Quantum computing is a major trend in computer science. It’s jaw-dropping to think that it all started from observing the weird properties of light! There have been several pioneers in quantum computing, the main one being Richard Feynman—he explained that quantum computers are feasible and that they are the future of computing.

Quantum computers have existed since way before you think. The first quantum computation was carried out in 1997, using NMR on chloroform molecules.^[1] Nowadays, we’ve been trying to slap the “quantum” buzzword on just about anything. Even then, there are still a few applications—in the endless list of quantum technologies—that are really mind-boggling.

10 Improving Cancer Treatment

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world. In fact, according to a recent survey from the World Health Organization (WHO), respiratory cancers alone claimed 1.7 million lives in 2016. However, if cancer is recognized at an early stage, the chances of recovery through treatment are much higher. There are many ways cancer can be treated. One is to remove it by surgery; another is through radiotherapy.

Beam optimization is critical in radiotherapy, as it is important to make sure that the radiation damages as little healthy cells and tissues near the cancer region as possible. There have been many optimization methods for radiotherapy in the past that use classical computers. In 2015, researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute came up with a new technique that uses quantum annealing computers, like the ones manufactured by D-Wave, to optimize radiotherapy in a manner that is three to four times faster than that of a regular computer ^[2]

9 Better Traffic Flow

Many of us are familiar with waking up early and setting off for work, only to find a traffic jam waiting on the way. And then comes the terrifying feeling that you’re going to be late for work. Google has been working on fixing this problem by monitoring traffic and suggesting alternative routes to its users. However, Volkswagen is taking it to another level with their research.

In a 2017 experiment, Volkswagen tried to tackle the issue of traffic, not through monitoring but rather by optimizing traffic flow itself. They used the Quadratic Unconstraint Binary Optimization (QUBO) technique with quantum annealing computers to find the optimal route for a select number of cars and possible routes in consideration.^[3]

So far, they have tested this with 10,000 taxis in Beijing to show how their method can optimize traffic flow significantly faster than a classical computer. However, many people are skeptical of Volkswagen’s claims, since they used a D-Wave quantum annealing computer to do the processing. Many scientists state that the quantum annealers D-Wave manufactures do not offer a speedup as significant as Volkswagen claims.

8 Better Mobile Data Coverage

We have all been in a spot where the mobile data reception is excessively bad, and we’d rather just use that slow WiFi hotspot in that nearby coffee shop. Well, it seems that a company called Booz Allen Hamilton might just have found the solution to the horrible network coverage problem, with the help of quantum computers, of course!

In a 2017 publication, they suggested that optimal satellite coverage is pretty tough to figure out. This is because there are a lot of possible alignment combinations, and it is really hard to check all these combinations with classical computers.

The solution? They suggest that using the QUBO technique, as previously mentioned, with the help of D-Wave’s quantum annealing computers, can help find the optimal satellite coverage position required.^[4] This would not mean that the satellites would be able to cover all the bad reception spots, but the likelihood of being able to find a spot with better reception can be increased significantly.

7 Simulate Molecules

Molecule simulation has been a crucial field in biology and chemistry, as it helps us understand the structure of molecules and how they interact with each other. But it also helps us discover new molecules.

Although classical computers nowadays may be able to simulate these molecular dynamics, there is a limitation on the complexity of molecules in a given simulation. Quantum computers are able to effectively break this barrier. So far, they’ve only been used to simulate small molecules, like beryllium hydride (BeH₂), for example. It might not seem like much, but that fact that it was simulated by a seven-qubit chip shows that if we had more qubits at our disposal, we might be able to run extremely complex molecular simulations.^[5] This is because the processing power of quantum computers increases exponentially as the number of qubits increase.

Other hardware—like D-Wave’s quantum annealing computers—has also been used by researchers to come up with simulation methods that might be just as good, if not faster, than current methods.

6 Break Currently Used Cryptosystems Other Than RSA

Some of us might have heard of the scare about quantum computers being able to break cryptosystems such as RSA or DSA. This seems to be true for some cryptosystems, as they rely on prime numbers to generate a key based on prime factors. An algorithm, called Shor’s algorithm, can be used by quantum computers to find the prime factors used to generate the key, and they can do it much more efficiently.

