Month: September 2025

The most detailed gravitational waves in history have just confirmed the great prediction of Stephen Hawking

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After ten years Perfecting the detection of gravitational wavesLigo sensors achieved such a precise observation which has allowed physicists to confirm one of Stephen Hawking’s most famous predictions: the black holes area theorem. Ten years. A decade has passed since the scientists of the Ligo Observatory The universe listened for the first time in a completely new way: by detecting gravitational waves. On September 14, 2015, wrinkles in spacetime tissue Predicts by Albert Einstein a century earlier inaugurated a new era in astronomy. What was then an almost imperceptible cosmic whisper, today has become a symphony that sensors can clearly hear. And on the tenth anniversary of that milestone, the Ligo-Virgo-Kagra (LVK) collaboration has captured the most clear gravitational wave signal to date. GW250114. Detected on January 14, 2025, physicists believe that these gravitational waves were caused by the collision and subsequent fusion of two black holes to about 1.3 billion light years from the earth. Interestingly, the event is almost a twin that ended using Ligo’s physicists the 2017 Nobel PrizeGW150914. In both cases, it was two black holes with masses between 30 and 40 times that of our sun. But there is an abysmal difference: the signal quality. An unprecedented sharpness. Thanks to a decade of technological improvements and advances in quantum engineering, Ligo detectors are now almost four times more sensitive. While the first signal had a signal/noise ratio of 26, that of GW250114 has a 80. “We can hear it high and clear, and that allows us Physical Review Letters. This sharpness has been key to unraveling the secrets that were hidden in the vibrations of the black hole resulting from the merger. Hawking theorem. In 1971, Stephen Hawking proposed that the total area of ​​the event horizon of a black hole can never be reduced. It can increase or remain the same, but never shrink. This, which is known as the Hawking area theorem, is analogous to the second law of thermodynamics, which says that the entropy (the disorder) of an isolated system always increases. Therefore, the area of ​​a black hole is a measure of its entropy. Trying it is complicated. When two black holes merge, part of their mass becomes an enormous amount of energy in the form of gravitational waves (the famous E = mc²). In addition, the new black hole can turn much faster, and a larger turn implies a minor area for the same dough. Does the increase in mass compensate for these losses so that the final area is always greater? The analysis of GW250114 has been settled by the matter bluntly. Hawking was right. In this case, the two initial black holes had a combined area of ​​about 240,000 square kilometers. After the merger, the new black hole, with a mass of about 63 times that of the sun, it had an area of ​​400,000 square kilometers. If in 2021 a first test with the 2015 signal showed a 95%confidence, the new data raises that certainty to 99,999%. As Kip Thorne recalls, one of Ligo’s parents and Hawking personal friend, the British physicist called him right after the first detection in 2015 to ask if they could try his theorem. Hawking died in 2018but today his theory has been verified in a way that would have left him very satisfied. Einstein too. Thanks to this new signal, scientists have been able to analyze the moment just after the merger in which the new black hole vibrates like a newly hit bell before stabilizing. The frequencies and speed with which these tones are attenuated. It is the most solid test to the date that black holes are seemingly simple objects that can be completely described with only three properties: mass, spin and electric charge. All other information of the material that formed them is lost. But each detection of gravitational waves is one more piece in the puzzle of the cosmos. And as GW250114 demonstrates, to understand them we travel on the shoulders of giants such as Einstein and Hawking. Image | Aurore Simonnet (SSU/edeon)/LVK/URI In Xataka | Everything to know about gravitational waves: what they are, where are they and why we will not stop talking about them

Genesis wants to be Hyundai’s lexus. And its general director has no doubt of its expansion in Europe: “We are among the best”

