Category: The Conversation

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Eleftheria Kodosaki, Research Fellow in Neuroimmunology, UCL

Imagine diagnosing one of the most challenging neurological diseases with just a quick finger-prick, a few drops of blood and a test sent in the post. This may sound like science fiction, but we are hoping our research could soon help it become a reality.

Our team at the UK Dementia Research Institute’s Biomarker Factory at UCL are part of the global effort working to develop and validate a test for Alzheimer’s disease. We’re currently working to overcome the various technical challenges facing these tests so that this test can one day soon be available to the broader public.

What do finger-prick tests look for?

At their core, these finger-prick tests are designed to detect specific biomarkers.
Biomarkers are biological molecules found in the blood which indicate signs of disease. In the case of Alzheimer’s disease, the brain gradually accumulates abnormal proteins. These proteins form structures such as amyloid plaques and tau tangles which damage the brain’s neural networks. They’re also involved in brain inflammation.

These abnormal proteins can be detected in the brain, cerebrospinal fluid and, importantly, the blood years before symptoms arise.

Recently, research has also shown these biomarkers can be measured in dried blood samples from a simple finger-prick. A study focusing on 337 people showed that these dried blood samples can reliably detect Alzheimer’s-related changes in biomarkers with a diagnostic accuracy of around 86% compared to conventional methods.

Once refined and validated, these tests could aid with early detection, screening at-risk people, tracking disease progression or even evaluating the effectiveness of emerging treatments.

What are the shortcomings of current diagnostic tools?

In addition to cognitive tests (which check for cognitive decline and memory problems), there are currently two robust approaches for diagnosing signs of Alzheimer’s in the brain.

The first is PET imaging. These scans detect disease characteristics using radioactive tracers which light up areas of the brain where tangles and plaques may be present. However, PET scans are expensive, use radioactivity and require specialist facilities.

The second method uses a spinal tap to extract cerebrospinal fluid (the clear, colourless liquid that protects the brain and extracts waste). This looks for the same biomarkers as finger-prick tests. However, this method is invasive and can be painful and stressful to patients. Some people also may not be eligible to have it done.

Cognitive tests also have shortcomings. As a result, people whose first language isn’t the one in which the test is being administered, or those who have other health conditions that also cause cognitive problems, may be misdiagnosed.

And, while cognitive testing can give an idea about a potential issue, these tests alone can’t tell us what specific condition is causing symptoms. This can also lead to misdiagnosis.

Even traditional blood tests done in a clinic have limitations. These tests require immediate processing (or refrigeration) and careful handling to avoid influencing biomarker levels. This makes traditional blood tests impractical for large-scale, population-level screening – particularly in underserved or rural regions.

By contrast, the finger-prick test we’re developing can be done at home and posted to a lab without refrigeration.

What are we working on in the lab?

Our lab is currently working to improve the sensitivity, reliability and real-world usability of these finger-prick tests.

We’re currently experimenting with different, sensitive biomarker detection methods – using just tiny volumes of blood collected from either the finger or the vein and seeing how these compare.

Alongside tau and amyloid, we’re also testing other proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and various neurodegenerative disorders – such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

Read more:
New Alzheimer’s drug: what you need to know about donanemab’s promising trial results

Our hope with these tests is not only to identify Alzheimer’s disease, but to catch it before irreversible brain damage occurs. This would open a window for early intervention.

With novel therapies emerging that may slow the disease, early identification is critical.

What challenges have we encountered?

Designing these tests hasn’t been straightforward. We’ve encountered a few major hurdles along the way.

The first hurdle we encountered had to do with the biomarkers themselves.

Alzheimer’s biomarker levels are often much lower in the blood than they are in cerebrospinal fluid. So the technological methods needed to measure them accurately had to be very sensitive.

Another obstacle we encountered related to sample quality. Without refrigeration, the proteins can degrade – giving inaccurate readings and potentially misdiagnoses. So we’re currently working to develop collection and mailing methods that ensure these dried blood proteins are stable and don’t degrade before testing.

Data interpretation has also been a challenge. Although these tests are accurate for the majority of cases, we still need to figure out how to interpret outliers – such as participants who have high biomarker levels without other signs of the disease, and those who have low biomarker levels with significant signs of the disease. So even when we detect elevated biomarkers, interpreting what that means for a person’s Alzheimer’s risk is complex.

