Quantum-biology.

Quantum biology is an outsider who is included in an interesting history of science from the 1930s and we learn a lot about what is being researched and speculated on nowadays, especially about the mind. Speculated yes, for it is very difficult to investigate how we think, in any other way than just to think.

In quantum biology, you look at quantum effects such as quantum tunneling (penetration of potential barriers, it breaks with energy conservation in a short period of time), quantum coherence, superposition, quantum entanglement of particles. Quantum biology began as early as the 1930s, in fact by Niels Bohr, so Max Delbrück and Pascal Jordan, who are considered the founder of quantum biology, note that for him it means indeterminism, so free will becomes easier to understand (2:00). The Cambridge Theoretical Biology Club formed in the early 1930s. There were two groupings, the mechanists and the vitalists, but now the “organisists” came between them, they believed there were still physical and chemical laws they not yet knew to and that is typical of today’s quantum biologists as well. Erwin Schrødinger published “What is life” in 1944, but the physicists and biologists had enough to do in separate fields. 

Later Roger Penrose and Stuart Hammeroff came up with a hypothesis that superposition of quantum mechanical states for protein and entanglement of such, in neurons in the brain can result in consciousness (10:30). Quantum mechanics is a mystery and consciousness too, but there’s not enough reason to claim it’s connected. But in the 1990s, they were given new research methods with short lazar pulsars against biological molecules.

Al-Kahlili is a nuclear physicist that is interested in quantum biology as a hobby, in the 1990s, especially after a lecture by McFadden in 1997, in which he talked about bacteria that could mutate in two ways, with equal probability. When the nutrients in the environment favored one type, there were more of such mutations. This he tried to explain with superposition of molecules in the bacterium and entanglement with molecule in the surrounding environment, it is measured by the surrounding environment So it decohers, the super-exposed wave function collapses. Hypotheses is that the surrounding environment thus has an impact on mutation. Now they started working together.

Other relevant new fields for quantum physics: photosynthesis, sense of smell, how birds and animals orienting themselves to Earth-magnetism, quantum tunneling in DNA, quantum technology, quantum computer.

Irreducible mind.

On “Inspiring Philosophy” there is a series of five videos called “Irruducible Mind”, the fourth is about quantum biology. Quantum effects are used, for example, to explain photosynthesis, how birds orient themselves to earth magnetism on long flight trips, sense of smell, quantum filtration to hold together DNA (quantum grids). In our cells there are some thin strands called microtubulus. Roger Penrose submit a hypothesis that our memory could be encoded in microtubulus, there is a point that they are so thin that we get quantum effects that can have an impact on the biological process. In this video, there is a good animation about how they imagine this might work. They are made up of a protein called tubulin, it is a polypeptide chain of about 475 aminoacids and one of them is tryptophan, it plays a key role in the superposition (10:30).

Traditionally, there has been a dualism between body and soul, between the world and God who is Spirit, between matter and spirit. Later we have gained a dualism between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics and now we have got it in biology as well, in our understanding of the brain and the nerve system. There was a long time of speculation, but now they have gained more “evidence” for it. The physicist Diedrik Aerts published an article about it 10 years ago, in which he imagined a level of our consciousness that could be modeled using mathematics in with quantum physics (2:50). Here they compare superposition, interference, saman filtration and tunneling with how we think.

One experiment showed that when rats got food with Li6 behaved differently than rats that got food with Li7, it had the opposite effect and this is obvious quantum effect (8:00). With Li6 the mother rat cared more for the cubs, with Li7 it cared less for them. So they imagine that the rats’ state of mind is encoded by entanglement of Lithium-nucleus and is affected by it’s spin. Nucleus spin entanglement for Li7 is 10 seconds, but for Li6 it is 5 min. So is the brain a quantum computer with nucleus spin as q-bits?

John C. Eccles wrote a book “How the Self controls its brain” in which he explains that you (your mind) control your brain activity and it does not violate energy conservation (5:30) He believes that the mind affects the probability distribution in the brain, the picture refers to the superposition on microtubulus.

