Are lithium, phosphate, and Posner molecule fundamental for quantum biology?

I encountered a very interesting Facebook link to the work of Mathew Fisher related to quantum biology.

I attach below the abstract of the article of Fisher.

The possibility that quantum processing with nuclear spins might be operative in the brain is proposed and then explored. Phosphorus is identified as the unique biological element with a nuclear spin that can serve as a qubit for such putative quantum processing – a neural qubit – while the phosphate ion is the only possible qubit-transporter. We identify the “Posner molecule”, Ca₉(PO₄)⁶, as the unique molecule that can protect the neural qubits on very long times and thereby serve as a (working) quantum-memory.

A central requirement for quantum-processing is quantum entanglement. It is argued that the enzyme catalyzed chemical reaction which breaks a pyrophosphate ion into two phosphate ions can quantum entangle pairs of qubits. Posner molecules, formed by binding such phosphate pairs with extracellular calcium ions, will inherit the nuclear spin entanglement. A mechanism for transporting Posner molecules into presynaptic neurons during a “kiss and run” exocytosis, which releases neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft, is proposed. Quantum measurements can occur when a pair of Posner molecules chemically bind and subsequently melt, releasing a shower of intra-cellular calcium ions that can trigger further neurotransmitter release and enhance the probability of post-synaptic neuron firing. Multiple entangled Posner molecules, triggering non-local quantum correlations of neuron firing rates, would provide the key mechanism for neural quantum processing. Implications, both in vitro and in vivo, are briefly mentioned.

Lithium mystery

The starting point of Fisher was a very interesting finding challenging the hypothesis about life as mere bio-chemistry. Already in 1986, scientists at Cornell University examined the effects of the two isotopes of Lithium on the behavior of rats. Pregnant rats were separated into three groups. One group was given Li⁷, one group was given the isotope Li⁶, and the third served as the control group. Once the pups were born, the mother rats that received Li⁶ showed much stronger maternal behaviors, such as grooming, nursing and nest-building, than the rats in either the Li⁷ or control groups.

Li⁶ therefore as has a positive effect on maternal behaviour unlike Li⁷. The chemistry is exactly the same. According to the popular article, Fisher believes that the higher nuclear spin of Li⁶ could give it special role. As a matter fact, Li⁷ has higher nuclear spin of J=3/2 units whereas Li⁶ has nuclear spin J=1 so that the claim is not correct. Could the bosonic character of Li⁶ nucleus provide an alternative explanation? In any case, the finding strongly suggests that magnetic fields are involved.

Lithium – presumably Li⁶ – has also other positive effects. If the positive effects are indeed due to Li⁶ isotope, the dose of Lithium could be reduced by using only Li⁶ isotope. I attach here the abstract of the article that I wrote as a reaction to the discussions with my friend Samppa who told me about Lithium.

Lithium has been used for more than 50 years as a mood stabilizer in manic depression. During last years Lithium has been studied intensively and found that it can be used also in treatment of schizophrenia and many other brain disorders. The effectiveness of Lithium is however difficult to understand in the standard framework of biology. In TGD framework organism-environment pair of standard biology is replaced with the triplet magnetic body – organism -environment. Magnetic body uses biological body as sensory receptor and motor instrument. This suggests that the re-establishment of communications of brain with some level of the magnetic body is how lithium causes its positive effects. Magnetic body does not receive information about brain and cannot control it since dark Lithium ions and correspond- ing cyclotron radiation are not present. The disorders caused by the lack Lithium and other biologically important ions would therefore be something totally new from the perspective of standard neuroscience.

The TGD explanation for the effects of Lithium relies on the notions of magnetic body and dark large h_eff=n× h photons, electrons, and ions and relies on cyclotron frequencies as frequencies assignable to the dark photons responsible for the communications between magnetic body and biological body. In this picture the charge of the ion and its total magnetic moment would be relevant rather than only nuclear magnetic moment characterizing also neutral atoms (which could also contribute to the magnetic moment of ion). Cyclotron frequencies would replace Larmor frequencies.

1. For Li⁶ the cyclotron frequency is about 50.0 Hz in the endogenous magnetic field B_end=.2 Gauss explaining the quantal effects of em fields at ELF frequencies on vertebrate brain reported by the pioneers of bio-electromagnetism such as Blackman to occur at multiples of cyclotron frequency in this magnetic field for Calcium ion and also for other biologically important ions. For Ca⁺² ion the cyclotron frequency is 15 Hz. Thanks to the large value of h_eff=n× h dark photons would have energies above thermal threshold. An attractive hypothesis is that the energies are in the range of bio-photon energies (visible and UV).

2. In the case of Li⁶ the dark photons would make possible communication to and control by the magnetic body relevant for maternal behaviors. Magnetic fields oscillating at 50 Hz frequency are known to have biological effects. The size of the corresponding magnetic body part would be obtained from the wavelength λ= 2π R (R denotes the radius of Earth) of the lowest Schumann frequency 7.8 Hz as L= (7.8/50)× R=.98× R. This suggests that dark magnetic flux tubes assignable with Earth are involved: not however that the field strength is 2B_E/5.
3. For Li⁷ the dark photons would have cyclotron frequency about 42.9 Hz, which brings in mind the thalamocortical resonance with frequency around 40 Hz assigned to consciousness at the time when the use of the word “consciousness ceased to be pseudo-science. The more abundant Li⁷ (92.5 per cent) should be also important but could be associated with other kinds of biological functions.

Phosphate, Posner molecule, and cognition

Fisher as also other quantum biologists tries to understand quantum biology as an improvement of biochemistry. One assumes that standard quantum theory brings in small effects allowing to optimize biological functions. In the case of the avian navigation and also in many other situations the problem is that Earth’s magnetic field is only 2 per cent of the minimum magnetic field at which the proposed radical-pair mechanism is found to work (see this). To my opinion much more radical approach challenging the basics of quantum theory itself is necessary.

Fisher assigns quantum entanglement with phosphate ion (see this). So called Posner molecule made of 6 phosphate ions and 9 calcium ions would be the key player. Fisher identifies the nuclear spin of so called Posner molecule as a biological qubit. Phosphate would be carrier of qubit giving rise to (working) quantum-memory.

In TGD framework both nuclear spins and angular moment of dark nuclei in the magnetic fields assignable to dark magnetic flux tubes would be important: Larmor frequencies would be replaced with the sums of Larmor – and cyclotron frequencies assignable to (usually) charged particles. It is interesting to look whether the cyclotron frequencies of phosphate and Posner molecule could teach something about their possible role.

1. Phosphate PO₄^-3 with mass number 31+4× 16=95 has cyclotron frequency 9.5 Hz in the endogenous magnetic field B_end=.2 Gauss assumed in TGD model. This frequency is in alpha band! For smaller charges -2 and -1 one has frequencies 6.26 Hz and 3.13 Hz. In TGD framework the transfer of phosphate from ATP to the acceptor bio-molecule could be at the fundamental level transfer of negentropic entanglement from metabolites. This could reduce to the transfer the ends of the associated flux tubes between the molecules.

2. The cyclotron frequency of Posner molecule Ca₉⁺²(PO₄^-3)₆ ion in B_end=.2 Gauss is obtains 10.8 Hz: the cyclotron frequency is again in alpha band!

These observations put the bells ringing – with a frequency of 10 Hz, one might say. Unfortunately this frequency is not directly audible, so that I cannot hope that colleagues would hear the ringing! There are however some hopes: also 10 Hz can be made audible as difference of frequencies fed to right and left ear! Maybe some experimentalist could get interested!

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

Articles and other material related to TGD.