But what about the other cryptosystems which do not rely on prime numbers to generate keys? There is another algorithm called Grover’s algorithm which might be used to brute force a key faster than a classical computer. However, this is not as big of a speedup as Shor’s algorithm would offer, compared to a classical computer (quadratic vs. exponential speedup). This would mean that we would need significantly faster quantum computers than the ones that currently exist to even attempt to break these cryptosystems.

Even with that, there are some cryptosystems that would be impossible for quantum computers to break. These cryptosystems are categorized within the field of “post-quantum cryptography.” Overall, though, it would seem that at least RSA—which is often used in digital signatures—would be obsolete.^[6]

5 More Humanlike AI

Artificial intelligence is an extremely trending field in computer science. Scientists have been trying to make AI more humanlike through the means of machine learning and neural networks. Seems terrifying, but now add quantum computers to the concoction, and it is taken to a whole new level.

Neural networks run on matrix-based data sets, and the processing done in neural networks is computed through the means of matrix algebra. However, quantum computing itself fundamentally works in such a nature that matrices are often used to define and determine the quantum states of qubits.^[7] So with that, any computational process done on the neural network would be similar to using transformational quantum gates on qubits. Hence, quantum computers seem like the perfect fit for neural networks incorporated in AI.

Not only that, but quantum computers can also help to significantly speed up machine learning compared to a classical computer. This is why Google has been investing in quantum computer research to improve Google AI by means of quantum hardware.

4 Quantum Cryptography

This is very different from post-quantum cryptography, as it is not meant to prevent quantum computers from breaking cryptosystems, though it does that, anyway. This type of cryptography uses the means of quantum mechanics itself. But how is it more versatile than other forms of cryptography?

Quantum cryptography mainly focuses on the key distribution part of a cryptosystem, here two pairs of entangled qubits are used. One is sent to the receiver, while the sender keeps the other. Entangled particles in a superposition, when measured, affect the other qubit. Send a stream of these qubits, and you have a key usable for encryption.^[8]

The best part about it is that eavesdropping is impossible, as the qubits cannot be copied. They can’t be measured, either, as there are methods to determine whether the qubit has been tampered with before being received by the intended recipient. This makes it a robust method for cryptography, which is why scientists are still researching this field.

3 Forecasting Weather

We’ve all had that time where we’ve checked the weather forecast, and it said that it was going to be a wonderful, sunny day. Then, only moments later, it starts to pour, and you didn’t bring your umbrella. Well, it seems quantum computers might have a solution for that.

In 2017, a Russian researcher published a paper about the possibility of using quantum computers to predict the weather more accurately than classical computers. There are a few limitations with current computers in predicting all the intricate changes in weather.^[9] This is because large amounts of data are involved, but quantum computers seem to offer a big speedup compared to classical means because of Dynamic Quantum Clustering (DQC) methodology, which is claimed to generate useful datasets that classical techniques cannot.

Even so, it must be noted that not even quantum computers can predict the weather with absolute accuracy, but at least it will be less likely that we will regret not bringing an umbrella on suspicious sunny days!

2 More Efficient Customized Advertisements

We all hate it when we search for an article, only to find it to be littered with advertisements. Most of it doesn’t even seem relevant! Luckily, Recruit Communications has found a solution for one of those two problems—the relevancy of ads.

In their research, they explained how quantum annealing can be used to help companies wanting to advertise to reach a wider range of people without spending too much. The quantum annealing can be used to match relevant advertisements to customers so that they’re more likely to click them.^[10]

1 Gaming With Quantum Computers

With all the speedup quantum computers offer in the computing field, one thing gamers might be curious about is whether they can be used to make a sweet gaming rig which can run games at blazing high framerates. The answer would be, “Sort of.”

At this point, the field of quantum computers is still at its infancy, and current hardware still hasn’t reached “quantum supremacy”—which is when quantum hardware can compute faster than the current best computers, though the definition is still vague. This is because quantum computer algorithms work very differently from classical ones. Even with that, quantum gaming still seems to be possible.

