Quantum computing : Solving problems beyond the power of classical computing

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Quantum computers will lead to vast improvements in drug discovery, weather forecasting and supply chain optimisation.

Weather forecasting today is good. Can it get better? Sure, it can, if computers can be better. This is where quantum computers come into the picture. They possess computing capacity beyond anything that today’s classical computers can ever achieve. This is because quantum computers can run calculations exponentially faster than today’s conventional binary computers. That makes them powerful enough to bridge gaps which exist in today’s weather forecasting, drug discovery, financial modelling and many other complex areas.

Classical computing has been the backbone of modern society. It gave us satellite TV, the internet and digital commerce. It put robots on Mars and smartphones in our pockets.

“But many of the world’s biggest mysteries and potentially greatest opportunities remain beyond the grasp of classical computers,” says Stefan Filipp, quantum scientist at IBM Research. “To continue the pace of progress, we need to augment the classical approach with a new platform, one that follows its own set of rules. That is quantum computing.”

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The AI doctor will see you now

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A lightbox showing a mammogram xray

Advances in neural networks and other techniques promise to transform health care while raising profound questions about our bodies and society.

AI software can identify early signs of breast cancer long before the disease can be diagnosed by conventional means.

When MIT professor Regina Barzilay received her breast cancer diagnosis, she turned it into a science project. Learning that the disease could have been detected earlier if doctors had recognized the signs on previous mammograms, Barzilay, an expert in artificial intelligence, used a collection of 90,000 breast x-rays to create software for predicting a patient’s cancer risk.

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Israeli scientists find way to treat pancreatic cancer in 14 days

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Cancerous cells forming a lump in the pancreatic tissue

The tumor in one mouse that was injected with human cancer cells completely disappeared.

A new treatment developed by Tel Aviv University could induce the destruction of pancreatic cancer cells, eradicating the number of cancerous cells by up to 90% after two weeks of daily injections of a small molecule known as PJ34.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest cancers to treat. Most people who are diagnosed with the disease do not even live five years after being diagnosed.

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Exclusive: Humans placed in suspended animation for the first time

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Doctors have placed humans in suspended animation for the first time, as part of a trial in the US that aims to make it possible to fix traumatic injuries that would otherwise cause death.

Samuel Tisherman, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told New Scientist that his team of medics had placed at least one patient in suspended animation, calling it “a little surreal” when they first did it. He wouldn’t reveal how many people had survived as a result.

The technique, officially called emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR), is being carried out on people who arrive at the University of Maryland Medical Centre in Baltimore with an acute trauma – such as a gunshot or stab wound – and have had a cardiac arrest. Their heart will have stopped beating and they will have lost more than half their blood. There are only minutes to operate, with a less than 5 per cent chance that they would normally survive.

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The world’s first Gattaca baby tests are finally here

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The DNA test claims to let prospective parents weed out IVF embryos with a high risk of disease or low intelligence.

Anxious couples are approaching fertility doctors in the US with requests for a hotly debated new genetic test being called “23andMe, but on embryos.”

The baby-picking test is being offered by a New Jersey startup company, Genomic Prediction, whose plans we first reported on two years ago.

The company says it can use DNA measurements to predict which embryos from an IVF procedure are least likely to end up with any of 11 different common diseases. In the next few weeks it’s set to release case studies on its first clients.

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The pharmacy of the future will see robots come to the rescue of humans

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High technology is changing the way pharmacies operate – and how customers get served

It looks like a normal pharmacy in a normal Johannesburg shopping mall. But behind the scenes at the Morningside Dispensary, a revolution is underway

It may not be getting the attention that politicians get when they talk of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but it is a real and practical example of what emerging technologies make possible in everyday life.

For the customers of this pharmacy are being served by a robot. Even when they don’t realise it, and are talking to a human pharmacist, the efficiency with which they are being served is made possible by a robot.

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Precious metal flecks could be catalyst for better cancer therapies

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Tiny extracts of a precious metal used widely in industry could play a vital role in new cancer therapies.

