems in light of photophysics.”
Scientists often focus on neurons when studying biological information processing, but aneural organisms like bacteria, fungi, and plants—which comprise most of Earth’s biomass—also carry out complex computations. These organisms have existed far longer than animals, so they account for most of Earth’s carbon-based computational activity.
Moreover, interstellar media and asteroids have identified quantum emitters like those found in eukaryotic life. These could be early indicators of the computational edge that eukaryotic life possesses.
Kurian’s predictions establish quantitative limits on how superradiant living systems contribute to planetary computational capacity, advancing beyond the traditional Drake equation. These findings could revolutionize the search for habitable exoplanets by shedding light on how life processes information at quantum levels.
Additionally, Kurian’s work has intrigued quantum computing researchers, as it highlights the resilience of fragile quantum effects in “noisy” environments. This insight offers valuable strategies for enhancing the robustness of quantum information technology. Many in the quantum computing field were surprised to see such groundbreaking connections between biological systems and quantum mechanics.
Converting chicken fat into energy storage devices
“These new performance comparisons will be of interest to the large community of researchers in open quantum systems and quantum technology,” said Professor Nicolò Defenu of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich in Switzerland, a quantum researcher not associated with the work. “It’s really intriguing to see a vital and growing connection between quantum technology and living systems.”
In the Science Advances article, Kurian revisits core quantum and thermodynamic principles, showing the deep connection between physics and information. His team discovered UV-excited qubits in biological fibers, proving that almost all life on Earth can process quantum information with exceptional efficiency, surpassing even the latest quantum error correction technologies.
Quantum physicist Seth Lloyd praised Kurian’s work, highlighting that the computational abilities of living systems are far more advanced than those of artificial systems. These findings emphasize the incredible processing power inherent in life itself.
“In the era of artificial intelligence and quantum computers, it is important to remember that physical laws restrict all their behaviors,” Kurian said. “And yet, though these stringent physical limits also apply to life’s ability to track, observe, know, and simulate parts of the universe, we can still explore and make sense of its brilliant order as the cosmic story unfolds. It’s awe-inspiring that we get to play such a role.”
Journal Reference
- Philip Kurian. Computational capacity of life in relation to the universe. Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adt4623
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