Alzheimer’s biomarkers are also not exclusive to the disease. Similar biomarkers can occur in other neurological conditions such as vascular dementia, multiple sclerosis, and even in otherwise asymptomatic people or even healthy newborns.

We’ve since refined our tests so they’re more sensitive and have sourced and are currently comparing devices that make at-home sample collection easier. These solutions are steadily improving test reliability.

What could our work mean for Alzheimer’s diagnosis?

It’s important to emphasise that these tests are still at least a few years away from routine use. But, if validated, finger-prick tests could revolutionise Alzheimer’s diagnosis in several ways.

It would allow for earlier detection of the disease and broaden access for patients. It would also enable larger, more diverse population studies to be conducted – reducing historical gaps in Alzheimer’s research and improving our understanding of the disease globally.

The idea of diagnosing Alzheimer’s with a quick, finger-prick test marks a profound shift in how we could approach neurodegenerative diseases. Moving beyond invasive, costly procedures toward accessible, patient-friendly diagnostics carries enormous potential — for patients, their families and future research.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How our lab is helping develop an Alzheimer’s test that can be done at home – https://theconversation.com/how-our-lab-is-helping-develop-an-alzheimers-test-that-can-be-done-at-home-273967

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hillary Burlock, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History, University of Liverpool

When a silver-clad stranger admits she cannot dance at a masquerade ball in the first episode of Bridgerton’s new season, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) is both entertained and mystified.

“A lady who cannot dance? Is this a part of the character you are playing tonight? A silver ingenue?” he asks Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). A lady of the Ton who is unequipped with the vital accomplishments for the “season”? Unthinkable. Today, we are no longer defined by our ability to dance, but in the world of Bridgerton, dance is central to identity and a signifier of social status.

In Regency Britain (1795-1837), dance was a vital accomplishment for elite society. The skill was regularly deployed in assembly rooms and the London townhouses of the beau monde – the pinnacle of metropolitan fashionable society.

From an early age, boys and girls in polite society were trained in deportment (posture and bodily carriage), etiquette and dancing by dancing masters – a role assumed by Benedict at the Bridgerton masquerade.

Dancing in Regency Britain

The real Prince Regent of the time (the future George IV) started to learn from his dancing master at the age of six, becoming so renowned for his prowess that he was celebrated as “the life of the dance”. Dancing masters were crucial to transforming girls and boys into ladies and gentlemen, equipping them with the skills necessary to perform when they made their entrance into society around the age of 18.

At a dance lesson in fashionable Queen’s Square, the German traveller, diarist and novelist Sophie von la Roche observed that the six-year-old girls “are eager to learn, as they are already quite advanced and promise to make good dancers”.

However, not everyone in elite society was an accomplished dancer. Writing about the Duke of Devonshire, the press diplomatically observed that dancing was “not his forte”. Meanwhile, the real Queen Charlotte’s eldest daughter struggled with her dance lessons as a teenager. The Princess Royal pleaded in a letter to her governess: “I have behaved well in every occasion except last Wednesday, that I danced ill … However, I hope that you will not give me quite up, since I have done everything else well, and that I dance[d] better last Friday.”

A lack of skill would only lead to ridicule and disgrace, as Lord Mansfield observed of the 19-year-old Lord Titchfield in a letter: “To set out in London raw as he is seems to be Ruin.”

Dance was a prized accomplishment for building reputation and staking a claim to inclusion in elite society, especially since “narrow examination[s]” and “thoro’ inspection[s]” were integral to the ballroom. Learning to dance was so ubiquitous in polite society that those who did not – or could not – dance stood out from the crowd.

The societal waltz

In Bridgerton, as the illegitimate daughter of an earl, Sophie is disadvantaged, but has not have been entirely excluded from society. We’re told that she was allowed to watch lessons with her stepsisters, but was not directly included and taught.

Unaware of Sophie’s background, Benedict is perplexed by her “puzzling” inability to dance, assuming that she was raised like the other young ladies of the Ton. And it is precisely this inability to dance that becomes a defining characteristic in his search for her in the following episodes. Indeed, Benedict’s hopes are raised when he hears of Mrs Mondrich’s (Emma Naomi) neighbour, who had not been taught to dance – certain she must be his mysterious lady in silver.

