Harnessing the processes within our DNA may even allow us to manage the way we age. Specific genes have to be activated to produce particular proteins. This process is controlled by a chemical reaction known as methylation. Methylation changes with age and the mathematical analysis of large data sets of methylation have allowed scientists to build models which accurately estimate the age of cells, tissues and organs. Geneticists Steve Horvath and Kenneth Raj describe these estimates as ‘epigenetic clocks’ and believe they could hold the key to future anti-ageing treatments. They even raise the tantalising possibility of slowing down biological ageing by directly targeting methylation levels.

I think it will be a case of ‘watch this space’ as scientific thinking continues to develop. But if it is the case, as with most molecules, that quantum entanglement is what holds DNA together, that would explain why the output of our DNA is so well tuned to the fundamental requirements of our mitochondria, the quantum engine of life. The more we look at it, the more DNA itself turns out to be a product of the support our systems require to harness a gradient, whether the process is quantum or classical.

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