ExtremeTech

When MIT phenoms Seth Lloyd and Angela Belcher put their heads together to create the perfect peanut butter cup, you know we are going to be there to take a bite. Lloyd, of quantum computer fame, realized that certain features of the kinds of viruses which Belcher builds are ideally dimensioned for trying increase the efficiency of photosynthetic energy transport via quantum effects. When he mentioned that to her, she said her lab was already making them. A short time later, the team had their prize: quantum viruses genetically engineered for optimal exciton transport. What are excitons you might ask? Technically speaking, they are neutral quasiparticles consisting of an electron and an electron hole bound by an electrostatic Coulomb force. They are formed when a photon is absorbed by insulators or semiconductors, and can transport energy on the smallest of scales without transporting net charge. There is now considerable evidence that proteins, including those which harness various chromophore molecules, act as semiconductors. To read more, please visit http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/216358-mit-develops-enhanced-energy-transport-using-quantum-physics-and-genetic-engineering.