00:00The minuscule world of quantum particles might be foreign to most of us, but not for the scientists currently using them to build a supercomputer
00:10Nobody knows what quantum computing really means, but it is going to change us
00:17To its champions, quantum computers are a pioneering development and a game changer
00:23The quantum computer can open up an array of amazing possibilities
00:28The scale of computing power enables us to solve problems that we are not yet even able to formulate
00:35Its many applications include simulating molecules, a groundbreaking advance in the development of new drugs
00:42Quantum computing is Still in its infancy, but is set to one day revolutionize scientific research
00:56What looks like a computer chip made of plastic is, in fact, a model of a human lung
01:01Scientists at a Swiss startup are aiming to tackle diseases faster with the help of a supercomputer
01:12Nah Hobie founded Alvix together with Yanik Stuki
01:15Their work won them the 2022 Swiss Med Tech Award
01:25The team here use a pipet to transfer human lung cells to a thin porous membrane
01:31The cells can then be activated mechanically to mimic a real lung
01:38We're able to simulate these cells by recreating the environment of the human
01:46body
01:55In this plastic chip, it enables us to simulate miniature organs that are far more similar to the real thing than any other options currently available, more similar than with in vitro testing or animal experiments
02:03The researchers say the mock miniature lung will make it easier to design new drugs
02:11The drug development process takes around 10 to 15 years
02:14To begin with, you test a huge number of molecules in Petri dishes, although there the cells aren't really like they are in the human body
02:24There are no 3D layers or forces of attraction, for example, it's a very basic setup
02:32You later move on to animal experiments and conduct tests for, say, toxic properties
02:36The entire process is extremely involved, especially when you think about the animal testing required, and this is where our technology comes in
02:47It's hoped the miniature lung will enable researchers, most notably at pharmaceutical companies, to speed up the drug testing process
02:56Here we have the an cells, and then we have the PBMC, so the immune cells really on top of it, they actually attached to it because of the, did you do an infection or we exposure? Okay, to [Music] okay, we can determine far earlier whether a particular molecule is effective and
03:19Whether there are side effects, it enables you to optimize the process and ultimately lower costs by 500 million Franks per drug, according to studies
03:31Come things that are already possible today could be done even faster and more efficiently with the technology, while also rendering animal experiments redundant
03:43Our company's aim is to help in the development of better medication and the reduction of side effects for patients
03:50We also want our technology to help reduce or eliminate animal testing
03:55Animal experiments are simply not adequate predictors of whether a drug actually works with
04:05[Music] Humans, as quantum computing, was my doctoral supervisor who originally got me interested in quantum computing, and I'm still there today
04:20Back when I started studying physics at Zurich Technical University, nobody was talking about it
04:25I'd never heard of it
04:30Dominic Tumul is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Basil, specializing in quanta
04:34They are the smallest units of energy known to scientists, but with properties that would make conventional bit-based computers look distinctly primitive
04:43A regular computer with regular computing power performs one calculation per time unit
04:47Or clock cycle, in quantum physics, you have countless calculations being performed in parallel
05:01A prime example is the factorization of very large numbers
05:03In this case, the quantum computer quickly arrives at the result by simultaneously trying to divide by all possible numbers
05:12A classical computer processing a number with several thousand digits would take as long as the universe is old, but the same problem can be solved by a quantum computer in a matter of hours or even seconds
05:27So what actually are quanta? Exploring this mysterious little world requires us to think in the smallest possible
05:35Dimensions smaller still than atoms, at this tiniest imaginable scale, the classical laws of nature no longer apply, and something fascinating happens: quanta can exist in different states and in different places at the same time
05:57[Music] Quantum theory was pioneered in the 1920s by the likes of Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrödinger
06:02They used thought experiments to illustrate these apparent paradoxes that stretch the limits of our imagination
06:19Erwin Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist, primarily known today because of a cat, more specifically, an experiment that he fortunately never carried out in
06:24practice
06:30He imagined a cat in a box together with a device that would have a 50/50 chance of releasing a deadly poison in the next hour
06:35According to quantum theory, the cat is then simultaneously both dead and alive, but only provided we don't check inside the box
