As the quantum computing era begins, five locations are poised to become the next tech hot spot, driving economic growth like Silicon Valley did for the Bay Area in the 1970s. Business Wire/Associated Press 2025-03-27T08:35:02Z SaveSaved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Silicon Valley created a massive regional economy when it became the center of the computing industry.As the quantum computing era begins, five locations are poised to become the next tech hot spot.Major quantum hubs are being built in California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts.When Silicon Valley became the center of the computing industry in the 1970s, a regional economy worth trillions of dollars cropped up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, as the era of quantum computing gains momentum, five cities across the country are poised to become the next tech hot spot.Quantum computing is a burgeoning field that leverages quantum mechanics to solve complex problems faster than is possible using classical computers.With researchers optimistic that breakthroughs in the field could revolutionize medicine, data privacy, and more, quantum hardware manufacturing and software development has attracted major investments from tech giants including IBM, Google, and Microsoft, as well as smaller players like D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti and the economic stakes for becoming a hub for the new tech are major.The quantum industry attracted $1.2 billion from venture capitalists in 2023 despite a 50% drop in overall tech investments that year, according to research by Boston Consulting Group. A recent report from the market intelligence firm Resonance projected the global quantum computing market could add more than $1 trillion to the global economy over the next 10 years.The tech sector is known for driving massive economic growth. The regional think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley recently reported the Bay Area achieved an unprecedented market cap of $14.3 trillion in 2024, with an unemployment rate more than a full percent lower than the rest of the state."That is for real when people centralize in a place, and those people also have other needs serviced by the local economy, it creates growth across not one sector, but in many sectors, and it creates a shared prosperity." Russell Hancock, the president and chief executive of Joint Venture Silicon Valley told Business Insider.Hancock said the economy that grew around Silicon Valley did so in part because of its proximity to major research institutions like Stanford and UC Berkeley that spurred innovation, in addition to its real estate market which at the time was startup-friendly."I think it's valid to think of Silicon Valley not just as a place but to think of it as a phenomenon," Hancock said. "The phenomenon is composed of a massive focus on technology, accompanied by innovation and entrepreneurship and risk-taking."Silicon Valley just isn't the exclusive location where that phenomenon is happening these days especially for the quantum industry. Here are five locations where the conditions are right to build Qubit County, the new quantum capital of the nation.Santa Barbara, CaliforniaThe coastal city of Santa Barbara is already home to Google's Quantum AI Campus in addition to Microsoft's Station Q research headquarters, which is located on the campus of UC Santa Barbara.UC Santa Barbara is also home to a next-generation foundry that develops the materials and interfaces needed to power quantum-based electronics.Santa Barbara is located less than two hours north of Los Angeles, where UCLA researchers are focused on quantum science developments. In 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he'd awarded UCLA $200 million in state funds to transform the former Westside Pavilion Mall into a research facility that will house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering.Chicago, IllinoisChicago is home to the Chicago Quantum Exchange based at the University of Chicago, one of the world's largest collaborative teams working on quantum science through partnerships with more than 50 corporate, international, and nonprofit organizations.The city is also the site of the forthcoming multibillion-dollar public-private partnership known as the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, which will include shared cryogenic facilities, equipment labs, and research spaces to further advance quantum technology.IQMP is projected to generate $20 billion in economic impact and create thousands of jobs, according to a press release about the project. The state of Illinois is investing $500 million in its development."Gov. Pritzker of Illinois has been extremely active on this front," Rigetti CEO Subodh Kulkarni told Business Insider, describing the city of Chicago as one of the "potential centers" of quantum tech for the country, if not the world.Boston, MassachusettsAt GTC this year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced his company's plans to build a quantum research lab in Boston to partner with researchers from MIT and Harvard."It will likely be the most advanced accelerated hybrid quantum computing research lab world," Huang said.Boston is already home to QuEra Computing, a startup building quantum computers based on neutral atoms. Last year, The Boston Globe reported the state's spending bill earmarked $40 million to build a "quantum innovation hub" in the Pioneer Valley, about two hours West of Boston."I think that the Boston area has a very interesting collection of companies and educational institutions that could end up being a very important location for the industry," Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave told Business Insider.College Park, MarylandMargaret Arakawa, IonQ's Chief Marketing Officer, told Business Insider that her company, headquartered in Maryland, believes the state will become "the capital of quantum" by building a partnership with the University of Maryland the way Silicon Valley entrepreneurs partnered with Standford and UC Berkeley academics."We want to work with companies and universities that are building out not just research, but actual implementation and building of the quantum computers and the networks," Arakawa said. "So we look at the University of Maryland, and all of the government officials, academia, the businesses, the association of physicists, and we think Maryland is actually chock full of all the right elements to create the capital of quantum."UMD, based in College Park, is a hub for quantum research and development and home to the Quantum Startup Foundry, an accelerator that supports entrepreneurs and startups in bringing quantum technologies to market.In January, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced the "Capital of Quantum" Initiative a $1 billion public-private partnership to "cement Maryland as a global leader in quantum information science and technology."Boulder, ColoradoThree of Colorado's most prominent universities the University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Mines earlier this year partnered with the Elevate Quantum Tech Hub to launch a 13,000-square-foot quantum incubator in Boulder.The Department of Commerce in 2023 designated Elevate Quantum as one of only two tech hubs in the country focused on advancing quantum technologies, per a press release from Sen. Michael Bennet. The tech hub has also been awarded $40.5 million in federal funding to support the development of a leading quantum ecosystem.The Boulder Quantum Incubator builds on momentum from a 2024 bill passed in the state to encourage economic growth in the quantum sector. According to a Quantum Insider report, the law is projected to create over 10,000 quantum-related jobs in the state within the next decade.Matthew Kinsella, CEO of the quantum technology company Infleqtion, told Business Insider that the development of a nationwide quantum capital will likely depend on state and local government supporting the creation of a local ecosystem to propel the tech forward."And I think places like Colorado and Chicago are pretty high on that list," Kinsella said.

When June came around last year, Sarah Wong was at the end of her rope. As a social media marketer, much of her day is spent on the phone keeping up with local news and events, and she'd hit a breaking point. "It's just very overwhelming to be bombarded with news every day," the 28-year-old tells me.Wong and her husband, a software engineer, typically travel every couple of months from their hometown of Austin, spending a few days exploring cities like Las Vegas, San Diego, and Martha's Vineyard. But her regular vacation wasn't going to cut it this time. Wong decided to try a wellness retreat, hoping it would help her unplug and reset her nervous system. She booked a four-night stay at the nearby Miraval Austin Resort and Spa with her husband. "I think anyone who works in social media needs a reset where they don't have to be online," she says.At the property, staff valeted her minivan and took her bags. Wong and her husband were given the choice between a backpack or tote bag containing a brandedWhite Lotus'," she tells me.Between rope courses, sound bowl healing, and yoga, she and her husband would snag lunch from the build-your-own salad bar or off a menu where "each dish is designed with wellness in mind," per the resort, and lounge by the pool. She tried yoga nidra, a form of meditation that promotes relaxation, which she describes as feeling like "you woke up from the best nap of your life.""It feels like an adult summer camp," she says.Since the retreat, Wong says she is able to step away from her phone more easily and spends more time outside. "I've been trying to use our patio to just take in the fresh air, look at trees, look at the sky." She and her husband are planning to go again this year. "We want to hit all three properties," she tells me.Ever since pandemic-era travel restrictions subsided, travel has boomed. More recently, "rest and relaxation" has jumped ahead of having "a fun time" as the main motivation for leisure travel, according to a nationally representative 2024 survey of 1,000 US travelers from the market research firm Longwoods International. A Deloitte survey produced similar results. More people are feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or just want to focus their PTO time on improving their health. A 2023 American Express travel survey found that 73% of respondents were planning vacations around improving their physical and emotional health, with millennials and Gen Z prioritizing wellness travel at a higher rate than older generations.A growing obsession with wellness paired with mounting uncertainty about daily life is driving demand for relaxation. Welcome to the age of the self-care-cation.As recently as five years ago, wellness could be classified as a "niche segment" in travel, associated primarily with weekend spa breaks and hippie yoga retreats. But since COVID, people have begun to get serious about their health. McKinsey estimated the US market for wellness which it defined as including better health, fitness, sleep, mindfulness, appearance, and nutrition is up almost 7% since 2022, reaching $480 billion. Nearly 60% of respondents to the McKinsey survey said they valued wellness more in 2024 than the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of health and wellness podcasts has grown by 50% in the past five years, Nielsen