a colossal textile factory from a thousand years ago with its own Amancio Ortega

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There are many myths surrounding the Vikings: they were not a pure superior race how supremacists think neither pillage was their way of life. Yes indeed, They were even more violent of what the collective imagination thinks. But they were not savages or illiterate: their society was more complex and advanced than it may seem. So much so that They had a huge workshop set up textile. The discovery. The Moesgaard Museum, the institution linked to Aarhus University and an authentic reference in Danish Viking archaeology, has presented the preliminary results of an ongoing excavation in Søften, north of Aros, the Viking city that is the origin of modern-day Aarhus. There they have found 82 underground workshop huts (grubehuse) in an area of ​​at least 100,000 square meters. Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, director of the excavation, points out that the layout of the site, with differentiated areas of production, crafts and a single home, suggests that it was an activity directed by someone with control over the resources, it was not just any agricultural town. Why is it important. Moesgaard historian Kasper H. Andersen explains that Søften and Lisbjerg are examples of how Aros was integrated into international economic networks thanks to these productive centers in the periphery. That is, it reinforces the theory that there artisanal production was organized in satellite settlements around emporiums, such as Ribe or Hedeby. Context. In addition to this Søften site, there are two other Viking sites near Aros: Lisbjerg, where the Moesgaard museum had previously excavated an aristocratic settlement where they found 30 graves in 2025 and Elstedwhere in 2024 an archeology student found a Viking silver hoard. This set of sites reinforces the image of a densely organized region around Aarhus during the Viking Age, probably between the 7th and 10th centuries AD, although the exact dating of the Søften site is yet to be confirmed by scientific analysis, according to collects mithsonian Magazine. In detail. Of the 82 grubehuse, 48 have been located in this campaign in an area that covers 60,000 square meters and the remaining 34 come from from previous excavations carried out in 2008 and 2013. Among the objects recovered were loom weights and spindles for textile production, silver cuttings, coins and glass beads, goods linked to commerce and the economic activity of the place. Likewise, there was a cobblestone area next to a wet area, which made traffic easier. Yes, but. At the moment we are looking at conclusions from the preliminary study, not an academic publication with peer review. Furthermore, the hypothesis of “centralized control” is an interpretation of the excavation director, Liv Stidsing Reher-Langberg, pending more precise dating and fiber analysis that places the site exactly within the Viking era. In Xataka | We knew that Viking society was violent, but not that violent: a new study sheds light on their level of weaponry In Xataka | Science already knows when the Viking Age began. Thanks to a solar flare Cover | Ashutosh Gupta and Moesgaard Museum

Artists are starting to ask their fans not to poop at concerts, even if they lose their place

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Olivia Rodrigo has confessed that she recognizes her most devoted fans by smell. They are the ones who poop in the front rows, unable to stop looking at it even for a moment. Behind the eschatological joke there is a somewhat more controversial fact (if possible): the front row at concerts is currently so expensive that many fans are not willing to lose their place for a squeeze. The fans have greater strengths. At KISS Breakfastthe morning show on the British station KISS FM, the hosts asked Olivia Rodrigo about the most uncomfortable place she had ever had to go to the bathroom. The singer redirected the answer: has been to concerts and festivals where people wear diapers to stand in the front row, not move and do their business on siteand he noticed that closeness firsthand. “I’ve smelled it,” he said. It’s not the first. Other artists that make you want to. The first time he noticed the problem was at his concert in Hyde Park in June 2025: it is a venue that prohibits leaving and re-entering once the entrance has been scanned. There he read a fan’s poster announcing that I wore diapers to last in the front row. She is not the first artist: years before, in 2023, during Taylor Swift’s Eras Toura wave of fans was detected showing off their diapers so as not to miss a single minute of the more than three-hour repertoire. ‘Glossy’ magazine documented how content creators taught how to put them under their dresses and recommended the most discreet diaper brands. Part of the problem. The question is funny, but there is an aspect of this story that is not so funny. Rodrigo kicks off The Unraveled Tour in Hartford (Connecticut) next September, a tour of 86 dates around the world. Prices already confirmed by Ticketmaster range from $83.40 to $799.50. General court access is around $250 and VIP early entry packages to the pit will be between $540 and $554. With these amounts, it is normal that if a fan is willing to wait up to ten hours in line to get a good spot, they are also more than willing to piss themselves. The image of the hysterical fans who can’t hold their pee is replaced by a sadder one: the design of the venue penalizes going to the bathroom, and the fans have to manage as best they can. We can discuss whether there are artists who really deserve all this ordeal, but the point is that live prices are not going to go down, and as we have seen in phenomena like Bad Bunnyconcerts are the new place where you have to be. With or without diapers. They all smell. Rodrigo is not the only one who has suffered from the issue in recent weeks. At a concert by folk singer-songwriter Noah Kahan in Philadelphia on June 26, someone didn’t even put on a diaper: defecated directly next to the seats. Kahan approached him the next day at Days later, in Toronto, he had the public recite an oath: upon entering the premises you sign a social contract by which you should not do belly on the floor. The size of the artist (and the age of the audience) who goes to see Rodrigo or Taylor Swift and who goes to see Kahan is different, so perhaps the proximity in time of this eschatological drift of the concerts may be coincidental. But of course, it articulates a story about how concerts have become luxurious and very expensive prisons that restrict us from the most basic needs. Of course, it opens the door to highly expressive means of claiming for crowding and delays. Header | NRK P3 In Xataka | In 1966, a professor traveled to Cartagena to meet John Lennon. And thanks to him Spain began to learn English

