Three craftsmen work in the same workshop. The first tries to figure out whether tiny hourglasses are built into nature's own machinery. The second attaches a laser pointer to a microscope to see details invisible to the naked eye. The third, conversely, takes living threads and carefully weaves them into fragile quantum circuits. The workshop is the interface of quantum physics and biology.

The first approach—'quantum in biology'—looks for where a living cell already uses the laws of the microworld. The strongest example is hydrogen in certain enzymes. The particle passes through an energy barrier not 'over the top' but 'straight through'—that's quantum tunneling. It's like a car sometimes slipping through a thin rock even though it can't climb over the ridge. Another candidate is the compass of migratory birds. In their eyes, paired radical molecules may work, whose spins (rotations about their own axes) sense Earth's magnetic field like a compass needle senses north.

The second approach—'quantum for biology'—asks whether quantum instruments give a sharper picture than conventional ones. For instance, can we measure temperature inside a single cell using a diamond dust grain that glows differently depending on heat? But here it's important not to confuse a technical marvel with real utility: if the good old thermometer works just as well, the quantum novelty remains an expensive toy.

The third approach—'biology for quantum'—flips the question. Can cellular structures, such as protein filaments, serve as scaffolds for assembling quantum computers? Living things can build perfectly regular lattices without a single glitch — something sorely lacking in microchip manufacturing.

In the end, the workshop is still running more experiments than producing finished goods. Tunneling in enzymes and the magnetic compass are the most solid items. The rest is more promise than result. But it is precisely at such crossroads that unexpected tools often emerge. Once upon a time, electricity seemed like a amusing trick with a frog's leg.