LESS is More: Code-Based Signatures without Syndromes

Devising efficient and secure signature schemes based on coding theory is still considered a challenge by the cryptographic community. In this paper, we construct a signature scheme by exploring a new approach to the area. To do this, we design a zero-knowledge identification scheme, which we then render static via standard means (e.g. Fiat-Shamir). We show that practical instances of our protocol have the potential to outperform the state of the art on code-based signatures, achieving small data sizes with a low computational complexity

Fundamentalism and the changing religious field

Drawing on sources from across the sociology of religion, this article argues that processes associated with modernisation have facilitated the emergence of fundamentalist movements by transforming the religious field. First, an increase in certain forms of reflexivity has disrupted the close fit between the field and the disposition of individuals, causing them to look for new narratives that can give authenticity to their lives. Second, in every religion there exists to some extent a plurality of sites of authority, but the intensification of this plurality has resulted in the emergence of new strategies in the religious field and the formation of new social organisations. Third, the failure of national institutions to provide economic and social certainties and security has made these new organisations attractive to individuals seeking a source of social and symbolic order

Selective Y centromere inactivation triggers chromosome shattering in micronuclei and repair by non-homologous end joining

Chromosome missegregation into a micronucleus can cause complex and localized genomic rearrangements known as chromothripsis, but the underlying mechanisms remain unresolved. Here we developed an inducible Y centromere-selective inactivation strategy by exploiting a CENP-A/histone H3 chimaera to directly examine the fate of missegregated chromosomes in otherwise diploid human cells. Using this approach, we identified a temporal cascade of events that are initiated following centromere inactivation involving chromosome missegregation, fragmentation, and re-ligation that span three consecutive cell cycles. Following centromere inactivation, a micronucleus harbouring the Y chromosome is formed in the first cell cycle. Chromosome shattering, producing up to 53 dispersed fragments from a single chromosome, is triggered by premature micronuclear condensation prior to or during mitotic entry of the second cycle. Lastly, canonical non-homologous end joining (NHEJ), but not homology-dependent repair, is shown to facilitate re-ligation of chromosomal fragments in the third cycle. Thus, initial errors in cell division can provoke further genomic instability through fragmentation of micronuclear DNAs coupled to NHEJ-mediated reassembly in the subsequent interphase.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant HG007852