Month: August 2025

In the search to eliminate the lithium of the batteries, we have found the best candidate: multivent ion batteries

by

Lithium ion batteries move the world and, in the era of electrification, every time They are more important. They have a series of limitations and Lithium is a finite resource With a high environmental impact, which is a problem if we want to electrify mobility. There the future solid state batteriesbut meanwhile, a group of NJIT researchers He has had an idea to give more life to the current technology: squeeze the maximum current batteries. As? With multivent ion batteries. Multivalent ions. A team of researchers from the New Jersey Institute -Njit- had an idea. If lithium is key to current batteries, but also scarce, We could use more abundant elements such as magnesium, calcium, aluminum or zinc as a replacement or to ‘dopar’ current batteries. The objective was to maintain, at least, the properties of current batteries and, if possible, improve storage benefits without depending on lithium. There the multive ion batteries come into play. If Ion-Litio have only one load, multiveous ion batteries that use the aforementioned elements allow two or even three positive charges. This property, in theory, allows you to store more energy by ion. Not everything is perfect. This property, as exposed in the studyit allows to store more energy by ion, but if they are not used it is because they present an important technical challenge. Multivalent ions are larger than lithium and have a greater load, which makes their movement difficult within current materials. To make it easy, imagine that the interior of the cells of a lithium -ion battery is a sponge with a certain number of recesses that catch particles. In a multivete ion battery, it has more holes and each one catches more particles, but the sponge is also greater. Accelerated by AI. That was the great limitation of the technological industry, but what NJIT researchers have done is to put the artificial intelligence To work. In this context, the use of AI is ideal because it allows simulating a large range of possibilities, of which the most convincing to test them. The end of the AI was to find new viable compounds to create multive ion batteries and, for this, they used a dual approach. On the one hand, a model called CDVAE (Variational Crystal Dissemination Self -coach) that was trained with known crystalline structures to generate new materials. On the other, a model of LLM LLM LANGUAGE Aphinated to select only the most thermodynamically stable structures. When they finished the work, they discovered five new porous metal oxides that are shown as ideal for transporting multivalent ions quickly and safely. “One of the greatest obstacles was not the lack of promising chemicals for batteries, but the practical impossibility of trying millions of material combinations,” said Dibakar Datta, leader of the research team. “We resort to generative artificial intelligence as a rapid and systematic way to explore that vast panorama and detect the few structures that multivalent batteries could really do practices.” Structures isolated by AI models. Section A is that of the CDVAE. The B is that of LLM Beyond the batteries. The team states that it validated the structures generated by AI using mechanical-chanting simulations and stability tests, confirming that these isolated materials could be synthesized with great potential for applications in the real world. Currently, and with those results, from the NJIT they are collaborating with other laboratories to synthesize and test those materials designed by AI. And something that Datta highlights is that, as a collateral effect on research, they have demonstrated once again that AI can be “a quick and scalable method to explore any advanced material, from electronics to clean energy solutions, without relying on extensive tests by test and error.” Once the best results are isolated, of course, it is time to try them in the real world, but much of the previous work It accelerates considerably. A mere patch? Now, although changing the ‘formula’ of lithium -ion batteries can be a good patch, the objective of the industry is still put in the implementation of solid state batteries. The catalyst in them is not a liquid, but a solid that allows us to solve many of the problems of current batteries, while offering a Greater energy density and faster load times. They are batteries that are already developed and that are being driven by Much of the automotive industrybut the problem is that it is a more expensive technology and is not settled. Bringing it to the real world, for example, Mercedes is already in itwhile other brands like BMW say that, for the moment, they are not in their plans due to precisely the price. Images | NJIT, Cell Reports Physical Science, Kumpan Electric In Xataka | An extraordinarily promising substitute has come out of the batteries. And yes, it has everything

