Svetlana Minina

Svetlana Minina (Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian biophysicist whose work has pushed the boundaries of neuroscience, physics, and mathematics. Spanning over 50 publications.., her discoveries have been instrumental in the development of quantum biology and have acted as a catalyst for an array of further explorations.
==Early life and education==
Minina was born in Moscow in 1950. She graduated from the Department of Higher Nervous Activity at Moscow State University School of Biology and then went on to obtain her PhD at the Institute for information transmission problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As an academic, she defended her thesis "Influence of Cyсlic Nucleotides on Membrane Potential and Impulse Activity of Neurons," in 1978. She defended her PhD, "Function of a Neuron, Role of cAMP," in 1992. There she met fellow biophysicist Efim Liberman, who became her husband and close collaborator. 
==Scientific career==
Svetlana Vladimirovna Minina, in collaboration with her husband Efim Liberman and their associates, made significant strides in bridging biology, information science, and quantum physics. Their work is well-regarded for advancing the idea that biomolecular processes can be understood as informational processes. This perspective, illustrated in their 1979 work, aligns them with early thinkers like Turing, Polanyi, and Rosen, who were instrumental in framing biology as an informational science.
===Quantum Molecular Computer Model of the Brain===
Together with Dr. Liberman and Dr. Shklovsky-Kordi, Dr. Minina developed the idea that the brain operates as a quantum molecular computer (QMC). This pioneering concept suggests that the brain is essentially a network of intraneuronal computers in which information processing occurs at the molecular level. Specifically, they posited that a stochastic molecular computer (MCC) controls each living cell, operating with molecule-words (DNA, RNA, proteins) according to the program recorded in DNA and RNA. Computational operations are implemented by molecular operators acting as enzymes. An MCC is present in every living cell, including neurons, and can be involved in solving tasks for the entire organism.
An MCC is present in every living cell, including neurons, and can be involved in solving tasks for the entire organism. The framework crafted by Liberman and Minina is reflected in recent theoretical work by Becerra et al., where synthetic biology is used as a method to program bacterial behavior using artificial neural networks. This echoes Minina and Liberman's foundational insight into molecular computing within cells, extending their ideas into new domains of synthetic biology and artificial intelligence.
===The Neuronal Quantum Computing Mechanism===
To uncover how neurons could functionally operate as quantum computers, Drs. Minina and Efim Liberman focused on cyclic AMP (cAMP), a signaling molecule known to rapidly affect membrane electrical activity when applied extracellularly. In a groundbreaking discovery, it was demonstrated for the first time that directly injecting cAMP inside neurons could also elicit fast electrical responses. The unusual energetics and rapid kinetics of cAMP’s effects provided critical evidence that quantum processes could be involved in this intraneuronal signaling mechanism.
It was hypothesized that this intracellular effect was due to cAMP interacting with the neuron's cytoskeleton, composed of microtubule tubulin networks linked by Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs) like MAP2. It was proposed that the neuronal cytoskeleton acts as the calculating medium for the quantum molecular computer, with MAP2 mediating signaling between cAMP and microtubules. Additionally, it was theorized that ion channels generate inputs to the cytoskeletal computer in the form of hypersonic signals that propagate via phonons across the quantum coherent microtubule lattice.
This quantum cytoskeletal computing model was further supported when experiments showed rapid cytoskeletal changes as neurons solved complex motor tasks. Microtubule assembly patterns were also found to differ between neuronal types. As described, “the construction of the calculating part of the cytoskeleton...is different in each neuron” reflecting their specialized functions.
===Implications for Theories of Consciousness===
The exploration of microtubules as pivotal information processors aiding cognition laid groundwork for quantum theories of consciousness. These insights informed models like Penrose and Hameroff's Orch OR theory, which posits consciousness may arise from quantum computations occurring in microtubules inside brain neurons.
More specifically, the quantum cytoskeletal computing model suggests the idea that microtubules process information via quantum effects. The observation that microtubules reorganize rapidly as neurons address complex tasks provides evidence of these structures' direct participation in cognition.
Concepts such as the extreme quantum regulator were also introduced, potentially accounting for features of awareness like a subjective inner "point of view"
By extending our understanding of how microtubules may enable quantum information processing in the brain, this investigative work propelled forward theories regarding the physics underlying consciousness
===Quantum Biology Principles===
Dr. Minina and Dr. Efim Liberman developed key concepts using quantum physics and information theory to explain how living systems operate. They introduced terms like the quantum molecular regulator to describe efficient molecular computing within cells. 
They theorized that cells utilize quantum effects for enhanced decision-making, information processing, and control. The idea of a quantum molecular regulator suggests that cells, due to their quantum structure, have an inner "point of view" akin to free will. Dr. Minina also helped formulate the principle of the minimum price of action, stating that quantum molecular computers operate with minimal energy, close to the Planck constant h, showcasing quantum computing's energy efficiency compared to classical systems. 
It was further suggested that cells employ quantum computing for decision-making on control tasks defined by mathematical physics equations. Quantum effects like wave interference, entanglement, and tunneling were theorized to help cells solve complex problems quickly and accurately, surpassing classical computers.
