Google Has More Than Android On Its Platform

February 5, 2010 by Ted Goodman weblog
D-wave Quantum 2  (Image credit: D-Wave/M. Thom)

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D-wave Quantum 2 (Image credit: D-Wave/M. Thom)

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the last several weeks, we've read a bit about how Google is getting restless just being the world’s largest search engine and a proud cloud computing parent. In fact, Googleland is growing by quantum leaps and bounds.

Behind the scenes, in fact, Google has been working with a D-Wave quantum computer that seems to be able to spot images of cars from among 20,000 photos faster than any other computer. Though there are reports of skepticism among higher math experts that D-Wave really is a quantum computer, it’s clear that Google is going to be the first to use the quantumest computer available to its fullest capacity.

Fast and accurate sorting capability is a must, and not just for Internet browsers. Think about the jobs of radiologists, for example, looking for a diseased cell or two in a mass of tissue. Or a baggage screener looking for a gun, a knife, or a bomb in someone’s carry-on bag. Recently published research on “visual attention," prepared by Harvard professor Jeremy Wolfe, demonstrates that the more we [humans!] look for that “needle in a haystack,” the less likely it is that we will find it. Now, how does that make you feel when you take a mammogram or get on an airplane?

But what if a quantum computer could detect the diseased cell? And not only that. What if that super computer could determine which antibody might kill that cell without harming the surrounding cells? Think about how much time that would save researchers in testing various drugs, and how much time it would save in getting approval for potential life-saving drugs.

It’s highly likely that Google Venture’s recent investment into Adimab was made with a computer antibody identifier in mind. Adimab, a New Hampshire-based , has already developed a simulated human immune system, composed of engineered , that produces antibodies in response to drug molecules. This process obviates the need for testing engineered mice, as well as other animal testing, and produces therapeutic outcomes in less than eight weeks.

Antibody producing human yeast cells (Image credit: Adimab)
Enlarge

Antibody producing human yeast cells (Image credit: Adimab)

Already having a leg up on other biotech firms with its proprietary technology, Adimab has attracted investments from Polaris Venture Partners, SV Life Sciences, OrbiMed Advisors, and Borealis Ventures. But Adimab COO Errik Anderson admitted that Google's investment was not just financial. In an interview with Xconomy, Anderson said that “...it was clear that Google Ventures immediately understood our value proposition—that a prolific discovery platform can drive even greater productivity when integrated with advanced computational tools.”

Some interesting times ahead for supercomputing and for Google; that’s for sure.

More information: -- Adimab http://www.adimab. … m/index.html
-- Google Collaborates with D-Wave on Possible Quantum Image Search http://www.physorg … 0107947.html
-- Google demonstrates quantum computer image search http://www.newscie … -search.html
-- Google Pours “Incredible” Computing Power into Antibody Drug Discovery With Adimab http://www.xconomy … le_page=true
-- Guns, Tumors And The Limits Of The Human Eye http://www.npr.org … Id=122561355

© 2010 PhysOrg.com

4.4 /5 (13 votes)  

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Intheory
Feb 04, 2010

Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
this is what's coming next...

http://www.youtub...TENNiZE0
Fakeer
Feb 05, 2010

Rank: 3 / 5 (2)
Soon your prescription might ask you to go to Walgreens and get a bottle of Googomycin.
weewilly
Feb 06, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
I'm not laughing at this because in my lifetime I have seen many miraculous things come on the scene. Atomic bomb, TV and even some guys on the Moon. So why would I dare to make a silly comment about this idea?
Rank 4.4 /5 (13 votes)
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