Month: April 2025

When the Pope dies, his rooms are sealed and his ring is destroyed. It is the beginning of a ritual that ends in white smoke

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As Cardinal Kevin Farrel has confirmed, the Pope Francis has died At 88 years of age. With his death, a protocol as old as ancient, a meticulous process designed for centuries of ecclesiastical tradition has been automatically activated. This has begun a kind of choreography of ancestral rituals that regulate the transition of the most emblematic spiritual power in the world. These are all the phases that will end in white smoke. Sealed for centuries. As we said, after the death of the pontiffthe head of the Vatican Health Department, the Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrellcurrent head of the position, ha officially verified Death. The body will now be transferred to the Pope’s private chapel, dressed in a white cassock and liturgical ornaments, and placed in a zinc -lined wood coffin. Next to him They will be deposited His miter, the canopy and a bag with coins of his pontificate, in addition to a “rogito”, a scroll that summarizes his life and legacy, which will be read aloud before closing the coffin. Meanwhile, the Pope’s private room, located in the Santa Marta housewill be sealed, and the fisherman’s ring (the official seal of the Pontiff) will be ceremonially destroyed with a small hammer to prevent any type of falsifications. Farrell will write a Official Death Act and will be responsible for ensuring the Pontiff’s personal documents. The period called then begins vacant headquartersduring which ecclesial leadership is in the hands of the Cardinals College, but without faculties to make transcendental decisions until the new successor is chosen. Public tribute. Faithful to his style austere and away from the boatoFrancisco had already reformulated the rules Papal funeral home in 2024. He did it by eliminating many elements of the traditional pomp. Namely: your body will not be Exposed in a catafalco high or transferred for private views of ecclesiastical hierarchs, but will be displayed directly inside the coffin in the Basilica of San Pedro so that the people can pay tribute. Thus the nine -day mourning will begin to be known as novel. Francisco had abolished the tradition of the three coffins for the deceased pontiffs, replacing them with A single simple coffin of wood and zinc. This decision, contained in the new edition of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani PontificisI was looking for (in words From the master of liturgical ceremonies, Diego Ravelli) “show that the funeral of the Roman pontiff is that of a pastor and disciple of Christ, not that of a powerful man in the world.” Funeral without ostentation. The procession to the temple will be directed by Camarlengo Farrel, and the Cardinals College will set the date of the funeral, planned between four and six days After death (that is, from Monday). Throughout nine days, funeral masses and prayers will be held throughout Rome. In addition, and contrary to the custom of burying the Pontiff in the Vatican crypts, Francisco has also arranged REposar in the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor, place of deep personal devotion and frequent fate of prayer during his papacy. With this choice it will become the First Pope in a century in being buried outside of San Pedro. The conclave. Fifteen to twenty days after death, the College of Cardinals will be summoned by its dean, the cardinal Giovanni Battista reto give Start the conclave which will designate the new Pontiff. Only cardinals under 80 can vote (about 120 approximately) and all must swear absolute secret before being isolated in the Sistine Chapel, the sacred space that becomes the headquarters of the most hermetic and solemn process of the Church. By the way, the term conclave (From Latin cum key“Under key”) refers to the obligatory confinement that prevents delays and guarantees confidentiality. Voting, which can be repeated up to four times a day, require a two -thirds majority for a candidate to be chosen. White smoke After each vote, the ballots are burned together with chemical additives that generate smoke: black if there is no agreement, white if there is. Once the consensus is reached, the chosen one is asked if he accepts the position and what papal name wishes to adopt. As a reference, Francisco’s choice (first non -European pontiff in 1,300 years.) He required five votes in 24 hours, but in the past there were conclaves that extended for months or even years. Habemus The new Pope is then dressed in the White Sotana in the next sacristy, and after greeting his voters, he goes to the central balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro. There, before thousands of faithful gathered in the square and millions of viewers worldwide, a cardinal announces in a solemn voice: Habemus Papam. Now, the new Pontiff greets and offers his first blessing Urbi et Orbithus opening a new chapter in the millenary history of Catholicism. No doubt, the figure of the Pope, in addition to being a spiritual guidance of more than one billion faithful, exerts a remarkable moral and diplomatic influence on the global scenario, and his choice will surely be observed with attention both by believers and by international leaders. Meanwhile, Francisco’s legacy (marked by a preaching focused on humility, social justice and institutional reform) will be sealed not only in his Rogitobut also in the memory of an era in which the throne was occupied by a man who chose to “walk among his.” The truth is that the death of a Pope remains an event of enormous global resonance, wrapped in a solemnity and a symbolism that transcends the religious to become an expression of historical continuity and spiritual power in the 21st century. Image | Diariocritical, Penn State In Xataka | Pope Francis made his opinion clear about the medical ethics of the end of life. The one we do not know is that of the Vatican In Xataka | In the sixteenth century it was believed that coffee was a satanic drink. So Pope Clemente VIII decided to “baptize him”