06:51In a quantum mechanic system, mere observation influences the actual state inside
06:56We cannot make an assessment without looking, including whether the cat is dead or alive
07:01What sounds absurd was a demonstration of the conundrum at the heart of quantum mechanics; the simultaneously different states at the quantum level are not compatible
07:15With accepted laws of nature in this little world, particles can be linked or entangled with each other, while at the same time being in different states and places, and that simultaneity can be calcul, it's a state that can be called mathematical superposition or simultaneity
07:36That state, represented as wave functions, comprises a coefficient for an upward spin, plus another coefficient for a downward spin, and this is simultaneity, and that's how you can imagine a cubit, an arrow pointing in a random direction
07:57Quantum, or Q bits, are the building blocks of a quantum computer, while a normal computer
08:07Processes information in bits as ones or zeros, qubits have both values at the same time
08:13It's comparable to a flipped coin where you don't know whether it will land heads or tails
08:26Before these qubits can be controlled, cooled, and used for calculations, they have to be immobilized
08:35That, in turn, requires a complex procedure in which they are cooled down to temperatures otherwise seen in outer space, around -270°C
08:50So the surface area helps to again exchange the heat, so the cold liquid which we're pumping out is cooling the recondensing liquid which is coming down, we can actually then do
08:59The experiments at temperatures down to 10 m, so compared to, you know, 4 Kelvin, this is something like 400 times colder in temperature
09:12PhD students here at the University of Basil are assembling a small quantum computer with a small number of cubits
09:18The aim is to deploy the technology for a variety of applications once it's been fully developed
09:25Quantum computers would then simulate molecules, for example, leading to the development of new drugs and the elimination of deadly diseases
09:37Another potential application is renewable energy
09:51Brought benefits to logistics operations
09:54The introduction of quantum algorithms has helped to increase the speed and capacity of cargo movement at the Port of Los Angeles
10:00As a result, the facility now operates more efficiently and with less energy
10:09Quantum computing seems to have a highly lucrative business potential
10:15For years now, a range of tech companies, including Google and IBM, and nation-state players like China have been in a race to build the first high-performance quantum computer
10:25The money invested in research is in the billions
10:36Switzerland has a different approach
10:40Uptown Basel, Infiniti uses private sector funding to provide companies with free access to American quantum computers
10:52The hub is called Quantum Basel and is headed by Deir Bogden
10:59[Music] The problems facing industries are getting increasingly complex
11:06The use of artificial intelligence is a factor, of course, but when you eventually reach certain limits, and AI reaches its limits, then you have to think a couple of steps ahead
11:19Artificial intelligence applications could run far more efficiently on quantum computers, and when I say efficiency, I mean not only computing speed, but also energy
11:25Efficiency
11:31The Hub works with a hybrid system, combining conventional and quantum computers
11:37Startups in the program can turn to IBM's Frederick Flut for advice on tackling their problems and on thinking outside of the box
11:50The first thing is to break down the individual issues and look at which specific quantum algorithm is at all relevant, and as quantum is a completely different kind of calculating, it enables you to give problems a complete rethink and perhaps find a new approach
12:07This involves what we call the quantum state of mind
12:14Some 40 studies have already been conducted on the basis of
12:17The quantum computer, with the purpose of simplifying and accelerating the development of medication in both medicine and healthcare, we're seeing a significant increase in the data available, and also in the range of data, image data, data from fitness trackers, data and medical records, and so on, and processing the complex correlations between all those data requires the kind of computing power that classical computers struggle, and that's where quantum computers have real potential
13:08An example from the pharmaceutical industry, to date, researchers have covered just 1% of all
13:16potentially active molecules for drugs
13:19This is reflected in cancer treatment, for example, only one in three patients respond directly to drug-based therapies
13:27Directly, we sadly won't be able to resolve all of these challenges with quantum computing, but we're confident of being able to help with some of them
13:41Further south in Bern, the team at Alvix are hoping to resolve one of those problems in the very near future
13:52Quantum computers can be used to evaluate huge amounts of data, providing detailed insight into a patient's genetic makeup
14:00The small-scale replica of a lung or another organ is designed to Deliver more effective treatments for cancer
