IBM Quantum Computers Simulate Biological Molecules Up to 12,635 Atoms

Scientists at Cleveland Clinic, Riken, and IBM have used IBM quantum computers and two supercomputers to simulate protein complexes spanning up to 12,635 atoms. The companies said these are the largest-known simulations of biologically meaningful molecules performed with quantum hardware yet, and signal that quantum computers are maturing into useful scientific tools which can help solve fundamental problems in biology, chemistry, and life sciences. The results were achieved in part by an innovative algorithm that optimizes how quantum and classical computers can work together, a framework known as quantum-centric supercomputing. Using this approach, the team captured the behavior of two biochemically relevant proteins that are roughly 40 times larger than what this same method could initially achieve just six months ago. Additionally, the accuracy of the simulations in a key step of the workflow improved by up to 210 times over this same period. "For years, quantum computing has been a promise. Now, quantum computers are producing results that matter to science," said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. "The systems we simulated here are the kind of molecules that biologists and chemists work with in the real world. Quantum computers are no longer proving they are viable tools - they are proving they can contribute meaningful results in quantum-centric supercomputing architectures."