New research from Wellesley College suggests that microscopic brain structures called microtubules may play a key role in generating consciousness, potentially operating through quantum-level processes. The findings lend support to a theory first proposed in 1990 by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose, who argued that moments of conscious experience arise from quantum wave-function collapses in the brain. If true, this could imply that consciousness is rooted in quantum physics and may even be interconnected across individuals — forming a vast, entangled web of awareness throughout the universe. While the theory remains unproven, it stands as one of the more compelling scientific attempts to explain how consciousness might emerge.