Starting with the development of microscopes which enabled
the discovery of bacteria time and again, physicists have discovered and
then harnessed natural phenomena and the proceeded to use them to
open new windows of observation into the life sciences. Examples include
x-ray, magnetic resonance for MRI and NMR as well as optical super-resolution
techniques which enabled medical imaging tool as well as access to protein
structures and physiological processes. In this talk I would like to discuss two
points. First, I will briefly discuss growing evidence that quantum dynamics are
relevant for processes of life an observation which gives rise to the growing
field of quantum biology and, secondly, I will use this as a motivation to study
the use of colour centers in diamond that may enable the even more detailed
observation of biological dynamics down to coherent spin dynamics in biological
systems to potentially provide direct evidence for quantum biological phenomena.