Taiwan is shielding its anti-aircraft guns with fishing nets

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In 1940, during the Battle of Britain, the RAF came to protect airfields and factories with thousands of posts and kilometers of cables to make flight difficult low of the German planes. Eight decades later, armies are once again resorting to physical barriers to stop aerial threats, although the enemy no longer flies at hundreds of kilometers per hour, but rather fits in a backpack and costs a few hundred euros. A strange image. Two anti-aircraft guns covered by a species wrapped metal dome in fishing nets do not exactly seem like the latest military technology. However, that image sums up better than any report how modern warfare has changed. Taiwan has begun to protect some of its Skyguard systems with anti-drone networks because it has come to terms with an uncomfortable reality: even weapons designed to shoot down aerial threats can become victims of cheap drones if they remain exposed. The problem is small. For decades, anti-aircraft systems were designed to confront airplanes, helicopters or missiles. Today they must add a completely different enemy: small fpv drones capable of launching directly onto a radar or cannon following an almost vertical trajectory. In a hypothetical conflict, Beijing would not only use drones to attack, but also to locate targets, relay communications, conduct electronic warfare or saturate Taiwanese defenses until they are forced to expend ammunition before the main threat arrives. Cages covering the cannons The irony. The Swiss Skyguard system was born in the middle of the cold warbut continues to be a key piece of Taiwan’s air defense. Its 35 mm cannons can use programmable ammunition AHEADwhich explodes in front of the target, releasing a cloud of subprojectiles that is especially effective against drones, cruise missiles or small projectiles. Precisely because it is still so useful, protecting it has become a priority: losing the weapon that is supposed to shoot down drones because of another drone would be a difficult blow to take. Networks as a solution. At first glance they may seem improvised, but they respond to a very clear logic. An FPV drone needs to directly hit its target to destroy it; a metal structure covered with netting can cause it to detonate before reaching the radar or gun mechanisms, absorbing some of the impact and keeping the system operational. It is a philosophy that has already been seen and counted in Ukrainewhere roads, armor, artillery pieces and even boats They have begun to cover themselves with cages and nets to survive an extremely cheap threat. Years of preparation. Networks are just one piece of a much larger plan. The Taiwanese air force has been training for some time to disperse their planes between secondary airfields and highways, while the army hides tanks and vehicles between buildings or disguises them as civilian machinery to make their identification difficult. The idea is simple: if China manages to locate and destroy the most valuable systems during the first hours of an attack, the island’s resistance capacity would be drastically reduced. Drones force us to reinvent. Still, perhaps the biggest lesson is not that Taiwan has placed nets over cannons, but that air defense is entering in a new stage. For decades, the technological advantage consisted of building more powerful radars, faster missiles or more precise guns. Now it is also about preventing a low-cost drone from finding a weak point to crash into. That one of the most representative images of this new technological race is a sophisticated anti-aircraft system protected by a simple network says a lot about how war is changing. Image | YOUTH DAILY NEWS In Xataka | There’s a rule in modern warfare: if something shows up on Google Maps, it’s because someone wanted you to see it. China just added two rectangles to the map In Xataka | The US moved its aircraft carriers away from Asia to protect them: China has just published a manual to hunt them from 3,000 km