As Sophie’s dancing master, Benedict teaches her the waltz – a scandalous dance newly introduced to the British ballroom from France and Germany.

Unlike the lively and communal country dance and graceful minuet, which revolved around distance, the waltz featured a couple in a close embrace whirling around the ballroom. While quite a tame dance form today, the Regency waltz’s close physical contact shocked society. “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know” poet, Lord Byron even wrote a poem about it in 1812:

Hot from the hands promiscuously applied,

Round the slight waist, or down the glowing side;

Where were the rapture then to clasp the form,

From this lewd grasp, and lawless contact warm?

Benedict teaches Sophie the waltz box step (which actually emerged in the late 19th century), but the Regency waltz was even more daring, with the dancers stepping between their partner’s legs. With a new, fashionable dance to master, diarist Thomas Raikes observed: “Old and young returned to school, and the mornings were now absorbed at home … whirling a chair round the room to learn the step and measure of the German waltz.” He continued: “The anti-waltzing party took the alarm, cried it down; mothers forbad it, and every ballroom became a scene of feud and contention” – a marked contrast to the ball scenes we see in Bridgerton.

Despite being raised as a social outcast, Sophie learns the waltz with ease like the other ladies in elite society, showing her compatibility with this season’s hero, and, perhaps, hinting at her true belonging in the Ton.

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Hillary Burlock receives funding from the British Academy as a Postdoctoral Fellow.

– ref. Bridgerton: why not knowing how to dance could ruin your reputation in Regency Britain – https://theconversation.com/bridgerton-why-not-knowing-how-to-dance-could-ruin-your-reputation-in-regency-britain-274909

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lee Smith, Professor of Public Health, Anglia Ruskin University

According to the New York Post, our research team has discovered a much-overlooked “superfood”: bamboo shoots. Before you rush out to harvest the ornamental bamboo growing in your garden, there are a few things you should know.

We systematically reviewed all the available evidence on bamboo as a food and its effect on human health. The research base turned out to be surprisingly thin – just 16 studies met our criteria, including four trials in people and four that used cells in a dish. The final eight focused on bamboo characteristics with potential application to nutrition. This is what they showed us.

There is evidence of some positive health effects from eating bamboo. One study showed that eating bamboo shoots in cookies better controlled blood sugar levels, and that more bamboo consumption translated to further lowered levels.

Other studies documented the beneficial effects of the fibre they contain. This isn’t limited to the inevitable bowel movements but also includes the delightfully termed “faecal volume”, both of which were shown to improve.

Also, compared to a fibre-free diet, bamboo shoots lowered overall cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (so-called “bad cholesterol”) that can build up in blood vessels and cause heart disease.

One unusual benefit of bamboo is that it contains flavonoids – plant compounds that can protect against acrylamide, a potentially harmful chemical that forms when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures. These compounds can increase the risk of some cancers and have been the subject of the Food Standards Agency campaign in 2017 to avoid any burning and “go for gold” when cooking.

Eating bamboo may also help calm inflammation and protect cells from damage. In lab tests, it reduced immune cell activity by 63% and halved the release of substances that trigger inflammation in the body. Bamboo also acts as an antioxidant – lab tests showed it cut by nearly half the production of harmful chemicals like hydrogen peroxide that can damage cells.

Although these findings were in cells in a dish, it gives some insight into the action of bamboo extracts on the human body.

The grass isn’t all green, though

However, if bamboo isn’t properly prepared, it can lead to problems. One study linked it to an increased risk of a condition called goitre. Goitre is an enlargement of the thyroid, a gland in the neck that is important for growth and setting the metabolic rate. It is visible as a swelling in the front of the neck and is most typically associated with low iodine consumption.

Poorly prepared bamboo contains chemicals called cyanogenic glycosides, which the body converts into another chemical called thiocyanate. These block the thyroid from using iodine effectively. People on low-iodine diets, or with existing thyroid issues, are particularly at risk. But the risk of goitre from bamboo shoot consumption may be reduced by properly preparing the shoot to eat, which can be achieved by boiling the shoot in water.

Some of the bamboo samples analysed contained heavy metals, like arsenic, cadmium and lead. These show up in most foods in trace amounts, and have safety levels specified, for example, by the Food Standards Agency.

