Stuart Hameroff

Introduction: Life and biological consciousness apparently originated from organic aromatic rings (‘polyaromatic hydrocarbon’, ‘PAHs’) and other molecules produced by stars and brought to earth by meteorites. These somehow led to life and consciousness, possibly as ‘polyatomic time crystals’, molecular systems with self-similar dynamics connecting life over spatiotemporal scales. Time crystal functional behavior has been ascribed to biological microtubules (1,2) which have collective self-similar oscillations in terahertz (nanometer ‘nm’ wavelength), gigahertz, megahertz, kilohertz and hertz (‘EEG’) frequencies. In the Orch OR theory, microtubule time crystals are proposed to ‘orchestrate’ Penrose ‘objective reduction’ (‘OR’), the only specific scientific proposal yet put forth for conscious experience. Penrose OR would have been present when life began. Methods: NASA’s ‘OSIRIS REx’ mission to asteroid ‘Bennu’3 retrieved early solar system samples including PAHs, amino acids, water (e.g. trapped in clays), nucleobases, sugars, carbon, phosphates and ‘nanoglobules’, carbon encrusted ‘cell-like’ vesicles including those with aqueous interiors containing fluorescent material. Using laser-based Raman and Fourier Transform spectroscopies, Circular Dichroism and Coherent Elastic Electron Scattering (‘CEES’) we studied nanoglobule interiors for the first time noninvasively, quantum optically, without chemical preparation or direct contact and leaving untouched the nanoglobules and interior structures. Here we consider CEES which excites samples with a low intensity ultraviolet (UV) laser sweeping, or scanning across frequencies (expressed as frequency inverse ‘wavelength’ in nanometers, ‘nm’). Results: Scanning at 220 nm to 300 nm ultraviolet (UV) excitations resulted in fluorescent-like emissions in 3 ‘bands’, UV (220 nm to 300nm), visible (330 nm to 550 nm) and infrared IR (770 to 850nm). Interestingly, excitation at any one wavelength caused emission in all 3 bands, UV, visible and IR. Within the visible band, excitation at each UV wavelength resulted in emission at 12 distinct wavelengths which increased in parallel as excitation wavelength increased. Discussion: Multiscale coherent emission from as-yet-unidentified optically active structures within Bennu nanoglobules include either multiple independent structures (unlikely), or cooperative oscillators such as polyatomic time crystals. These could be 1) rare earth crystalline arrays with periodic electronic d-orbitals, or 2) 12 sheet-like layers of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The second is more consistent with biology, but both suggest purposeful pre-biotic functional behavior. Why? What was being optimized? Could proto-conscious pleasure by Penrose ‘OR’ have sparked the origin and development of life in polyatomic time crystals present since the early solar system?

Stuart Hameroff, MD, is an anesthesiologist and consciousness researcher at Quantum Life Technologies. He previously served as a professor of anesthesiology and psychology at the University of Arizona, where he cofounded and directed the Center for Consciousness Studies and helped establish The Science of Consciousness conference series. In collaboration with Nobel Laureate Sir Roger Penrose, he developed the orchestrated objective reduction (‘Orch OR’) theory, which proposes that quantum processes in neuronal microtubules inside brain neurons are essential to consciousness. His research spans anesthesia, anti-aging, and quantum optics of microtubules. Hameroff sees a possible path to conscious AI through biomimetic, organic quantum gel systems developed by Anirban Bandyopadhyay.