Research report 2019 - Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter
The Design Principles of Nature Revealed at the Atomic and Electronic Timescales
Authors
Eike C. Schulz, Robert Bücker, Günther H. Kassier, Hong Guan Duan, R.J. Dwayne Miller
Departments
Abteilung Dynamik in Atomarer Auflösung am Max-Planck-Institut für Struktur und Dynamik der Materie, Hamburg
Summary
Just how has nature optimized certain biological structures to optimally transduce chemistry into living systems? In the area of barrier-crossing, which takes around 100 femtoseconds, there is a proposal that nature has optimized form and function to exploit quantum effects by environmental engineering to extend coherences - even electronic coherences - on the timescale relevant to electronic motions sensitive to the environment fluctuations. In enzymatic processes lasting microseconds and above, stochastic thermally driven motions need to steer the chemistry to drive biological functions.