Groundbreaking modelling has revealed that as many as 220,000 Indigenous Australians died in a devastating 1789 smallpox outbreak that originated in Sydney, by tracing its origins to the First Fleet. Soon after British ships arrived, smallpox swept through First Nations communities in the Sydney area and many died as a result.

INQUBATOR, Fraunhofer's quantum computing consulting and testing center, offers businesses an practical and cost-effective access to quantum computing. Starting immediately, companies of all sizes can apply with their use cases to develop customized solutions in collaboration with Fraunhofer partners and test the potential of quantum algorithms. The application deadline is August 31, 2026.

RNA design is central to next-generation therapeutics, yet identifying sequences that reliably fold into desired structures remains a major computational challenge, often constrained by high cost and time. A new study from Keio University explores the use of factorization machine with quadratic-optimization annealing (FMQA) for RNA inverse folding, while also examining how different encoding strategies may influence artificial intelligence (AI)-driven design performance, revealing an underexplored dimension of biomolecular engineering.

Weyl topological superconductivity is a rare state promising for quantum computing, but it usually requires complex band properties like strong spin-orbit coupling. Researchers have now shown that transitioning from a 2D square to a 3D cubic lattice, simple repulsive interactions between electrons create geometric frustration. This naturally forms a unique octupolar Weyl superconducting state. By removing the need for spin-orbit coupling, this opens a simpler, universal path for discovering new quantum materials and realizing unconventional 3D superconductivity