Scientists Study Photochemistry to Preserve Glow-in-the-Dark Art and Fashion

Researchers are working to better understand the unique photochemical properties of glow-in-the-dark materials used in art and fashion. This scientific effort aims to improve how such luminescent works are conserved, stored, and displayed for future audiences. The distinctive chemistry behind these glowing materials presents specific challenges that differ from those of conventional artworks. Gaining deeper knowledge of these properties is considered essential to ensuring the long-term preservation of such culturally significant pieces.

How to prioritize the 5 automations SMBs always request, ranked by maintenance cost

A developer managing 16 production workflows for small businesses argues that automations should be ranked by maintenance cost, not build complexity, since AI tools have made construction cheap. Chatbots rank worst due to constant context changes, API shifts, and client-facing errors like incorrect prices. Appointment scheduling and data-sync integrations carry hidden complexity from concurrency issues and missing APIs respectively. Automated follow-ups and report generation rank best because they fail internally, are idempotent, and have verifiable correctness criteria. The core advice is to budget heavily for client-facing automations from day one and prioritize internal, low-risk workflows first.

India finds a way to cash in on rising gold prices

CIA Chief Makes Secret Moscow Visit Amid US Request to Ukraine to Pause Strikes

CIA Director William Burns reportedly made a covert visit to Moscow in a significant diplomatic development. Prior to the trip, the United States asked Ukraine to temporarily suspend drone and missile attacks targeting Moscow and other northern Russian cities. The request signals a possible shift in Washington's approach to managing escalation in the ongoing conflict. The visit underscores ongoing back-channel efforts between the US and Russia despite the war in Ukraine.

Dreame shuts down automotive division after government funding runs dry

Chinese tech and vacuum company Dreame has shut down its automotive project, known internally as 'Project Starry Sky,' after government funding was withdrawn. The division once employed over 1,000 people, but only a small number of legal and HR staff remain to oversee the wind-down. Dreame acknowledged the closure in a statement, describing it as an adjustment to operations that were in an 'exploratory phase.' The company says it will now concentrate on four core areas: smart home, outdoor and garden products, smart mobility, and embodied AI.

How Feature Flags and Automated Gates Make Trunk-Based Mobile Pipelines Safe

A trunk-based development pipeline for mobile apps can ship code to users within minutes via over-the-air updates, making built-in automated safeguards essential rather than optional. Every pull request must pass a mandatory sequence of type checks, linting, unit tests, and end-to-end device tests before it can merge into the main branch. To prevent unfinished or risky code from reaching users prematurely, the team enforces a strict discipline of hiding unreleased changes behind remote feature flags, decoupling deployment from feature visibility. Tools like Firebase Remote Config and Flagsmith are used to control rollout, allowing changes to sit dark on devices until deliberately activated. A fingerprint gate continuously compares the current main branch against the live store binary, providing the critical routing logic needed to direct hotfixes correctly during production incidents.

H1N1: Corporates urge employees to stay alert

PM Modi Chairs PRAGATI Meeting, Promotes AI for Agriculture and Cybercrime

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a PRAGATI meeting, where he pushed for the use of artificial intelligence in farming and combating cyber fraud. He stressed that infrastructure project delays carry consequences beyond rising costs, as they also defer benefits meant for citizens, businesses, and the economy. PRAGATI is a government platform used to review and monitor key infrastructure and social sector projects. Modi's emphasis on AI adoption signals the government's intent to leverage technology for both agricultural productivity and digital security challenges.

NASA Roman Space Telescope Set for August 2026 Launch from Kennedy Space Center

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on August 30, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The telescope is being developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. Designed to deliver wide and detailed views of the universe, Roman will help scientists investigate dark energy, exoplanets, and large-scale cosmic structures. NASA is currently inviting media representatives to engage with Ames experts ahead of the mission.

Madhya Pradesh Forest Dept to Launch App Linking Residents to Snake Rescuers

The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department is set to launch a digital platform called SHIVAA aimed at improving public safety around snakes. The app will connect citizens with trained snake catchers who can respond to snake sightings or encounters. It will also provide guidance to snakebite victims on where and how to seek medical treatment. The initiative reflects the department's effort to reduce snakebite casualties through faster, technology-driven emergency response.

