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RandomFactor writes:

In a law implemented last year, Georgia's 'Exact Match' requirement flags voters who have discrepancies in their official identifying documents and may be non-citizens.

As originally written, at the actual polling location, only Deputy Registrars could immediately clear individuals to vote (provisional ballots could still be cast). This was deemed burdensome in U.S. District Court and now Poll Managers can also clear individuals to vote who show proof of citizenship.

The announcement of this change is here: http://sos.ga.gov/index.php/general/judge_includes_poll_managers_in_georgias_existing_non-citizen_verification_process_

Voters were notified in advance of discrepancies and multiple avenues to resolve the issue are available, including:

- in advance by faxing or emailing documents to the county registrar
- when balloting, providing documentation to a Deputy Registrar (or Poll Manager now)
- If the above are an issue, an individual can cast a provisional ballot and provide the proof of citizenship (in person, via fax, email, or text message) before Friday.

Also at NPR and The Hill.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Intel announces Cascade Lake Xeons: 48 cores and 12-channel memory per socket

Intel has announced the next family of Xeon processors that it plans to ship in the first half of next year. The new parts represent a substantial upgrade over current Xeon chips, with up to 48 cores and 12 DDR4 memory channels per socket, supporting up to two sockets.

These processors will likely be the top-end Cascade Lake processors; Intel is labelling them "Cascade Lake Advanced Performance," with a higher level of performance than the Xeon Scalable Processors (SP) below them. The current Xeon SP chips use a monolithic die, with up to 28 cores and 56 threads. Cascade Lake AP will instead be a multi-chip processor with multiple dies contained with in a single package. AMD is using a similar approach for its comparable products; the Epyc processors use four dies in each package, with each die having 8 cores.

The switch to a multi-chip design is likely driven by necessity: as the dies become bigger and bigger it becomes more and more likely that they'll contain a defect. Using several smaller dies helps avoid these defects. Because Intel's 10nm manufacturing process isn't yet good enough for mass market production, the new Xeons will continue to use a version of the company's 14nm process. Intel hasn't yet revealed what the topology within each package will be, so the exact distribution of those cores and memory channels between chips is as yet unknown. The enormous number of memory channels will demand an enormous socket, currently believed to be a 5903 pin connector.

Intel also announced tinier 4-6 core E-2100 Xeons with ECC memory support.

Meanwhile, AMD is holding a New Horizon event on Nov. 6, where it is expected to announce 64-core Epyc processors.

Related: AMD Epyc 7000-Series Launched With Up to 32 Cores
AVX-512: A "Hidden Gem"?
Intel's Skylake-SP vs AMD's Epyc
Intel Teases 28 Core Chip, AMD Announces Threadripper 2 With Up to 32 Cores
TSMC Will Make AMD's "7nm" Epyc Server CPUs
Intel Announces 9th Generation Desktop Processors, Including a Mainstream 8-Core CPU

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Phoenix666 writes:

LA Times:

Along with soulful eyes, endearingly long necks and warm fuzzy coats, llamas have a far less appreciated feature: They make an array of immune system antibodies so tiny they can fit into crevices on the surface of an invading virus.
...
First, they vaccinated llamas against a number of A and B strains of influenza. Then they took blood samples to collect the antibodies the llamas produced in response.

Among them were four uniquely small antibodies that showed an ability to destroy many different strains of influenza. In a nod to their size and function, they called their creations "nanobodies."

From those multitasking little powerhouses, the researchers engineered a single protein capable of squeezing into spaces on a virus' surface that are too small for most proteins. The resulting "multidomain antibody MD3606," with its "impressive breadth and potency," could confer protection against pretty much any strain of flu that nature could throw in humankind's way, the study authors said.

I knew llama farming would pay off.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

From NASA:

Fans of science in space now can experience fast-moving footage in even higher definition as NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) deliver the first 8K ultra high definition (UHD) video of astronauts living, working and conducting research from the International Space Station. The same engineers who sent high-definition (HD) cameras, 3D cameras, and a camera capable of recording 4K footage to the space station now have delivered a new camera capable of recording images with four times the resolution than previously offered.

The Helium 8K camera by RED, a digital cinema company, is capable of shooting at resolutions ranging from conventional HDTV up to 8K, specifically 8192 x 4320 pixels. By comparison, the average HD consumer television displays up to 1920 x 1080 pixels of resolution, and digital cinemas typically project in resolutions of 2K to 4K.

