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Your bet in the AI race is to bring together several functions in a single model

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

The artificial intelligence race is often told as a competition to see who builds the most powerful model or the one that dominates the most benchmarks. In the middle of that board, the French startup Mistral AI has just presented Mistral Small 4a proposal that tries to occupy a different place in that conversation. It is not presented as a model limited to a single function, but as one that, according to the company, seeks to bring together several advanced capabilities within the same tool. What exactly is Small 4. The company presents it as the new great iteration of its Mistral Small family and, above all, as the first model of the house that brings together capabilities that were previously distributed among several lines. Specifically, it integrates functions associated with Magistral, Pixtral and Devstral along with those of the Small series itself. Fewer models, more features. One of the central ideas of the announcement is to concentrate tasks that are normally solved with different tools in a single system. According to Mistral, the goal is that the same model can be used to converse, analyze complex information, work with images or assist in programming without having to switch between several specialized systems. The numbers behind Small 4. The model is based on a Mixture of Experts architecture, a design that distributes processing between different specialized submodels and that today appears in several artificial intelligence systems. In the case of Small 4, Mistral indicates that the system has 128 experts and that only four participate in each generated token. According to the company, the model reaches 119B total parameters, with 6B assets per token, and offers a context window of up to 256k. Who is this model intended for?. Beyond its architecture, Mistral also describes quite clearly the scenarios in which it imagines the use of Small 4. Let’s see. Developers: Automate programming tasks, explore code bases, and code agent workflows Businesses: conversational assistants, document understanding and multimodal analysis Research: mathematics, complex analysis and reasoning tasks The underlying idea is that the model can move between quite different needs without forcing you to change the system depending on the type of work. The graphics. In the material accompanying the announcement, Mistral includes several graphs where it compares Small 4 with other models in different benchmarks. These comparisons are not limited to the score obtained in each test. They also show the average length of the responses each system generates, a data the company uses to illustrate how much text each model needs to produce to achieve certain results. One of the graphs in the advertisement corresponds to the AA LCR benchmark, where Mistral compares the scores of various models and the average length of the responses they generate to solve the same tasks. The data published by the company are the following: • Mistral Small 4: 0.72 score with 1,600 characters• GPT-OSS 120B: 0.51 with 2,500 characters• Claude Haiku: 0.80 with 2,700 characters• Qwen3-next 80B: 0.75 with 5,800 characters• Qwen3.5 122B: 0.84 with 5,700 characters The comparison. Small 4 is not the highest scoring model. Both Claude Haiku and the Qwen models appear higher in that indicator. However, Mistral highlights another aspect of the comparison: the length of the responses. According to the company, its model achieves this combination of score and output length by generating significantly less text than several of its competitors, something it relates to lower latency and lower inference cost. The short answer trick. A shorter answer is not better simply because it takes up less space. It is only if it manages to solve the task with a level of quality comparable to that of a longer answer. This is where Mistral tries to put the focus: if a model achieves a competitive result by generating less text, it can respond faster, consume fewer resources and reduce the cost of inference. In other words, the advantage is not in being more concise, but in needing less output to reach a useful result. How to access the new model. Small 4 can not only be used via API and AI Studio. Being published under license Apache 2.0is also proposed as an open model that can be downloaded, adjusted and deployed in your own environments. The company adds that it can be tried for free at build.nvidia.com, in addition to offering it for production as NVIDIA NIM. Images | Mistral In Xataka | OpenAI has been wanting to be the bride at the wedding and the dead man at the funeral for years: now it has finally defined its priority