While most were measured well within permitted limits, lead was found in amounts up to 4.6 times the permitted levels in 21 of the samples assessed. While caution is important, these concentrations were not shown to affect the health of the cells in the lab, which might suggest how easily such chemicals are used by tissues (their so-called “bio-availability”).

There are some other things to bear in mind too. The evidence base in this area isn’t as strong as it could be. The few relevant studies we did find on this topic had some methodological issues and they didn’t offer the most compelling evidence for their findings.

We could only formally assess the four trials on people, which scored in a range indicating “overall satisfactory quality”. As ever, though, they do show the value of research in this area, and the attention our study has garnered shows the public’s clear interest in the topic.

Still, the research shows that bamboo shoots have potential as a sustainable, healthy food. And like the shoots themselves, interest in this area is only likely to grow – rapidly.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Bamboo: superfood or superfad? Here’s what our study actually said – https://theconversation.com/bamboo-superfood-or-superfad-heres-what-our-study-actually-said-274782

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Caleb H. Wheeler, Senior Lecturer in Law, Cardiff University

The release of more Jeffrey Epstein files has again brought Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his friendship with the convicted paedophile sex offender back into the spotlight.

The tranche of files contains emails between the former prince, his wife Sarah Ferguson, and Epstein, including after the latter’s house arrest for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Also included is a photo of Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman on the ground.

A second woman, said to be in her 20s at the time, has now come forward with allegations that Epstein sent her to the UK for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor. The first, Virginia Giuffre, died by suicide in early 2025.

Mountbatten-Windsor continues to deny any allegations of wrongdoing related to Giuffre and Epstein. He was stripped of all his official titles in October 2025.

The latest developments have prompted calls for the former prince to testify in front of the US Congress as part of their investigation into Epstein’s crimes. Last year, a congressional panel wrote to Mountbatten-Windsor to ask him to submit to questioning. Now, ministers including Keir Starmer have suggested that he should voluntarily testify.

This is unlikely to happen, for several reasons.

The first, and most straightforward reason, is that Mountbatten-Windsor can’t be compelled to testify in the US. Typically, when potential witnesses refuse to appear voluntarily, the US Congress or a court can issue a subpoena for their testimony.

This is essentially a demand that a person come testify even if they don’t want to, and if they don’t then they can be subject to some form of punishment (being held in contempt of Congress or court, and possible civil penalties).

However, under US federal law, subpoena power only extends to US citizens or residents, not foreign nationals.

One possible option might be found in the application of a mutual legal assistance in criminal matters treaty that exists between the UK and the US. It calls for one state to assist the other when the latter state is conducting a domestic criminal investigation or prosecution.

The sort of assistance required can include the taking of testimony or a statement from a witness located in the country assisting with the investigation. Should the witness refuse to testify, they would then face punishment under the law of the country providing assistance.

Under this treaty, the US could request that the UK government compel Mountbatten-Windsor’s testimony so that it might then be shared with Congress. The difficulty with this approach is that the UK is permitted to refuse the request for various reasons, including national security interests or other public policy concerns. Past practice regarding secrecy about the monarchy would suggest that either or both bases for refusal could be exercised in this case.

If he testifies

If Mountbatten-Windsor were to voluntarily testify in the US Congressional investigation, could it spell trouble for the rest of the royals?

He is accused of actions that were allegedly done in his private capacity and not as a representative of the crown, so it’s unlikely they could be attributed back to monarchy. In any case, the king is likely more concerned about embarrassment to the institution of the monarchy than to any tangible negative repercussions.

He would likely object to Mountbatten-Windsor testifying, but those objections would more probably revolve around the monarchy’s traditional desire for privacy and not wanting their dirty laundry aired in public (any more than it already has been).

Theoretically, the king may want to reserve the possibility of his brother testifying as a future bargaining chip, should the UK want some form of concession from the US. However, there is no evidence of that happening.

Whether the former prince himself is more exposed, legally, now that he is no longer a royal is a slightly complicated question. Some state officials are protected from prosecution for crimes by personal immunity (immunity ratione personae).

This essentially means they can’t be prosecuted by a foreign court during the time they hold office (but can be prosecuted after leaving office). This principle is applicable in both the UK and the US as customary international law, which means it is binding due to consistent state practice.

