Latest news with #TheConversationUK
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is a quantum-cryptography apocalypse imminent?
Will quantum computers crack cryptographic codes and cause a global security disaster? You might certainly get that impression from a lot of news coverage, the latest of which reports new estimates that it might be 20 times easier to crack such codes than previously thought. Cryptography underpins the security of almost everything in cyberspace, from wifi to banking to digital currencies such as bitcoin. Whereas it was previously estimated that it would take a quantum computer with 20 million qubits (quantum bits) eight hours to crack the popular RSA algorithm (named after its inventors, Rivest–Shamir–Adleman), the new estimate reckons this could be done with 1 million qubits. By weakening cryptography, quantum computing would present a serious threat to our everyday cybersecurity. So is a quantum-cryptography apocalypse imminent? Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. Quantum computers exist today but are highly limited in their capabilities. There is no single concept of a quantum computer, with several different design approaches being taken to their development. There are major technological barriers to be overcome before any of those approaches become useful, but a great deal of money is being spent, so we can expect significant technological improvements in the coming years. For the most commonly deployed cryptographic tools, quantum computing will have little impact. Symmetric cryptography, which encrypts the bulk of our data today (and does not include the RSA algorithm), can easily be strengthened to protect against quantum computers. Quantum computing might have more significant impact on public-key cryptography, which is used to set up secure connections online. For example this is used to support online shopping or secure messaging, traditionally using the RSA algorithm, though increasingly an alternative called elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman. Public key cryptography is also used to create digital signatures such as those used in bitcoin transactions, and uses yet another type of cryptography called the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm. If a sufficiently powerful and reliable quantum computer ever exists, processes that are currently only theoretical might become capable of breaking those public-key cryptographic tools. RSA algorithms are potentially more vulnerable because of the type of mathematics they use, though the alternatives could be vulnerable too. Such theoretical processes themselves will inevitably improve over time, as the paper about RSA algorithms is the latest to demonstrate. What remains extremely uncertain is both the destination and timelines of quantum computing development. We don't really know what quantum computers will ever be capable of doing in practice. Expert opinion is highly divided on when we can expect serious quantum computing to emerge. A minority seem to believe a breakthrough is imminent. But an equally significant minority think it will never happen. Most experts believe it a future possibility, but prognoses range from between ten and 20 years to well beyond that. And will such quantum computers be cryptographically relevant? Essentially, nobody knows. Like most of the concerns about quantum computers in this area, the RSA paper is about an attack that may or may not work, and requires a machine that might never be built (the most powerful quantum computers currently have just over 1,000 qubits, and they're still very error prone). From a cryptographic perspective, however, such quantum computing uncertainty is arguably immaterial. Security involves worst-case thinking and future proofing. So it is wisest to assume that a cryptographically relevant quantum computer might one day exist. Even if one is 20 years away, this is relevant because some data that we encrypt today might still require protection 20 years from now. Experience also shows that in complex systems such as financial networks, upgrading cryptography can take a long time to complete. We therefore need to act now. The good news is that most of the hard thinking has already been done. In 2016, the US National Institute for Standards and Technology (Nist) launched an international competition to design new post-quantum cryptographic tools that are believed to be secure against quantum computers. In 2024, Nist published an initial set of standards that included a post-quantum key exchange mechanism and several post-quantum digital signature schemes. To become secure against a future quantum computer, digital systems need to replace current public-key cryptography with new post-quantum mechanisms. They also need to ensure that existing symmetric cryptography is supported by sufficiently long symmetric keys (many existing systems already are). Yet my core message is don't panic. Now is the time to evaluate the risks and decide on future courses of action. