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Proteins can be selectively controlled with radio waves

Phys · · 496 words · By Ulrich Meyer
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What to know about Proteins can be selectively controlled with radio waves

Researchers from the Technical University of Munich have developed a method to control proteins using radio waves by influencing their quantum spin states. This discovery, published in Nature Biotechnology, suggests potential future applications in biological quantum sensing and the remote control of cellular processes.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Proteins can be selectively controlled with radio waves Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor In a significant advance in biological quantum sensing, a research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered and tested…

Why it matters

In doing so, they influence a sensitive quantum state known as spin and make it visible via light.

Common ground

In the future, such findings could help detect and even direct biochemical processes in cells simply from the outside using radio waves.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Researchers from the Technical University of Munich have developed a method to control proteins using radio waves by influencing their quantum spin states. This discovery, published in Nature Biotechnology, suggests potential future applications in biological quantum sensing and the remote control of cellular processes.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-06-proteins-radio.html

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10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
verified Verified By Reference 3
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “The researchers then deliberately applied radio waves and were able to alter the luminescence of the proteins”
CORROBORATED
Multiple reports confirm that the application of radio waves allowed researchers to alter the luminescence of the proteins by influencing the radical pairs.
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web search NEUTRAL — The researchers then deliberately applied radio waves and were able to alter the luminescence of the proteins—and thus the underlying radical pairs. This demonstrates that the sensitive quantum states…
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-proteins-radio.html
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web search NEUTRAL — By applying radio waves, the researchers observed a measurable change in the luminescence of these proteins, proving that external electromagnetic fields can influence these quantum states within a bi…
https://quantumzeitgeist.com/radio-waves-protein-quantum-tum…
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web search NEUTRAL — Thermoluminescence (TL) probes the emission of luminescence associated with the de-trapping of a radical pair as the temperature is increased. This technique has proved useful for characterizing the e…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19533412/
verified
Claim 2: “Kun Meng, doctoral student at the TUM School of Natural Sciences and first author of the study”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim is a Wikipedia entry about Indo-European vocabulary, which is completely irrelevant to Kun Meng or the TUM study.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a table of many of the most fundamental Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) words and roots, with their cognates in all of the major families of descendants.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_vocabulary
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Claim 3: “a research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered and tested a new mechanism of action in which proteins can be controlled with radio waves”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results explicitly state that a research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) discovered a mechanism to control proteins with radio waves.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; German: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, me…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_University_of_Munich
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Munich University of Applied Sciences (HM) (German: Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften München) is the second largest university of applied sciences in Bavaria with about 18,000 students. Th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_University_of_Applied_S…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Technical University of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_University_of_Denmar…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “The protein samples used in the study were provided by the research group of Prof. Erik Schleicher at the University of Freiburg”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including EurekAlert and ResearchGate, explicitly state that protein samples were provided by Prof. Erik Schleicher at the University of Freiburg.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... The protein samples used in the study were provided by the research group of Prof. Erik Schleicher at the University of Freiburg. The light ...
https://www.nat.tum.de/en/nat/latest/article/proteins-can-be…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... The protein samples used in the study were provided by the research group of Prof. Erik Schleicher at the University of Freiburg. The light ...
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1130282
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web search NEUTRAL — In this work, we demonstrate that photogenerated spin-correlated radical pairs in certain flavoproteins, cryptochrome and improved light–oxygen–voltage protein, ...
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erik-Schleicher
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Claim 5: “Until now, quantum sensing has primarily been known from solid-state materials such as diamonds with deliberately introduced tiny defects”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds are a primary and widely explored method for quantum sensing.
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web search NEUTRAL — The most explored and useful properties of an NV center include its spin-dependent photoluminescence (which enables measurement of the electronic spin state ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen-vacancy_center
