Mediaboss Marketing

A unique type of tiny antibody produced by llamas could provide a new frontline treatment against COVID-19 that can be taken by patients as a simple nasal spray.

Research led by scientists at the Rosalind Franklin Institute has shown that nanobodies a smaller, simple form of antibody generated by llamas and camels can effectively target the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

They found that short chains of the molecules, which can be produced in large quantities in the laboratory, significantly reduced signs of the COVID-19 disease when administered to infected animal models.

The nanobodies, which bind tightly to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, neutralizing it in cell culture, could provide a cheaper and easier to use alternative to human antibodies taken from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Human antibodies have been a key treatment for serious cases during the pandemic, but typically need to be administered by infusion through a needle in the hospital.

Public Health England has described the research as having significant potential for both the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, adding that the nanobodies are among the most effective SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing agents we have ever tested.

Nanobodies have a number of advantages over human antibodies, said Professor Ray Owens, head of protein production at the Rosalind Franklin Institute and lead author of the research. They are cheaper to produce and can be delivered directly to the airways through a nebulizer or nasal spray, so can be self-administered at home rather than needing an injection. This could have benefits in terms of ease of use by patients but it also gets the treatment directly to the site of infection in the respiratory tract.

The research team, whose findings are published in the journalNature Communication, were able to generate the nanobodies by injecting a portion of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into a llama called Fifi, who is part of the antibody production facility at the University of Reading.

The spike protein is found on the outside of the virus and is responsible for binding to human cells so it can infect them.

Although the injections did not make Fifi sick, it triggered her immune system to fight off the virus protein by generating nanobodies against it. A small blood sample was then taken from the llama and the researchers were able to purify four nanobodies capable of binding to the COVID-19 virus.

The nanobodies were then combined together into chains of three to increase their ability to bind to the virus. These were then produced in cells in the laboratory.

The team found three nanobody chains were able to neutralise both the original variants of the COVID-19 virus and the Alpha variant that was first identified in Kent, UK. A fourth nanobody chain was able to neutralise the Beta variant first identified in South Africa.

When one of the nanobody chains also known as a trimer were administered to hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2, the animals showed a marked reduction in disease, losing far less weight after seven days than those who remained untreated. Hamsters that received the nanobody treatment also had a lower viral load in their lungs and airways after seven days than untreated animals.

Because we can see every atom of the nanobody bound to the spike, we understand what makes these agents so special, said Professor James Naismith, Director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, who helped lead the research.

The results are the first step towards developing a new type of treatment against COVID-19, which could prove invaluable as the pandemic continues.

While vaccines have proven extraordinarily successful, not everyone responds to vaccination and immunity can wane in individuals at different times, said Professor Naismith. Having medications that can treat the virus is still going to be very important, particularly as not all of the world is being vaccinated at the same speed and there remains a risk of new variants capable of bypassing vaccine immunity emerging.

If successful and approved, nanobodies could provide an important treatment around the world as they are easier to produce than human antibodies and dont need to be stored in cold storage facilities, added Professor Naismith.

The research team, which included scientists at the University of Liverpool, University of Oxford and Public Health England, now hope to obtain funding so they can conduct further research needed to prepare for clinical studies in humans.

Prof Miles Carroll, Deputy Director of the National Infection Service, Public Health England (PHE), said: Although this research is still at an early stage, it opens up significant possibilities for the use of effective nanobody treatments for COVID-19.

These are among the most effective SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing agents we have ever tested at PHE. We believe the unique structure and strength of the nanobodies contribute to their significant potential for both the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and look forward to working collaboratively to progress this work into clinical studies.

Dr. Andrew Bourne, Director of Partnerships at EPSRC, said:

Utilising the unique properties of llamas nanobodies, this research could lead to an important new form of treatment for Covid-19 that is cheaper to produce and easier to administer.

It is a vivid illustration of the impact that long-term discovery research at the cutting edge of physical and life sciences, as undertaken at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, can have.

