A novel method to manipulate the inner structure of cells connects several scientific fields and could represent a significant step in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Dr. Travis Craddock, a professor of biology at the University of Waterloo and Canada Research Chair in Quantum Neurobiology, led the research team that is the first to use weak magnetic fields and isotopes to change the structure of cells. This work bridges structural biology, biophysics, and quantum biology, with implications for neurobiology, bioengineering, and medical applications.
The findings offer a potential new strategy for stabilizing damaged brain proteins — typical of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease — and could be a game-changer for their research and treatment. According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, more than a million people in Canada will be living with dementia by 2030.
“Discovering that weak magnetic fields and isotopes have a detectible effect was surprising and exciting, because it changes our basic knowledge of biology,” Craddock said. “Biology is often thought to be too warm, wet and noisy to make use of interactions on the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. But our observations indicate that there is a unique mechanism in biology that may rely on quantum principles.”
While biologists have previously observed the effect of weak magnetic fields and isotopes, they were not explained by classical biophysics or biochemistry. This new research represents the first experiment to show both weak magnetic-field and isotope effects in a biologically relevant system in a way consistent with a quantum-theoretical description.
“The protein structures that we manipulate in this study are the same ones that fall apart in neurodegenerative diseases,” Craddock said. “We are hoping to leverage this effect to stabilize protein structures in brain cells that are damaged by these illnesses.”
These diseases bring significant personal, societal, and economic impacts, and there is no cure. Current pharmaceutical treatments alleviate symptoms and slow progression, but patients can experience side effects ranging from nausea to brain swelling.
The current work examines magnetic-field effects in a biochemical protein assay. The next stage of the research will include applying this approach directly to human brain cells in the lab.
This work was done in collaboration with Dr. Robert P. Smith, from Nova Southeastern University and Dr. Christoph Simon, of the University of Calgary.
The paper, Tubulin Polymerization Dynamics are Influenced by Magnetic Isotope Effects Consistent with the Radical Pair Mechanism, appears in Science Advances.
Science Advances
Experimental study
Cells
Tubulin polymerization dynamics are influenced by magnetic isotope effects consistent with the radical pair mechanism
13-Feb-2026