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web search NEUTRAL — Atomic scale defects in diamond are emerging as next-generation quantum sensors. One such defect is the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center which possesses ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11780468/
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 15, 2026 ... The sensor is made from so-called nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamonds, where a carbon atom in the diamond's crystal lattice is replaced by ...
https://physics.mit.edu/news/multitasking-quantum-sensors-ca…
verified
Claim 6: “Kun Meng et al, Optically detected and radio wave-controlled spin chemistry in flavoproteins, Nature Biotechnology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-026-03158-5”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided Wikipedia results are general entries about biotechnology and CRISPR and do not mention the specific study, title, or DOI provided in the claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and service…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotechnology
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — DNA-guided CRISPR refers to engineered CRISPR-Cas systems that utilize synthetic DNA guides, rather than canonical RNA guides, to recognize and target RNA molecules. These systems primarily utilize Ca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA-guided_CRISPR
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The historical application of biotechnology throughout time is provided below in chronological order. These discoveries, inventions and modifications are evidence of the application of biotechnology s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_biotechnology
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Claim 7: “The light generates spin-correlated radical pairs with extraordinary spin properties in the proteins”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that blue-light excitation of these proteins (cryptochromes/LOV domains) triggers the generation of spin-correlated radical pairs.
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 4, 2010 ... Blue-light excitation of cryptochromes and homologs uniformly triggers electron transfer (ET) from the protein surface to the flavin-adenine ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4329313/
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 ... The researchers irradiated two light-sensitive proteins - so-called flavoproteins - with blue light. The starting point was a cryptochrome, a ...
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1130282
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web search NEUTRAL — voltage (LOV) domain proteins, respond to blue light by generating spin correlated radical pairs ... enables spatial control of the radical pair in the proteins.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.16.649006.fu…
verified
Claim 8: “The starting point was a cryptochrome, a protein studied in biology as a potential magnetic field sensor in birds”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and Scientific American both confirm that cryptochrome is studied as a potential magnetic field sensor in birds using the radical pair mechanism.
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web search NEUTRAL — Experiments on migratory birds provide evidence that they make use of a cryptochrome protein in the eye, relying on the quantum radical pair mechanism to perceive magnetic fields. This effect is extre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoreception
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web search NEUTRAL — The magnetic direction sense in small songbirds that migrate at night is remarkable in several important respects. First, observations of caged birds exposed to carefully controlled magnetic fields sh…
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-migrating-bir…
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web search NEUTRAL — The starting point was a cryptochrome, a protein studied in biology as a potential magnetic field sensor in birds. The protein samples used in the study were provided by the research group of Prof.
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-proteins-radio.html
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Claim 9: “The researchers irradiated two light-sensitive proteins—so-called flavoproteins—with blue light”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources describe the use of blue light irradiation on flavoproteins to generate radical pairs in the context of this research.
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web search NEUTRAL — PDT uses light irradiation and photosensitizers. Different wavelengths of light have different functions for various cell types [2], [3]. Light in the ...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101113441…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 27, 2009 ... Here, we review recent EPR/ENDOR studies of blue-light active flavoproteins with emphasis on photolyases that catalyze the enzymatic repair of ...
https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1742-4658…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 1, 2025 ... Second, we generated an NSQ radical in iLOV by using blue light irradiation as previously characterized. The concentration of the ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60623-6
verified
Claim 10: “Dominik Bucher, Professor of Quantum Sensing at the TUM School of Natural Sciences and last author of the study published in Nature Biotechnology”
VERIFIED
Web search results confirm Dominik Bucher is a Professor of Quantum Sensing at TUM, appointed in 2022, and his research group focuses on the intersection of quantum sensing and chemistry.
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web search NEUTRAL — Dr. Dominik Bucher. Professorship. Quantum Sensing. School.His research group works at the unique intersection of quantum sensing and chemistry, utilizing interdisciplinary methods from applied quantu…
https://www.professoren.tum.de/en/bucher-dominik
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web search NEUTRAL — TUM School of Natural Sciences. Lichtenbergstr. 4. 85748 Garching. dominik.bucher[at]tum.de.Significant advancements are anticipated in the life sciences, including applications in single molecule and…
https://www.mcqst.de/about/members/dominik-bucher.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Dominik Bucher was appointed Professor of Quantum Sensing at the Technical University of Munich in 2022.
https://www.curiousfutureinsight.org/_speakers/dominik-buche…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.