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Breakthrough in quantum computers

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SYDNEY - Researchers in Australia have found a new way to build quantum computers, which they say would make them dramatically easier and cheaper to produce at scale. Quantum computers promise to harness the strange ability of subatomic particles to exist in more than one state at a time to solve problems that are too complex or time-consuming for existing computers. Google, IBM and other technology companies are all developing quantum computers, using a range of approaches. The team from the University of New South Wales say they have invented a new chip design based on a new type of quantum bit, the basic unit of information in a quantum computer, known as a qubit. The new design would allow for a silicon quantum processor to overcome two limitations of existing designs: the need for atoms to be placed precisely, and allowing them to be placed further apart and still be coupled. Crucially, says project leader Andrea Mello, this so-called “flip-flop qubit” means the chips can...
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A Bengal tiger was shot dead after it wandered into a Georgia neighborhood and attacked a dog

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Brittney Speck woke up Wednesday to police lights and the sound of her dachshund “going crazy” in the back yard, she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She went to check on the dog and saw a tiger in her neighbor’s yard. The tiger had been spotted about 6 a.m. on a highway in an Atlanta suburb, according to the Henry County Police Department. Police followed the big cat to Speck’s neighborhood, where it ran toward the back of a house and jumped a fence. After the tiger jumped on the dog, the officers fired shots, Speck said. (Her dog, Journey, is okay.) Police said in a statement that “with the tiger in close proximity to a school bus route in a densely populated area, officers made the decision to put the animal down with gunfire fearing that occupants of the home could be in danger as well as others in the area.” How the tiger had gotten there would remain a mystery for most of the day. “Tigers are not an indigenous species to Georgia,” said Gerri Yoder, director of ...
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Destiny 2’s Japanese live-action dance trailer perfectly captures the game’s spirit

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To mark yesterday’s global launch of online shooter Destiny 2, developer Bungie teamed up with Japanese dance choreographers Furitsuke Kagyou Air:man to deliver three minutes of subculture appreciation in the form of an extended and increasingly ludicrous Guardian dance-off. The video starts off with what looks like a passable live-action television trailer, like the very one Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts produced for Bungie’s English-language marketing launch last week. But it very quickly sheds its air of seriousness as elaborate breakdance moves bleed into a giant, contagious dance battle between Destiny’s magic space warriors. If you’re wondering what this has to do with shooting aliens with fancy firearms, as Destiny 2 mostly revolves around, it helps to know a little bit about what are known as in-game emotes. As is the case in a number of other online shooters like Blizzard’s Overwatch, emotes are special signature moves your character can perform to expres...
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Lower mortgage rates push more borrowers to refinance, as Harvey mucks up the data

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Total mortgage application volume increased 3.3 percent, from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Volume is still 23 percent lower than a year ago, when rates were even lower. After pulling back for the last few weeks, more homeowners applied for a refinance, sending volume 5 percent higher for the week. Mortgage applications finally moved slightly higher last week, spurred by refinancers, as interest rates moved decisively lower. Total mortgage application volume increased 3.3 percent, from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted report. Volume remains 23 percent lower than the same week one year ago, when rates were even lower. After pulling back for the last few weeks, more homeowners applied for a refinance, sending volume 5 percent higher for the week. Refinance volume has been relatively stagnant, even as rates edged lower, but last week rates took a bigger step backward. Th...
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Hearthstone's All-Powerful Druid Class Is Finally Getting Nerfed

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Since the launch of the  Knights of the Frozen Throne  expansion ,  competitive  Hearthstone  play has been in a bit of a turbulent state, mostly thanks to the  overwhelming (and often rage-inducing) dominance  of the game’s Druid class. Well, Blizzard has heard the community’s complaints, and Druid nerfs are  finally on their way . But they’ll come with a few other balance tweaks that have some players scratching their heads. In response to  criticism  from high-profile players including Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk, Blizzard is adjusting the effect of the class-defining Druid card Innervate. Instead of giving a player two free mana crystals for a turn, now it’ll only give one. This means that Innervate now effectively works the same as  The Coin , or the Rogue card  Counterfeit Coin . The change will make the reigning Jade and Ramp Druid decks less flexible in the early game, and it’ll make early game-oriented Aggro Dr...
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Aid groups struggle as more Rohingya flood into Bangladesh

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An exhausted Rohingya helps an elderly family member and a child as they arrive at Kutupalong refugee camp after crossing from Myanmmar to the Bangladesh side of the border, in Ukhia, on Sept. 5, 2017. Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, fleeing the latest round of violence to engulf their homes in Myanmar, have been walking for days or handing over their meager savings to Burmese and Bangladeshi smugglers to escape what they describe as certain death. Aid agencies were struggling to cope with a nonstop flood of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, where some 146,000 have arrived hungry and terrified after fleeing renewed violence in Myanmar — a crisis the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, dismissed as a misinformation campaign. With the influx pushing existing Rohingya refugee camps to the brink, Bangladesh pledged to build at least one more. The International Organization for Migration has pleaded for $18 million in foreign aid to help feed and shelter tens of thousands ...
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DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ WEBSITE UPDATE REVEALS MORE CHARACTER RANKS

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Character rank and stats matter when going head to head in a competitive scene. If you know how to utilize a character’s ability to the upmost during dire times you will emerge victorious. Well, Bandai Namco updated Arc System Works’ Dragon Ball FighterZ website to show off even more character ranks and stats, so you’ll have an idea of how each character will stack up in a fight. If you recall the last character update during August, Bandai Namco released a batch of short character bios, ranks and stats for Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s. This can be seen over on the game’s official website as “new” hovering over the “character” portal. Following up on last month’s character ranks and stats info, which provides fans and gamers alike a nice look at upcoming content well ahead of the official launch, Bandai Namco added Android 18, Android 16, Super Saiyan Blue Goku, and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta to the “character selection screen” on dba.bn-ent.net. The stats, much like the stats revealed...
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