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Genesis is a “premium Korean brand. We are among the best”. With these words, Peter Kronschnabl, director of Genesis in Europe, to the company where he works. After a few hesitant years and a limited presence in a handful of European markets, the Korean company of Premium vehicles will launch new markets from next year among which is Spain. The presentation of the plans came in the IAA Mobilitywhere Xataka He had the opportunity to know the details of an expansion that will play all the sticks. Genesis will be much more than a refined and more luxurious version of Hyundai. The company will have its own sports line and will put all the meat on the grill with its long starting at the WEC, the World Cup, and, therefore, on the 24 -hour Le Mans grill. New life for genesis In our country, Genesis has been little less than a great stranger. You may sound your logo (which can remind Aston Martin’s) and you may have seen some of her cars on the street. But it is rare because our country has been arriving in counted units. In fact, Genesis has only been present in recent years in Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. That is, always with an eye on regions with more bulky wages than Spanish. However, the European hug to the electric car seems to have opened a loophole to other markets. Although there is no official confirmation, the brand has not ruled out that in the future we can see hybrid models. At the moment we know that they will bring three completely electric models. Two of them are SUV, the GV60 and the GV70, which will arrive accompanied by a Berlina, the G80. Genesis will offer models clearly focused on luxury And, in the absence of trying them, with a clear commitment to the most sophisticated comfort. On the way to the Münich airport we had the opportunity to get on its G80 as passengers and we verified first hand the words of its director for Europe. “What does it mean to be a ‘Premium Korean’? Obviously, we talk about the quality of the materials, we do not make any commitment. You will understand when you enter the interior because we are among the best brands of the Premium segment,” said Kronschnabl. And stressed, “for us it is very important They are Nimwhich is the Korean word that is used for the concept of hospitality. And when I say that for us it is very important, it is not only that you buy a car, but also that you have a service package with a car. We will give services that revolve around the experience inside the car. “ In fact, the true protagonists are their rear squares: two heated and ventilated rear armchairs, with the possibility of reclining in all types of positions and with massage included. Curtain for the windows, two tablets behind the back of the front seats and a total control of the infotainment system from a digital center located between the two seats. The movement makes sense in a European market where high -flight electrical options begin to take positions. The Chinese manufacturers As Xpeng or Nio have a clear technological commitment. Genesis, however, is committed to the most traditional luxury line, the BMW 7 Series 7 or a Mercedes S. The Hypercar with which Genesis will compete in Le Mans To this we must add that offering only electrical versions, at least for the moment, the bet is very little risky. Although cars arrive with drops, each electric registration helps reduce Hyundai average emissions in Europe. Import hybrid cars is more problematic because it would continue to represent the relative high cost of importing very low volumes but Without the benefit of directly attacking the average emissions. And when driving? We will have to wait to check for ourselves but from Genesis they already advance that “on one side you have the brands with a very sporty approach and on the other side those that are very oriented to comfort. We have our own positioning. We want to offer a good driving experience but comfort is above all” Of course, with genesis Magna should also come. This firm will be the most sporty version of Genesis. He has the challenge of offering clear differentiation with Hyundai’s N Division and putting a spicy point to cars that clearly bet on extreme comfort. However, Genesis investment for its (new) arrival in Europe is important and will begin by generating brand image In the World Cup. This same year they already took advantage of Le Mans to give first brushstrokes on the project. There they will compete with a Hypercar which was also seen in the Münich IAA Mobility. Live, paint absolutely spectacular. It remains to know how that V8 that will mount. The Koreans, in addition, have not spared efforts to give relevance to their sports commitment. The division is flag Jacky Ickxa myth of motor racing that piloted for Ferrari or Lotus in Formula 1 and is especially remembered by his six victories in the 24 hours of Le Mans. There, the team will be directed by Cyril Abiteboulwho already directed Renault in his passage through Formula 1. Of all this, however, we will know new details later. Photos | Genesis In Xataka | “They are a serious threat but we can contract”: Xavier Martinet, CEO of Hyundai Europe, about China and the Concept Three in response

The submarine cables were from the teleoperators, and now the great technological ones are controlling them

