"100x faster than traditional tools": Scientists load quantum computer with first complete genome to crack biologys 'impossible' puzzle in time for
World Quantum Day

Date:
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:10:00 +0000

Description:
Scientists load a complete genome into a quantum computer, moving faster DNA analysis closer to reality.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Complete Hepatitis D genome encoded into quantum processor as proof-of-concept milestone Researchers target future
100x speedups for complex human pangenome analysis tasks Scientists caution practical quantum genomics still faces scaling and hardware limitations Scientists have loaded a complete genome onto a quantum computer for the
first time, taking an early step toward tackling biological problems that easily overwhelm traditional systems.

In time for World Quantum Day, teams from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Melbourne encoded the full Hepatitis D virus genome into quantum hardware. The Hep D virus carries a compact genome of roughly 1,700 base pairs, making it suitable as a proof-of-concept target. Article continues below You may like Quantum battery prototype charges faster as its size increases 'The future lies in quantum-centric supercomputing': IBM reveals its next big plan for developing next-gen quantum computing, but are we any closer to real-world launches? Google warns quantum computers could break Bitcoin encryption much sooner
than expected Compressing genetic information into quantum states Researchers used the smaller dataset to test whether real biological data could be translated into a format that quantum machines can handle.

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. Are you
a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

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 whats 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.
What to read next Could this be the key to eternal storage? Experts claim new DNA HDD can be erased and overwritten repeatedly Forget the AI Armageddonquantum computing is the real threat to digital security German provider Tuta debuts quantum-safe alternative to Google Drive

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 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. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/100x-faster-than-traditional-tools-scientists-lo ad-quantum-computer-with-first-complete-genome-to-crack-biologys-impossible-pu zzle-in-time-for-world-quantum-day


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