Physiological search for quantum biological effects based on the Wigner-Yanase connection between coherence and uncertainty

Abstract

A fundamental concept of quantum physics, the Wigner Yanase information, is here used as a measure of quantum coherence in spin-dependent radical-pair reactions pertaining to biological magnetic sensing. This measure is connected to the uncertainty of the reaction yields, and further, to the statistics of a cellular receptor-ligand system used to biochemically convey magnetic-field changes. Measurable physiological quantities, such as the number of receptors and fluctuations in ligand concentration, are shown to reflect the introduced Wigner-Yanase measure of singlet-triplet coherence. We arrive at a quantum-biological uncertainty relation, connecting the product of a biological resource and a biological figure of merit with the Wigner-Yanase coherence. Our approach can serve a general search for quantum-coherent effects within cellular environments.