Cryptographers Achieve Perfect Secrecy

Even when the devices used to share them cannot be trusted.

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser CRYPTOGRAPHY | ALL TOPICS   Cryptographers Achieve Perfect Secrecy With Imperfect Devices By MORDECHAI RORVIG For the first time, experiments demonstrate the possibility of sharing secrets with perfect privacy — even when the devices used to share them cannot be trusted. Read the article COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY   Most Complete Model of a Cell Probes Life's Hidden Rules By YASEMIN SAPLAKOGLU A 3D digital model of a "minimal cell" leads scientists closer to understanding the barest requirements for life. Read the blog Related:  Math Reveals the Secrets of Cells' Feedback Circuitry by XiaoZhi Lim (2019) INSIGHTS PUZZLE   Play First and Lose: Zugzwang in Chess, Math and Pizzas By PRADEEP MUTALIK Solving this month's puzzle column should give you a leg up at winning chess and claiming the largest slice from a pizza. Solve the puzzle Related:  In Mathematics, It Often Takes a Good Map to Find Answers by Kevin Hartnett (2020) Q&A   In Search of Cracks in Albert Einstein's Theory of Gravity By THOMAS LEWTON; Video by EMILY BUDER Celia Escamilla-Rivera is combining large data sets with supercomputers to test general relativity against its little-known competitors. Read the interview Watch the video Around the Web Extinction in Springtime Isotope analysis of fish fossils from North Dakota suggests that the meteor strike that caused the dinosaur extinction occurred in the springtime, Kenneth Chang reports for The New York Times. This is a new piece in the puzzle of dinosaur extinction, which has only recently started coming together. In 2020 the paleontologist Pincelli Hull found conclusive evidence that the extinction was caused by an asteroid impact rather than volcanism. Joshua Sokol interviewed her for Quanta. Volcanic Skies on Saturn On Saturn, auroras are fueled by cryovolcanos on its moon Enceladus that spew plasma into the atmosphere. Robin George Andrews writes for WIRED about this new discovery. Last year, he wrote for Quanta about how auroras were finally identified as the solution to a 50-year-old mystery: Why are Saturn and Jupiter hot despite being so far from the sun? Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2022 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation