"100x faster than traditional tools": Scientists load quantum computer with first complete genome to crack biology’s 'impossible' puzzle — in time for World Quantum Day It's an important step towards managing large and complex genetic data Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. - Complete Hepatitis D genome encoded into quantum processor as proof-of-concept milestone - Researchers target future 100x speedups for complex human pangenome analysis tasks - Scientists caution practical quantum genomics still faces scaling and hardware limitations Scientists have loaded a complete genome onto a quantum computer for the first time, taking an early step toward tackling biological problems that easily overwhelm traditional systems. In time for World Quantum Day, teams from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Melbourne encoded the full Hepatitis D virus genome into quantum hardware. The Hep D virus carries a compact genome of roughly 1,700 base pairs, making it suitable as a proof-of-concept target. Article continues belowCompressing genetic information into quantum states Researchers used the smaller dataset to test whether real biological data could be translated into a format that quantum machines can handle. The genome was loaded onto an IBM quantum computer using its 156-qubit Heron processor. Successfully encoding the sequence required compressing the genetic information into quantum states that could fit within available qubit limits. Traditional computers have struggled to keep pace with the surge of genomic data, creating processing bottlenecks that limit how quickly scientists can analyze variation across populations. The move toward pangenomes, which combine sequences from many individuals, adds additional complexity.