He ended up seeing how they touched him

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There are stories that begin with a stroke of luck and end with a lump in the throat. Chris Willson’s started In California in 2008When, sailing through Lacraigslist, he found an unusual advertisement: a German cruise in the 50s, abandoned in a port of the Delta del Río Sacramento, was for sale. Willson, an American entrepreneur dedicated to technology, came there simply out of curiosity. He met a deteriorated ship, but with a lot of charm. Without giving him many laps, he decided to buy it. A historical transatlantic renamed at dawn But that was not just any ship. It had been built in 1955 in Hamburg by the Blohm & Voss shipyard and originally baptized as Wappen von Hamburg, becoming the first great German transatlantic after World War II. With about 89 meters of length And 85 cabins, in his best times he crossed the Atlantic several times. In addition, it appeared as the headquarters of ‘Specter in from Russia with love’, one of James Bond’s films, and served as inspiration for a series called ‘Vacation in the sea’. The first night Willsson was on board was surrounded by garbage and chaos. But in his first dawn on the ship he decided to baptize him as Aurora. From that moment he began to give his life to the project. He moved to live on the ship, brought together a group of volunteers and began an artisanal restoration that would last more than fifteen years. The objective was clear: turn it into a floating museum. Financed the project with own resources, sporadic works as a consultant and, later, thanks to donations and a community that grew around Your YouTube channel. But not everything was so good. The Aurora changed several times of location and ended up in an area known as Herman & Helen’s Marina. There the local authorities began to perceive it as an environmental riskespecially after the nearby sinking of another military ship. The eviction notifications followed, and the last one was the definitive one: to avoid collapse, Willson had to face works whose cost amounted to a millionaire figure. Surpassed by institutional pressure and without sufficient funds, Willson decided to sell the ship in October 2023. The buyer, whose identity did not transcend, promised to continue the project. But that would be the beginning of the end. The sinking of the project of your life Only seven months after the sale, the Aurora began to sink. San Joaquin County authorities discovered a waterway in the helmet and a diesel leak that forced them to intervene urgently. Although the ship was refloated, it no longer sailed again. In December 2024, after an operational complex that involved several agencies and specialists, it was towed without navigation to Mare Island, north of California. There began its destruction. The cranes torn the steel structure piece by pieceuntil making it disappear. In April 2025, there was nothing left. From a distance, Willsson contemplated the entire process. “It is probably one of the saddest things that I have had to witness in this life,” declared in an interview with CNN Travel. “It’s hard to see how fifteen years of work are completely lost.” Although he no longer had legal link with the ship, the outcome affected him deeply. The entrepreneur says he kept the ship safe for fifteen years, he managed to show his history to the world, but he could never enjoy sailing as he had once dreamed. During all that time, Willson estimates that he invested “more than one million dollars” in his pocket. The city of Stockton assumed part of the control of operations, although it has not yet revealed the final cost of the scrapping. Everything indicates that the invoice will be millionaire. According to Naval Historian Peter Knego, who documented the process, the costs could be between the 10 and 20 million dollars. The authorities have already announced investigations to determine who allowed the ship to reach that State, and do not rule out undertake legal actions to recover expenses. Meanwhile, the emotional part of the project is still alive. On the official website of Aurora Restorration Projectfollowers and volunteers share memories of their visits to the ship. Images | Peter Knego/Midshipcinema | Chris Willsson/Aurora Restorration Project In Xataka | 40 million dollars, a superyate and four gift passports: the happy outcome of the Alpha Nero that almost ruins an island