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre has suggested one such timeline, primarily for large organisations and those supporting critical infrastructure such as industrial control systems. This envisages 2028 as a deadline for completing a cryptographic inventory and establishing a post-quantum migration plan, with upgrade processes to be completed by 2035. This decade-long timeline suggests that NCSC experts don't see a quantum cryptography apocalypse coming anytime soon. For the rest of us, we simply wait. In due course, if deemed necessary, the likes of our web browsers, wifi, mobile phones and messaging apps will gradually become post-quantum secure either through security upgrades (never forget to install them) or steady replacement of technology. We will undoubtedly read more stories about breakthroughs in quantum computing and upcoming cryptography apocalypses as big technology companies compete for the headlines. Cryptographically relevant quantum computing might well arrive one day, most likely far into the future. If and when it does, we'll surely be ready. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Keith Martin receives funding from EPSRC.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine drone strikes on Russian airbase reveal any country is vulnerable to the same kind of attack
Ukrainians are celebrating the success of one of the most audacious coups of the war against Russia – a coordinated drone strike on June 1 on five airbases deep inside Russian territory. Known as Operation Spiderweb, it was the result of 18 months of planning and involved the smuggling of drones into Russia, synchronised launch timings and improvised control centres hidden inside freight vehicles. Ukrainian sources claim more than 40 Russian aircraft were damaged or destroyed. Commercial satellite imagery confirms significant fire damage, cratered runways, and blast patterns across multiple sites, although the full extent of losses remains disputed. The targets were strategic bomber aircraft and surveillance planes, including Tu-95s and A-50 airborne early warning systems. The drones were launched from inside Russia and navigated at treetop level using line-of-sight piloting and GPS pre-programming. Each was controlled from a mobile ground station parked within striking distance of the target. It is reported that a total of 117 drones were deployed across five locations. While many were likely intercepted, or fell short, enough reached their targets to signal a dramatic breach in Russia's rear-area defence. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. The drone platforms themselves were familiar. These were adapted first-person-view (FPV) multirotor drones. These are ones where the operator gets a first-person perspective from the drone's onboard camera. These are already used in huge numbers along the front lines in Ukraine by both sides. But Operation Spiderweb extended their impact through logistical infiltration and timing. Nations treat their airspace as sovereign, a controlled environment: mapped, regulated and watched over. Air defence systems are built on the assumption that threats come from above and from beyond national borders. Detection and response also reflect that logic. It is focused on mid and high-altitude surveillance and approach paths from beyond national borders. But Operation Spiderweb exposed what happens when states are attacked from below and from within. In low-level airspace, visibility drops, responsibility fragments, and detection tools lose their edge. Drones arrive unannounced, response times lag, coordination breaks. Spiderweb worked not because of what each drone could do individually, but because of how the operation was designed. It was secret and carefully planned of course, but also mobile, flexible and loosely coordinated. The cost of each drone was low but the overall effect was high. This isn't just asymmetric warfare, it's a different kind of offensive capability – and any defence needs to adapt accordingly. On Ukraine's front lines, where drone threats are constant, both sides have adapted by deploying layers of detection tools, short range air defences and jamming systems. In turn, drone operators have turned to alternatives. One option is drones that use spools of shielded fibre optic cable. The cable is attached to the drone at one end and to the controller held by the operator at the other. Another option involves drones with preloaded flight paths to avoid detection. Fibre links, when used for control or coordination, emit no radio signal and so bypass radio frequency (RF) -based surveillance entirely. There is nothing to intercept or jam. Preloaded paths remove the need for live communication altogether. Once launched, the drone follows a pre-programmed route without broadcasting its position or receiving commands. As a result, airspace is never assumed to be secure but is instead understood to be actively contested and requiring continuous management. By contrast, Operation Spiderweb targeted rear area airbases where more limited adaptive systems existed. The drones flew low, through unmonitored gaps, exploiting assumptions about what kind of threat was faced and from where. Spiderweb is not the first long-range drone operation of this war, nor the first to exploit gaps in Russian defences. What Spiderweb confirms is that the gaps in airspace can be used by any party with enough planning and the right technology. They can be exploited not just by states and not just in war. The technology is not rare and the tactics are not complicated. What Ukraine did was to combine them in a way that existing systems could not prevent the attack or maybe even see it coming. This is far from a uniquely Russian vulnerability – it is the defining governance challenge of drones in low level airspace. Civil and military airspace management relies on the idea that flight paths are knowable and can be secured. In