China has reached the asteroid that has been driving astronomers crazy for a decade. And your first photo is already changing the answer

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After 400 days of travel, the Chinese Tianwen-2 probe has reached your goal: object 469219 Kamo’oalewa (2016HO3). The entire world astronomical community has its sights set on this trip, for the answers it can provide to a mystery that has been going on for more than a decade. However, as usually happens with missions carried out by China, we had little information about the journey until the ship was already at its destination. This occurred on July 4, although the Chinese National Space Administration, CNSA, announced it this July 6. Be that as it may, the important thing is that China has reached Kamo’oalewa, that terrestrial “minimoon” that has given scientists so many headaches since it was discovered in 2016. Now comes the good. Tianwen-2 was released on May 29, 2025. 400 days later, it has reached its first stop, just 20 kilometers from Kamo’oalewa. There, he has taken the first photos, which will help him map this object, in order to determine the best places for sampling. Then, it will be time to get down to work, to collect a series of samples that will be sent to Earth in 2027. Then, we will have a definitive answer to the million-dollar question: Is Kamo’oalewa an asteroid or a fragment that was ejected from the Moon? The instruments. This probe has 11 payloads, including instruments that will allow it to study both Kamo’oalewa and its next target: comet 311P/PANSTARRS. These instruments include cameras, laser measuring devices, spectrometers, sonar radars and particle analyzers. It also includes the DIANA dust analyzer, developed in Italy. First mission: map the surface. Currently, the Chinese probe is taking photographs from different angles to create a 3D model that will allow establishing the best places to take samples. Broadly speaking, these places must meet two requirements: be scientifically interesting and not pose risks for sampling. The latter includes, for example, no unstable ground or loose rocks. Second mission: take samples. Since the mission left without knowing exactly what the surface of Kamo’oalewa will be like, Tianwen-2 travels prepared to take samples through three different methods: suspension, touch and match and anchor and coupling. The first consists of keeping the probe in hover, without landing on the object, and taking out a robotic arm that will skim the surface to obtain the samples. The second method, on the other hand, uses a disc-shaped, gas-powered head that briefly but more strongly touches the surface. Afterwards, rotating brushes are released that, together with bursts of air, sweep away the material released with that blow of the disc. Finally, the anchoring and docking method consists of releasing four robotic arms that are fixed to the surface to extract material for a longer period of time. It would be the first time this method has been used in deep space. Tianwen-2 has been traveling for 400 days Third mission: send them to Earth. The samples will be sent to Earth in 2027 for analysis. However, during Tianwen-2’s flyby of Kamo’oalewa, some inquiries are already being made about it. Asteroid or lunar fragment? Until now, all that was known about Kamo’oalewa were hypotheses or estimates. It was believed to measure between 40 and 100 meters in diameter and that It had to be a fragment released from the Moon after a collision or an asteroid. The first hypothesis arose from a study using spectrometry, in which it was concluded that its surface is rich in silicates, like that of the Moon. The second has several origins, although gained weight after another study in which several collisions were modeled on a simulated Moon. In very few cases the released fragments became quasi-satellites of the Earth, so the asteroid would fit better. In its first days in the vicinity of Kamo’oalewa, Tianwen-2 has made a measurement of the surface reflectance of the object, which suggests that it has a high geometric albedo. That of the Moon is quite low, so the asteroid hypothesis would still fit. On the other hand, the first data indicate that Kamo’oalewa measures 20 meters in diameter. It is less than what was originally estimated, but practically the same as what was calculated with observations made by James Webb. According to a study published on July 1in these it was calculated that it would measure 18 meters and, again, it was suggested that it be an asteroid. Specifically, one of type E. What is this about quasi-satellites? Kamo’oalewa is considered a quasi-satellite of the Earth because, when viewed from our planet, it appears to revolve around us. But it’s not true. In reality, this object revolves around the Sun, like the Earth. What happens is that it has a period similar to that on Earth. It also takes about a year to completely circle the sun. This, together with the geometry of its orbit, creates that optical effect that it is actually a kind of terrestrial mini-moon. Now we know that, possibly, in addition to not being a mini moon Due to its orbit, it is not made of fragments of our satellite either. At least, it seems most likely, although, of course, we will have to wait for the samples to reach Earth. Then we can definitively put the mystery to rest. Image | CNSA In Xataka | The Earth has moons that we don’t know about: exploring them is key to revealing the secrets of our solar system