Review with characteristics, price and specifications

by

I have been with the Oakley Metas almost two weeks and the experience has been … complex. It is not that they are bad smart glasses – in fact, they are technically superior to the Ray-Ban Meta In several aspects – but There is something in your proposal that does not finish curdling. It is as if they had wanted to cover too much and, in the process, they lost their identity. I started with illusion. I used some Oakley to run for a couple of years, so when they announced these smart glasses I thought they would be perfect for me. The reality is more nuanced. Technical tab of the Oakley Meta Oakley Meta HSTN dimensions and weight 145 x 51 x 22 mm 53 grams (mount) / 133 grams (case) Image capture 3024 x 4032 pixels 12 MP, Ultra wide angle, 100 ° of FOV Video capture 1440 × 1920 pixels or 2203 × 2938 pixels at 30 fps audio system 2x microaltavoces 5x Microphones Voice assistant Goal AI Controls Tactile By voice memory 32 GB Flash (+1,000 or +100 photos of 30 seconds) battery Up to eight hours with an intermittent load and use Up to 48 hours accumulating loads with the completely loaded case connectivity WIFI 6E Bluetooth 5.3 USB-C of load (case) compatibility iOS 15.2 or Android 10 onwards price 549 euros The full name, by the way, is ‘Oakley Meta HSTN’. They are not the wayfarer The Meta Ray-Ban had the enormous success of incorporating electronics into iconic design glasses. Wayfarer are wayfarer, carry or not camera. AND They convinced me from the first minute with them. The Oakley Meta, on the other hand, seem to have stayed in no one’s land: They are not sports enough to run comfortably. But they also have the necessary elegance for urban day to day. The design is peculiar. Neither masculine nor specifically feminine, with those pronounced angles near the nasal bridge and that white frame that shouts “look at me”. It is curious how a product that should go unnoticed exactly the opposite. I have taken them down the street, running, on the beach, and They always attract the occasional look. Not of the type “What chulat glasses”, but rather of “What are you wearing in the face?” People suspect something happens. Which takes me to the next point. The problem of white and the obvious camera The white color (although they are officially “warm gray”) is not a great success. It makes the camera much more obvious (a black gap next to each lens) and not only when the LED lights to indicate that you are recording. With a white mount is too much evidence of the camera, and can intimidate who we have in front. Image: Xataka. The black-target ray-ban camouflage this element better; They only betray their technological nature when that white point turns on. With the Oakley Meta, People already suspect before you do anything. This takes me to an anecdote that marked me. He was on a Valencian beach, sitting with the glasses on, when just in front of a mother began to change – disnain – to her little daughter, who would not be more than six years old. I felt very uncomfortable and took off my glasses immediately, but during those seconds I thought about how delicate the situation could be. If someone had seen that he wore those glasses with camera in front of the girl, even if he was not recording anything, a very serious problem could have been mounted. This has nothing to do with Oakley, but with smart glasses. As a society we will have to reach certain agreements on this type of product. It is different to carrying a mobile: With the phone, the act of recording is evident: you raise it, you point it, it is deliberate. With these glasses, just looking, you are already “pointing”, even if you have no intention of capturing anything. Social challenges that we are going to have to solve in some way with this technology. We have already seen some thorny case Even in Spain. The sports experience that was not I have run with them on several occasions: from 6 kilometers short exits to a long 21 -kilometer training through a series on an abandoned athletics. The idea of having a two in one – sun gaps and bone driving headphones – is brilliant on paper. It is the combo that I use separately. The idea of combining them in a single product sounded great. This is what I usually use to run: Oakley analog + bone driving headphones. The Oakley Meta integrate both, but they have not convinced me. Image: Xataka. In practice, they did not convince me. The additional weight is noted. It is not dramatic, but after a few kilometers you start feeling small shakes with each stride that you do not experience with normal Oakley. The audio is good enough And I have no complaints about him. It is better in static than in motion, but it is somewhat lower. Running slowly there are no problems, but when the speed uploads, the Oakley Meta tends to slide forward and give small shakes on the nasal septum. Or at least that has been my experience. GIF: Xataka. Besides, Sweat, rain and splashes resist with its IPX4 certification. They cannot immerse themselves and invite you to take care, but at least we can sweat with them. In any case, it is as if they had tried to make sports glasses without fully committed to that audience. Therefore, once again, the land of anyone and the loss of identity: they want to be several things at the same time so they stop being really good in something more concrete. Of course, you have to recognize something: Gold polarized prizm lenses are spectacular. Everything is seen with a gold-yellowish tone reminiscent of the films set in New Mexico, as if it were permanently in the … Read more

five perfect light computers to take class

by

There is very little for the return to school, so if you are looking for a good computer to take the institute or university (provided they are allowed to take them) or to study at home or in the library, we have reviewed a review of Five laptops focusing on its size, weight and price. In addition, to avoid any mess with the software, all computers come with Macos or Windows operating system. MacBook Air M4 by 999 eurosone of the best proposals both for its size and for its weight, power and price. LG Gram by 868.99 eurosan alternative to the MacBook that includes artificial intelligence functions and a good battery. Asus Zenbook 14 by 999 eurosa laptop with OLED screen and artificial intelligence functions. Lenovo Yoga 7 by 749 eurosa laptop convertible OLED touch screen. Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro by 801.51 eurosan ultrafine laptop with good processor. MacBook Air M4 Like more or less the macos operating system, the truth is that the MacBook Air M4 It is one of the best laptops to study thanks to its size, weight, power and price. By 999 euroswe talk about a 13.6 -inch laptop that weighs only 1.24 kg. Includes the M4 chip which offers both good power and performance and compatibility with Apple Intelligence. In addition, one of its strengths is that its battery has a Autonomy of up to 18 hoursthat nothing is wrong with forgetting the charger. MacBook Air M4 (16 GB, 256 GB) * Some price may have changed from the last review LG Gram As an alternative with Windows, the LG Gram He is also an interesting computer for the school. It can be found in the 14Z90ru configuration by 868.99 euros and stands out mainly because it includes a 14 -inch screen, Weigh only 999 grams and its theoretical autonomy is up to 24.5 hours (in practice it is lower). It also incorporates the Intel Core I5-1334U processor and comes with artificial intelligence functions through Co-Co-nursing. LG Gram (14z90ru) (16 GB, 512 GB) * Some price may have changed from the last review Asus Zenbook 14 Continuing with the proposals that come with Windows, the Asus Zenbook 14 In its configuration UM3406KA-QD076W is located in stores like Amazon by 999 euros. It is a computer that rides a OLED screen 14 inches and has a weight of 1.2 kg. It also offers artificial intelligence functions through COPILOT+its processor is the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 and has military certification US MIL-STD 810H Military Degreeso it is quite resistant. ASUS ZENBOOK 14 (UM3406KA-QD076W) (16 GB, 512 GB) * Some price may have changed from the last review Lenovo Yoga 7 The most different proposal of this list is the Lenovo Yoga 7a convertible with keyboard and touch screen that in Amazon has a price of 749 euros. It is a particular laptop with 14 -inch OLED screen which has a weight of 1.49 kg. Its processor is the AMD Ryzen 6 8640Hs and has 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD. In addition, its battery offers a theoretical autonomy of up to 25.5 hours. Lenovo Yoga 7 (16 GB, 512 GB) * Some price may have changed from the last review Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro Finally, we could not forget about Samsung Galaxy Book4 Proan ultradelgated computer that in Amazon has a price of 801.51 euros. This laptop incorporates a 14 -inch AMOLED screen with anti -reflex coating and touch panel. Monta the Intel Core Ultra 7-155H processor includes artificial intelligence functions to edit photos and its battery offers a theoretical autonomy of up to 21 hours of video playback. Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro (16 GB, 512 GB) * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Image | Erik McLean in UnspashApple, LG, Asus, Lenovo, Samsung In Xataka | Best laptops in quality price. Which to buy depending on the use and eight recommended models In Xataka | What is the best portable computer to work in 2025. Tips and recommendations

