圖靈獎授予量子密碼學發明者

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

Turing Award Goes to Inventors of Quantum Cryptography

In the 1980s, Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard created a new kind of encryption that would be impregnable.

The NYT - By Cade Metz - Cade Metz has reported on quantum technologies since the 1990s.

March 18, 2026

Updated 8:19 a.m. ET

In the mid-1980s, Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard invented an encryption technology that could theoretically never be broken.

Called quantum cryptography, their technology relied on quantum mechanics, the strange and powerful behavior exhibited by electrons, photons and other very small things.

At the time, their technique was a fascinating but impractical creation. Forty years later, it is poised to become an essential way of protecting the world’s most sensitive information.

On Wednesday, the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest society of computing professionals, said Drs. Bennett and Brassard had won this year’s Turing Award for their work on quantum cryptography and related technologies. The Turing Award, which was introduced in 1966, is often called the Nobel Prize of computing, and it includes a $1 million prize, which the two scientists will share.

In recent years, companies like Google and Microsoft have made great strides toward building a new kind of computer, called a quantum computer, which also relies on the counterintuitive properties of quantum mechanics. Experts believe that such a machine will soon be powerful enough to crack the encryption techniques that have guarded the world’s secrets since the 1970s.

If that happens, governments, businesses and even individuals will need the cryptographic techniques developed by Dr. Bennett, 82, a researcher at an IBM computer science lab in Yorktown, N.Y., and Dr. Brassard, 70, a professor at the University of Montreal.

The two met in 1979 while swimming in the Atlantic just off the north shore of Puerto Rico. They were taking a break while attending an academic conference in San Juan. Dr. Bennett swam up to Dr. Brassard and suggested they use quantum mechanics to create a bank note that could never be forged.

“It was a bit shocking,” Dr. Brassard remembered in an interview. “That is not something that happens every day.”

Collaborating between Montreal and New York, they applied Dr. Bennett’s idea to subway tokens rather than bank notes. In a research paper published in 1983, they showed that their quantum subway tokens could never be forged, even if someone managed to steal the subway turnstile housing the elaborate hardware needed to read them.

This led to quantum cryptography. After describing their new form of encryption in a research paper published in 1984, they demonstrated the technology with a physical experiment five years later.

Called BB84, their system used photons — particles of light — to create encryption keys used to lock and unlock digital data. Thanks to the laws of quantum mechanics, the behavior of a photon changes if someone looks at it. This means that if anyone tries to steal the keys, he or she will leave a telltale sign of the attempted theft — a bit like breaking the seal on an aspirin bottle.

“They introduced a totally new way of thinking about encryption,” said Prineha Narang, a professor of physical sciences and electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The fundamental laws of physics can make it unhackable.”

The importance of this creation was first shown in 1994 when Peter Shor, a researcher at Bell Labs in New Jersey, proved that a quantum computer could break encryption schemes that did not rely on the techniques laid out by Drs. Bennett and Brassard.

That same decade, the two computer scientists took their ideas a step further. Alongside other researchers, they showed that data could be securely transmitted over long distances in a way that many scientists, even Albert Einstein, had deemed impossible.

Called quantum teleportation, their technique relied on a quantum property called “entanglement.” This is when two quantum objects — such as two electrons — are linked to each other, even though they are very far away.

As companies like Google and Microsoft create increasingly powerful quantum computers, quantum teleportation — what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance” — could profoundly change the way data travels from place to place.

Quantum teleportation could move information between quantum computers — and it could do so in a way that prevents anyone from intercepting it. In other words, Drs. Bennett and Brassard helped create what may be the computer networks of the future. And they ensured that these networks could stand up to hackers.

“For a long time, it was not clear how these ideas would be used,” Dr. Narang said. “Now, small companies, large companies and even the U.S. government is trying to deploy this technology.”

Translation

圖靈獎授予量子密碼學發明者

在 1980 年代，Charles Bennett和Gilles Brassard發明了一種理論上無法被攻破的新型加密技術

在 1980 年代中期，Charles Bennett和Gilles Brassard發明了一種理論上永遠無法破解的加密技術。

這項技術被稱為量子密碼學，它是基於量子力學 中的電子、光子和其他微小粒子所展現出的奇特而強有力行為。

當時，這項技術令人著迷，但卻不切實際。四十年後，它有望成為保護世界上最敏感資訊的重要手段。

週三，全球最大的電腦專業人士協會 - 美國電腦協會（ACM）宣佈Bennett博士和Brassard博士因其在量子密碼學及相關技術領域的研究而榮獲今年的圖靈獎。圖靈獎設立於1966年，常被譽為電腦界的諾貝爾獎，獎金高達100萬美元，將由兩位科學家共同分享。

近年來，Google和微軟等公司在建立一種名為量子電腦的新型電腦方面取得了長足進展。量子電腦同樣依賴量子力學的反直覺特性。專家認為，這種機器很快就能強大到足以破解自1970年代以來守護世界機密的加密技術。

如果這種情況發生，各國政府、企業甚至個人都將需要Bennett博士（現年82歲，紐約州約克鎮IBM電腦科學實驗室的研究員）和 Brassard博士（現年70歲，蒙特利爾大學教授）開發的加密技術。

兩人於1979年在波多黎各北岸附近的大西洋游泳時相遇。當時他們正在聖胡安參加一個學術會議，並在休息時相遇。Bennett博士游到Brassard博士身邊，提議他們利用量子力學製造一種永遠無法偽造的鈔票。

Brassard博士在一次採訪中回憶道: “這有點令人震驚” ， “這種事可不是每天都會發生的。”

他們在滿地可和紐約兩地合作，將Bennett博士的想法應用於地鐵代幣而非鈔票。在1983年發表的一篇研究論文中，他們證明，即使有人設法偷走了裝有讀取代幣所需複雜硬體的地鐵閘機，他們的量子地鐵代幣也永遠無法偽造。

這催生了量子密碼學。在1984年發表的一篇研究論文中描述了他們的新型加密方法後，五年後，他們透過一項物理實驗驗證了這項技術。

他們的系統名為 BB84，使用光子（光粒子）來創建加密密鑰，用於鎖定和解鎖數位資料。基於量子力學定律，光子的行為會因被注視而改變。這意味著，如果有人試圖竊取密鑰，就會留下盜竊未遂的痕跡 - 就像打開阿斯匹靈藥瓶的封條一樣。

