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Closed gyms arent the only thing hindering muscle progress. The aging process impacts every aspect of the body, from the mental to the physical. You may catch yourself saying I cant do what I used to and needing to take extra rest days to feel fully recovered. Thankfully with the right diet, exercise, and supplementation, you can help redefine the aging process and maintain muscle health at any age.

Unfortunately, the average American diet does not support muscle development. Simple carbohydrates, processed foods, and added sugar can increase body fat. This diet hinders muscle mass production, especially as you age.

You know what to avoid. Heres what you should eat. Focus on consuming whole grains, leafy greens, fruits, and olive oil. Consider consulting with a Registered Dietitian to determine if any gaps exist in your diet.

Your rainbow plate also needs a protein source. High protein foods arent just for bodybuilders. In fact, eating a higher protein diet can help maintain muscle health, and is conducive to recovery. If a steak dinner seems too heavy, enjoy lean animal products such as chicken or pork, high protein plant-based products like lentils, soy, and nuts, or add protein powder into your shake or smoothie.

R-E-R: Regular Exercise and Recovery

Load bearing exercises, like lifting weights, are an effective way to maintain muscle mass and strength later in life. Regularly exercising larger muscles like quads, hamstrings, core, back and chest prevents muscle loss from underuse and aging. Beginners, dont fret. To establish proper lifting technique, start with bodyweight exercises to build up endurance or consider working with a trainer over Zoom or FaceTime. Regardless of the age you start, lifting weights slows down the natural decline in muscle mass, and increases strength.

The most overlooked part of any fitness regimen is recovery, and it is essential. Muscles broken down after exercise need time to heal. By ignoring this part of the fitness routine, you run the risk of injury which can set your progress back by months. Enjoy a 10-minute stretch after you complete any workout routine and take a minimum of one rest day per week. Your body will thank you.

The Cellular Level

We are made up of trillions of cells, and every individual cell needs a molecule called NAD+. It fuels the mitochondria, the cells powerhouse, and converts everything we consume into energy. NAD+ levels decline with age, and metabolic stressors like alcohol consumption, sleep disturbance, and overeating. Maintaining a healthy supply of NAD+ supports healthy aging and healthy muscles.

Fortunately, you can increase NAD+ levels at any age through supplementation. Tru Niagen is clinically proven to increase NAD+ levels. Its sole active ingredient, Niagen, is backed by 11 clinical studies and Nobel Prize-winning scientists worldwide. Tru Niagen helps you maintain your cellular health by helping to reduce the cellular effects of aging.

Redefining aging starts with you. Proper nutrition and regular exercise lay the foundation for a healthy life, no matter when you start. Incorporating a supplement like Tru Niagen into your daily routine adds another layer of supported cellular defense, resilience, and repair to help counteract the impact of stress and aging on your body.

Get It: Pick up Tru Niagen 300mg ($105) at TruNiagen.com today!

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Of Men and Muscles: How to Redefine Aging's Impact on Performance - Men's Journal

It is widely believed that diabetes is the result of excessive sugar intake. But, one needs to understand that it is actually a lifestyle disease caused by following an unhealthy lifestyle, said nutritionist Munmun Garewal in an Instagram post. Therefore, a few tweaks in ones lifestyle can help manage the condition. Explaining more about what one can do to control the onset of diabetes, she listed simple measures that can be incorporated into ones daily routine.

Take a look.

Change your lifestyle

Lets get this straight first: diabetes is not caused by eating sweets or consuming sugar. It is really a lifestyle disease i.e. the consequence of following an unhealthy lifestyle. Adopt appropriate lifestyle changes that focus on eating right, exercising consistently and regulating bed timings, she wrote.

The diabetes diet

Eating is not grazing. Eating as per hunger ensures that we are not starving and eating at the right times while keeping blood sugar steady.

Carbohydrates are essential for diabetics. Just stay away from the processed/refined variety like biscuits, cookies, muffins etc.

Adding fat to a meal lowers its glycemic index (GI). More the fat, the slower the sugars (carbohydrates) are digested, and lower is the glycemic index. Add ghee, nuts and seeds to your meals.

Get that quota of proteins

Protein helps increase insulin-sensitivity. Have wholesome meals like khichdi kadhi, rice dal, rice dahi, egg and roti so as to have an optimal or complete protein profile.

The magic of exercise

The American Diabetes Association advises to perform 150 minutes/week of exercise. Get moving!Incorporating strength training into the workout regimen is crucial to increase insulin sensitivity. Structured and progressive strength training improves how the body uses insulin and allows glucose to get around the body better.

The importance of good sleep

Insufficient sleep or sleeping at irregular hours causes our body clock to malfunction and consequently affects the natural, biological processes such as secretion of insulin that are programmed into the human system. Make sure to get good, restful sleep daily. Equally importantly, make sure to go to bed and get up at the same time so that the body is fully in sync with the body clock.

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Five simple health tips to manage diabetes - The Indian Express

When it comes to cardiovascular health, there is no ceiling for the benefits of physical activity, a new large study suggests. The research, published January 12 in PLOS Medicine, found that exercise is not only associated with a lower risk of heart disease, but there is no limit for that association, with the lowest risk observed in participants who were the most active.

This research validates what we already know: that physical activity can reduce your cardiovascular risk, says Tamanna Singh, MD, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. And thats great, because we want people to move more. The more you move your body intentionally, the better it is for your health.

RELATED: Your Guide to Online Workouts

For the study, researchers from the United Kingdom examined data on more than 90,000 adults without prior heart disease. To measure their levels of physical activity, participants wore a lightweight motion sensor, called an accelerometer, on their wrists over a seven day period between 2013 and 2015.

Previous studies using questionnaires have found the risk of heart disease decreases with self-reported increased physical activity. But the study authors say uncertainty remains around the range of this association, particularly where higher levels of physical activity are concerned.