in the south of Spain

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

On the one hand, the image of a Sierra Nevada piste (Spain) before the four meters of snow next to the Laguna chairlift. On the other hand, skiers Vail Mountain (United States) descending on brown slopes in the scarce 11% that is open. One winter, two completely different images. The snowiest season in Europe. It is mid-March 2026 and, against all odds, the snowiest snow season in Europe is in the province of Granada. Furthermore, according to its own data, Sierra Nevada would be the fourth in the world only behind Mt. Baker in the US and two Japanese stations. And yes, the thicknesses of 400 cm in the Veleta sector are an impressive figure, but it is much more so if we take into account that the US is going through the worst snow drought in more than 30 years and the Alps have very low thicknesses. What happened in Sierra Nevada? It has been the eighth wettest winter since 1961. In fact, according to the Nevasport rankingthree of the ten ski resorts with the most snow in the world are on the peninsula (Sierra Nevada, Ordino Arcalís and Candanchú). The Catalan stations that manages FGC They have just been living the best time in the last 10 years. The Granada case is more interesting because it is less common. The station is so far south that it is only viable due to its altitude. On this occasion, the weakness of the Azores Anticyclone has allowed storms to move much further south than usual. But it has done it in an unusual way, the truth is: January has historically been the month rainiest in the last 25 years. But is there so much snow in Granada? The 400 cm figure is not an average for the season, or anything like that: it is the amount accumulated in a specific area. One of the big problems of this season is that snow levels drop very quickly as the temperature drops. The same Nevasport users commented that on the Río track, the lowest, the stones are already emerging. What it says about the future of snow. In recent years, we have been very concerned about the future of snow in Spain. Quite systematically, snow accumulations have been reducing in recent decades and this affects the future of the seasons. This year’s data, I fear, does not change this fear much. It is possible that the rains are here to stay and the changes associated with global warming turn Andalusia into an orchard and the Baetics into the new Alps, but in the meantime… we better prepare for what happens again. Image | Yeray Sanchez In Xataka | Ski resorts without snow at the end of the century: the most pessimistic models show what could happen in our high mountains

Theories that try to explain why aliens have not yet contacted us

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

The Fermi Paradox It remains very young despite having been formulated in 1950, partly because today there are still councils of scientists addressing possible responses to the physicist’s idea. We do not know if we are alone in the universe and the desire to explain how we are accompanied. There is an even more intriguing theory: zoo hypothesis. It is a matter that a few years ago was discussed by astrophysicists, biologists, sociologists, psychologists and historians at the biannual meeting of the METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence) “What is life? An extraterrestrial perspective.” At the meeting, topics were discussed such as whether a signal should be sent to space or the possible extraterrestrial origin of life on Earth, as well as somewhat more fun hypotheses like the one we presented to you. Enrico Fermi asked how come we had not had contact with the extraterrestrials if they were there, where were all those life forms if their existence was so probable. A possible answer is the one that has been discussed in this METI event, in which the analysis of the Fermi paradox has been covered from a scientific approach, according to Cyril Birnbaum and Brigitte David. Forbes. And the truth is that the issues that were discussed were, to say the least, striking from a scientific perspective: Do extraterrestrials remain silent in case contact with us impacts humanity? Do we live in a galactic zoo? Should we send international radio messages to nearby stars to demonstrate humanity’s interest in being part of the “Galactic Club”? Will alien intelligence be similar to human intelligence? Is the origin of life on Earth