There have been a few games which have been developed to utilize quantum computers. One of them is called Quantum Battleships, which is based on the Battleships board game.^[11] Furthermore, Microsoft has been working on a programming language called Q#, which uses both classical and quantum hardware to compute. It is also very similar to C#, which would mean that it is very possible to develop games using Q# that take advantage of quantum hardware. Maybe we’ll have Call of Duty Q one day!

I am a small music producer from the UK with a newly acquired side hobby for writing articles!

CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing mechanism derived from a naturally-occurring set of DNA sequences found in bacteria. While still in its infancy, the technology has garnered a lot of attention in the past few years due to its accuracy and flexibility, as well as its relatively-low cost. You can even buy your own CRISPR-Cas9 kit for a few hundred dollars and use it to modify DNA in almost any way possible. 

From pest-resistant crops to designer babies to permanently curing ailments like cancer, one can only imagine the things that can be done with a technology like that, especially in the hands of skilled researchers who know what they’re doing.

10. Edit Food

Improving yields and nutritional values of existing food crops is a major challenge of the future, owing to factors like climate change and an ever-growing human population. While CRISPRisn’t the only technique aimed at solving it, it’s one of the most promising, as it provides gene-editing access to small and independent growers around the world. 

While it’d be a while before you start seeing entirely new fruits and vegetables made by CRISPR at your local supermarket, it’s not too far into the future, either. One can already buy some varieties of fruits and vegetables modified with CRISPR in some places around the world, with many more experimental varieties on the way. 

There are still some ethical issues around what should and shouldn’t be edited – especially regarding more complex food sources like animals. To solve them, countries around the world are working on various types of regulations to oversee gene editing for food, which should make it safer and more reliable for mass production and consumption.

9. Eradicate Malaria

Malaria is one of the deadliest ongoing insect-borne diseases around the world, killing hundreds of thousands of people in an average year, especially in the high-risk tropical and subtropical regions of Africa. CRISPR provides one of the many permanent solutions to the problem, as it could be used to design something called a gene drive, which could then modify the entire mosquito gene pool to drop the disease altogether.

Obviously, it’s not as easy as it sounds, though early experiments have been promising. In a recent study, researchers from various institutions in the UK and Italy did something similar to a population of Anopheles gambiae – the mosquito species responsible for the highest number of cases in sub-Saharan Africa. The CRISPR modification resulted in the complete annihilation of the target group within a year, proving that it could be done. While it’s still far from the complete eradication of the disease, as that’d require replicating the experiment on a much larger scale, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. 

8. Biofuel

Coming up with clean, sustainable ways of generating energy would be a major problem in the future, if it already isn’t. Biofuels are a promising solution, as they’re naturally-occuring and leave a minimal footprint on the environment. It’s difficult to mass produce them, though, especially at the scales of production we’re talking about. 

CRISPR provides a possible fix, as it allows researchers to come up with new ways of modifying the genome of natural biofuels. It’s a growing area of research, where multiple teams are looking at different ways of implementing the CRISPR protocol into the biofuel production process. Early experiments with some types of biofuels – like microalgae – have been successful, where researchers were able to change DNA of a few known microalgae species using CRISPR-Cas9 editing. 

7. CAMERA1

CAMERA1 is a new technology built by a team of scientists from Harvard and MIT. Using the CRISPR sequence, it modifies cells into a kind of black box recorder that can record changes at the DNA level, which could then be used to track the origins of a range of genetic features. Recording these variations in real time could one day allow us to understand the root causes of long-term diseases like cancer, as CAMERA1 is perhaps the first technology that gives us a real-time window into the complete life cycle of a cell. 

The possibilities are endless, though much like all other CRISPR techniques right now, CAMERA1 is still in its early stages. Like CRISPR, it could also be used as a base to build other applications in the future. 

6. DETECTR

Like CAMERA, DETECTR uses CRISPR technology to come up with an entirely-new application of its own. Designed as a detection tool for any kind of genetic information you feed into it, DETECTR could soon prove to be a revolutionary tool for early detection of serious diseases.

