Lifeboat Foundation

PRESS RELEASE — Scientists are working on a new device that could lead to a reduction in the number of people who go blind from age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Researchers at Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR) are using quantum technology to detect the disease in its early stages where treatment may help preserve vision.

As part of a visit during the recent Hong Kong Laureate Forum, young scientists from across the world learned how the new low-cost ophthalmic diagnostic device could be part of routine GP and outpatient check-ups.

AMD which affects more than 200 million people worldwide, causes changes to the macula, which can lead to problems with central, detailed vision.

Dr. Avshalom Cyrus Elitzur (Hebrew: אבשלום כורש אליצור; born 30 May 1957) is an Israeli physicist, philosopher and professor at Chapman University. He is also the founder of the Israeli Institute for Advanced Physics. He obtained his PhD under Yakir Aharanov. Elitzur became a household name among physicists for his collaboration with Lev Vaidman in formulating the “bomb-testing problem” in quantum mechanics, which has been validaded by two Nobel-prize-winning physicists. Elitzur’s work has sparked extensive discussions about the foundations of quantum mechanics and its interpretations, including the Copenhagen interpretation, many-worlds interpretation, and objective collapse models. His contributions have had a profound impact on both physics and philosophy, influencing debates about measurement, the role of observers, and the ontology of quantum states. Elitzur has also engaged in discussions about consciousness, the arrow of time, and other foundational topics, including a recent breakthrough in bio-thermodynamics and the “ski-lift” pathway.

Elitzur’s Google Scholar page: https://tinyurl.com/5n7a8hd6
Elitzur’s Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avshalo…
IAI Article: https://iai.tv/articles/a-radical-new…

Continue reading “Avshalom Elitzur on Biology, Thermodynamics, and Information: A Tutorial” »

A new study shows how quantum computing can be harnessed to discover new properties of polymer systems central to biology and material science.

The advent of quantum computing is opening previously unimaginable perspectives for solving problems deemed beyond the reach of conventional computers, from cryptography and pharmacology to the physical and chemical properties of molecules and materials. However, the computational capabilities of present-day quantum computers are still relatively limited. A newly published study in Science Advances fosters an unexpected alliance between the methods used in quantum and traditional computing.

The research team, formed by Cristian Micheletti and Francesco Slongo of SISSA in Trieste, Philipp Hauke of the University of Trento, and Pietro Faccioli of the University of Milano-Bicocca, used a mathematical approach called QUBO (from “Quadratic Unconstraint Binary Optimization”) that is ideally suited for specific quantum computers, called “quantum annealers.”

QuEra, a quantum computing startup founded by researchers from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently released what may be the most ambitious quantum technology roadmap we’ve seen yet.

The company plans on releasing a quantum computer with 100 logical qubits and 10,000 physical qubits by 2026. It also claims this planned system will demonstrate “practical quantum advantage,” meaning they’d be capable of useful computation feats that classical, binary computers aren’t.

Producing photons one at a time on demand at room temperature is a key requirement for the rollout of a quantum internet—and the practical quantum computers that would undergird that network. The photons can be used as quantum bits (qubits), the quantum equivalent of classical computing’s 0s and 1s. Labs around the world have devised various ways to generate single photons, but they can involve complex engineering techniques such as doped carbon nanotubes or costly cryogenically-cooled conditions. On the other hand, less complicated techniques such as using traditional light sources do not provide the necessary level of control over single-photon emissions required for quantum networks and computers.

Now, researchers from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology have collaborated to develop a prototype room temperature single-photon light source using standard materials and methods. The team described the fabrication of the prototype and its results in a recent issue of the journal Physical Review Applied.

“Our single-photon light source … increases the potential to create quantum networks—a quantum internet—that are cost-effective and accessible.” —Kaoru Sanaka, Tokyo University of Science.

Gate-defined superconducting moiré devices offer high tunability for probing the nature of superconducting and correlated insulating states. Here, the authors report the Little–Parks and Aharonov–Bohm effects in a single gate-defined magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene device.

The research conducted by Elena Hassinger, an expert in low-temperature physics working at ct.qmat—Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter (a joint initiative by two universities in Würzburg and Dresden), has always been synonymous with extreme cold.

In 2021, she discovered the unconventional superconductor cerium-rhodium-arsenic CeRh₂As₂). Superconductors normally have just one phase of resistance-free electron transport, which occurs below a certain critical temperature. However, as reported in the academic journal Science, CeRh₂As₂ is so far the only quantum material to boast two certain superconducting states.

Lossless current conduction in superconductors has remained a central focus in solid-state physics for decades and has emerged as a significant prospect for the future of power engineering. The discovery of a second superconducting phase in CeRh₂As₂, which results from an asymmetric crystal structure around the cerium atom (the rest of the crystal structure is completely symmetrical), positions this compound as a prime candidate for use in topological quantum computing.

Quantinuum, the world’s largest integrated quantum computing company, and RIKEN, Japan’s largest comprehensive research institution and home to high-performance computing (HPC) center, have announced an agreement…

It is still unclear whether and how quantum computing might prove useful in solving known large-scale classical machine learning problems. Here, the authors show that variants of known quantum algorithms for solving differential equations can provide an advantage in solving some instances of stochastic gradient descent dynamics.