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Submarine cables They transport 95% of data traffic between continents. They hold Ten billion dollars daily in financial transactions, according to figures collected by Telegeographyand feed from streaming to artificial intelligence networks. And yet, its control no longer belongs to the great traditional teleoperators: it has largely passed to technological giants such as Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon. A deep transformation that raises questions about dependence, digital sovereignty and resilience to geopolitical risks. For more than a century, the submarine cables were a matter of consortiums of public operators and large telecos. Installing them cost hundreds of millions of dollars, And it was common to distribute the risk among several actors in exchange for assigning fiber pairs to each participant. Recent examples, as the 2Africa cable, promoted by goalThey follow this model. However, in just a decade, this balance has jumped through the air. Today, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon They control or manage approximately half of the world underwater bandwidth. Between 2019 and 2023, They financed about 25% of activated cable systems, according to Carnegie Endowment. Globally, The construction of about 60 new submarine cables until 2027 is expected, as indicated by the latest telegeography mapwhich gives an idea of ​​the magnitude of the change of cycle in the control of critical internet infrastructure. How technology took over the underwater routes The qualitative leap is not only in participation: also in full property. Google has in full cables such as Curie (USA-Chile), Dunant (USA-France), Grace Hopper (USA-Spanish-Spanish Reino) and Equiano (Portugal-Nigeria-Sudaphrica). Goal, meanwhile, He has planned Waterworth: A cable of just over 40,000 km that will connect USA directly with important markets of the southern hemisphere, including points in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, deliberately avoiding risk areas such as the Red Sea and the Sea of ​​Southern China. The case of 2Africa, although still based on consortium, also reflects the evolution: here, goal participates significantly as a key partner of the consortium with several operators. Europe is the continent with more mooring cables on the planet, according to the Carnegie Endowment. Two thirds of its external connectivity depend on submarine cableswhich underlines your high strategic exposure. Besides, Much of the European traffic is stored in data centers located in the US, as analyzed by the ITIFincreasing its technological dependence. Faced with this panorama, Europe has some strategic assets, such as Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), World leader in kilometers of cable installed between 2020 and 2024and Orange Marine, which operates one of the largest installation and repair fleets. Paris and Rome have already launched movements to protect Asn and Sparkle as “sovereign industrial champions.” The threat to cables It is no longer just accidental. Russia has intensified its underwater patrols around strategic nodes, and in 2025 China presented a ship capable of cutting cables at 4,000 meters deep, according to the South China Morning Postincreasing its asymmetric pressure capacity on critical routes. In addition, the lack of response capacity complicates the scenario: There are barely 80 ships around the world dedicated to laying and cable repair, according to the Carnegie Endowmentand Europe lacks specialized breaking, necessary to operate in Arctic regions or in marine ice conditions, where new strategic connectivity routes are being explored. The underwater critical infrastructure also faces a fragmented legal framework. Several European countries have not even ratified the 1884 convention cablewhich hinders the Persecution of sabotage acts. Meanwhile, installation and repair permits in Europe They have doubled in duration in the last decadecomplicating the response to incidents. To correct it, the EU and the NATO have created joint initiatives, such as the Critical Unclea Infrastructure Coordination Cell and a Task Force Industrial. However, some analysts insist that Without a drastic increase in resources, Europe will remain at a disadvantage. Towards a more fragmented and dependent Internet The massive entry of great technological responds to a clear logic: Control the physical layer of the Internet allows them to reduce costsimprove efficiency and guarantee alternative routes to crises. For traditional telecos, the dilemma is clear: collaborate or be displaced. Some operators continue to play a relevant role, although adapting to an ecosystem with a strong presence of the great technological giants. In the near future, Intercontinental traffic is expected to double every two years5G driven, cloud distributed e artificial intelligence. Alternative routes are being explored, such as polar corridors, which would significantly reduce Europe-Asia latency. In parallel, fears of a physical “splinternet” grow: cable networks segmented by political alliances, with Europe discussing between its historical openness and the need to protect His strategic interests, as Oxford analysts point out. Although we usually imagine the cloud as an intangible space, the reality is that much rest on a complex physical infrastructure. And that infrastructure, more and more, is controlled by US multinationals. For Europe, the challenge is not just building more cables: it is to ensure that the next generation of the Internet does not depend mostly on foreign actors. Images | Goal | Screen capture In Xataka | Digital serendipia is in danger of extinction. Internet understands us too well

For something more than the sun

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That Japanese culture attracts the rest of the world It is a fact. There are the Visitors figures foreigners visiting the nation with numbers that They overcome every year. The Japanese nation interests because in many cases it is what opposite to the culture of the West. Let’s put as an example a postcard that usually surprises the tourist who comes: why are the hell so many Japanese with umbrella? One track: it is not just to cover the sun. Umbrella and spirits. Yes, in Japan, umbrellas and umbrella are not just protection against rain or sun, they can also Be Yorishirothat is, objects capable of attracting or hosting divinities and spirits. This Animistic visiondescribed by Professor Emeritus Tatsuo Danjyoassociates the circular form of the umbrella with the soul and its mango with the pillar through which the entities descend, which makes the daily object a spiritual receptacle with symbolic presence in ritual and popular life. Of the emblem of power to common use. Between the IX and XI centuries, the umbrella broke into Japan not as a meteorological shelter, but as a distinguished of Religious and political authority: Long Sashikake-Gasa sustained by assistants on elites and dignitaries. From the 12th century its use extended to the people, but the spiritual ground remained, so that the umbrella lived with its practical function as a sign of amparo, status and link with the sacred. Festivals that cure. Today that dimension survives in celebrations where the umbrella acts as a ritual vehicle. In The Yasurai Matsuri of Kyoto, in April, the floral umbrellas “extract” diseases of the participants, and in The Dontaku hakata From Fukuoka, every May 3-4, the imposing Kasaboko distribute health and fortune to whom it passes under them. Not just that. In Oksahima (Kōchi), during the Obon From August 13 to 16, richly decorated umbrella structures house the spirits of the newly deceased to, on the night of the 16 alternate years, lead them back to the beyond through a processional dance. The umbrella that comes alive. Japanese imagination has personified this relationship in the so -called Like Kasa Yōkaithe “spirit-peel” that appears in paintings and rolls like the Night of the parade of demons mirates, where ancient and discarded objects wake up and roam. With its only eye and naughty features, Kasa Yōkai embodies the Animistic intuition That the used, dear and finally abandoned utensils can keep a spiritual spark. Everyday use. Although visitors see parasols to protect themselves from the sun or umbrella against rain, in Japan open A traditional Wagasa It can resonate with a cultural memory that transcends the weather. In fact, workshops and museums allow to explore first hand the history and trade of these pieces, from their structure to their decoration, connecting the daily practice with a legacy that combines utility, aesthetics and ritual meaning. A modern gesture with roots. Thus, the image of streets crowded with umbrellas on sunny days summarizes a continuity: A practical object that, while still being, operates as a symbol of care, health and good fortune. Remembering that double nature (physical protection and spiritual vehicle) explains why in Japan a simple opening and closing can, according to tradition, summon more than shadow or coat. Image | Cipher In Xataka | Japan is living something unpublished in its most emblematic neighborhoods: the “chinification” of anime and video games In Xataka | Japan has put a spicy in Spain in a peculiar way: with a “Madrid Osaka” in a town of 93 inhabitants