How to cover the sun became more aspirational than tan

by

For decades, summer was summed up in suns, forgotten sunscreen at the bottom of the bag and the eternal search for golden tan. But something has changed in recent years. While some people continue to bet on the Caribbean tone at any cost, a new trend has gained ground: covering the sun almost completely, until the solar phobia is touched. And although it can sound new in the West, in Asia it is not unusual. The ideal of clear skin. While in the West we obsess for decades with achieving a “healthy” tan – a term that, According to dermatologists such as Dr. José María Ricartit is still an oxymoron -, in much of Asia the approach has been another: covering itself. In countries like China or South Korea, protecting from the sun is not a trend, it is a norm. The beauty ideal is associated with clear, uniform skin, without spots, because a culture has been fed where perfect skin is status symbol. Recently, As reported by the South China Morning Postyouth of regions such as Fujian and Sichuan have taken this obsession to the extreme, using makeshift masks with cabbage leaves the size of an entire face. Beyond satire or aesthetics, priority is clear: avoid any effect of the sun on the skin. A phobia that reaches the West. Now, this fear of the sun expands. In the West, the minimalist bikini is being replaced by garments with UV protection and hats the size of an umbrella. According to The Wall Street Journalcelebrities such as Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry or Michelle Monaghan have been seen on vacation dressed in whole -body swimsuits, long -sleeved shirts and accessories designed to cover up to the last centimeter of leather. It is not a matter of modesty: it is prevention. In Spain, for example, actress Miriam Giovanelli has become one of the most visible voices In campaigns such as World Leather Cancer Day Of the international dermatological clinic, remembering that photoprotection is not just summer thing. In the words of Caroline Goldfarb, screenwriter and founder of Fishwife, collected by WSJ: “I have investigated the Burkinis, they are incredibly elegant. Muslim designers are icons of total coverage.” For many women like her, this hyperprotection is not a whim, but a way of fighting premature aging and skin cancer. Besides, According to Cleveland Clinicclothing with sun protection (UPF) blocks much more UV radiation than a common shirt. Of course, not every garment is worth: dermatologists recommend fabrics with UPF 50+, of closed plot, synthetic and in dark tones. But why? This phenomenon does not arise from nothing. As The dermatologist Amy Wechsler has explained in WSJmany women who invest in Cosmetic procedures —Theses, peels or rejuvenating sera – they also seek to protect that investment with UPF clothes, hats and glasses. It is part of the new self -care ritual: it is not only about looking good, but also being “intact.” This aesthetic obsession is not new, but it has intensified with the culture of collagen, filters and boom of the K-Beauty. As we have already written in Xatakawhat was previously sun cream, now is collagen dust, salmon DNA injection or facial analysis with AI. The implicit message: Aging is wrong. Covering from the sun may seem like a health gesture, but does not escape that logic. Isn’t it exaggerated? Solar prevention is important, but some experts already warn of excesses. Jennifer Chwalek, Dermatologist from UniDanderm, has warned in the WSJ On the risks of a total avoidance of the sun, such as vitamin D. deficiency Charlotte Palermino, aestheticist and founder of Dieux, ironized: “I don’t want to end like Gollum, with rickets.” Take care of yourself. Isolate yourself from the sun as if it were nuclear radiation, maybe not. An more symptom of aesthetic pressure? The sun has been demonized, but the context matters. According to the SAFE study79% of adults and 74% of Spanish children are exposed to the Sun in the most dangerous hours (11:00 to 17:00), and only 39.7% reaplies sunscreen every two hours. Protection is necessary, yes. But it is also to educate in its responsible use, without falling into fear or social pressure. As The dermatologist Amy Wechsler to WSJ has commentedmany patients who spend on cosmetic treatments also wear UPF clothes to “protect investment.” And it is that youth has become a mandate. From South Korea, where aesthetic tourism lives an unprecedented boom, to collagen fever in the West, the pressure to “look good” has fed a constant aesthetic anxiety. Between the sun and the mirror. From Korea to California, from collagen in coffee to the design burkini, what is at stake is not only the skin, but the time. We cover ourselves to take care of ourselves, yes, but also to continue looking young. The challenge is not just to avoid spots: it is to assume that the sun and wrinkles are part of life. Image | Pexels Xataka | The summers are so short in Finland that he has accepted a guest to enjoy the beaches: kilos of poop

