New Results about Microtubules as Quantum Systems

Abstract

Around 2014, the latest hot news in quantum biology was the observation by the group led by Anirban Bandyopadhyay about detection of quantum vibration in microtubule scale - their lengths vary up to 50 micrometer. If this observation can be replicated, one can speak about a breakthrough in quantum consciousness. The findings reported in an earlier talk of Bandyopadhyay give support for the general TGD inspired view about topological quantum computation (TQC) and allow for a rather detailed model in the case of microtubules. The idea is that flux tubes form a 2-D coordinate grid consisting of parallel flux tubes in two different directions. Crossing points would be associated with tubulins and the conformational state of tubulin could define a bit coding whether the braid strands defining coordinate lines are braided or not (swap or not). In this manner any bit pattern at microtubule defines a particular TQC program. If also the conformations are quantum superposed, one would have "quantum-quantum computation". It however seems that conformation change is an irreversible chemical reaction so that this option is not feasible. The TGD inspired modification of the proposal in terms of flux tube coordinate grids making possible TQC architectures with tubulin dimers defining bits defining in turn TQC program looks rather natural. Coordinate grids can be fixed on the basis of the experimental findings and there are 8 of them.