Professor James Stewart, co-author and professor of molecular virology at the University of Liverpool said: The pre-clinical trials of the nanobodies in hamsters are extremely encouraging and suggest that they may be effective at treating COVID-19 disease as well as help prevent infection. Having therapies such as this will be important for populations that are either unvaccinated or where vaccination is inappropriate or ineffective.

The researchers, who were funded by the UK Research and Innovations Medical Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, The EPA Cephalosporin Fund and Wellcome, also hope the nanobody technology they have developed could form a so-called platform technology that can be rapidly adapted to fight other diseases.

When a new virus emerges in the future, the generic technology we have developed could respond to that, which would be important in terms of producing new treatments as quickly as possible, said Professor Owens.

Reference: A potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralising nanobody shows therapeutic efficacy in the Syrian golden hamster model of COVID-19 by Jiandong Huo, Halina Mikolajek, Audrey Le Bas, Jordan J. Clark, Parul Sharma, Anja Kipar, Joshua Dormon, Chelsea Norman, Miriam Weckener, Daniel K. Clare, Peter J. Harrison, Julia A. Tree, Karen R. Buttigieg, Francisco J. Salguero, Robert Watson, Daniel Knott, Oliver Carnell, Didier Ngabo, Michael J. Elmore, Susan Fotheringham, Adam Harding, Lucile Moyni, Philip N. Ward, Maud Dumoux, Tessa Prince, Yper Hall, Julian A. Hiscox, Andrew Owen, William James, Miles W. Carroll, James P. Stewart, James H. Naismith and Raymond J. Owens, 22 September 2021, Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25480-z

See more here:
Finding and Erasing Quantum Computing Errors in Real-Time - SciTechDaily

The potential security threats from quantum are clear but there seems to be little impetus in Brussels to regulate the technology - for now.

In the last weeks of 2023, the European Commission announced its new Declaration on Quantum Technologies in a bid to put the advanced technology firmly on the bloc's agenda.

The EU's Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton said it was a step toward creating a "Quantum Valley" in Europe.

The joint declaration has so far been endorsed by 11 member states, according to a tweet by Breton, but just eight member states have actually signed it: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, and Sweden.

In recent years, the EU has passed several banner pieces of legislation to tackle Big Tech and regulate rapidly developing technologies, namely artificial intelligence (AI).

Quantum technology is on the minds of at least some EU policymakers but as the European Parliament elections loom in June and the European Commission enters the final months of its mandate, will it be a priority in 2024?

Quantum computing could have far-reaching effects; there have been decades of research with tech giants like IBM and Google leading the way, but the commercial deployments of quantum computing remain in their infancy.

The potential advancements of the technology have served to underline a need for preparing the ground for the future.

Computers as we know them now process bits of information, ones and zeros, while quantum computers on the other hand calculate qubits, which can be both 1 and 0 at the same time.

In simplest terms, that means quantum computers can carry out multiple calculations simultaneously rather than individually. This means faster computations.

The benefits could mean the rapid development of new drugs while on the flipside, there are dangers. Existing encryption protocols on the Internet could be cracked much quicker with a quantum computer.

The Declaration on Quantum Technologies isn't the first effort of its kind.

In 2018, both the Quantum Technologies Flagship and the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking were established to support quantum computing developments in Europe.

These efforts haven't been lost on industry.

Dr Joe Fitzsimons heads up Horizon Quantum Computing, based in Singapore, and recently established an EU base for the company in Dublin to expand its presence in Europe.

"There's definitely been a reasonable amount of support. There's this Quantum Flagship programme, which has been a big driver in Europe. At the same time, you have Germany investing additional capital in the space, which is certainly giving rise to a wave of spin-offs in Germany".

Looking across Europe, there is a mixed bag of initiatives in member states.

The Netherlands launched its national quantum strategy in 2019 with Quantum Delta NL, established to help quantum research in universities and commercialise it.

Meanwhile, Ireland announced a national quantum strategy last November. However, neither of these countries have signed up to the new declaration.

