Launching of Davydov solitons in proteins
Biological order provided by protein α-helices could be exploited by living organisms for increasing the efficiency of energy transport. Self-trapping of amide I energy quanta by the induced phonon deformation of the hydrogen-bonded lattice of peptide groups generates either pinned or moving solitary waves following the Davydov model. The effect of in-phase Gaussian pulses of amide I energy, however, is strongly dependent on the site of application. Moving solitons are only launched when the amide I energy is applied at one of the α-helix ends, whereas pinned solitons are produced in the α-helix interior.
Multiquanta Davydov solitons in proteins
Proteins are molecular nano-engines, which maintain living systems in far-from-equilibrium ordered states. To fuel bioprocesses, however, the energy in living systems needs to be transferred in minute quantities because higher energy densities are detrimental to the delicate and fragile structures. While the behavior of all molecules is fundamentally described by quantum mechanics, the highly efficient utilization of individual energy quanta by proteins suggests that characteristic quantum effects may be indispensable for properly describing and understanding life.
Retelling traumatic stories in virtual reality
Virtual Reality (VR) shapes modern life, including entertainment and digital health. In medicine, VR could be used to teach skills, alleviate challenging psychological conditions and bring relaxation. VR is also a common treatment tool for psychological trauma with its capability to immerse the patient in exposure scenarios as it recreates life events in a realistic way. This storytelling feature of VR, combined with the strong sense of presence elicited in the people who are immersed in VR, promises a great potential in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Inner privacy of consciousness
The human mind is constituted by inner, subjective, private, first-person conscious experiences that cannot be measured with physical devices or observed from an external, objective, public, third-person perspective. The qualitative, phenomenal nature of conscious experiences (qualia) also cannot be communicated to others in the form of a message composed of classical bits of information. In stark contrast to mind properties, the anatomical brain is observable and different physiological brain facts are communicable.