加州大學洛杉磯分校物理科學與電子和計算機工程教授Prineha Narang說道:“他們引入了一種全新的加密思路”，“基於物理定律使這種加密方式無法破解。”

這項發明的重要性在1994年首次體現。當時，新澤西州貝爾實驗室的研究員Peter Shor證明，量子電腦可以破解那些不依賴Bennett和Brassard兩位博士所提出的加密方案。

在同一時期，這兩位電腦科學家將他們的想法進一步發展。他們與其他研究人員一起證明，數據可以安全地遠距離傳輸，而許多科學家，甚至包括愛因斯坦，都曾認為這是不可能的。

這項被稱為量子傳送的技術依賴一種名為「糾纏」的量子特性。糾纏是指兩個量子物體 - 例如兩個電子 - 即使相距十分遙遠，也能彼此相連。

隨著Google和微軟等公司不斷開發出功能日益強大的量子計算機， 量子傳送- 愛因斯坦稱之為「幽靈般的超距作用」- 可能會徹底改變數據傳輸的方式。

量子傳送可以在量子電腦之間傳輸訊息，並且能夠防止任何人攔截訊息。換句話說，Bennett博士和Brassard博士幫助創建了未來電腦網路的基礎架構，並確保這些網路能夠抵禦駭客攻擊。

Narang博士說: 「長期以來，這些想法將如何應用尚不明確」 ，「現在，小公司、大公司，甚至美國政府都在嘗試部署這項技術」。

              So, two features in the field of quantum mechanics have made a new kind of encryption impregnable. First, the laws of quantum mechanics point out that the behavior of a photon will change if someone looks at it. That means if anyone tries to steal the data, a telltale sign of an attempted theft could be noted. Second, based on the quantum property it is pointed out that two electrons are linked to each other, even though they are very far away. A technique called quantum teleportation is thus made possible.  Apparently, these features could enable us to change our way to conduct data travels from place to place.

Note:

1. The ACM A. M. Turing Award (圖靈獎) is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. The award is named after Alan Turing, also referred as "Father of Computer Science", who was a British mathematician and reader in mathematics at the University of Manchester. Born in London, Turing was raised in southern England. He graduated from King's College, Cambridge, and in 1938, earned a doctorate degree from Princeton University. During World War II, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, Britain's codebreaking center that produced Ultra intelligence. He led Hut 8, the section responsible for German naval cryptanalysis. (Wikipedia)

2. Encryption keys (加密密鑰) are the core building blocks of secure communication in cryptography, they’re what lock (encrypt) and unlock (decrypt) data so only authorized parties can access it.  An encryption key is a string of bits (numbers) used by an algorithm to transform readable data (plaintext) into unreadable data (ciphertext), and back again. (ChatGPT)

3.  Quantum teleportation (量子傳送) refers to the process of transferring quantum information from one location to another, without physically moving the particle itself, utilizing entanglement. (ChatGPT)

February's Number of Foreign Tourists in Japan Reaches Record High for February, Despite Decline in Visitors from China

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

2月の訪日外国人旅行者数 2月として過去最高 中国からは減少

2026年3月18日午後5時58分

観光

先月、日本を訪れた外国人旅行者は346万人余りと、去年の同じ月と比べて6.4％増え、2月として過去最高でした。中国からの旅行者は引き続き減少したものの、韓国や台湾からの旅行者が増え、全体を押し上げました。

日本政府観光局によりますと、先月、日本を訪れた外国人旅行者は346万6700人と、去年の同じ月と比べて6.4％増加し、2月として過去最高でした。

1月の外国人旅行者数は日中関係悪化の影響で中国からの旅行者が大幅に減ったことから、コロナ禍の2022年1月以来のマイナスでしたが、2か月ぶりに増加に転じました。

国・地域別では中国からの旅行者が例年なら春節のため伸びる時期ですが、去年の同じ月と比べて45.2％減少しました。

一方、国・地域別で旅行者数が最も多い韓国は28.2％、2番目に多い台湾は36.7％増え、全体を押し上げました。

また、前の月はマイナスだった香港も19.6％増えたほか、メキシコが42.8％、インドが22.7％それぞれ増えました。

観光庁長官 「イラン情勢の緊迫化 影響を注視」

外国人旅行者数が2か月ぶりに増加したことについて、観光庁の村田茂樹長官は「春節の時期は中国からの旅行者が通常より増える時期だがマイナスになった。しかし、全体では2月として過去最多の旅行者数となっていて好調な状況が続いている」と述べました。

そのうえで、イラン情勢の緊迫化による影響については「ヨーロッパからの訪日客が中東の空港を経由して来日する場合もあるが、大半は直行便を利用している。ただ航空燃料についても変化が見られることから、インバウンド市場全体にどのような影響があるか引き続き注視していく」と述べました。

Translation

February's Number of Foreign Tourists in Japan Reaches Record High for February, Despite Decline in Visitors from China

March 18, 2026, 5:58 PM

Tourism

Last month, over 3.46 million foreign tourists visited Japan, a 6.4% increase compared to the same month last year, marking a record high for February. While the number of tourists from China continued to decline, increases in visitors from South Korea and Taiwan boosted the overall figure.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, 3,466,700 foreign tourists visited Japan last month, a 6.4% increase compared to the same month last year, being a record high for February.

The number of foreign tourists in January was down for the first time since January 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to a significant decrease in tourists from China as a result of worsening Japan-China relations. However, it had now increased for the first time after two months.

By country/region, while the number of tourists from China would usually increase during the Lunar New Year, it decreased by 45.2% compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, South Korea, which had the highest number of tourists by country/region, saw a 28.2% increase, and Taiwan, the second highest, saw a 36.7% increase, boosting the overall figures.

In addition, Hong Kong, which had seen a decrease the previous month, increased by 19.6%, while Mexico increased by 42.8% and India by 22.7%.

Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner: "We are closely monitoring the impact of the escalating tensions in Iran"

Regarding the increase in the number of foreign tourists for the first time in two months, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Shigeki Murata (村田茂樹) stated, "While the Lunar New Year period usually sees an increase in tourists from China, this time it was a decrease. However, overall, the number of tourists in February is the highest ever, and the situation remains strong."

He further added, regarding the impact of the escalating tensions in Iran, "While some visitors from Europe arrive via airports in the Middle East, the majority use direct flights. However, since we are seeing changes in aviation fuel, we will continue to closely monitor what impact this will have on the overall inbound tourism market."

So, last month, over 3.46 million foreign tourists visited Japan, a 6.4% increase compared to the same month last year. While the number of tourists from China continued to decline, increases in visitors from South Korea and Taiwan boosted the overall figure. Apparently, the “boycott” initiated by the China is not impacting tourism in Japan.

加州一種野花揭示了新近記錄的進化過程 (2/2)

Recently the CNN.com reported the following:

A wildflower in California reveals a newly documented evolutionary process (2/2)

CNN = By Jacopo Prisco

UPDATED MAR 12, 2026

(continue)

To understand the process, the researchers kept track of wildflower populations across 19 sites, which were visited every year to assess whether the plants lived or died. They then collected seeds from the plants, grew them in a lab, and then ground up the leaves from the plants they’d grown to extract DNA.

The DNA was then used to sequence the plant’s genome — its genetic instructions. “We were able to see this rapid evolution happen within seven years,” Anstett said, adding that the genetic mutations that the plant leveraged to become drought resistant weren’t new, but probably developed a long time ago. The plants that carried these drought-resistant traits were able to survive and pass those mutations forward via the seeds.

The next step in the study, which Anstett says could eventually span 30 or 40 years, is to see whether these mutations that allowed the plants to survive the megadrought will continue to be beneficial or hinder the plants if the drought stops.

More evidence of evolutionary rescue does not make drought or climate change less concerning, but it suggests that there could be more plants or animals that might be able to show resilience under extreme duress. Key for that to happen is genetic diversity, which means that conservation efforts to keep plant populations as widespread as possible are still crucial.

“The amount of genetic variation can be critical to this adaptation,” said Anstett. “This is a hint to conservation biologists to try to improve the amount of genetic variation and the connectivity between habitats so that organisms are able to ultimately be more resilient to a range of stressors.”

‘A real breakthrough’

Demonstrating that evolutionary rescue happens in the wild and identifying the specific genes responsible has been a major outstanding goal in evolutionary and conservation biology, David Field, an associate professor of applied biosciences at Macquarie University in Australia, said in an email. Field was not involved with the new study.

“The researchers used an elegant experiment to demonstrate that evolutionary rescue actually happens in the wild in our lifetime,” he wrote in an email, adding that the study provides an important demonstration of the possibilities of using similar experiments to help conservation efforts of endangered species globally.

Other researchers who also did not participate in the research expressed similarly positive views: “This is a very important study,” Diane Campbell, distinguished professor emerita of ecology & evolutionary biology at the University of California, Irvine, said in an email. “It provides exceptionally strong evidence that a process known mostly from theory can help wild plant populations recover from the increasing droughts predicted under climate change in Mediterranean-type areas.”

A major question on the mind of botanists is whether plants can evolve in time to survive the extreme droughts that are predicted to get worse with climate change, said Isaac Lichter Marck, a botanical researcher at the California Academy of Sciences. “When faced with extreme drought, animals can move, adapt, or die — but wildflowers are rooted in place, leaving them with a much shorter list: adapt or die,” he wrote in an email.

The study is a critical model for using genomics to predict which wildflower species are vulnerable to extinction as a result of climate change, he continued. But it also raises other concerns: “Pressures like habitat loss and invasive species are eroding genetic variation in the wild. As this research shows, loss of genetic variation could make the already alarming threats from climate change even worse.”

Jeff Diez, an associate professor in the biology department of the University of Oregon, said in an email that the research represents a real breakthrough and stands out for its sheer thoroughness. “The sobering part is that it took an extraordinary effort to show this for one species,” he added. “If we want to understand how whole communities of interacting species will respond to climate change, we need to assess evolutionary potential across far more species, and there is bound to be enormous variation in which species can evolve fast enough.”

Overall, he concluded, the study contains the genuinely hopeful message that some wild plants may evolve fast enough to survive climate disruption. “But it’s also wrapped in a humbling reminder of how much we still don’t know.”

Translation

加州一種野花揭示了新近記錄的進化過程 (2/2)

（繼續）

為了了解這個過程，研究人員追蹤 19 個地點的野花族群，每年都會前往這些地點評估植物的存活情況。隨後，他們收集了植物的種子，在實驗室中培育，並將培育出的植物葉片研磨成粉末提取 DNA。

研究人員之後利用這些 DNA 對植物的基因組（即其遺傳指令）進行定序。 Anstett 說: “我們能夠在七年內觀察到這種快速進化” 。他還補充道，該植物利用的抗旱基因突變並非新的，可能在很久以前就已經產生。攜帶這些抗旱性狀的植物可以存活，並透過種子將這些突變傳遞給後代。

研究的下一步，Anstett表示最終可能會持續30或40年，就是要觀察這些使植物在超級乾旱中存活下來的突變，在乾旱停止後是否會繼續有益，還是會阻礙植物生長。

更多進化拯救的證據並不能減輕乾旱或氣候變遷帶來的擔憂，但它表明，世上可能存在更多能夠在極端困境下展現韌性的動植物。而實現這一點的關鍵在於遺傳多樣性，這意味著盡可能保持植物族群分佈廣泛的保育工作仍然至關重要。

 Anstett說: 「遺傳變異的數量對於這種適應至關重要」; 「這提示保育生物學家應該努力提高遺傳變異的數量和棲息地之間的連通性，從而使生物體最終能夠更好地應對各種壓力」。

“一個真正的突破”

澳洲麥考瑞大學應用生物科學副教授David Field在一封電子郵件中表示，這證明進化拯救現像在自然界中確實存在，而去識別出負責的特定基因，一直是進化生物學和保育生物學領域一個重大的未解目標。Field並未參與這項新研究。