NASA’s map that brings together 25 years of clouds

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If we use typical clichés with European cities, Seville is the city of the sun and London is the city of rain and clouds, but some get the fame and others take the wool. If the question is where are there more clouds in Europe? NASA has been monitoring the old continent for more than 25 years and has the answer. Spoiler: a long list where, to no one’s surprise, there is also the United Kingdom. In 1999, NASA launched the Terra satellite, which incorporates the MODIS instrument (medium resolution imaging spectroradiometer). MODIS is, broadly speaking, a sensor that observes the Earth in 36 spectral bands, from the visible to the thermal infrared, which allows it to simultaneously capture temperature, water vapor, aerosols and cloud cover in one pass. Thanks to this combination of bands, MODIS generates cloud fraction products with spatial resolutions ranging from 250 meters to 1 kilometer depending on the channel used. With data from the year 2000 to 2025 and data released by NASA through its NASA Earth Observations, the Italian data expert and meteorologist Guido Cioni has created this map that solves the question at a glance. There is a clear pattern: northwestern Europe has the most cloud cover on the continent, while the southern Mediterranean enjoys the clearest skies. The United Kingdom is the country in Europe with the most clouds. Guido Cioni Beyond the anecdotal, cloudiness has its consequences: directly affects the solar radiation that reaches the earth’s surface, which takes its toll on solar energy production, agriculture, tourism and even health (the vitamin D level of the population). In fact, this map gives us a clue about renewables and why certain European regions depend more on photovoltaic energy and which on wind energy. The Europe of the clouds and the sunny Europe Cities such as Bergen in Norway or Glasgow in Scotland appear in intense red, consistent with their rainy climate and direct exposure to the inclement weather of the North Atlantic. The red is softer for Warsaw and Bucharest, two cities in the continental interior, precisely reflecting the continental climate with seasonal but less persistent cloudiness. On the other side of the coin, Seville and Turkish Antalya appear in blue, typical of dry Mediterranean and subtropical climates, and a little behind is Marseille. That north – south pattern makes sense: Northwestern Europe receives Atlantic storms almost without interruption. The moves are polar jet streamwhich pushes humid air and fronts towards the area and it is these fronts that generate clouds. In Norway, furthermore, the coastal mountains force that humid air to rise, so even more clouds form. Southern Europe experiences just the opposite: there the Azores anticycloneespecially in summer. That is an area of ​​high pressure where the air tends to go down instead of up, and that leaves the skies clear. Of course, this map and its data have small print: Terra passes through each point on the planet only once a day (around 10:30 local solar time), so this data corresponds to a specific moment, not to a continuous measurement for 24 hours. The good news is that, in 25 years of records, variability and unusual phenomena are cushioned. Furthermore, it only records that specific cloudiness, not the rain: one area may have many high clouds with hardly any rain, and another may have less cloudiness in total but concentrate its rains in short and intense episodes. Finally, NASA explains that in polar areas, distinguishing clouds from snow is a limiting factor that the agency has corrected over time. In Xataka | The easiest way to understand global warming, in this climate map with data from 1940 In Xataka | This map reveals the exact ‘climate clone’ of your city (and the result is surprising) Cover | Gido Cioni

