The Loch Ness Monster has left people scratching their heads for years, with many claiming they spotted the beast itself. Now, it's got its own "eel hypothesis," a paper dedicated to the theory that such sightings could have been eels. Researchers looked at data from Loch Ness to understand the number of eels there and their average measurements, as per IFL Science. They discovered that the eels were on the smaller side, compared to the estimates of the Loch Ness Monster, said to be roughly 1-2 metres according to one sighting. Another suggested it could be 15-20 metres. "However, this is not quite the ‘monster postulated," the authors told the outlet."Indeed, the probability of finding a 6-meter [20-foot] eel in Loch Ness is essentially zero – too low for the software used to provide a reliable estimate." "Thus, while large eels may account for some eyewitness sightings of large, animate objects rising to the loch surface, they are unlikely to account for 'sightings' of extraordinarily large animals, which may instead be accounted for by wave phenomena, the occasional stray mammal, or other reasons." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It comes after several sightings last year were shot down by an academic who said they were simply whale penises. Michael Sweet, a professor in molecular ecology at the University of Derby, candidly, and informatively, added: "Whales often mate in groups so while one male is busy with the female the other male just pops his d*** out of the water while swimming around waiting his turn. "Everyone’s gotta have a bit of fun, right?" Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Respawn Entertainment banned over 2,000 Apex Legends players for cheating ahead of the Harbingers Collection Event.

Martin Odegaard believes his “amazing” midfield partner Declan Rice is already proving his worth after Arsenal eased into the Champions League knockout stages. England international Rice, a £105million summer signing from West Ham, was among a host of standout performers as the Gunners secured top spot in Group B with a 6-0 demolition of French club Lens. Arsenal captain Odegaard has been impressed with the instant impact and consistency of his 24-year-old team-mate, who has been ever-present in the Premier League and Europe this term. “It’s brilliant – I think he’s been amazing since he came here,” the Norway international said of Rice. “Every game he’s showing his qualities. He’s a great player, a great guy, so a great addition to the squad.” Rice was afforded a rest for the final 15 minutes on Wednesday evening as in-form Arsenal won their pool with a fixture to spare, four days after going top of the Premier League. Odegaard volleyed home the last of the rampant hosts’ five first-half goals against last season’s Ligue 1 runners-up before Rice’s replacement Jorginho converted a late penalty to complete the rout. The former Real Madrid playmaker says the Gunners are constantly striving to produce statement performances. “Every time we play we want to send a message,” said Odegaard. “Of course, we want to win every time we play and we want to put on performances like this. “The way we started the game was brilliant. We had complete control of the game with the ball. We played with a really high rhythm and intensity and we were effective in front of goal. “The last few games we’ve been really good defensively and we wanted to show even more on the ball and to get some more goals as well. “We did that and we knew what we were playing for and we saw the motivation and the hunger out there.”

Gareth Southgate advised players not to be stressed by summer transfer talk after joking the England squad have been “tapping each other up” throughout this camp. This mammoth, unprecedented season finally comes to a close with Monday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia at a sold-out Old Trafford. England won 4-0 in Malta on Friday and are expected to take another step towards next summer’s tournament by winning a Group C clash played out against a backdrop of transfer talk. Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Kyle Walker are subject of summer interest, while Harry Maguire, Conor Gallagher and Kalvin Phillips have decisions to make over their lack of game time at club level. There is also speculation about Jordan Pickford and James Maddison, but Southgate has not felt the need to speak to players about it – even though the former defender does have some advice. “I haven’t felt the need to say anything,” Southgate said. “I mean, the players are tapping each other up anyway on the quiet, so I can’t do anything about that! “What I have said is that these things run their course, they happen in their own time, you can’t force it as a player. “Don’t get frustrated, don’t be asking all summer. You don’t need to be updated on every call that happens. “There’s a lot of negotiation that goes on. I remember as a player getting too wrapped up in every detail of that. “In the end, there’s only a small amount that you can actually control. “I think all of those things will happen later on in the summer and I think the players understand that, really. “And they know the focus for the next 36 hours is this game, finishing the season well, making sure we’re set on 12 points and we’ll be in a very healthy position if we do that.” Southgate was speaking alongside left-back Luke Shaw at Sunday’s pre-match press conference and the defender smiled when “tapping up” was mentioned. England are training at Manchester United’s Carrington base and the 27-year-old posted an Instagram story on Saturday showing pictures of him next to Kane and another with Rice. The Old Trafford giants have a longstanding interest in both, and Shaw tagged them in the post with the caption “Carrington tour” and an eyes emoji. Asked who he has been tapping up, Shaw said with a laugh: “There’s a few.” When Mason Mount, another United are interested in, was mentioned to him, Shaw said: “Obviously he’s not here but I think it is all just a bit of banter, really. “Obviously we have a joke and a laugh about it, not too sure what goes on behind the scenes. “It’s to do with the club, really, but of course when we are here we are always together and we have a joke about it. “I don’t really know too much what is going on. That’s just it really.” Shaw looks set to start on Monday as Old Trafford hosts the national men’s team for the first time since 2007. England also played there the previous year against Macedonia – a drab 0-0 draw in what proved to be a failed Euro 2008 qualification campaign. They drew 2-2 in their only other home meeting against the Balkan nation, who Southgate is not taking lightly as he looks to make it third time lucky. “They should have won the other night against Ukraine really,” the England boss said. “So we know the quality of some of the individual players. “They have got some players playing at big European clubs. As a team they function well. “They obviously knocked Italy out of the last World Cup and pushed Portugal close in those knockout games. So, they have got pedigree. “They bring the game to you a bit more than perhaps we had the other night as well. “So, it isn’t just a case of rolling on from Friday, it is a step up in intensity and quality and we’ve got to be right on our game to win the match.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Italy finish third in Nations League after beating the Netherlands Katie Boulter fulfils childhood ambition with ‘special’ victory at Nottingham Gareth Southgate sees a tougher test for his team at Old Trafford