An Irish government spokesperson told Euronews Next it would consider signing the declaration "following consultations with the quantum community".

Herbert Mangesius is a general partner at investment firm Vsquared Ventures, which has backed European quantum computing start-ups like IQM. He said that there needs to be more coordination in Europe when it comes to quantum tech.

"I wish on a European level we'd really think of what have, where are the strengths in the regions and then really concentrate and not do the same thing in every country," he said.

Each member state pursuing their own strategy won't yield significant results, he said, but rather the efforts "need to be more clustered into regions" based on specialities.

Europe ought to consider how it can contribute to building hardware and quantum computing chips, Mangesius added.

The EU already has the Chips Act to stimulate the semiconductor industry more generally, but these types of efforts need to focus on quantum too, he said.

Ish Dhand leads QC Design, a German start-up developing design software for quantum computers, which is a Vsquared portfolio company. He agrees that partnerships are to Europes advantage if it is to keep up with the US and China in the quantum race.

"In North America and China, there are full stack companies focusing on moonshots, trying to build everything in-house. An [example] here is Intel. They would want to make their own chips and sell full processors in the end," he said.

"Things are different in Europe in that there are much more partnerships and there are many more smaller companies".

While Breton stood front and centre at the announcement of the European Declaration of Quantum Technologies, it remains unclear how quantum will be addressed at a policy level.

"The Commission does not envisage new legislative proposals in quantum technologies before the end of the current mandate," a spokesperson for the Commission told Euronews Next.

In the world of politics, priorities can shift on a whim, especially after an election.

The Dutch quantum strategy, for example, has received 615 million in funding from the Dutch government but following the victory of far-right candidate Geert Wilders in the Netherlands' general election, future funding becomes uncertain.

"The negotiations to form a new government, after the recent elections, started after the Christmas break, the direction and outcome of these negotiations are unclear for now. We expect changes of funding forms and routings coming from the Dutch Government, but its all unclear for now," a spokesperson for Quantum Delta NL said.

For Horizon's Fitzsimons, there are no immediate challenges posed by quantum computing unlike AI that lawmakers in Europe need to quickly address but the time will come eventually.

The chief concern is cybersecurity. While quantum computing promises great breakthroughs in the speed of computation, it presents risks to security.

Existing encryption protocols on the Internet, which guard the likes of encrypted messaging or online banking services, could be broken by superfast quantum computers.

"You need a much more sophisticated quantum computer than we currently have but they're not 100 years away; they're maybe five or 10 years away," Fitzsimons said.

"It's in the foreseeable future, it's something that we need to plan for".

View post:
Is quantum computing the next technology on the EU's regulation agenda? - Euronews

Chinese authorities have reiterated the need for technological breakthroughs in a range of hi-tech areas, including graphics processing units (GPUs), quantum computing, humanoid robots and brain-computer interfaces, in Beijings latest effort to seek control of the industries of the future.

A document issued on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other departments, urges the country to grasp the opportunities of a new round of scientific and technological revolution at a time when the US is doubling down on a small yard, high fence approach to block Chinas access to key technologies.

The US has been ramping up its tech pressure on China. As a result of Washingtons October update of export restrictions for advanced chips, Nvidia is unable to sell its cutting-edge GPUs including some tailor-made for China to comply with previous regulations to the country.

Strong China demand for chip tools bolsters revenue at Lam Research and ASML

The Biden administration will require such firms to reveal foreign customer names and IP addresses, and they will need to devise a budget for collecting those details and report any suspicious activity, according to a draft rule published on Sunday.

The Chinese government is pushing a whole-of-the-nation approach to focus resources on breakthroughs in designated areas. The latest policy document identifies GPUs that can help train large language models and robots that can be used in smart manufacturing and household services.

It also mentions brain-computer interfaces, which Tesla founder Elon Musk has been developing with Neuralink, and which can be applied to medical treatments, autonomous-driving and virtual reality.

