Quantum

Cryptographer Matthew Green warned that public key cryptography, the foundation of much modern internet security, might be lost. The remark is circulating among technologists debating the threat, with discussion centered on risks such as quantum computing breaking current encryption and the potential consequences for secure communications worldwide.

The U.S. Department of War has announced $350 million in funding for quantum computing initiatives. The investment aims to accelerate development of quantum technologies with potential military and national security applications. The announcement is drawing attention amid ongoing competition with China and other rivals over advanced computing capabilities.

Cryptographer Matthew Green, a professor at Johns Hopkins, warned that public key cryptography — the foundation of most internet security — could be lost. His remark has drawn attention among security researchers, with discussion centring on threats such as quantum computing advances that could break widely used encryption like RSA and elliptic curve cryptography, forcing a difficult transition to post-quantum alternatives.

Researchers have reported entangling a levitated glass bead with light, a result that could point toward a new type of quantum memory. The experiment, covered by Ars Technica, involves suspending a nanoscale bead and linking its motional state with photons. If the entanglement proves robust, it could allow quantum states to be stored and retrieved, a key requirement for quantum networks and computing.

A new report on quantum computing and cryptocurrencies concludes that the primary quantum risk lies in the public-key cryptography used to secure wallets, while blockchains themselves remain secure because they rely on hash functions. The report also carries a broader warning for other systems that depend on public-key cryptography, as quantum computers advance toward breaking current encryption standards.

RaiNews features Giuseppe Bisicchia, a researcher at the University of Pisa, discussing quantum computing's real capabilities and limits. He clears up common misconceptions: no sci-fi scenarios, but tools able to tackle problems currently too complex for traditional computing systems. The segment offers an accessible overview of where the technology actually stands today.

Quantum, the open-access peer-reviewed journal, has published a new paper presenting quantum algorithms for general nonlinear dynamics based on the Carleman embedding technique. The approach maps nonlinear differential equations into a linear form that quantum computers can in principle simulate, an area where quantum methods are normally limited to linear systems. Researchers in quantum computing and simulation are sharing the paper within the physics community.

A Nature publication examines excitonic order in quantum materials, a phenomenon where electron-hole pairs form organized condensates that can dramatically alter a material's electronic properties. Researchers see it as a route to understanding correlated electron systems and potentially engineering new electronic behaviour, keeping it on the radar of condensed-matter physicists.

The US Department of Energy has announced new science applications for quantum computing, outlining how the technology could be applied to research problems in areas such as materials science, chemistry and energy. The announcement highlights the department's ongoing investment in quantum research and its push to move quantum systems from laboratory experiments toward practical scientific use.

Researchers have introduced PairInteraction, a software toolkit for modeling Rydberg physics in alkali and alkaline-earth-like atoms, published in Nature. The tool helps scientists calculate pair interactions between highly excited atoms, a key task for quantum simulation, quantum computing and sensing experiments using Rydberg states.

Researchers with the American Physical Society describe a method for arranging hundreds of individual atoms in the space between two mirrors, a configuration used in quantum optics experiments to control how atoms interact with light. The work highlights advances in precisely manipulating atomic arrays, a technique relevant to quantum computing, simulation and studies of collective light-matter effects.

Argonne National Laboratory has published a feature examining how lattice quantum chromodynamics, the computational method used to study the strong force between quarks and gluons, intersects with modern artificial intelligence. The piece frames Lattice QCD calculations as a demanding frontier where AI techniques and leadership-class supercomputing are being combined to push the precision of fundamental physics simulations further.

Quantum computing startup Oratomic has reached a valuation of $5.4 billion following its Series-B funding round, according to an exclusive report by the Wall Street Journal. The funding marks a major milestone for the young company as investor interest in quantum computing continues to grow. Details on the investors and the amount raised were not immediately disclosed.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has published a paper outlining how operators of critical infrastructure can prepare operational technology systems for the transition to post-quantum cryptography. Industrial control systems often run for decades, so upgrading their encryption is a slow process. The paper argues organisations should begin inventorying cryptographic assets and planning migrations now, before quantum computers threaten current defenses.