somewhere else in the galaxy (interstellar migration hypothesis)? In fact, we already talked about the first here as we linked to you before, but what is this about the zoo? What does this theory suggest in reference to the idea that we are not alone? Well, not only that, but we are being watched and even protectedas explained by Florence Raulin Cerceau (of the METI board of directors and in the organization of the event). And if we are not very interesting It is about the idea that there is a series of alien civilizations that knows about us, but that is intentionally hidden to avoid influencing our behavior or development. In the same way that keepers monitor animals in zoos, reasoning that if a zebra suddenly communicated with us through prime numbers using its hoof, our relationship with it would be altered and we would be forced to respond, explains Douglas Vakoch, president of METI. “If we went to the zoo and suddenly a zebra turned towards us, looked us in the eyes and started sending us series of prime numbers with its hoof, that would establish a radically different relationship between us and the zebra, and we would feel compelled to respond. (…) We can do the same with aliens by transmitting powerful, intentional, information-rich radio signals to the stars.” Douglas Vakoch, president of METI This hypothesis is supported by ideas such as the fact that they have left surveillance equipment or automated systems on Earth (yet to be discovered), that we are not interesting enough or that we have not reached a sufficient level of progress for them to come into contact with us. It was already there Anders Sandberg in 1999 (from the University of Oxford) who raised another possibility that perhaps technologically advanced civilizations would prefer to stay on their planets building gigantic supercomputers as big as the planets they lived on, their so-called “Jupiter brains.” (Unsplash) In this way, the Earth would be our great cage or space, from which we are oblivious to the surveillance of extraterrestrials. In fact, Jean-Pierre Rospars (research director at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research and co-organizer of the event with Raulin Cerceau) speaks of a “galactic quarantine“, which would be imposed on our society as the aliens are “culturally troublesome” for us. Until they can be properly disproved, there are many theories attempting to answer the Fermi paradox. There are those that we gather here and many others, like the one about the aliens They are locked under oceans of ice (from Alan Stern, principal investigator on NASA’s New Horizons mission), trapped on super earths due to its extreme severity (from Michael Hippke, an independent researcher associated with the Sonnenberg observatory in Germany) or already devastated by themselvesas we earthlings seem to be doing (this one by Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester in New York). Without completely denying the existence of life in the universe beyond terrestrial life, not all points of view assume that there are already intelligent forms or that we are going to find the same molecular mechanismsyes. As stated by Dr. Felipe Gómez from the Astrobiology Center of the CSIC, highlighting this as the weakest point in the search for life in space when asked Does it make sense to look for life in outer space?. In this regard, on that occasion we also spoke with Domingo Marquina (microbiologist at the Complutense University of Madrid), who clarified that “there is no definition of life.” Hence there are two well-defined lines of research: searching for more elemental forms of life (what missions like Curiosity would do) or higher intelligence (what SETI does). “We don’t know if the life forms that we are going to encounter will have a form of life based on DNA, on carbon.” Domingo Marquina (microbiologist at the Complutense University of Madrid) It is also Dan Hooper’s approachresearcher of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratorywhich based on the principle that the universe is expanding has been discussing what an advanced civilization should do to survive. Consider that civilization would realize this problem and expand rapidly, building Dyson spheres and using that energy to accelerate those stars that move away near the center of civilization where we can continue using them. It is something, according to him, that they should do as soon … Read more