"This new footage showcases the story of human spaceflight in more vivid detail than ever before," said Dylan Mathis, communications manager for the International Space Station Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "The world of camera technology continues to progress, and seeing our planet in high fidelity is always welcome. We're excited to see what imagery comes down in the future."

takyon: Turksat recently tested 8K resolution satellite broadcasts:

Turksat has tested satellite broadcasts in 8K Ultra-HD, demonstrating the ability to transmit content with 16 times the resolution of HD. The practice broadcast showed scenes from Istanbul, Turkey, using the Türksat 4B satellite at 50 degrees East. Turksat said testing 8K at a time when such broadcasts are uncommon will give Turkish companies a leg up when competing globally in the future. Two Turkish companies, satellite broadcast hardware provider Kızıl Elektronik and TV manufacturer Vestel, partnered with Turksat on the test, along with Japanese chipmaker Socionext.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used a quick and dirty web-based system to communicate with its agents around the world. Easy-to-use but not sophisticated. Iran and China used this system to find U.S. spies and convert or kill many agents, including entire national spy networks, starting around 2008.

Once you recognized the system, counter-spies could simply use Google to find the CIA's communication sites. They could then use standard traffic analysis to find out who visited the sites, identifying the spy networks.

Iran found spies using the system, converted some to double agents, while killing dozens of others. Iran may have passed the info to China, who wiped out the CIA network there, turning and killing 30+ agents. Iran then went spy hunting across the Middle East, too.

The absolute kicker: a CIA tech contractor identified the problem, that the network was compromised and spies were disappearing due to it, and reported it up the chain in 2008. He was ignored, punished and fired. Part of the reason we know this all happened is because he filed a federal whistleblower protection lawsuit.

So many/most of these U.S. agents would not be dead if CIA management AND the CIA inspector general had listened and acted on the report of a technical/security problem. Instead they denied they had a problem, burying their heads and their agents in the sand. Not only is the CIA riddled with terrible torture monkeys, but also deadly, incompetent, and inept management.

Article: The CIA's communications suffered a catastrophic compromise. It started in Iran.

Previously: CIA Informants Imprisoned and Killed in China From 2010 to 2012
Ex-CIA Officer Arrested, Suspected of Compromising Chinese Informants

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

What Is an "Almost Prime" Number?

When I saw a math paper with the phrase "almost prime" in the title, I thought it sounded pretty funny. It reminded me of the joke about how you can't be a little bit pregnant. On further thought, though, it seems like someone whose pregnancy is 6 weeks along and who hasn't yet noticed a missed period is meaningfully less pregnant that someone rounding the bend at 39 weeks who can balance a dinner plate on their belly. Perhaps "almost prime" could make sense too.

A number is prime if its only factors are 1 and itself. By convention, the number 1 is not considered to be prime, so the primes start 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and so on. Hence, a prime number has one prime factor. A number with two prime factors, like 4 (where the two factors are both 2) or 6 (2×3) is definitely less prime than a prime number, but it kind of seems more prime than 8 or 30, both of which have three prime factors (2×2×2 and 2×3×5, respectively). The notion of almost primes is a way of quantifying how close a number is to being prime.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for chromas

Verizon won't speed up 5G buildout despite FCC preempting local fees

Verizon Wireless says it will not move faster on building its 5G cellular network despite a Federal Communications Commission decision that erased $2 billion dollars' worth of fees for the purpose of spurring faster 5G deployment.

The FCC's controversial decision last month angered both large and small municipalities because it limits the amount they can charge carriers for deployment of wireless equipment such as small cells on public rights-of-way. The FCC decision also limits the kinds of aesthetic requirements cities and towns can impose on carrier deployments and forces cities and towns to act on carrier applications within 60 or 90 days.Ajit Pai slams cities and towns as FCC erases $2 billion in local fees

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai justified the decision by saying it would speed up 5G deployment, and he slammed local governments for "extracting as much money as possible in fees from the private sector and forcing companies to navigate a maze of regulatory hurdles in order to deploy wireless infrastructure."

But in an earnings call last week, Verizon CFO Matt Ellis told investors that the FCC decision won't have any effect on the speed of its 5G deployment. Verizon also said that it is reducing overall capital expenditures—despite a variety of FCC decisions, including the net neutrality repeal, that the FCC claimed would increase broadband network investment. (Verizon posted a transcript of the earnings call here.)