This is the almond dam

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Spain has 1,226 Dams for its geography. Or had them, since the last 20 years More than 100 have demolished. The objective is that the rivers return to their channels and the truth is that the majority of demolished dams were small, they did not fulfill their functions and They weren’t in operation. Of those that are still standing, the most imposing is between Salamanca and Zamora. This is the almond dama concrete giant that is not only the highest dam in Spain, but an intelligent electric battery. Concrete mole. Located on the Tormes River in Salamanca, Almendra’s is a colossal wall of 202 meters high and 567 meters long. Its construction was carried out between 1964 and 1970 and it was necessary to make an excavation at the height: 1.5 million cubic meters to house both the construction and the 8,650 hectares that would be covered by water. HE esteem that more than 2,400,000 cubic meters of concrete for its construction were used, being one of the most pharaonic works in the country, and with a cost that is difficult to determine. Between 4,000 million pesetas and 10,000 million, according to The newspapers of the time, which adjusted to inflation would be between 312 and 780 million euros. A straw in the Duero. The dam is of a vault type with double curvature and two side dikes that, if we include them in the dimensions of the “wall”, add up to a length of 3.5 kilometers. But a dam is much more than what is seen with the naked eye, and something fundamental in Almendra’s is the tube that connects with the Duero and with the hydroelectric power plant. It is a pressure gallery with a length of 15 kilometers and a diameter of 7.5 meters that was excavated in the rock and covered by more concrete. Towards the end, it is divided into two galleries five meters in diameter and, each, in two other 2.8 meters to increase water pressure. This gallery saves a 30 -meter unevenness and is the one that carries the water from the turbine reservoir of its associated hydroelectric plant, Villarino. Each group contains six turbines Francis r They work in a double way: they revolve to produce electricity, but they can also do it on the contrary to pump water. They can move 232,000 liters per second and is key to feedback with another large close reservoir: that of Aldeadávila in El Duero. Thus, Almendra’s is like a great reserve to contain the Duero in its floods, but it also supplies it in times of more drought. Leading the European Top-10. To put in context its importance, although compared to the rest of Spanish damsAlmendra’s is colossal, if we put the eye in Europe … it is not so much. Switzerland takes the palm in this regard, with dams such as Great Dixence 285 meters high. Georgia has that of Unguri with 271 meters high, but beyond that pair and two other Swiss dams (Mauvoisin and Luzzone), the rest of the list of the highest is starring Spanish dams. Almendra’s is fifth at European level and is followed by channels with 156 meters, Canelles With 151 meters, the As wells With its 141 meters, the Aldeadávila with 139 meters and that of Barasona With a height of 133 meters. An ocean. Although it is huge, its capacity is not the largest in the country. It doesn’t even come. Its reservoir has a capacity of more than 2,600 cubic hectometers, far from the 3,162 h3 of the Alcántara dam in Cáceres or the 3,220 h3 of the La Serena dam in Badajoz, which is not only the largest reservoir in Spain, but the third largest in Europe. And, like other reservoirs, Almendra’s allows the development of recreational activities, with hiking routes or maritime activities such as expeditions in kayak. But it is evident that the most important role of the dam is not to create an ocean in the middle of Castilla y León, but to generate electricity. Not so striking production. The huge turbines we described some lines allow the installed power of the plant to be 810 MW, which implies an annual production of more than 1,300 GWh. It is one of the dams that help Castilla y León be one of the communities with More installed power In renewable energies, but the years do not pass in vain and there are prey that are much more striking than those of Almendra in this area. With an installed power of 1,720 MW, that of Cortes-La Muela in Valencia has an annual production of more than 1,600 GWh. That of José María Oriol-Alcántara II In Cáceres it has 915 MW and a production of 1,750 GWh and that of Aldeadávila in Salamanca, with an installed power of 1.139 MW, it has an estimated production of 2,400 GWh per year. And there are already projects As a consecut II In Ourense with a power of 1,800 MW that will allow up to 4,000 GWh per year or the planned of Llumaigua in Tarragona that will have the whop of 3,124 MW with productions of between 4,160 GWh and 7,000 GWh, something that still is in the air. Demographic impact. But of course, next to the rivers there are usually peoples and, with 8,500 hectares of surface, it is evident that the reservoir took some ahead. The beginning of construction was an economic bubble for Villarino de los Aires and Almond. HE They built Villages to house workers and the population peak because it was evident. In 1970, Almendra had 807 registered inhabitants, Villarino had 2,130 registered. Both locations came from decades of gradual depopulation, so the dam meant an unusual demographic rebound. In 2024, Almendra had 130 inhabitants and Villarino of the air with 739, and in both cases, just after completing the work, the population reached the level prior to it, which has also been decreasing aggravated with the rural depopulation of … Read more

We thought we had solved the mystery of the giant “trees” of the Paleozoic. We couldn’t be more wrong

