{"id":70251,"date":"2025-10-10T15:58:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/70251\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T15:58:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T15:58:06","slug":"these-nobel-prize-winners-paved-the-way-for-quantum-computing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/70251\/","title":{"rendered":"These Nobel Prize Winners Paved The Way For Quantum Computing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this week\u2019s edition of The Prototype, we look at this year\u2019s Nobel Prize in Physics, a startup using AI to track pathogens, a quantum cooling breakthrough and more. To get The Prototype in your inbox, sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Goeran Johansson, Member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, addresses a press conference on the awarding of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics<\/p>\n

AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Three researchers who paved the way for today\u2019s quantum computers won the Nobel Prize in Physics<\/a> this week. John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis will share the approximately $1.2 million award thanks to groundbreaking experiments they conducted in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

In this work, they built a superconducting electric circuit, which allows electricity to flow through without resistance. In that circuit, they were able to manipulate the electrons to display certain quantum mechanical properties. This discovery is used today by tech companies like Google and IBM in their quantum computers.<\/p>\n

All three scientists are working to extend this breakthrough. Clarke, a professor at University of California, Berkeley, built equipment using this technology for the Axion Dark Matter Experiment to help detect dark matter, a hypothetical substance thought to make up over 80% of the universe. Martinis worked at Google Quantum A.I. lab from 2014 to 2020, helping to develop a quantum processor and has since cofounded quantum computing startup Qolab. Devoret is currently Chief Scientist at Google\u2019s Quantum A.I. lab.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am humbled to share the prize alongside collaborators and friends John Clarke and John Martinis,\u201d Deverot said in a statement. \u201cThis Nobel Prize celebrates far more than the work of three individuals. It recognizes a 40 year journey by researchers worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Startup Raised $7 Million To Track Microbes With AI<\/p>\n

Hyperspectral CEO Matt Theurer<\/p>\n

Hyperspectral<\/p>\n

Detecting contamination from toxins and bacteria is a challenge for healthcare systems and food preparation companies alike. That\u2019s both because of the complexity of microscopic threats and the slow, labor-intensive nature of the lab work to test for them.<\/p>\n

This was a lesson Matt Theurer learned at the height of the Covid pandemic, before rapid testing was available. \u201cWe all remember waiting in line for hours to get swabbed and then getting results two or three days later,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was too slow, too centralized and too expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a problem his company, Hyperspectral, aims to solve. Founded in 2022 by Theurer (CEO), Lauren Stack (COO) and Vince Lubsey (CTO), it aims to use spectrography and AI to rapidly detect potentially dangerous microorganisms or chemicals. This week, the company raised<\/a> a $7 million series A extension, bringing its total funding to about $15.5 million. The valuation was undisclosed.<\/p>\n

Spectrography is based on a simple principle: when you shine certain frequencies of light at different objects, it uniquely reflects or absorbs them. This enables scientists to identify and classify different substances. Hyperspectral\u2019s AI models are trained on such data from thousands of pathogens, enabling its software to quickly identify potential contamination in a sample in minutes.<\/p>\n

With the new capital in hand, Theuer says his company is \u201ccoming out of beta testing,\u201d and working to bring its \u201cscience as a service\u201d into the hands of its first customers. \u201cAnd then we\u2019re setting ourselves up to scale,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK: (SLIGHTLY) WARMER QUANTUM SUPERCONDUCTING<\/p>\n

Quantum hardware startup EeroQ demonstrated<\/a> that it can make a superconducting chip work at temperatures just above 1 Kelvin\u2013one degree higher than absolute zero. Currently, quantum computers using these chips have to be cooled to 0.01 K to operate. That doesn\u2019t sound like a big difference, but it\u2019s a big step to making them more practical. Cooling below 1 K requires specialized, expensive equipment that isn\u2019t needed to reach 1 K. (Incidentally, this is bad news for companies planning to mine helium-3<\/a> on the Moon. Quantum computing is one of its big use cases because that isotope is used in the refrigerators that cool them below 1K.)<\/p>\n

