In an interesting development, the team at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) has created a protein-based quantum bit (qubit).
The group successfully turned a “protein from a living cell” into a functional qubit, the fundamental unit of information for quantum computing.
The protein qubit could work as an incredibly sensitive quantum sensor, even in a living cell’s warm, noisy environment. This is a sharp contrast to the freezing conditions that quantum technology usually needs.
“Rather than taking a conventional quantum sensor and trying to camouflage it to enter a biological system, we wanted to explore the idea of using a biological system itself and developing it into a qubit,” said David Awschalom, co-principal investigator of the project.
“Harnessing nature to create powerful families of quantum sensors—that’s the new direction here,” added Awschalom, also director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE).
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