“Inspiring Philosophy” believes that the mind and consciousness are like an axiom, it cannot be explained by the material, it cannot be reduced like this, “the mind is irreducible”, but where is a correlation between the brain and the mind (18:20). The measurement problem is that we have no idea what causes the collapse of the wave function, but they imagine that the mind causes it (7:25).

The brain as a quantum-computer. What about neuron plasticity?

Scientists try to make computers with electrical circuits like the brain and then they ask if it can have consciousness like humans, even though the processors are made of silicon. But notice that this also represent a human vision and an understanding of biological life.

Have they forgotten neuroplasticity, that the nerves make contacts through synapses and expand contact as needed? We learn in this way and what we learn depends to some extent on what we choose to learn. And then we may now wonder if humans are able to appreciate themselves more than computers, what may make us appreciate ourselves and each other more than machines? The nerve thread (axon) sends an electrical impulse, no more coding than that. Through a synapse, it can be passed on to another nerve cell. Some of the synapses are electrical, ion passes through a narrow channel to the next nerve cell. Others are chemical, neurotransmitters are sent over the synaptic cleft, they bind to protein on the post-synapse, these proteins are pores and the neurotransmitter becomes crucial for whether or not they should open up, which then affects whether or not the postsynaptic nerve cell should pass the signal on. A cell has protein that is ion channels in the cell wall, they are selective, so there will be more Na+ outside the cell and more K+ inside the cell. The sodium-potassium channel emits three Na+ out for each time it sends two K+ in, so the cell becomes negative inside and positive externally. Repeated channels come into play, but the result is a voltage of 60-80 mV above the cell wall. What is special about a nerve cell is that it is stimulated to send electrical pulses, by receiving signals from other nerve cells, the sensory neurons are stimulated through the senses. The nerve cell has small treads called dendrites and synapses, where it gets voltage differences over the cell wall that is collected in a funnel (axon hillock), where it is decided whether to send such an electric pulse through the nerve tread (axon). The pulse is a short-lived voltage of about 35mv is generated with the opposite sign, a voltage difference of about 90 mv, it is sent as an electric pulse through the axon.

Amoeba have memory.

In an experiment with single-celled animals (like amoeba) they put out poison at one location and food at another. Then the colony learned it, so that they moved just to the food, not to the poison. It showed that it had memory. Living cells in our body may also have memory then. Nerve cells send electrical signals in the hole body, in the brain there is just very much of it and consciousness and self-consciousness is in our brain, but what is it?

The leaders of the Church should serve Christ. The alternative is to serve those who want to catch human souls like the fowler catches birds in his net.

The priest in the Church is supposed to teach us what is most fundamental, that God is Spirit and has created everything with his Word. In it is life and it is the light for humans. Jesus is God’s Word and God’s Son and God loved the world so much that he sent him to the world, so that everyone that believe in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Everyone that received him he gave right to become children of God. So we shall learn to call upon Christ and talk with him as our savior and Lord and talk with God as our Father.

 Then it is very strange if the priest, maybe with the aid of other “well educated” people, like psychologists and psychiatrists, regard it as if there is something wrong with us if we do so. Anyone may come into a kind of trouble and then they do right in going to Christ with it, to try to get help to solve the problem and come out of it. Because he is our savior and Lord that will free you and save your soul like a bird from the fowlers net. But then they instead represent the interests of the fowler and with the diagnosis: human soul, it has come alive, that must come to an end. How could that come about? At the fall of sin, Eve and Adam ate from the three of knowledge and they regard it as if the people have got their knowledge that way and so do they. And the result was that God put enmity between the serpent and the woman and the human soul should die. As if they still haven’t heard, received and understood the gospel of Christ.

Then they imagine that they are the ones to lead mankind to something new and better, to make development. But reptiles can’t even talk and it is more than 60 million years since they ruled the world, by the dinosaurs. So the ideology of a society where the members don’t communicate by talking is obsolete.

Reptiles and mammals have a common ancestor, but reptiles were stronger and better fit to the environment and became the rulers of the world. Saurischians could lift their belly from the ground and ruled the world. Mammals did not take over because they were stronger and won over the reptiles, but because the dinosaurs were eradicated in a natural disaster. So this is used both to tell about dooms-day and God’s grace, that we may be saved from it.