Its electromagnetic catapults enter the final phase

by

It is being a busy summer in the Chinese Navy. There are no official ads, but two of their new naval fighters have ‘hunted flying in formation. And these last weeks have appeared indications that China is already finalizing the tuning of the crown jewel military arm: Fujian aircraft carriers. As? Testing their catapults Electromagnetic with real airplanes. And there is a key date for a demonstration of strength: the 80th anniversary of the Japanese defeat in the Second World War. The Fujian. China has the largest naval force in the world, it is something Key in its strategy in the South China Seabut in the aircraft carriers they were late in front of their main rival: United States. Compared to 11 nuclear propulsion aircrafts of the American fleet, China had two (And none with nuclear propulsion, something they still have). The third, built entirely with its technology, is Type 003, known as Fujian. Is part of the Maritime propaganda of the country And, although it has not yet been delivered to the Navy, it has been caught on several occasions performing maneuvers on the high seas and With deck aircraft. And something that the Fujian highlights is to be one of the only two aircraft carriers in the world with Electromagnetic catapults. Electromagnetic catapults. Although huge, the track carrier is not long enough for the ships to take security. That is why the plane is promoted by means of a complex mechanical system composed of cables, pipes and pumps of a hydraulic system. It is expensive and needs high maintenance, but there is an alternative: Emals. Known as “Electromagnetic catapult”, this system is a linear induction engine that, by electromagnets, displaces a piece that hooks the plane and moves at full speed through a raíl, pulling the ship until the end of the track, releasing it at the last moment. Marking muscle (in secret). This system not only allows heavier or more fuel airplanes, but reduce The mechanical tension on the fuselage of the airplanes themselves, prolonging its useful life, occupies less space in the ship and also reduces the maintenance of the launch system. It is a system that He headed up on the other aircraft carriers that mounts it, the already operational Gerald R. Fordbut refined, it is the future of the aircraft carriers. Well, there are indications that China is already testing this electromagnetic system with real airplanes. As we see in The War Zonethe authorities have not yet shown the launch of airplanes from the Fujian, but in recent days they have Images appeared that show airplanes with the post -founded postquelors and in the launch position on the Fujian deck. In addition, images of plane shadows projected in the same cover have been seen. This indicates that it is most likely that China is already launching and recovering airplanes from the Fujian or, at least, is very close to doing so as part of the final tests before delivering the ship for active service at the end of this year. Test aircraft And not so secret. What is official is that China has another new member of the fleet known as the 076 Type. It is an amphibious ship that would be unique in the world by having a large cover that, in one of its parts, also hides an electromagnetic catapult. The ship opened on August 1 with a Pompose ceremonyand the interesting thing about EMALS systems is that they can not only be used to launch airplanes. As they simplify the process of launching aircraft and are a more versatile system than the hydraulic, it can also be used to launch unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, a segment in which China is also very interested. Type 076 ‘Sichuan’ images Swarm attacks. One of the objectives of the Asian giant is to dominate the South China Sea. It is one of the most tense areas on the planet because it is the one that it shares with Taiwan or India, and we already know that both some as others are fortifying their maritime positions before possible Chinese military maneuvers. The United States also looks closely and That culmination of the modernization program of the fleet restless to Japanwho announced his rearm more ambitious Since World War II. And, in that maritime domain, ships with electromagnetic catapults play a fundamental role in allowing large -scale air operations. Compared to the hydraulic system, the EMALS allows you to launch a plane every 45 seconds, 25% faster than conventional catapults. This favors the adoption of tactics such as “swarm attacks”, or Alpha strikesin which aircraft are launched with a short cadence to saturate and overcome enemy defenses, achieving aerial superiority. China and the US, as usual. In addition to these advantages, it is a system that allows to extend the radius of action of the Naval Force to operate early alert planes and electronic warfare in a deeper way in the oceans. And this technology, as we say, only have both the United States – operating – and China with ships that are about to enter service. And the rest of the world? Well, he is working on it, but at another speed. France, for example, that has a fleet in which Charles de Gaulle is his crown jewel, is developing a system of Emals for Its new generation aircraft carriers that will enter service at some point in the late 2030s. India, which occasionally also Remember China that hashe is investigating it. And the United Kingdom, although he has considered it, has not yet adopted, since he has vertical take -off aircraft. September 3. The rivalry between China and Japan comes from afarbut a good time to officially present advances in the electromagnetic catapults of the Fujian can be this September, when the 80 years of Japan’s defeat in World War II are commemorated. The United States with the launch of two atomic bombs accelerated 6th Japanese surrender and you will be wondering what … Read more

