Groups at the NIST (National Institute of Standards) and the University of Innsbruck Institute of Theoretical Physics have separately pushed up the number of ions that can exist in a simultaneous superposition of states. The NIST researchers reported a successful experiment observing six rubidium ions in a synchronized state of superposition, and the Innsbruck group announced the observation of eight calcium ions in a magnetic ion trap. Previously quantum computing research had established quantum entanglement in five photons. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, researchers found a way to build quantum state repeaters, or systems that regenerate a quantum state being transmitted over a network. The repeaters would permit construction of larger quantum networks. Researchers commenting say they have shown that quantum information can be stored on clouds of rubidium atoms for up to 10 microseconds, and then read it back out. This might lead in time to a quantum repeater, which would be another building block for quantum computers and networks. Among topics covered are the requirements of quantum computers and networks. The future research of the Georgia Tech group will be in the direction of quantum networks where each node is a quantum computer. At NIST, the system developed was in an extreme configuration in which all six atoms are in a spin-up and spin-down state simultaneously. At Innsbruck, the system had a more independent configuration in which some information could be extracted without destruction of the quantum coherence of the system.