Science is clear that being a good person gives happiness. The problem is the hidden cost of “overdoing it”

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Since we were little, society has bombarded us with a very clear message: you have to be good people. It’s a moral imperative, yes, but over the past few decades science has attempted to answer a much more pragmatic question: does being kind to others have a real impact on our happiness? This is where A group of researchers wanted to give an answer. What we know. The answer to this question is ‘yes’ according to the latest articles that have been published on the matter. But we must keep in mind that taking kindness to the extreme, leaving our ‘skin’ for others without attending to our own needs, has a real impact that translates into burnout and also in a great emotional exhaustion. And surely, some people can see themselves very reflected in these concepts of literally being very ‘burned out’ for being very kind to others and attending to all the favors they ask of you without thinking about oneself. The positive part. The idea that “good people are happier” is not a simple phrase of Mr. Wonderfulbut it is a conclusion with solid empirical support, especially in the field of positive psychology. Here the researchers were able to see, for example, in a Japanese sample that happier people performed more daily acts of kindness. What’s more, they found that forcing people to simply “count” their own kind acts for a week measurably increased their happiness. There are more studies. Beyond this case, which is very classic, the bibliography leaves us with a great meta-analysis that reviewed decades of research to conclude that help, donate or support others is consistently associated with persistently higher well-being, even if modest in some cases. Something that was also demonstrated in the experimental works of Sonja Lyubomirskywhich made it clear that assigning a group of people the task of “performing acts of kindness” significantly increases their well-being compared to control groups. The negative part. If being good is so positive… Should we give ourselves to others without limit? The answer here is a resounding ‘no’. As has always been heard, the middle ground is where virtue lies, since reaching absolute altruism causes compassion fatigue and burnout. And it is no wonder, because altruism taken to the extreme, especially in highly demanding contexts, is dangerous. The studies on health professionals and caregivers clearly show that high exposure to the suffering of others, combined with a strong compassionate orientation but without clear limits, triggers the risk of psychological collapse and, therefore, serious problems such as anxiety. Its consequences. An empirical study on altruism that exists among co-workers revealed that, although constantly helping colleagues encourages cooperation, in the long term it is associated with great emotional exhaustion and depersonalization of the relationship. That is, the system collapses if aid becomes chronic and absorbs own resources. And the problem is that when people are very compassionate with the rest of the world, they are usually incapable of being very compassionate with themselves and have much greater wear and tear. Here empathy needs a protective shield that is nothing more nor less than a series of limits regarding interpersonal relationships. Although logically there are cases that are difficult to mark because we tend to be too kind. The society. To fully understand the picture of human goodness, one must do zoom out since it is not about what we do individually, but about the ecosystem where we are living. Here the World Happiness Report 2025 dedicate an entire chapter to analyze on a global level how kindness and happiness interact. And their conclusions are revealing, since they point out that the greatest predictor of individual happiness is not the frequency with which we do good acts, but the expectation that others will do good things too. In this case, the report gives a very illustrative example: the expectation that, if you lose your wallet, a stranger will return it to you. Here, believing in the goodness of others has a brutal impact on reducing inequality of happiness within a country, and as the SDSN network points out In their adaptation of the data for Spain, “believing in the goodness of others is much more related to happiness than previously thought.” Images | Brooke Cagle In Xataka | If the question is “where is the secret to happiness,” an expert believes it is hidden in these 15 statements

Humanity has been wondering for years how to adapt to climate change. The Mayans already achieved it centuries ago

