New Advances in quantum computing have indicated that the era of quantum computers is on the rise, with advances being made that significantly reduce the gap between theoretical estimates and real machines. A team of quantum physicists at the California Institute of Technology has revealed a design for a quantum computer that could break encryption with only tens of thousands of qubits, and researchers at Google have developed an implementation of Shor’s algorithm that is ten times more efficient than the best previous method. These advances signal the rapid progress in building machines that can explore the quantum world more closely. The rise of a flexible new type of qubit, the neutral atom, has also led to an increase in the potency of error correcting codes. However, computing with quubits will require constant vigilance due to their error-prone nature.