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Quantum Evolution: How Physics' Weirdest Theory Explains Life's Biggest Mystery (Norton Paperback) | 
 enlarge | Author: Johnjoe Mcfadden
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 86542
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 338
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0393323102
Dewey Decimal Number: 576.8
EAN: 9780393323108
ASIN: 0393323102
Publication Date: April 2002
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Amazon.com Review
The hairiest heresy of evolutionary biology, the one most likely to get scientists figuratively burned at the stake, is the notion that any force more selective than blind chance could drive mutation. Such "directed evolution" smacks too much of a retreat into creationism for most science-minded readers to be comfortable with, but there's no a priori reason to reject the idea. Molecular biologist Johnjoe McFadden risks the Inquisition by suggesting just such a possibility in Quantum Evolution: The New Science of Life. Directed at a general but somewhat sophisticated readership, the book covers the basics of both standard evolutionary theory and quantum-level physics, then synthesizes them in an interesting theory of made-to-order mutation that explains enough to warrant attention and is, importantly, testable. McFadden's writing is clear and sharp, and it shows a high regard for the reader's intelligence and patience for complex ideas. This is no airplane book--except for those already well-versed in the latest in both evolutionary theory and subatomic physics. The rewards of reading are great, and the author bows just enough to established theory that he might meet the fate of his intellectual predecessors. The ideas underlying Quantum Evolution may be right or wrong, but they challenge received wisdom without plunging into dogmatism--and that's good science. --Rob Lightner
Product Description
Johnjoe McFadden "enters new and provocative territory in his marriage of physics and biology" (Science News). His simple but staggering theory of quantum evolution shows how quantum mechanics gives living organisms the ability to initiate specific actions, including new mutations. As Paul Davies exclaims, "if these ideas are right, they will transform our understanding of the relationship between physics and biology" and may radically revise the notion of random evolution and the debate over consciousness and free will.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Superb writing October 12, 2008
Perfection in scientific writing achieved by Dr McFadden. Shame I did not have a single lecture with him at University of Surrey.
Speculative, yes, but well-written April 25, 2008
McFadden begins with a discussion of what defines life. He concludes that "directed action" is a key notion. This is something analogous to the appearance of "will" in humans or higher animals. Moreover this directed action takes place all the way down to the microscopic level within organisms. Organisms are characterized by order via directed action at scales large and small.
Prior to presenting the core arguments for quantum effects in life, McFadden reviews evolution and DNA replication. He also looks at the different theories for the origin of life. On his way toward providing his own answer, McFadden next takes a closer look at biochemistry, showing that as you drill down into particular biological functions you find they are driven by directed movements of individual protons or electrons via the electromagnetic force. This puts us squarely in the domain of physics, specifically quantum physics.
McFadden presents his own very readable summary of QM, leaning heavily on the two-slit experiment as a heuristic device. His strategy is to show that quantum measurements are happening at the micro-level in living systems. He gives an example of an enzyme action that ultimately depends on a single proton, which we know must be in a superposition of states absent measurement. So, a living system must be measuring itself. His view is that the classical world depends generally on continual measurement for its manifestation. This discussion leads to the next key tool McFadden wants to use: the quantum Zeno effect (and inverse Zeno effect). This, he speculates, is what is responsible for directed action at the micro-level.
With the review of QM in hand, he returns to a discussion of the origin of life and the question of how the first replicator was assembled (given the extreme improbability of it happening by chance). He theorizes that quantum superpositions could allow exploration of a large space of possibilities at the scale of an amino acid peptide chain. But the chances still seem small of making the self-replicator. However, harnessing the (inverse) Zeno effect could increase the probability. And, once you have a self-replicator, can we assume natural selection can do the rest of the job? No, there is still a big challenge here in getting a simple replicator to build the complex machinery of a cell. Moreover, in computer simulations, replicators tend to generate simpler systems, not more complex ones.
McFadden speculates that if a system on the edge of the classical frontier repeatedly fell back into quantum superposition and took advantage of the inverse quantum Zeno effect, this could have added complexity. Still, we haven't been able to do anything like this in the lab.
And yet, the case seems relatively more compelling that non-trivial quantum effects are being exhibited in living cells (even if they are difficult or impossible to directly detect). To give credence to the existence of these effects one can estimate that decoherence times would be lengthy enough for them to occur in the relevant context. Also, important to note is that it is only coherent systems are sensitive enough to be affected by the weak electromagnetic fields which are known to exist in the cellular realm. McFadden concludes the quantum/classical barrier exists at the sub-cellular level of biology, and that organisms are comprised of "quantum cells".
Getting back once again to the definition of life, McFadden says the cell's ability to "capture" low entropy states to maintain order at the microscopic level via (internal) quantum measurements and the quantum Zeno effect is responsible for the distinctive directed action which characterizes life.
In the final chapters, McFadden first reprises the discussion of the role of quantum effects in DNA mutation and adaptive evolution. Then, he closes with his theory of how quantum effects in the brain may be linked to human will and consciousness.
On the one hand, this book consists of speculation stacked on speculation. On the other hand, each step progresses from features of physics or biochemistry that we know to be true. Between the spheres of quantum physics and the human mind lies the world of biology: I continue to look for arguments and evidence that biological systems have features that can bridge these realms. This book was a fine effort along this line.
Great book March 16, 2008
The authors exploration into quantum physics and it's relevance in evolution provides an extremely interesting view on the possibilities of how life began. Quantum physics was not a discipline that I had much knowledge of prior to reading this book, but McFadden makes clear, easy to understand examples of its most important points. I found this material so interesting that I even reread the book to gain a clearer understanding of the big picture of quantum evolution. This book was very well written and I recommend it to anyone interested in science at the molecular and atomic level.
Biology Physically Explained! March 9, 2008
This is one of the most innovative theories I've encountered since Albert Einstein's proposal of General Relativity (I once recommended this book to one of my buddies and he ended up buying it and making his girlfriend read it). It basically explains the origins of life, evolutionary jumps, adaptive mutation rates, and unprecedented complex processes (especially those whose precursors lacked an independent selection value) in terms of the influence of the inverse quantum zeno effect on the decoherence of chimeric protein sequence superpositions in ribonucleic acids.
An Introduction for the Neophyte to the Subject of Quantum Evolution February 10, 2007
If yours is a less-than-layman's knowledge of the biological sciences, biochemistry, systems theory, quantum electrodynamics, and genetics, fear not. Lads and lords alike will find this meta-disciplinary study entertaining, anectdotal, and edifying.
Spliced with the McKenna brothers' "The Invisible Landscape", 21st Century fusions of science and spirituality start to display their edge features. Interesting commentaries on the early evolution of chemical pathways and autocalytic cycles make this an important addition to the complexity theorist's library.
McFadden provides historical narratives to frame this essay, which make its strangely unorthodox probes into quantum observation within the sub-cellular landscape easier to digest. A popsci background in disciplines such as quatum mechanics, systems theory, and biology will make this a four-five day read. The author's argument is both challenging and controversial, but his case is vacuum-sealed.
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