There is evidence to show that while questionnaires provide a reasonable estimate of physical activity, objective measurement would provide more accurate information, says the lead study author,Terry Dwyer, a professor of epidemiology in the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health. We therefore examined the relationship between physical activity when measured with a very accurate object measure, using an accelerometer, and cardiovascular disease to see whether the association was stronger or not than what had been found using questionnaires.

After an average of a five-year follow-up, there were 3,617 cases of cardiovascular disease diagnosed in study participants. The researchers found that as the amount of moderate and vigorous physical activity among participants increased, incidence of heart disease decreased. Whats more, there was no point where the effects of increased physical activity stopped improving heart health.

Specifically, those in the top 25 percent of all physical activity (both moderate and vigorous-intensity), had an average reduction in risk of heart disease between 48 and 57 percent. Those who were most active in the top quarter of vigorous-intensity exercise had an average reduction between 54 and 63 percent.

RELATED: Why Exercise May Protect Against COVID-19 Complications

The results of our study should give people greater confidence that physical activity protects against risk of cardiovascular disease, Dwyer says. It also suggests that those who take quite high amounts of physical activity receive even greater benefit.

Study participants in the lowest category of physical activity were more likely to smoke, have higher body mass indexes, and have a diagnosis of hypertension. While this could have accounted for the association seen in the study, Dwyer noted that he and his team looked carefully at that possibility and found it was highly unlikely that these other lifestyle factors could account for the protective association we found for physical activity.

The study findings contrast with the results of a 2015 study, which found that moderate physical activity was associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, but there was no elevated reduction in risk with increasing the frequency of activity.

The most likely explanation for this is that we were able to measure moderate and vigorous activity levels more accurately in this study, and our findings are more reliable than previous questionnaire-based studies, Dwyer said.

Dr. Singh, who was not involved in the study, notes that while for the average person, more physical activity is better, this study did not look at the potential harms of too much exercise on the heart, which may include increased risk of atrial fibrillation and sudden death. But this is a concern only for extreme athletes.

This study isnt looking at people who are lifelong endurance athletes, Singh says. The researchers here are looking at the average Joe over a seven-day period who has some level of physical activity that can be measured. So in the population this study is looking at, in terms of intensity and duration, the more you exercise the better, and the greater the reduction in cardiovascular risk."

The researchers say their study supports new guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) that recommend getting at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity per week.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical exercise per week, or a combination of both.

For her part, Singh advises her patients to get in 45 minutes to an hour of what she calls intentional physical activity most days of the week. This study took into account general physical activity, not exercise alone, she says. I usually define exercise to my patients as intentional physical activity so they can differentiate between an active lifestyle and dedicating a specific amount of time to intentional activity.

In addition to regular exercise, healthy weight, a healthy diet, stress reduction, and smoking cessation are all factors that reduce the risk of heart disease.

RELATED: Eating Tofu Can Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease, Study Says

Exercise and nutrition go hand in hand, Singh says. The more you move your body intentionally and the more intentional you are about how you fuel your body, the more youll reduce your cardiovascular risk.

Whats more, exercise has a number of mental health benefits, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Exercise is an incredible way to keep your heart healthy, but its also fantastic for mental health, Singh says. Its incredibly helpful to control anxiety, manage depression, and especially in this time of COVID with the lack of socialization and community, exercise can help when people are locked inside their homes and have no place to go.

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No Limit to Benefits of Exercise for Heart Health, Study Finds - Everyday Health

Today, Dave Asprey is well-known as one of the leading figures of the biohacking movement and the founder of the Bulletproof empireif you've ever put butter in your coffee, he's the reason why. But it wasn't always this way: In his 20s, he was working as a computer hacker while tipping the scale at around 300 pounds. He was fed up with feeling awful all of the time and dealing with arthritis and chronic fatigue. Despite doing all of the standard right things his doctors advised, including exercise and counting calories, he was stuck.

So he began experimenting himself, first with a low-carb diet that resulted in a 50-pound weight loss. From there, he was hooked. So hooked that Asprey says he has spent more than $1 million building a better body, experimenting with everything from red light therapy to cold exposure, with the goal to live until at least 180.

Last week, The New York Times bestselling author released his latest, Fast This Way, which reviews the latest thinking on how to turn eating restrictions into better health. GQ chatted with Asprey to find out what his day-to-day looks like while running his business from a 32-acre organic farm on Vancouver Island, off Canada's Pacific Coast. It indeed involves fasting and drinking coffee with butter in itbut also the occasional bite of dairy-free ice cream.

GQ: What time do you usually get out of bed?

Dave Asprey: I usually get out of bed around 6:45 or 7 a.m. I used to go to bed much later and wake up later, but it's just less convenient. So I used a combination of light and fasting to shift my circadian windows. Now, I go to bed earlier than I ever have in my life. And I do it naturally, which is super cool.

I wake up, and I definitely make a shot of espresso. I usually turn that into an Americano. I also make one for my wife and one for my kids to split because yes, my kids do drink coffee. It's good for you. It's a superfood, screw kale. Sometimes I make it Bulletproof (using MCT oil and grass-fed, unsalted butter). Others, I just do a black, depending on what I feel like for the day.

Talk to me about your morning supplementsI've seen the photos, and there are a lot of them.

I take a handful of the supplements that I put together the night before that are mostly mitochondrial stimulators or other anti-aging things, peptides, etc. We're talking like 40 or 50 pills. Some of them are ones that I formulated for Bulletproof. I also take all of my probiotics in the morning when I wake up, because I have found in recent research that if you take probiotics at night, they disrupt your sleep. If you take them in the morning they seem to work better. I usually take some prebiotic fiber at some point, which feeds the good bacteria. My goal lately has been to make bacteria in my gut the manufacturer of as many of the things that I want in my body as possible. I also take all my minerals and stuff like that.