Apostles Peter and Paul teaches what is right, so that by God’s mercy we get corrections of our lives.

God told his people not to carry load on the sabbath, especially not trough Jerusalem’s gates (Jeremiah.17,21). But later it was prophesied that the gentiles would trample on the holy city and even on the outer court of the temple (Daniel 11, Matt.24,15…, John’s Revelation.11,1…). Jesus called on those who carried heavy burdens, to come to him to get rest.

Matt.11, 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 

26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

By faith in him we come into God’s rest, as God rested the seventh day, after all his work (Hebrew,3-4). He has completed his work of salvation in Christ, on that foundation we come into his rest.

By being humble toward God we will experience that he gives spirit and life to our heart and souls and that’s why we are humble to Christ (Isaiah.57,15 John.6,63). But the abomination that that stands on the holy place causes desolation to the life of heart and soul (Matt.24,15…).  We must struggle for life, that’s quite natural and that’s what we know as gentiles, but we must also know our limit, as humans, so that we don’t trample on the holy place, so that it causes desolation to the life Jesus will give to our heart and soul.

It may be appropriate to ask what is the Freudian displacement then, is it the life Jesus gave to your heart and soul? Is it the one who holds back until he is taken away (2.Tess.2,6), anyone who teaches like apostle Paul. Then his teaching in Rom.5-8 is a very good psychoanalysis.

 

The way to death and the way to life.

Moses gave the people a choice between the life, goodness and blessing on one hand side and death, eval and cursing on the other side and advised them to choose life, so that they might live (Deuteronomoy.30,15-20). He told them that God would rise a prophet like him among them (Deuteronomy,18,15…). This is Christ, he also talked about the way to life and the way to death (Matt.7,13-14). He is the way and the gate to life, he is the way, the truth and the life, only through him we may come to our heavenly Father (John.14,6).

John.10, 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 

8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

The Bible tells that we are all sinners and need to be humble toward God and ask for mercy, to confess our sin for Christ, so that his blood cleans us from it. Then he gives spirit and life from heaven, to our heart and souls, so that we can live in society with God, as his children  (Isaiah.57,15 1.John.1,7 Joh.6,63). Yes, that’s the point, God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believe in him shall not perish, but have eternal life (Joh.3,16).

So the first Christians preached the way to life, but they were pursued, first of all because they were not willing to worship the emperor as a god. It was demanded that they should deny Christ and this teaching as if it were delusion and sin and repent to the old religion with the worshipping of the emperor. But this was a wrong way of confession of sin, the point in it was wrong, this was the way to death of the soul. Even though the Christians were killed for their faith in Christ, they walked the way to life.

In the Church history we see that the way to life was replaced by the way to death, as the point in confession of sin was that somebody wanted to get political power through the religion and earn money on it. This may also be their point when they want to use psychologists and psychiatrists, so take care.

The sin caused death to heart and soul and that it became our problem, but then the gospel’s point in confessing it for Christ is to let his blood clean us from it and to receive the spirit and life he gives to our heart and souls.

Apostle Paul also told us about the difference between the way to death and the way to life.

Rom.6, 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 

21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 

22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Since we have come to believe in Christ, we shall regard it as if we are crucified with him and in baptism we are buried with him, so that the old eval nature is dead and buried. So baptism symbolizes salvation like a few people were saved in Noah’s ark. It is a pledge and acknowledgement of good conscience toward God on the foundation of the resurrection of Christ. So it is important for us to say so, first of all to God, then to humans. So notice that it is not on the foundation on anything else but the resurrection of Christ, it is not based on what any human have done, neither us nor anyone else, but Christ, because God completed his work of salvation in him, by letting him die as a sacrifice for all our sin and then rose him from the dead.

Baptism to Christ; pledge and acknowledgement of clear conscience on the foundation of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. That’s how his salvation functions.