make fish healthier

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If in the Mediterranean it is the brown shrimp that causes headaches for fishermen and environmentalists, in the surroundings of the Strait of Gibraltar there is another invasive species that is causing havoc, the Asian algae Rugulopteryx okamurae. Thus, in a matter of a few months it was able to cover more than 90% of some seabeds. But a research team from the University of Malaga has turned the story around: they now know what to do with the more than 60,000 tons of that algae that predictably They will arrive this year on the Andalusian coast: fish food. A very good one. The discovery. The team fed mullet for 66 days with a diet composed of a feed containing treated algae. The resulting fish had more protein, less fat and more omega-3 in its meat, in addition to improving the intestinal microbiota that helped them better process other nutrients and improved their immune system. Spoiler: the algae in its natural state is toxic to fish. Why is it important. On the one hand, because it is a way to dispose of the thousands of tons of algae that collapse the beaches and seabeds of southern Spain every year, within a circular economy model that reduces dependence on fishmeal and fish oils, two common ingredients in the manufacture of feed. On the other hand, the fish obtained is nutritionally more attractive for consumption, although this study does not evaluate its effect on humans, it only focuses on the muscle of the fish. The algae plague. Rugulopteryx okamurae It is a brown algae native to the northwest Pacific that lives on rocky bottoms, generally between 0.5 and 35 meters deep (although it has been detected up to 40 meters in the Bay of Ceuta). Its arrival in the Mediterranean dates back to 2002, when was accidentally introduced next to Japanese oysters in the French Thau lagoon. In Spain was detected for the first time on the coasts of Ceuta in 2015 and just a year later, it had already devastated the rocky bottoms. Since then, this algae has colonized a good part of the coast of Cádiz and Málaga, displacing native flora and generating accumulations of biomass that force city councils to allocate budget items to its cleaning. In detail. To go from an algae that is toxic to fish to turning it into such a potentially interesting ingredient for feed, the team carried out an enzymatic hydrolysis and microbial fermentation treatment, thus eliminating its natural chemical compounds that the algae uses to defend itself and thus enable its digestibility. For the feed, they tested two concentrations, 5 and 15%: the first was more effective in improving the protein and omega-3 profile, while the second also reduced fat, but activated markers related to immunity and oxidative stress. Yes, but. This is a study that has been carried out with commercial-sized fish, so growth parameters, feed conversion or digestibility were not measured, something essential to know if this way of recycling algae is economically viable. Furthermore, the long-term health of the fish was not evaluated either; 66 days is too short a period of time. On the other hand, a single study with only one species of fish and that period is not enough to think about marketing a feed. In addition, this algae naturally accumulates heavy metals, something that also needs to be explored further. In Xataka | Chefs have discovered that invasive species are a culinary treasure. We have bad news for them In Xataka | The Ebro is filling with brown prawns, an invasive species that we are going to find more and more on our plates. Cover | Mariajoao22 and Mar Menor Canal

The two-finger rule for sunscreen doesn’t fail, but this expert has taken it to the next level

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At this point in the film, we are all clear about the importance of using sunscreen. Well maybe everyone except Marcos Llorente. The point is that, no matter how much we understand that we must protect ourselves from solar radiation, we do not always know how to do it optimally. For example, the amount of sunscreen is an essential point to which we do not always pay enough attention. It is recommended to use 2 milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skinwhich are equivalent to some 9 teaspoons for the entire body of an average adult. The problem is that it is difficult to measure in parts (the face, arms, legs, etc.). Therefore, for the face there is the two-finger rule. We should cover the inner surface of our index and middle fingers with a line of sunscreen to know we are using enough. Many people already do it, but they run into a problem: maybe it’s fine for the beach, but for everyday life it’s too much. Fortunately, there are solutions, as you have explained. in an article for New Scientist the skin cancer expert at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia Rachel Neale. The key is to use two layers If we put two fingers of sunscreen directly on our face we will see that it becomes very loaded with product. If the cream contains physical filterswe may possibly become a whitish ghost. If they are chemicals, it may not look white, but we will notice it heavy. Therefore, Neale’s advice is very simple: Apply sunscreen in two layers. She says that she normally puts on half the recommended amount of sunscreen, spreads it well, and moves on to do another task, like brushing her teeth. Once this task is completed, the first layer should have already been absorbed, so move on to the second. With the two finger rulethe process is very simple. We covered a finger in cream, applied it, waited, and then applied another finger covered in sun cream. What about the amount of sunscreen on the rest of the body? The two-finger rule is very comfortable for the face, because it is the part of the body that we protect ourselves most daily, so we don’t need to go looking for a measuring spoon. On the other hand, if we are going to expose the rest of the body, as happens on the beach or the pool, we could use a dessert spoon to calculate the quantities. At least until we learn to do it by eye. We have seen that they are recommended 9 teaspoons for the whole body. To distribute them, we must use two teaspoons for the torso and back, another two for each leg, one for each arm and another for the face, neck and the head. In that case, don’t forget the back of the neck and ears, as they are areas that we sometimes forget about and that burn frequently, leaving them more exposed to skin cancer. Finally, if the feet are going to be exposed, we should invest an extra teaspoon on them. It is important to insist that these amounts are for an average adult. You may need to use more or less, depending on body size. Be that as it may, the key is to put ourselves a thick layer all over the body and, above all, reapply whenever necessary. It is usually recommended to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or after bathing, sweating, or drying with a towel. In any case, the most intuitive thing is, if you see that your skin is getting too hot and you haven’t finished applying the cream, reapply it just in case. Think that, if you frequently go to the beach or the pool, it is not normal that with a sun cream bottle have for the whole summer. It has happened to all of us, but once you become aware of the appropriate amount of sunscreen you realize that you need several. Images | Magnificent | Isedeh et al In Xataka | Science warns of the dangerous success of anti-suncream hoaxes on TikTok: “Despite being a minority, this content is influential”