[In a follow-up email, Asprey clarified that his current morning supplement lineup includes, from Bulletproof, vitamins A, D, and K, glutathione, Eye Armour, copper and zinc, and Smart Mode, along with amino acids and calcium d-glucarate.]

Anything else thats important to your morning routine?

When I wake up, I do just a brief gratitude practice. I just lay there for a minute or two and I have two things that I'm grateful for. One is that I say to no one in particular, Thank you for using me today. I don't say what for, I'm just going to assume things work out the way they're supposed to happen. The second gratitude is, Thank you for making things happen the way they're supposed to happen.

I don't pray to a specific deity. I don't pray to nature. I just figured there's some energy out there that does that. When I do it right, I get a little bit tingley. I think that a lot of times people are way too specific, and you'll probably ask for things that aren't even the right things for you. So for me, that's where I've evolved.

After I drop my kids off, I will usually set aside about 45 minutes on my calendar for some sort of biohacking. I could do red light therapy. I could do neurofeedback. I could just do some squats on a vibrating platform. I could do a resistance band workout with blood flow restriction. I mix it up instead of doing the same thing every day. Then, I go to work.

When's the first time that you typically eat during the day?

I have lunch around 1:30 p.m. with my wife. It's usually a grass fed lamb, grass fed beef, or maybe pastured pork. The lamb and pork comes from animals on our own farm. Same with the vegetables. I'm really fortunate to be able to do that. We actually feed our local community with our farm as well, which is super cool. I will have some extra butter on that as well.

Do you do the same kind of meal structure for dinner?

Dinner is similar, but with dinner, I might have some white rice or something like a sweet potato, some, some carbs. I am not keto all the time, not by a long shot. Sometimes I'm keto. Sometimes I'm not. Lately I've been using a continuous glucose monitor from a company called Levels Health, where I am an investor. That really allows me to see what I do, what I eat, even what exercise I do, how it affects my blood sugar. My goal is to keep my blood sugar within a relatively narrow range, even after I eat. I've been pretty successful at that. When you do that, you'll live longer and you feel a lot better.

Do you have any snacks ever between lunch and dinner?

Almost never. Dinner for me is around 5:30. When I was writing Fast This Way, I experimented with the length of time between dinner and going to sleep. If you can get more than three hours of time after your last meal and your bedtime, you will sleep a lot better. So an earlier dinner has made a big difference for me. If I'm having lunch at 1:30 and dinner at 5:30, if your lunch was effective, you shouldn't need a snack. If I was going to snack, it's probably because I walked through the garden and thought Oh, look, the grapes are ripe. I'll eat a couple of grapes.

Do you ever deviate from this diet?

Yes, and you should deviate from your diet. If you're too rigid, you won't be too happy. What I don't do though, is eat things that make me feel like crap. So there are some things like you go and eat, for example a bunch of deep fried gluten bombs at a restaurant. They will cause more inflammation for longer than smoking a cigarette. If I dont smoke, why would I eat like that? It's just not OK.

That said, I have a healthy metabolism. Am I going to have some sugar every now and then? Sure. It's not the end of the world. So the idea that some nights I'll have more carbs than others, some nights we might have a dairy-free ice cream with 10 or even 18 grams of sugar in it.

Is there ever alcohol in your diet?

On rare occasions I will have either a French red wine or I'll have a high-end sake. One of these days, I'm going to start a sake brand just because I like it, but make no mistake: Alcohol is bad for you. Even one drink is bad for you. There's no benefit to drinking alcohol, even though we desperately want there to be.

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The real-life diet of Dave Asprey, who thinks coffee is a superfood - British GQ

Honeywell's quantum computer calculates using qubits made of charged ytterbium atoms trapped in this football-sized chamber. Lasers manipulate the atoms to direct the computation.

BMW is rolling intoquantum computing, the German automaker said Wednesday, using a Honeywell quantum computer to find more efficient ways to purchase the myriad components that go into its vehicles.

The car giant has begun using Honeywell machines, first the H0 and then the newer H1, to determine which components should be purchased from which supplier at what time to ensure the lowest cost while maintaining production schedules. For example, one BMW supplier might be faster while another is cheaper. The machine will optimize the choices from a cascade of options and suboptions. Ultimately, BMW hopes this will mean nimbler manufacturing.

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"We are excited to investigate the transformative potential of quantum computing on the automotive industry and are committed to extending the limits of engineering performance," Julius Marcea, a BMW Group IT chief, said in a statement.

BMW's experiment with quantum computing is among the first real-world uses of the nascent technology. Optimization problems, like the one the carmaker is trying to solve, are among the areas quantum computers are expected to outpace ordinary machines, finding the best course of action from among a daunting array of possibilities.

BMW started evaluating quantum computing in 2018 and has a lot of ideas for where it could help, Marcea said. Quantum computers could improve battery chemistry in electric vehicles and figure out the best places to install charging stations. It could also help tackle the constellation of requirements in design and manufacturing -- everything from cost and safety to aerodynamics and durability.

At least eventually. "Our experts anticipate that it will take some more years until real quantum computers can be used for commercial benefit," he said

In the early stages, BMW will test quantum computing speed and ensure small-scale computations match results from classical machines. In about 18 to 24 months, however, quantum computers could tackle optimization problems no classical computer can handle, says Tony Uttley, Honeywell's quantum computing business president.

Quantum computers are profoundly different from classical machines. They store and process data using qubits. Qubits can store a combination of one and zero, rather than simply a one and a zero, as classical computers work. In addition, multiple qubits can be yoked together through a phenomenon called entanglement. That lets qubits encompass a multitude of possible solutions to a problem. With the right processing algorithm shepherding qubit interactions, bad solutions in effect cancel each other out, allowing good answers emerge.