found, while self-help books are one of the fastest-growing nonfiction genres. Younger generations are now shunning alcohol and driving a boom in bougie wellness clubs."The tourism market looks a little bit at what's happening in people's leisure time, looks at the consumer trends and thinks, 'How can we capitalize on this?'" says Melanie Kay Smith, an associate professor of tourism management at Budapest Business University.I get home and feel filled up and energized by the experience rather than needing another holiday to get over the holiday.Hilton announced in January that it now offers guided meditations, sleep stories, and mindfulness exercises from the mental-health wellness company Calm via their hotel room TVs. It also partnered with Peloton to offer workouts from room TVs. Other brands are investing in new wellness-focused resorts, such as Hyatt's new "art and wellness house" in Panama that's set to open soon. Accor Group plans to open 18 new luxury hotels this year and touts the wellness amenities in five of them. It's also opening a wellness-focused resort in the Caribbean later this year.The drive for wellness isn't coming out of nowhere. In 2023, nearly half of Americans reported they frequently experienced stress, more than any other point since Gallup started tracking it in 1994. People are also becoming more anxious: In 2024, 43% of adults surveyed by the American Psychiatric Association said they felt more anxious than they had the previous year. "As life speeds up, maybe our vacations need to be slower to compensate," says Smith.Hotels, resorts, and retreats are stepping in to meet the need for a little TLC. In 2024, Miraval Resorts said it saw a nearly 80% increase in demand for stress management workshops over the previous year. It also said that group arrivals have increased 157% since 2021. "I think the luxury consumer realizes that instead of acquiring things, acquiring experiences is much more rich," says Dina Niekamp, the associate vice president of sales, marketing, and brand for Miraval.Ella Dixon-Nuttall, a 28-year-old yoga teacher from London, was tired of taking trips that revolved around beach clubs and drinking. So last June, she went on her first yoga retreat in Sicily with a friend. It cost 1,600, or just over $2,000, for the week and included accommodations, three meals a day, and yoga classes in the morning and evening. "You got the benefit of an all-inclusive but then you also have the movement and wellness aspect," she tells me. "I get home and feel filled up and energized by the experience rather than needing another holiday to get over the holiday."Dixon-Nuttall enjoyed it so much that in February she went on her second retreat, this time with her mother. In March, she went on a third retreat in France. "It's such a wonderful way to travel," she says. "I'm now a retreat convert to the point where if I want to go somewhere I'll look if there's a retreat there." She is looking to book another in India later this year.'I need you to put this in the budget for the next 20 years.'Lili Paxton's mother is a similar convert. Growing up, Paxton recalls family ski trips and girls getaways to Palm Springs. But at the end of 2022, Paxton and her mother were looking to book a more relaxing trip. They ended up planning a weeklong stay at Rancho La Puerta, a wellness resort and spa just over the San Diego border in Baja California, Mexico, after a family member recommended it. Weeklong rates for one person start at $5,650. Neither Paxton nor her mother had done anything like it before.Each day hikes were offered at 5:30 a.m. Classes were available each hour for everything from Pilates to pickleball. Paxton's mother tried Watsu a type of water therapy that uses massage, stretching, and acupressure for the first time. "She said it was the most spiritual experience," Paxton says. "She said that she saw my dead father under the water."When Paxton wasn't hiking or exercising, she was at the spa or relaxing by the pool. "The whole time I was just really happy," she says. "It felt like an escape from reality."Her mother left the trip transformed. "My mom is committed to going every year until she dies," says Paxton. "She even talked to her financial planner and was like, 'I need you to put this in the budget for the next 20 years.'" They spent another week at the retreat this past Christmas.While many people are happy to pay a premium for a chance to indulge in simple things like walking in nature or taking a deep breath, for others, wellness is becoming increasingly high-tech. Since 2008, the wellness resort Sha has been at the forefront of holistic health, offering around 1,000 different treatments in nearly 40 different medical and health specialties at its locations in Spain and Mexico. Stays at the resort start at 550 euros a night, or roughly $600, while specialized four-day programs start at 2,500 euros, or about $2,700, with add-ons for treatments focused on sexual well-being, sleep recovery, stress management, gut health, quitting smoking, and more.The "Leader's Performance" program, for example, starts with an advanced preventive diagnosis that tests body composition, cognitive abilities, and advanced glycation end-product accumulation compounds that are linked with aging. Guests can also participate in clinical analyses, such as an oxidative stress test and a tailored meal plan with nutritional monitoring.Almost every type of treatment imaginable is available at Sha: stem cell treatment, advanced plasma renewal, hormone replacement therapy, sleep diagnosis. All guests receive an alkalizing diet tailored to their individual nutritional needs. "Even if you go to see all these different experts in the city, first, it will take you months to see them all, then