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More than a century ago, when the first known fossils of Prototaxitesintuition said that it should be the remains of a tree. Decades of study revealed to paleontologists that this fossil did not belong to a plant, so everything seemed to indicate that it was an immense fungus. Now a new study has reopened this unknown. Neither plant nor fungus. The study in question has revived the discussion About the nature and taxonomy of Prototaxitesprehistoric beings that so far the catalog scientific consensus as fungi. The involvement of “taking out” these beings from the evolutionary branch of fungi is that perhaps these beings belonged to an extinct and unknown branch of the tree of evolution. 400 million years ago. What we do know about Prototaxites For the fossil registry, it is that being trafficking with organisms that were alive towards the middle of the Paleozoic era, does Between 420 million and 375 million years. These beings had a more or less cylindrical structure, similar to a trunk and stood up to eight meters above the sky with a diameter that the subway could reach. These measures and their age make them one of the first large beings of those of which we have record in the fossil registry. The debate on the nature of these prehistoric living beings seemed to mid -2000s. It was then that an analysis revealed that the Prototaxites They did not obtain their carbon from photosynthesis, as is the case of plants, but obtained from other living organisms, as fungi do. Rhynie Chert. The new study that reopens the case It now contributes tests that this being did not belong to the kingdom of fungi and focuses on one of the known species of this genus, Taiti prototaxites. The team resorted to the fossils found at the Rhynie Chert site in Scotland. This site contains not only fossil remains of this species, but also of fungal species and others belonging to other kingdoms of nature. Similarities and differences. The new analysis of the fossils of this species ran into some similarities with fungal structures such as those that could be expected. However, despite having tubular internal structures similar to those of fungi, these tubes in P. Taiti They branched and linked in a different way from what they could expect. That was not, however the strangest detail. The analysis did not detect in fossils evidence of the products that are associated with the presence of chitina, a compound present in the cell walls of all contemporary fungi and that we know was also present in prehistoric fungi. They found that the chemical “firm” was more similar to that left behind by lignin, a polymer that we associate with vascular plants. The study has been published for now draft In the repository Biorxivso the standardized scrutiny of peer review has not yet passed. So what? This detail implies that we must extreme caution when drawing conclusions from the study we have in front. Even so, the signing team of the study outlines in this its conclusions, in principle preliminary. In his study, the team concludes that “the morphology and the molecular footprint of P. Taiti It is clearly different from that of fungi and other organisms preserved with it in Rhynie Chert, and we suggest that it is better considered a member of a group not described and totally extinct of eukaryotes. ” In Xataka | An amateur fossil search engine is behind a curious finding: vomiting of the dinosaurs era Image | Іщн

make cities a good place to live

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When Daniel Knowles He began writing his book about the car industry, the world had been silent. Millions of people were locked at home, unemployment rates shot up, the streets cleared and wild animals returned to the desert center of the cities. The situation was so new that it could be dream that so much pain, death and uncertainty was going to open the door to a new world. It did not spend much time until we discovered that ‘dreaming’ was the key, which was nothing more than a ground. Two years later, while Knowles ended the book (‘Carmageddon‘, Captain Swing, 2025), “The world economy was booming, traffic had returned to the previous levels of pandemic and oil had prices (maximums) that were not seen in a decade. There were no other futures to fight for? A turning point. If two or three years ago, this correspondent of The Economist thought that we lived a turning point, it seems a good idea to return to their ideas to solve the cities crisis: that moment of change has only lengthened. But … what cities crisis? We can be living A world demographic crisisYeah; But the urban population is growing forced marches: in 2007, half of humanity already lived in cities for the first time. Now we are 55% and will reach 66% before 2050. What crisis is this? Well, As Rodríguez Seijo said right herea much more sibyline suris: than urban ecosystems “have become large centers of resource consumption, and in production areas and emission of potentially polluting substances.” And yes, it is true, “since 2000, one of the main pollutants in urban environments, the lead of gasoline, old housing paints or pipes” has been eliminated or reduced; However, “there are many organic and inorganic pollutants that continue to cause different health problems and that cause millions of deaths a year.” That is the true crisis. A crisis of at least seven million deaths a year. That was what the poor air quality, driven by the transport industry, caused In urban environments only in 2012. Hence, specialists like Knowles argue that “the expansion of the car has gone too far and must be stopped.” Freen it? Can we stop it? Rodríguez Seijo, Reflecting on the causes that “cities are killing us”he concluded that “the absence of planning” is one “of the great challenges facing urban populations.” That’s where Knowles ideas shine more. “I believe, without any doubt, that a largely populated city is the best place to live in most cases both for my own good and for that of the planet,” The journalist concluded After visiting more than half a dozen countries. Moreover, “there is no good reason for the sustainable option – living in an apartment or in a good -sized attached house in a neighborhood that can walk, bike and use public transport to move – it has to be so expensive and, on the contrary, live in a huge single -family house and use huge amounts of natural resources is the cheapest option.” This sounds a bit difficult to implement. And Knowles agree. In fact, as repeatedly defends, we do not have to reproduce Tokyo on each part of the planet. “Nor do we have to start to pieces the highways or impose draconian norms such as the Singapore enrollment lottery.” Even so, there is one thing that can be done to get cities Be healthier sites to live: Reorient the incentives towards the purpose they should have. There are hundreds of ideas. French taxes on cars according to weight, the Dutch reform to give priority to pedestrians or london congestion rates. It is definitely to realize that people take centuries Trying to go to live to the cities; that, in fact, they are doing it faster and faster; And that, surely the measure with a more transformative impact today would be to turn those cities into good places to live. Image | Chris Czermak | Yeh Xintong In Xataka | The cities with skyscrapers are not the panacea. They contaminate more than those of middle heights (such as Paris)

