Quantum Leap: The Physics of Biology

In today’s modern world, we’ve got blue light for days—on our phones, in our laptops, even blasting us in the fridge at 2 a.m.—but we’re seriously slacking on the good stuff: red and near-infrared light. That’s right, the OG wavelengths from sunlight and those gloriously warm old-school light bulbs. These rays aren’t just for dramatic sunsets and moody Instagram filters—they actually talk to our cells in ways that make mitochondria do a little happy dance. So what happens when we bring this missing light back into our lives? Do our cells throw a welcome party? Do we suddenly become morning people? And more importantly—what kind of chaos unfolds when our environments are basically a big “nope” to this crucial slice of the spectrum? Spoiler alert: your body notices, even if your retinas don’t.

Professor Dartnell will explain why, in a galaxy filled with billions of stars, our best interstellar pen pal is still just the void. He’ll unpack the Fermi Paradox—basically, “Where is everybody?”—and the Drake Equation, which takes a bunch of highly uncertain variables, multiplies them together, and somehow spits out “probably aliens, but don’t quote me.” Expect a rollercoaster of scientific theory and some fun pub quiz questions about humanity’s place in the universe.

What is quantum biology? Just the idea that the weird world of quantum physics—where particles teleport, glow, and ignore logic—might be messing with our biology. Yeah, your cells might be sneakily using quantum tricks.

Our lab hunts for these sci-fi vibes in real life—light, magnetism, and maybe even human glow (yes, we might literally shine). And Earth's magnetic field? It could be shaping us like an invisible life coach.

So what happens when we leave it behind for space? No clue—but it's probably weird. Because in biology, the quantum isn’t just spooky—it’s personal.