In one experiment, DETECTR was deployed to detect the HPV virus – a known possible cause for cervical cancer – among other random types of viral strains, and it proved to be quite good at it. The same technique could be further developed to detect the early signs of diseases like Alzheimer’s, or even cancer. DETECTR has also been successfully used to develop an accurate method for the detection of Covid, which could be handy during future outbreaks. 

5. Fix Chronic Pain

According to the CDC, about 50 million people in the USA alone suffer from some sort of chronic pain, and it usually tends to get worse with advancing age. Surprisingly, modern medicine offers few reliable cures for it, even if it’s a major, everyday problem for those suffering from it. 

CRISPR provides a possible long-term solution, as it could be used to modify the genetic structure of the affected area and permanently reduce pain. A few researchers at the University of Utah have come up with a way to switch specific genes on or off, using it to disable the inflammation mechanism that causes chronic pain in cases of disk strain. The technique is still in its early phases and there are a lot of regulatory hurdles before it’s fully realized, though the researchers are confident that it won’t be longer than 10 – 15 years before it’s widely used to treat debilitating conditions that cause lasting chronic pain. 

4. Cure HIV/AIDS

The HIV epidemic is easily one of the longest-running disease outbreaks of all time, with an estimated total death count of about 40 million till now. The pathogen – a type of retrovirus – has so far proven to be resistant to any type of cure. We don’t even understand how the HIV virus functions, really, especially the mechanism it uses to infect and spread among human cells. 

It seems like an incurable disease, though CRISPR provides one potential way it could be eradicated. One team of researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois has used the technology to identify the genes associated with an HIV infection, which could eventually be disabled to permanently reduce the worst effects of the virus. 

The team is planning to eventually isolate every cellular and genetic factor responsible for an HIV infection, hoping to one day eradicate the disease that still affects more than 1.5 million people globally. 

3. Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem for healthcare providers. Due to the proliferation of almost every kind of antibiotic imaginable, pathogens are increasingly growing resistant to known drugs , as antibiotics turn them into super varieties of everyday diseases. According to a Lancet report, in 2019 alone, antibiotic-resistant diseases may have led to more than 5 million deaths worldwide, making it one of the leading causes of death in general. 

While there aren’t any quick-fix solutions to the multi-faceted, growing problem of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, CRISPR could offer a few long-term solutions. For one, a team of scientists from Canada recently turned off antibiotic-resistant genes inside specific types of bacteria during one of their studies, only it was done on mice instead of human subjects. Other efforts in the same direction involve something called bacteriophages – a type of virus that infects bacteria – which could be modified using CRISPR to attack the antibiotic-resistant regions of harmful pathogens and render them harmless.

2. Resurrect Extinct Animals

Bringing animals back from the dead may not always be as cool as it sounds, as the Jurassic Park franchise adequately proves, though it may have its uses. If it could be done, the idea can allow us to study – and maybe even repopulate the planet with – long-extinct species, and may even open the door for further research into the higher arts of human resurrection.

Many teams are working on it, though none have truly been able to resurrect a dead species yet. A major problem is the availability of the entire genome of the said species, which is required to do any kind of CRISPR editing. One American geneticist, George Church, is confident that his team can resurrect the woolly mammoth by 2027, as they’re currently identifying all the traits that separate mammoth species from the elephants we have now, which could then be used to replicate it on the DNA level.

1. Hack The Human DNA

For the first time ever, CRISPR has allowed independent researchers to tinker with the building blocks of life itself, raising many ethical and moral questions along the way. It’s obvious that once this technology is really out of the bag, it’d inevitably be used to do the unthinkable – modifying the human genome itself. 

It’s possible that within our lifetimes, scientists would be able to control a wide variety of human genetic expressions with CRISPR, including resistance to specific diseases, facial features, athleticity, intelligence, or really any other feature we assume to be natural. It’s a matter of ethics at this point, really, as the technology largely already exists. In China, especially, a few experiments have proven the viability of CRISPR-aided modifications to the human genome, and the results have been promising, too.