他在電子郵件中寫道：「研究人員運用了一項精妙的實驗，證明了進化拯救現像在我們有生之年確實會在自然界中發生」。他還補充說，這項研究有力地證明了利用類似實驗在全球範圍內幫助瀕危物種保護工作的可能性。

其他未參與這項研究的研究人員也表達了類似的正面看法。加州大學歐文分校生態與演化生物學榮譽退休教授Diane Campbell在一封電子郵件中寫道：「這是一項非常重要的研究」; 「這項研究提供了極其有力的證據，表明一種主要存在於理論中的過程，是可以幫助野生植物種群，從氣候變遷預測到的地中海型地區的日益嚴重的干旱中恢復過來」。

加州科學院的植物研究員Isaac Lichter Marck表示，植物學家關注的一個主要問題是，植物能否及時進化以應對氣候變遷預計到會加劇的極端乾旱。他在一封電子郵件中寫道: 「面對極端乾旱，動物可以選擇遷徙、適應或死亡 - 但野花紮根於此，它們的生存選擇就少得多：要么適應，要么死亡」。

他繼續說道，這項研究為利用基因組學去預測哪些野花物種容易因氣候變遷而滅絕提供了一個重要的模型。但這項研究也引發了其他擔憂：“棲息地喪失和外來物種入侵等壓力正在侵蝕野生植物的遺傳多樣性。正如這項研究表明的那樣，遺傳多樣性的喪失可能會使氣候變遷帶來的本已令人擔憂的威脅雪上加霜。”

俄勒岡大學生物系副教授Jeff Diez在電子郵件中表示，這項研究是一項真正的突破，其嚴謹且細緻程度令人矚目。 他補充道:「令人深思的是，僅僅針對一個物種就需要付出巨大的努力」; 「如果我們想了解整個相互作用的物種群落將如何應對氣候變化時，我們需要評估更多物種的進化潛力，而它們中那種是有足夠進化速度潛力必然存在巨大差異」。

他總結道，總的來說，這項研究傳遞了一個真正令人鼓舞的訊息：一些野生植物或許能夠進化到足以應對氣候變遷的速度。 “但它同時也包裹著一個令人謙卑的提醒，我們仍然有很多未知的領域。”

              So, in California some populations of wildflowers have defied the odds to survive an ordeal. Researchers say they now believe these flowers relied on a type of rapid genetic evolution to do this. This study provides an important demonstration of the possibilities of using similar experiments to help conservation efforts of endangered species globally. The challenging part is that it may take much effort to show this for just one species. Apparently, if we want to understand how the whole communities of interacting species will respond to climate change, we need to assess evolutionary potential across far more species, and that commands a lot of research work. The findings of this research reminder us how much we still don’t know.

加州一種野花揭示了新近記錄的進化過程（1/2）

Recently CNN.com reported the following:

A wildflower in California reveals a newly documented evolutionary process (1/2)

CNN  -  By Jacopo Prisco

UPDATED MAR 12, 2026

During California’s worst dry spell in the past 1,200 years, some populations of wildflowers defied the odds to survive the ordeal. Researchers say they now believe these flowers relied on a type of rapid genetic evolution — the first time such a phenomenon has been documented in the wild.

The dry spell happened between 2012 and 2015, and killed more than 100 million trees. It was a particularly brutal period during an ongoing megadrought that began in 2000 and which has been made worse by climate change. Even though the drought killed plants that are normally drought-resistant, the scarlet monkeyflower, a bright red wildflower that thrives in wet areas, and along creek beds and springs, showed remarkable resilience.

A team of researchers spent eight years studying 55 populations of the wildflower, whose scientific name is Mimulus cardinalis, by keeping track of its numbers in the wild and sequencing the flowers’ genomes to reveal genetic shifts.

“We were able to show that these populations across the range in California were declining due to this extreme drought, and we found evidence of a rapid evolution across the genome,” said Daniel Anstett, an assistant professor at the School of Integrative Plant Science of Cornell University and first author of a study on the findings, which published Thursday in the journal Science. “And then we were able to relate a metric of this evolution to the ability of these populations to recover and to not go extinct.”

While the entire species was not at risk of extinction, individual flower populations likely were, suffering declines of up to 90% compared to peak population sizes. It took about two to three years for these populations to rebound, according to Anstett.

This rapid comeback is a process biologists call evolutionary rescue, which happens when a species is able to recover from the threat of extinction by an external factor such as a drought, Anstett explained. “Evolutionary rescue occurs when the few individuals that are left have the right genetic makeup to do better than the ones that died, so they do well or thrive within these new conditions, so the population inches back from extinction,” he said.

Evolutionary rescue has been demonstrated in lab settings but researchers only had partial observations of it in the wild before: in cancer resistance in Tasmanian devils and adaptation to pollution in killifish. However, these studies did not provide full evidence that the process was taking place.

This study, Anstett said, offers rigorous evidence that evolution happened and it led to a demographic recovery. “We had a lot of information about the wildflowers’ demography and the genes, so that provided more ironclad information that ultimately evolutionary rescue was happening.”

A great indicator of drought

The scarlet monkeyflower is a perennial herb, meaning it regrows each season from the same roots. It’s pollinated by hummingbirds and can grow up to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

“This plant is found in streams in California, Baja California and Southern Oregon that are often seeps of water that seasonally flow through habitat,” said Anstett. “It really requires that flowing water to complete its life cycle and then be able to grow all the way up to seed, so it’s a great indicator of drought.”

When a drought comes, Anstett explained, water stops flowing, so the plant has two choices: grow rapidly and produce flowers and seeds before the drought really takes hold — or grow much more slowly and perhaps live for another year. This latter strategy is what the wildflowers used. “What we saw was that the plants were, in fact, developing more slowly and going more towards bunkering down, living longer, growing less fast, which is called drought avoidance,” Anstett said.