Whether this applies with regard to Mountbatten-Windsor really turns on whether his role as prince made him a government official eligible for this sort of immunity. It is usually reserved for very senior members of government and heads of state, so it is highly unlikely that being a “working royal” would qualify.

He might attempt to claim diplomatic immunity under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. It could be argued that he is entitled to immunity, either in his capacity as UK special trade envoy between 2001-11, or as a “working royal” representing the UK while abroad.

However, there is no precedent for finding that a member of the monarchy is the functional equivalent of a diplomat – particularly where they lack power to negotiate and make deals with foreign governments.

Other legal possibilities

The real danger to Mountbatten-Windsor is that if he were to voluntarily travel to the US to testify as a witness, he could accidentally incriminate himself and end up getting arrested. Such a case, however, seems unlikely. Presumably, he would obtain legal advice before testifying, giving him a clear idea of what he should or should not say.

The most immediate legal peril he could face is the possibility of prosecution in the UK. Police have announced that they intend to investigate a woman’s claims that she was trafficked to the UK for the purpose of having sex with Mountbatten-Windsor. Should they find sufficient evidence that a crime took place, Mountbatten-Windsor could find himself in the dock.

Despite that, under UK law he still cannot be compelled to testify. However, refusing to do so could be seen by a judge or jury as a mark against him when considering all of the evidence.

Caleb H. Wheeler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Could Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor be compelled to testify in US Epstein investigation? – https://theconversation.com/could-andrew-mountbatten-windsor-be-compelled-to-testify-in-us-epstein-investigation-274915

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen Roddy, Lecturer, Radical Humanities Laboratory, Future Humanities Institute, University College Cork

Frank Malina was a lot of things. The Texas-born aeronautical engineer co-designed the first jet-assisted take-off (Jato) rocket and the US’s first operational high-altitude rocket. He co-founded and became director of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory – and along the way, joined a team of rocket engineers who became known as the “suicide squad” for their risk-taking approach.

Malina was also a pacifist and anti-fascist, a card-carrying member of the Communist party, and a painter and pioneer in the field of kinetic art – where motion, be it mechanically or naturally produced, is critical to the artwork. His efforts to bridge science and technology with the creative arts led to him launching Leonardo, MIT press’s world-leading journal on the use of contemporary science and technology in the arts and music.

This series is dedicated to little-known but highly influential scientists who have had a powerful influence on the careers and research paths of many others, including the authors of these articles.

His exceptional approach leant a credibility to research at the intersection of art and technology, opening the door for generations who would follow in his footsteps – including my work in sound and music computing, combining media engineering and music composition techniques to produce auditory displays.

Today, such systems for presenting information through sound are ubiquitous, from our mobile devices to our cars. Yet if it wasn’t for the efforts of figures like Malina, building bridges between the arts and sciences, fields like mine wouldn’t exist at all.

The suicide squad

Malina is said to have disappointed his musician father when he expressed interest in science and maths as a child – eventually opting for a career in engineering. In 1935, two amateur rocket enthusiasts, Jack Parsons and Ed Forman, approached the young graduate student about forming a new rocket research group at the California Institute of Technology.

Parsons, the group’s self-taught chemist, was an avowed occultist and a leading light within the Ordo Templi Orientis, an occult secret society that was headed by Aleister Crowley – the British occultist and ceremonial magician sometimes described as “the wickedest man in the world”. Forman was the mechanic and focused on the material construction of the rockets. Some early fumbles soon earned them the “suicide squad” tag.

The unorthodox pair adopted an intuitive, hands-on approach to rocketry which relied heavily on trial-and-error, and resulted in more than a few near misses. Malina provided the academic rigour, ensuring that experiments were designed and carried out to a high scientific standard.

Rocketry was still considered science fiction as the world approached the brink of war in 1938, so Malina was careful to describe their approach as “jet-assisted takeoff” when pursuing the US military for funding.

In fact, Malina was an avowed pacifist who claimed reluctance at “making rockets for murdering purposes”. It might seem strange, then, that he would align himself with the US Army – but against the backdrop of rising global fascism, and limited options for funding, he had few other options to pursue his engineering ambitions.

Declared a fugitive

Having been thoroughly convinced of the complete failure of capitalism by his experiences of the Great Depression, Malina became a member of the Communist Party of the United States in 1938 – holding meetings at his home until the early 1940s as war raged across Europe.