there will be no coordination between them," Alejandro Bataller, Sha's vice president, says. "We're probably the most comprehensive."While Sha appeals to a range of health-conscious consumers, Bataller has noticed an increase over the past two or three years in customers he calls "biohackers." These are people who already have a longevity doctor, nutritionist, and functional medicine doctor on speed dial, who take 40-plus supplements a day and invest in the latest high-tech treatments. "They don't want a standard program," he says. "They come to Sha because they know that Sha is always cutting edge."It's looking as if you've funneled thousands and tens of thousands of dollars into your face and body. That's not health; that's products, that's procedures.Bataller describes wellness as not just being healthy, but as an "active, ongoing pursuit" that focuses on improving yourself. "You can see someone with the best car, the best watch, the best suit," he says. "But if he doesn't look healthy, that doesn't seem like luxury."While there's research backing up some of these treatments, Jessica DeFino, a beauty reporter and culture critic, questions how much is driven by health and how much is simply a medicalized beauty standard. "A better way to think about how we see looking healthy today is actually looking wealthy," she says. "It's looking as if you've funneled thousands and tens of thousands of dollars into your face and body. That's not health; that's products, that's procedures."Of course, products and procedures are all the rage right now as people look for alternative approaches to well-being. "Our culture is largely unwell," DeFino explains. Only 36% of Americans have at least "quite a lot" of trust in the medical system, a 2024 Gallup survey found, and studies show that Americans are sicker than people in many parts of the world. Only about half of Americans focus on eating healthy and exercising, despite diet and physical inactivity being leading contributors to chronic disease. Wellness gurus have stepped in to fill the gap left by a flagging healthcare system. Across social platforms, they document macros consumed and hours spent in REM, while touting the benefits of cryotherapy, red-light therapy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. "The draw of wellness for the average person is it offers an individualized solution to a collective issue," DeFino says, adding: "A lot of this is an attempt to intellectualize these arbitrary, oppressive beauty standards and make them seem like smart investments."That doesn't mean the pursuit of chilling out isn't worth it. A 2023 study that reviewed 68 articles from 2002 to 2022 found that wellness tourism defined as any tourism activities pursued with the goal of maintaining or improving health could offer both psychological and quality-of-life benefits. However, these benefits vary from person to person, making it challenging to measure them.It's easy to get carried away thinking we all need cutting-edge treatments to get by. "It's great to step out of your everyday life and relax," says DeFino. "Collectively, we also have to be focusing on how we create lives that we don't need to step out of all of the time."Eve Upton-Clark is a features writer covering culture and society.

CORA Installation / IAACSave this picture! Adri GoulaInstallations & StructuresCerdanyola del Valls, SpainArchitects: IAACYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2025 PhotographsPhotographs:Adri GoulaMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The Valldaura Labs Campus of the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) is located in the Collserola Natural Park (Barcelona), covering 135 hectares. It is known for its innovative approach to utilizing advanced technologies in its projects. Continuing with this practice, the Campus has introduced a KUKA industrial robot, a versatile tool capable of milling, cutting wood, and performing other precision tasks. As part of the "Master in Advanced Architecture and Bioscities" (MAEBB), an international team of students faced the challenge of designing and building a fully functional laboratory for this robot over four months.Save this picture!Save this picture!The project's goal was to create a space dedicated to housing and operating this 6-axis industrial milling robot. With a wooden structure, skylights, and a refined atmosphere, the space subtly evokes the architecture of a cathedral. In homage to both craftsmanship and technology, the new building has been named CORA, an acronym for Cathedral of Robotic Artisans.Save this picture!Save this picture!The challenge of the project was to establish a dialogue between the old brick structure of the building, built in the 19th century and originally used as a stable for horses, and a new wooden structure representative of 21st-century design. The new volume was designed to incorporate appropriate spaces, services, and infrastructures for both robotic operations and human interaction.Save this picture!The design of the building involved refurbishing an existing structure adjacent to the Green Fab Lab the campus's digital research and manufacturing center. The old roof was removed, but the brick walls were preserved, then carefully restored and reinforced to maintain the structural integrity of the building. Wood was chosen as the main construction material, which integrates perfectly into the surrounding landscape and architecture. The proposed project ensures functionality and aesthetic harmony while offering a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials.A tree-like structure. The project features a wooden framework created by seven branching columns that represent tree trunks. These columns support a roof with Voronoi