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Beyond its architecture, urban planning and art, there is an aspect of the Mayan civilization that fascinates archaeologists: its decline. Over time, historians have understood that the decline was not sudden nor did it respond to a single factor, rather there was a sum that included changes in trade routes, wars and, above all, adverse weather, with droughts. severe and prolonged. Now we know something more. Even during the stages of Classic Terminal (800-1000 AD) and Postclassic (1000-1500 AD), while large urban centers succumbed, there were settlements that adapted to climate changes. What has happened? Which a group of archaeologists has just published an article in which they capture their years of research in a Mayan settlement located in ‘Birds of Paradise’, some wetlands located in the north of Belize. The site itself is not new. Scientists identified it long ago a few years with the help of lidara tool that is revolutionizing archaeology. What is new are the conclusions that its analysis has left. He study is published in the magazine PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science) and, among other issues, concludes that the wetland offers valuable information about how the Mayans responded to the social and environmental changes they dealt with during two crucial stages of their history: the Classic Terminal and Postclassic, a period that goes from the 9th to the 16th centuries. What have they found out? As they explain from New York University (NYU), to which the main author of the study belongs, one of the most interesting readings that the site leaves is the extent to which the Mayans adapted to the vagaries of the climate. Basically, researchers have proven that at a time when large urban centers were abandoned, pressured in part by intense droughtsthere were Mayan settlements that managed to survive in the wetlands. As? For its ability to adapt to the environment. And how did they do it? Taking advantage of the means they had at hand. “Wetlands provided resources for hunting and fishing to ancient populations, in addition to serving as refuge in periods of drought and social upheavals,” they explain from NYU. The environment supplied them with something else, equally or even more valuable for their settlements: construction materials. The site in question that they have analyzed in Belize in fact includes eight mounds of earth that could have served as a base for building buildings and a large elevated limestone platform. The experts also rescued wooden posts, animal remains and ceramic artifacts, clues that tell us about how life continued while other nearby urban centers declined. What do the experts say? “Together these findings reveal a highly adaptable community with diverse tools, food and construction materials. It shows us that Mayan communities could change habitats and survive extreme climates,” explains Timothy Beachprofessor at the University of Texas at Austin, who nevertheless recognizes that “we still do not know the size of this wetland population and its functioning.” Now archaeologists aim to go one step further. “Our next moves include expanding the excavations to understand how the Mayans built with unconventional wood, how they ate, and how this settlement fit into a region that was suffering from widespread abandonment.” Why is it important? Because of the historical era we are talking about. In their article, the researchers assure that the Belize site demonstrates the ability of the ancient Mayans to adapt to “the profound challenges” that they had to live through from the 9th century AD. For reference, a team led by the University of Cambridge discovered not long ago that between 871 and 1021 they happened eight persistent droughtsof at least three years, in the Yucatán Peninsula. The worst of all actually lasted more than a decade. The scientists arrived at that conclusion after analyzing a stalagmite from a Yucatan cave. And, beyond how spectacular it may be, the data is interesting because it tells us about the challenges that the Mayans faced during the Terminal Classic (800-1000 AD), when the limestone cities of the south they were abandonedthe dynasties declined and civilization moved north, losing part of its political and economic power in the area. Are there more conclusions? “As the large urban centers of the Mayan regions succumbed to interconnected socio-environmental factors, the communities of the Birds of Paradise complex persisted through that transition by constructing a series of elevated structures of earth, stone and wood with direct access to the abundant resources and connectivity offered by the riparian wetland system,” reads the article published in PNAS. “It provides evidence for persistent populations between the Elevated Interior Region and coastal regions during the Terminal Classic to Postclassic. While nearby highland urban centers were abandoned, this population continued to emphasize wetland agriculture and provides our best evidence for other subsistence strategies, such as fishing and gathering other proteins, reflected in the faunal assemblage,” they add the researchers. What did they dig? That is another of the surprises that the study leaves behind. Archaeologists discovered what NYU describes as “the largest collection of architectural wood” located inland, as well as artifacts that help historians understand everyday life in the wetlands. It may seem like a minor issue, but it is not common to find remains of wood in Mayan sites. On the contrary. Their very nature causes them to degrade in tropical environments. In Belize, experts have discovered “a unique opportunity” which allows them to better understand how the ancient Mayans built, what types of wood they used and how they used each one. Is it so uncommon? The majority of preserved Mayan wooden remains are figurines, spears and boxes that were recovered mainly in caves in Belize at the beginning of the 20th century. Remains have also been found in mountainous and saline areas in the south of the country. The new findings go further. “It challenges long-held beliefs that sites like this could not survive in the American tropics and suggests we might be overlooking similar sites,” admits Lara Sánchez-Morales, professor of anthropology … Read more

The first telecommunications network in history arose in ancient Syria, 3,800 years before the internet

