Spins and Tunnelling: The Robin's Compass, Cheating Enzymes and the Protons in Your DNA

Deep End Era. Engineering with Sankalp · Oct 12, 2026 · 49m

Day two on the houseboat. Wren and Gus build the radical-pair mechanism from first principles, put a quantum compass through an engineering design review, and follow robin Cry4 from candidate (Günther 2018) to magnetically sensitive protein (Xu et al., Nature 2021), plus the 2023 to 2025 follow-ups (tryptophan-chain timing, Cry4b ruled out, membrane ordering, superoxide and quantum Zeno models). They weigh the radiofrequency disruption results (Ritz 2004, Engels 2014, Goforth et al. 2025 sea turtles), the magnetite beak story's collapse, the 100,000-fly null result (Bassetto 2023), monarch…