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Scientists Load Quantum Computer With First Complete Genome to Crack Biology's 'Impossible' Puzzle
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In time for World Quantum Day, teams from the Wellcome Sanger Institute [sanger.ac.uk] and the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Melbourne encoded the full Hepatitis D virus genome into quantum hardware.
The genome was loaded onto an IBM quantum computer using its 156-qubit Heron processor.
Successfully encoding the sequence required compressing the genetic information into quantum states that could fit within available qubit limits.
Traditional computers have struggled to keep pace with the surge of genomic data, creating processing bottlenecks that limit how quickly scientists can analyze variation across populations. The move toward pangenomes, which combine sequences from many individuals, adds additional complexity.
Instead of relying on a single reference sequence, pangenomes branch into multiple paths representing genetic diversity. Finding useful patterns inside those branching paths quickly becomes computationally demanding, especially as datasets grow.
“Our goal has always been to push the boundaries of what’s possible in genomics,” said Dr Sergii Strelchuk of the University of Oxford. “When we work with pangenomes, the information is presented in a form of a tangled maze, but we are building quantum algorithms to help find the best path through this maze when regular tools, such as classic computers, just get hopelessly stuck.”
Quantum computing offers a possible path forward by representing many possible outcomes at once inside qubit states. That capability could allow certain genomic calculations to run far faster than classical approaches.
Researchers involved in the project are targeting a future benchmark of processing full human pangenomes up to 100 times faster than traditional tools. The Hepatitis D test does not deliver that speed itself but demonstrates a pathway toward achieving quantum advantage at larger scales.
Some scientists remain cautious about how quickly that transition could happen. As Science.org [science.org] reports, until quantum systems handle larger genomes and perform full analyses, it's unknown whether they will outperform well-established classical methods.
Even with those limits, loading a complete genome into quantum hardware marks an impressive technical milestone. The next phase focuses on scaling the approach and turning experimental workflows into tools other researchers can use.
