Abstract
Wigner's quantum mechanical formulation of the problem of biological replication is examined with special reference to DNA. His necessary condition for replication is that the number of independent equations in his formulation should not exceed the number of unknowns. Explicit hypotheses concerning the relevant collision matrix are proposed without assuming biotonic modifications of quantum mechanics. Schrödinger's description of the gene as a low-temperature solid, combined with the concept of template, is given mathematical expression which fails to satisfy Wigner's necessary condition. The condition is satisfied by a further specialization of the collision matrix, which also implies metabolic stability of the replicating unit. Such metabolic stability is in fact a distinguishing feature of the DNA molecule.
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Bass, L. Biological replication by quantum mechanical interactions. Found Phys 7, 221–231 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00709008
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00709008