When we start consuming drugs

by

If we pulled the thread we can get an idea of to what extent our ancestors went to drug trancas. We knew, for example, that The barbarians They were so blind that we could explain much of the wars of antiquity. Even Two mummies They have told us to what extent the cocaine was established in past centuries. Now, some teeth aim to offer us the “beginning” of this historical consumption. The finding. A team of Thai researchers has managed to identify chemical remains of consumption from Betel In the dental plate of a woman between 25 and 35 years buried about 4,000 years ago In Nong Ratchawat, in the center of Thailand. The finding represents direct evidence oldest ever discovered of the use of Betel, a psychoactive practice that, despite being little known in the West, continues to be one of the most popular in the world, only surpassed by tobacco, coffee and alcohol. He studywhich was based on advanced liquid chromatography techniques coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS), analyzed 36 samples of mineralized dental plate of several burials of the bronze age, and three of them offered unequivocal positive results that coincide with the chemical profiles of the Betel prepared according to traditional methods. Make the impossible visible. The key to this advance does not reside solely in the identification of plant remains, but in the Applied Methodology. The positive sample contained traces of Arecaidine (from the Areca nut), Hydroxychavicol (from the betel leaf), and nicotine, probably due to the occasional use of tobacco as part of the mixture. For validate your resultsthe team led by Piyawit Moonkham replied experimental form The ancestral chewing process, using dry areca nut, betel leaves, pink lime paste, cortex of Senegalia Catechutobacco, and human saliva, with the aim of generating a precise reference with which to compare the ancient samples. Lost uses. This unusually detailed approach allowed detect molecules that do not leave visual trace and that would have been impossible to identify through traditional archaeological techniques. According to the co -author From the study, Shannon Tushingham, this strategy not only reveals lost uses of the past, but opens a new way to rebuild cultural practices through biomolecular waste, even when there is no visible indication of them. Archaeological Site in Nong Ratchawat where teeth samples originated A living tradition. He betelor more specifically the brunette of Betel, is the name that receives the preparation composed of the Areca walnut wrapped in the Betel leaf and usually accompanied by lime off. This combination releases Arecolinaan alkaloid substance that produces mild stimulating effects, as a feeling of alert, warmth and well -being. Despite its invisibility in the official drug history, Betel has a social and ceremonial role deeply rooted in many Asian and oceanic cultures. For millennia, it has been used in rituals Incidentally, festive events, and even as an element of community cohesion. The finding in Thailand demonstrates that this practice was already consolidated in Southeast Asia a thousand years before what was thought, challenging the linear narratives of cultural development and offering a new window to the intangible past. Legacy with consequences. The discovery is not exempt from Medical and Social Implications. Today, Betel is an extended habit in countries like Papua New Guinea, where 50% of the population chews regularly, and where the highest oral cancer rate on the planet has been documented. Chronic consumption has also been seenInculated to diseases Hepatic, metabolic syndrome, cirrhosis and renal damage. However, Betel too It has properties Antioxidants, antiparasitic, anti -inflammatory and antiseptic, which complicates its classification as a mere “harmful drug.” This ambivalence has fed its cultural permanence and has raised disparate responses in the different countries. Consume Betel. In Taiwanfor example, consumption has decreased significantly among young people URBANITAS Thanks to public health campaigns, but Betel is still linked to a very particular aesthetic: that of The bīnláng xīshī or “Bellezas del Betel”, young women dressed in provocative outfits that sell the product in road shop windows. This phenomenon, already in decline, has given way to a more conservative version, with major vendors in closed positions or night markets, but remains a living expression of cultural identity and historical memory. Knowledge in front of stigma. One of the axes of the study It consisted of stressing that practices such as Betel’s consumption They should not be reduced to the category of “drugs” under contemporary western standards. Far from that, they represent medical, spiritual and community knowledge transmitted for generations, often ignored by classical archeology. By identifying these chemical waste, the dental calculation analysis not only rewrites the history of the Betel, but also offers a framework to reassess many other psychoactive plants whose use has been invisible or repressed. As Moonkham statesUnderstanding the cultural context of the use of traditional plants is essential to recognize its true anthropological value and to generate a more nuanced dialogue around substance consumption. Fascinating, since the dental calculation has returned the image of an anonymous woman who, 4,000 years ago, shared with her community a practice that still survives. A silent evidence that human desire to alter awareness, share experiences and ritualize the body has roots as deep as History itself. Image | FFGGSS/Wikimedia Commons, Piyawit Moonkham In Xataka | The consumption of amphetamines in Spain is concentrated in an autonomous community. And we know it with a “single” trick In Xataka | The barbarians who assaulted Rome went to the eyebrows: drug use also explains the war in antiquity

In 1959 scientists in the USSR resolved a doubt that many will have been done: Can we tame the fox?

by

A few days ago It went viral on social networks the case of a family that reported how, after save a trapped fox On their land, this had become a regular visitor to which they fed and protected. Foxes are wild animals but in many contexts, even in densely populated areas, these mammals cohabit with our species. This implies a certain parallel with our idea about how we domesticate some of the animal species that now live with us, especially animals that live in our homes such as dogs and cats. We can then ask some key questions, such as whether possible Domesticate these animalsor even if we will not have begun to do it with this cohabitation. The brief answer to both questions may be “yes”, but of course, there are important details to take into account. To answer the first question in more detail, we have to go back in time, back in 1959and more specifically to the Soviet Union. But before, a little context. Foxes (Vulpes) They are a genre of canids, which makes them not very distant relatives of dogs and wolves. We distinguish a dozen fox species, among which the common fox or red fox stands out (Vulpes Vulpes), The species that is surely more familiar to us, which inhabits a huge diversity of ecosystems in Eurasia and North America, but can also be found in other regions of the globe. Returning to The USSR of the late 50the great domestication experiment of the fox was devised by Dmitri Belyaev and driven by Lyudmila Trutboth experts in Soviet genetics. These researchers wanted to know if the selective crossing of the most meek specimens of the species could lead to the appearance of the so -called “domestication syndrome”, that is, the tendency to accumulate certain characteristic features: flaccid ears, youth facial features or mottled fur, among others. Thus they could prove that these features could effectively associate with the domestication process, as would have happened in other species. The second hypothesis was to study if these external features were related to genes associated with calm and more “friendly” behaviors towards humans. Generation after generation The team was selecting the most meek specimens to continue with an experiment that survived even the fall of the Soviet Union. An experiment that lasted during more than six decades. But 15 generations were enough to obtain first results. By the 1970s the team had already achieved meek copies, Like Pushinkacapable of living with those responsible for the experiment. The experiment that survived even the fall of the Soviet Union. Belayaev died in the mid -1980s and Trut less than a year ago, In October 2024. The descendants of their foxes They still last. Russian domesticated fox, Siberia fox or domesticated silver fox, are some of the names by which this subspecies of the fox is known, also by its “scientific name” Vulpes Vulpes f. amicus. Are we doing it again? It is possible that Trut foxes are not the only vulpids in undertaking the path of domesticon. In Europe and other places in the world, the populations of foxes are not uncommon that They live in suburban areas and even fully urban. The possibility that that of these populations is a case of self -controlling has also attracted the interest of some scientists. According to narrated a few years ago Author Virginia Morell for the magazine Sciencethis was the case of Kevin Parsons. Intrigued by foxes that was in the streets From the city where he worked, Glasgow, this Canadian decided to go to the collection of foxes of the national museums of Scotland. The institution had a collection of about 1,500 skulls obtained in the 1970s, when the city of London and surrounding areas carried out a hunting campaign to reduce the number of foxes in the environment. The bone remains belonged therefore to animals hunted both in rural and urban environments. Parsons photographed and studied more than a hundred of these skulls, identifying their features in search of clues about domestication syndrome. And found them: the “urban foxes” presented shorter and more wide snouts, and smaller brains than hunted in rural environments. The details about his study were published in 2020 In an article In the magazine PROCESS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. The implications of domesticating a wild animal, of creating new species or subspecies perhaps within a period not too long, are complex, with different ethical and ecological variables to consider. Do this With just being aware of it It is problematic since we cannot even take the precautionary measures necessary to avoid inconveniences. That is why the coexistence between foxes and humans has a dark side, not because of particular cases such as the one we mentioned at the beginning of the article but as a consequence of the urban life modes. There is therefore not much that we can do, but knowing the phenomenon may help avoid the possible negative consequences that it could have. In Xataka | Four years ago someone ran over a dog in Brazil: today we know that it was not a dog or should have existed Image | Brett Jordan

