174: All Biology Is Quantum Biology: Light, Evolution, and How We're Built for the Sun

The Quantum Biology Collective Podcast

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Necessity of Quantum Effects in Life

Cameron and Meredith discuss why quantum effects are inevitable for evolved living systems and reference Schrödinger and Penrose.

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"Almost everyone in the modern world is running on 50% capacity and not even realizing it."

"Wild animals don't need to think about what they're doing, they just do it. And they do it because it feels good and it feels right."

"There are insights that you can only get when your mind is sufficiently trained in a breadth of areas."

Cameron Borg is a science communicator and host of the Ricci Flow podcast — and one of the clearest translators working at the intersection of quantum biology and real-world health. In this conversation, we go deep: from the philosophical foundations of why all biology is quantum biology, to the specific mechanism by which near-infrared light powers your mitochondria, to the impossible-to-prove-but-impossible-to-ignore question of non-native EMFs. And then Cameron lands it all in the most practical place possible. Stop overthinking it. Go outside.

Cameron Borg is the host of the Ricci Flow podcast, where he interviews scientists, researchers, and practitioners at the frontier of biology, physics, and human health. Known for his ability to translate complex science into clear, grounded thinking, Cameron has spoken with some of the leading figures in quantum biology, circadian medicine, and bioenergetics. He is based in Sweden and writes on Substack.

What You'll Learn

Why calling it "quantum biology" implies there's a non-quantum biology — and why that framing is the field's biggest problem
How near-infrared light does a "random walk" through your body, donating vibrational energy to the electron transport chain along the way
Why your body evolved to be transparent in the exact wavelength range where most solar photons land — and what that means for metabolism
The Prigogine story: how a classically trained pianist won the Nobel Prize by asking a question physicists weren't asking
Why non-native EMFs are a hyper-novel exposure — not just more of what we've always had, but something our entire evolutionary line has never encountered
Why trying to understand this scientifically often makes people do it worse — and what to do instead
Cameron's actual daily approach: surprisingly lax, and entirely grounded in evolutionary logic

Timestamps

00:00 Studying Life Instead of Disease

00:19 The Shift Into Quantum Biology

02:09 Meet Cameron Borg

03:37 Resources and Where to Start

06:06 What Quantum Biology Means in Practice

08:26 Examples of Quantum Effects in Biology

13:45 Reductionism vs a Whole-System View of Health

18:29 Rethinking Evolution Through a Quantum Lens

21:41 Translating Between Science and “Woo”

28:14 Art, Culture, and Scientific Insight

35:15 Light Moving Through the Body

36:20 Understanding Near Infrared Light

37:12 How Photons Behave Inside Cells

38:57 Why Metabolism Depends on Light

42:04 The Energy Deficit of Modern Indoor Living

43:29 The Sun’s Role in Driving Complexity

47:29 Why People Feel Better Outdoors

51:12 The Debate Around Non-Native EMFs

54:43 Why EMF Research Is So Challenging

01:01:44 Practical Lifestyle Changes That Actually Matter

01:09:16 Closing Thoughts and Wrap-Up

Key Concepts Glossary

Near-infrared light (NIR): Wavelengths (~700–1400nm) that fall in a tissue and water transparency window, allowing penetration deep into the body rather than being absorbed at the surface.

Electron transport chain (ETC): A series of mitochondrial protein complexes that transfer electrons to produce ATP. NIR photons appear to lower the activation energy thresholds between steps.

Principle of superposition: When two electromagnetic fields occupy the same space, they combine into a new, different field. External non-native EMFs superimpose on the body's own endogenous field, altering it.

Negentropy: The capacity of living systems to maintain or increase order, apparently opposing the second law of thermodynamics.

Hyper-novel exposure: An environmental stimulus not just quantitatively different from ancestral norms, but categorically new — something our entire evolutionary lineage has never encountered.

Resources Mentioned

Ricci Flow Podcast — Cameron Borg
Cameron Borg's Substack
Quantum Evolution — John Joe McFadden (2001)
What is Life? — Erwin Schrödinger (foreword Roger Penrose, 1991)
The Origins of Life — Eric Smith & Harold Morowitz
Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life — Gerald Pollack
How the Hippies Saved Physics — David Kaiser (mentioned by Meredith)

IAQB Call to Action

If this episode resonated — if you found yourself thinking "this makes sense, but I want to know how to actually apply it" — the IAQB certification program is where practitioners go to do exactly that. It's rigorous, grounded, and built for the people who want more than a podcast rabbit hole. Learn more at https://www.iaqb.foundation/aqb-certification

Connect with Cameron Borg

Substack: https://ricciflow.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ricciflownutrition/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RicciFlowNutrition

X: https://x.com/ricciflowhealth

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-borg/

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You can join the FREE QBC online community here: https://qbcpod.com/freecommunity

The Institute of Applied Quantum Biology, a non profit organization translating the new science into practical application: https://www.iaqb.foundation/certification

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