(to be continued)

Translation

加州一種野花揭示了一種新近記錄的進化過程（1/2）

在加州近1,200年來最嚴重的乾旱期間，一些野花種群奇蹟般地存活了下來。研究人員表示，他們現在認為這些花依靠的是一種快速的基因演化 - 這是首次在野外記錄到這種現象。

這場乾旱發生在2012年至2015年間，造成超過1億棵樹木死亡。這是自2,000年開始的持續特大乾旱期間的一個特別殘酷的時期，而氣候變遷加劇了這場乾旱。儘管乾旱殺死了許多通常耐旱的植物，但一種生長在濕地、溪床和泉水邊的鮮紅色野花 - 猩紅猴面花 - 卻展現出了驚人的韌性。

一個研究團隊花了八年時間研究了 55 個野生花種群，這種野生花的學名是 Mimulus cardinalis，他們透過追蹤野生花的數量並對花朵的基因組進行測序，揭示了基因變化。

這項研究成果於週四發表在《科學》雜誌上。 康奈爾大學綜合植物科學學院助理教授、該研究的第一作者Daniel Anstett說道:「我們發現，由於極端乾旱，加州各地的猴面花種群數量都在下降，並且我們發現了基因組快速進化的證據」，「然後我們就能夠將這種演變的指標，與這些族群的復原並避免滅絕的能力聯繫起來」。

雖然整個物種沒有滅絕的風險，但個別猴面花族群可能面臨滅絕，其數量與族群高峰相比下降了高達90%。Anstett表示，這些族群大約花了兩到三年的時間才恢復過來。

Anstett解釋說生物學家將這種快速復甦的過程稱為 “進化拯救” ，當一個物種能夠從乾旱等外部因素造成的滅絕威脅中恢復過來時，就會發生這種情況。他說: 「當倖存的少數個體擁有比死亡個體更合適的基因組成時，進化拯救就會發生，它們能夠在新的環境中生存或繁衍，從而使族群逐漸擺脫滅絕的威脅」。

演化拯救已在實驗室環境中得到證實，但先前研究人員在野外僅對其進行過部分觀察：例如塔斯馬尼亞袋獾的抗癌能力和鱂魚對污染的適應能力。然而，這些研究並沒有提供充分的證據證明這個過程正在發生。

Anstett表示，這項研究提供了嚴謹的證據，證明演化確實發生，最終導致了族群數量的恢復。 “我們掌握了大量關於野花種群數量和基因的信息，這為我們提供了更確鑿的證據，證明進化拯救最終確實發生了。”

絕佳的乾旱指標

猩紅猴面花是一種多年生草本植物，這意味著它每年都會從同一根系重新生長。它由蜂鳥授粉，株高可達 3 英尺，株寬可達 3 英尺。

Anstett說: 「這種植物生長在加州、下加利福尼亞州和俄勒岡州南部的溪流中，這些溪流通常是季節性流經棲息地的滲水處」， 「它非常需要流動的水來完成其生命週期，並最終結籽，因此它是指示出有乾旱的絕佳植物」。

Anstett解釋說，當乾旱來臨時，水流停止，植物有兩種選擇：要么快速生長，在乾旱真正到來之前開花結籽；要么生長緩慢，或許可以再活一年。野花們選擇了後者策略。 Anstett說: 「我們觀察到，這些植物實際上發展得更慢，更傾向於固守生長模式，壽命延長，生長速度降低，這被稱為抗旱」。

（待續）

Note:

1. Tasmanian devil (袋獾) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now confined to the island of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, the Tasmanian devil became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is related to quolls, and distantly related to the thylacine. (Wikipedia)

2. Killifish (鳉鱼) are a type of small freshwater or brackish water fish, mainly belonging to the family Cyprinodontidae within the order Cyprinodontiformes. They are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical swamps, streams, and other waters in the Americas, Africa, and parts of Europe. (Baidu)

US Consumer Price Index Rises 2.4% in February, Matching Market Expectations

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

US Consumer Price Index (Source: NHK)

米 2月の消費者物価指数 2.4％上昇 市場の予想と同水準

2026年3月11日午後10時15分

(2026年3月12日午前0時19分更新)

消費者物価指数

円相場や株価にも影響するアメリカの2月の消費者物価指数は、去年の同じ月と比べて2.4％の上昇となり、1月から横ばいでした。ただ、イラン情勢を受けてガソリン価格が足元で大幅に値上がりするなど、今後、インフレが再加速するとの警戒感も強まっています。

アメリカ労働省が11日に発表した2月の消費者物価指数は、去年の同じ月と比べて2.4％の上昇となりました。

これは市場の予想と同じ水準で、前の月から横ばいでした。

項目別に見ると、ガス代が10.9％、電気代が4.8％、外食費が3.9％、それぞれ上昇した一方で、中古車・中古トラックは3.2％下落しました。

また、変動の大きい食品やエネルギーを除いたいわゆるコアの物価指数は去年の同じ月と比べて2.5％の上昇となり、こちらも前の月から横ばいでした。

今回の統計にはイラン情勢による影響は反映されていませんが、原油の先物価格が上昇する中、ガソリン価格が足元で大幅に値上がりするなど、今後、インフレが再加速するとの警戒感も強まっています。

Translation

US Consumer Price Index Rises 2.4% in February, Matching Market Expectations

March 11, 2026, 10:15 PM

(Updated March 12, 2026, 12:19 AM)

Consumer Price Index

The US Consumer Price Index for February, which would also affect the yen exchange rate and stock prices, rose 2.4% compared to the same month last year, remaining flat from January. However, concerns were growing that inflation might accelerate again in the future due to the recent sharp rise in gasoline prices in response to the situation in Iran.

The US Department of Labor announced on the 11th that the Consumer Price Index for February rose 2.4% compared to the same month last year.

This was in line with market expectations and remained flat since the previous month.

Looking at individual items, gas prices rose 10.9%, electricity prices 4.8%, and dining out prices 3.9%, while used cars and trucks fell 3.2%.

Furthermore, the so-called core price index which excluded volatile food and energy prices rose 2.5% compared to the same month last year, this also remained unchanged since the previous month.

While this statistic had not reflected the impact of the situation in Iran, concerns were growing that inflation might accelerate again in the future given the recent sharp rise in gasoline prices etc. amid rising crude oil futures prices.

So, the US Consumer Price Index for February rose 2.4% compared to the same month last year, remaining flat since January. However, concerns are growing that inflation may accelerate again soon due to the situation in Iran.