It seemed an impossible enemy, it was actually the brightest antipyretary system in a video game

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Piracy and entertainment are two concepts that They go hand in. In video games, this has meant a kind of race between the cat and the mouse, with the video game companies pulling inventiveness to try to pay players paying for their products. At the moment, Denuo is a very safe tool – that not invulnerable -, but throughout history we have seen most imaginative antipyertería systems. And the most memorable case is that of ‘Serious Sam 3‘. The reason? A giant and implacable scorpion that was looking for you to end with you if it detected that your game was a pirate. And the players accepted the challenge. Aid! It ran 2011 when the Croatian Croteam team (their heads did not break a lot) launched the third installment of its hilarious shooting saga ‘Serious Sam’. At that time, the antipyertorous measures were so rudimentary that the game came out ‘cracking’ within a few hours of the official launch, so many users quickly made a copy. Except in some cases in which mouth to mouth causes peaks of players months or years after the launch of a title, it is usual for forums and social networks to fill out of comments on a newly released game. As a minority, there will always be players commenting on the levels, which seems to them the game and reporting problems. And shortly after the launch of ‘Serious Sam 3’, the players began to complain about something: a Red scorpion that appeared in his departure and prevented them from continuing with the game. Even recently They published Some complaints in Steam. Scorpion. These players described the scorpion as a huge, invincible, very fast entity, that shot incessantly, that it was a sponge of bullets and that did not leave you alone at any time and complained about what they believed was a bug or a programming failure in the game code. The enemy’s pint is quite terrifying, which added to his fire power and the fact that it is invincible … well, it was not a pleasant drink. The little girl is that it was not a bug, but a characteristic of the game. Croteam knew that it was impossible to put doors to the field and that his game was going to be pirated, so he scheduled the game with a special characteristic: if he detected that the copy was a pirate, the invincible scorpion appeared and it was not going to stop until he killed the player. It was impossible for the player to enjoy the game in those conditions. Praise. In the video we left for some paragraphs, we can see an example of how the community took this movement. “Simply, I adore Croteam. They are not the details that the study has added to the game. No, no, no. It is the introduction of an arachnid, immortal and very fast enemy that is part of its antipirable system. And it is the icing on the cake.” That was the description of the shared video just a month after the launch of the title, but in the comments we can see dozens of players who reacted in similar ways. Comments such as “It is the best antipirable system in history”, “The movement of the bug terrifies me”, “Do not annoy, have applied antipiría measures either for once. This is comedy in its purest form” or “This is how the DRM should be. It has no negative effects for legitimate players, but hilarious consequences for pirates” show that the system was not badly received, at all. And, among all praises, only a few commented things like “expect, that pirates have extra difficulty? That is not fair.” And there were those who accepted the challenge. And the ‘Commission’ arrived. Thekotti He is a player who has been going up for years Speedruns to your YouTube channel. It has some absolutely demential and a few years ago raised a video passing in just over half an hour ‘Serious Sam 3’. A time later, he assumed the challenge of Croteam and went up A new Speedrun of the game, this time with a brand of one hour and 14 minutes until the game is completed. Why 45 more minutes if he was already an experienced player? Because he played the version with…. Scorpion. The bug took little to appear, but Thekotti was so fast that the scorpion had to reappear in front of him every two by three. With what has been learned, he tried again, lowering his brand until the time and six minutes. Seeing the video is a show, especially because that terrifying measure is nothing: Mods to activate it in legal copies. Obviously, this is not how most players enjoy the game, but it must be said that this movement by the Croatian study liked it so much that it inspired the Creation of Mods so that players with legitimate copies of the game could introduce the relentless scorpion in their games. I have to comment that I was never interested in the saga, but when I learned about the existence of this, I downloaded the pirate game, I laughed for a while, I checked that the bug was superman and bought the game in the first Steam sales in which it was available. In this case, I can say without fear of being wrong that it is one of the best ideas to discourage piracy, unless a PROPLAYER He gets in his head play your game without care of these measures. In Xataka | ‘Don’t Copy That Floppy’: This was the most ridiculous anti-Co-Copy video of all time

