GoKawiilPrinceton chemist argues biology mimics quantum math without true quantum effects
Gregory Scholes, a chemist at Princeton University who once supported evidence that photosynthesis exploits quantum coherence, now says he doubts genuine quantum effects operate in living systems. In papers published over the past three years, Scholes and colleagues instead show that networks of classical biological components can produce behavior that mathematically resembles quantum phenomena, without invoking real quantumness.
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This shift could redirect the field of quantum biology away from searching for literal coherence, entanglement or superposition in cells, toward studying classical network structures that merely produce quantum-like statistics. If Scholes's framework holds up, it may resolve a long debate about whether life's near-perfect energy transfer efficiency requires exotic physics or can emerge from ordinary classical biochemistry organized in complex ways.
- Scholes now doubts that living cells sustain genuine quantum coherence.
- His recent papers show classical networks can mathematically mimic quantum-like behavior.
- The findings could reshape how quantum biology research is approached going forward.
Source: quantamagazine.org — Elise Cutts, 2026-09-25
Published there as: “Biology might not be quantum, but its math is quantumlike”
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