Quantum computer makers are racing to build machines with more than a few dozen qubits, eventually hoping for thousands and then millions to tackle much more complex computations. They're also working to stabilize qubits so computations can run longer. A key part of that improvement is quantum computing error correction, which should help computations withstand qubit glitches.

Other businesses working with Honeywell include DHL, Merck, Accenture, JP Morgan Chase and BP.

Programming quantum computers is correspondingly different from programming classical computers, though tech companies like Microsoft, Google and IBM are working on software layers to make them more accessible.

Companies interested in quantum computing often ask themselves whether they can write their own quantum algorithms or program a quantum machine on their own, Uttley says. "The answer for almost every company out there is, 'No, I cannot,'" he said.

For now, expert middlemen like Cambridge Quantum Computing and Zapata Computing help. BMW relied on another, Entropica Labs.

Entropica is keen for better quantum computing hardware, like machines with more qubits, with better processing connections between qubits, and lower error rates for quantum computations, co-founder Ewan Munro said.

"We certainly don't yet have the large and powerful quantum computers that can run the kinds of algorithms that will give, say, exponential speedups for tasks in optimization or machine learning," compared with classical machines, he said.

Zapata CEO Christopher Savoie sees quantum computing's rise to commercial utility as inevitable at this stage. "It's no longer a matter of if, but when," he said.

Honeywell is in a race to deliver that progress, competing against companies including Silicon Quantum Computing, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Rigetti Computing, IonQ and Xanadu.

Honeywell's fastest current quantum computer, the H1, has 10 qubits at present, but in coming weeks the company plans to start stuffing in more -- a range between 12 to 20. The design has room for up to 40, and Honeywell has plans for many, many more in future generations in coming years.

"As you add additional qubits, you cross that threshold of something you can't classically compute anymore," Uttley said.

Having more qubits also is required for a crucial quantum computer technology, the development of error correction to keep calculations on track longer. The foundation for error correction is ganging together multiple physical qubits into a single, more persistent "logical" qubit.

Honeywell is on the verge of creating a logical qubit, Uttley said. "We are confident that's going to happen this year -- ideally within the first half of this year."

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BMW takes first steps into the quantum computing revolution - CNET

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Crunch numbers fast and at scale has been at the centre of computing technology. In the past few decades, a new type of computing has garnered significant interest. Quantum computers have been in development since the 1980s. They use properties of quantum physics to solve complex problems that cant be solved by classical computers.

Companies like IBM and Google have been continuously building and refining their quantum hardware. Simultaneously, several researchers have also been exploring new areas where quantum computers can deliver exponential change.

In the context of advances in quantum technologies, The Hindu caught with IBM Researchs Director Gargi Dasgupta.

Dasgupta noted that quantum computers complement traditional computing machines, and said the notion that quantum computers will take over classical computers is not true.

Quantum computers are not supreme against classical computers because of a laboratory experiment designed to essentially [and almost certainly exclusively] implement one very specific quantum sampling procedure with no practical applications, Dasgupta said.

Also Read: Keeping secrets in a quantum world and going beyond

For quantum computers to be widely used, and more importantly, have a positive impact, it is imperative to build programmable quantum computing systems that can implement a wide range of algorithms and programmes.

Having practical applications will alone help researchers use both quantum and classical systems in concert for discovery in science and to create commercial value in business.

To maximise the potential of quantum computers, the industry must solve challenges from the cryogenics, production and effects materials at very low temperatures. This is one of the reasons why IBM built its super-fridge to house Condor, Dasgupta explained.

Quantum processors require special conditions to operate, and they must be kept at near-absolute zero, like IBMs quantum chips are kept at 15mK. The deep complexity and the need for specialised cryogenics is why at least IBMs quantum computers are accessible via the cloud, and will be for the foreseeable future, Dasgupta, who is also IBMs CTO for South Asia region, noted.

Quantum computing in India

Dasgupta said that interest in quantum computing has spiked in India as IBM saw an many exceptional participants from the country at its global and virtual events. The list included academicians and professors, who all displayed great interest in quantum computing.

In a blog published last year, IBM researchers noted that India gave quantum technology 80 billion rupees as part of its National Mission on Quantum technologies and Applications. They believe its a great time to be doing quantum physics since the government and people are serious as well as excited about it.

Also Read: IBM plans to build a 1121 qubit system. What does this technology mean?

Quantum computing is expanding to multiple industries such as banking, capital markets, insurance, automotive, aerospace, and energy.

In years to come, the breadth and depth of the industries leveraging quantum will continue to grow, Dasgupta noted.

Industries that depend on advances in materials science will start to investigate quantum computing. For instance, Mitsubishi and ExxonMobil are using quantum technology to develop more accurate chemistry simulation techniques in energy technologies.

Additionally, Dasgupta said carmaker Daimler is working with IBM scientists to explore how quantum computing can be used to advance the next generation of EV batteries.

Exponential problems, like those found in molecular simulation in chemistry, and optimisation in finance, as well as machine learning continue to remain intractable for classical computers.

Quantum-safe cryptography

As researchers make advancement into quantum computers, some cryptocurrency enthusiasts fear that quantum computers can break security encryption. To mitigate risks associated with cryptography services, Quantum-safe cryptography was introduced.

For instance, IBM offers Quantum Risk Assessment, which it claims as the worlds first quantum computing safe enterprise class tape. It also uses Lattice-based cryptography to hide data inside complex algebraic structures called lattices. Difficult math problems are useful for cryptographers as they can use the intractability to protect information, surpassing quantum computers cracking techniques.

According to Dasgupta, even the National Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST) latest list for quantum-safe cryptography standards include several candidates based on lattice cryptography.

Also Read: Google to use quantum computing to develop new medicines

Besides, Lattice-based cryptography is the core for another encryption technology called Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). This could make it possible to perform calculations on data without ever seeing sensitive data or exposing it to hackers.