Trump honours Dolly Parton after her death

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold Review: Improved but Pricey in a Crowded Market

Google has released the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, the latest iteration of its foldable smartphone lineup. The device delivers genuine improvements over its predecessor, making it a more polished product overall. However, a higher price tag compared to the previous model raises questions about its value proposition. The foldable market has also grown increasingly competitive, with several strong rivals vying for consumer attention. As a result, despite its upgrades, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold may be a difficult choice to justify for many buyers.

BermudoGreen.js Offers Free, Zero-Dependency Spreadsheet Engine for Vanilla JS

A developer has released BermudoGreen.js, a free and open-source Excel-like spreadsheet and formula engine built entirely with Vanilla JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS. The library was created as a cost-free alternative to commercial web spreadsheet solutions, which can carry expensive licensing fees. It includes a built-in formula engine supporting functions such as SUM, VLOOKUP, IF, and MATCH, along with a formula bar with IntelliSense auto-complete and multi-color range highlighting. Additional features include Excel-style layout, number formatting options, clipboard compatibility with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, and global undo/redo support. The project is publicly available on GitHub, with a live demo accessible online for developers to test before integrating it into their applications.

XOR Distance Explained: The Metric Behind Peer-to-Peer Network Routing

Developer Maneshwar, creator of the open-source AI code review tool git-lrc, published a technical explainer on XOR distance, a concept used in peer-to-peer networking systems like Kademlia. XOR distance is calculated by performing a bitwise XOR operation on two node IDs and reading the result as a plain integer, where a smaller number means nodes are closer. Unlike Hamming distance, XOR distance is position-sensitive, giving greater weight to differing high-order bits. The metric satisfies three mathematical properties — identity, symmetry, and the triangle inequality — which together guarantee that routing through a P2P network will always converge without getting stuck. This mathematical foundation is what makes XOR-based routing tables practical and reliable in distributed systems.

Man Detained for Pelting Stones at Vande Bharat Train Carrying UP Governor

A man has been detained for throwing stones at a Vande Bharat Express train in which Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel was travelling. The Governor had boarded the train at Vapi station after attending an official event organised by the Union Territory administration in Daman. The stone-pelting incident targeted the train while it was in transit. Authorities acted swiftly to detain the suspect following the security breach involving the constitutional head of UP.

Dolly Parton Has Died

Article URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49438661 Points: 14 # Comments: 2

2 killed at NHAI construction sites in J&K

Baglihar hydel plant shutdown leaves Jammu & Kashmir with 900MW power deficit

Jammu & Kashmir is facing a significant power crisis following the prolonged shutdown of the Baglihar hydroelectric project on the Chenab river. Both stages of the Baglihar plant remained largely non-operational for most of the past week, creating a shortfall of nearly 900MW. The project, comprising Stage I and Stage II, is one of the region's most critical sources of electricity. The crisis is particularly concerning given that peak power demand in the region reaches approximately 2,500MW in summer and 3,000MW in winter. The unavailability of this key facility has considerably widened the existing power deficit in Jammu & Kashmir.

Meghalaya to Restore Statues of Netaji and Vivekananda Vandalised in Shillong

The Meghalaya government has announced plans to restore statues of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda in Shillong. The statues were damaged during a rally organised by the Khasi Students Union on August 19. The incident drew widespread attention due to the national significance of the figures depicted. Authorities have committed to repairing the vandalised monuments as part of efforts to address the situation.

8 Terror Suspects Arrested in South Kashmir, Arms Seized in Sopore

Jammu & Kashmir Police arrested eight terror suspects across two districts in south Kashmir on Tuesday. Six individuals were apprehended in Shopian district, while two more were held in the neighbouring Pulwama district. Separately, a cache of arms and ammunition was recovered in Sopore, located in north Kashmir. Authorities stated the operations dealt a significant blow to terror networks active in the Union Territory.