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LONDON and CAMBRIDGE, England, July 13, 2021 Rigetti UK announced today it will partner with Riverlane and Astex Pharmaceuticals to develop an integrated application for simulating molecular systems using Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services, paving the way for a commercial application that could transform drug discovery in pharmaceutical R&D.

Our consortium brings together a complete quantum supply chain from hardware to end-user allowing us to develop a tailor-made solution to address a problem of real value to the pharmaceutical sector, says Mandy Birch, SVP of Technology Partnerships at Rigetti. This project lays the groundwork for the commercial application of Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services in the pharmaceutical industry.

The average cost of discovering a new drug and bringing it to market has tripled since 2010, reaching almost $3bn in 2018. However, soaring R&D costs have not translated into shorter times to market or higher numbers of newly approved drugs.

We want to solve this problem by using quantum computers to speed up the process of drug discovery, says Chris Murray, SVP Discovery Technology at Astex. Quantum computers provide a fundamentally different approach that could enable pharmaceutical companies to identify, screen, and simulate new drugs rather than using expensive, trial-and-error approaches in the laboratory.

To design more efficient drugs and shorten the time to market, researchers rely on advanced computational methods to model molecular structures and the interactions with their targets. While classical computers are limited to modelling simple structures, quantum computers have the potential to model more complex systems that could drastically improve the drug discovery process. However, todays quantum computers remain too noisy for results to evolve past proof-of-concept studies.

Building on previous work with Astex, our collaboration aims to overcome this technological barrier and address a real business need for the pharmaceutical sector, says Riverlane CEO Steve Brierley. The project will leverage Riverlanes algorithm expertise and existing technology for high-speed, low-latency processing on quantum computers using Rigettis commercially available quantum systems. The team will also develop error mitigation software to help optimise the performance of the hardware architecture, which they expect to result in up to a threefold reduction in errors and runtime improvements of up to 40x. This is an important first step in improving the performance of quantum computers so that they can solve commercially relevant problems, Brierley adds.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway says, The UK has bold ambitions to be the worlds first quantum-ready economy, harnessing the transformative capabilities of the technology to tackle global challenges such as climate change and disease outbreak.

This government-backed partnership will explore how the power of quantum could help boost drug discovery, with the aim of shortening the time it takes potentially life-saving drugs to transfer from lab to market, all while cementing the UKs status as a science superpower.

The 18-month feasibility study is facilitated by a grant through the Quantum Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Rigetti UK has previously received funding from UKRI to develop the first commercially available quantum computer in the UK. Riverlane has also received funding from UKRI to develop an operating system that makes quantum software portable across qubit technologies.

About Rigetti UK

Rigetti UK Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rigetti Computing, based in Berkeley, California. Rigetti builds superconducting quantum computing systems and delivers access to them over the cloud. These systems are optimized for integration with existing computing infrastructure and tailored to support the development of practical software and applications. Learn more at rigetti.com.

About Riverlane

Riverlane builds ground-breaking software to unleash the power of quantum computers. Backed by leading venture-capital funds and the University of Cambridge, it develops software that transforms quantum computers from experimental technology into commercial products. Learn more at riverlane.com.

About Astex

Astex is a leader in innovative drug discovery and development, committed to the fight against cancer and diseases of the central nervous system. Astex is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapies and has a number of partnered products being developed under collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. Astex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., based in Tokyo, Japan.

For more information about Astex Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://astx.comFor more information about Otsuka Pharmaceutical, please visit http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/

Source: Rigetti UK

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Rigetti Computing Partners with Riverlane, Astex Pharmaceuticals on Quantum Computing for Drug Discovery - HPCwire

Making Encryption Harder, Better, Faster and Stronger

In response, the industry is advancing encryption on several fronts. Some efforts are focused on increasing key sizes to protect against brute-force decryption. Other efforts are looking at new cryptographic algorithms. For example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology isevaluating a next-generation public key algorithm intended to be quantum safe.

