Scientists have proposed to link the fundamental constants of physics to the possibility of biology.
Physicists from Queen Mary University of London have suggested an unexpected explanation for why life could appear in the universe at all. The problem can be not only in stars, atoms, and chemical elements. Researchers believe that everything rests on the ability of liquids to flow normally. If the fundamental physical constants were only a few percent, water, blood and intracellular fluids could become too thick or too fluids to work for living cells.
The work came out in 2023, but the discussion of the idea continues to this day. The authors tried to link the fundamental laws of physics to processes within living organisms. At the center of the study was the viscosity of the liquid, that is, a property that determines how easily the liquid flows.
At first glance, the topic seems almost domestic. Viscosity helps to distinguish water from honey or resin. But for biology, the parameter is critical. Inside the cells, molecules are constantly moving, proteins change shape, nutrients pass through the membranes, and chemical reactions depend on the rate of diffusion. Any living being exists due to continuous motion in a liquid medium.
The authors of the study believe that the universe is in a very narrow range of parameters, where viscosity and diffusion speed remain habitable. Even a small change in fundamental constants could have broken the balance. Water at other values of physical parameters could flow almost like resin or, conversely, become too fluid for stable cell work.
The study continued the earlier work of physicist Kosti Trachenko and his colleagues. Scientists have previously shown that the viscosity of the liquid is directly related to fundamental physical constants. The work actually introduced the lower limit for fluid flow. A new study has shifted the question from the field of condensed state physics to biology: if the properties of liquids are determined by the laws of the Universe, then the conditions of the existence of cells can also depend on the fundamental parameters of nature.
Under the impact in such a scenario is not only water. The authors separately mention the blood, intracellular fluids and all the chemistry on which life is kept. The human body works in a very narrow range of conditions. If the blood becomes too thick or too liquid, the body quickly loses its ability to tolerate oxygen, nutrients and signaling molecules normally.
According to the calculations of the researchers, even a change in the Plastin constant or the charge of the electron by only a few percent could already make blood unsuitable for the normal functioning of the body. And the problem would arise when the constants would change in either direction. Higher viscosity would disrupt the movement of substances inside cells, and too low would change the dynamics of biochemical processes and molecular interactions.
The work adds a new layer to the old dispute about the so-called fine-tuning of the universe. Physicists have long been discussing a strange coincidence: the fundamental constants of nature as if accidentally turned out to be ideal for the existence of matter. A slight change in the strength of fundamental interactions, mass of particles, or electric charge could have hindered the formation of stars, heavy elements, and planets.
Usually, such discussions related to cosmology, nuclear reactions and the birth of chemical elements inside stars. The authors of the new work shifted the focus much closer to biology. Even if we imagine the universe, where stars and heavy elements still appeared, life could never have arisen because of the inappropriate properties of fluids inside the cells.
In fact, the study offers a double system of constraints. The universe should not only allow the existence of matter, stars, and chemistry. Physical parameters should also support the complex dynamics of liquids, without which the cell stops working normally.
After publication, interest in the topic has not disappeared. Subsequent theoretical work continued to study the relationship between viscosity, diffusion and fundamental physics. Scientists separately analyzed the movement of fluids inside cells and tried to understand whether biochemical processes impose additional restrictions on the possible values of physical constants.
Part of the research focused on molecular machines inside the cells. This term is usually understood as protein complexes that perform mechanical work at a microscopic level: they carry substances, move cellular structures, or participate in the synthesis of molecules. The work of such systems also depends on the behavior of the liquid medium.
Other groups of researchers have already studied the very nature of viscosity. In several works of 2023, there were arguments in favor of the fact that viscosity can be associated with universal physical limits, and not to be considered simply a laboratory characteristic of the liquid. Gradually, the old question of fundamental constants begins to go beyond cosmology and particle physics. Scientists are increasingly trying to understand whether the conditions for the existence of fluids and living cells should also be included in the overall picture of the structure of the Universe.
So far, physicists have no generally accepted explanation why the fundamental constants of nature have exactly the observed meanings. But the new work has proposed an unusual angle to discuss the problem. For decades, the mystery has been trying to look for a mystery among black holes, stars and subatomic particles. Now at the center of the discussion was the ability of fluid to flow calmly inside a living cell.