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Nowadays it is difficult to think of anything other than being able to communicate with anyone instantly, no matter how far away they are. As a millennial, I have lived in the era when sending messages continuously was not common: SMS was not free and forced you to economize on language. And of course, before there were telephone calls, the reception of which today causes fear among youth. We can go back in time to the telegraph or the imperial postal networks and even the discreet carrier pigeons, which have been helping humanity communicate from the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations. A recent post from the historian and professor of history at the University of Central Florida Tiffany Earley-Spadoni published within a volume on global perspectives of warscapes brings to the fore the first telecommunications network documented both textually and archaeologically 3,800 years ago: a system of beacons to launch an SOS. The discovery. A cuneiform chart excavated at Mari, eastern Syria, dating to 1800 BC is the oldest known historical evidence of signaling using fiery beacons. But we also know what he said: an official named Bannum writes to the king while traveling to the north of the region with concern after observing the successive lighting of bonfires near Terqa and requests reinforcements. That lighting was not accidental: it was a signal of imminent danger on the border, an early warning system for possible attacks on their cities. Early-Spadoni refers to this system as a “fortified regional network,” or FRN for short. A little context. This documentation is framed within the Syrian Middle Bronze Age, a territory of cities – states in constant conflict. Taking the city meant dealing a blow to the rival and keeping its wealth, hence the siege was the star attack. But conquering a territory was much easier than administering it. Thus, these states had great ambitions, but lacked the infrastructure to govern themselves from a distance. So to better defend themselves and control the territories they used two systems: large walls surrounding the cities and a network of forts, towers and guarded roads in rural areas. This second structure is the seed of the development of empires. Why is it important. Bannum’s letter is the oldest known historical testimony of the use of an intentionally designed telecommunications network with shared infrastructure, nodes, and protocol. Do not confuse with communication methods, since smoke or drums are prehistoric and undatable. But it is also key for civilizations insofar as it allowed us to go from “presumptive states” (which conquers territories it cannot govern) to develop real and lasting territorial empires: without this infrastructure of communication and control, the size of the empires would have been simply ungovernable. How it worked. With a physical structure made up of fortresses, forts, watchtowers and wall segments and with an operation protocol. It essentially served to control routes, resupply military personnel, transmit information and track movements in the territory. The physical hierarchy of its infrastructure was distributed along roads and river crossings spaced at regular intervals of about 20 kilometers to ensure visibility between nodes. The large fortresses were the main nodes with smaller forts between them, with watchtowers for signaling to reinforce points that were difficult to see and segments of walls in strategic areas. The system operated continuously: with smoke during the day, fire at night, and had permanent reserves of wood. Each signal was known by all the nodes, so that when a beacon, the signal traveled through the nodes until it reached the center in a relatively short time. Speed ​​was its great asset and its handicap was how limited it was: it could only transmit simple messages. The early “internet”. Comparing it with the current Internet is not just a rhetorical question: FRNs share with the Internet several of its principles, such as distributed nodes, redundancy to avoid failures, protocols agreed in advance and a topology to maximize connectivity between distant points. A before and after to build empires. This system did not disappear with Mari. For more than a thousand years, each new empire that emerged in the Near East encountered these networks, recognized them as a valuable structure, and implemented them to suit their needs. The Neo-Assyrian integrated them into walled cities and in parallel developed a horse relay system for more complex and confidential messages, impossible to transmit with the original infrastructure. The Urartian Empire made them the organizing principle of an entire empire. And the Persian Empire took the model to its maximum expression with the royal road that Herodotus describes in his Histories: forts at regular intervals, relay of messages and archaeologically confirmed fire beacons in Anatolia. Earley-Spadoni’s conclusion is that without these infrastructures, the largest empires of the ancient world would not have been able to manage themselves. In Xataka | From when a monstrous telecommunications tower and its more than 4,000 cables blocked the sun from the inhabitants of Stockholm In Xataka | In 1901, a Spanish man had one of the ideas of the century: invent the remote control before television Cover | حسن and Ezra Jeffrey-Comeau

