DNA from a dead sheep in the Lake District has been identified as belonging to a big cat, likely a leopard, marking the first time such DNA has been found on a carcass in the UK. The discovery was made by Professor Robin Allaby at the University of Warwick and confirms previous findings of non-native big cat presence in England.

A computer scientist suggests using an algorithm called CVM to count unique animals or users, which requires remembering only a small number of entries instead of the entire list. The CVM algorithm solves the distinct elements problem by relying on randomization and can efficiently monitor a stream of elements without exceeding available memory.

A person sold an Apple Employee #10 badge, claiming it was authentic, but Chris Espinosa, Apple Employee #8, suspected it was fake and the buyer eventually discovered several inconsistencies. The seller made mistakes and eBay failed to take action despite multiple reports of fraud.

This article is part of our reviews of AI research papers, a series of posts that explore the latest findings in artificial intelligence. The Game of Life is a grid-based automaton that is very popular in discussions about science, computation, and artificial intelligence. It is an interesting idea that shows how very simple rules can yield very complicated results. Despite its simplicity, ...

int foo[5]; // foo is an array of 5 ints char *foo; // foo is a pointer to char double foo(); // foo is a function returning a double but as the declarations get a bit more involved, it's more difficult to know exactly what you're looking at. It turns out that the rules for reading an arbitrarily-complex C variable declaration are easily learned by even beginning programmers (though ...

This Rust course teaches core concepts through exercises, starting from scratch and covering syntax, type system, standard library, and ecosystem. The course is interactive and hands-on, with solutions available on GitHub and a tool to verify progress.

Rate limiting algorithms control traffic to services by blocking requests that exceed a set limit during a period. Three common algorithms are fixed window, sliding window, and token bucket, each with its own pros and cons for handling bursts and average rates of requests.

The Starlink satellite service uses a unique combination of technologies, including phased array antennae and dynamic channel rate control, to provide internet connectivity with varying signal quality and latency. The TCP protocol's performance over Starlink connections is affected by factors such as packet loss, jitter, and satellite handovers, requiring optimization techniques like BBR or ...

Wang Huiwen, co-founder of Meituan, announced plans to build China's OpenAI on Jike, a niche social media platform popular among tech workers and investors. Jike has grown into a community-driven platform with 2 million users, known for its curated topics and in-depth discussions.

Deutsche Bahn has introduced the MetaWindow, a transparent noise barrier with unparalleled sound-absorbing capabilities, developed with Italian start-up Phononic Vibes. The innovative technology achieves high noise insulation levels while maintaining transparency and is designed for sensitive areas where strict noise reduction regulations apply.

The Lisp Game Jam is a 10-day game jam where participants create small games in their favorite Lisp dialect, with no prizes but a judging period for feedback. The Spring edition starts on May 17th and encourages participants to use Hoot, a Scheme to WebAssembly compiler, which has a game jam template repository and HTML5 canvas support for easy distribution.

The author shares a technique for growing large, high-quality sodium chloride crystals at home by controlling the crystallization process and using a specific procedure to prepare the solution and seed crystal. The resulting crystals can be transparent, cubic, or even form unique shapes like pyramids or clusters, depending on factors such as evaporation rate and environmental conditions.

The project applies patches to Arch Linux source packages, aiming to upstream them for RISC-V (riscv64gc) support. The project provides various resources, including patch repositories, binary package repositories, and Docker images, with a contributing guide available.

Researchers have discovered an ancient branch of the Nile River, named Ahramat Branch, which once flowed near many major pyramid sites in Egypt. The discovery suggests that ancient Egyptians may have used boats to transport building materials rather than carrying them over land, providing new insights into their construction methods and daily life.

Slack's mission is to simplify work life while prioritizing customer data privacy and security, using machine learning and artificial intelligence in limited ways to enhance its product. The company has guiding principles and technical controls in place to prevent data leaks, offers customers choices around model training, and aggregates data to ensure anonymity when updating services.

DoltHub pledges to fix bugs in Dolt within 24 hours or less, which includes releasing a new version, and has achieved this by having someone own the bug queue, prioritizing issues quickly, and having well-defined specifications. The company's fast turnaround time helps build trust with customers and sets it apart from competing products that have been around for decades.

The Game of Life can simulate anything that can be done by a computer, and researchers have used SAT solvers to find parents of Life states that resemble pictures. However, finding parents for large Life states is difficult due to Gardens of Eden and computational complexity issues.

The article discusses simplifying JOIN code by treating foreign keys as dimension tables, eliminating Cartesian products and making queries more intuitive. It introduces two methods: Interconnection of homo-dimension tables and sub table set-lization, which simplify complex joins and reduce errors.

Big batteries are increasingly replacing gas-fired power plants in the US, with battery storage capacity expected to surge from 1% to 23% of new additions this year. The shift is driven by declining demand for gas and increasing investment in solar, wind, and battery production, which will help accelerate the transition to a fully clean power grid.

Gemini API's context caching feature reduces request costs by caching repeat content with high input token counts. It's a paid feature, billed based on cache token count and suitable for scenarios with repeated references to initial contexts.

American land-use reformers aim to address housing shortages by amending zoning codes and building codes, specifically allowing single-stair apartment buildings, which were once common in the US but are now banned due to fire safety regulations. By re-legalizing these designs, multifamily housing can be built cost-effectively on urban sites that would otherwise be developed as single-family homes.

The book "Visualising Data with JavaScript" teaches data visualization using Chart.js, Leaflet, D3, and React. It covers HTML, SVG, CSS, and JavaScript fundamentals for building web-based data visualizations.

The Soviet Union's watchmaking industry was once renowned for producing high-quality, affordable timepieces that rivaled those from Switzerland, with brands like Raketa, Poljot, and Vostok gaining popularity worldwide. Despite its decline in the 1980s and eventual collapse in 1991, Soviet watches remain sought after by collectors today for their unique history, craftsmanship, and nostalgic value.

At six pence, or one-fortieth of a pound each, the first ten Penguin Books were priced to move. And move they did: within six months of the introduction of Penguins to the market in 1935, the paperback company was boasting that three million copies had been sold. Unconventionally available in variety, chain stores, and newsagents as well as the more traditional bookshops, Penguins weren’t ...

A neural network generates realistic chess positions, optionally constrained by preset pieces, with adjustable temperature and piece count. The tool can be used to practice specific pawn structures in various game scenarios against humanlike AI at chosen skill levels.

tar is an extensible and general iteration construct for Common Lisp that aims to be pleasant to use, easy to understand, and fast, with a focus on separating iteration from value accumulation. It allows users to define custom iterators and optimizers, making it a flexible tool for iterating over various data structures.

Italy's electrical system has undergone significant changes over the past century, including multiple voltage and frequency standards, with 120V and 220V being used simultaneously in different regions. The country's dual-supply system, which included separate meters and plugs for lighting and appliances, was eventually phased out in favor of a single standard voltage supply.

Avocados have become a staple food in the US, with consumption tripling since 2001, and are now recommended as one of the first solid foods for babies due to their mild flavor, rich nutrition, and low allergenic potential. The rise of avocados has led to various industries emerging around their cultivation, distribution, and sales, including direct-to-consumer websites and subscription ...

PlayCanvas Editor now supports WebGPU, which offers improved performance and functionality, with Chrome and Edge browsers already enabled. To opt-in to WebGPU support, update Graphics Devices to include WebGPU (beta) in your project's settings, and provide feedback on any issues or feature requests.