The trouble is that most quantum-safe algorithms arent efficient in classical computer architectures. To address this problem, the industry is focused on developing accelerators to speed up algorithms on x86 platforms.

A third area of research ishomomorphic encryption, an amazing concept that allows users to perform calculations on encrypted data without first decrypting it. So, an analyst who needs to can query a database containing classified information without having to ask an analyst with higher clearance to access the data or request that the data be declassified.

A big advantage of homomorphic encryption is that it protects data in all its states at rest (stored on a hard drive), in motion (transmitted across a network) or in use (while in computer memory). Another boon is that its quantum safe, because its based on some of the same math as quantum computing.

A downside is that homomorphic encryption performs very poorly on traditional computers, because its not designed to work with them. The industry is collaborating to develop x86-style instructions to make these new cryptosystems operate at cloud speeds. Practical applications are still a few years away, but were confident well get there.

EXPLORE:How can agencies combat encrypted attacks on government traffic?

In the interim, a new encryption capability has emerged that organizations can take advantage of right now:confidential computing. Confidential computing safeguards data while its being acted upon in computer memory; for example, while a user is conducting analytics on a database.

Confidential computing works by having the CPU reserve a section of memory as a secure enclave, encrypting the memory in the enclave with a key unique to the CPU. Data and application code placed in the enclave can be decrypted only within that enclave, on that CPU. Even if attackers gained root access to the system, they wouldnt be able to read the data.

With the latest generation of computer processors, a two-CPU server can create a 1 terabyte enclave. That enables organizations to place an entire database or transaction server inside the enclave.

The functionality is now being extended with the ability to encrypt all of a computers memory with minimal impact on performance. Total memory encryption uses a platform-specific encryption key thats randomly derived each time the system is booted up. When the computer is turned off, the key goes away. So even if cybercriminals stole the CPU, they wouldnt be able to access the memory.

Confidential computing transforms the way organizations approach security in the cloud, because they no longer have to implicitly trust the cloud provider. Instead, they can protect their data while its in use, even though its being hosted by a third party.

One major cloud provider already offers a confidential computing service to the federal government, and more will surely follow. Agencies can now build enclave-based applications to protect data in use in a dedicated cloud that meets government security and compliance requirements.

The need for strong data encryption wont go away, and the encryption challenges will only increase as quantum computing emerges over the next several years. In the meantime, innovative new encryption capabilities are delivering tighter cybersecurity to agencies today, and the industry is investing in the next generation of cryptosystems to protect government information for the next 25 years.

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The Future of Data Encryption: What You Need to Know Now - FedTech Magazine

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The Texas House voted Tuesday to send law enforcement to track down Democrats who left the state a day earlier in protest of Republicans priority elections legislation under warrant of arrest if necessary.

More than 50 House Democrats left Monday for Washington, D.C., to deny the chamber a quorum the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business as it takes up voting restrictions and other GOP priorities in special session.

The impact of the House move is unclear since Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction in the nation's capital.

Meeting shortly after 10 a.m., the House quickly established that it lacked the two-thirds quorum required to do business, with only 80 of 150 members participating in a test vote.

Then Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, chair of the House Administration Committee, moved to issue what is known as a call of the House to try to regain quorum. That motion passed 76-4. Metcalf offered another motion, asking that the sergeant at arms, or officers appointed by him, send for all absentees under warrant of arrest if necessary. That motion also passed 76-4.

Metcalf's motions were opposed by four Democrats who were present on the House floor Tuesday morning: Reps. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, Tracy King of Batesville, Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass and John Turner of Dallas.

After Metcalf's motions passed, Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, sought to move to strip absent Democrats of their committee leadership posts if they do not return by noon Wednesday. The motion did not immediately get a vote, and in a subsequent exchange with Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said committee chairs and vice chairs cannot be removed from their positions under the current chamber rules.