muscle fever at 40

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Walking through the park has become a curious experience. It is not uncommon to come across women who seem prepared for a tactical mission, with voluminous vests that appear to be bulletproof. However, there is no danger; is the fever rucking. As journalist Emma Rosenblum tells it in it wall street Journalwe are facing an “explosion of interest – bordering on obsession – in well-being during perimenopause.” Her friends, Rosenblum says, have gone from enjoying a Bolognese pasta dinner to shaming her for using five-pound weights and not “swallowing Greek yogurt by the bucket.” This scene, which is repeated in thousands of homes, reflects a paradigm shift: the generation that grew up with the ideal of extreme thinness She is trying to age differently than her mothers and grandmothers, those who ended up with a hunched back and hip fractures after a simple stumble. To understand why our friends are lifting weights as if their lives depended on it, we have to look at hormones. According to Mayo Clinicperimenopause is that transition period — which can begin at age 30 or 40 — where estrogen and progesterone rise and fall like a roller coaster. This drop in estrogen not only brings the famous hot flashes or irritability. As explained in Cleveland Clinicestrogen is the guardian of our bones. When it disappears, the body begins to break down the bone faster than it can make it. The data of Harvard Health they are relentless: After the age of 40, inactivity and hormonal changes can rob us of bone mass at a rate of 1% per year. In fact, in the 5 to 7 years after menopause, a woman can lose up to 20% of her bone density, according to doctor Jennifer Wagner. The new “faith” of the gym For decades, women’s health was limited to reproductive health. “It seemed like one night you went to bed premenopausal and the next day you woke up postmenopausal,” explains Dr. Mary Jane Minkin. in Yale Medicineand. The reality is much more complex and has been systematically ignored. In Spain, gynecologist Blanca Fernández, from the Gipuzkoa Polyclinic, warns on portal With Health that 80% of those over 40 are worried about their symptoms, but only 57% consult a doctor. It is the result of years of “unnecessary resignation” and lack of research. However, that narrative is taking a turn. The portal The Good Trade points out that the culture of thinness has done us a disservice, creating generations of women with osteoporosis. Now, the goal is to avoid “sarcopenia” (the loss of muscle with age). As researcher Christopher Hurst explains in The Conversationstrength training is the “gold standard” for healthy aging. It’s not about aesthetics, but about “independence and dignity.” Hurst clarifies that it is not necessary to lift the garbage truck: one or two sessions per week where muscle fatigue is reached (feeling that you cannot do one more repetition) is enough to see significant changes. Even people in their 80s and 90s can benefit, the expert emphasizes. The phenomenon of “health soldiers” This is where we must separate the wheat from the chaff. Do all my friends need to lift their own body weight?: Strength training: It is undeniable, the basis for a healthy aging. By “stressing” the bone by lifting weights or using resistance bands, bone-forming cells are activated. From harvard they add thatUnlike cardio, strength specifically protects the spine, hips and wrists, the most critical fracture points. The myth of the weighted vest: Guardian tested this trend and the conclusion is mixed. Although it adds difficulty to the ride, the experts on the portal threes warn about the risks: “Carrying weight without a base of strength can cause compression on the spine and stress on the joints.” In addition, the studies that support its effectiveness in creating bone are usually small and carried out in people who also did impact exercises. The protein trap: Yes, bone needs protein, but as Dr. Tang says in it WSJthere is no reason to live “gobbling up chicken breasts” as if there were no tomorrow if you are not at high clinical risk. DEXA fever: What was once a test for the elderly is today the new health “selfie.” The DEXA scan measures fat, muscle and bone. Although doctors like Dr. Miriam Bredella They say the test is underused in those over 65, longevity figures such as Dr. Peter Attia defend its early use (at 30 or 40 years old) to detect “visceral fat” and have a baseline before the hormonal collapse occurs. Muscle as life insurance Despite the avalanche of information, some experts call for calm. Dr. Karen Tang comment on the WSJ that, although awareness is good because “a lot of this is preventable”, too much information can become a source of unnecessary stress. “For the average person, these are simple lifestyle modifications: some weight-bearing exercise and some strength training,” he says. You don’t have to jump around the city like a kangaroo or eat a truckload of chickens a day. Even the gynecologist Blanca Fernández, in statements collected by Communicateinsists that we must not forget other pillars: taking care of the pelvic floor (to avoid incontinence) and considering Hormone Replacement Therapy if symptoms reduce quality of life, since today it is a safe and effective option. This massive interest in bone density is not just an Instagram fad; It is the awakening of a generation of women who refuse to be “invisible” or “fragile.” However, there is a fine line between taking care of yourself and succumbing to a new form of aesthetic pressure disguised as health. How the experts conclude in With Healthperimenopause is a natural physiological process, but “natural is not synonymous with painful.” The ultimate goal of lifting weights or eating broccoli should not be to achieve an ideal of fitness unattainable, as pointed out The Conversation, maintain independence and dignity. Being able to climb stairs, carry shopping bags and get up from a chair without help when … Read more

Ships have been damaging the oceans with noise for centuries. Germany is working on silent propellers to solve it

