Dr. Deep Pandey’s Post

Quantum computing may have just taken a leap into the living world. Researchers have shown that enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP), a staple in biological imaging, can act as a quantum bit, or qubit, not just in purified samples but inside mammalian and bacterial cells. That’s a staggering shift. It means quantum behavior isn’t confined to sterile labs or exotic materials anymore. It’s happening inside the messy, dynamic environment of biology, with implications for sensing, imaging, and computation at the molecular level. What makes EYFP truly remarkable isn’t just its quantum properties, it’s that it can be genetically encoded. Unlike superconducting circuits, EYFP qubits can be inserted into cells using standard genetic engineering techniques, allowing scientists to build quantum systems from the inside out. While these protein-based qubits aren’t ready to replace today’s quantum processors, they offer a radically different path forward. This could be the beginning of hybrid platforms where biology and quantum logic co-evolve. Worth keeping an eye on. #QuantumBiology #BiotechInnovation #QuantumComputing #SyntheticBiology #MolecularEngineering #FutureOfScience #GeneticEngineering

Quantum Campus covers first-of-their-kind protein qubits from Peter Maurer and colleagues at the University of Chicago this week. “Through fluorescence microscopy, scientists can see biological processes but must infer what’s happening on the nanoscale. Now, for the first time, we can directly measure quantum properties inside living systems." Subscribe at the link below. Also in this issue: * Detection and control of atomic nucleus spin using 2D material defects from Tongcang Li's team at Purdue University * Quantum memory using nanomechanical oscillators from Caltech's Mohammad Mirhosseini * IQM Quantum Computers notches contract for Oak Ridge National Laboratory's first on-site quantum computer https://lnkd.in/guen2Viv Benjamin Soloway Nadya Mason Jacob Feder Sumukh Vaidya Kejun Li Saakshi Dikshit Peng Ju Kunhong Shen Nature Portfolio Omid Golami Hao Tian

At first glance, biology and quantum technology seem incompatible. Living systems operate in warm, noisy environments full of constant motion, while quantum technology typically requires extreme isolation and temperatures near absolute zero to function. But quantum mechanics is the foundation of everything, including in biological molecules. Now, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) have turned a protein found in living cells into a functioning quantum bit (qubit), the foundation of quantum technologies. The protein qubit can be used as a quantum sensor capable of detecting minute changes and ultimately offering unprecedented insight into biological processes. "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, Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering at UChicago PME and director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE). "Harnessing nature to create powerful families of quantum sensors—that's the new direction here." Unlike engineered nanomaterials, protein-qubits can be built directly by cells, positioned with atomic precision, and detect signals thousands of times stronger than existing quantum sensors. Looking ahead, these protein-qubits could drive a revolution in quantum-enabled nanoscale MRI, revealing the atomic structure of the cellular machinery and transforming our way of performing biological research. Beyond biology, protein qubits could also open new frontiers for advancing quantum technology itself. Read more here —> https://lnkd.in/ghap66jX #quantum #biological #sensing #qbit #cellular #machinery #proteins

Fragile quantum states might seem incompatible with the messy world of biology. But researchers have now coaxed cells to produce quantum sensors made of proteins. Quantum states are incredibly sensitive to changes in the environment. This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they can sense physical properties with unprecedented precision. At the same time, they’re extremely delicate and hard to work with. This sensitivity makes it challenging to create quantum sensors that work in living systems, which are warm, biochemically active, and in constant motion. Scientists have tried to integrate various kinds of synthetic quantum sensors into biology, but they’ve been bedeviled by problems related to targeting, efficiency, and durability. Now, a team from the University of Chicago says they’ve repurposed fluorescent proteins used for biological imaging into quantum sensors that operate inside cells. These proteins can be encoded in DNA so the cells produce the sensors themselves, allowing the devices to target sub-cellular structures.

Quantum Computing Meets Biology: EYFP Proteins as Qubits Researchers at the University of Chicago have shown that enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP)—commonly used in molecular biology—can serve as an optically addressable spin qubit, even within living cells. By leveraging EYFP’s metastable triplet state, they achieved measurable spin coherence times, opening the door to biologically embedded quantum systems. This represents a potential shift in nanoscale sensing and quantum imaging—where life sciences and quantum information science intersect. This research hints at a future where quantum technologies can be encoded directly into biological systems, unlocking new possibilities in diagnostics, imaging, and fundamental understanding of life at the quantum level. 📎 Full article in comments. #QuantumBiology #QuantumComputing #MolecularBiology #QuantumImaging #UniversityofChicago

