Snap's visual search 📱, Netflix's in-app game 🎮, potatoes with human fat 🥔

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Big Tech & Startups

Snapchat’s new AR features can identify the world around you (5 minute read)

Scan is a new feature from Snapchat that can identify a range of objects. It can suggest AR effects and songs based on what the camera is looking at, recommend shops based on clothing, and more. The features are powered by other companies, so more functionality is expected soon. Scan will not be limited to just the Snapchat camera. Snap's AR glasses have a dedicated Scan button that triggers AR effects based on what the wearer is viewing. The new Spectacles aren't available for sale, but Snap has been giving them to select AR creators and partners.

Netflix takes first stab at mobile gaming in its Android app, but only in Poland (2 minute read)

Netflix has released two Stranger Things games on its Android app in Poland. The games have been available for years outside of the Netflix app. Netflix plans to bring ad-free games to mobile devices, and maybe even to consoles, at no additional cost to subscribers. The company has named gaming as one of its toughest competitors because of the massive amount of hours they command worldwide.

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Science & Futuristic Technology

Graphene veils may hold the secret to conserving priceless works of art (5 minute read)

All art establishments are concerned with the degradation of paintings. Harmful factors such as sunlight, moisture, and certain volatile organic compounds can accelerate degradation. Graphene may be the solution to protecting art from exposure to harmful agents. A one-atom-thick sheet of graphene can adhere easily to various substrates and serve as an excellent barrier against oxygen, gases, moisture, and UV light. The graphene sheets can be added to framing glass for artworks with extremely rough surfaces or embossed patterns. The sheets can be removed using a soft rubber eraser.

Scientists Splice Human Gene Into Potatoes to Make Them Grow Huge (2 minute read)

A team of scientists has increased the size of their potato crops by splicing a human gene that encodes a fat-regulating protein into them. The potatoes grew 50 percent larger than usual, opening up the possibility of growing more food without taking up more space for agriculture. Plants don't have a protein comparable to the one the scientists spliced in, so the scientists had no idea what the outcome of the experiment would be. The scientists plan to conduct various safety and replication studies to confirm their results.

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Programming, Design & Data Science

Inertia (Website)

Inertia leverages existing server-side frameworks to create fully client-side rendered single-page apps. It allows developers to build a fully JavaScript-based single-page app without needing to build an API. A demo app is available.

Bashly (GitHub Repo)

Bashly is a bash CLI framework and generator. It can create feature-rich command-line tools with usage text and help screens, positional arguments, option flags, and much more. A GIF demo is available.

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Miscellaneous

With Seven Floors in 12 Days, China Builds Hotel in Record Time (2 minute read)

The China State Construction company recently put together a seven-story hotel in just 12 days. Most of the hotel was built in an automated factory. Once the parts and components of the building were ready, the workers simply had to piece them together on-site. Each component was digitally monitored to quickly identify faults and fix them. The process reduces material waste, construction waste, and energy consumption, as well as noise pollution on-site. A 30-second video showing the construction process is available in the article.

This Startup Wants You To Eat All Your Food In Cube Form (3 minute read)

SquarEat is a company that sells cubes of food made from 100 percent natural ingredients. The cubes have all the features of regular food but with a longer shelf life, better preservation of nutrients, and more convenience. SquarEat offers meal plans with different meal sizes, flavors, and combinations of nutrients. The company wants to revolutionize meal planning with its new concept of food. It has algorithms for recommending meals for customers. A link to SquarEat's pitch deck is available in the article.

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