China is selling us a future full of humanoid robots. We have (many) doubts

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The first “Olympic Robots Games” Humanoids in Beijing held last month put the focus on one of China’s most aggressive technological bets. And it is that between sports exhibitions and industrial demonstrations, the Asian giant demonstrated Your muscle in the creation of robots Humanoids However, we are at a point where robotics faces various problems that must be solved to count on the market with a reliable solution and worthwhile. And not everything is valid with promises. The strategy from China. Beijing has converted humanoid robotics into state priority. Its five -year plan for the robotic industry set at 2021 An annual growth greater than 20%, backed by a state fund of 140,000 million dollars for technological startups. The objective is none other than leading a sector that they consider “the next great technological revolution” after smartphones and electric vehicles. This year They hope to produce more than 10,000 robots Humanoids, with cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing concentrating investment and development. The perfect showcase. The recent “Olympic Games” for robots served as a demonstration of strength. One of the most prominent moments was when Unitree’s H1 robot completed 1,500 meters In 6 minutes and 34 seconds, reaching 4.78 m/Sy surpassing the Atlas of Boston Dynamics. But the detail that many overlooked is the fact that these robots did not operate autonomously, but were controlled by human operators. The blow of reality. While China exhibits records and opens “robot mall” in Beijing, The first 4S store For humanoids that promise in the same place sales, spare parts, service and monitoring, many experts prefer to be cautious. “I don’t think anyone has found an application for humanoids that requires several thousand robots by installation,” Point out Melonee Wise, former product director in Agility Robotics, for IEEE. There is a real lack of demand, and that is the first obstacle to large -scale manufacture of humanoid robots. Rpending technical etos. Energy autonomy remains another problem. Agility Digit Robot You need 9 minutes of charge For every 90 minutes of operation, and in practice you must stop every 30 minutes to maintain a security reserve. Industrial reliability requires levels of 99.99%, far from current standards in multipurpose applications. And in terms of security, unique problems arise in this segment, since if for example we disconnect the feeding of a bípedo humanoid robot, which collapse an armatos of several tens of kilos complicates things. A market that It still does not exist. Although signatures like Bank of America Global Research They have predicted that 18,000 units will be sold in 2025 or that the figure reaches 1,000 million robots by 2050 in a 5 billion market, according to Morgan Stanley Researchthe reality is that today there are barely real commercial deployments. Even the most advanced companies in the sector only have a handful of robots that work in very controlled pilot tests. The applications that would justify these figures are, for now, speculative. The closest commercial launch of Europe. Faced with Chinese optimism, the European Neura Robotics also has an approach in that segment with 4ne1a domestic robot that the firm intends to launch for about 60,000 euros and is scheduled for 2026. Its CEO speaks of “doing robotics what the iPhone did for smartphones.” The domestic market, of course it is the one that until now could benefit from this type of robots, but an investment of that caliber is not something that anyone does. Known companies that bet in the long term. Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Honor They already diversify Towards the humanoid robots segment following the Amazon model: Lose money now to dominate later. Given a sector as saturated as that of smartphones, it is a strategy that makes all the meaning, although it requires that promises end up materializing in useful and profitable products. Hype or revolution? China is massively investing in creating a market that still does not exist, trusting that artificial intelligence will solve the problems of autonomy, reliability and practical utility of robots. “The reality is that AI is not robust enough to meet market requirements”, assures Wise It is clear that today the ability of humanoid robots is very limited, but time will say if its evolution will end up awakening a current market. Cover image | China Daily In Xataka | You cannot climb to the Madrid subway with an electric scooter. In China’s, robots are already a passenger