Enterprises from banks to insurers can safely outsource the task of running predictions to an untrusted environment without the risk of leaking sensitive data, Dasgupta said.

Last year, IBM said it will unveil 1121-qubit quantum computer by 2023. Qubit is the basic unit of a quantum computer. Prior to the launch, IBM will release the 433-qubit Osprey processor. It will also debut 121-qubit Eagle chip to reduce qubits errors and scale the number of qubits needed to reach Quantum Advantage.

The 1,121-qubit Condor chip, is the inflection point for lower-noise qubits. By 2023, its physically smaller qubits, with on-chip isolators and signal amplifiers and multiple nodes, will have scaled to deliver the capability of Quantum Advantage, Dasgupta said.

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IBMs top executive says, quantum computers will never reign supreme over classical ones - The Hindu

For most of us, the refrigerator is where we keep our dairy, meat and vegetables. For Ilana Wisby, CEO at Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), refrigeration means something else entirely.

Her company, operator of the UKs only commercially available quantum computer, has recently announced a new partnership with Oxford Instruments Nanoscience, a manufacturer of ultra-low temperature refrigerators.

As per the agreement, OQC will be the first to deploy the new Proteox cryo-refrigerator, which reaches temperatures as low as 5-8 millikelvin (circa -273 C/-460 F), significantly colder than outer space.

According to Wisby, the arrival of powerful new refrigerators will allow organizations like hers to take quantum computing to new heights, by improving the "quality" of superconducting quantum bits (qubits).

Quantum effects only happen in really low-energy environments, and energy is temperature. Ultimately, we need to be at incredibly low temperatures, because were working at single-digit electron levels, she explained

A qubit is an electronic circuit made from aluminum, built with a piece of silicon, which we cool down until it becomes superconducting and then further until single electron effects are happening.

The colder the system the less noise and mess there is, she told TechRadar Pro, because all the other junk is frozen out. With the Proteox, then, OQC hopes to be able to scale up the architecture of its quantum machine in a significant way.

The meaning of quantum computing, let alone its significance, can be difficult to grasp without a background in physics. At the end of our conversation, Wisby herself told us she had found it difficult to balance scientific integrity with the need to communicate the concepts.

But, in short, quantum computers approach problem solving in an entirely different way to classical machines, making use of certain symmetries to speed up processing and allow for far greater scale.

Quantum computers exploit a number of principles that define how the world works at an atomic level. Superposition, for example, is a principle whereby something can be in two positions at once, like a coin thats both a head and a tail, said Wisby.

Ultimately, that can happen with information as well. We are therefore no longer limited to just ones and zeros, but can have many versions of numbers in between, superimposed.

Instead of running calculation after calculation in a linear fashion, quantum machines can run them in parallel, optimizing for many more variables - and doing so extremely quickly.

Advances in the field, which is really still only in its nascent stages, are expected to have a major impact on areas such as drug discovery, logistics, finance, cybersecurity and almost any other market that needs to process massive volumes of information.

Quantum computers in operation today, however, can not yet consistently outperform classical supercomputers. There are also very few quantum computing resources available for businesses to utilize; OQC has only a small pool of rivals worldwide in this regard.

The most famous milestone held aloft as a marker of progress is that of quantum supremacy, the point at which quantum computers are able to solve problems that would take classical machines an infeasible amount of time.

In October 2019, Google announced it was the first company to reach this landmark, performing a task with its Sycamore prototype in 200 seconds that would take another machine 10,000 years.

But the claim was very publicly contested by IBM, which dialled up its Summit supercomputer (previously the worlds fastest) to prove it was capable of processing the same workload in roughly two and a half days.

Although the quantum supremacy landmark remains disputed, and quantum computers have not yet been responsible for any major scientific discoveries, Wisby is bullish about the industrys near-term prospects.

Were not there yet, but we will be very soon. Were at a tipping point after which we should start to see discoveries and applications that were fundamentally impossible before, realistically in the next three years.

In pharma, that might mean understanding specific molecules, even better understanding water. We hope to see customers working on new drugs that have been enabled by a quantum computer, at least partially, in the not too distant future.

The challenge facing organizations working to push quantum computing to the next level is balancing quality, scale and control. Currently, as quantum systems are scaled and an appropriate level of control asserted, the quality decreases and information is lost.

Achieving all these things in parallel is whats going to unlock a quantum-enabled future, says Wisby.

There is work to be done, in other words, before quantum fulfils its potential. But steps forward in the ability to fabricate superconducting devices at scale and developments in areas such as refrigeration are setting the stage.

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A fridge thats colder than outer space could take quantum computing to new heights - TechRadar

NTT Research has announced a collaboration with Caltech to develop the worlds fastest Coherent Ising Machine (CIM). This relates to a quantum-oriented computing approach that uses special-purpose processors to solve extremely complex combinatorial optimization problems. CIMs are advanced devices that constitute a promising approach to solving optimization problems by mapping them to ground state searches. The primary application of the computing method is drug discovery. Developing new drugs is of importance, including the current fight against COVID-19. Drug discovery is a commonly cited combinatorial optimization problem. The search for effective drugs involves an enormous number of potential matches between medically appropriate molecules and target proteins that are responsible for a specific disease. Conventional computers are used to replicate chemical interactions in the medical space and other areas of life and chemical sciences. To really move forwards, quantum technology is required to take developments beyond trial and error to rapidly tackle the sheer volume of total possible combinations. Other applications of the technology include: Logistics One classic problem is that of the traveling salesman (a common logic problem) identifying the shortest possible route that visits each of n number of cities, while returning to the city of origin. This problem and its variants appear in contemporary form in logistical challenges, such as daily automotive traffic patterns. The advantage of using a quantum information system is speed. Machine Learning A CIM is also a good match for some types of machine learning, including image and speech recognition. Artificial neural networks learn by iteratively processing examples containing known inputs and results. CIMs can speed up the training and improve upon the accuracy of existing neural networks. The development of the new computer system has been pioneered by Kazuhiro Gomi, CEO of NTT Research, and Dr. Yoshihisa Yamamoto, Director of NTT Researchs Physics & Informatics (PHI) Lab, who is overseeing this research. This is a step forwards in CIM optimization problems by uniting perspectives from statistics, computer science, statistical physics and quantum optics.