our work on UK drone regulation, we have described low level airspace as acting like a common pool resource. This means that airspace is widely accessible. It is also difficult to keep out drones with unpredictable flightpaths. Under this vision of airspace, it can only be meaningfully governed by more agile and distributed decision making. Operation Spiderweb confirms that military airspace behaves in a similar way. Centralised systems to govern airspace can struggle to cope with what happens at the scale of the Ukrainian attacks – and the cost of failure can be strategic. Improving low-level airspace governance will require better technologies, better detection and faster responses. New sensor technologies such as passive radio frequency detectors, thermal imaging, and acoustic (sound-based) arrays can help close current visibility gaps, especially when combined. But detection alone is not enough. Interceptors including capture drones (drones that hunt and disable other drones), nets to ensnare drones, and directed energy weapons such as high powered lasers are being developed and trialled. However, most of these are limited by range, cost, or legal constraints. Nevertheless, airspace is being reshaped by new forms of access, use and improvisation. Institutions built around centralised ideas of control; air corridors, zones, and licensing are being outpaced. Security responses are struggling to adapt to the fact that airspace with drones is different. It is no longer passively governed by altitude and authority. It must be actively and differently managed. Operation Spiderweb didn't just reveal how Ukraine could strike deep into Russian territory. It showed how little margin for error there is in a world where cheap systems can be used quietly and precisely. That is not just a military challenge. It is a problem where airspace management depends less on central control and more on distributed coordination, shared monitoring and responsive intervention. The absence of these conditions is what Spiderweb exploited. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Michael A. Lewis receives funding from the ESRC, AHRC and EPSRC
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Children need more say in their education – here's why it matters
Education shouldn't be a passive experience, with children simply absorbing the knowledge teachers pass on to them. Research shows that when children have an input into their learning – helping to decide topics to cover, or specific activities, or how they are assessed – they feel more motivated, engaged in learning and happier in school. But when we asked children about their opportunities to make choices in their education, they were often downbeat. 'I'm a child and I can't do anything,' one seven-year-old said. This powerful statement captures a sentiment we found repeatedly in research for our new book. We set out to understand how much agency children have in their education, and what difference it makes when they do. Our 40-month study, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, involved in-depth research across three contrasting primary schools in England: an independent (fee-paying) school, a community state school and an academy state school. Academy schools operate independently from local council control with greater curriculum flexibility, while community schools are run directly by local authorities. We spoke with children, observed lessons and interviewed teachers and headteachers. The findings were clear: when children have meaningful input into their learning, their motivation soars. But too often, particularly in core subjects such as English and mathematics, children feel like passive recipients rather than active participants in their education. 'We don't decide, we just do what we're told to do,' one child said. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. Children across all three schools consistently expressed a desire for more choice in their education. When asked whether they had opportunities to make choices in their learning, one child at the independent school stated: 'We don't really get to choose what we do in the lessons.' This sentiment was echoed in the community state school, where children had no expectation that they could have input into the curriculum. They also distinguished between 'work' (subjects such as English and mathematics) and 'fun' (creative subjects such as art). They described how they enjoyed the latter while the former were subjects they simply 'had to do'. Most revealing was the contrasting experience in the academy school, which had developed a distinctive approach to curriculum design involving direct pupil input. Here, children reported significantly higher levels of engagement. 