The document sets a target of achieving breakthroughs in at least 100 core cutting-edge technologies by 2025 and to become a global leader in certain areas by 2027, although it does not lay down the criteria for assessing progress.

The authorities also promise that China would actively participate in the global division of labour and cooperation and deeply integrate into the global innovation network, adding that the nation encouraged multinational corporations and foreign academic institutes to set up research centres in China.

In terms of industries, China will focus on future manufacturing, future information, future materials, future energy, future space and future health.

In recent years, Beijing has repeatedly urged scientists and companies to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductor supplies. China aims to produce 70 per cent of the chips it uses by 2025.

The new guideline comes hot on the heels of the annual tone-setting central economic work conference in December, when Chinas top leaders set developing industries of the future as a key mission for the year ahead.

More here:
Beijing urges breakthroughs in chips and quantum computing to command future - South China Morning Post

After ChatGPT and Generative AI,quantum computingmay be the field of research to bring about the next technological revolution in the 21st century. Quantum computing has the potential to solve complex problems that normally slow down classical computers, such as optimization, cryptography, machine learning, and simulation. This has led to this list of quantum computing stocks for January 2024.

While this kind of novel technology may still be in its infancy, investors desiring to invest in the up-and-coming technology should consider one of the following three quantum computing stocks with Strong Buy ratings from Wall Street analysts.

Source: Shutterstock

Rigetti Computing(NASDAQ:RGTI) is a pure-play quantum computing business thatisvertically integrated. This simply means the company is involved in both designing and manufacturing its multi-chip quantum processors. Rigetti uses superconducting circuits as qubits, which are fabricated on silicon chips and operate at near-zero temperatures.In order to get deliver its quantum computing capabilities to clients, Rigetti leverages cloud service networks, while also providing quantum software development tools as well as quantum hardware design and manufacturing.

Rigetti Computings financials show robust growth potential, as the companygenerated $13 millionin revenue in 2022, up 46% year-over-year. The quantum computing firms 2023 financials appear on the way to surpass 2022s numbers.RGTIs shares proved volatile in 2023. At one point, RGTI returned more than 200%, but the stock ended the year at only a 35% return. This makes it one of those quantum computing stocks for January 2024.

Wall Street analysts have given the stock a resounding Strong Buy rating, and while shares are only trading at above $1, interested investors should take the chance to buy shares now.

Source: Amin Van / Shutterstock.com

D-Wave Quantum(NYSE:QBTS) is the oldest and most established quantum computing company in the market. The company is the pioneer ofquantum annealing, a computing technique used to find the optimal solution for a given problem. D-Wave Quantum has built several quantum annealers withmore than 5,000 qubits, which allows greater potential for commercial applications.

D-Wave Quantum offers its quantum annealers and software tools through its own cloud platform, called Leap. QBTS also offers a suite of developer tools, called Ocean, which helps users design, develop and deploy quantum applications. The quantum computing company has a diverse customer base, includinggovernment agenciesas well as corporations.

Wall Streetanalysts expectD-Wave to generate more than $10 million in revenue at the end of 2023, which would represent a 47% YoY increase from the prior period. However, shares are down 32% over the past 12 months, so this could be a chance for investors to buy this stock at a lower price, as D-Wave Quantum has a strong competitive advantage in the quantum computing market.

Source: Sergio Photone / Shutterstock.com

Nvidia(NASDAQ:NVDA) was one of the best-performing stocks of 2023, with a staggering gain of more than 240% last year. The chip stock is already off to a great start in 2024, so much so that it could be another record year for Nvidias share price. Shares, thus far, have risen to an all-time high of $563.82/share. The chipmaker has been riding high on the booming demand for its AI solutions, which power some of the most advanced and popular applications in the world, such asOpenAIsChatGPT and other generative AI platforms.