Vegetable protein wins the game

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In the supermarket hall, more and more containers shout the same: “High in protein”. Powdered beaters, fortified yogurts, breads, even sauces. For decades, the council was simple: replace red meat with chicken or fish. Today, the mantra has changed. “Protein” has become advertising claim, cultural identity and even aesthetic aspiration. But, while the market is filled with promises, science begins to clarify another part of the story: what proteins do they really matter, how they are processed and what cost they have for the planet. Eat “on the planet”. An investigation, Posted in Science Advanceshas gathered 37 studies in a meta -analysis with more than 3.2 million people. The verdict is striking: the more your dish looks like the “planetary health diet” (Planetary Health Diet, PhD), the lower your risk of dying for any cause, and at the same time the climatic footprint of your diet decreases. With nuances, yes, but with an unusual statistical consistency in nutrition. The study. The team combined data from two mass cohorts: Nhanes in the United States (42,947 adults) and the UK Biobank in the United Kingdom (125,372 people). In addition, to integrate meta -analysis. The objective was to see to what extent the adhesion to the PHD influenced both the health and the environmental impact of the diet. The Planetary Health Diet was proposed in 2019 By the Eat-Lancet Commission. This diet is not based on being strict vegetarian, rather, seeks to balance health with environmental sustainability with a more based on plants. In other words: it is a diet designed so that the human being lives more, but also so that the planet can sustain it. The results were clear. On the one hand, in the United States, who followed more closely the PHD had 23% less risk of total mortality. On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, the reduction was 16%, in addition to fewer cancer deaths and respiratory diseases. Metanalysis pointed in the same direction: together, the PHD was associated with 21% less mortality due to any cause: cardiovascular, diabetes and colon and lung cancer. In addition, the researchers estimated the greenhouse gas emissions associated with diets and found a consistent pattern: the more the PHD participants moved away, the greater the climate footprint of their diet. The main responsible: red meat and dairy. Behind the study. The attractiveness of the study is double. On the one hand, he confirms with robust observational evidence that those who follow the PHD live more and better: less cancer, less heart attacks, less diabetes. On the other, it shows that this same pattern reduces the carbon footprint from the daily diet. A difficult combination to ignore in full climatic crisis. The authors themselves ask for caution: it is an observational study and not proof causality. In other words, it does not show that eating in a way directly live more years. Even so, the consistency of the results in millions of people and the scale of meta -analysis give it an unusual weight in nutrition and suggest that the signal is no accident. To the same place. Other investigations were already on the same way to move the animal protein through the vegetable, since it can bring health benefits and, incidentally, for the planet. As we have pointed out in Xataka, For decades the council was to replace red meat with chicken or fish. However, the balance begins to bow towards the vegetable. A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that women with more rich diets in vegetable protein aged in a healthier way. And from another angle, the American Gut Project reached a similar conclusion: diversity matters. Their data revealed that those who added up to 30 plants other than week had a much richer intestinal microbiome. In other words: both in longevity and in intestinal health, patterns based on plants add tests in favor of what now confirms the meta -analysis in Science Advances. Not everything is black or white. Animal protein provides essential amino acids of easier absorption. Sports dietitian Marie Spano, cited by Men’s Healthwarns that those who follow 100% vegetable diets need more total protein and combine different groups. And the degree of processing matters: As explained the epidemiologist Filippa Juul al New York Timesthe ultraprocesses “disguised” as healthy – booked, vegetable lasañas ready to heat – do not offer the same benefits as minimally processed foods. The Mediterranean diet, a nearby mirror. The debate is not just Anglo -Saxon. As we have explained in Xatakaa Spanish study with cohort data Enrica (11,488 people, 14.4 years of follow -up) showed that both the phd and the traditional Mediterranean diet offer similar benefits. Mortality was reduced by 22% in those who followed the PHD most and in 21% in the most faithful to the Mediterranean. Regarding the environmental impact, the differences were minimal: 4.15 kg of CO₂ a day for the pHD compared to 4.36 for the Mediterranean. In other words, both seem to offer a viable path to a healthier and sustainable food. It is not just calories or nutrients. Now it is also measured in years of life and in kilograms of Co₂. The new study in Science Advances confirms that the Planetary Health Diet offers benefits on both fronts: more health, less environmental impact. While the market promotes the “chic protein era” and social networks dictate extreme fashions, scientific evidence suggests a simpler message: more plants, less ultra -processed, meat as accompaniment and not as the center of the dish. The question is no longer how much protein we eat, but from what sources it comes and what footprint leaves in the world. Image | Unspash Xataka | To the question of whether ultraprocessed foods are as bad as they have told us, science still has no clear answer