“Mercadona no longer competes only with Carrefour, it does so with the restaurant on the corner and McDonald’s”

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If you go to the RAE website and look for the definition of “supermarket” You will see that its academics describe it basically as a store where one goes to fill their basket with food, drinks, cleaning products and other belongings. Then he goes to the checkout, pays what is due and goes home. The same thing that the experience accumulated after years and years of making the purchase tells us. The problem is that both the RAE and our experience are beginning to stay out of date. The supers they are no longer happy with being our food providers. Now they want to be something more: our main reference in food. And that means stopping competing only with each other to do so with hoteliers and even multinational restaurant chains. like McDonald’s or Burger King. Express it clearly Bernardo RodillaRetail Business Director at Wordlpanel by Numerator: “Mercadona no longer competes only with Carrefour, it is also competing with the restaurant on the corner and McDonald’s. In the end everyone fights for the same need and it’s getting closer.” A share of almost 20% Rodilla’s reflection is interesting for several reasons. First, for his knowledge of the sector. Second, because Worldpanel is one of the firms that produces the most statistics on food and retail market shares. Not long ago, in fact, he published a report that slipped a key idea: Mercadona is no longer just the chain with higher market share in its sector, far surpassing rivals such as Carrefour or Lidl, it has also become a heavyweight in global food. Translated into figures, this means hoarding a share of the value of almost 20% in food and beverage consumption. What does that mean? That Mercadona sells as much (or more) food as traditional hospitalityat least in terms of value. According to the Worldpanel reportbars, cafes and terraces accounted for around 11.2% share and independent restaurants 8.6%. However, Mercadona takes 19.7%, quite a distance from others retailssuch as Carrefour (6%) and Lidl (5.1%). The change in the sector ‘photo’ is so clear that Rodilla recognizes that it is forcing analysts to rethink their way of studying the sector. “We propose that we increasingly have to look at market shares in a global total of food. We can no longer differentiate if it is food for eat at home or eat out or for restaurants,” he points out. Everything also indicates that the panorama will continue to change over time, as the prepared food sections of supermarkets continue to expand. Probably the clearest example is left ‘Ready to eat’the cooked food service launched in 2018 by the Juan Roig chain and which basically (as its name indicates) allows the customer to buy already prepared dishes at the supermarket that, in many cases, they can devour right there, without having to leave the store. Although it is less than a decade old, this line of business already has hundreds of millions and look from you to you to chains of fast food. “Everything that is ‘Ready to eat’ is a trend that, not only in Spainbut in many countries, it is having a journey. It gains weight and it makes sense because in the end we want to spend as little time as possible cooking,” reasons Rodilla. As for the future, and despite the fact that, as the Worldpanel expert recalls, when a trend takes hold it is common for others to emerge in the opposite direction, it is expected that services such as Mercadona’s will continue to expand. The phenomenon is not limited to the Valencian chain. There are many other companies, such as Carrefour, Alcampo or Masymaswho are exploring the business niche of prepared meals. In fact, they are beginning to be so popular that a new term has even been coined to designate those supermarkets with food counters and rooms where you can taste them: the ‘merchants’. In Barcelona the ‘traditional’ hoteliers have already started to denounce them so they consider a unfair competition that affects them directly. Its strategy is to offer cheap, appetizing, flexible and fast-consuming menus. They sell food, yes; but above all they sell time savings. The bet is working so well that there are those who believe, including Roig himselfthat supermarkets will end up making kitchens outdated spaces in the home. Why have a vitro if Mercadona or Carrefour already cooks for us? Rodilla has another question: if that happens… Exactly, what role will the supers come to play? He does not believe that we are heading towards the culinary dystopia predicted by Juan Roig, although he does not see it as unreasonable that in the future our way of relating to cooking at home will change. Instead of being just another household chore, cooking would become an activity “playful”. From Mercadona and super regional In any case, precooked foods and the success of ‘Ready to Eat’ are not the only trends that mark the food distribution sector. Internally, there are three other equally clear phenomena: Mercadona’s expansionwhich already has between 25 and 30% market value share, white label success and the endurance of the super regionals. For Rodilla it is a reflection of how our own way of buying and filling the refrigerator has changed. “Not only has Mercadona grown, but all organized distribution has grown in recent years. You see how we bought in 2000 and how we buy now and you see how the supermarket in general or the large supermarkets has grown. Between Mercadona and Lidl in the last 25 years, practically 25 share points have grown,” he points out. At the opposite pole is the branch of the sector that has lost ground: the “lifelong specialists”as fishmongersbutchers or fruit shops. “The Spanish market was very particular and there were many specialists. In recent years we have seen that it has been disappearing and that purchase has been transferred to organized distribution,” Rodilla explains. In the specific case of Mercadona, its ability to move from an autonomous model, … Read more