The salvation is not based on anything we naturally experience in this world through our senses. But by turning to Christ in fait and call upon him as our savior and Lord, we experience that he gives us spirit and life from heaven, so that the Holy Spirit reveals him for us as our savior and Lord. He gives life to our soul and Spirit in our heart and body, so that the soul lives in the spirit in the body, so that the spirit rules in our body, this life rules over the biological life. In this way we become independent and free.

2.Corinth.3, 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 

18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

In this way we become sovereign over the physical nature, so that real sciences is no problem to us, even though it becomes hard to understand and learn. But notice that he scientific methods in real sciences also makes us able to think independently. When we do a scientific experiment we observe what happens from outside, without interfering with it. What we learn this way may also make us able to do something more, by ruling over the physical nature, like living souls.

To use the results from real sciences against this is not appropriate then. If this is the aim of any kind of scientific research, it may be temptation like when the serpent said to the woman that if they ate from the tree of knowledge, they would become like God, to know good and bad. The aim is to search for an argument against living in society with God. In this way empiricism becomes temptation (Matt.18,5-10). In this way the gentiles tramples on the holy place. This is stupidity, but real science is not that stupid, it has rationality.

By faith we come into God’s rest.

God told his people not to carry loads trough Jerusalem’s gates on sabbath, because his plan with them was to lead them into his rest, as he rested the seventh day after all his work (Jeremiah.17,12). But it was prophesied that the gentiles should trample on the holy place (Daniel.12,11 Zechariah.11 Johns Revelation.11).

Matt.24. 15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 

16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

But by faith in Christ we come into God’s rest, as he has completed his work of salvation in Christ (Matt.11,25-30 Hebrews.3-4). But this trampling is devastating to this rest, it is like selling the people to slavery and killing the life Christ gives to our heart and souls (John.10, 1…).

We have to take part in the struggle for life in our work through the week, but at the weekend we may rest. Still we may get an impression that makes us ask how to avoid taking part in this trampling, as if it is organized in the society. Through workday we do our work, also if we are at school or study. But at the same time God does his work with us and that means rest for us. Then it is wise to use the Sabbath or Sunday to rest, to make sure we stay in God’s rest.

Life shall grow in our hearts like plants in a garden, but this trampling is like tramping on the plants to kill them. How to avoid trampling on it? By faith we just let him do his work in us with his Word and his Spirit and by faith we just thank him for it.

The lost son and his brother.

Imagine a farmer and his wife. They have slaves and hire workers on the farm. When their children are small, they learn both from them and their parents. They talk to their parents like sons and daughters, but start to work on the farm with no more rights than the slaves. But as they grow and learn, they get more rights and responsibility than the slaves and the workers.

Maybe the slaves and the workers tell their children that their Father is very busy, but they can talk with them instead. Then they don’t get more rights than them. They tell them that their parents went abroad, but as time goes by they start to ask for them again. Then they say that they were killed. After some more days the children start to claim their rights as heirs. But then they say that there is no testament. As the children still claimed their heritage, they start to say that their parents didn’t really exist. The farm belongs to them and the children are their slaves.

By the way compare to apostle Paul’s talk about the old and the new covenant (Gal.4) and Jesus’ talk about the two sons, one was lost the other remained at home. The lost one was dead, but became alive and returned home. Then the Father made a feast. The other one didn’t want to participate and went out. Because he had been faithful, but the Father had not let him make such a feast with his friends. But the Father came out and told him that all that he owns is his, he is heir. This is first of all Christ, as he went out and died instead of us. For he said about himself that all what the Fader has, is his. All who received him got the right to become children of God, borne by the Holy Spirit and what is borne by the Spirit is spirit. Then we live at our Father’s house. Then we don’t need to pray to him like slaves, because by faith we pray to him like heirs.

He knew he should be executed and told his disciples. Still he would not leave them as Fatherless children, he would come to them and after he rose from then dead he said that should see he was with them every day. How? By sending the Holy Spirit to them from heaven.

John.14, 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 

John.16,1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 

2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 

3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 

4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 

5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 

6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 

8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 

9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 

10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 

11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 

13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 

14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 

15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”