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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Mechanisms of Hypomagnetic Field Biological Effects: Quantum Rotator Versus Radical Pair

  • Vladimir Binhi1,2,3
  • Igor Usovik1
  • Ivan Koshel1
  1. 1Federal State Budgetary Institution “Federal Scientific and Clinical Center for Space Medicine and Biology” of the Federal Medical Biological Agency, Suschevskiy Val 24, 127018 Moscow, Russia
  2. 2Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia
  3. 3Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov St. 38, 119991 Moscow, Russia
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Abstract

The radical pair mechanism (RPM) struggles to explain the biological effects of weak magnetic fields due to rapid spin decoherence. To address this, we propose a mechanism based on the quantum dynamics of a sub-nanometric (<0.5 nm) molecular rotator modeling an amino acid residue within a biosynthesizing enzyme. Using the Liouville–von Neumann equation with chemical kinetics and phenomenological decoherence, we show that MF effects arise from modulation of the rotator’s quantum interference pattern rather than from spin prohibition. Our results demonstrate that effects reaching several tens of percent occur in very weak magnetic fields (below 50 μT), are relatively robust to decoherence, and that while temperature promotes decoherence, it also enables the formation of a magnetic field-sensitive interference pattern. Under realistic parameters, the angular distribution of the rotator’s probability density rotates by several degrees in the geomagnetic field. The rotator mechanism implies that evolution has adapted organisms to use the geomagnetic field for nearly error-free biosynthesis; under hypomagnetic fields, biosynthetic errors increase. Unlike the RPM, this mechanism achieves high sensitivity by operating via magnetic field-induced phase changes rather than magnetic moment energy, thereby circumventing the standard quantum limit. Although tentative and lacking direct experimental evidence, the quantum rotator mechanism provides a biophysically transparent interpretation of hypomagnetic field effects, magnetic storms, and animal magnetic navigation, opening new avenues for research and various applications.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{binhi2026mechanisms,
  title = {{Mechanisms of Hypomagnetic Field Biological Effects: Quantum Rotator Versus Radical Pair}},
  author = {Vladimir Binhi and Igor Usovik and Ivan Koshel},
  journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3390/ijms27198855},
  url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8855},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Mechanisms of Hypomagnetic Field Biological Effects: Quantum Rotator Versus Radical Pair
AU  - Vladimir Binhi
AU  - Igor Usovik
AU  - Ivan Koshel
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/04
JO  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO  - 10.3390/ijms27198855
UR  - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8855
AB  - The radical pair mechanism (RPM) struggles to explain the biological effects of weak magnetic fields due to rapid spin decoherence. To address this, we propose a mechanism based on the quantum dynamics of a sub-nanometric (<0.5 nm) molecular rotator modeling an amino acid residue within a biosynthesizing enzyme. Using the Liouville–von Neumann equation with chemical kinetics and phenomenological decoherence, we show that MF effects arise from modulation of the rotator’s quantum interference pattern rather than from spin prohibition. Our results demonstrate that effects reaching several tens of percent occur in very weak magnetic fields (below 50 μT), are relatively robust to decoherence, and that while temperature promotes decoherence, it also enables the formation of a magnetic field-sensitive interference pattern. Under realistic parameters, the angular distribution of the rotator’s probability density rotates by several degrees in the geomagnetic field. The rotator mechanism implies that evolution has adapted organisms to use the geomagnetic field for nearly error-free biosynthesis; under hypomagnetic fields, biosynthetic errors increase. Unlike the RPM, this mechanism achieves high sensitivity by operating via magnetic field-induced phase changes rather than magnetic moment energy, thereby circumventing the standard quantum limit. Although tentative and lacking direct experimental evidence, the quantum rotator mechanism provides a biophysically transparent interpretation of hypomagnetic field effects, magnetic storms, and animal magnetic navigation, opening new avenues for research and various applications.
SN  - 1422-0067
ER  -