It took China a decade to stop coal through renewable megaprojects. It took him a year to reactivate it

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For years, China has been the absolute reference in renewable energies: they have managed drive down the prices of solar panelsride offshore wind farms or colossal photovoltaic parks flourish in such incredible places like the tibetan plateauwhere also is building mega hydroelectric plants. And its strong commitment to renewables is being noticed: after a decade, coal-fired electricity generation fell for the first time. However, in 2026 China has taken a step back from coal. what’s happening. Between January and May of this year, electricity generation from coal and gas has risen 3.4% compared to the previous year, according to official data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, from which Reuters echoesstanding at 2.53 billion kWh. The North American media collects estimates from S&P Global Energy and by Wood Mackenziewhich estimate the growth of coal-fired thermoelectric generation in China between 1.5% and 2%. The consulting firm Kpler estimates a 3% increase in coal consumption in the electricity sector, reaching 2.7 billion tons. Why it is important. The first reading of this reality is that the Chinese machinery does not stop, no matter what happens. And several things are happening that explain why the Asian giant resorts to an old acquaintance: El Niño is reducing rainfall in the hydroelectric dams of southwest China, so coal and gas have come to the rescue to compensate in those regions. On the other hand, the war in Iran and the consequent blockade of Hormuz have made access to liquefied gas more expensive and difficult, so China pulls coal and old pacts with Russia to optimize its use. On the other hand, renewable have grown at a slower rate than in 2025so something has to fill that gap in demand. And that something is coal. And this shift is important because China is the country that consumes the most electricity and more carbon dioxide emitted of the planet. In fact, India and China are responsible for more than 90% of the increase in emissions between 2015 and 2024, according to Carbon Brief. If China turns to coal, the global goal of reducing emissions becomes black. And also his promise to reach the emissions ceiling before 2030. Context. In 2020, China stepped on the accelerator in its energy transition towards renewables: fulfilled six years ahead of schedule its goal of 1,200 GW of wind and solar by 2030 and renewables by mid-2023 they surpassed to coal in installed capacity. In 2025 the share of coal in the generation mix fell to 51.4%, according to the think tank Agora Energyalthough this was also helped by the fact that the growth in electricity demand went from 7% in 2024 to 5% in 2025. In detail. This slowdown in the growth of renewables in 2026 also has several reasons: there has been less wind ( according to CREA has been the weakest in a decade), solar panels in the western provinces are being used less and fewer new panels have been installed than the previous year, partly due to the high installation base of the 2025 “boom” and partly due to the growing network congestion and forced discharge that affects wind, solar and even nuclear. On the other hand, in an interview for Inside Climate NewsCREA analyst Qi Qin gives an additional explanation: recently created coal plants: in her opinion, the rebound in coal is more due to the fact that China has commissioned too many new plants since 2024 than to geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Qin also points out that many of these plants operate under medium and long-term supply contracts that guarantee a minimum level of utilization, which places them in direct competition with renewables for limited electricity demand; In his own words, it is “a competition, and coal plants have an institutional advantage.” Yes, but. Although the rebound in coal in 2026 is currently a documented reality, it is important to highlight that it is more of a temporary alternative and that situations such as El Niño, drought, weak wind or the Hormuz blockade will pass, so this return is more of a plan B than a setback in its energy strategy. In fact, his own CREA May 2026 report underlines that, were it not for the exceptionally weak wind in those months, the growing supply of clean energy would probably have reduced, not increased, coal and gas generation. Of course, given the recent permits and construction of coal plants, the reality is that unless political measures are taken, coal will continue to have a say and will continue to be the lifesaver in emergencies. In Xataka | In its efforts to break all energy records, China is taking wind farms 100 kilometers offshore In Xataka | China manufactured more solar panels in one year than the planet can absorb. Now the market is devouring itself Cover | ダモリ and Chris LeBoutillier