The Caspian level has dropped so much that it now has a new island. But you can’t visit (still)

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Climate change has caused the oceans to have raised their reach in a few centimeters, but human action escapes also the opposite in other environments. The most obvious case is almost missing from the Aral Sea, but we find a more recent one in a nearby basin, that of the Caspian. A new island. A new island It has emerged from the waters in the Caspian Sea. The geographical accident is due not volcanic activity (as usually happens occasionally) but to the progressive decrease in sea level in this inner basin. The existence of the island was confirmed this summer by the Shirshov Institute in Oceanography, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IO Ras) On the ground (or almost). According to Explain the institutionthe first sighting of this new sand bank in the middle of the waters of Caspo was held from space, in November last year. However, the existence of the island was not confirmed and the unknown of its existence lasts for a few months. Until the end of May, when the IO Ras brought an expedition to the land. According to the oceanographic body, the expedition could not make land on the island due to the low depth of the waters and the weather conditions, but could see it and perform a first analysis that included the deployment of a drone to be able to approach it. The island without name. The island has not yet been named and there is little we know about it. As Io Ras points out, it is about 30 kilometers Southwest of Maly island Zhemchuzhny, another small islet formed in front of the Delta del Volga. The description made by its discoverers of the new formation is that of “a soaked plain”, a kind of marsh in the middle of the sea, as can be seen in the photos. In addition to appointing it, the team Point out that we will still have to study it in better detail to investigate in its “biohydrochemistry, hydrobiology and (in) the dynamics of sea behavior.” To facilitate the study, the team placed an oceanographic station about 40 cm deep in the waters surrounding the island. Experts expect the continued descent of the sea level in the Caspus to make the island expand over time. The end of summer would be a conducive moment for the study of the new island since the evaporation of sea water during the summer, along with a lower flow in its tributary rivers also implies a slight seasonal drop in this sea level. Importance for marine life. It will be interesting to see how the appearance of this islet to the ecology of the environment affects. The land could be used for some of the bird species that inhabit the Caspian to nest or make a break in the environment with other reasons. The other new islands. The warm -up of the planet is also able to “give” new islets to the geography of the planet through the withdrawal of the ice from the poles. It is what It has happened too Recently in Alaska, where the withdrawal of Alsek glacier has allowed the appearance of an island in the homonymous lake. However, the main engine in this creating new formations in our seas and oceans is volcanic activity. A recent example is The island that arose with the eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano. It was the already missing The island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, the result of the fusion between two existing volcanic islands. It is not necessary to leave the caspian waters to find another example. At the beginning of 2023 a mud volcano erupted in this sea, creating a new island that faded little by little. These examples do not predict a long life expectancy for the new training, but the scientists who study it believe that the progressive decrease of sea level will imply that this island grows, at least for now. If it will be later that is razed by the sea, that will be another story. In Xataka | In 1940 the Nazis invaded a British island. There they met an unexpected enemy: a language that nobody understood Image | Io Ras

No one would think of leaving ‘Super Mario 64’ on for 14 months. But whoever will find a surprise