美國對石油的依賴遠低於以往

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

America Depends Less on Oil Than Ever

Gasoline still drives household budgets, but energy efficiency and renewables have reduced the economy’s overall reliance on petroleum.

The New York Times - By Lydia DePillis, Karl Russell contributed reporting.

March 14, 2026, 5:02 a.m. ET

War with Iran has frozen commerce in the Persian Gulf and boosted oil prices by more than 50 percent worldwide, translating almost immediately into higher gasoline costs. It’s the largest global oil disruption ever and is likely to accelerate inflation throughout this year.

And yet, in the United States, the impact is much more muted than it would have been a few decades ago.

That’s in part because America uses less energy per unit of economic output than it used to. In economist-speak, the U.S. economy is less “energy intensive,” for a few reasons.

One, the U.S. economy now depends largely on services like health care, retail and entertainment, which require much less energy than manufacturing industries. There are only about 21 million jobs in goods-producing sectors, while private services employ 114 million people.

And two, the machines that Americans do use are now much more efficient, a trend that started in earnest after the oil price shocks of the 1970s. According to the Department of Transportation, the average new light-duty vehicle gets 28 miles per gallon of gas, up from 13 in 1975. Gasoline consumption rose until 2007, then leveled off as electric vehicles gained traction. As a result, consumer spending on gas as a share of discretionary income has fallen.

Economists at Wells Fargo estimate that a sustained 50 percent rise in oil prices — similar to the current situation — would have had about twice the effect in the 1980s as it would today, when it’s expected to trim about one percentage point from annual consumer spending growth.

The United States has also become the world’s largest oil and gas producer. Rather than depend on supply from the Middle East, the rest of the world now consumes petroleum products that are fracked from North Dakota and West Texas.

All that new supply helped bring down prices globally in the 2010s, especially after Congress lifted a ban on natural gas exports in 2015. Theoretically, it means that profits from oil production stay in the United States, and can be redeployed for other investment. According to research from the Dallas and Kansas Federal Reserve branches, the shale boom added 1 percent to gross domestic product.

However, it is not clear that U.S. drillers are inclined to play the role of “swing producer” again this time. Price competition during the fracking boom was ruinous for investors. Many companies went bankrupt, unable to pay back all the money they had borrowed for expensive extraction infrastructure. They learned a lesson: Don’t invest a lot of money in pumping more just because prices rise. Especially if you’re not sure whether those prices will sink back down.

“I don’t see much happening from the production side in order to mitigate the effects for the U.S. economy,” said Christiane Baumeister, an economics professor at the University of Notre Dame who studies oil markets. “Companies just prioritize delivering returns to shareholders,” she said. “I think they would rather take advantage of the current situation to increase profits rather than investing that back into expanding output.”

Another deterrent to ramping up production: Steel and aluminum tariffs have raised the cost of the pipes and valves needed for it. The number of oil rigs that are actively pumping in the United States is down 7 percent from this time last year.

Even with the U.S. oil industry operating at full steam, it doesn’t generate many benefits for U.S. workers, as oil companies have learned how to operate with fewer people. The United States is pumping more oil and gas than ever, but the extraction, drilling and oil field services industries have been shedding jobs. The sector employs about 363,000 people, which is about 0.2 percent of all employment.

The Shale Jobs Boom Is Over

And despite the huge boom in U.S. oil production over the past 15 years, it has not become a more meaningful part of Americans’ stock portfolios. Exxon Mobil and Chevron had long been among the most valuable companies in the stock market. But the entire oil and gas sector now makes up just 3.2 percent of the S&P 500 index, down from 5.5 percent a decade ago. Their stocks had consistently underperformed the broader index, until soaring oil prices lifted their fortunes after the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

“The oil and gas industry’s financial strategy has been ‘pray for war,’ because those are the conditions under which they make money,” said Clark Williams-Derry, an oil industry financial analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “They have to have a big price spike every few years literally to make ends meet.”

The Americans most vulnerable to an oil-price shock are people with lower incomes who haven’t been able to buy their way out of gasoline dependence. Electric vehicles are more expensive than gas-powered cars, and their owners are disproportionately affluent and well educated, according to a recent paper by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. As the Trump administration rolls back energy efficiency standards for appliances and fuel economy rules for cars, oil price increases could start to have a bigger impact.

Lower-Income Americans Spend More on Fuel

Electricity bills are another substantial cost, absorbing 3.6 percent of budgets for households in the lowest 20 percent of earners, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although renewable energy sources have been supplying more of that electricity, fossil fuels still account for 60 percent.

“Talk to someone who doesn’t make a lot of money, and see if they’re resilient to oil and gas,” Mr. Williams-Derry said. “In terms of a variable expenditure that you can’t control, it’s up there.”

Translation

美國對石油的依賴遠低於以往

汽油仍然是家庭預算的主要支出，但能源效率和再生能源的發展降低了美國經濟整體地對石油的依賴

美國與伊朗的戰爭導致波斯灣地區的貿易停滯，並使全球油價上漲超過50%，幾乎立即推高了汽油價格。這是有史以​​來規模最大的全球石油供應中斷事件，並可能在今年加速通膨。

然而，在美國，戰爭的影響遠比幾十年前小得多。

部分原因是美國每單位經濟產出的能源消耗量比以往低。用經濟學家的話來說，由於以下幾個原因，美國經濟的「能源密集度」降低了。

首先，美國經濟如今主要依賴醫療保健、零售和娛樂等服務業，這些產業所需的能源遠低於製造業。商品生產業的就業人數僅約2,100萬個，而私人服務業則僱用了1.14億人。

其次，美國人使用的機器效率大幅提升，趨勢始於1970年代的石油危機之後。根據美國交通部統計，目前新型輕型車輛的平均油耗為每加侖汽油行駛28英里，高於1975年的13英里。汽油消耗量在2007年之前持續曾長，之後隨著電動車的普及而趨於平穩。因此，消費者在汽油上的支出佔可支配收入所得的比例下降。

富國銀行的經濟學家估計，如果油價持續上漲50% - 類似於目前的情況 - 其影響在1980年代將是現在的兩倍左右，現預計只會使年度消費者支出成長率下降約1個百分點。