But this proved problematic as he rose up the ranks of Nasa’s newly founded Jet Propulsion Laboratory. By the time he took over as director in 1944, he was coming under increased surveillance from the FBI, who had been watching him since Parsons – secretly an FBI informant – had reported Malina’s communist associations in 1942.

After the war, Malina became increasingly distressed with attempts by the army at JPL to co-opt his rocket designs to deliver nuclear weapons – confiding this to his psychoanalyst, who was also monitoring him for the FBI.

Malina became aware of the FBI’s investigations after a run-in with an agent on a train journey in 1945. Increasingly disillusioned with the weaponisation of his rocketry research, he left for Europe in 1947 to take up the position with the new international agency Unesco in Paris. As its deputy science director, he hoped to find a more peaceful way of furthering the common global good through science.

In the US, he was branded a traitor as McCarthy era tensions heightened. At the height of this “red scare” in 1952, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover had him indicted and declared a fugitive, and his passport was revoked.

Pushing the possibilities of art

Throughout his scientific career, Malina produced paintings and drawings in his spare time. In 1953, at the age of 41, Malina resigned from Unesco to pursue a full-time career as an artist in Paris.

Initially, he explored the moiré effect, meticulously crafting overlapping grids of wire mesh, steel cords and metal components to reveal unique patterns when viewed from different angles. The Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris soon acquired one of his first major abstract paintings, Deep Shadows (1954), which used these string-and-mesh techniques.

Increasingly drawing on his engineering background, Malina began integrating mechanical systems and lighting assemblies into his art, producing pioneering works that spanned the fields of light art and kinetic art. Not unlike his early rocketry work, Malina’s art was rejected by traditionalists but celebrated by the European avant-garde for integrating cutting-edge science in art, and opening up radical new artistic possibilities.

In 1965, Malina’s kinetic installation for the Pergamon Press building in Oxford, Cosmos, cemented his reputation as an artist. This labyrinth of fluorescent lights and painted plexiglass rotor wheels integrated his expertise as both rocket scientist and artist. It was restored and installed at Oxford Brookes University in 2019.

Malina applied the same sytematic rigour to all his engineering and artistic experiments. This unusual combination saw him launch Leonardo in 1968 – an academic journal that enables artists to explain their work and methods in a manner similar to scientists. It has subsequently expanded into a torch-bearing organisation that publishes books, runs talks and provides support for an international network of researchers and artists.

The extraordinary career of Malina – who died in Paris in 1981 – blazed a trail for generations of interdisciplinary researchers who have followed in his wake. Yet both his scientific and artistic achievements were suppressed because he was labelled a communist traitor in the US.

For many years, Malina’s significant contributions to rocketry – critical in putting a man on the Moon – were erased from official histories. The damage to his reputation also made it difficult for US institutions to publicly embrace his artwork.

Malina said he felt betrayed by a system that had raised up a former Nazi engineer like Wernher von Braun to the status of hero, while erasing the contributions of scientists such as himself for their links to communism. Thankfully, Malina’s vision of interdisciplinary collaboration has outlived the harshest critiques of his detractors – a testament to the originality and ingenuity of his work.

Stephen Roddy is affiliated with the IEEE and the Radical Humanities Laboratory (UCC) his work has been supported by the Irish Research Council.

– ref. My unsung hero of science: Frank Malina – fearless rocket engineer, groundbreaking artist and communist ‘traitor’ – https://theconversation.com/my-unsung-hero-of-science-frank-malina-fearless-rocket-engineer-groundbreaking-artist-and-communist-traitor-274564

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rod Thornton, Senior Lecturer in International Studies, Defence and Security., King’s College London

There is a major sticking point often overlooked in the ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia currently being held in Abu Dhabi. This relates to the fact that, as part of any agreement, Kyiv is being asked to give up the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

If it does so, it will also be giving up the strategic positions that have prevented major advances by the Russian military for many months now. This is the significant line of defensive fortifications across the Donbas, known as the “Donbas line”. It’s Ukraine’s equivalent to the Maginot line of forts which were France’s main line of defence against Germany before the second world war.