There he learned everything he needed to build Microsoft’s empire

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Microsoft is, without a doubt, the greater professional success of Bill Gates. However, not many people know that the secret of their success was based on some failures that the millionaire committed Before founding the technological. In his autobiographical book, ‘Code Source: My beginnings’Gates reveals how this first business experience, when he was barely a teenager, was decisive to mold his vision about What Microsoft should be. This episode of Gates’s life shows that even the brightest and most successful businessmen have had to stumble learn from your mistakes. Traf-o-Data: Gates and Allen’s first attempt In the summer of 1972, Bill Gates was attended by his last year of high school, while Paul Allen was already in college. Both had met at the school computing club. They were inexperienced and have barely done a few programming projects for the school or to collaborate in projects with their teachers. However, they were presented with the opportunity to code and process telemetry data of the Alburquerque traffic using perforated paper ribbons, so both friends joined for efforts and founded Traf-O-Data. Gates himself is described in the book as a “spoiled know -allotodo” that often responded with sarcasm and disdain with a: “That is the most stupid thing I have heard.” A phrase that, who have worked with the tycoon At some point in his career at the head of Microsoft, he has surely heard on more than one occasion. Having that in mind, the experience provided by Traf-O-Data, although failed, served as learning For someone who has defined himself as self -taught. Both schoolmates created a machine equipped with a Intel 8008 microprocessor of 360 dollars that allowed to automate the reading of the paper tapes that contained the traffic data to digitize that information. Although the idea seemed promising, the company failed to be profitable. As Paul Allen remembered In an article De Newsweek, “Traf-O-Data was a good idea with a poor business model. We had not occurred to market studies and we did not know how difficult it would be to get financing from the municipalities.” In 1975, they managed to bill almost $ 17,000. Which was not bad in the case of an inexperienced young people. According to Paul Allen, he remained operational until 1980, when he already registered annual losses of $ 3,494. This first business failure, far from discouraging them, served as a test laboratory where They learned important lessons on the marketproject management and the importance of constant innovation. “Traf-o-Data is still my favorite mistake because it confirmed that each failure contains the seed of the next success,” Allen recalled. Gates assured in his book that he learned that it is not enough to have a good idea, but it is crucial to have a solid business model and a well -defined business objective. The experience with Traf-O-Data taught them to identify the real market needs (the digitalization of the data of the paper tapes) and to develop solutions that really made the difference (the machine that processed the information), skills that would forge the foundations on which Microsoft would be built. Learning to be the boss The adventure of Traf-O-Data, was also a personal level learning for Gates, somewhat awkward in terms of social skills. Before developing the machine with the processor, Gates and Allen They hired a group of students of lakeside younger than them to transcribe by hand the data of the tapes. They paid fifty cents for each tape. Then, Gates and Allen went to the Library of the University of Washington and used The university computer to process this data and generate the traffic patterns graphics that the tapes had been recorded. That He taught them to work as a teamto make quick decisions and adapt to the changes in the environment to stay in your target. Later, they created their own processing system, which allowed them to collect two dollars daily for the digitalization of the data, as well as expand their business area to other government agencies of the neighboring states to Seattle. Gates himself explained to young peoplethat they were going to graduate at the University of Arizona del Norte that errors are a fundamental part of the learning process and that you should not be afraid to commit them. Traf-o-data was the seed of What is Microsoft today. In Xataka | Bill Gates is clear about the habit of his childhood that has helped him succeed in his career: get bored In Xataka | Steve Ballmer has become a Milmillonario without founding a single company: some of his advice to achieve it Image | Flickr (World Economic Forum)

We are drugping the salmon with cocaine and anxiolytics. And that is causing them to behave strangely

