  It has become increasingly evident that fabrication of novel biomaterials
through molecular self-assembly is going to play a significant role in material
science and possibly the information technology of the future. Tubulin,
microtubules (MTs) and the cytoskeleton are dynamic, self-assembling systems
and we asked whether their structure and function contain the clues on how to
fabricate biomolecular information processing devices.
  Here we review our neurobiological studies of transgenic Drosophila that
strongly suggest the microtubular cytoskeleton is near the 'front lines' of
intracellular information manipulation and storage. We also establish that
spectroscopic techniques such as refractometry, surface plasmon resonance
sensing and dielectric spectroscopy, coupled with molecular dynamic simulations
and (quantum) electrodynamic analytical theory are useful tools in the study of
the electrodynamic and possible quantum effects in cytoskeletal proteins.
  Implicit in our driving question is the possibility that if tubulin and MTs
can indeed be cast as the basis of a classical or quantum computer, then
perhaps nature has already done so and tubulin and MTs already play such a role
in living neural and other cells. If quantum mechanics is found to be important
in cellular function (through its involvement in proteins) it is natural to ask
whether there are indeed quantum effects pertinent to consciousness. We
conclude this work by suggesting a number of ways towards experimentally
testing this "Quantum Consciousness Idea" (QCI), directly at the protein level.