美國也成為全球最大的石油和天然氣生產國。如今，世界其他地區不再依賴中東的供應，而是消費來自北達科他州和西德克薩斯州頁岩氣開採的石油產品。

所有這些新增供應在2010年代幫助全球油價下降，尤其是在國會於2015年解除天然氣出口禁令之後。理論上，這意味著石油生產的利潤留在美國，可以重新用於其他投資。根據達拉斯和堪薩斯聯邦儲備銀行的研究，頁岩氣繁榮使美國國內生產毛額增加了1%。

然而，目前尚不清楚美國鑽井公司是否願意再次扮演「搖擺生產商」的角色。頁岩氣繁榮時期的價格競爭給投資者帶來了毀滅性的打擊。許多公司破產，無力償還為昂貴的開採基礎設施而貸來的所有資金。他們吸取了一個教訓：不要因為價格上漲就投入大量資金增加產量。尤其是在不確定油價是否會回落的情況下。

聖母大學研究石油市場的經濟學教授 Christian Baumeister 表示:「我認為生產方面不會採取太多措施來緩解對美國經濟的影響」。她說: 「公司優先考慮的是為股東創造回報」; 「我認為他們寧願利用當前形勢增加利潤，而不是將利潤再投資於擴大產量」。

另一個阻礙增產的因素是：鋼鐵和鋁關稅提高了石油生產所需管線和閥門的成本。目前美國正在作業的鑽井平台數量比去年同期下降了7%。

即使美國石油業全力運作，也未能為美國工人帶來多少好處，因為石油公司已經學會如何以更少的人力去運作。美國的石油和天然氣產量比以往任何時候都高，但開採、鑽井和油田服務業卻一直在裁員。該行業僱用了約36.3萬人，約佔全部就業人數的0.2%。

頁岩油就業繁榮已經結束

儘管過去15年美國石油產量大幅成長，但它並未在美國人的股票投資組合中佔有更重要的地位。埃克森美孚和雪佛龍長期以來一直是股市中最有價值的公司之一。但如今，整個石油和天然氣產業在標普500指數中的佔比僅3.2%，低於十年前的5.5%。在美和以攻擊伊朗後，油價飆升才提振了它們的業績，此前它們的股票表現一直遜於大盤。

能源經濟與金融分析研究所的石油行業金融分析師Clark Williams-Derry表示:“石油和天然氣行業的財務策略一直是 ‘祈求戰爭’，因為只有在戰爭時期他們才能賺錢” ;“他們必須每隔幾年就經歷一次油價大幅上漲才能維持收支平衡。”

最容易受到油價衝擊的美國人是低收入者難以擺脫對汽油的依賴。卡內基美隆大學研究人員最近發表的一篇論文指出，電動車比汽油車更貴，而且電動車的車主往往更富裕、受過良好教育。隨著特朗普政府逐步取消家用電器能源效率標準和汽車燃油效率規定，油價上漲的影響可能會越來越大。

低收入美國人用較多錢在燃料上

電費是另一項重大開支，根據美國勞工統計局的數據顯示，電費佔收入最低的20%家庭預算的3.6%。儘管再生能源的電力供應佔比不斷提高，但化石燃料仍佔60%。

Williams-Derry先生說: 「和那些收入不高的人聊聊，看看他們是否能承受得住石油和天然氣的衝擊」; 「就你無法控制的可變動支出而言，這筆開支是相當可觀」。

        So, the war with Iran has boosted oil prices by more than 50 percent worldwide. But in the United States, the impact is much lighter than it would have been a few decades ago. In economic terms, the U.S. economy is less “energy intensive.” U.S. economy now depends largely on services like health care, retail and entertainment, which require much less energy than manufacturing industries. The Americans most vulnerable to an oil-price shock are those with lower incomes who haven’t been able to reduce their gasoline dependence.

科學家窺見新疫情的起源（2/2）

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

Scientists Get a Glimpse of How New Pandemics Are Made (2/2)

Researchers have devised a new tool for discerning between naturally occurring viral outbreaks and those resulting from lab accidents.

The NYT - By Carl Zimmer

March 9, 2026

Updated 9:43 a.m. ET

(continue)

Since then, researchers have not found direct evidence to test this scenario or others like it. But the new study by Dr. Wertheim and his colleagues concluded that the 1977 virus underwent some odd evolution before the pandemic — and that the mutations it gained bear patterns identical to those found in viruses that are grown in labs.

Gigi Gronvall, a biosecurity expert at Johns Hopkins University, said that the new study suggests that the 1977 pandemic began as a vaccine trial. “It’s more evidence that they were trying to create an attenuated vaccine and failed spectacularly,” she said.

Spyros Lytras, a virologist at the University of Tokyo who was not involved in the new study, said the study’s methodology offered a new tool for tracing the origin of outbreaks. “The genetic data holds a robust signal that can distinguish between lab passaging and manipulations versus natural spillovers,” he said.

James Lloyd-Smith, a disease ecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that detecting the genetic signature of lab evolution in the Russian flu was “very cool.” But he cautioned that scientists typically only capture a fraction of the evolution of viruses in their samples. “This approach isn’t a magic wand, and the study still faces the same challenges of limited data that have dogged the field,” he said.

Of the several outbreaks that Dr. Wertheim and his colleagues analyzed, only the Russian flu proved to be an exception to the rule. The virus that caused Covid — SARS-CoV-2 — was not.

The researchers found no peculiar changes in SARS-CoV-2 before it jumped into humans. It gained mutations as it spread from bat to bat, just like other bat coronaviruses did; only after the virus emerged in humans did it undergo a marked shift. Within a year, radically new variants were evolving, with mutations that made them exquisitely well-adapted to humans.

The new study adds to the ongoing debate over Covid’s origins. In a January interview with The New York Times, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health, asserted that SARS-CoV-2 emerged from a lab. “I think if you just focus on the scientific evidence alone, I would say it’s certain,” he said.

Some experts who favor a lab-leak origin point to just how well prepared SARS-CoV-2 was to spread among humans from the start of the pandemic. In November, Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, claimed that the Chinese military had created SARS-CoV-2 as an inhaled vaccine. “I think that was all engineered,” Dr. Redfield said in a podcast interview.