However, Nvidia is also one of the key players in quantum computing, with itsTensor CoreGPUs used to power some of the most advanced quantum simulators and algorithms. Furthermore, Nvidia has developed its own quantum software development kit and platform calledcuQuantum, which leverages its CUDA programming model and libraries to enable developers to create and run quantum applications on Nvidia GPUs.

Wall Street remains bullish on Nvidia shares, rating the chipmakers stock as a Strong Buy. All in all, its one of those quantum computing stocks for January 2024.

On the date of publication, Tyrik Torresdid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.

Tyrik Torres has been studying and participating in financial markets since he was in college, and he has particular passion for helping people understand complex systems. His areas of expertise are semiconductor and enterprise software equities. He has work experience in both investing (public and private markets) and investment banking.

Read the original here:
Wall Street Favorites: 3 Quantum Computing Stocks with Strong Buy Ratings in January 2024 - InvestorPlace

Agreement includes KQC offering IBM software and new AI infrastructure capabilities as well as IBM's next-generation quantum computing architecture

BUSAN, South Korea, Jan. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Korea Quantum Computing (KQC) has engaged IBM to offer IBM's most advanced AI software and infrastructure, as well as quantum computing services. KQC's ecosystem of users will have access to IBM's full stack solution for AI, including watsonx, an AI and data platform to train, tune and deploy advanced AI models and software for enterprises.

KQC is also expanding its quantum computing collaboration with IBM. Having operated as an IBM Quantum Innovation Center since 2022, KQC will continue to offer access to IBM's global fleet of utility-scale quantum systems over the cloud.Additionally, IBM and KQC plan to deploy an IBM Quantum System Two on-site at KQC in Busan, South Koreaby 2028.

"KQC is providing versatile computing infrastructure in Korea through our collaboration with IBM. Our robusthardware computing resources and core software in quantum and AI are poised not only to meet the growing demand for high performance computing, but also to catalyze industry utilization and ecosystem development. We are working to diligently enhance services and infrastructure through this collaboration as well as with our industry-specific partners," said Ji Hoon Kweon, Chairman of KQC.

"We are excited to work with KQC to deploy AI and quantum systems to drive innovation across Korean industries. With this engagement, KQC clients will have the ability to train, fine-tune, and deploy advanced AI models, using IBM watsonx and advanced AI infrastructure. Additionally, by having the opportunity to access IBM quantum systems over the cloud, today and a next-generation quantum system in the coming years KQC members will be able to combine the power of AI and quantum to develop new applications to address their industries' toughest problems," said Daro Gil, IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research.

This collaboration includes an investment in infrastructure to support the development and deployment of generative AI. Plans for the AI-optimized infrastructure includes advanced GPUs and IBM's Artificial Intelligence Unit (AIU), managed with Red Hat OpenShift to provide a cloud-native environment. Together, the GPU system and AIU combination is being engineered to offer members state-of-the-art hardware to power AI research and business opportunities.

To provide a full stack solution, this collaboration will also include access for KQC's clients to Red Hat OpeShift AI for management and runtime needs, and IBM's watsonx platform to empower generative AI and the next wave of computing technology. By leveraging watsonx software for its workflows and solutions, KQC members will have access to generative AI technologies for the enterprise.

In addition to IBM, KQC is also collaborating with other Korean organizations on contributions to the country's quantum computing ecosystem.

"KQC has beenactively building quantum research collaborations with leading domestic companies in the financial, bio-healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Last year, Dankook University Hospital joined as a co-research member in quantum healthcare. Additionally, as members of our IBM Quantum Innovation Center, Hanlim Pharmaceutical Co., has started joint research for new drug discovery with us. And DNEURO, a Korean financial software start up is developing quantum algorithms in option pricing and portfolio optimization," said Dr. Joon Young Kim, CEO of KQC.

About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Media Contacts:

Bethany Hill McCarthy, IBM Research [emailprotected]

Chris Nay, IBM Quantum [emailprotected]

SOURCE IBM

Original post:
Korea Quantum Computing and IBM Collaborate to Bring IBM watsonx and Quantum Computing to Korea - PR Newswire