'I really enjoy school, and I really enjoy being able to pick what we do,' one child told us. These voices highlight a crucial point: children don't expect complete freedom, but they do want meaningful opportunities to influence their experience of school. Our research led to the development of what we call 'structured freedom' – a balanced approach that maintains necessary educational structures while creating space for children's agency. This isn't about abandoning standards or letting children do whatever they want. Instead, it's about giving children opportunities for meaningful choice within clear frameworks. The academy school in our study demonstrated this approach most clearly. The starting point for each year's curriculum was children helping to shape curriculum topics. They brought in items of interest, ranging from Coca-Cola bottles to pieces of rock. The teachers then connected these objects to required curriculum content through conversations with the children. The school maintained clear classroom structures but provided choices about learning activities and assessment methods. Children could select which skills to work on during lessons – whether knowledge-building, research or collaboration – and at what difficulty level. They also documented their learning journey creatively in topic books using photos, pictures, drawings, diagrams or stories. This balanced approach paid dividends. Teachers reported higher engagement among children, and genuine enthusiasm for learning across subjects. England's national curriculum has a heavy focus on content – the topics to be taught – and limited attention to children's agency. However, the national curriculum is under review. This provides a rare opportunity to place children's agency at the heart of educational reform – not at the expense of standards, but as an essential component of achieving them. Our findings also suggest several important considerations for parents. Children who experience agency in their learning show greater motivation, engagement and more positive attitudes toward education. With rising concerns about children's mental health and increasing school absenteeism, supporting agency offers a practical way to reconnect children with learning. Parents might consider asking schools about opportunities for children's input into curriculum topics, teaching approaches and assessment methods. The schools in our study often struggled to enable children's agency, but they also showed possibilities for the next national curriculum. Listening to children's voices isn't only about rights. It's about creating more effective learning experiences that prepare children for an uncertain future. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Yana Manyukhina received funding from The Leverhulme Trust for the research reported in this article. She has received funding from a range of organisations for research including from the Helen Hamlyn Trust. Dominic Wyse received funding from The Leverhulme Trust for the research reported in this article. He has received funding from a range of organisations for his research including from the Helen Hamlyn Trust. Dominic is currently an advisor for the development of the primary curriculum in Ireland and a member of the Literacy Expert Panel for the Welsh Government.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
How vitamin B12 deficiency may disrupt pregnant women's bodies
Despite living in an age of dietary abundance, vitamin B12 deficiency is on the rise. One major culprit? Our growing reliance on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) – those convenient, calorie-dense and nutrient-poor products that dominate supermarket shelves. While they might fill us up, they're fuelling a global epidemic of 'hidden hunger'. This refers to a lack of essential micronutrients including B12, folate, iron and zinc, even when people consume enough (or too many) calories. It's often invisible but can have long-term consequences, particularly for vulnerable groups like pregnant women, children and the elderly. B12 deficiency in pregnancy, especially in the context of a diet high in ultra-processed foods, can disturb how fat is processed and increase systemic inflammation. This raises the risk of long-term health problems for both mother and baby. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. A recent study shed light on how B12 deficiency during pregnancy may disrupt two critical systems in the body: fat metabolism and inflammation – both of which are closely linked to chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers studied fat tissue from 115 pregnant women with low B12 levels, focusing on two types of abdominal fat: subcutaneous (under the skin) and omental or visceral (around the organs). They also examined lab-grown fat cells exposed to different B12 levels and collected samples from women of different body weights. The results were striking. Women with low B12 had higher body weight and lower levels of HDL (the 'good' form of cholesterol). Their fat cells showed increased fat storage, reduced fat breakdown, and impaired mitochondrial function – the energy engines inside our cells. Most concerning, these women's fat tissue released higher levels of inflammatory molecules, suggesting that B12 deficiency might place the body into a constant state of low-grade stress. What sets B12 apart from other vitamins is that it's made exclusively by bacteria and archaea (tiny single-celled organisms similar to bacteria but with important genetic and biochemical differences). Neither plants, animals nor humans can produce B12. Some scientists even speculate that B12 may have formed prebiotically, before life itself began. It shares part of its structure, known as a tetrapyrrole ring, with several other of life's most vital compounds including chlorophyll (for photosynthesis) and heme (for carrying oxygen in our blood). Although heme has typically been seen as the elder of all these molecules, recent evidence suggests B12 might have come first. Its core structure – a tetrapyrrole known as the corrin ring – has been found in bacteria that don't produce heme at all, hinting at even deeper evolutionary roots. Because humans