Nanotechnology Now Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors Home > Press > Quantum computers to study the functioning of the molecules of life: A team of theoretical physicists from the University of Trento has shown that it is possible to use quantum computers to simulate processes of great biological importance, such as changes in the shape of protein Abstract: The human body is like a construction site where hundreds of thousands of different molecular nanomachines, called proteins, are simultaneously at work. Each one of these biomolecules, which are chains of amino acids essential to living organisms, perform a different biological function, often in synergy with other proteins. During their formation (the folding process) or in the performance of their biological functions, proteins change their shape in a very specific way. In many cases it is possible to conduct experiments that provide images of proteins at near atomic resolution, but only when they are in the stable and biologically active form. The dynamic processes associated with changes in shape are still largely unknown. Understanding these mechanisms and predicting the behavior of proteins is a fundamental step, for example, to develop advanced medical treatments for old and new diseases, from the most studied (like cancer and degenerative diseases) to emerging ones (Covid-19), to rare diseases.