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Few animals have suffered both humans and a canine breed: The Pug (or Carlino). Deliberate breeding of this type of dog has given rise to all kinds of physical malformations, with a distorted anatomy (Extremely stoking skull, exposed eyes, compressed airways and dysfunctional jaws) as a result of systematic and cruel artificial manipulation. To the list of creatures to which we make life very complicated We must add another that is adapting to our taste for drugs: salmon. First it was cocaine. June 2020. The officials of the State Agency of the Environment of North-Westphaly (LANUV) ran into a disturbing scene In a German fish farming: Atlantic salmon they were agreed frantically, tried to jump out of the water and showed a chaotic behavior That, according to experts, it could only be explained by a strong feeling of discomfort. Loomed salmon. The situation arose within the framework of a species conservation project, and due to the unusual episode, it was documented in the annual report of the agency under the title of “Salmon with cocaine”. After analyzing the water from the streams that fed the tanks, they ruled out a long list of pesticides, herbicides and common drugs, until they detected two particularly striking substances: yes, cocaine and their metabolite Benzoylecgonine. A documented reality. The clear presence of cocaine in one of the nearby streams led researchers to conclude that a drug reaction could not be discarded, much less. The most plausible hypothesis pointed to a illegal discharge Wastewater in the stream channel, a practice common In Europe and the United States, where clandestine laboratories and drug trafficking networks eliminate their waste in water bodies. Far from being an isolated case, what happened in Germany joined a growing line of investigations that document how illegal drug waste present in rivers and streams directly affect aquatic fauna. In United Kingdom, SpainCentral Europe and other regions, Identified methamphetamineMDMA and other substances at levels that, although low, are enough to alter the fish behavior. A first job. A scientific study was even further: researchers intentionally exposed trout to Methaphetamine dose Similar to those detected in rivers, and observed how they developed signs of addiction, they modified their behavior and, when they were transferred to clean environments, they had symptoms of abstinence. The experiments revealed that many drugs designed to affect the human brain also interact with the neuronal systems of other speciesgenerating unpredictable consequences. And then the anxiolytics. The salmon were much more than the coca. In one unprecedented researcha team of scientists has confirmed that drug waste circulating in rivers not only reaches aquatic species, but are modifying their behavior In full nature. The study, Posted in Sciencefollowed the migration of 279 young salmon from the Atlantic on the Dal River, in Sweden, after implementing slow -release capsules with two medications commonly found in contaminated waters: CLOBAZAMan anxiolytic of the benzodiazepines family, and Tramadolan opioid analgesic. What did they find? The researchers discovered that those salmon exposed to clobazam reached the Baltic Sea in a greater proportion than those not medicated, and did it until three times faster When crossing hydroelectric dams, raffling turbines with an unusual audacity for their species. The result surprised scientists, who expected that excess of boldness to reduce the probabilities of survival. “Artificial” courage. Although in this context the reckless behavior It seemed to facilitate migration (by shortening the time of exposure to dangerous obstacles such as turbines), experts warn that this alteration of natural behavior could have deep ecological consequences. Clobazam caused fish to adopt more individualistic behavior, less gregarious, which could increase your vulnerability before the predators once in an open sea. Parallel experiments in laboratory support this idea: the medical salmon showed Less trend To form banks, an essential collective defense strategy. This tendency to separate from the group would make them more visible and easy to hunt, which raises doubts about their long -term survival capacity, something that the study could not track once the fish reached the Baltic. Silent contamination In the background, another problem. The investigation It provides a conclusive evidence that the effects observed in laboratory with psychiatric drugs (such as a lower response to fear, loss of social behavior and increased risk taking) are also produced in natural conditionsand with doses comparable to those found in real ecosystems. The finding reinforces the concern about the called “Pharmaceutical Soup” which flows through the rivers of the world: more than 900 active pharmacological ingredients have been detected in natural waters, from antibiotics to antidepressants and chemotherapeutics. Many of these drugs act on areas of the brain common to multiple speciesso that fish and other aquatic animals are exposed to non -expected side effects, dangerous combinations and interactions still very little studied. A global threat. The researcher Karen Kidd, a specialist in ecotoxicology, underlined these days that the real risk is in the Multiple substance accumulation with different effects, whose consequences together are unpredictable. For scientists, this is a problem of Planetary scope which demands a systemic response: it is urgent to develop more advanced wastewater treatment stations, capable of eliminating these compounds before they reach the rivers, as well as promoting the design of more biodegradable medications. The key, they warn, is to act before these subtle but constant changes undermine the Ecosystems balance built for millennia. Because, although technology can continue to detect alterations, only a determined action can stop the invisible deterioration of life under water. Meanwhile, among anxiolytics that make them reckless and streams contaminated with cocaine that alter their vital pulse, the millenary fight of salmon against currents and predators has added a new and unprecedented new enemy: the invisible waste of human addictions. Image | Csiro, Pexels In Xataka | Until the 90s nobody in Japan ate sushi with raw salmon. Until a marketing campaign changed everything In Xataka | A gigantic cage 110 meters in diameter designed solely and exclusively for raising salmon: Ocean Farm 1

People are fed up with Skincare’s thousand steps so the last Beauty trend is just one thing: exosomes