Physicists from Queen Mary University of London have suggested an unexpected explanation for why life could appear in the universe at all. The problem can be not only in stars, atoms, and chemical elements. Researchers believe that everything rests on the ability of liquids to flow normally. If the fundamental physical constants were only a few percent, water, blood and intracellular fluids could become too thick or too fluids to work for living cells.
The work came out in 2023, but the discussion of the idea continues to this day. The authors tried to link the fundamental laws of physics to processes within living organisms. At the center of the study was the viscosity of the liquid, that is, a property that determines how easily the liquid flows.
At first glance, the topic seems almost domestic. Viscosity helps to distinguish water from honey or resin. But for biology, the parameter is critical. Inside the cells, molecules are constantly moving, proteins change shape, nutrients pass through the membranes, and chemical reactions depend on the rate of diffusion. Any living being exists due to continuous motion in a liquid medium.
The authors of the study believe that the universe is in a very narrow range of parameters, where viscosity and diffusion speed remain habitable. Even a small change in fundamental constants could have broken the balance. Water at other values of physical parameters could flow almost like resin or, conversely, become too fluid for stable cell work.
The study continued the earlier work of physicist Kosti Trachenko and his colleagues. Scientists have previously shown that the viscosity of the liquid is directly related to fundamental physical constants. The work actually introduced the lower limit for fluid flow. A new study has shifted the question from the field of condensed state physics to biology: if the properties of liquids are determined by the laws of the Universe, then the conditions of the existence of cells can also depend on the fundamental parameters of nature.
Under the impact in such a scenario is not only water. The authors separately mention the blood, intracellular fluids and all the chemistry on which life is kept. The human body works in a very narrow range of conditions. If the blood becomes too thick or too liquid, the body quickly loses its ability to tolerate oxygen, nutrients and signaling molecules normally.
According to the calculations of the researchers, even a change in the Plastin constant or the charge of the electron by only a few percent could already make blood unsuitable for the normal functioning of the body. And the problem would arise when the constants would change in either direction. Higher viscosity would disrupt the movement of substances inside cells, and too low would change the dynamics of biochemical processes and molecular interactions.
The work adds a new layer to the old dispute about the so-called fine-tuning of the universe. Physicists have long been discussing a strange coincidence: the fundamental constants of nature as if accidentally turned out to be ideal for the existence of matter. A slight change in the strength of fundamental interactions, mass of particles, or electric charge could have hindered the formation of stars, heavy elements, and planets.
Usually, such discussions related to cosmology, nuclear reactions and the birth of chemical elements inside stars. The authors of the new work shifted the focus much closer to biology. Even if we imagine the universe, where stars and heavy elements still appeared, life could never have arisen because of the inappropriate properties of fluids inside the cells.
In fact, the study offers a double system of constraints. The universe should not only allow the existence of matter, stars, and chemistry. Physical parameters should also support the complex dynamics of liquids, without which the cell stops working normally.
After publication, interest in the topic has not disappeared. Subsequent theoretical work continued to study the relationship between viscosity, diffusion and fundamental physics. Scientists separately analyzed the movement of fluids inside cells and tried to understand whether biochemical processes impose additional restrictions on the possible values of physical constants.
Part of the research focused on molecular machines inside the cells. This term is usually understood as protein complexes that perform mechanical work at a microscopic level: they carry substances, move cellular structures, or participate in the synthesis of molecules. The work of such systems also depends on the behavior of the liquid medium.
Other groups of researchers have already studied the very nature of viscosity. In several works of 2023, there were arguments in favor of the fact that viscosity can be associated with universal physical limits, and not to be considered simply a laboratory characteristic of the liquid. Gradually, the old question of fundamental constants begins to go beyond cosmology and particle physics. Scientists are increasingly trying to understand whether the conditions for the existence of fluids and living cells should also be included in the overall picture of the structure of the Universe.
So far, physicists have no generally accepted explanation why the fundamental constants of nature have exactly the observed meanings. But the new work has proposed an unusual angle to discuss the problem. For decades, the mystery has been trying to look for a mystery among black holes, stars and subatomic particles. Now at the center of the discussion was the ability of fluid to flow calmly inside a living cell.