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Every time a boat crosses the seas, it is accompanied by a continuous noise underwater: that of the propellers that propel it. The noise problem of propellers in marine ecosystems is identified academically since 2004, but its reason for being is even older: the first time they analyzed its cause It was in 1893. What there is no solution to that disturbing low-frequency sound that spreads for kilometers, disturbing fish, cetaceans and other marine living beings. And its reason for being is even older: the first time cavitation was analyzed was in 1893. A team from the Kiel University of Applied Sciences has set out to remedy it with its project MinKav. Brief notes on cavitation. To understand the problem, we must first see what happens to the blades of a propeller when they rotate at high speed. With their movement, the blades generate a pressure difference between their faces. Thus, on the back side the pressure drops so much that the water changes state, going from liquid to gas. More specifically, thousands of small vapor bubbles. The problem is when these bubbles leave that low pressure zone: they then implode violently, returning to the liquid state, which causes pressure waves that are transmitted at high speed through the water. If the waves collide with a surface, they can deteriorate it considerably. The phenomenon of cavitation is accompanied by vibration and noise, as if it were gravel falling on a machine. This sound is broadband, with low frequency components capable of traveling long distances. Why is it important. Of all possible aquatic pollution, human-caused acoustics are the least mainstream, but their effects are documented. A couple of concrete examples of the importance of sound for aquatic species: whales They use sound to communicate, orient themselves and huntthe fish for such essential tasks how to detect predators or spawning and crustaceans are sensitive to vibration in the background. To get an idea of ​​the magnitude of the problem, according to the International Chamber of Navigation There are approximately 50,000 merchant ships operating continuously around the planet and they all emit that sound. It is not something specific. And the research team adds a twist: a propeller with less cavitation is not only less noisy, it can also potentially be more efficient (cavitation is wasted mechanical energy). Less noise and fewer emissions. The discovery. The HAW Kiel team has identified when the problem originates: the sound peak does not occur when the bubble forms, but right at the end of the collapse. And its intensity depends directly on the speed at which this collapse occurs. The faster you go, the stronger the blow. Illustration of human, marine animal and environmental sound sources in the marine environment, with proportional sound waves. National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration How are they doing it. The experiments are being carried out at the Naval Hydrodynamics Laboratory of the German university, in a kind of aquarium with a miniature propeller, so that they can reproduce the flow conditions around the propeller. Equipped with underwater microphones and high-speed cameras, they have determined where and when that noise peak occurs. The next step is computer simulations to experiment with designing different propeller geometries to reduce noise without sacrificing performance, efficiency or durability. The most obvious solution, lowering the rpm, is not an option: a commercial boat cannot afford to go slower. Pending subjects. However, MinKav started in January of this year, will last three years and have a budget of 390,000 euros, modest for a problem of global scale. Even if MinKav were to come to fruition, it would have to go from the laboratory to scale-up on a commercial ship. In Xataka | A Spaniard has patented a mast that transforms wind and waves into electricity: his invention challenges diesel in boats In Xataka | A “roomba” to clean rivers: the ship that the Three Gorges Dam has launched in China Cover | Pexels

has now created the first chemical map of the hidden face

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While NASA chokes on the MoonChina is going like a rocket. Not literally, but they lack little. The satelliteand has become a priority again in space exploration due to its potential in scientific research, but also like mine and even as a ‘battery’and everyone wants their share of the space cheese. China is completing steps at an astonishing speed in their goal of going to the satellite and has just reached another milestone: they have created the first chemical map of the hidden side of the moon. And it is something with the potential to accelerate the next steps on the satellite. In short. A investigation conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tongji University and the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics has led to chemical mapping of the entire satellite. That includes something that was “unexplored” in this sense until now: the hidden face. Until nowalmost half of the lunar surface that remains hidden from our eyes was “uncharted chemical territory” because… well, we hadn’t been there. In the Apollo missions, materials were collected that allowed, together with the observation missions, to carry out this chemical profile of the satellite, but only of the visible part. It is, in short, where we had been. The Chang’e-6 mission changed that when, in June 2024, returned from his mission on the hidden side with about two kilos of material from the South Pole-Aitken basin. AI. They were the first samples collected from the far side and the only thing researchers could cling to if they wanted to develop that chemical profile of the satellite. It is, so that we understand each other, like the DNI, and to create the chemical map, they have used artificial intelligence. They dumped the sample data along with other orbital spectral data collected by the multiband imager. Kaguya from Japan and, after a process of data cleaning and refinement, the researchers have mapped the distribution of six large groups of oxides. We are talking about iron, titanium, aluminum, silicon, calcium and magnesium, and this is something that allows us to develop a hypothetical historical profile of the Moon. For example, we now know that the highlands have a higher concentration of magnesian rocks compared to the visible side. And even if you think “so what,” this indicates that the Moon’s magma ocean crystallized asymmetrically: first in one of the hemispheres and then in the other. Importance. There is still data to be revealed, but this chemical map is more important than it may seem. It is a different way of mapping the satellite and… well, it conditions everything we want to do on the Moon soon. Rough wayis a key advance to understand both the elemental composition and the geological evolution of the planet. You can also create a chronology of impacts and something more “useful”: it is a guide for future missions. By having data on the composition of the soil and the probability that there are more or less resources In certain areas, this chemical map allows moon landing sites to be selected based on very specific data. For example, if future missions want to focus on collecting regolith rich in certain elements, the chemical map is a thread of clues to pull on. Future. Because we are no longer talking about “well, when we return to the Moon…” we are talking about powers that have very clear plans not only to send automated probes, but to set foot, again, on the satellite. He NASA’s Artemis program -which continues to accumulate problems- will be the first manned flight around the Moon in 50 years, and future trips They are aiming for lunar landings. China, for its part, wants to send the Chang’e 7 probe to the south pole in search of ice; Chang’e 8 to test the utilization of resources directly on the satellite and manned flight missions for 2028 and a moon landing in 2030. Russia was also in the loop with the Luna project, as well as the creation of the space base in collaboration with China, but its solo projects have been delayed. Therefore, the fact that we have the first chemical map of the satellite is not only an achievement to satisfy scientific curiosity, but also a guide for those future missions on the ground. In Xataka | Mars was the great space battleground between China and the US. Now it’s the Moon and there’s too much at stake