geometry, made of solid wood and cross-laminated timber (CLT) joints. The carpentry, precisely crafted through computer numerical control (CNC) machining, allows the structure to span an area of 8.8 by 4.6 meters. These joints were made from CLT panels produced at the Valldaura Campus Labs.Due to the depth limitations of CNC milling, some joints were made with four individually milled layers. These were then glued together to form cohesive elements. The result is a unified structural mass without joints that houses workshop facilities and supports a living green roof. Traditional carpentry techniques were combined with digital manufacturing methods to construct the joints of the structural columns (200 x 260 mm) and beams (200 x 400 mm), which are made of solid wood. The four sides of the structure were preassembled off-site and then hoisted with a crane inside the four brick walls, and finally, they were securely bolted to the ground.Save this picture!Save this picture!To install the new structure and meet the expected structural demands of the robot, a concrete pedestal was created on which the KUKA industrial robot was placed. The faade consists of CLT panels, milled to reflect a parametric pattern. This solution ensures that the building harmoniously integrates into the surrounding natural and historical landscape while referencing the new structure it houses within. In contrast, the inner face of the panels preserves the natural texture of the wood.A key objective of the design was to maximize natural light within the space, especially through the skylight located above the robot.A Mediterranean green roof. The first layer of the green roof is a root-resistant waterproof membrane that is applied with a heat gun onto the wooden panels of the roof. Following the membrane is a layer of geotextile fabric, drainage board, and humus to promote the growth of native Mediterranean plant species. To ensure proper hydration, irrigation tubing was installed as a final step. The plants selected for the green roof were common honeysuckle, sweet clematis, creeping sedum, and French lavender. All were chosen for their adaptability and aesthetic value. Currently, the Valldaura Labs team uses CORA as part of their prototyping initiatives, providing new solutions for sustainable design and advanced manufacturing.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Cerdanyola del Valls, Catalunya, SpainLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeIAACOfficePublished on March 27, 2025Cite: "CORA Installation / IAAC" [CORA / IAAC] 27 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028395/cora-installation-iaac&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Project Files: https://www.patreon.com/posts/125273622 . This is the 162nd episode of the new tutorial series on Action RPG game using Gameplay Ability System. Today we are going to implement a way to click and drag the UI to allow player to pan the UI around. This is required to allow player to pan around the skill tree. We have created the Skill Tree UI with unreal UMG widget system and you can learn how th UI is implemented in previous episodes. Animations are sponsored by: https://www.ramsterzanimations.com/ https://www2.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/greatsword-anims Full Playlist : Action RPG series with gameplay ability system: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNTm9yU0zou7XnRx5MfBbZnfMZJqC6ixz // ! https://www.patreon.com/codelikeme Patrons will have access to project files of all the stuff I do in the channel and other extra benefitsJoin this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClb6Jh9EBV7a_Nm52Ipll_Q/join Like my facebook page for more content : https://www.facebook.com/gamedevelopersclub/ Follow me on twitter : https://twitter.com/CodeLikeMe2 Follow me on reddit : https://www.reddit.com/user/codelikeme #CodeLikeMe #unrealengine #ue5 #ue4 #indiegamedev

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00961-zAntimicrobial molecule discovered in soil from lab technicians garden plus, a huge study assessing the nuances of humans impacts on biodiversity.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08716-6Deconstruction of rubber is achieved using CH amination and aza-Cope rearrangement to provide precursors for epoxy resins.

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Crystal Dynamics, the studio that works on the untitled Tomb Raider game, announced the layoff of 17 team members.In a recent X/Twitter post, the developer revealed the decision to reduce the workforce and explained that it is not connected with the employees' performance but with the studio's business needs. "We did not make this decision lightly. Ultimately, this step was necessary to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success. It is not a reflection of the dedication or ability of those affected," reads the statement.The studio promised to support the laid-off workers: "We recognize how painful this outcome is for those impacted and we are supporting them with transition packages and opportunity outreach." According to the announcement, this decision "does not alter [the studio's] current project plans."Crystal Dynamic is best known for the Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain series, Marvel's Avengers, and the Tomb Raider remaster. It is currently developing Perfect Dark and the upcoming UE5-powered Tomb Raider game in partnership with Amazon, which will reportedly be set in an open worldin India.

Lighting Artist Krithik Sudhakaran showcased the results of his skin shading LookDev experiments with RenderMan and Houdini Solaris.Check them out: https://80.lv/articles/skin-shading-lookdev-experiments-in-renderman-houdini-solaris/

RT Drake Strong