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It is tradition that the classic Super Mario Games continue to provide secrets that, despite the time elapsed are there awaiting to be discovered. Sometimes Easter Eggs They are almost private jokes, sometimes programming errors with funny effects: One of the last discovered requires a lot of patience to float. Specifically, you have to wait 14 months. It has been the youtuber Kaze emanuarExpert in bursting (or improve) Classic Nintendo Games who has made a video in which he talks about failures or curious effects that arise when we leave the game without touching during very long spaces of time, such as the seven days he explains in the video about these lines, or even beyond. And there is a technical explanation. In ‘Super Mario 64‘, Several elements are scheduled to act in cycles using internal counters that constantly increase and determine when they must execute an action. Normally, these counters are restarted every time the element ends their task, ensuring that the movements and patterns are repetitive. But there are some secret counters whose figure is not restored after completing their function; Instead, they continue to increase while the game is active. When one of these counters finally exceeds its maximum value, which only happens after many hours (or even years) of uninterrupted play, causes unusual errors or bugs. For example, Emanuar documented that, if it remains in the star selection menu for approximately 2.25 years without turning off the console, the accountant in question reaches its limit of 2,147,483,648. When overflow happens, the player is blocked in the menu and cannot perform any action for another 2.25 years of real time. Similar situations with Accountant overflows can trigger other unexpected effectss, such as the reproduction of usually inaccessible sounds within the game. Are Easter Eggs technicians who are impossible to find in a normal, but fascinating game for the community of Speedrunners and programmers that examine the strangest limits of the game. 14 months and counting A little -known enemy of ‘Super Mario 64’, the shark called Sushi, lives at the level of the great dock. Sushi emits a characteristic sound that is repeated every 16 Framesbut the sound file is longer than this interval. Therefore, under normal conditions, the clip is never heard complete: when it begins to reproduce, it is quickly cut to start again, leaving the final part of the audio hidden. Emanuar discovered, taking advantage of an internal level timer bug, that if the game is left on for about 14 months (the necessary time for this “secret accountant” to exceed its maximum limit of 32 bits), the system stops sending orders to Sushi. For the first and only time, the shark reproduces the entire sound file From beginning to end, allowing listening to the complete sound effect for the first time. After this reproduction, Sushi is silent, since the logic that controlled his loop is disabled. This detail is the product of the operation of internal accountants who manage physics and events within the game. The same phenomenon occurs with other controlled objects with counters, such as the wings of the flying ships on the path of the rainbow, which stop moving for the same reason after thousands of active hours. These events can only occur in extreme circumstances and emulators have to be tricked to simulate excessive play time, but there are, as curiosities for useless data mining. In Xataka | Mario de Punta blank: If you have $ 1500 for a graphics card, you can play ‘Super Mario 64’ with Ray-Tracing

His name is Run-ri, they come from China and they are transforming the capital of Japan

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Last February they were revealed Several graphics They found two things. What Japan is living a boom of “foreigners” arrivals As it is not remembered, and that this volume of travelers has triggered a flag above others: China. Then it was known that Japanese art schools had become In “Passport” For young Chinese, and who began to give them neighborhoods with Chinese than Japanese. Now the run-ri has landed. The birth of a phenomenon. I explained it a few days ago The Financial Times. The massive arrival of the Chinese middle class to Tokyo has resulted in an unexpected and deep phenomenon. What began as individual decisions, motivated by the search for stability, personal freedom and a safer life for their children, has become a migratory wave baptized as run-riterm that combines the idea of ​​prosperity and flight with the word Japan. Unlike previous migratory waves from China, these families arrive With considerable assetsa marked obsession with education and the firm conviction that Tokyo offers a more fair, rational and balanced environment than contemporary China. The 2020 pandemic and Shanghai’s confinement in 2022 acted as Psychological inflection point: Many discovered that the State could ignore the middle class, and decided to escape towards a perceived country as stable, safe and without extreme nationalisms. Tokyo as a refuge. Japan, despite his economic stagnation From decades, it offers social peace, reliable medical services, safe streets and an open education system in a context of Birth in collapse. That has facilitated the integration of thousands of Chinese children In public schools in Tokyoalthough he has also created an environment of fierce competition academic among newcomers. The epicenter of this transformation It’s bunkyodistrict that has become an educational and residential pole of this new diaspora. However, this concentration also generates tensions. The Times told Cases of some immigrants, such as CAO, an executive who sought to move again to escape the same rivalries and community dynamics that fled in China. Economic impact and effects. Chinese capital flow has caused a remarkable rise In real estate prices From Tokyo, especially in exclusive neighborhoods such as Azabu, Aoyama or Toyosu Bay. Real estate in luxury towers are sold up to 20% to buyers with Chinese names, and the Toyota Alphard It has become a status aspirational symbol among newcomers. For some, Tokyo is investment and second residencefor others, a definitive retreat. At the same time, a network of clandestine banks facilitates capital exit From China to Japanwith backpacks full of yen changed discreetly in improvised offices. This money circuit, in which families of High Chinese officialsunderlines the magnitude and complexity of the phenomenon. The cultural dimension. Plus: Run-ri is not limited to the economic. Together with high -level businessmen and professionals, a growing number of intellectuals and dissidents It is installed in Tokyo. Libraries Like Nowhere Party or One Way Street They have become spaces of freedom where prohibited books circulate in China and critical debates with Beijing are organized. Some, like him dissident jiathey find in the Japanese capital a shelter to live without fear, although they also feel the weight of having abandoned the political struggle in their country. The convergence of Chinese wealth and intellectual capital in Tokyo is configuring A unique community that mixes economic ambitions with cultural and political drives, to the point that analysts warn that Beijing could increase its surveillance on these networks. Japan, between opportunity and suspicion. For an aged country and in demographic declinethe arrival of these immigrants could become a revulsive, providing entrepreneurial energy and new innovation networks. Some economists even speak of the birth of Japan as a “migratory superpower”capable of integrating foreign talent without formally opening its doors. Of course, not everything is optimism: nationalist parties already They have warned of the risk of a real estate bubble caused by Chinese buyers, and sectors of the Japanese population perceive as humiliating that richer citizens of the neighboring country challenge the historical status of Japan as the most prosperous nation of Asia. Uncertain future. In short, the Run-ri phenomenonalthough incipient, its magnitude grows at a dizzying pace: it is estimated that in 2025 the Chinese in Japan They will reach the million. If the nation manages to manage this flow without becoming a cultural and economic shock, Tokyo could be consolidated as the largest integration laboratory of the new Chinese elite abroad. On the contrary, if it does not, the rise of social and political tensions could tarnish what for thousands of families has become the “Bolthole of the rising sun ”: a shelter to rebuild their lives away from a Beijing that they no longer feel like a home. Image | Pexels, Shankar s. In Xataka | A phenomenon that has already happened in New York is spreading throughout Japan: neighborhoods with younger than Japanese In Xataka | The Chinese are traveling in mass to Japan and not just for tourism. Many of them arrive so as not to return

