Quantum Computers May Soon Break Major Encryption Methods
Researchers from Caltech and quantum startup Oratomic have reported that quantum computers with as few as 10,000 qubits could potentially break widely used encryption methods, including elliptic curve cryptography, which secures Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets. Their findings suggest that a system with around 26,000 qubits could crack this encryption in approximately 10 days, while RSA-2048 would require about 100,000 qubits and three months to break. This marks a significant reduction in the estimated quantum computing power needed for such tasks, raising concerns about the security of current digital communications.
Only Half of Social Science Studies Found Replicable
The Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE) project, involving 865 researchers and spanning 3,900 social-science papers, found that only half of the studies could be replicated, highlighting ongoing concerns about the reliability of scientific results. The initiative, funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, assessed reproducibility, robustness, and replicability across various fields, including economics and psychology. Researchers emphasized the importance of transparency and data sharing to enhance the credibility of research findings.
Study links physical activity to lower mortality in midlife
Researchers at the University of Sydney, led by Dr. Binh Nguyen, conducted a study involving 11,169 Australian women aged 45 to 64, tracking their physical activity over 15 years. The findings revealed that only 5.3% of women who consistently engaged in at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each week died during the study, compared to 10.4% of those who remained inactive, indicating that sustained physical activity significantly reduces the risk of early death in midlife.
Johns Hopkins Develops Digital Twins to Improve Heart Ablation
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed digital twins of patients' hearts to enhance the effectiveness of cardiac ablation procedures for ventricular tachycardia, a serious arrhythmia. In a clinical trial involving 10 patients, the use of these digital replicas allowed doctors to accurately identify and target areas for ablation, resulting in all participants being free of sustained faulty heart rhythms months later. The findings, published in the _New England Journal of Medicine_, indicate that this technology could significantly improve treatment outcomes for patients with life-threatening heart conditions.