the conquest had “many abuses”

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

Neither the increase in price of housing, nor the threat of a record price rise of oil, nor election results of 15-M. What has heated up Spanish politics at the start of the week has been the conquest of America in the 16th century. On Monday, during a visit to an exhibition focused on indigenous Mexico, Felipe VI pronounced a few words unimaginable until not so long ago they have agitated to the Spanish right: he recognized shadows in colonization. President Claudia Sheinbaum already has picked up the gauntlet. What has happened? That Felipe VI has just left a key gesture to bring closer positions between Spain and Mexico. On Monday, during a visit to the exhibition ‘Half of the world’inaugurated in December at the National Archaeological Museum, the king recognized that during the colonization of America “there was a lot of abuse” and “ethical controversies.” They are important words both for their literality and (above all) for where, how, when and to whom they were spoken. What exactly did he say? The (literal) declaration of Felipe VI was the following: “There are things that when we study them we say ‘well, in our opinion today, with our values, because obviously they cannot make us feel proud’. But we have to know them. And in their proper context. Not with excessive moral presentism, but with an objective and rigorous analysis. And draw lessons, because there have also been moral and ethical struggles and controversies regarding how power is exercised, from day one.” “The Catholic Monarchs themselves with their guidelines, the Laws of the Indies, the entire legislative process… There is a desire for protection that then reality causes it to not be fulfilled as intended and there is a lot of abuse (…) Also value the fact that from there, from that knowledge, we will appreciate ourselves more.” Why’s that? When it comes to communicating, the Royal House has its own style. And it is not exactly characterized by improvisation. Felipe VI’s statement sounds spontaneous (and it seems so in form), but everything indicates that it is measured to the millimeter. To begin with, it was not done in any forum. It was made during a visit that did not appear on his public agenda anymore. an exhibition organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of Culture of Mexico. When speaking, Felipe VI also had the Mexican ambassador, Quirino Ordaz, at his side. Is there more? Yes. As if all of the above were not enough, there is another important detail: from Felipe VI, exactly the statements that Zarzuela wanted to be heard have been heard. His words were not captured by an out-of-control microphone. On the contrary. They are included in an edited video of just over six minutes broadcast by the House of HM the King through networks to inform about the visit to the archaeological museum. In short: tone, form and spontaneous staging. Intention and background fully controlled and measured to the millimeter. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Is this something surprising? Yes. And no. We start with the first thing, why the king’s words are so striking. To understand it you have to go back to 2019when the then Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, sent a letter to the monarch (also to the pope) with a peculiar request: to ask forgiveness from the natives of Mexico for the abuses of the conquest. “That a report of grievances be made and forgiveness be asked from the native peoples for the violations of what is now known as human rights,” claimed the leader. “There were massacres. The so-called conquest was done with sword and cross.” That request was not well received in Spain. In March 2019, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement in which he disgraced Obrador for having made public the letter addressed to the Royal Family and rejected “with all firmness” the claims of the Mexican president. “The arrival, five hundred years ago, of the Spanish to current Mexican lands cannot be judged in the light of contemporary considerations,” remarked. Did the thing stay there? No. That alienated Mexico and Spain. The letter was not answered and the Mexican president interpreted it as a snub that led to a diplomatic crisis. Its clearest manifestation came years later, in October 2024, when López Obrador passed the baton to Claudia Sheinbaum. In a a gesture Loaded with symbolism, the new leader did not invite Felipe VI to her inauguration ceremony. “Unfortunately, this letter did not receive any direct response, as would have corresponded to the best diplomatic practice,” alleged Sheinbaum remembering the 2019 episode. Has the king changed his position? If it had stopped there, the words spoken yesterday by Felipe VI would perhaps have caused more surprise, but the truth is that they come preceded by a clear and deliberate effort by Spanish diplomacy to build bridges with the North American Executive. The turning point was marked last october the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, with statements that sounded like atonement precisely during the presentation of the exhibition ‘Half of the World’, the same one that Felipe VI attended yesterday. “The history shared between Spain and Mexico, like all human history, has chiaroscuro. There has been pain and injustice towards the native peoples. There was injustice, it is fair to recognize it and regret it. We cannot deny or forget that part of our shared history.” Has it had repercussions? Yes. Inside and outside of Spain. The most important reaction to the words of Felipe VI has been left by Sheinbaum, who appreciates a “approach gesture” by Zarzuela that has been celebrated publicly. “Unlike several years ago, when López Obrador’s letter was not even recognized, and there was a cooling of relations, now… First the king’s gesture of going to the exhibition and then his statement,” commented the Mexican leader. “One may say, ‘well, it wasn’t everything we would have wanted,’ but the … Read more