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article image Caltech and NTT developing the world's fastest quantum computer - Digital Journal

Deploying the more sustainable and resilient electric grid of the future requiresa sophisticatedusage of data. This begins with sensorsand measurement infrastructurecollecting a wide range of grid-relevant data, butalsoincludes various forms of analytics to usethedata tosolvea wide range ofgrid problems.Many advanced analytics methodsalreadyarebeing used,includingartificial intelligence and machine learning.Now,forward-looking electric utilities are exploringthe next step in enhancing these analytics,by understandinghow emerging computing technologies can be leveraged to provide higher levels of service. Among the mostcompellingexamples of this is the potential use of quantum computing for grid purposes.

This rapid evolution is happening in part toaccommodate additional distributed energy resources (DERs)on the grid, including the solarphotovoltaic (PV)and energy storage that helptoreduce emissions bylimitingthe need for fossil-fuel power plants. High levels of DER penetration not only necessitate reform in traditional grid planning and operation, but also facilitate unprecedented grid modernization to accommodate new types of loads (for example,electric vehicles)andbidirectional power transfer.

Electric utilities like Commonwealth Edison(ComEd)are in a unique position to develop and deploy grid-optimizing technologies to meet the demands of evolving systems and build a scalable model for the grid of the future.Serving over 4 million customers in northern Illinois and Chicago,Illinois, U.S.,ComEd ispartnering with leading academic institutionsincluding the University of Denver and the University of Chicago andleveraging its position as one of the largest electric utilities in theU.S.to explorequantumcomputing applications forgrid purposes.

What Is Quantum Computing?

The major difference between classical and quantum computers is in the way they process information.Whereas classical computing bits are either 0 or 1, quantum bits (qubits) can be both 0 and 1 at the same timethrougha unique quantum property called superposition. For example, an electron can be used as a qubit because it can simultaneously occupy its ground state (0) and its excited state (1).

Moreover, this superposition phenomenon scales exponentially. For example, two qubitscanoccupy four statessimultaneously: 00, 01, 10 and 11. More generally, N qubits can represent an exponential number of states (2N) at once, enabling a quantum computer to process all these states rapidly.This exponential advantageis the salient feature of quantum computers, enabling faster calculations in specific applications,such as factoringlargenumbers and searching datasets.

ComEd cohosted a workshop that brought together a dozen leaders in quantum computing and power systems to help determine the future applications of quantum computing for the grid.

A superconducting quantum computer from Professor David Schuster's laboratory at UChicago that can help drive the field forward. Credit: Yongshan Ding.

The data from these advanced sensors can be leveraged from quantum computing to provide higher levels of grid resiliency and support DER integration.

QuantumComputingApplications

To identify potential applications forquantumcomputing in the grid of the future,ComEdcohosted a workshop on Feb.27, 2020,with researchers from the University of Chicago,the University of Denverand Argonne NationalLaboratory. The purpose of theworkshop was to explore the potential benefitsquantumcomputingcouldbring to power systemsand collaborate on developing technologies that couldbe demonstrated to provide this value.

Recognizing these two fields historicallyhavenot been in close contact, the workshop began with two tutorial sessions, one forpowersystems and another forquantumcomputing, to provide backgroundonthe stateoftheart of the respective fields as well as the emerging challengesof each. Following the tutorial sessions, a technical discussionincludedbrainstormingpotential applications of existingquantumcomputing algorithms on large-scale power system problems requiring heavy computational resources.Followingare severalpotential power systemsapplicationsofquantum computingin deployingthe grid of the future.

Unit Commitment

Optimal system schedulingin particular,unit commitment(UC)is one of the most computationally intensive problems in power systems. UCis a nonlinear, nonconvexoptimizationproblem with a multitude of binary and continuous variables. There have been extensive and continuous efforts to improve the solutiontothis problem, from both optimality and execution time points of view. Recent advances in power systems, such astheintegration of variable renewable energy resources andagrowing number of customer-ownedgeneration units, add another level of difficulty to this problem and make it even harder to solve.

Quantum optimization may solve the UC problem fasterthancurrent models used in classical computers. Thequantumapproximateoptimizationalgorithm(QAOA),analgorithm for quantum computers designed to solve complex combinatorial problems,may be wellsuited for the UC problem. While QAOA was designed for discrete combinatorial optimization, several interesting research directions could relaxthe algorithmto be compatible with mixed-integer programming tasksused inUC.

Contingency Analysis

Another potentialapplicationinvolvescontingency analysis. Traditional power system operators tend to assess system reliability byanalyzingN-1 contingency, to ensure thesystemcan maintainadequatepower flowduringone-at-a-time equipment outages. Systemoperators usually run this study after obtaining a state estimator solution todetermine whethersystem status is still within the acceptable operating condition.

Advanced computing capabilities like quantum computing can support the integration of clean energy generation like this deployment as part of the Bronzeville Community Microgrid.

The high-riskN-k contingencyhas beenintroduced toobtainbetter situational awareness. However, the combinatorial explosion in potential scenarios greatly challenges the existing computing power. Quantum computers could helptoaddress N-k scenarios by enabling access to an exponentially expanded state space.

State Estimation

Quantumcomputingalsohas the potential to enable large-scale distribution systemhybridstate estimation with phasor measurement units (PMUs)and advanced meteringinfrastructure (AMI).Utilitiesalreadyhave deployedthousandsofPMUsand millionsofsmart metersacross the grid that provide data toacentral management system. PMUsprovide time-synchronized three-phase voltage and current measurements at speeds up to 60 samples per second, which allow for linear state estimation at similar speeds.AMI provides voltage and energy measurementsat customer siteswith differenttimeresolutions.

