Our new 'Word Of The Day' article update : prototype , n :
An original form or object which is a basis for other forms or objects (particularly manufactured items), or for its generalizations and models. An early sample or model built to test a concept or process. (computing) A declaration of a function that specifies the name, return type, and parameters, but none of the body or actual code. (semantics) An instance of a category or a concept that combines its most representative attributes.

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Astronomy news update from NASA :
When do cloud bottoms appear like bubbles? Normally, cloud bottoms are flat. This is because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense into water droplets at a specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. As water droplets grow, an opaque cloud forms. Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets may occur in turbulent air near a thunderstorm. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side. The mammatus clouds pictured here were photographed over Hastings, Nebraska during 2004 June.

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Our new 'Word Of The Day' article update : Groom of the Stool , proper n :
(Britain, monarchy, historical) Originally an official responsible for helping the English monarch use the toilet; later a senior official who was allowed access to the monarch's privy chamber and served as a personal secretary.

Our new 'Word Of The Day' article update : by virtue of , prep :
(idiomatic) (originally) by the authority or power of; (now) because of; on the grounds of; by reason of.