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Biological information in DNA
is replicated, transcribed, or otherwise processed by molecular machines
called polymerases. This process of reading and writing genetic information
can be fine-tuned by the motor's environment. Theoretical physics concepts in
concert with emerging nanoscale tools are
elucidating how various "knobs" in a motor's environment can
control its dynamics. As it becomes possible to probe the dynamics of these
motors at increasingly smaller length and time scales, quantum effects on
their dynamics, if relevant, are likely to become experimentally detectable.
Here we heuristically examine the role quantum mechanics may
play in the information processing capabilities of these motors. We use Wigner's relations for a quantum clock to derive
constraints on the accuracy and precision with which a motor can read DNA and to calculate its information processing
power. We calculate that the longest decoherence times
for our motor-DNA system can
range from several minutes to hours. Lastly we discuss how understanding
the dynamics of these biomolecular motors may lead
to new perspectives in answering fundamental questions like "Does
Quantum Mechanics play a nontrivial role in Life?"
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