As thesystem becomes more complex, the computationrequiredto usemany measurements estimating the states of apracticalnetwork increasesaccordingly. QAOA provides a promising path for state estimation withPMUsor hybrid state estimation with both PMUsand AMIata speed believed to be unachievable byclassicalcomputers. In addition, QAOA is within the computing capabilities of near-term quantum computers,called noisy intermediate-scale quantum(NISQ),now available.

AccurateForecasting

When it comes to system operation, forecasting is another issuequantumcomputing could address.The high volatility ofDERs, such assolar andwind, may disturb normal system operation and underminethesystems reliability. Accurate forecastingof variable generationwouldenablesystem operators to act proactively to avoid potential system frequency disturbances and stability concerns.

Quantumcomputing couldmake it possible to consider abroaderrange of data for forecasting (such as detailed weather projections and trends) and achieve a much more accurate forecast.The workshop identified Boltzmannas a potentially effective method to tackle this problem. In particular, thequantum Boltzmannmachine (QBM) is a model that has significantly greater representational power than traditional Boltzmannmachines. QBMsalreadyhavebeen experimentally realized on currently availablequantum computers.

AddressingUncertainties

An inherent part of modern power gridsistheuncertaintystemmingfrom various sources (such asvariable generation, component failures, customer behavior, extreme weatherandnatural disasters). Uncertainties cannot be controlled by grid operators, so the common practice is to define potential scenarios and plan for themaccordingly.However, these scenarioscanbe significantin some cases, making it extremely challenging to devise a viable plan for grid operation and asset management.

Quantum computers capabilityto solve numerous scenarios simultaneouslycould beuseful in addressing uncertainty in power systems. Quantum algorithms under development by financial firmsalsomaybe directly translatable to addressing uncertainties in power grids.

StudyingThese Applications

As part of thebroader collaboration,the University of Denver teamhas beenawarded a grant to study some of theapplicationsof quantum computing in power grids.Awarded by theColorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade,the grantaimstoexplorequantum computing-enhanced security and sustainability for next-generation smart grids. In particular, the team will investigate the quantum solution of the power flow problem as the most fundamentalcomputationalanalysis in power systems.

The workshop also identified that practical applications of quantum computing may soon be possible thanks to the development of quantum hardware.In 2019,Googleconducted aquantum supremacy experimentby running asimple program on a small quantum computer in secondsthatwould have taken days on the worlds largest supercomputer. IBM recently released a technology roadmapin whichmachineswilldoublein sizeoverthe next few years, with a target of over 1000 quantum bitsby2023whichlikelywould belarge enough for many of thepotentialpower gridapplications.

A Quantum Leap

The 2020 workshopthat ComEd,theUniversity of Chicago andtheUniversity of Denver engaged inhas only scratched the surface ofquantumcomputingas a new paradigm to solve complex energy system issues. However, this first step presents a path toward understanding the capabilities ofquantumcomputing and the role it can play in optimizing energy systems.That path toward understanding is best taken together, as academics and engineers,government and institutions,andutilitiescollaborate to share knowledge to build theelectricgrid of the future.

ComEdand the two universities have sustained a bimonthlycollaboration since the workshopto explorepower systems applications of quantum computing.Some preliminary results on quantum computing approaches to theUCproblem were presentedbytheUniversity of Chicago in the IEEE 2020 Quantum Week.As this collaboration develops, it becomes increasingly likely the next generation of grid technologies will engage the quantum possibilities of ones, zeros and everything in between.

Honghao Zheng(honghao.zheng@comed.com)isaprincipalquantitativeengineer insmart grid emerging technology atCommonwealthEdison(ComEd),where he supportsnew technology ideation, industrialresearch and development,and complex project execution. Prior to ComEd,heworkedasatechnical leadof Spectrum PowerOperator Training Simulator and TransmissionNetwork Applicationsmodulesfor Siemens DG SWS.ZhengreceivedhisPh.D. inelectricalengineering fromtheUniversity ofWisconsin-Madison in 2015.

Ryan Burg(ryan.s.burg@comed.com)is aprincipalbusinessanalyst insmartgridprograms at ComEd,where he supports academic partnerships. He previously taught sustainable management and business ethics at Bucknell, HSE and Georgetown Universities.Burgholds a joint Ph.D.in sociology and business ethics from the Wharton School of Businessof the University of Pennsylvania.

AleksiPaaso(esa.paaso@comed.com)is director ofdistributionplanning,smartgridandinnovation at ComEd, where he is responsible for distribution planning activities, distributed energy resource (DER) interconnection, andsmart grid strategy and project execution. He is a senior member ofthe IEEE and technical co-chair for the 2020 IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution Conference and Exposition. He holds a Ph.D.in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky.

RozhinEskandarpour(Rozhin.Eskandarpour@du.edu)is aseniorresearchassociateintheelectrical andcomputerengineeringdepartment at the University of Denver. Her expertise spans the areas ofquantumcomputing andartificialintelligenceapplications in enhancingpowersystemresilience.Shealsois the CEO and founder of Resilient Entanglement LLC, a Colorado-based R&D company focusing on quantumgrid.She is a senior member of the IEEE society. Rozhin holds a Ph.D. degree inelectrical and computer engineering from the University of Denver.

AminKhodaei(Amin.Khodaei@du.edu)isa professor ofelectrical andcomputerengineering at the University of Denver andthe founder of PLUG LLC, an energy consulting firm. He holds a Ph.D.degree inelectricalengineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr.Khodaeihas authored more than 170 technical articles on various topics in power systems, including the design of the grid of the future in the era of distributed resources.