Spain’s plan is to release 115 million barrels

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

Every time you start your car in the morning or a factory turns on its machines in Europe, the bill rises at the rate of conflicts that occur thousands of kilometers away. To give you an idea of the hole: in 2023 alone, the European Union spent 427 billion euros buying energy abroad. We are talking about a drain of more than 1,000 million euros a day. This chronic dependency forces us to pay what the Transport & Environment organization (TEA) calls a “geopolitical bonus”. As we have analyzed recently in Xatakathe logistics bottleneck and the current crisis in the Middle East threaten to replicate the worst scenarios of shortages and volatility of the past. Cushioning the blow. Precisely to mitigate this premium and as an urgent response to this scenario – marked by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the war in Iran – the Government of Spain, through MITECOhas just authorized the release of up to 11.5 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves. This measure represents the Spanish contribution (2.9%) to the historic contingency plan of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to inject 400 million barrels in the global market. The mobilization, which will begin immediately by putting into circulation the equivalent of four days of national consumption, seeks to contain price volatility and avoid panic in the face of a suffocated supply. The toll of European vulnerability. The repercussions of the war are falling directly on the pockets of families and the competitiveness of companies, creating a bottleneck in the great global funnel of fossil fuels. The figures from previous crises paint a gloomy picture: when a barrel of crude oil exceeded the $100 barrier in 2022, the bloc’s energy gap skyrocketed to 604 billion euros, an extra 500 million a day. The suffocation of the great global funnel. The economic weight of this European vulnerability is divided today into three major fronts: The hit to the driver: According to analysts TEAwith crude oil set at $100, EU motorists will pay an additional 55 billion euros in one year. This is equivalent to an average increase in costs of 220 euros per year per driver. In fact, the price of gasoline at the pumps threatens to consolidate around 2 euros per liter, an increase of 24% compared to the average recorded in 2025. Industrial asphyxiation: While the International Energy Agency (IEA) releases 400 million barrels of strategic reserves to buy time, experts warn that the barrel could be close to $200. The volatility has caused European gas futures to jump 30% in a single day, recording massive electrical fluctuations that push entire factories toward insolvency. Handcuffed governments: Unlike the massive social shield deployed in 2022, European governments today have a much narrower fiscal margin due to accumulated deficits. Despite this, given the fear of deindustrialization caused by this extreme volatility, Brussels already considering breaking taboos and intervene in the market through tax cuts and caps on electricity tolls. An electric shield against the crisis. Faced with this scenario of chronic vulnerability, the technological and energy transition is acting as a real financial firewall. In last analysis of TEA explains that The current energy crisis will affect gasoline cars five times more than the charging of electric vehicles (EV). The numbers behind the wheel leave no room for doubt. With the rise in crude oil prices, traveling 100 kilometers in an average gasoline car would cost 14.20 euros, compared to just 6.50 euros for recharging an EV. If we look at company fleets, the monthly extra cost derived from the crisis would amount to 89 euros per combustion car, compared to only 16 additional euros for electric cars. At a macroeconomic level, the electric vehicles that already circulate on European roads prevented the import of crude oil worth 2.9 billion euros in 2025. Since TEA They emphasize that maintaining climate ambition and accelerate the mass adoption of these vehicles would avoid the payment of 45 billion euros in foreign crude oil over the next decade. A clear winner: the geopolitical paradox. This situation redefines the energy map and yields a clear winner. The suffocation in global supply has caused an unprecedented geopolitical paradox: the United States has been forced to issue emergency waivers to prevent India’s collapse, allowing it to buy Russian crude oil stranded at sea. As a result of this crisis, Vladimir Putin’s crude oil has gone from being sold at huge discounts to commanding a historic premium in the markets. Despite the enormous economic pressure and the fact that the crisis directly benefits hostile powers, the European Commission remains firm in its veto. EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen has emphatically assured that they will not import “not one molecule” of energy from Russia. Geography is destiny. The current crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is a painful reminder that structural dependence on fossil fuels remains the great Achilles heel of the Old Continent. As Antony Froggatt warnsexpert of TEA: “Europe must prioritize electric vehicles, heat pumps and renewable energy to ensure this does not happen again.” As long as economies remain tied to the trade routes of an unstable Persian Gulf, the economic security of European citizens will depend on conflicts thousands of kilometers away. Accelerating the end of fossil fuels is no longer solely a climate imperative; Today it is the most pragmatic decision for national security and economic survival that Europe can make. Image | Unsplash and Moncloa Xataka | The industry is fighting over impure oil crumbs, literally: it bodes worst for the economy

Two Tajo reservoirs have more water than the 12 Segura reservoirs combined. And that is why Murcia is going to beat Castilla-La Mancha again

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

And not a little more water, no. Much more. Because, let’s be honest, since 1979, when the transfer was opened, the Entrepeñas and Buendía reservoirs so much accumulated water has never been seen there: we are talking about reserves of 1,649 hm3. On the other hand, a little further to the southeast, the entire Segura basin has 52 hm3. That is, an almost exact third. These are just a couple of pieces of information, but they are enough to explain why, although the Community Board of Castilla La Mancha sue the Central Government180 hm3 of water from the Tagus will end up in the Segura before the end of the quarter. On autopilot. On March 13, 2026, the Central Transfer Exploitation Commission approved that shipment. The current regulations do not give much room for maneuver: the headwaters of the Tagus entered Level 1 months ago and that, with the current rules, means activating the transfer of water resources. The problem is that the rules have been out of date for years and, in fact, the proposed modification (more favorable to the interests of the Tagus) has been stalled in the Supreme Court for months. And it is still curious that rules designed for a scenario with little water generate problems, precisely, when there is more water. What does Castilla – La Mancha complain about? The most obvious thing is that the Government is manifestly failing to comply with the Royal Hydrographic Planning Decree: According to the text, the new regulations were to be in force in February 2024. That is, we are two years late. And this delay is not innocuous: the Board maintains that the current rules do not ensure the environmental protection of the Tagus or all the associated Natura 2000 network spaces. At the end of the day, they point out from Toledo, what the Exploitation Commission has approved “it wastes 11% of the impounded water” at the head of the river. And what happens in Murcia? We already said months ago that Murcia (and the southeast in general) They had already assumed that depending on transfers It was something very committed. It is true that the expansion of some desalination plants has been approved and is working in construction from others, but the tenders are very slow. This time gap is not only a problem for irrigators, it is a ticking bomb for the different administrations involved. After all, the elections are just around the corner. What can we expect? This is the simplest part of the matter: as long as the Supreme Court does not get its act together or the Ministry decides to take action on the matter, the transfers will continue to occur automatically “as if nothing had happened.” That is to say, the irrigators of the Segura are going to win (again and again) over the riverside municipalities of the Tagus. It doesn’t matter how much politicians stage things. The conflict between regions is in the very core of the country: in the water that runs through its ‘veins’. Image | untypographic In Xataka | The Tagus reservoirs have reached their maximum level. The response of the authorities has been to empty them immediately

the semiconductors that make everything

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked for weeks. Some 1,100 ships, including 250 oil tankers, remain stuck waiting. A barrel of oil already exceeds 100 dollars. And in all that energy chaos there is an unexpected victim: the chips that power almost all the electronic devices we use. Why is it important. Taiwan manufactures more than 90% of the world’s advanced semiconductors through TSMC. South Korea, with Samsung and SK Hynix, controls 70% of the DRAM memory chip market and 80% of high bandwidth memory (HBM)which AI needs to function. Both countries import almost all of their energy. And a good part of that energy came from the Persian Gulf. Between the lines. Taiwan imports around 97% of its energyand before the conflict a third of its gas came from Qatar. Iranian drones have hit the Ras Laffan facilities (the large Qatari LNG export complex) and QatarEnergy has declared force majeure. The last shipments prior to the conflict arrived on the island in mid-March; Since then, supply has been a race against time. South Korea is not in a better position either: 70% of its crude oil came from the Middle East, and when war broke out The Korean stock market lost 18% in four sessions and $500 billion in capitalization. The context. The war has not created this problem, but it has exposed it. South Korea has spent decades building the most powerful chip industry in the world on a fragile energy base, with 36.6% of its primary energy tied to oil and 19.7% to natural gas, according to the IEA. Now the largest chip manufacturing complex on the planet is being built in Yongin, scheduled to partially open in 2027, and that complex will only need 16 gigawatts of energy, the equivalent of 17% of national peak demand. And all this in an economy that continues to depend on the Gulf. Taiwan has a very similar vulnerability: its LNG reserves they don’t make it to eleven daysmore than 50% of its electricity is generated by burning gas, and when that gas is scarce the alternative is to burn coal. More expensive and dirtier. The big question. Demand for memory chips has reached all-time highs due to boom of AI, and the big contracts were already sold out before Hormuz closed. The shortage is not yet physical, but the price of LNG in Asia has more than doubled since the conflict broke out. Normally this extra cost is absorbed first by the chip manufacturer, then the device manufacturer and, in the end, it reaches the consumer’s bill. It’s a matter of time. Yes, but. Taiwan assures that there will be no rationing: it has obtained alternative supplies from the US and Australia until April, and Japan, which buys more LNG than it consumes and resells the excess in the region, acts as a cushion. So the real risk is that the blockade lasts not days, but months. In Xataka | Chinese memory manufacturers are no longer secondary players: they are the lifeline of the consumer market Featured image | Xataka

It is pure resilience in the face of a broken world.

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

If you were born between the early 80s and mid-90s, it is very likely that you have already crossed the barrier of 30 years (or even 40) and still have a controller on your living room table. Traditionally, society has stigmatized this habit in adulthood, calling it “Peter Pan syndrome”, immaturity or inability to assume real-life responsibilities because ‘playing games at 30 is not normal’. However, science and sociology They have a radically different perspective.: It’s not immaturity, it’s pure resilience. A frustration. These stigmas that are on the table, the truth is that they are very established (especially among the elderly), thinking that video games are only for the youngest, but the reality is that a video game is a creative work such as a book, a series or a movie. But the stigma that continuing to play at 30 or 40 is an ‘immature’ attitude is still on the table, and psychology has said something very different. Its origin. To understand why millennials cling to interactive entertainment, you must first understand their economic reality. The prestigious Harvard University economist, Raj Chetty, document in 2017 a devastating phenomenon: the plummet of absolute social mobility. And while those born in 1940 had between a 90 and 91% chance of surpassing their parents’ income, for those born in 1980 this success rate plummeted to a mere 50%. And we are facing a generation that was promised that higher education and constant effort would guarantee its economic prosperity, but the reality has been marked by a financial crisisjob insecurity and a real estate market that generated a deep feeling of deception. The well-being. In a living environment where control is minimal, video games offer fair systems, clear rules and rewards proportional to the effort made. This was evidenced in a macro investigation published in March 2025 where it is categorically denied that playing is “unhealthy escapism.” After analyzing over 140,000 hours of data of Nintendo players, the OII concluded that gaming time does not correlate negatively with mental health. What really matters is the “quality” of the game, since players who report positive motivations, such as the autonomy to make their own decisions or the feeling of feeling that they are improving, see their general well-being increase. More well-being. This is a thesis that has been consolidated for a long time, since in 2021 another study analyzed 39,000 Animal Crossing or Plants vs Zombies players, concluding that playing more hours was correlated with better emotional well-being. Many advantages of playing. Video games not only relieve stress, they shape our ability to deal with adversity. According to a 2018 survey50% of millennials surveyed said they played games daily to relax and relieve stress. But even more revealing is the 47% of participants who said that the success they had achieved in video games increased their confidence in solving problems in real life. There are better genres. A 2022 study showed that multiplayer games improve our social connection, while RPGs are strongly linked to improvements in autonomy and competence, especially in women. And surprisingly, even the survival horror have been shown to have cathartic benefits. In this way, dedicating an hour a day to playing is related to adult profiles that are more sociable, optimistic and, above all, more emotionally resilient than those who do not play at all. Your conclusion. In this way, the set of several articles with a high reputation behind them suggests that adults who dedicate their free time to exploring large maps, managing virtual farms or completing raids with their friends are not running away from their responsibilities due to immaturity. They are using tools to regain their mental health or satisfy their psychological needs like someone watching a series on Netflix when they get home from work. And no one tells these last people that they are immature. In Xataka | If the question is “how does Nintendo make money” the answer is not video games: it is a much more ambitious emporium

After abandoning the idea, a battleship has fired an electromagnetic cannon

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

A projectile can reach more than Mach 6 without the need for explosives, powered solely by electricity. This type of system eliminates traditional gunpowder and reduces the cost per shot drastically, but it also requires amounts of energy comparable to the instantaneous consumption of hundreds of homes. Therefore, for a long time various nations They have tried to get ahead of the rest with the same technology between eyebrow and eyebrow. The return of an idea. In recent times, when people spoke of “rail” or “electromagnetic” all eyes They were heading to the tests made by Japan. Now the United States Navy has tried again an electromagnetic cannon, and it does so years after having publicly archived the program, in a move that reopens one of the most ambitious technological bets of the last decade. The test, carried out at White Sandsdemonstrates that the system not only continues to exist, but also maintains a certain degree of operability. Plus: the return is not accidental and aims to a change of priorities in a context where speed and range are once again decisive factors. Press the fantastic button. There is no doubt, the central idea could not be more clear and powerful: the United States has returned to press the button from science fiction by reactivating a weapon that fires projectiles through electromagnetic energy at extreme speeds, something very similar to what we have seen in fantasy literature and science fiction. This type of technology, for years associated with futuristic prototypes, had been abandoned by its technical difficulties. Be that as it may, its reappearance indicates that what was previously experimental is once again considered a real option on the battlefield. Promises and structural problems. He too called railgun It offers obvious advantages, such as greater speed, range and a lower cost per shot than traditional missiles. But precisely these advantages come accompanied by very specific challenges that explain why it was left aside at the time by the Americans. For example, it requires enormous amounts of energy, complex cooling systems, and suffers accelerated wear on the barrel, which limits its sustained use. The new context that changes everything. Furthermore, the resurgence of this technology is not understood without the current context of global military competition and eminently warlike climate. The United States seeks to integrate this kind of railgun into future large shipshow could it be new class of battleships planned for the next decade. In parallel and as we have been saying, countries like japan either even China They are also advancing similar developments, which suggests that, now, a technological race around this type of weaponry is beginning to take shape. From forgotten experiment to key piece. If you want too, what was once an archived program could now become a central element of naval warfare of the near future. Because the simple ability to launch hypervelocity projectiles, even against advanced threats, would give a strategic value significant to any nation capable of solving the projectile’s conditions. And above all, it confirms a broader trend: that technologies that seemed too complex or premature they are returning to the scene because the strategic context It no longer allows them to be discarded. Image | USN In Xataka | China has made a science fiction dream come true: an electromagnetic cannon capable of reaching 3,000 shots per minute In Xataka | Japan has been developing the cannon that the US abandoned for years. And we have been able to see its effects for the first time