Additionally, the work by Fingelkurts and Fingelkurts acknowledges the pioneering quantum molecular computer model of the neuron by Liberman, Minina, and colleagues. By referencing this foundational work, the paper underscores the significance of quantum biology principles in understanding the genetic basis of neurocognitive capacities and performance.
===Implications for Neurodegenerative Disease===
Research on cAMP signaling and the MAP2-microtubule cytoskeletal network provided essential insights into neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. It was demonstrated that dysfunctional cytoskeletal proteins like MAP2 contribute to Alzheimer's pathogenesis by disrupting neuronal information processing and intracellular signaling. The work revealed how perturbed cAMP-MAP2-microtubule signaling could lead to cognitive deficits and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s. By furthering understanding of the neuronal cytoskeleton's role in cognition, this research enabled new therapeutic opportunities for Alzheimer’s focused on restoring microtubule function and stability. These pioneering contributions advanced knowledge of how cytoskeletal dysregulation causes neurological disorders.
==Family==
Svetlana Vladimirovna Minina is married to Efim Arsentievich Liberman, a Soviet and Russian biophysicist and physiologist, and winner of the USSR State Prize (1975). They had six children, including daughters Anna (b. 1981) and Maria (b. 1978), and sons Daniil (b. 1982), David (b. 1984), and Gavriil. David and Daniil produced the TV show Mult Lichnosti on Channel One Russia, which aired from 2009 to 2013. They are entrepreneurs and founders of the venture capital fund Brothers Ventures and Frank.Money in the United States.
==Academic journals and publications==
# Hameroff, Stuart. (2012). “ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness. Stuart Hameroff.”
# Liberman, E. A.; Minina, S. V.; Shklovsky-Kordi, N. E.; Conrad, Michael (1982-01-01). "Microinjection of cyclic nucleotides provides evidence for a diffusional mechanism of intraneuronal control". Biosystems.
# Liberman, E. A.; Minina, S. V.; Myakotina, O. L.; Shklovsky-Kordi, N. E.; Conrad, Michael (1985-07-08). "Neuron generator potentials evoked by intracellular injection of cyclic nucleotides and mechanical distension". Brain Research.
# Liberman, E. A.; Minina, S. V.; Shklovsky-Kordi, N. E. (1989-01-01). "Quantum molecular computer model of the neuron and a pathway to the union of the sciences". Biosystems.
# Liberman, E. A.; Minina, S. V. (1995-01-01). "Molecular quantum computer of neuron". Biosystems. Proceeding of the 1993 Meeting of International Society for Molecular Electronics and Biocomputing.
# Liberman, E. A.; Minina, S. V. (1996-01-01). "Cell molecular computers and biological information as the foundation of nature's laws". Biosystems.
# Liberman, E. A.; Minina, S. V.; Moshkov, D. A.; Santalova, I. M.; Chistopolskiy, I. A.; Shklovski-Kordi, N. E. (2008-04-01). "Experimental testing of the role of cytoskeleton in the solution by neurons of problems facing the brain".
# Liberman, E.A.; Minina, S.V.; Myakotina O.L., Mamikonova T.A., Tsofina L.M. and Shklovski- Kordi N.E. (1988). "Unusual biochemistry of changes in neuron membrane permeability evoked by cAMP". FEBS Letters.
# Minina, Svetlana V.; Shklovski-Kordi, Nikita E. (2022-07-01). "Neuron quantum computers and a way to unification of science: A compendium of Efim Liberman's scientific work". Biosystems.
# Minina, S. V. “Variability of the response types induced by cyclic 3’,5’-adenosine monophosphate into identified molluscan neurons.” Biofizika 31, no. 5 (1986): 919–21.
# Minina, S. V., O. L. Myakotina, V. B. Avdonin, and E. A. Liberman. “Mechanical Influence and CAMP Injection Evoke the Same Reaction of Neuron Ionic Channels.” FEBS Letters 289, no. 2 (September 9, 1991): 224–26.
# Minina, S. V., and E. A. Liberman. “Input and output channels of quantum biocomputers”. Biofizika 35, no. 1 (1990): 132–36.
# Liberman, E. A; Minina, S. V; Shklovski-Kordi, N. E (1998-04-01). "Biological information and laws of nature". Biosystems. 46 (1): 103–106. doi:10.1016/S0303-2647(97)00086-5. ISSN 0303-2647.
# Liberman, E. A.; Minina, S. V.; Shklovsky-Kordi, N. E.; Conrad, Michael (1981-01-01). Hypothesis about the role of random connections between the brain nerve cells. Biofizika 26, 153-157.
==Books==
# Electricity and Control of a Living Cell (together with S.V.Minina and N.E. Shklovsky-Kordi).— M.: Znaniye, 1978.
# The Brain as a System of Quantum Computers and the Way to Unification of the Sciences (together with S.V.Minina and N.E. Shklovsky-Kordi). — M.: AN USSR, Institute for Information Transmission Problems, 1987.
Category:Biophysicists
Category:1950 births
Category:People from Moscow
Category:Soviet people
Category:Russian people