Physicists Use Computer Models to Reveal Quantum Effects in Biological Oxygen Transport

(Phys.org) --Physicists have created a unique combination of computer models, based on the theory of quantum mechanics, and applied them to a previously well characterised protein found in muscle to develop a new picture of how biomolecules transport and store oxygen (O2). In doing so, the international team have shown how the process of respiration, which is fundamental in humans and other vertebrates, exploits quantum mechanical effects working on tiny scales.