In 2021 a man made a military prediction and since then Taiwan and the US have been preparing for a date: 2027

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In a military sense, there are few things as influential as a date that no one has officially set. Sometimes one sentence in a parliamentary hearing is enough for governments, armies and analysts to begin reorganizing budgets, exercises and strategies for years. In the Indo-Pacific, a figure pronounced some time ago ended up becoming a kind geopolitical clock. In fact, today marks the planning of various powers. The prediction on the calendar. In March 2021, a seemingly technical testimony before the US Senate ended up becoming one of the most influential points of reference in the Indo-Pacific military strategy. Then Admiral Philip Davidson warned that the rapid growth of Chinese military power could endanger Taiwan “within the next six years,” a statement that implicitly set a date: 2027. That estimate, based on intelligence analysis on the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army, quickly became what many strategists called the “Davidson window”. Since then, the number was installed in military planning of Washington, Taipei and their allies, triggering an investment careerwar exercises and military reinforcements throughout the Pacific. 2027 and the centenary. Of course, the reason why that date seemed plausible was closely related to the people themselves. Beijing’s strategic objectives. 2027 marks the centenary of the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army, and Xi Jinping’s leadership has set that year as a key stage to complete a major phase of military modernization. The plan is part of a broader calendar that seeks to have “basically modernized” armed forces by 2035 and capable of rivaling any world power around 2049. Although Beijing has never officially announced that this anniversary is linked to an invasion of Taiwan, the temporal coincidence between military modernization and increasing demonstrations of strength around the island has reinforced the perception that 2027 could become a critical moment. The strategy in the Pacific. As the years went by, that prediction took on a life of its own. Washington increased significantly its military spending aimed at competing with China and began to reinforce strategic infrastructure on Pacific islands to facilitate the deployment of forces. At the same time, the United States approved billions of dollars in arms sales to Taiwan, while Taipei began to adjust its military planning around a possible invasion scenario towards the end of the decade. Even the major Taiwanese military exercises have passed to simulate explicitly a Chinese attack in 2027, reflecting how a single strategic estimate ended up becoming a true geopolitical clock for the entire region. A surprise attack. For a long time, military analysis assumed that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be impossible to conceal. A deployment of hundreds or thousands of ships, troops and equipment along the Chinese coast would generate obvious signals detectable by satellites and intelligence services weeks before the start of the operation. However, some analysts now warn that this assumption could be too optimistic. Recent research has suggested that China could attempt forms of attack faster or surprisingleveraging new tactics and technologies to reduce advance notice time. This scenario is especially worrying to Taiwan, which has historically relied on having enough time to react and mobilize its defenses. Increasingly intense military career. Meanwhile, Chinese military power has continued to expand at great speed. Beijing’s defense budget has increased steadily over the last decade and the country has introduced new capabilities that could be key in an eventual conflict: long-range missiles, advanced drones, new aircraft carriers and ships designed to transport troops and material to hostile coasts. These transformations do not guarantee that an invasion is imminent, of course, but they are changing the balance military in the Taiwan Strait and fueling concerns about the future of the region. The domino effect of other wars. The international context adds another layer of uncertainty to this strategic calculation. Conflicts in other regions, especially the Middle East, are forcing the United States to consume large quantities of ammunition, interceptors and military resources that were originally intended to reinforce deterrence in Asia. Analysts warn that a prolonged war in other theaters could delay deliveries of weapons to Taiwan and further strain US defense industrial capacity, where there is already a significant delay in military orders destined for the island. A strategic watch. Although neither China nor the United States have officially set a timetable for a conflict, the idea of ​​2027 has become a point psychological reference for governments, military and analysts. Some believe that this date has fueled unnecessary fears and an arms race in the region, while others believe that it has served to wake up Washington and its allies facing a historic change in the balance of power. In any case, the prediction made in 2021 has left a more than profound mark: today, in the barracks, offices and strategy centers of the Indo-Pacific, the calendar advances with a figure marked in red. 2027… and China. Image | 中文（臺灣）：​中華民國總統府, 總統府, Al Jazeera In Xataka | “We have never seen anything like this”: if China invades Taiwan, Taiwan will not notice because a drone has been disguised as an optical illusion for months In Xataka | An island has become the new red line against China: it has Taiwan in front of it and Japan is going to fill it with missiles

