Magnetic field effects in biology from the perspective of the radical pair mechanism
Hundreds of studies have found that weak magnetic fields can significantly influence various biological systems. However, the underlying mechanisms behind these phenomena remain elusive. Remarkably, the magnetic energies implicated in these effects are much smaller than thermal energies. Here, we re...
Uložené v:
| Vydané v: | Journal of the Royal Society interface Ročník 19; číslo 193; s. 20220325 |
|---|---|
| Hlavní autori: | , |
| Médium: | Journal Article |
| Jazyk: | English |
| Vydavateľské údaje: |
England
03.08.2022
|
| Predmet: | |
| ISSN: | 1742-5662, 1742-5662 |
| On-line prístup: | Zistit podrobnosti o prístupe |
| Tagy: |
Pridať tag
Žiadne tagy, Buďte prvý, kto otaguje tento záznam!
|
| Shrnutí: | Hundreds of studies have found that weak magnetic fields can significantly influence various biological systems. However, the underlying mechanisms behind these phenomena remain elusive. Remarkably, the magnetic energies implicated in these effects are much smaller than thermal energies. Here, we review these observations, and we suggest an explanation based on the radical pair mechanism, which involves the quantum dynamics of the electron and nuclear spins of transient radical molecules. While the radical pair mechanism has been studied in detail in the context of avian magnetoreception, the studies reviewed here show that magnetosensitivity is widespread throughout biology. We review magnetic field effects on various physiological functions, discussing static, hypomagnetic and oscillating magnetic fields, as well as isotope effects. We then review the radical pair mechanism as a potential unifying model for the described magnetic field effects, and we discuss plausible candidate molecules for the radical pairs. We review recent studies proposing that the radical pair mechanism provides explanations for isotope effects in xenon anaesthesia and lithium treatment of hyperactivity, magnetic field effects on the circadian clock, and hypomagnetic field effects on neurogenesis and microtubule assembly. We conclude by discussing future lines of investigation in this exciting new area of quantum biology. |
|---|---|
| Bibliografia: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 ObjectType-Review-3 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 1742-5662 1742-5662 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rsif.2022.0325 |