Turbocharging scientific discovery: with bits, neurons, qubits – and collaboration

Sifting effectively through this vast chemical space would allow us to rapidly find a specific molecule and create a new material with the properties we want. This could unlock endless possibilities of material design – for life-saving drugs, better batteries, more advanced prosthetic limbs or faster and safer cars, advancing healthcare, manufacturing, defense, biotechnology, communications and nearly every other industry. This design ability would replace our centuries-old reliance on serendipity in material discovery – something we've been through with plastics, Teflon, Velcro, Vaseline, vulcanized rubber and so many other breakthroughs. Even graphene – the atom-thick layer of carbon and the thinnest, strongest material known – was discovered by (informed) chance, when physicist Kostya Novoselov found discarded Scotch tape in his lab's waste basket.