Researchers have found a way to dispatch minute fragments of palladium — a key component in motor manufacture, electronics and the oil industry — inside cancerous cells.

Scientists have long known that the metal, used in catalytic converters to detoxify exhaust, could be used to aid cancer treatment but, until now, have been unable to deliver it to affected areas.

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First long-distance heart surgery performed via robot

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In a feat of networking, engineering, and medicine, a doctor performed a heart procedure while standing 20 miles from his patient.

A doctor in India has performed a series of five percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures on patients who were 20 miles away from him. The feat was pulled off using a precision vascular robot developed by Corindus. The results of the surgeries, which were successful, have just been published in EClinicalMedicine, a spin-off of medical journal The Lancet.

The feat is an example of telemedicine, an emerging field that leverages advances in networking, robotics, mixed reality, and communications technologies to beam in medical experts to remote locations for everything from consultations to surgical procedures. Telemedicine, which could decentralize healthcare by distributing doctors into local communities virtually, could ease shortages of nurses and doctors and potentially cut healthcare costs. In France, people are already visiting Telehealth cabins for fast, convenient healthcare. During the recent Ebola crisis, the University of Virginia delivered care in parts of Africa via telemedicine.

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‘Extraordinary’ breakthroughs in anti-Aging research ‘will happen faster than people think’

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People 50 and older have a lot to look forward to, according to Juvenescence’s Greg Bailey—mainly that we won’t be aging as fast or poorly as our parents. “Science fiction has become science,” said the UK-based anti-aging biotech’s CEO about the company’s completing its $100 million Series B round of financing last week. “I think the world is going to be shocked,” he said in an interview. In total, Juvenescence has now raised $165 million in just 18 months to fund longevity projects with the lofty goal of extending human lifespans to 150 years.

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How hospitals are using AI to save their sickest patients and curb ‘alarm fatigue’

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Early tests suggest artificial intelligence can improve patient care in hospitals’ intensive care units while helping curb “alarm fatigue.”Woody Harrington / for NBC News

Early tests show artificial “assistants” can help doctors and nurses spot potentially deadly problems in time to take life-saving action.

From interpreting CT scans to diagnosing eye disease, artificial intelligence is taking on medical tasks once reserved for only highly trained medical specialists — and in many cases outperforming its human counterparts.

Now AI is starting to show up in intensive care units, where hospitals treat their sickest patients. Doctors who have used the new systems say AI may be better at responding to the vast trove of medical data collected from ICU patients — and may help save patients who are teetering between life and death.

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New research uncovers compelling link between gut bacteria, obesity and the immune system

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Researchers have discovered the immune system can directly alter populations of certain bacteria in the gut that affect how dietary fats are absorbed

An impressive new study from scientists at the University of Utah has described how an impaired immune system can alter the composition of the gut microbiome resulting in metabolic disease and obesity. Demonstrated in mouse experiments, the research suggests certain species of gut bacteria can prevent the gut from absorbing fat, pointing to exciting potential future anti-obesity therapies.

The research originated from an unexpected observation. Ongoing experiments in mice engineered to lack a gene called MyD88 surprisingly resulted in the animals gaining significant amounts of weight. The specific gene was being studied for its relationship to immune function in the gut. It was discovered that suppressing this gene resulted in lower production of immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies in the gut, but the real mystery was how this gut-related immune mechanism resulted in metabolic disease and obesity.

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Proteins trapped in glass could yield new medicinal advances

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The protein, captured in an extremely thin piece of glass — around 50 nanometres in diameter, is sliced up, atom by atom, with the help of an electrical field. It is then analysed through Atom Probe Tomography, and the 3D structure is recreated on a computer. Credit: Small: Volume 15, Issue 24, Atom Probe Tomography for 3D Structural and Chemical Analysis of Individual Proteins Gustav Sundell, Mats Hulander, Astrid Pihl, Martin Andersson Copyright Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Reproduced with permission.

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a unique method for studying proteins which could open new doors for medicinal research. Through capturing proteins in a nano-capsule made of glass, the researchers have been able to create a unique model of proteins in natural environments. The results are published in the scientific journal, Small.

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