science details that it completely changes how we digest it

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White bread is one of the star foods of our gastronomy, since many people almost need it to have some lentils or in the morning. to make some toast. The ‘problem’ is that for many people it is a prohibited food due to its high glycemic index, which causes a very pronounced sugar spike after taking it. Although There are options to have less impact. Your metabolism. Our body, due to the refined flours used, causes its carbohydrates to be digested quickly, causing a blood glucose spike. However, for some time now a ‘biohack’ has been circulating on the internet that promises to change this with a simple gesture: put the bread in the freezer and toast it before eating it. Something that can be ideal especially for diabetics. Here the question is almost obligatory: is it an urban legend? What happens to the bread? To understand why bread changes its properties when cooled or heated, we must look at its main component, which it’s starch. In these cases, when the bread is baked, the starch gelatinizes, becoming easily digestible for our enzymes, and this causes the sugar to quickly pass into the blood. However, when we subject that bread to an extreme cooling process, such as freezing, and subsequently toast it, the molecular structure of the starch changes. What occurs here is a physical-chemical phenomenon known as retrogradation, which has as its final result the formation of type 3 resistant starch. A new starch. Type 3 resistant starch lives up to its name, as it resists digestion in the small intestine. The result is that, instead of being broken down into glucose quickly, it passes intact to the large intestine, where it acts in a similar way to dietary fiber, serving as food for our intestinal microbiota. What does science say? This mechanism is something that already It was tested in 2008 with the publication of an article that measured the glycemic response in healthy volunteers after consuming white bread subjected to different processes: Fresh white bread: 259 mmol min/l. Just toasted white bread: 193 mmol min/l. White bread frozen and then toasted: 157 mmol min/l. The important thing here is that frozen and then toasted white bread shows a significant drop in the glycemic index. That is, the simple act of freezing the bread and putting it through the toaster reduced the glucose spike by almost 40%. There is more evidence. In addition to this, there are other published studies that showed that frozen and reheated white bread generates a much lower glycemic response at all times measured after ingestion. In fact, already in 1988, another study showed that roasting reduces the degree of digestion, and subsequent work confirms that leave it frozen for a long time The amount of resistant starch progressively increases. It’s not magic. Although science suggests that toasted and frozen bread is metabolically better at keeping glycemic spikes at bay, there is fine print to keep in mind. One of these important points is that, in healthy people, reducing the glycemic index is interesting on a physiological level, but its impact on general health or weight loss is minimal if it is not accompanied by a healthier diet. Additionally, toasting bread increases its palatability. That is, it is richer, crunchier and not as filling as fresh bread, which can lead us to eat more, canceling out any benefits of resistant starch. The alternatives. If you want to continue eating bread but with a lower impact on your health, one of the options is to opt for whole grain bread that is 100% whole grain or made with long-fermented sourdough, since they have an inherently lower glycemic index thanks to their high fiber content. But we must also remember that the glycemic load of a meal does not depend on a single food. Combining bread with good sources of protein, healthy fats, such as extra virgin olive oil, and fiber flattens the glucose curve much more forcefully than the best toasted bread. In Xataka | Bread has always been a pillar of the Spanish diet. Now it is suffering a historic crisis and no one knows why

China has a nuclear reactor 100 times more efficient than traditional ones. The trick is to shoot atoms with an accelerator

