Johnjoe McFadden

Quantum Evolution

A brilliant new application of the principles of quantum mechanics to explain the origins of life.

How did life start? How did something capable of replicating itself emerge from the primordial soup? How did it defy the odds? And how did it continue to seek out those very mutations that enable survival? Life is an extraordinary phenomenon whose existence requires an extraordinary explanation.

Living organisms are controlled by a single molecule: DNA. Yet the study of physics tells us that the behavior of single molecules is controlled not by familiar classical laws but by the strange laws of quantum mechanics. The biological implications of this principle have never been fully explored—until now.

In this brilliant debut, Johnjoe McFadden puts forward a novel theory of quantum evolution. He shows how quantum mechanics gives living organisms the ability to initiate specific actions, including new mutations. Indeed, such an ability may be life's most fundamental attribute. This simple but staggering theory has radical implications. Debunking the recent propositions of evolutionary theorists, McFadden argues that evolution may not be random at all. Rather, it may be directed-that is, in certain circumstances, cells may be able to choose to mutate particular genes that provide an advantage in their environment. This property of living organisms to direct their actions undoubtedly lies at the core of the much-disputed issues of consciousness and free will. Quantum Evolution provides a new understanding of the origin of life and the meaning of death.