As America gears up for Super Bowl XLVI, Bill Belichick remains studiously calm. The head coach of the New England Patriots, who face their old rivals the New York Giants on Sunday, seems unperturbed by the angst that is gnawing away at the fans.

One year after the first stirrings of the Arab Spring, we are still only beginning to digest the implications of this momentous turn of events. Yet, as commentators debate the political, economic, and religious consequences of the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and elsewhere, few have discerned their impact in less conspicuous quarters. Yet, far from the spotlight of media attention, the effects of Arab Spring are also rippling through the murky world of intelligence gathering.

Religious nutcases are always issuing dire warnings about the end of the world, but when a group of highly respected scientists does so, we should probably sit up and listen. On 10 January the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock one minute closer to midnight.

A public enquiry in Scotland has recommended sweeping changes in the use of fingerprint evidence in criminal trials. Fingerprints have long been regar...