Google,NASA shows off D-Wave 2X quantum computer

 The era of quantum computing appears to be getting nearer. Quantum computing company D-Wave Systems recently announced that it has entered into an agreement covering the installation of a succession of D-Wave systems located at NASA's Ames Research Centre in California. This agreement supports collaboration among Google, NASA and USRA (Universities Space Research Association) that is dedicated to studying how quantum computing can advance artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the solution of difficult optimisation problems. The new agreement enables Google and its partners to keep their D-Wave system at the state-of-the-art for up to seven years, with new generations of D-Wave systems to be installed at NASA Ames as they become available. "The new agreement is the largest order in D-Wave's history, and indicative of the importance of quantum computing in its evolution toward solving problems that are difficult for even the largest supercomputers," said D-Wave CEO Vern Brownell in a statement. "We highly value the commitment that our partners have made to D-Wave and our technology, and are excited about the potential use of our systems for machine learning and complex optimization problems," Brownell said. Since 2013, when the previous generation 500-qubit D-Wave Two system was installed at NASA Ames, scientists at Google, NASA and USRA have been using it to explore the potential for quantum computing and its applicability to a broad range of complex problems such as web search, speech recognition, planning and scheduling, air-traffic management and robotic missions to other planets.

US Black Lives Matter protests disrupt airports and shopping

 Protests by the Black Lives Matter group have taken place in the US states of Minnesota and California on one of the busiest retail days of the year. The demonstrators in Minnesota temporarily closed the international airport and interrupted Christmas shopping at the Mall of America. Police said a total of 15 people were arrested at both places, mostly for trespassing or obstructing justice. Protesters are angry over a police shooting of a black man in Minneapolis. Jamar Clark was shot dead last month by officers responding to an assault complaint, in one of a number of recent incidents around the US. Hundreds of people took part in the protest at the mall, one of the largest in North America, where Black Lives Matter organisers promised to congregate in defiance of a judge's warning that the shopping centre's owners could legally block the demonstration.