How to Watch the Electron Dance in Living Cells ⚡ экспресс
Radical pairs are short-lived pairs of molecules whose unpaired electrons sense magnetic fields. They play a role in the biological effects of weak magnetic fields, but direct observation was hindered by their lack of glow. The authors developed two microscopic methods—pump-probe and pump-field-probe—that use series of light pulses (like a strobe light for quantum particles) to track the ultrafast dynamics of these pairs. The methods were tested on reactions involving flavins and pave the way for visualizing quantum processes in living cells.
Inside every living cell, chemical transformations are constantly taking place. Some of them create unstable particles whose electrons behave like paired magnets. Their interaction resembles a dance: each movement of the pair responds to external magnetic fields, as if to a changing rhythm.
The invisibility of this dance prevented us from seeing it directly. Now scientists illuminate the cell with a pair of ultrashort laser flashes. The first sparks the dancers into motion; the second, arriving precisely an instant later, makes the reaction products glow. By analyzing the change in brightness of this glow, they reconstruct each 'step,' revealing a picture of the chemistry of magnetic interactions.
The method was tested on cells containing a magnetism-sensitive molecule. The same principle explains the navigation of migratory birds: their visual cells capture the electron dance, translating Earth's magnetic field into tangible images. In the future: portable sensors and therapies controlled by weak magnetic pulses.
🎯 Migratory birds use this same mechanism: their eyes capture the electron dance, turning Earth's magnetic field into visual cues.