A team of scientists wanted to find out how tiny the system can be to realize self-reproduction. Scientists created the first artificial form of life.. They succeeded in the course of a revolutionary experiment that combined research in the field of artificial life (that is, reproduction of living behavior in artificial systems) and quantum computing, which changes the way information is processed, reports Newsweek..

Spanish scientist Lucas Lamata and his colleagues from the University of the Basque Country have developed an algorithm based on their theoretical work of 2015. In those days, the team wanted to find out how tiny the system can be to realize self-reproduction - an action unique to living organisms..

“Should it be something at the microscopic level, as in the case of DNA molecules, or can it be systems of several atoms with quantum characteristics?” "Said Lamata.

Three years ago, scientists concluded that the system can actually exist at the quantum level. Therefore, they decided to create a computer algorithm that can check their calculations and perform all actions.. The experiment was used cloud computer IBM ibmqx4.

“We wanted to know if atypical behaviors of microscopic biological systems can be reproduced at the microscopic quantum level. In this study, we found that very tiny quantum devices with several qubits can already emulate reproduction, combining standard biological properties, such as genotype and phenotype, with true quantum properties, such as interlacing and superposition, ”said a Spanish scientist..

The team has created a game model of a minimal quantum system that can reproduce biological behavior, such as reproduction.. And then scientists implemented it on an IBM computer.. In the model, one qubit represented genetic information, that is, a genotype, and another - interaction with the environment.

The experiment showed that the system was able to create something similar for itself, and quantum properties turned out to be crucial for the complete transfer of quantum information to the next generations.

“We also included mutations as a random process that occurs with quantum bits,” added Limata..

He also stated that artificial life does not concern only quantum research at all.. This is a broader area that includes the development of robots capable of building their own kind, computer programs that reproduce themselves or chemical molecules and neurons that are artificially manipulated in the laboratory..

"This is a very diverse field that can provide a wide range of applications in science and technology. What we did was add a quantum ingredient, namely, we implemented a minimal quantum system with the ability to repeat the behavior of reproduction: the minimal quantum version of life, coupled with the processes of mutation and interaction, so that the Darwinian evolution could start, ”the Spanish scientist explained.

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