Earlier Tuesday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a radio interview that any Democrats who fled the state should lose their committee leadership posts.

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Texas House Republicans vote to track down absent Democrats and arrest them if necessary - The Texas Tribune

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Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives left the state Monday afternoon en route to Washington, D.C., in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 26 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose.

Upping the ante in both the legislative fight at home and the national debate over voting rights, most House Democrats boarded two planes out of Austin headed for the U.S. capital without a set return date. At least 51 of the 67 Democratic representatives the number needed to break quorum were in the process of leaving Monday afternoon, most arriving at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Monday to board chartered flights that departed around 3:10 p.m.

The House is set to reconvene Tuesday morning, but the absent Democrats would mean there will not be enough members present to conduct business under House rules.

Today, Texas House Democrats stand united in our decision to break quorum and refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans freedom to vote," Democratic leaders said in a joint statement released Monday.

With the national political spotlight on Texas efforts to further restrict voting, the Democratic exodus offers them a platform to continue pleading with Congress to act on restoring federal protections for voters of color. In Texas, the decamping will mark a more aggressive stance by Democrats to block Republican legislation further tightening the states voting rules as the GOP works against thinning statewide margins of victory.

Ultimately, Democrats lack the votes to keep the Republican-controlled Legislature from passing new voting restrictions, along with the other conservative priorities on Gov. Greg Abbotts 11-item agenda for the special session.

Some Democrats hope their absence will give them leverage to force good-faith negotiations with Republicans, who they say have largely shut them out of negotiations over the voting bill. Both chambers advanced their legislation out of committees on party-line votes after overnight hearings, passing out the bills Sunday after hearing hours of testimony mostly against the proposals and just a few days after making their revived proposals public. The bills were expected to hit the House and Senate floors for votes this week.

The House and Senate proposals resemble failed legislation, known as Senate Bill 7, from the spring regular legislative session the demise of which Texas Democrats used last month to make their pitch on Capitol Hill for action on voting rights.

On Monday, Democrats indicated they were renewing their calls for Congress to pass far-reaching federal legislation that would preempt significant portions of the Texas bills and reinstate federal oversight of elections in states with troubling records.

We are now taking the fight to our nations Capitol," the Democrats said in their statement. "We are living on borrowed time in Texas."

The Democrats convened at a local plumbers union building and boarded a bus that transported them to a private airport terminal. They arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport shortly after 2:30 p.m., driving straight onto the tarmac.

Lawmakers did not speak with the media before they left. Terminal staff kept reporters off the premises and on the street outside. By 3 p.m., several supporters of the legislators were gathered outside the terminal, holding signs that said, "Let my people vote," and, "Thank you for fighting voter suppression."

The bulk of House Democrats arrived in Washington, D.C., around 7 p.m. Central time Monday.

Even if Democratic lawmakers stay out of state for the next few weeks, the governor could continue to call 30-day sessions or add voting restrictions to the agenda when the Legislature takes on the redrawing of the states political maps later this summer.

Mondays mass departure follows a Democratic walkout in May that kept Republicans from passing their priority voting bill at the end of the regular legislative session. For weeks, Democrats had indicated that skipping town during the special session remained an option as Republicans prepared for a second attempt at tightening the states voting laws.

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said in a statement later Monday that the chamber "will use every available resource under the Texas Constitution and the unanimously-passed House rules to secure a quorum..."

Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, panned Democrats over the move, saying it inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve.

As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state, Abbott said in a statement Monday afternoon. The Democrats must put aside partisan political games and get back to the job they were elected to do.

According to House rules adopted at the beginning of the regular session, two-thirds of the 150-member chamber must be present to conduct business. When the House is in session, legislators can vote to lock chamber doors to prevent colleagues from leaving and can order law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled.

If a quorum is not present when the House convenes Tuesday, any House member can move to make whats known as a call of the House to to secure and maintain a quorum to consider a certain piece of legislation, resolution or motion, under chamber rules. That motion must be seconded by 15 members and ordered by a majority vote. If that happens, the missing Democrats will become legislative fugitives.