The Pentagon has announced a $350 million initiative to advance US quantum computing capabilities, framing the move as part of the deepening technology rivalry with China. The programme signals Washington's intent to accelerate investment in quantum research, an area seen as critical to future military and economic advantage, as both powers compete for leadership in next-generation computing.

More than 6 million bitcoin are held behind exposed public keys, leaving them theoretically vulnerable to future attacks. The figures come as warnings grow that advances in artificial intelligence and quantum computing could eventually threaten the cryptography protecting early bitcoin addresses. Analysts say the coins, many believed to belong to long-dormant holders including possibly Satoshi Nakamoto, may never move unless the network upgrades its security standards.

Quantum-Si incorporated, a life sciences company traded under the ticker QSI, is being tracked by investors looking up its stock price, quote and trading history on Yahoo Finance. The company works on protein sequencing technology, and interest in its shares appears to be driven by market watchers monitoring biotech stocks. No specific price move or company announcement was included in the coverage.

A new study published in Nature reports evidence of short-range excitonic correlations and enhanced excitonic susceptibility in the compound 1T-TiSe2, a material long debated as a candidate for exciton condensation. The findings speak to the ongoing discussion over whether the charge density wave in TiSe2 is driven by excitonic physics, a question central to research on strongly correlated quantum materials.

Healthcare organizations are poorly positioned to defend against quantum computing threats, according to a Healthcare Dive report. Quantum computers are expected to eventually break widely used encryption, putting sensitive patient data at risk through 'harvest now, decrypt later' strategies. Experts are urging hospitals and health systems to begin migrating to post-quantum cryptography, but most have yet to take action.

A new paper in the open-access journal Quantum examines composable logical gate error in approximate quantum error correction, reexamining gate implementations in Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill codes. Published as open science, the work is being shared among quantum computing researchers interested in how error correction performance is characterised at the logical gate level.

Fermilab has been selected to lead two new awards under the Genesis Mission, a US initiative aimed at accelerating scientific discovery. The awards will fund work to speed up the development of microelectronics and quantum technologies, fields seen as critical to future computing and national competitiveness. Details on funding amounts and project partners have not yet been released.

Jameson Lopp, co-founder and CTO of bitcoin security firm Casa, says fears that AI will soon break Bitcoin's cryptography distract from the actual risk: implementation errors in wallets, apps and firmware. He notes that not a single key has been compromised, arguing the debate over hypothetical AI-powered cryptographic attacks is overshadowing practical security failures that cause real losses today.

A new write-up argues that quantum systems retain a memory of their initial conditions, framing the finding as 'it's a small world, after all'. The claim is that even as quantum states evolve, they never fully lose track of where they originated, a point drawing attention among physics enthusiasts online. Details of the underlying research, the team behind it and where it was published are not specified in the available material.

The U.S. Department of Energy has allocated $159 million in Phase II awards under its Genesis Mission, targeting quantum error correction and materials co-design. The funding advances the initiative's second phase, directing federal money toward overcoming error-correction barriers in quantum computing and co-developing new materials. Details on individual awardees and project breakdowns have not yet been widely reported.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have observed a quantum material transforming in real time, according to a new study. The work reportedly reveals the mechanisms driving the material's shift between states, offering rare direct insight into a process that has typically only been inferred. Physicists say such real-time observations could improve understanding of quantum materials and guide future research into their properties and potential uses.

New Mexico's cybersecurity leadership is calling for safeguards against quantum-era threats at the same time the state finalizes an agreement with a major technology player. The push highlights growing concern that quantum computing could eventually break current encryption, making preparation a policy priority as New Mexico positions itself in the emerging quantum and cybersecurity economy.