But last month, a group of experts assigned by the World Health Organization to examine Covid’s origins came down in favor of SARS-CoV-2 having originated in bats, which then passed it to animals sold in a market in Wuhan.

“Most of the peer-reviewed scientific evidence supports this hypothesis,” the scientists noted.

Dr. Wertheim has helped collect some of that peer-reviewed scientific evidence. The new study adds more evidence in favor of an animal origin, he said.

If SARS-CoV-2 was reared in a lab, its mutations would unfold in a pattern like that of the Russian flu. Instead, Dr. Wertheim and his colleagues found, its mutation pattern matched the five naturally occurring outbreaks they studied.

Instead, Dr. Wertheim said, Covid appears to have arisen from some really bad luck. As the precursor virus was adapting to infect bats, it ended up ready to start a pandemic among people. “It’s coincidentally exceptionally good at being a human virus,” Dr. Wertheim said.

David Robertson, a virologist at the University of Glasgow who was not involved in the new research, said that the study offered insights not just for Covid but for any zoonotic virus — a virus that spreads from animals to humans. “It’s a key point for understanding zoonotic risk,” he said. “Viruses can be circulating in nature without requiring adaptations to infect or transmit successfully in humans.”

If that’s the case across a wide range of zoonotic viruses, Dr. Wertheim said, we can expect more pandemics in the future. “It’s what we don’t know that’s going to get us,” he said. “They’re out there, and they’re ready to go.”

Translation

科學家窺見新疫情的起源（2/2）

研究人員開發出一種新工具，用於區分由自然發生的病毒爆發疫情和由實驗室事故導致的爆發

（繼續）

此後，研究人員尚未找到直接證據來驗證此假設或其他類似假設。但Wertheim博士及其同事的一項新研究得出結論：1977年的病毒在大流行之前經歷了某種奇特的進化 - 而且它獲得的突變模式與實驗室培養的病毒的突變模式完全相同。

約翰霍普金斯大學的生物安全專家Gigi Gronvall表示，這項新研究表明，1977年的疫情始於一次疫苗試驗。 她說:「這進一步證明，他們當時試圖研發減毒疫苗，結果卻慘敗了」。

並未參與這項新研究的東京大學病毒學家Spyros Lytras表示，該研究的方法為追蹤疫情起源提供了一種新工具。他說: 「基因數據包含一個可靠的訊號，可以區分實驗室傳代和人為操作，相對於自然溢出」。

加州大學洛杉磯分校疾病生態學家James Lloyd-Smith表示，在俄羅斯流感中檢測到實驗室進化的基因特徵是「非常酷」的事。但他提醒說，科學家通常只能捕捉到病毒樣本中演化過程的一小部分。他說: 「這種方法並非萬能，這項研究仍然面臨著數據有限的挑戰，而數據有限一直是該領域長期存在的難題」。

在Wertheim博士及其同事分析的幾宗疫情中，只有俄羅斯流感被證明是例外。導致新冠肺炎的病毒—SARS-CoV-2—則不是。

研究人員發現，SARS-CoV-2 在感染人類之前並沒有發生任何異常變化。它像其他蝙蝠冠狀病毒一樣，在蝙蝠間傳播的過程中不斷發生變異；只有在病毒出現在人類身上之後，才出現了顯著的變化。不到一年，全新的變種病毒就不斷湧現，這些變異使其能夠完美地適應人類。

這項新研究為新冠病毒起源的持續爭論增添了新的內容。美國國立衛生研究院院長Jay Bhattacharya博士在1月接受《紐約時報》採訪時斷言，SARS-CoV-2 源自於實驗室。他說: 「我認為，如果只看科學證據，我會說這是肯定的」。

一些支持實驗室洩漏起源論的專家指出，SARS-CoV-2 從疫情爆發之初就充份预備好在人群中傳播。去年11月，美國疾病管制與預防中心前主任Robert Redfield博士聲稱，中國軍方發展了SARS-CoV-2病毒作為吸入式疫苗。Redfield博士在一次播客採訪中說道: 「我認為這一切都是設計出來的」。

但上個月，世界衛生組織指派的一個專家小組對新冠病毒的起源進行了調查，最終得出結論：SARS-CoV-2病毒起源於蝙蝠，然後蝙蝠將其傳播給了武漢一家市場出售的動物。

科學家指出:「大多數經過同行評審的科學證據都支持這個假設」。

Wertheim博士曾參與那個收集一部分曾經過同儕審查的科學證據。他表示，這項新研究為病毒起源於動物的觀點提供了更多證據。

如果SARS-CoV-2病毒是在實驗室中培育的，那麼它的變異模式應該類似於俄羅斯流感病毒。然而，Wertheim博士及其同事發現，它的變異模式與他們研究的五宗自然發生的疫情相吻合。

Wertheim博士表示，新冠病毒的出現似乎純粹是運氣不佳。其前身病毒在適應感染蝙蝠的過程中，最終卻意外地具備了在人類中引發大流行的能力。 Wertheim博士說: 「它巧合地非常擅長成為一種人類病毒」。

並未參與這項新研究的格拉斯哥大學的病毒學家David Robertson，他表示，這項研究不僅為新冠病毒，也為所有人畜共通病毒 - 即從動物傳播給人類的病毒 - 提供了新的見解。 “這是理解人畜共患風險的關鍵，”他說道:“病毒可以在自然界中傳播，而無需進行適應性改造就能成功感染或傳播給人類。”

Wertheim博士表示，如果這種情況普遍存在於多種人畜共通病毒中，那麼未來我們可能會面臨更多疫情。 他說道:「讓我們陷入困境的，是我們不知道的事」，「它們就在那裡，隨時準備爆發」。

So, a new study finds that Covid is pretty ordinary. Scientists have compared seven viral outbreaks that occurred in recent decades. For the most part, the researchers find that the outbreaks have not been preceded by any unusual genetic changes in the viruses. In all but one case, in 1977, the viruses circulated in animals and gained the ability to spread to and among people. Covid appears to have arisen from some really bad luck of human. Apparently, we can expect more pandemics in the future.