Fly sniffs molecule's quantum vibrations - life - 14 February 2011 - New Scientist

Fly sniffs molecule's quantum vibrations: His idea was that electrons might only be able to pass across a receptor if it was bound to a molecule that vibrated at just the right frequency. Ordinarily, the energy needed for the electron to make this journey would be too great, but the right vibrational energy could prompt a quantum effect in which the electron "tunnels" through this energy barrier, and this would then be detected and registered as a particular smel