WHAT ELSE I WROTE THIS WEEK<\/p>\n

Thomas Gallagher and I wrote about<\/a> how space billionaire Abel Avellan has doubled his net worth in the past month on the strength of his company AST SpaceMobile\u2019s deals with Verizon and other major telecom companies. I profiled Avellan earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In my other newsletter, InnovationRx, Amy Feldman and I looked at<\/a> the federal shutdown\u2019s impact on healthcare, the Nobel Prize winners in medicine, a new biotech company from scientist-billionaire Robert Langer, and more.<\/p>\n

SCIENCE AND TECH TIDBITS <\/p>\n

Silicon Valley startup Lilac Solutions aims to extract lithium<\/a> from briny water at oil fields and sites like the Great Salt Lake in Utah instead of digging it out of the ground.<\/p>\n

Researchers at Florida International University have developed cyberdefenses<\/a> for drones that help prevent them from being hijacked.<\/p>\n

Rocket startup Stoke Space raised a $510 million investment round<\/a> to accelerate development of its reusable spacecraft Nova and complete its launch complex at Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

Brain-computer interface startup Cognixion began a clinical study<\/a> testing its software with an Apple Vision Pro to enable paralyzed patients to communicate and operate a computer. I wrote about<\/a> Cognixion\u2019s technology earlier this year.<\/p>\n

An international team of scientists revived microorganisms that have been trapped in permafrost<\/a> for thousands of years.<\/p>\n

Engineers at MIT developed an aluminum alloy that can be 3D-printed<\/a> and is five times stronger than traditionally cast aluminum, making it ideal for aircraft parts that currently use heavier metals like titanium.<\/p>\n

PRO SCIENCE TIP: KEEP YOUR BRAIN YOUNG WITH CREATIVE PURSUITS<\/p>\n

If you want to keep your brain young, find a creative hobby. That\u2019s my takeaway from a new paper<\/a> that studied the brains of more than 1,400 people. The team of researchers found those who engage in long-term creative pursuits\u2013like music, painting or writing\u2013 have \u201cyounger\u201d brains than those who don\u2019t, as measured by cognitive tests and brain scans. Interestingly enough, it didn\u2019t matter what creative hobby people chose to pursue\u2013all of them \u201chelp protect brain connections that are vulnerable to accelerated aging,\u201d said<\/a> study co-author Carlos Coronel.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S ENTERTAINING ME THIS WEEK<\/p>\n

While other folks debate Taylor Swift\u2019s latest (it\u2019s fine, not great), I\u2019d like to point you to my contender for best pop album of 2025: Born Blue<\/a> by singer-songwriter Kings Eliot. It\u2019s a powerhouse debut record, loaded with emotional ballads like \u201cAshes In The Morning\u201d, slow jams like \u201cStarcrossed\u201d and bops like \u201dThe Promise.\u201d The tracks highlight Elliot\u2019s depth and range, and I\u2019m excited to see how her music develops.<\/p>\n

MORE FROM FORBES ForbesHow Hakeem Jeffries Became A MillionaireBy Kyle Khan-Mullins<\/a>ForbesWith Billionaire Backers In Tow, Crypto\u2019s Fastest-Growing Startup Mints The World\u2019s Youngest Self-Made BillionaireBy Alicia Park<\/a>ForbesA $250 Million Plan To Pull Lithium For Batteries From The Great Salt LakeBy Alan Ohnsman<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this week\u2019s edition of The Prototype, we look at this year\u2019s Nobel Prize in Physics, a startup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[19858,371,40176,4539,7945,55880,111,139,40860,69,393,375,3303,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-70251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-aluminum","9":"tag-computing","10":"tag-contamination","11":"tag-food-safety","12":"tag-ibm","13":"tag-lithium-mining","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nobel-prize","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-physics","19":"tag-quantum-computing","20":"tag-quantum-physics","21":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}