All absentees for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found, by the sergeant-at-arms or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms for that purpose, and their attendance shall be secured and retained, the House rules state. The house shall determine on what conditions they shall be discharged.

Its unclear, though, what options Phelan may have to compel Democrats to return to the Legislature if theyre out of state.

The House voting bill as passed by committee over the weekend would rein in local voting initiatives like drive-thru and 24-hour voting, further tighten the rules for voting by mail, bolster access for partisan poll watchers and ban local election officials from proactively sending out applications to request mail-in ballots.

The Democrats departure also calls into question other items included on Abbotts special session agenda, including legislation to provide funding for the Legislature. Last month, Abbott vetoed a section of the state budget that funds the Legislature for the two-year budget cycle that starts Sept. 1. He did so in retribution for Democrats walkout in May. If the Legislature does not pass a supplemental budget before the new cycle begins, more than 2,100 legislative staffers and individuals working at legislative agencies could be impacted.

Patrick Svitek contributed to this report.

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Texas Democrats attempt to block voting bill by fleeing state - The Texas Tribune

Democrats including President BidenJoe BidenPoll: Biden approval on coronavirus slips 2 percentage points Overnight Defense: Top US commander in Afghanistan departs | US sends delegation to Haiti after request for troops | Senate Dems propose .3B for Pentagon in Capitol security bill Protests escalate US-Cuba tensions MORE are grappling with what to do about the slowing pace of COVID-19 vaccinations.

The sharpest debate right now is centered on whether private businesses, federal workplaces and educational institutions should require proof of vaccination.

If the White House encouraged such requirements, it would likely nudge some Americans who have not yet gotten vaccinated to do so.

But it would also open the president and his party up to accusations of overreach and nanny-statism on an issue that has become deeply partisan.

In a new poll released Wednesday from The Economist-YouGov, 77 percent of Democrats said they were fully vaccinated, and only 4 percent of Democratic respondents said they would not get vaccinated at all.

But 31 percent of Republicans said they would not get vaccinated and so, crucially, did 22 percent of independents. Those figures suggest there would be a political price to pay for a strong push toward vaccine requirements.

The political dilemma is clear, however. There could be a far steeper penalty over the medium term if the virus makes a comeback something that has become more likely amid the spread of a new delta variant, which is now the dominant strain in the U.S.

The issue is one that can be easily demagogued, too.

A government mandate that all Americans must get vaccinated in all circumstances is not being suggested by anyone in the mainstream. Such a blanket requirement would likely be unlawful and certainly unenforceable.

But public health experts, worried about the sluggish rate of new vaccinations, say there is plenty else the Biden administration and elected officials could do. One option would simply be to issue expressions of support for private employers, medical facilities and school boards that impose vaccine requirements.

There has been none of that from the White House and the timidity is sparking growing frustration.

My wish is that we would see more mandates at the federal or national level but Im a realist and I know were not going to see that, said Kavita Patel, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution who is also a practicing physician. At a minimum, I would love to see words of support. These hospitals that are doing it are brave and should be applauded. They shouldnt feel like they are on an island.

Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown Law School and a public health expert, was even more vigorous in his criticisms.

The Biden administration has been far too hands-off regarding vaccine requirements, he said. They could do a lot more. Once it is fully licensed, which it will be soon, they could recommend that schools and businesses have vaccinations as a condition to going back into that environment.

We are hearing nothing from the CDC or HHS or the White House, he added, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

More ripples were created on the issue when Kathleen SebeliusKathleen SebeliusFauci: 'Horrifying' to hear CPAC crowd cheering anti-vaccination remarks The Memo: Biden and Democrats face dilemma on vaccine mandates Inside Biden's pragmatic approach to coronavirus rules MORE, who served as Health secretary during the Obama administration, told The New York Times that she was in favor of mandates.