Pick the wrong orbital, and your excited-state simulation can miss the physics entirely, meaning a cancer drug candidate that looks promising on paper could fail in practice. A new workflow, AEGISS, systematically identifies the right orbitals, keeping quantum models both accurate and reliable. Every week, I track the quantum research that’s intended for real-world performance, resilience, and utility. These are early steps, but they point toward where quantum may prove its worth. ⚇ AEGISS for quantum chemistry: Researchers from Algorithmiq, Cleveland Clinic, and other collaborators present AEGISS, a Python-based workflow for selecting active orbital spaces. By combining orbital entropy analysis with atomic orbital projections it helps map only the most chemically relevant orbitals onto qubits, making high-accuracy excited-state simulations more systematic and scalable. ⚇ QROCODILE hunts dark matter: The University of Zurich leads the first sub-MeV dark matter search using superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. With thresholds down to 0.11 eV, QROCODILE sets new global limits on light dark matter interactions, exploring regions of parameter space unreachable by prior experiments. ⚇ Quantum vision for enzymes: Purdue University and North Carolina State University researchers developed a multimodal quantum vision transformer that predicts enzyme function with 85.1% top-1 accuracy. By fusing quantum-derived electronic descriptors with sequence, graph, and image data, the model outperforms prior QML architectures in one of biology’s hardest classification problems. If you want these kinds of insights in your inbox every morning, subscribe to the Daily Qubit and never miss a qubit -- link in the comments. #quantumcomputing #quantumsensing #quantumchemistry

Genetic Algorithms Design Variational Ansatzes for High Expressibility and Shallow Depth Researchers develop a novel evolutionary algorithm that automatically designs quantum circuits with enhanced performance and reduced computational demands, overcoming a key limitation in the development of practical quantum computation #quantum #quantumcomputing #technology https://lnkd.in/e72YG7cd

Protein Qubits in Living Cells Advance Quantum Sensing In September 2025, the scientific community buzzed with news of a novel quantum technology breakthrough: the development of protein qubits embedded directly within living cells. These protein-based qubits enable quantum sensing capabilities that operate in real time, allowing for detailed observation of biological processes at the cellular level. The innovation was spotlighted in online discussions, including posts on X by thought leaders such as Dr. Singularity, underscoring its significance in bridging quantum physics and biology. Traditional quantum computing relies on fragile, isolated systems, but this approach innovates by leveraging proteins, natural building blocks of life, as the medium for qubits. This integration means quantum effects can now be harnessed inside living organisms without disrupting their natural functions. The result is a sensing mechanism that detects subtle changes in cellular environments with extraordinary precision. The process involves engineering proteins to exhibit quantum properties, such as superposition and entanglement, which are fundamental to quantum information processing. Researchers noted that this method supports continuous monitoring of biological markers, far surpassing classical sensing technologies in sensitivity and speed. This was achieved through interdisciplinary efforts combining quantum physics, biochemistry, and nanotechnology. Applications in healthcare are particularly promising, as the technology could facilitate early detection of diseases by tracking molecular shifts in real time. For instance, it might monitor protein interactions linked to conditions like cancer or neurological disorders directly within tissues. The real-time aspect eliminates the need for invasive sampling, making it a game-changer for non-invasive diagnostics. Beyond medicine, this breakthrough extends to biotechnology and environmental science, where quantum sensing in living systems could track ecosystem health or optimize bioengineered organisms. The event in September 2025 not only validated the feasibility of biological quantum devices but also set a new benchmark for hybrid quantum-bio technologies. Experts anticipate further refinements based on this foundational work. How might protein qubits change the way we approach medical monitoring? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! #QuantumSensing #ProteinQubits #BioQuantum #TechAdvancement #CellularTech

In a first-of-its-kind breakthrough, researchers have turned a protein found in living cells into a functioning quantum bit, or qubit, the foundation of quantum technologies. The protein qubit can be used as a quantum sensor capable of detecting minute changes and ultimately offering unprecedented insight into biological processes. Beyond biology, protein qubits could also open new frontiers for advancing quantum technology itself. #scienceandtechnology #biology #quantum #quantumtechnology #qubits #scientificresearch #breakthrough #proteinqubit #bioqubits #quantumsensing #quantumfuture #futuretech #biotech #quantumphysics #biologicalqubit #UChicagoPME #worldfirst #spinqubit #quantummaterials #healthtech

🔬 Quantum Leap: Japan Cracks the W State—A Game Changer for Teleportation & Computing A groundbreaking development from Kyoto and Hiroshima Universities has just solved a decades-old puzzle in quantum physics: the identification of the elusive W state of quantum entanglement. This achievement opens new frontiers in quantum teleportation, multi-photon entanglement, and measurement-based quantum computing. For years, the W state—an entangled multi-photon state—remained experimentally out of reach. Traditional quantum tomography methods struggled with scalability, requiring exponentially increasing measurements as photon numbers grew. Now, researchers have developed a novel method using a photonic quantum circuit that performs quantum Fourier transformation, enabling precise entangled measurements for the W state. This advancement not only deepens our understanding of quantum entanglement but also paves the way for practical applications in quantum communication and computing. Read the full article on https://lnkd.in/eqcWrjXy #QuantamPhysics #Entanglement #QuantumComputing #Innovation #ResearchBreakthrough #KyotoUniversity #ScienceNews