Pranav Gokhale(pranavgokhale@uchicago.edu)iscofounder and CEO ofSuper.tech, a quantum software start-up. He recently defended his Ph.D.in computer science fromtheUniversity ofChicago(UChicago), where he focused on bridging the gap from near-term quantum hardware to practical applications.Gokhales Ph.D.research led to over a dozen publications, three best paper awards and two patent applications. Prior toUChicago,hestudied computer science and physics at Princeton University.

Frederic T.Chong(chong@cs.uchicago.edu)is the Seymour Goodman Professor in thedepartment ofcomputerscience at the University of Chicago. Healsoisleadprincipalinvestigator for the Enabling Practical-scale Quantum Computing(EPiQC) project, a National Science Foundation (NSF)Expedition in Computing. Chong received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1996. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award, the Intel Outstanding Researcher Award andninebest paper awards.

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A Quantum Leap Is Coming: Ones, Zeros And Everything In Between - Transmission & Distribution World

The Internet of Things (IoT) is actively shaping both the industrial and consumer worlds, and by 2023, consumers, companies, and governments will install 40 billion IoT devices globally.

Smart tech finds its way to every business and consumer domain there isfrom retail to healthcare, from finances to logisticsand a missed opportunity strategically employed by a competitor can easily qualify as a long-term failure for companies who dont innovate.

Moreover, the 2020s challenges just confirmed the need to secure all four components of the IoT Model: Sensors, Networks (Communications), Analytics (Cloud), and Applications.

One of the top candidates to help in securing IoT is Quantum Computing, while the idea of convergence of IoT and Quantum Computing is not a new topic, it was discussed in many works of literature and covered by various researchers, but nothing is close to practical applications so far. Quantum Computing is not ready yet, it is years away from deployment on a commercial scale.

To understand the complexity of this kind of convergence, first, you need to recognize the security issues of IoT, second, comprehend the complicated nature of Quantum Computing.

IoT systems diverse security issues include:

Classical computing relies, at its ultimate level, on principles expressed by a branch of math called Boolean algebra. Data must be processed in an exclusive binary state at any point in time or bits. While the time that each transistor or capacitor need be either in 0 or 1 before switching states is now measurable in billionths of a second, there is still a limit as to how quickly these devices can be made to switch state. As we progress to smaller and faster circuits, we begin to reach the physical limits of materials and the threshold for classical laws of physics to apply. Beyond this, the quantum world takes over.

In a quantum computer, several elemental particles such as electrons or photons can be used with either their charge or polarization acting as a representation of 0 and/or 1. Each of these particles is known as a quantum bit, or qubit, the nature and behavior of these particles form the basis of quantum computing.

The two most relevant aspects of quantum physics are the principles of superposition and entanglement.

Taken together, quantum superposition and entanglement create an enormously enhanced computing power. Where a 2-bit register in an ordinary computer can store only one of four binary configurations (00, 01, 10, or 11) at any given time, a 2-qubit register in a quantum computer can store all four numbers simultaneously, because each qubit represents two values. If more qubits are added, the increased capacity is expanded exponentially.

One of the most exciting avenues that researchers, armed with qubits, are exploring, is communications security.

Quantum security leads us to the concept ofquantum cryptographywhich uses physics to develop a cryptosystem completely secure against being compromised without the knowledge of the sender or the receiver of the messages.

Essentially, quantum cryptography is based on the usage of individual particles/waves of light (photon) and their intrinsic quantum properties to develop an unbreakable cryptosystem (because it is impossible to measure the quantum state of any system without disturbing that system).

Quantum cryptography uses photons to transmit a key. Once the key is transmitted, coding, and encoding using the normal secret-key method can take place. But how does a photon become a key? How do you attach information to a photon's spin?

This is where binary code comes into play. Each type of a photon's spin represents one piece of information -- usually a 1 or a 0, for binary code. This code uses strings of 1s and 0s to create a coherent message. For example, 11100100110 could correspond with h-e-l-l-o. So a binary code can be assigned to each photon -- for example, a photon that has a vertical spin ( | ) can be assigned a 1.

Regular, non-quantum encryption can work in a variety of ways but, generally, a message is scrambled and can only be unscrambled using a secret key. The trick is to make sure that whomever youre trying to hide your communication from doesnt get their hands on your secret key. But such encryption techniques have their vulnerabilities. Certain products called weak keys happen to be easier to factor than others. Also, Moores Law continually ups the processing power of our computers. Even more importantly, mathematicians are constantly developing new algorithms that allow for easier factorization of the secret key.

Quantum cryptography avoids all these issues. Here, the key is encrypted into a series of photons that get passed between two parties trying to share secret information. Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle dictates that an adversary cant look at these photons without changing or destroying them.

With its capabilities, quantum computing can help address the challenges and issues that hamper the growth of IoT. Some of these capabilities are:

Quantum computing is still in its development stage with tech giants such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft putting in resources to build powerful quantum computers. While they were able to build machines containing more and more qubits, for example, Google announced in 2019 they achieved Quantum Supremacy, the challenge is to get these qubits to operate smoothly and with less error. But with the technology being very promising, continuous research and development are expected until such time that it reaches widespread practical applications for both consumers and businesses.

IoT is expanding as we depend on our digital devices more every day. Furthermore, WFH (Work From Home) concept resulted from COVID-19 lockdowns accelerated the deployment of many IoT devices and shorten the learning curves of using such devices. When IoT converges with Quantum Computing under Quantum IoT or QIoT, that will push other technologies to use Quantum Computing and add Quantum or Q to their products and services labels, we will see more adoption of Quantum hardware and software applications in addition to Quantum services like QSaaS, QIaaS, and QPaaS as parts of Quantum Cloud and QAI (Quantum Artificial Intelligence) to mention few examples.

A version of this article first appeared onIEEE-IoT.

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The Convergence of Internet of Things and Quantum Computing - BBN Times