Im trying to restrain myself but Ive kind of had it, Sebelius told the Times in a story published Tuesday evening. Were going to tiptoe around mandates. Its like, come on. Im kind of over that.

Sebelius, as a veteran of the wars over the Affordable Care Act (ACA), knows that Democrats have been vulnerable to charges of overreach, whether justified or not.

Conservatives sought to stop the passage of the ACA a decade ago over concerns about death panels and health care rationing. They were unsuccessful, but the legislation was a political liability for Democrats for several years, only winning widespread popularity more recently.

When it comes to vaccine requirements, Republicans and their allies in the media are warning about infringements on personal liberty.

According to a USA Today report in late April, more than 40 states at that point had introduced legislation banning vaccination mandates. One Republican state-level lawmaker, Rep. John Jacob of Indiana, told the newspaper that a mandate would be considered a gross violation of the individual freedom of people in his state.

Conservative media commentators including Tucker CarlsonTucker CarlsonCNN: Tucker Carlson 'furious' at Fox News execs for not defending his NSA spying claims Rand Paul requests probe into allegations NSA spied on Tucker Carlson Trump, DeSantis lead CPAC straw poll MORE of Fox News have stoked skepticism about vaccines.

And governors in several states have signed executive orders banning vaccine mandates, so-called vaccine passports or both.

Included among their ranks are high-profile names who may have presidential ambitions such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantisRon DeSantisPompeo on 2024: 'I want to continue to have an impact' Five takeaways from the CPAC conference in Dallas Noem hits fellow GOP governors over COVID-19 mandates MORE (R) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

Some Democrats acknowledge that polarization around COVID-19 has become so severe that more assertive rhetoric from Biden on the issue risks a counter-reaction.

Dave Mudcat Saunders, a veteran Democratic strategist based in rural Virginia, told this column that if Joe Biden were to come out and tell people to take the vaccine, it would only make these people around me more likely not to take it.

Saunders argued that there is enormous distrust on the issue, fueled by polarization, media hyperbole and a general cultural shift that has deepened divisions between rural conservatives and what he terms the Metropolitan Opera wing of his own party.

Saunders reflected ruefully that the one thing he believed really could make a difference in his community would be if former President TrumpDonald TrumpOvernight Defense: Top US commander in Afghanistan departs | US sends delegation to Haiti after request for troops | Senate Dems propose .3B for Pentagon in Capitol security bill Fauci and Birx warned Scott Atlas was 'dangerous' Report: RNC chief counsel called 2020 Trump legal efforts 'a joke' MORE were to more forcefully urge people to get vaccinated.

The Biden administration has stuck resolutely to its laissez-faire stance on vaccine requirements, even as the president has continued to urge people to get their shots for their own good and out of a sense of patriotic duty.

Were going to leave it up to them to make these decisions, White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiOvernight Health Care: FDA adds new warning to J&J COVID-19 vaccine | WHO chief pushes back on Pfizer booster shot | Fauci defends Biden's support for recommending vaccines 'one on one' COVID-19 case count spikes hit almost every state Haiti is 'tinderbox' foreign policy challenge for Biden MORE said Tuesday, referring to the role of schools, universities and private institutions in deciding whether to impose vaccination requirements.

The studied neutrality is just not good enough in the view of health experts like Gostin.

Gostin is scornful of the idea that the president or his party should retreat in the face of charges of nanny-state behavior.

People talk about the nanny state, but this isnt the nanny state, he said. The nanny state is telling you what you must do for your own health and safety. What we are doing here is telling you to get vaccinated yes, for your own health and safety but also because otherwise you pose a risk to others."

Its a classic argument, he added. This is not a question of libertarianism or freedom because nobody has the freedom to harm others. You only have the freedom to harm yourself.

The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.

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The Memo: Biden and Democrats face dilemma on vaccine mandates | TheHill - The Hill