10.18.26 | DeepSeek releases v4.1 Flash, Solar surpasses nuclear globally, Bleached corals thrive touching neighbours

This is a recap of the top 10 posts on Hacker News on Oct 18, 2026.

Feel free to leave feedback on Github: https://github.com/denolfe/hacker-news-highlights

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:17) - DeepSeek-v4.1-Flash-1017
• (01:34) - Solar surpasses nuclear power globally for first time
• (02:39) - Bleached corals thrive within days when touching healthy neighbour
• (03:41) - Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG
• (04:44) - Furifont, a Japanese font that shows furigana
• (05:46) - Gold is now the top U.S. export
• (06:48) - Making chicken transparent using Dorito dust
• (07:43) - Show HN: Llmspeed – feel how fast a local LLM runs before you buy the hardware
• (08:38) - NY announces game ownership bill requiring ownership rather than licensing
• (09:33) - Dam removals are bringing fish back across the northeastern United States
• (10:37) - Outro

DeepSeek-v4.1-Flash-1017
https://huggingface.co/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50129045

Solar surpasses nuclear power globally for first time
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/09/29/solar-surpasses-nuclear-power-globally-for-first-time/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50131256

Bleached corals thrive within days when touching healthy neighbour
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03266-x
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50126253

Pele – Mermaid diagrams as themeable SVG
https://pele.run/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50132193

Furifont, a Japanese font that shows furigana
https://furifont.antfu.me/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50100994

Gold is now the top U.S. export
https://www.numismaticnews.net/gold-now-top-u-s-export
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50132870

Making chicken transparent using Dorito dust
https://chillphysicsenjoyer.substack.com/p/making-chicken-transparent-using
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50131213

Show HN: Llmspeed – feel how fast a local LLM runs before you buy the hardware
https://llmspeed.dev/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50127979

NY announces game ownership bill requiring ownership rather than licensing
https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/new-york-rep-announces-game-ownership-bill-that-would-require-consumer-ownership-rather-than-sale-of-licenses-would-also-require-publishers-to-keep-the-game-functional-after-support-ends
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50136536

Dam removals are bringing fish back across the northeastern United States
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dam-removals-are-bringing-fish-back-across-the-northeastern-united-states-striking-down-one-tiny-barrier-at-a-time-180989679/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50126312