Could Plants Unlock Quantum Medicine’s Potential? with Greg Engel
Big Brains21 Aug 2025

Could Plants Unlock Quantum Medicine’s Potential? with Greg Engel

We’ve long marveled at how efficiently plants convert sunlight into energy—but no one guessed they were using quantum mechanics to do it.

In this episode, we speak with Greg Engel, a pioneering biophysicist at the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the Department of Chemistry who helped launch the field of quantum biology. Engel explains how plants and bacteria evolved to exploit quantum effects for photosynthesis—and how understanding these systems could spark a revolution in quantum sensing, medicine, and neuroscience.

Engel’s team has already built quantum sensors inspired by nature’s designs, with the potential to transform how we detect disease, develop drugs, and even read neural signals. The ultimate goal? A new era of quantum medicine, powered by the weird and wonderful physics found in leaves. A new large gift is helping that mission along by establishing The Berggren Center for Quantum Medicine and Biology at The UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, partnering with BSD, UC Medicine and others.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(226)

Why The Key to Treating Cancer May Be In Your Gut, with Thomas Gajewski

Why The Key to Treating Cancer May Be In Your Gut, with Thomas Gajewski

For decades, traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation have targeted tumors directly—often with severe side effects and mixed results. But what if the key to treating cancer was al...

20 Aug 36min

The Little-Known Secrets To A Good Life, with Shigehiro Oishi

The Little-Known Secrets To A Good Life, with Shigehiro Oishi

What makes a good life? For decades, psychologists have debated whether true fulfillment comes from happiness—a life of comfort and joy—or meaning—a life of purpose and impact. But what if there's a t...

6 Aug 34min

How to Use Nature to Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

How to Use Nature to Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

What if the secret to restoring your focus, improving your mental health, and even reducing crime rates wasn’t found in an app or a pill, but in a tree? In this episode, we speak with University of Ch...

23 Jul 34min

How to Raise Kids in the Age of AI, with Dana Suskind

How to Raise Kids in the Age of AI, with Dana Suskind

As AI rapidly changes how we work, learn, and communicate, it also raises an urgent question: What does it mean to grow up in a world dominated by smart technology? From smart-baby monitors to stuffed...

9 Jul 33min

What Our Trash Problem Says About Our Culture, with Sarah Newman

What Our Trash Problem Says About Our Culture, with Sarah Newman

Every day, we throw things away, only to be forgotten forever. But society didn’t always work in the same way. In this episode, we speak with University of Chicago scholar and anthropologist Sarah New...

25 Jun 36min

How Websites Trick You Using ‘Dark Patterns’ with Marshini Chetty

How Websites Trick You Using ‘Dark Patterns’ with Marshini Chetty

Why does it seem so difficult to cancel an online subscription, delete an account, or opt out of data tracking? You might think it’s just bad luck or a confusing online interface, but more often than ...

11 Jun 37min

Quantum Technology, Explained: A Big Brains Live Event

Quantum Technology, Explained: A Big Brains Live Event

Quantum technology is at a pivotal moment. No longer the faraway dream of scientists, the field is rapidly developing across the world, fueled by major investments from governments, industry, and univ...

28 Mai 39min

Our Untapped Superpower: Connecting With Others, with Nicholas Epley

Our Untapped Superpower: Connecting With Others, with Nicholas Epley

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

14 Mai 38min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-strid
foreldreradet
treningspodden
rss-orjasater
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-bisarr-historie
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hverdagspsyken
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
mikkels-paskenotter
rss-impressions-2
sinnsyn
rss-var-forste-kaffe
level-up-med-anniken-binz
gravid-uke-for-uke
einar-duenger-bohns-filosofipod
fryktlos