Mitochondria produce energy through a quantum effect dependent on infrared light and the “metabolic wate” CO2
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A fascinating study uniting the well-known beneficial effects of red/infrared light with the controversial effects of CO2. I say controversial, because CO2 is, to this day, considered little more than “metabolic waste” by mainstream medicine. Ray has written extensively on the topic of CO2, though mostly in regards to its chemical properties – i.e. being a Lewis acid, CO2 has an electron-withdrawing effect and thus helps increase the speed of electron movement through the OXPHOS portion of the metabolic cycle. Similarly, the benefits of red/infrared light have so far been explained through its effects on mitochondrial biogenesis and it ability to increase the activity of cytochrome C oxidase (Complex IV).
As the study below demonstrates, both red/infrared light and CO2 may have a more fundamental effect on metabolism than can be explained strictly through their chemical properties. Namely, red/infrared light forms a quantum system with the lipids present inside the mitochondria and CO2, which results in boosting ATP synthesis when cells are exposed to red/infrared light and enough CO2 is present. While the study did not look at specific lipids inside the mitochondria and their role in this quantum system, I suspect most of the effect are driven by the lipids composing cardiolipin, and the effect can probably be modulated (up or down) based on the nature of those lipids – i.e. PUFA, MUFA or SFA. In any event, we now have direct physical evidence that CO2 is anything by “waste” and is in fact crucial for the normal functioning of mitochondria. In fact, as the study implies, the very nature of the “being alive” state may depend on the presence of red/infrared light and CO2.
https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.10.750628
“…Every cell in your body is running on tiny power stations. Mitochondria turn energy from food into ATP, the molecule that powers almost everything cells do. How they achieve such efficiency remains unclear. Now, researchers in China think part of the answer may involve quantum physics. In experiments involving living cells, mouse tissues, and isolated mitochondria, the team detected an unusual vibration that appeared only while mitochondrial structures remained intact. A model linked the vibration to a possible quantum interaction. When researchers illuminated cells with selected infrared frequencies, the cells produced 10 percent more ATP.”
“…Molecules and structures vibrate at characteristic frequencies, like radio stations on separate channels. Those frequencies offer clues about what is happening inside a sample. The researchers found an unusual signal at 71 terahertz, meaning it oscillated 71 trillion times per second. This signal appeared in living cells, mouse tissues, and isolated mitochondria. But it disappeared after the samples were dried and ground, destroying their organized structures.”
“…The team then focused on cristae, the tightly folded inner membranes of mitochondria. These folds are packed with lipids containing carbon-hydrogen, or CH2, bonds, which naturally vibrate at around 87 terahertz. So what exactly is “quantum” here? The researchers are not proposing a mysterious form of energy. Their model suggests that light particles inside a mitochondrion couple with the collective vibrations of its CH2 bonds. They form a shared hybrid state called a polariton, combining properties of light and matter. This is a quantum effect because the coupled system is described as a superposition of light and molecular vibration with distinct, quantized energy levels.”
“…But was this proposed state doing anything useful? Song proposes a link. Its frequency overlaps with carbon dioxide vibrations. CO2 is produced during the tricarboxylic acid, or TCA, cycle, a process supplying energy for ATP production. In an earlier theoretical study, Song and colleagues proposed that NAD+ reduction during this cycle could release 87-terahertz photons. “The mitochondrial quantum state might increase the efficiency of TCA cycles, influencing the ATP production,” he said.”
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If I try to decode:
During the TCA cycle (energy for mitochondria), mi-infrared photons are released, at 87 THz frequency, derived from the reduction of NAD+.
At this frequency light particles enter in vibration when meeting CH2 (carbon-hydrogen bonds) in membrane lipids. This “coupling” share a 𝐂𝐎𝟐 connection (called polariton). The researchers hypothesize that this arrangement boosts TCA cycle and add a 10% energy gain.Haidut said:
“Red / infrared light forms a quantum system with the lipids present inside the mitochondria and CO2, which results in boosting ATP synthesis when cells are exposed to red/infrared light and enough CO2 is present. I suspect most of the effect are driven by the lipids composing cardiolipin, and the effect can probably be modulated (up or down) based on the nature of those lipids – i.e. PUFA, MUFA or SFA.”
=> Importance of cardiolipin connected with IR light.
Cardiolipin is a unique phospholipid located exclusively in the inner mitochondrial membrane. It plays a structural role (featuring an inverted-cone curvature), acting as a waveguide (a quantum phenomenon). Naturally, it is important to ensure an intake of MUFAs (e.g., oleic acid) to maintain membrane fluidity, while keeping PUFA levels low.
AI says:
"Enriching mitochondrial membranes with monounsaturated fatty acids stabilizes cardiolipin against free-radical damage. By protecting the physical integrity and curvature of the cristae, these lipids maintain the strict structural conditions that allow polaritons to exist and catalyze ATP production via a quantum effect. Cellular nutrition and quantum physics converge to lock in the energy efficiency of living systems." — (1-2)- DOI: 10.1186/s12944-019-0990-y (Double bonds of unsaturated fatty acids differentially regulate mitochondrial cardiolipin remodeling) 2019.
- Scientists propose a light-matter quantum state inside living cells
https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/scientists-propose-a-light-matter-quantum-state-inside-living-cells/
Excerpt:
• Researchers report an unexplained 71-terahertz vibration in living cells, mouse tissues and isolated mitochondria that disappears when mitochondrial structure is disrupted.
• A theoretical model proposes that the signal could arise from a quantum hybrid state, or polariton, created by coupling infrared light with collective vibrations of lipid molecules inside mitochondrial cristae.
• Weak infrared illumination at 71 and 87 terahertz increased ATP production by about 10% in cultured human cells, but the preprint has not been peer-reviewed and does not directly prove that mitochondria use a functional quantum state.
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