This essay does an excellent job of highlighting not just direct quantum mechanisms in biology but also metaphorical parallels between quantum behavior and biological systems. I was especially struck by the analogies drawn between superposition and follicular competition, stem cell fate and quantum state collapse, and proton tunneling as a potential mechanism for mutation—each pointing to a deeper symmetry between physical and biological order.
The idea that multiple developmental trajectories (in the ovarian follicle example) co-exist until one “collapses” the field through feedback inhibition parallels quantum measurement, not just as metaphor but potentially as an expression of system-level optimization dynamics, was compelling. Similarly, likening stem cell pluripotency to a particle in a superposition of states—collapsing into a differentiated fate—raises provocative questions about whether classical biological systems are passively mirroring quantum principles, or whether they're shaped by them in ways we don't yet fully understand.
My own thesis [viz., Life is quantum. But what about evolution?] builds from a similar premise—that quantum effects may not just power isolated cellular mechanisms, but may reflect a more general principle of how biological systems generate and resolve evolutionary possibilities through non-classical randomness. The exploration of quantum tunneling in DNA and its implications for mutation rates is especially relevant to this, since it suggests a mechanism by which indeterminacy is physically embedded in genetic variation itself—opening the door perhaps, for non-classical models of evolution and development? Would welcome your thoughts. And congrats on an essay I was able and happy to grade favorably! Cheers!!