14:08[Music] Patients, we don't know yet which of the different types might be effective
14:14You can look at the genome and wonder what the best one for the patient is, and maybe make a customized cocktail
14:21The patient might then start an immunotherapy, and when they have a break, that's when we can take a tissue sample
14:32After placing the sample onto our organ-on-a-chip, we would then try out a new cocktail so that it would have a better effect when the patient goes for their next treatment
14:40What's especially crucial for cancer patients is minimizing side effects instead of Additional suffering, you want them to be safe and getting the most effective medication available, and that's where we can help
14:56At the same time, Alvix wants to help eliminate animal testing from pre-clinical studies
15:08For decades, animal experiments have been standard procedure in the development of new drugs, with rodents the most widely used species
15:15In Switzerland alone, labs perform tests on over half a million animals a year
15:27Immediate objective is to reduce animal experiments
15:30There are a large number of drugs that are only effective with the human genome and human cells, making Animal tests of zero advantage, so effective drugs don't even reach the market because they're stopped prematurely in the preclinical study phase
15:48Our aim is not removing all of them from the market, but abolishing the most severe tests where the animals are under extreme pain and duress, experiments with severity levels three and four, and we're very optimistic about helping to make this happen
16:12But in Europe, their efforts face a hurdle
16:15The European Medicines Agency refuses to grant approval for drugs without animal testing beforehand
16:20In the United States, however, a bill passed in 2022
16:25removed the requirement for animal tests prior to market approval, and a proposed update on that legislation would also allow tests using computer models or artificial organs
16:40There is already large-scale research in the US on this front, as seen at the Cleveland Clinic in the state of Ohio
16:47The latest breakthrough there is an in-house quantum computer
16:59It's the first quantum computer in the world to be uniquely dedicated to healthcare research, and its work will be much appreciated, given the Clinic's 10 million patient visits per year
17:07John R
17:10Smith is a senior researcher at IBM and highlights
17:13The dividends from the vast amounts of medical data, this has the potential to drive our pace of progress, uh, to addressing the important disease challenges that we're facing and challenges in patient care, uh, so much faster and to produce breakthroughs and discoveries that will be absolutely essential for all of us
17:41In March 2023, the clinic officially unveiled its treasured quantum computer
17:47Its CEO welcomed guests from Cleveland and further afield, thank you very much, we're bringing something new to our organization and something new to the world, the quantum computer system one
17:59Sounds a little bit science fiction
18:10That is right behind me is the most advanced computational technology and computational platform that exists
18:21We're very excited because it is going to allow us to advance research, advance discovery, advanced medical care, but we're also very excited because it will create a lot of jobs
18:34Among the guests invited to the event was Deir Bogden from Quantum Basil and Uptown Basil, which is no coincidence
18:41The US is the leading market in the development of quantum computers, and Uptown is a partner of IBM for Austral Think Tank, an Australian Think Tank published a
18:54study, citing 44 technologies that will change the world, and China is already leading in 37 of them
19:08And one of the remaining seven, where the US is ahead, is the field of quantum computing
19:14Is Compu bad news for the EU too, with a failed partnership agreement making cooperation more difficult? The for the, for the, the decision by Switzerland or the EU that Switzerland cannot be involved in the Horizon program means we have to find someone else to work with
19:35It doesn't mean Uptown Basil is no longer interested in European partnerships, but we are in the US a lot because of all that's happening there, another
19:46Attraction for the company executive is the Silicon Valley mentality, a world away from the conservative, risk-averse approach in Switzerland
20:00That said, Switzerland does have a lot of strong points
20:03We have brilliant research in this area, in Basel, at the EPFL, and Zurich Technical University
20:12What we're missing sometimes is the proper climate for startups to grow in, and that's a lot better in the US
20:20The quantum computer's evolution to date promises incredible opportunities in the future, but scientists in universities are more cautious about developments
20:36There's a risk of it perhaps taking longer, and of certain problems cropping up
20:41Building a quantum computer that can immediately solve gigantic problems won't be easy
20:47It will have to be one step at a time
20:51Today's computers took many, many years to develop, and quantum computers will likely be the same and need 10 years or more to complete
21:01Right now, we're still researching the basics
