Why does quantum biology need multiple disciplines working together? Quantum biology cannot be approached as a branch of physics alone, or biology alone. The questions we're trying to answer sit at the intersection of several fields, and understanding them requires us to work across traditional scientific boundaries. At the Quantum Biology Institute (QBI), we bring together biology, physics, engineering, computation, and more because the research depends on how these fields inform one another. The questions we ask shape the experiments we design, while the tools we develop and the data we collect can change how we approach those same questions. This ongoing exchange of ideas, methods, and expertise allows us to explore scientific problems from different perspectives. Rather than treating quantum biology as one narrow specialty, we see it as a field that requires different ways of thinking to come together. Each discipline brings its own perspective, challenges assumptions, and helps strengthen the research process. As we continue exploring the role of quantum effects in living systems, our ability to work across these boundaries will be essential to advancing the science.

Every living thing on Earth has grown up inside a magnetic field. It’s about 50 µT, and it’s so constant that we never notice it. So here’s a simple question: what happens to life when you take it away? At QBI, we create hypomagnetic conditions, reducing magnetic fields to a tiny fraction of Earth's normal strength, sometimes below 1 nT. Why? Removing Earth's magnetic field helps us investigate whether biological systems respond to it, and whether quantum effects might help explain how. Here’s some of what we've seen so far: - Frog embryos developed faster. In a carefully controlled hypomagnetic environment below 1 nT, Xenopus laevis embryos showed accelerated development compared with those in Earth's normal magnetic field: doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.10.6… - Bacteria took longer to start growing. At 19 nT, E. coli spent about 50% longer in its initial adjustment phase, but grew at the same rate once rapid growth began: doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.03.… - We identified 81 genes in E. coli whose expression differed between hypomagnetic and normal magnetic conditions during that initial adjustment phase: doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.03.… - Fluorescent proteins responded to magnetic fields. We've observed magnetic-field-dependent fluorescence in both engineered and naturally occurring proteins. In our MagLOV2 experiments, the results were consistent with the quantum radical pair mechanism: biorxiv.org/content/10.64898… We're still figuring out what causes these responses. But understanding them could reveal more about how living systems interact with magnetic fields and whether quantum mechanics plays a role. Our experiments, methods, and data are openly documented in QBI's electronic lab notebooks (ELNs): data.quantumbiology.org/

Meet the QBI Team! (Part 2/2) Continuing our introductions, meet four more people behind the Quantum Biology Institute! From scientific computing and microbiology to research infrastructure and operations, each plays an important role in supporting QBI's mission. Dr. Michael Montague | Chief Technology Officer A microbiologist with research experience at Johns Hopkins and the J. Craig Venter Institute, Michael brings expertise in synthetic biology, bioinformatics, and microbiology. At QBI, he oversees technology efforts and investigates how microorganisms respond to weak magnetic fields through multi-omics research. Dr. Morgan Sosa | Head of Computational Research and Data Infrastructure A computational physical chemist and research software developer, Morgan built QBI's research data infrastructure from the ground up. Her work includes developing the systems that automatically publish our electronic lab notebooks, helping make QBI's experiments, methods, and scientific progress openly accessible. Bret Gaitan | Grants & Operations Consultant With a background spanning military intelligence, education, business management, and operations, Bret brings experience in research, analysis, and organizational planning. At QBI, he supports grant-related work and helps improve the processes that keep the Institute running smoothly. Jennilyn Gaitan | Head of Operations Certainly not least, the woman who helps keep everything together! With more than two decades of experience in administration and operations, Jennilyn has been part of QBI since 2023. She oversees day-to-day operations and develops the systems and processes that allow the team to focus on their research. We're grateful for the expertise, dedication, and perspectives each person brings to QBI. It's this kind of collaboration that makes interdisciplinary research possible, and we're excited to share more of the work happening across the Institute.

