Lifeboat Foundation

Photonic quantum computers are computational tools that leverage quantum physics and utilize particles of light (i.e., photons) as units of information processing. These computers could eventually outperform conventional quantum computers in terms of speed, while also transmitting information across longer distances.

Despite their promise, photonic quantum computers have not yet reached the desired results, partly due to the inherently weak interactions between individual photons. In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at University of Science and Technology of China demonstrated a large cluster state that could facilitate quantum computation in a photonic system, namely three-photon entanglement.

“Photonic quantum computing holds promise due to its operational advantages at room temperature and minimal decoherence,” Hui Wang, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org.

Check out courses in science, mathematics, or computer science on Brilliant! First 30 days are free and 20% off the annual premium subscription when you use our link ➜ https://brilliant.org/sabine.

The Future of Humanity Institute announced last week that they have shut down. Located at the University of Oxford in the UK prior to its demise, the institute was one of the few places worldwide studying the risk of human extinction and a few other controversial research areas. Let’s have a look at the events leading to the institute’s closure.

Continue reading “Institute for Extinction Risk Shuts Down: What We Know” »

How can we guarantee that data sent over the internet is only accessible to its intended recipient? Currently, our data is secured using encryption methods based on the premise that factoring large numbers is a complex task. However, as quantum computing advances, these encryption techniques may become vulnerable and potentially ineffective in the future.

Encryption by means of physical laws

Tobias Vogl, a professor of Quantum Communication Systems Engineering, is working on an encryption process that relies on principles of physics. “Security will be based on the information being encoded into individual light particles and then transmitted. The laws of physics do not permit this information to be extracted or copied. When the information is intercepted, the light particles change their characteristics. Because we can measure these state changes, any attempt to intercept the transmitted data will be recognized immediately, regardless of future advances in technology,” says Tobias Vogl.

A new project unites world-leading experts in quantum computing and genomics to develop new methods and algorithms to process biological data.

Researchers aim to harness quantum computing to speed up genomics, enhancing our understanding of DNA and driving advancements in personalized medicine

A new collaboration has formed, uniting a world-leading interdisciplinary team with skills across quantum computing, genomics, and advanced algorithms. They aim to tackle one of the most challenging computational problems in genomic science: building, augmenting, and analyzing pangenomic datasets for large population samples. Their project sits at the frontiers of research in both biomedical science and quantum computing.

Conversastional Computing is allowing for personalized digital assistants managing daily tasks — but we must also consider privacy, bias and other ethical concerns.

Scientists unlocked the secret to blazing-fast memory.

A team of materials scientists and engineers from Donghua University, in China, and the National University of Singapore, has developed a type of fiber that does not rely on chips or batteries to convert visual signals to digital transmissions as it interacts with the human body.

The paper is published in the journal Science. Yunzhu Li and Yiyue Luo with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and MIT, respectively, have published a Perspective piece in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team on this new effort.

Over the past several years, scientists have been trying to find a way to integrate electronic devices with textiles for such applications as clothes that can display colors, patterns or even messages. Unfortunately, previous efforts involve adding stiff batteries and chips to materials, making them too uncomfortable to wear. In this new effort, the researchers have found a way to get around these problems.

Using electromagnetic fields or implanted medical devices to stimulate the brain can have benefits, but also carries risks. Computer simulations that reflect the unique complexity of each patient can help predict and solve problems before they arise.

The Facebook founder is letting other hardware-makers use his company’s virtual reality operating system.