21:06More qubits means more computing power
21:09The IBM quantum computers in commercial use today have 433 of them, although currently pure research is still focused on the physics of the individual [Music] qubits
21:23Some qubits are relatively easy to make, there are already
21:26computers with 100 or a thousand of them and plans for reaching 10,000 or 100,000, the problem is that the quality isn't good enough yet, with a relatively high frequency of mistakes and calculations
21:40There's no point having as many cubits as possible if they're not good enough
21:46We need major improvements, including work on individual or a smaller number of coupled cubits
21:57Cubits race is totally open
22:01Zurk Technical University is another center of Cubit research
22:06Professor of theoretical physics, Renato Reiner, says that the development of the quantum computer has still barely begun
22:13Quantum computers are at a similar stage to early transistors
22:21They're still very big
22:30The 100 qubits might together take up the space of a massive experiments table with all the lab electronics, and it's not yet clear how we could scale it down to at some point pack millions of qubits into a small space and have a feasible working setup
22:38That doesn't mean we can't do it, but comparatively speaking, we're still in the vacuum tube computer era
22:45Think how back then there was nobody talking about the internet or social media
22:51We cannot yet appreciate the potential, nor the dangers either
22:53Of course, Renato Renner is familiar with the
23:03Dangers of quantum computing, he gives lectures in cryptography, data encryption
23:10Quant computers, quantum computers really do pose a threat to today's data security
23:14When we do e-banking or use encrypted communication in other contexts, we need what's called public key cryptography, and that system will become completely insecure once we have quantum computers up and running
23:31Whoever has the quantum computer will have full and immediate access to all of that data, and that's a very concrete problem
23:43So far, a simple mathematical method has been sufficient to protect our data factorization, some Calculations are straightforward, say 3 * 7 = 21, but if I turn it around and ask what are two numbers that give us that product, then I basically have to try out all possible combinations, and with the numbers having up to 100 digits, I'll be at it forever
24:12Not even a computer that can process far faster will be able to test all 100-digit numbers
24:20A quantum computer, on the other hand, can try out the numbers in parallel and arrive at the result in a fraction of a second
24:27The implications have experts concerned
24:33We're relatively late to the game because we know the secrecy of the data being encrypted has a very limited lifespan, the things that I encrypt today using public key cryptography will be readable once the quantum computer exists, or after data can then only be encrypted by again using the quantum computer, in effect, by beating the enemy at its own game
24:59And this is how the sender of the data generates cubits with a value of zero or one, and then sends a completely random sequence of those cuits to the recipient
25:13It serves as a key that only those two parties know
25:18Of course, someone could try to spy on the transfer, but this is where quantum mechanics enters the equation, an attempt to intercept the QQ bits will
25:31Now change them with both sender and recipient alerted immediately, so the key cannot be secretly copied or read
25:37The actual encrypted message is not transferred until the key has first arrived unread
25:44The problem is, in technical terms, the idea is currently not really feasible
25:54It's nice to PC, it sounds extremely difficult, if not near impossible, but we know that it really does work, but it is expensive
26:04A solution that is absolutely secure is going to cost a lot of money, but looking at a long-term horizon, not 10, but more like 40 or 50 years, then it could be a solution, and data security is not the only factor
26:23To consider in the long term, quantum computing still has a lot of obstacles to overcome, meaning that investors will have to be patient
26:33Everyone's talking about quantum computing, but we can't expect to have this killer application in just a few years from now
26:41It's going to take a lot of development stages and investment to get to the point where the application is actually available, and above all, time
26:50Although that in turn depends on investment, investment is far higher than we could have imagined a few years ago, so that is reason to be optimistic
27:06Startups, there are startups and companies
27:09Following the hype and eager to invest in this future concept, as a result, graduates studying physics and quantum computing have a range of jobs to choose from in the various startups or big tech firms pursuing quantum computing projects
27:24Big tech, there's a huge number of options
27:39We can't imagine the changes involved because they're quantum leaps, and that's why we need moonshots, projects where you aim in a direction where you can't lose sight of the vision, but we'll probably have to make a few adjustments along the way, and that's not possible unless we find a new way of thinking.