Magnesium has become the star supplement for constipation. Science is clear about how it works

March 17, 2026 by usatoday24

Constipation is undoubtedly one of those silent problems that many people carry inside with a lot of suffering due to the symptoms it generates, such as abdominal distention. And in search of different remedies to be able to go to the bathroom regularly, magnesium It has positioned itself as one of the star supplements, whether in the form of pills, powders or even mineral waters. And here the question is clear: does it really work? The engine of the intestine. We know that magnesium acts in our digestive system fundamentally as an osmotic laxative. This means that, by not being completely absorbed in the intestine, it attracts water from the walls into the intestinal lumen. And in the end, this extra hydration softens the stool and increases its volume, which in turn stimulates colon movements that facilitate evacuation. Something very similar to what happens when you consume fiber. The use of magnesium. The most compelling evidence about its proper functioning comes from Japan, where magnesium oxide is a historically used first-line treatment for this problem. Here the science wanted to put it to the test in a group of adult patients with functional chronic constipation, and the results showed that magnesium oxide not only significantly improved stool frequency, but also stool shape and colonic transit time. The most revealing data is the overall response rate, since 70.6% of those treated with magnesium oxide saw their periods of constipation reduced compared to 25% of the control group. But beyond this, patients reported an improvement in their quality of life, demonstrating that magnesium goes beyond simple punctual symptomatic relief. Natural prevention. It is not always necessary to resort to supplementation in pills, since intake through food also plays a fundamental preventive role. Analysis of the NHANES database in American adults reveals a clear correlation: increased consumption in the diet Magnesium is associated with a lower prevalence of being constipated, which is an effect that is very marked in men. This is also adds the power of mineralized waters rich in magnesium and sulfate that have been seen to have a real therapeutic impact. The data suggests that a dose of 20 mmol per day is sufficient to increase the number of bowel movements and improve the consistency of the stool from the second week of consumption, making these waters a very important dietary tool that should always be present in cases of constipation. The pediatric dilemma. In the case of children, everything changes, and it forces us to be very careful because what may be good for an adult does not have to be transferred to the little ones. And, although science suggests that at a physiological level, frequency and consistency are improved and abdominal pain is reduced, it has an important problem: taste. Here studies suggest that a good part of children can reject magnesium oxide orally. Likewise, in the pediatric field it is always better to avoid supplementation and consult a specialist in order to receive the best possible treatment and under strict control by doctors. Your fine print. Magnesium is a priori natural, but this is not synonymous with ‘harmless’. The B side of magnesium supplementation lies in the possibility of having an excess of magnesium in the blood in cases where it is thought that the more, the better. An excess of magnesium in the blood due to self-medication can directly affect the kidneys, which are ultimately responsible for filtering and excreting this excess, so those people who already have an underlying kidney problem should be very careful about overdoing it with this ‘natural’ remedy. In Xataka | There are people obsessed with consuming magnesium as a supplement when the best way is to put it in your diet

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