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China has had one goal in mind for some years: to have a voice in the nuclear race. In the weaponsyes, but also in energy. As Europe argues and the United States attempts to rejuvenate its critical infrastructure to meet AI needs, China has been on the accelerator for months. Recently they have not only approved 10 new reactorsbut they are one step away from turning on a new generation nuclear power plant to provide ‘green’ energy for 1,000 years. This is the CiADS system, or Throttle Actuated System. It is a type of reactor that China has been developing for more than 15 years and that promises to convert waste into energy. Their trick is to convert “garbage” into fuel, and it is a very interesting twist for nuclear energy. And even more so in a China that wants to dominate the atom and renewables as a basis for the development of another of the great ambitions of the country. Artificial intelligence. A twist to nuclear energy In a releasethe Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences gave some details of how this accelerator-driven nuclear reactor works. Uranium is still the fuel, but “reactor driven by an accelerator” is literal. Using a particle accelerator, protons are “shot” at a heavy metal target at a speed of 0.8 times that of light. This generates neutrons that drive a reactor that operates somewhat below the critical threshold to be self-sustaining. The reactor generates energy and this violent reaction causes the long-lived radioactive isotopes that are normally generated in a conventional nuclear power plant to transmute and become materials with a shorter life. As its managers explain in SCMPthe CiADS is a hybrid between a nuclear reactor and a particle accelerator. The main advantage is that greatly reduces the risk of uncontrolled reactionsbut it has another: you can reuse the radioisotopes that normally would be treated as nuclear waste to continue producing energy. Firing beams of protons through these accelerators to bombard the heavy metal makes the uranium-238 give way to a new nuclear fuel: plutonium-239. According to the state media Science and Technology Daily, it is basically turning waste into treasures. According to those responsible, this method is 100 times more efficient than conventional fission and would allow nuclear energy to be converted into “a source of green, safe and stable energy for 1,000 years”, ensuring part of the necessary energy supply for the future. Furthermore, since what would previously be long-lasting waste is reused, the resulting CiADS has a useful life of less than one thousandth compared to conventional waste. The CiADS under construction They are two birds with one stone: China is wildly expanding its nuclear capacity, but it is estimated that it does not have as much uranium of its own and would continue to depend on imports… or to fish it in the sea. With “100 times more efficient” plants, you can get more juice out of what you have. And then there’s the fact that nuclear waste is less dangerous. If everything goes as planned, China will have its first MW-scale CiADS in 2027. It will be then when we check if those theoretical promises achieved by scale prototypes are fulfilled. The CiADS comes at a time when China has emerged as a contradiction in energy matters. They carry years fighting pollution and emissions, but they burn coal. They are a powerhouse in renewables with megastructures and deserts covered by panels. But in the age of AI, it is precisely that coal and gas that is the fuel that allows us to satisfy the demand of data centers at the peak of training. With nuclear weapons, China seeks further reduce your CO2 footprintbut ensuring a future in which it must feed the population, artificial intelligence and a network of technology companies that are doing the most difficult: fighting Western companies without the technological resources of the West. Because right now China doesn’t have the chips or the AI, but yes the energy. And that investment in new generation nuclear plants and, above all, in nuclear fusionrepresents the foundation of what is to come. Everything, that is, if the CiADS works as expected. Images | Sahaza Delis, Tighef In Xataka | There is a global race to be the first to reach nuclear fusion. And Germany just gave it an optimistic date

The AI ​​race is no longer about who has the most powerful model. Who launches the easiest and safest OpenClaw

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2026 began with an earthquake in the world of AI, and it did not come from any of the big technology companies, but from an unknown programmer and his open source project OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot and Moltbot). Not even two months have passed and we can say that the boom of this AI agent is reconfiguring the AI ​​career, causing more and more companies to jump on the bandwagon. The last one was Perplexity. Personal Computer. a month ago, Perplexity announced Computerwhich was a cloud-based tool capable of orchestrating agents using various models. The next step is Personal Computeryour own OpenClaw. can be left running on a Mac Mini and control it from another device, such as a mobile phone, exactly the same as OpenClaw, but with a simpler interface that does not require technical knowledge. Further user-friendly. Another key aspect is that they focus on security, one of the delicate points of OpenClaw. Perplexity claims that with Personal Computer, “Every sensitive action requires your approval. Every action is logged. There’s an off switch.” At the moment Personal Computer is not available yet, but if you want to try it before anyone else you can sign up for the waiting list. NVIDIA NemoClaw. Which is the most valuable company in the world has taken good note of the success of OpenClaw and a couple of days ago they announced that they will launch their own open source platform for enterprise AI agents, they will call it NemoClaw. This announcement is also important because it places NVIDIA in a position of direct competition against companies like Anthropic, OpenAI or Perplexity. This changes its position from a hardware supplier to a software competitor. and OpenAI…The project had not even been three months old when OpenAI, not only bought it, but also hired its creator Peter Steinberger. It was not the only one who bid to achieve the viral success of the moment, Meta also tried, but OpenAI was the one that won the bid. Stenberger said the project would continue to remain “open and independent.” This case is a good example of two things: how far a person can go with a good AI idea and how difficult, if not impossible, it is to compete in an ecosystem in which the competition is some of the largest and most valuable companies in the world. David against Goliath. The agentic AI race. We spent a good part of 2025 watching AI agents take their first steps, many times with quite mediocre results. It was clear that agentic AI was getting a lot betterbut I don’t think anyone expected that the first viral hit would be carried out by an independent and open source project. OpenClaw not only succeeded, it has launched a new race in AI, one that seeks the ultimate custom AI agents. OpenClaw has two barriers to entry, on the one hand requiring certain technical knowledge and on the other security. It is a very powerful agent, but sometimes unpredictable. Hence, Perplexity is appealing precisely to improve these two aspects. We’ll see who will be next. In Xataka | Social networks were born for humans: Meta has just bought one designed for AI agents Image | Pexels

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