The emergence of quantum biology exemplifies the immense benefits of interdisciplinarity and collaboration within the scientific field. Chemistry, for example, has traditionally identified biological transmissions and patterns that classical physics has been unable to explain. The emerging field of quantum biology builds on these discoveries and through its development, phenomena like tunnelling, superposition, and entanglement have come into view, suggesting that quantum phenomena may be essential to understanding life. 

The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology is an opportunity to reflect on quantum science, its interdisciplinary beginnings, and the advances it has made in the last 100 years of western science. Acknowledging the interrelatedness of science, cosmology, belief, aesthetics, and poetics, Fertile Void hosts its first ever Quantum Biology Hacklab to explore these interconnections within the field of quantum biology. Here, questions classical physics has yet to solve are put into perspective through quantum processes, and expanded upon by viewpoints from a range of different fields.

Building upon growing experimental and theoretical evidence, participants consider a series of key questions, including:

– How can experimental designs be refined to unambiguously test for quantum effects in living or biologically relevant systems?
– What theoretical and methodological frameworks are required to connect quantum phenomena with observable biological functions?
– In what ways could the understanding of quantum effects in biology inform the development of new sensing, computational, or therapeutic technologies?
– How can interdisciplinary collaboration accelerate the establishment of quantum biology as a rigorous, empirically grounded discipline?

Potential outcomes of these investigations include: the formulation of testable hypotheses and experimental approaches for investigating quantum phenomena in biological contexts; the identification of key measurement tools, data analysis methods, and model systems necessary to advance the field; conceptual frameworks for linking quantum behavior to macroscopic biological outcomes; and  strengthened interdisciplinary networks supporting future research initiatives and funding proposals.

Together with the Quantum Biology Institute in Los Angeles, within the frame of Fertile Void  scientists and coders participate in a hacklab that takes place across continents online in the month of October, and in person at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin on Friday, 31 October. On this last date, participants of the 2025 edition of Fertile Void join the scientists for an art-science exchange and discussion of the results, so as to probe the field of western science. A final joint presentation takes place on Sunday, 2 November in the frame of Fertile Void’s public programme and Berlin Science Week. 

The Hacklab is a collaboration between HKW and the Quantum Biology Institute, hosted by Clarice Aiello and the Quantum Biology Institute. The keynote lecture and subsequent presentation The Future of Biology is Quantum: How Nature Might Run on Quantum Physics, and Why This Matters is open to all.