An analyst asked Ellis if the FCC order would "change the sort of internal targets you have for the rollout of the small cell and 5G infrastructure and possibly allow you to go a little faster as you look out to 2019 and 2020."

Ellis responded that the FCC decision "doesn't necessarily increase the velocity that we see." Verizon is "going as fast as we can" already, he said.

Also at ExtremeTech

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Astronomers find a universal correlation that could unify the study of star formation

Star formation is one of the most important research fields in astrophysics. This process, in which gravitational instabilities cause the collapse of gas to form more compact structures and finally stars, encompasses a broad range of physical scales. These include star-forming galaxies on the large scale, individual young stars with envelopes and circumstellar disks on the smaller scale, and intermediate scales that include giant molecular clouds and protostellar cores.

[...] In a work recently published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal and led by researcher Ignacio Mendigutía, the authors have compiled the available data for the SFRs [Star Formation Rates] and the dense gas masses of a sample of galaxies and a representative group of molecular clouds within the Milky Way, and the available data for the accretion rates and disk masses of a representative sample of young stars also in our galaxy.

What they have found is surprising. A unique correlation emerges between the data compiled, encompassing no less than 16 orders of magnitude and relating very different physical scales: individual, young stars, molecular clouds, and galaxies. Mendigutía says, "We have found a correlation between the pace at which gas transforms into stars and the dense gas mass directly associated to star formation. This is probably one of the widest empirical relations ever observed, given that it encompasses an enormous range of scales: from sizes of hundreds of thousands of light-years in galaxies, to sizes comparable to our solar system in stars."

The researchers suggest a "bottom-up" hypothesis to explain this discovery and propose future observations to test it. According to their hypothesis, the correlation in galaxies and molecular clouds would result from the smaller-scale relation between the individual stars hosted by them. "After the initial surprise, the fact that what we observe in individual stars correlates with whole galaxies is what one would expect if measurements on both scales are correct," concludes Mendigutía.

More information: I. Mendigutía et al. A global correlation linking young stars, clouds, and galaxies, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2018). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201833166

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Every story in the world has one of these six basic plots

“My prettiest contribution to the culture” was how the novelist Kurt Vonnegut described his old master’s thesis in anthropology, “which was rejected because it was so simple and looked like too much fun”. The thesis sank without a trace, but Vonnegut continued throughout his life to promote the big idea behind it, which was: “stories have shapes which can be drawn on graph paper”.

In a 1995 lecture, Vonnegut chalked out various story arcs on a blackboard, plotting how the protagonist’s fortunes change over the course of the narrative on an axis stretching from ‘good’ to ‘ill’. The arcs include ‘man in hole’, in which the main character gets into trouble then gets out again (“people love that story, they never get sick of it!”) and ‘boy gets girl’, in which the protagonist finds something wonderful, loses it, then gets it back again at the end. “There is no reason why the simple shapes of stories can’t be fed into computers”, he remarked. “They are beautiful shapes.”

"Thanks to new text-mining techniques, this has now been done. Professor Matthew Jockers at Washington State University, and later researchers at the University of Vermont’s Computational Story Lab, analysed data from thousands of novels to reveal six basic story types – you could call them archetypes – that form the building blocks for more complex stories. The Vermont researchers describe the six story shapes behind more than 1700 English novels as:

1. Rags to riches – a steady rise from bad to good fortune

2. Riches to rags – a fall from good to bad, a tragedy

3. Icarus – a rise then a fall in fortune

4. Oedipus – a fall, a rise then a fall again

5. Cinderella – rise, fall, rise

6. Man in a hole – fall, rise

This came out a few months ago and only recently came to my attention again. Does this work with your favorite movies? How about episodes in your favorite TV series?

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Fidelity just made it easier for hedge funds and other pros to invest in cryptocurrencies

Fidelity has a long history of dealing with enterprise security, as well as public and private key cryptography to make sure it isn't part of that statistic. Its custody solution will include vaulted "cold storage," which involves taking the cryptocurrency offline, and multilevel physical and cyber controls, among other security protocols that have been created leveraging Fidelity's security principles from other parts of the business.

"You might look at the crypto world and say, 'Wow, is this a new thing?' but we've been managing key materials for a long time," Jessop said. "We took our learnings in how to run enterprise security, then through our exploration of bitcoin and some of the people we've hired, quickly developed some of the crypto native expertise and federated the two of those things."