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A couple of years ago, beauty routines passed through multiple steps that combined tonic, essences, serums, acids and mists, among other things. Today, some extreme trends such as “Morning Sheds” – as viral routines involving masks and adhesive tapes to mold the face – they have shown that perhaps the issue of the Skincare too far. Faced with this exhaustion, social networks They are driving A new approach: do less, but better. And within this more minimalist beauty philosophy, a word begins to resonate: exosomes. More than a new trend. According to The Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine and some specialized publications such as Elleexosomes have become a revolution within the beauty sector. The hashtag #Exosomas on Instagram exceeds 51.5 thousand publications, and in English, #Exosome already accumulates more than 247,000. Also its popularity does not stop growing in Tiktok, where creators like @ROGERWHO has shared His experience: “It hurts, but the change in my face is unique.” But the boom has a name and surname. If something characterizes beauty products is that the boom is born with the Celebrities: Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Sofía Vergara, Jennifer Aniston or Paris Hilton have already tried them. Here in Spain names such as Úrsula Corberó, Blanca Suárez, Jessica Goicoechea or Berta Vázquez have also declared fans. And finally, social networks have made the rest: Videos of the post-treatment “glow”, Real results (not sponsored), and A new narrative focused on taking care of the skin from its base. An aesthetic medicine revolution? Exosomes are small vesicles generated by stem cells (human, animals or vegetables) that act as cell messengers: they transport protein, lipids and genetic material with the mission of regenerating, repairing and improving the skin from within. Such as Glamor Spain has collectedthey function as “natural cellular activators”, capable of improving skin quality, stimulating collagen and elastin, and returning firmness, elasticity and light. Dr. Lidia Maroñas, dermatologist and Clinical Director of Ooneskinmed, has detailed Thus for Hola magazine: “They act as if they spoiled the cell. They are indicated how to behave to improve the skin. In our clinic we use E-50 Primacure exosomes, from salmon cells grown in bioactive media of dermis.” Where to perform the treatment? Although there are already products with exosomes to use at home, clinic treatments remain the most powerful. In medical and aesthetic centers, exosomes are vehicle with advanced apparatus (microneedling, fractional laser, radiofrequency with needles or morpheus 8), which allows them to penetrate in the deepest layers of the dermis and multiply their regenerative action. Besides, According to Elle SpainThey are integrated with other techniques such as LASH, especially useful for treating scripts, stretch marks or sensitized skins. A Hype more or a real change? Unlike other viral products, exosomes not only generate noise in networks, they also have clinical and dermatological support. Since the like They have explained that its use is consolidating within aesthetic medicine as one of the main collagen stimulators, even more promising than classic treatments such as polynucleotides or growth factors. In addition, they have an extra advantage and that they do not depend on the season to prepare or repair the skin against sun damage. In a world obsessed with doing more, we will see how this new beauty routine adapts where it is less, time will say it. Image | Tiktok Xataka |The contestants of ‘The island of temptations’ have made a new face after the program. It is a symptom of something else

A critical component of current chips manufacturing machines

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The teams of extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE) that manufactures the Dutch company ASML are extraordinarily sophisticated. In fact, they are those currently using TSMC, Samsung, Intel, Sy Hynix and Micron Technology for produce integrated avant -garde circuits. They are so complex that during the first phases of their design in the early 90s of the last century, ASML engineers They believed it was impossible. However, everything changed in 1997. That year Jos Benschop, the leader of the research department, reassess whether UNVE technology was a viable option. After the first tests he realized that The German company Zeiss He was able to develop extraordinarily sophisticated mirrors that would be necessary to transport ultraviolet light. And he was not wrong. That was the real starting point of technology that has made it possible for our mobile phones and computers to have such advanced chips. Zeiss’s feat arrived in the 90s One of the most complex elements of UVE lithography machines is The ultraviolet light source. The company of American origin Cymer, although since 2013 it is not an independent company. That year ASML executives decided to buy it to accelerate the development of the technologies involved in UVE lithography. An interesting note: the ultraviolet light is responsible for transporting the geometric pattern described by the mask so that it can be transferred with a lot of precision to the surface of the silicon wafer. Understanding what is the mask is simple: it is nothing other than a physical template that contains the design of the integrated circuit that is necessary to transfer to the Silicon wafer. In any case, there is another component without whose intervention It is not possible to carry out this crucial task. Other components, in plural, in reality, although all of them are of the same type. It is precisely the mirrors that Jos Benschop suspected in 1997 that Zeiss could produce. The light of 11.4 nm was discarded because it forced to use beryllium in the mirrors and is a toxic chemical element The role of the optical elements of this company in these lithography equipment is crucial. And it is because they are responsible for moving the UVE light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm from the source that is responsible for its emission to the mask contained in the geometric pattern that is necessary to translate into the silicon wafer. If the mirrors involved in the propagation of the UVE light are not manufactured with enormous precision the geometric pattern defined by the mask will be altered, and the chips will be damaged. Interestingly, the choice of the wavelength of the UVE light used by these machines was a very delicate decision. Initially the engineers involved in their tuning had four possible options: 13.5 nm, 11.4 nm, 6.6 nm and 4.8 nm. These last two wavelengths were finally ruled out due to the limitations they imposed Organic photorestoning materials. The light of 11.4 Nm was also discarded because it forced to use beryllium in the mirrors, and is a toxic chemical element. The wavelength of 13.5 Nm required to introduce molybdenum and silicon mirrors, but these elements do not pose any problem. This is the reason why UVE machines work with this light. In any case, this data clearly reflects the extraordinary level of precision with which it is necessary to manufacture the mirrors: Zeiss uses argon ions and other elements to polish layer per layer at the atomic level the mirrors, and then identifies and corrects the defects using a subnustric analysis technique. This last tool is capable of detecting defects with a lower precision than a nanometer (less than a millmillonieth part of a meter). * Some price may have changed from the last review Image | Zeiss BIBLIOGRAPHY | ‘Focus: The Asml Way’by Marc Hijink More information | Zeiss | Asianometry In Xataka | 2024 has been a year full of uncertainty for chip designers. So much that the market has changed leader

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