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  • Perspective
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Towards practical applications in quantum computational biology

Nature Computational Science volume 1, pages 114–119 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Fascinating progress in understanding our world at the smallest scales moves us to the border of a new technological revolution governed by quantum physics. By taking advantage of quantum phenomena, quantum computing devices allow a speedup in solving diverse tasks. In this Perspective, we discuss the potential impact of quantum computing on computational biology. Bearing in mind the limitations of existing quantum computing devices, we attempt to indicate promising directions for further research in the emerging area of quantum computational biology.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Nizamieva, E. Kiktenko, A. Mastiukova and A. Favorov for useful comments and productive discussions. A.K.F. is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (19-71-10092). M.S.G. is supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (18-29-13011). A.K.F. also acknowledges support from the Leading Research Center on Quantum Computing (agreement no. 014/20; analysis of quantum algorithms for NISQ devices).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russian Quantum Center, Moscow, Russia

    A. K. Fedorov

  2. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia

    A. K. Fedorov

  3. Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia

    M. S. Gelfand

  4. Kharkevitch Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Moscow, Russia

    M. S. Gelfand

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  1. A. K. Fedorov
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Contributions

A.K.F. and M.S.G. equally contributed to this review. A.K.F. mostly participated in the part related to quantum computing, whereas M.S.G. focused on the biological applications.

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Correspondence to A. K. Fedorov.

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Competing interests

Owing to the employments and consulting activities of A.K.F., he has financial interests in the commercial applications of quantum computing.

Additional information

Peer review information Nature Computational Science thanks Koen Bertels, Göran Johansson and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution tof the peer review of this work. Fernando Chirigati was the primary editor on this Perspective and managed its editorial process and peer review in collaboration with the rest of the editorial team.

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Fedorov, A.K., Gelfand, M.S. Towards practical applications in quantum computational biology. Nat Comput Sci 1, 114–119 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43588-021-00024-z

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