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The Australian Government ratified the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) on October 31st 2018. Protesters of the TPP have been described as being "misinformed" by authorities keen to sign the agreement. Previous analysis of the TPP showed detrimental clauses for Australia. The TPP was first signed in New Zealand in 2016 amongst significant protests. While there were some opiniions that Australia could be a winner in the agreement, the consensus amongst experts that the pharmaceuticals and investor-state arbitration sections make the TPP not worth signing — the total cost from these clauses will outweigh any other benefits. A full costing of the TPP for Australia is still not available.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Swedish ISP punishes Elsevier for forcing it to block Sci-Hub by also blocking Elsevier

[...] Unfortunately for Swedes and for science, the Swedish Patent and Market Court (which never met a copyright overreach it didn't love) upheld the order, and Bahnhof, a small ISP with limited resources, decided not to appeal (a bigger, richer ISP had just lost a similar appeal).

Instead, Bahnhof now blocks attempts to visit Sci-Hub domains, and Elsevier.com, redirecting attempts to visit Elsevier to a page explaining how Elsevier's sleaze and bullying have allowed it to monopolize scientific publishing, paywalling publicly funded science that is selected, reviewed and edited by volunteers who mostly work for publicly funded institutions.

To as[sic] icing on this revenge-flavored cake, Bahnhof also detects attempts to visit its own site from the Patent and Market Court and redirects them to a page explaining that since the Patent and Market Court believes that parts of the web should be blocked, Bahnhof is blocking the court's access to its part of the web.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Astronomers Creep Up to the Edge of the Milky Way's Black Hole

Since the 1990s, Ghez's group at UCLA and the European team, led by Reinhard Genzel of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, have used ever-sharper techniques to resolve the orbits of stars right around the galactic center. Earlier this summer, Genzel's team published a measurement of how general relativity is affecting the light of a star now passing close to the black hole; a similar paper by Ghez's team is now under review. "It's a remarkable moment, in terms of these experiments' ability to start probing how gravity works near a supermassive black hole," Ghez said.

But since last year, the European team has had a unique tool—the power of four giant telescopes working together in a project called GRAVITY. On a typical night, the European Southern Observatory's four 8-meter telescopes on Cerro Paranal, overlooking Chile's Atacama desert, loll in different directions on the sky. GRAVITY pulls them together using a technique called interferometry that combines observations from multiple telescopes to produce artificial images that only a preposterously huge real telescope could make.

To do this in infrared wavelengths— close to what human eyes can perceive—requires blending light in real time to avoid losing crucial information. So on July 22, when Sagittarius A* flared, the light collected by each scope traveled through a Rube Goldberg–like setup of mirrors and fiber-optic cables that traced out a path with a total length that varies no more than 1/1,000th the width of a hair, said Frank Eisenhauer, a physicist at Max Planck in Garching and the leader of GRAVITY. Then, inside a 3-ton freezing toolbox of optical tech, these light waves mixed together, their peaks and troughs combining and canceling to produce position measurements with impossible crispness.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for chromas

Think you're bad at math? You may suffer from 'math trauma'

I teach people how to teach math, and I've been working in this field for 30 years. Across those decades, I've met many people who suffer from varying degrees of math trauma – a form of debilitating mental shutdown when it comes to doing mathematics.

When people share their stories with me, there are common themes. These include someone telling them they were "not good at math," panicking over timed math tests, or getting stuck on some math topic and struggling to move past it. The topics can be as broad as fractions or an entire class, such as Algebra or Geometry.

[...] One of the biggest challenges U.S. math educators face is helping the large number of elementary teachers who are dealing with math trauma. Imagine being tasked with teaching children mathematics when it is one of your greatest personal fears.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for chromas

Reef RangerBot becomes 'LarvalBot' to spread coral babies

[...] Professor Dunbabin is working with Southern Cross University's (SCU) Professor Peter Harrison—pioneer of the coral larval restoration technique (coral IVF) - who is heading the overall research project.

The collaboration between QUT and SCU, funded by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, aims at restoring damaged parts of the Great Barrier Reef and speeding up the recovery of ecosystems affected by coral bleaching.

Large volumes of coral spawn will be captured and transferred into fine mesh pools for almost a week until the larvae is ready to be re-settled.

Original Submission