Meet the QBI Team! (Part 1/2) We wanted to take a moment to introduce (or reintroduce) the people behind the Quantum Biology Institute. Our team brings together researchers from different scientific backgrounds, each contributing their expertise to a shared goal: understanding the role quantum physics may play in living systems. Here are some of the people working to make that happen: Dr. Clarice D. Aiello | Chief Scientific Officer A quantum engineer with a PhD from MIT and research experience at Stanford and UC Berkeley, Clarice leads QBI's scientific direction. Her work focuses on understanding how quantum physics may inform biological processes at the nanoscale. Dr. Venkatesh K. Sridharan | Head of Redox Biology With a background in cardiovascular research and biopharmaceutical discovery, Venkatesh investigates how weak magnetic fields and electron-spin dynamics may influence cellular redox processes, signaling, and metabolism. Dr. Brian L. Ross | Head of Biochemistry A molecular biologist specializing in protein design and evolution, Brian earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins and conducted postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute. At QBI, he brings expertise in protein engineering and molecular biology to the investigation of magnetosensitive proteins. Dr. Alessandro Lodesani | Co-founder With a PhD in Physics from the Polytechnic University of Milan and previous research at MIT, Alessandro helped build QBI's experimental capabilities. His work has included designing specialized instruments to investigate the effects of weak magnetic fields on biological systems. Joseph Mansour | Applied Physicist A patented inventor, and STEM polymath, with 40 years developing laser, and electronic commercial products. Completed graduate studies in Applied Physics at Stanford, after Physics B.S. from UCLA. At QBI, he is developing the Quantum Bacterioscope. We're excited to show off some of the people driving this research forward.

We thought it was time to properly introduce ourselves and share a little more about the work we're doing at the Quantum Biology Institute (QBI). Our mission is to understand the role quantum physics plays in living biological systems. Right now, our research focuses on a core question: How can weak magnetic fields influence biology? Scientists have observed that magnetic fields can affect biological processes, including cellular growth and metabolism. But the mechanisms behind many of these effects remain poorly understood. One hypothesis we're investigating involves quantum superposition, through a process known as the radical pair mechanism. In certain chemical reactions, magnetic fields can influence the quantum states of paired electrons, potentially changing the outcomes of those reactions. We want to understand whether these quantum processes help explain magnetic-field effects inside living cells, and whether they play a functional role in biology. Thread below ⬇️ — How are we approaching this? Our research brings together physics and biology: - On the physics side, we're developing specialized instruments to investigate magnetic-field effects and quantum spin dynamics, alongside theoretical models to understand and predict these interactions. - On the biology side, we're identifying magnetosensitive proteins, studying changes in gene expression and biological pathways, and exploring how magnetic fields may influence redox processes and metabolism. — Where does the research stand today, and what's next? So far, we've developed specialized instruments, built theoretical models, identified naturally occurring magnetosensitive proteins, and observed magnetic-field-dependent changes in bacterial growth and gene expression. Now, we're working to connect these observations to their underlying physics. We're developing the Quantum Bacterioscope to investigate quantum spin dynamics inside living cells, while continuing to identify the molecules and biological pathways involved. Our long-term goal is to establish whether and how quantum superposition contributes to biological function. — Of course, there's much more to this work than we can fit into one X post, and we'd love for you to explore the research, ask questions, and join the conversation. Open science is central to how we operate. We share our ongoing research through publicly accessible electronic lab notebooks, alongside publications, educational courses, and more: - Open lab notebooks: data.quantumbiology.org/ - Research publications: quantumbiology.org/publicati… - Educational series: youtube.com/@QuantumBioOrg Follow along as we investigate whether quantum physics could offer an entirely new way to understand, and perhaps one day influence, living biology.

We are an institute studying how quantum effects may influence biological systems, with much of our work focused on how weak magnetic fields interact with biology. We also want to make more of the research process visible, not just the finished results. Here’s how we do it ⬇️