The “Anchorage formula” agreed by the US president, Donald Trump, and Russia president, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska late last year calls for Ukrainian forces to abandon the areas of western Donbas they currently hold. Washington is now talking up the idea of establishing a “free economic zone” or “de-militarised zone” which would cover the whole of the Donbas, including those portions currently occupied by Russian forces.

This would mean Ukraine abandoning the Donbas line. The system integrates at least seven distinct defensive layers that any attacking force must penetrate sequentially to achieve effect.

These include minefields, anti-tank ditches, anti-tank obstacles (“dragons’ teeth”), bunkers, trench lines and anti-drone defences. Such obstacles can either physically halt assaulting Russian forces or “canalise” them into swampy or otherwise impassible ground or into pre-arranged kill zones, wherein fires (mortar and artillery) can be used to destroy Russian formations.

One of the most critical lines runs through the embattled town of Pokrovsk, which has been under constant Russian assault since early 2025. Lose Pokrovsk and the Ukrainians will then more than likely also lose the important city of Donetsk. Thus Pokrovsk has been referred to as the “gateway to Donetsk”.

The Donbas line took years to build and to perfect. It is very sophisticated. It would be a massive strategic blow for the Ukrainians if they were forced to give it up and pull back.

In essence, the Russian demand that Ukrainian forces vacate the western Donbas can also be seen as a demand that they likewise give up, in the shape of this Donbas line, their one true means of protecting not only the western Donbas but also, arguably, the whole of the rest of Ukraine.

Who can be trusted?

If Kyiv were to accede to Russian demands and abandon the Donbas line, then this would only help bring about a lasting peace if, of course, trust could be placed in the Russians to keep their side of the bargain. They would need to cease all their assaults across Ukraine and themselves “de-militarise” the area of the eastern Donbas they currently control.

But Putin has a history of reneging on deals. Anything agreed now by Kyiv in Abu Dhabi is likely, as respected Washington-based thinktank the Institute for the Study of War points out, to suffer the same fate. This seems to certainly be the view of many on the Ukrainian side.

As Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, himself recently put it, “I don’t trust Putin”. He has good reason for doubting the Russian president’s bona fides. Russia was a signatory to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum alongside the US, UK and France by which those powers provided assurances for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in exchange for Kyiv giving up its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

This didn’t stop Russia invading. Nor did the two Minsk accords in 2014 and 2015 which aimed to stop the fighting between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military in the Donbas region.

In the event of any peace deal being struck between Moscow and Kyiv, Ukraine’s western allies have offered what they are calling “robust security guarantees”. These would be provided by a “coalition of the willing” made up of more than 30 countries, mainly from within Europe.

What’s on the table

In terms of what these promises might actually mean, there is a proposal for a three-tier mechanism. A Russian breach of the ceasefire would initially trigger a diplomatic warning, as well as allowing Ukraine to respond militarily.

The second tier would be provided by the coalition of the willing, primarily the UK and France, which plan to send troops to Ukraine as part of the deal, but also many EU members plus Norway, Iceland and Turkey.

The third tier would be a military response from the US. But it’s been reported that the US has made its participation in any security guarantees contingent on the agreement of a ceasefire deal which gives Russia control of the “entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine”.

A further issue here is that Moscow is unlikely to agree to the presence of any Nato troops as official security guarantors. Moscow has said as much, insisting that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target”.

Would western governments forces really commit their troops into a situation where they might become targets – leading perhaps to a wider war?

The whole idea of Ukraine abandoning its Donbas line is fraught with difficulties. For this is not just a question of Ukraine trading land for peace. It is more fundamentally a question of trading land and significant defensive lines for the promise of peace.

The original version of the Maginot line did not save France in 1940. It was bypassed by German forces moving through Belgium to outflank the Maginot fortifications. The danger for Ukraine is that its own Maginot line could itself be bypassed if it accedes to Russian demands at the negotiating table in Abu Dhabi.

Can Zelensky really give up the Donbas line that is protecting his entire country and can he really rely on security guarantees from western states that may yet prove equivocal? As one Ukrainian official told Reuters recently, to give up remaining positions in the Donbas region would be “suicide”.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Trump wants Ukraine to give up the Donbas in return for security guarantees. It could be fatal for Kyiv – https://theconversation.com/trump-wants-ukraine-to-give-up-the-donbas-in-return-for-security-guarantees-it-could-be-fatal-for-kyiv-274779