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3 postsMagnetic effects in biology: Crucial role of quantum coherence in the radical pair mechanism
This theoretical biophysics study models the radical pair mechanism as an open quantum system to derive an explicit dependence of magnetic-field effects on the spin coherence relaxation time (τ) and chemical kinetics (k). It reports a condition under which RPM effects become significant and estimates τ in cryptochrome-like proteins to be on the order of units to tens of nanoseconds. The paper also reports that nanoTesla-level radio-frequency fields have minor influence and are unlikely to disrupt RPM patterns under the modeled decoherence.
Active matter as the underpinning agency for extraordinary sensitivity of biological membranes to electric fields
This biophysics paper presents a nonequilibrium (active matter) statistical mechanics model for electromechanical biological membranes. It argues that energy-driven activity in membranes could enable detection of electric fields far below equilibrium thermal-noise limits, and reports that the model can reproduce experimental observations by tuning activity. The abstract frames this as a potential mechanistic link between weak electromagnetic fields and biological responses, while also noting future modeling directions and possible implications for exposure safety discussions.
Impact of a Terahertz electromagnetic field on the ion permeation of potassium and sodium channels
This biophysics study used molecular dynamics simulations to examine how terahertz electromagnetic fields affect ion permeation in voltage-gated potassium (Kv1.2) and sodium (Nav1.5) channels. The simulations report increased ion permeability at several specific terahertz frequencies, with effects depending on field frequency and direction and increasing with field amplitude. The authors frame these results as evidence of specific EMF–ion channel interactions with potential health relevance and possible biomedical applications.