2,000 people will live like guinea pigs

by

One of the most tourist points in Japan It is Mount Fuji. Such is the fascination that awakens that Japan decided to charge to climb the top with the aim of curbing the massification, and even They ruined the famous photo placing a huge fence. At the foot of the iconic place there is not only Traditional villagesbut also the City of the future. From the future of Toyota, at least, since it is where the Japanese automotive decided to create a city-laboratory called ‘Toyota Woven City ‘. And after years of works, in September the ‘Phase 1’ of the development of the next brand technologies will start. Phase 1. With brushstrokes given in the 2018 CES, with more details offered two years later and with the works of the ‘Phase 1’ finished at the end of last year, Toyota is finalizing the details so that his ‘Woven City’ begins to roll. Located next to the plant Higashi-Fuji of the company, in the prefecture of Shizuoka in Japan, through a release They have defined the plant as “a platform to expand the concept of mobility beyond transport.” After many preparations, the starting point of that ambitious plan will take place on September 25. And, although Toyota carries the singing voice, in Woven City there will be other companies that will work to achieve that end of “reinvent mobility” Coworking. Toyota, like many other companies, is known for a specific product -in this case, cars -but has a lot of subsidiaries and pàrtes of the group that are dedicated to supporting other industries. Many of them will settle in Woven City, but in their laboratories there will also be space for others that, a priori, have little to do with that goal of enhancing mobility in everyday life. Two recent examples are interstellar technologies, which is dedicated to the manufacture and development of both rockets and satellites, and Kyoritsu Seiyaku, a corporation that develops, manufactures and imports veterinary medications. Previously, It was already announced That Daikin – AIRs conditioned – would also be in Woven City (and may make sense because there is still no air conditioning systems), but also others such as Dydo Drinco (soft drinks and other drinks), UCC Japan Co.known for his instant noodles). Laboratory. In total, and counting companies from the Toyota group, at the moment there are 19 companies that will develop their proposals within Woven City. At the moment, it seems a bit abstract, but Toyota sees this installation as a “living laboratory” in which to try advanced mobility technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, connectivity and sustainability In a real urban environment. That is, instead of caught the streets of a city to do tests, they have raised their own, fed by solar energy and something that the company put Very interest in the past: Hydrogen fuel cells. We could say that it is a “prototype city”, and its dimensions are considerable. Enormous. In total, and when the different construction phases are finished, it is estimated that Woven City has about 294,000 square meters of surface. We have already commented that the buildings will be fed by solar panels located on the roofs and by the aforementioned hydrogen batteries, but will also be surrounded by Hydroponic cropswhich are the plants that take the nutrients of mineral solutions and not of the agricultural soil. All buildings are connected by tunnels, where autonomous vehicles such as the cast circulate City. For the design of the city, they have taken into account three types of streets, differentiated according to the speed of vehicles that can circulate through them and the type of mobility. For example, there are streets for fast vehicles, others for personal mobility and also pedestrian areas, all of them distributed forming an “organic” pattern. And that mobility will be through completely autonomous vehicles and zero emissions. Many companies are opting for the creation of huge campuses in which to house thousands of workers. Huawei’s are an example, With a huge one and another that Imitate the architecture of several European citiesbut when we talk about the city of Toyota, we literally refer to a city. Apart from the laboratories in which the new forms of mobility and energy for the city of the future are designed, in the Woven City will live people. In phase 1 it is estimated that some 360 people will live among Toyota employees and their families. They will do it in houses created with ‘Japandi’ style (a Combination between Nordic and Japanese) equipped with advanced support and domestic robotics support and robotics technologies, and the objective is that the city houses some 2,000 people once all phases are completed. Phase 2. The company’s desire is to test in a scenario as real as possible (although carefully designed and away from what traditional cities can offer) the most leading technologies in mobility, sustainability and urban planning. And, taking what has been learned in the ‘Phase 1’, at some point a new phase will begin that will not only increase the population, but will also expand or perfect the built environment. And in 2026 The doors will open to visit the city and that other people outside the project offer their opinions about the model. It is a tremendously ambitious goal and the brand does not expect that Be profitable In the first years, since it takes it more as a technological incubator for the planning of the cities of the future than something that offers an immediate return. Images | Toyota In Xataka | The Line goes regular, so Saudi Arabia has asked some consultants to solve the obvious: if it makes sense

Italy is going to build the suspension bridge with the largest opening in the world. And they will load it to NATO’s budgets