We have been fleeing the heat for years to play sports. Science has discovered that we were losing a superpower

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Summer is coming, temperatures are rising and going for a run or cycling becomes an act of bravery. In this situation, common sense tells us that we should avoid the middle hours of the day, hydrate ourselves more and slow down, even though there is a possibility of falling into the sedentary lifestyle. This is why it is vital to adapt our exercise and rest to the high temperatures we are facing. The thermal shock. When we exercise, our muscles generate energy, but only 20-25% is translated into mechanical movement and the rest is released as heat. If we add to this a hot environment, the body faces a double thermoregulatory challenge. As detailed in an exhaustive review published in 2021Under heat stress, the body diverts a large flow of blood to the skin to dissipate heat through sweat. This means there is less blood available to working muscles and the heart. The result? The heart rate skyrockets to try to compensate and exhaustion comes much sooner. Acclimatization. The good news is that our body is an extraordinarily adaptable heat machine, and that is why if we expose ourselves to heat progressively, we activate what is known as acclimatization. Here, a study published in 2024 quantified this adaptation and it was seen that, after a period of repeated exposure to heat, the participants managed to reduce their core temperature at rest by 0.19 ºC and their heart rate by 6 beats per minute. That is, follow a process of adaptation 8 to 14 days Heat training consistently improves performance and thermoregulation. In fact, from the fifth day onwards, cardiac adaptations begin to be noticed. The physiology. Something that has been seen is that in the first week of heat training, the body retains more water and sodium in order to increase the blood volume that runs through the arteries and veins with the aim of improving cardiac output and the supply of oxygen to the muscles. The good thing is that if we maintain the thermal stimulus long term, the body responds by creating more hemoglobin, which is the protein that transports oxygen through the blood. This makes the system much more efficient when training, since the muscle will have a greater amount of oxygen. Train with heat. Just because the heat offers physiological advantages does not mean that we should go running at three in the afternoon during the heat wave in August, since there are serious complications such as heat stroke. Here the recommendation states that exposure to heat should be progressive, with short sessions at low intensity and increasing the duration over two weeks. Logically, hydration must be maintained according to physical activity, since dehydration of more than 2% of body weight nullifies many of the advantages of acclimatization and dangerously increases internal temperature. In short, training in the heat is hard but little by little it is possible to adapt as long as common sense prevails, changing the training schedule also to times with lower temperatures. Image | Unsplash In Xataka | Drink water right before going to sleep? Science has finally clarified whether it is a good idea or a terrible enemy of sleep

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