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Amazon is adding the same kind of brain that powers ChatGPT into Alexa. The new technology is intended to allow the virtual assistant to be more powerful and able to speak with its owners in more natural conversations. The announcement were part of a wide array of new devices launched by Amazon this week. It also revealed new tablets and Echos, including those with screens, as well as plans to use generative artificial intelligence to create art to show on those screens. Every year, Amazon announces a number of Alexa devices, which have in the past included everything from soundbars to microwaves. This year, much of its focus was on artificial intelligence. While Alexa was one of the first virtual assistants of its kind to go mainstream, Amazon has lagged behind rivals such as Microsoft and Google in integrating new large language models into those systems. The sudden rise of such technology has sparked greater scrutiny of AI from regulators, given its explosion into general use and concerns over its potential impact on human life as well as industry, jobs and education. During a live event to unveil its latest range of Alexa-powered devices, Amazon looked to reaffirm its position as a market leader in AI by showing off an update to the assistant that will allow for more natural conversations with Alexa, rather than just the transactional request fulfilment it currently runs on. In a live demonstration of Alexa’s new large language model (LLM), Amazon devices boss Dave Limp showed how the new version of the assistant will be able to be more expressive in its responses - for example sounding happier when returning a positive sporting result for a user’s favoured team. Based within a new section of the service called “Let’s Chat”, Alexa will respond without the use of a wake word first, be able to pick up a conversation after a break and still understand the context, as well as understand inferences and more vague prompts in a way that Limp said is “like talking to a friend”. For example, the new Alexa will respond to the prompt “I’m cold” by turning on the heating in a connected home. Amazon has not confirmed a general release date for the new version of Alexa, instead focusing on an early preview programme in the US to try out the new capabilities among some users. Technology expert Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said it was “little surprise” to see Amazon discussing the power of its AI assistant in this way. “It undoubtedly knows that it needs to keep pace with rivals such as Google and Microsoft so articulating what it is doing in this area was essential for this event,” he said. “The upgraded way to talk to Alexa certainly makes it a more personal experience but success will depend on Amazon being able to get consumers to engage with the Echo devices in a very different way to the transactional and basic requests used today. “Some users may find it a little intimidating, but if successful it could make interactions a lot more conversational.” Elsewhere at its hardware event, Amazon unveiled a string of new hardware products, including several new Alexa-powered Echo smart speakers and smart home hubs, as well as new Fire tablets and updated Fire TV Stick devices. Read More Neuralink’s monkeys may have died due to brain implants contrary to Musk’s claims Facebook changes logo to ‘make F stand apart’ – but can you tell the difference? What is ‘Rumble’, where Russell Brand is posting videos? Neuralink’s monkeys may have died due to brain implants contrary to Musk’s claims Facebook changes logo to ‘make F stand apart’ – but can you tell the difference? What is ‘Rumble’, where Russell Brand is posting videos?

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick will not be losing any sleep as he tries to guide his club past Coventry into the Sky Bet Championship play-off final. Carrick and his players were woken in the early hours on Sunday morning after fireworks were set off outside the Forest of Arden hotel at which they were staying ahead of their first-leg clash with the Sky Blues at the CBS Arena. Whether the ploy, which has been attributed to mischievous City fans, worked or not is moot after the teams fought out a 0-0 draw, and everything is still to play for in the return at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday evening. Asked if he was the sort of person who ever lost sleep over football matches, a relaxed Carrick said: “I’m generally a good sleeper fortunately. “Sometimes after games…before games I sleep well – most of the time before games, I sleep well. Sometimes after games, if it’s a night game especially… “It was a little bit worse when I was a player because there’s that little bit more adrenaline going through your system, but most of the time I sleep pretty well.” Mark Robins and his players can expect a hostile welcome and a packed Riverside as Boro attempt to book a trip to Wembley and a showdown with either derby rivals Sunderland or Luton, with the Hatters facing a 2-1 deficit as they welcome the Black Cats to Kenilworth Road on Tuesday evening. Asked if that reception might extend to a tit-for-tat last-night display of pyrotechnics, Carrick said: “Fireworks? I don’t know. “As I said after the game, I had a little chuckle and went back to sleep. Fans are fans, they want to create the atmosphere. “For me, it’s about in the stadium, the atmosphere and how the boys can feed off it. We’ll prepare and we’ll plan and we’ll go into the game exactly as we would for any other game. “But there’s no hiding that extra adrenaline. That extra spark that the supporters inside the stadium can create for us is vital to give us that boost, and I’m sure the boys will feel it and feed off it and hopefully respond to it very well. “But it won’t affect how we prepare for the game. That will be a natural kind of feeling that we benefit from.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Taking on some degree of risk is a healthy part of making financial decisions, but it’s not always comfortable

MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 6, 2023--

The Cavs will look to build off an encouraging 51-win campaign. Let's break down three things that they need to do to advance further next season.Last offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a huge move by trading for four-time All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell.In his first campa...

Tristan Tate, known for his contentious views, announced on the platform 'X' his plans to interview male and female cosplayers