by

The megaconstructions are the order of the day. We find each other Colossal projectssome that They make us crack an eyebrow thinking If necessary. However, few can boast of being the culmination of a work of centuries, or even millennia. Italy is close to getting it when approved A huge bridge that connect the continent with Sicily: the Messina bridge. The turn is that they have described it as something key to the NATO. So that? So that the bridge budget is included in the percentage of military spending that Italy must contribute. Historical dream. Sicily is a complicated territory. Isolated from the continent, it remains Italy and, although they have a very strong identity feelingthat isolation has led to some problems and difficulties throughout history. In it Roman empire I know proposed Unite the territory through the Strait of Messina with a peculiar plan: connect Calabria and Sicily using barges and barrels. It was ruled out for obvious reasons such as intense maritime traffic or its technical unfeasibility. In the Middle Ages, Charlemagne too study take actions to unite the territory and, in 1866, firmer plans were drawn to build a viaduct, but they were also discarded when considering that A tunnel would be more suitable. In whatever, it also ended in nothing and, during the following decades, the project of the bridge in the Strait was changing hands without success, maintaining the connection with the peninsula by ferry. Colossal. Throughout. Everything changed in 2023, when the new Giorgia Meloni government resurrected the plan. Contemplating an investment of more than 13,000 million euros, the bridge would mark a turning point in Italian, European and world architecture, depending on who we ask. The length will be about 3.7 kilometers with twin towers of 399 meters on both banks, a height of 72 meters above sea level so that large boats and capacity can pass and capacity to move A large number of vehicles. The three lanes in the direction offer a capacity for 6,000 vehicles per hour, and their two railways would allow a cadence of 200 trains per day. It is a transport barbarity to connect Sicily, but the only thing about this bridge will be the central opening: 3,300 meters that would set a new world record for a suspended vain. Necessary. The start of the works is scheduled for this same 2025 and its estimated completion by 2032. As we say, after many comings and goings, the project is already officially underwayas the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of Italy, Matteo Salvini, advertisement Last Wednesday. Finally, the cost will be 13,500 million euros and, as we read in New York TimesItalian minister and vice president, he is “absolutely proud of work.” Stating that “it will be an unprecedented public works in the world.” The justification of the bridge, as we read in Financial Timescomes from the side of the revitalization of Sicily. With this volume moved from the continent, the economy of one of the poorest regions of Italy can be promoted, where unemployment practically double The national rate: 13% compared to 6.5% of the rest of the country. But … necessary? The question is why, if a bridge between both territories was so important, something had been done. And, above all, why firm projects such as 2011 threw himself by land, arguing concerns about his price, about 5,000 million euros at that time and, in addition, about his real need. And it wasn’t the first time: Silvio Berlusconi He already proposed This project in 2005 for about 3.9 billion euros. Criticism. Many. There are few detractors of the bridge. This “unprecedented work in the world” faces opposition, environmentalists and even nature itself. The opposition, as New York Times states, considers that it is “an economic and social catastrophe” by diverting funds from other projects more necessary to build “a cathedral in the desert.” The animalists lo consider A disaster for local flora and fauna, as well as for a bird’s migration route. And when we say he has against nature, it is because those critics too comment that the area is prone to earthquakes that could make the bridge collapse. Even the ‘thing nostra’, the Sicilian mafia, said Be against the bridge in 2023. It has a trick. If you have so much against, if it is not clear that you will revitalize Sicily after a mastodontic investment, why do you go ahead with the project? During the NATO summit in June, Meloni declared that, due to the convulsive moment that is lived in several parts of the world, “there are many threats and hostile actors operating on the southern flank of the Atlantic Alliance.” In addition, he commented that “Russia projects more and more His presence in the Mediterranean” And this bridge would be a key piece, according to the Italian government, “in the context of NATO defense and security, facilitating the movement of the Italian and international armed forces in a context in which the Mediterranean is a geopolitically sensitive area.” And the trick? Well, like other NATO allies, Italy has beenOppromeded to increase its annual expenditure in defense Up to 5% of its GDP during the next decade, including 1.5% for strategic infrastructure. If the bridge is 13,500 million euros and include it in their proposals for “strategic infrastructure”, they would already be hitting a good bite to that 5% They must invest. Instead of armament or other elements, in a new bridge. Germany goes behind. “The Mestina Strait Bridge constitutes a fundamental infrastructure in relation to military mobility, taking into account the presence of important NATO bases in southern Italy,” they said in a report prepared last April, but Italy seems to be the only ones that will try to ‘put’ a renewal of infrastructure in that 5% of NATO. Germany, in a recent reporthas included in these defense budgets other 1 billion euros for the maintenance of ‘autobahn’, Your highway system. Forcing the machine. Returning to the Italian Bridge, and … Read more

The first photographic meme of history was extremely macabro: posing as beheaded corpses

by

Who says that before the Internet people He made less bullshit? They were the same, what happens is that there was no potential audience of millions of people to reach (and was not monetized). What gives even more merit to analog memes, the fashions due to infection that passed from hand to hand, generating absurd fashions that followed thousands of people. One of the first of these fashions was the Horsemaning (either Jinetism), such a delicious way to make the fool that it was not as isolated at the beginning of the century. What is it. He Horsemaning It shows a person pretending to have been decapitated. Actually, two people participate in the joke: one, the body, placed at an angle that either the camera shot or the position of the deceased assumption makes the neck not seen; Another subject, the head, places the neck on the edge of a table or buries its own body in the sand of the beach, so that it looks decapitation. Both added things create a very shocking and hilarious effect, especially since it is obvious where the trick is. It is fun because we see people lose their composure before the camera, which always laughs. Why Jinetism. By the headless rider of ‘The Sleepy Hollow ‘Legend of Washington IrvingAbsolute classic of Anglo -Saxon literature. The story was written in 1820, a century before the popularization of meme. But it is a story that returns to the collective imaginary over and over again due to its powerful imagery, so linked to Halloween. In it appears a spectrum, that of the headless rider, a decapitated gentleman (supposedly a Hesian soldier) that he was left without a gunshot. Of Victorian England … Although it was in the VCEINTE years of the last century when it became fashionable, we can track the origins of the macabra jokes further back in time: to Victorian England and the first steps of photography. At that time, in times prior to television, the newborn invention caused a sensation in very different environments (from family chascarrillos to the first and disturbing pornography steps). Since their first steps, photographers experienced with tricks: overlays, transparencies and trapantojos, and fashions such as those of the BeachBackground of this Horsemaning: People with heads in the lap or under their arm, and sometimes were achieved with multiple negatives. … to when Facebook cool. Around 2011there was a resurgence of the photos of beheaded with perspective tricks. Surely you remember it, because around that year became fashionable he Stocking (imitate photos of image banks), the Planking (Photos of people laying down in the most incongruous places), the Owling (disturbing snapshots posing as owls), the Plowling (the two previous meetings) or the Batmanning (Hang upside down). Loquisimo Pre-Tiktok times, and still overwhelmed an endearing digital naivety. In Xataka | Putting the testicles in landscape photos is the latest crazy photographic fashion of the Internet. There are more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.