Physicists around the world are working very hard to develop practical devices for quantum computing and have already managed to perform a few very basic calculations. But what problems could scientists solve if they had access to more sophisticated quantum computers?

In this exclusive video interview Alán Aspuru-Guzik of Harvard University explains how quantum computers could solve a range of chemistry and biology problems much more efficiently than the best supercomputers of today.

Aspuru-Guzik explains how important questions such as how drugs bind to proteins or how proteins fold could be solved by quantum computers. While he is looking forward to doing calculations using an eight-quantum-bit computer developed by colleagues, he explains why at least 100-quantum-bit devices are needed to outperform classical computers at some tasks related to drug discovery.