can't make B12, we depend on our diet to get it. Ruminant animals like cows and sheep are able to host B12-producing bacteria in their stomachs and absorb the nutrient directly. We, however, must obtain it from animal-based foods – or from supplements and fortified products. Since plants neither produce nor store B12, vegetarians and vegans are at higher risk of this deficiency unless they supplement regularly. As diets become more processed and less diverse, B12 intake and absorption drops, leading to problems in brain function, metabolism and fetal development. Often, the deficiency isn't spotted until symptoms become serious or irreversible. The takeaway is that we need to pay more attention to micronutrients, not just calories. Ensuring adequate B12 levels, particularly before and during pregnancy, is crucial. That means prioritising whole foods, fruits, vegetables and quality sources of protein, while limiting ultra-processed products. From the primordial soup to the modern dinner plate, vitamin B12 is more than a nutrient – it's a molecular link between our evolutionary past and our future health. Recognising its importance might just be one of the most powerful steps we can take toward a healthier, more informed life. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Adaikala Antonysunil receives funding from DRWF, BBSRC, Rosetrees Trust and Society of Endocrinology.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
We found a germ that ‘feeds' on hospital plastic
Plastic pollution is one of the defining environmental challenges of our time – and some of nature's tiniest organisms may offer a surprising way out. In recent years, microbiologists have discovered bacteria capable of breaking down various types of plastic, hinting at a more sustainable path forward. These 'plastic-eating' microbes could one day help shrink the mountains of waste clogging landfills and oceans. But they are not always a perfect fix. In the wrong environment, they could cause serious problems. Plastics are widely used in hospitals in things such as sutures (especially the dissolving type), wound dressings and implants. So might the bacteria found in hospitals break down and feed on plastic? Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. To find out, we studied the genomes of known hospital pathogens (harmful bacteria) to see if they had the same plastic-degrading enzymes found in some bacteria in the environment. We were surprised to find that some hospital germs, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, might be able to break down plastic. P aeruginosa is associated with about 559,000 deaths globally each year. And many of the infections are picked up in hospitals. Patients on ventilators or with open wounds from surgery or burns are at particular risk of a P aeruginosa infection. As are those who have catheters. We decided to move forward from our computational search of bacterial databases to test the plastic-eating ability of P aeruginosa in the laboratory. We focused on one specific strain of this bacterium that had a gene for making a plastic-eating enzyme. It had been isolated from a patient with a wound infection. We discovered that not only could it break down plastic, it could use the plastic as food to grow. This ability comes from an enzyme we named Pap1. P aeruginosa is considered a high-priority pathogen by the World Health Organization. It can form tough layers called biofilms that protect it from the immune system and antibiotics, which makes it very hard to treat. Our group has previously shown that when environmental bacteria form biofilms, they can break down plastic faster. So we wondered whether having a plastic-degrading enzyme might help P aeruginosa to be a pathogen. Strikingly, it does. This enzyme made the strain more harmful and helped it build bigger biofilms. To understand how P aeruginosa was building a bigger biofilm when it was on plastic, we broke the biofilm apart. Then we analysed what the biofilm was made of and found that this pathogen was producing bigger biofilms by including the degraded plastic in this slimy shield – or 'matrix', as it is formally known. P aeruginosa was using the plastic as cement to build a stronger bacterial community. Pathogens like P aeruginosa can survive for a long time in hospitals, where plastics are everywhere. Could this persistence in hospitals be due to the pathogens' ability to eat plastics? We think this is a real possibility. Many medical treatments involve plastics, such as orthopaedic implants, catheters, dental implants and hydrogel pads for treating burns. Our study suggests that a pathogen that can degrade the plastic in these devices could become a serious issue. This can make the treatment fail or make the patient's condition worse. Thankfully, scientists are working on solutions, such as adding antimicrobial substances to medical plastics to stop germs from feeding on them. But now that we know that some germs can break down plastic, we'll need to consider that when choosing materials for future medical use. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Ronan McCarthy receives funding from the BBSRC, NC3Rs, Academy of Medical Sciences, Horizon 2020, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Innovate UK, NERC and the Medical Research Council. He is also Director of the Antimicrobial Innovations Centre at Brunel University of London. Rubén de Dios receives funding from the BBSRC and the Medical Research Council.