The US is not a country for trains. They want to fix it with one that cross the country carrying people and trucks

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The train It is the spine of many countries. In Europe, communications between countries and within them They would not be understood without the trainbut there are others Examples like Japan or a China that has built almost 50,000 kilometers of high speed in record time. If we look at the United States, the case is the opposite: high speed that shines for its absence, with projects that are a nightmare and an overwhelming domain of the plane and the car for passenger transport. Of course, they have proposed to change the situation with a mastodontic project: a train network that connects New York and California. They have baptized him as ‘Transcontinental Chief’, and they will not have anything easy. Figures. First of all, some context and the proper names of this story. Amtrakor National Railroad Passenger Corporation, is the national passenger trains company in the United States. It was created as a commercial entity, but depended on federal and state subsidies for most of its routes. Its network covers more than 500 stations in 46 states and has a network of about 39,000 kilometers, including the NEC, the corridor between Boston and Washington DC Despite that huge network of roads and stations, in 2024 he transported about 32.4 million passengers. Much of the traffic corresponds to paths within the NEC and none of the paths exceeds 200 km/h. For comparing, in 2024, Renfe transported 35.2 million travelers in high -speed services and another 60 million in medium distance. We do not count the 442 million nearby, since they are short journeys. Chief Transcontinental. It is evident that the country needs a railway impulse, something that has been attempted on a small scale (even with trains that do not use fossil fuels), but the projects do not finish curdling. That is where Ameristarrail enters the scene, a private company dedicated to the proposal and development of long -distance interurban and high capacity interurban services. The project they are promoting is the one baptized as ‘Transcontinental Chief’ to connect New York and Los Angeles by train. He proposed itinerary He would connect the Hoboken station in New Jersey with Los Angeles, through cities such as Philadelphia, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and stop at the National Park of Grand Canyon. In this way, large urban and tourist poles would join. Recycling. He project From America has a couple of good ideas to get ahead. The first is to take advantage of what is already paid. That is, use the roads and stations that are already built to give new life to deficit infrastructure operated by other entities and by Amtrak itself (such as the Southwest Chief). Also use locomotives and wagons that already exist, such as beds beds and men’s restaurant cars because the full trip will be long, since the speed of those tracks is limited to 150 km/h. According to the company, if this plan is followed, a new legislation will not be necessary that would complicate and delay the project, but no additional public financing, since, in essence, the work is done and you only have to put the infrastructure up to date. Because although the United States does not have a solid passenger transport network by train, it does have a wide railway line focused on merchandise transport. Hybrid. The second good idea is to try to squeeze this train as much as possible. In addition to passengers, the idea of ​​America is to turn the train into a kind of ferry. This implies that private cars can be charged in platform cars so that a family, for example, can go from end of the country with their car, but without driving them. In addition, it has also been projected that there would be other cars capable of loading complex trucks, next to their drivers. Thus, truckers can get on the train, rest their mandatory time while the journey towards their destination does not stop. They have called it ‘Rolling Rest Stop’ would be a pioneer in the country, in addition to giving a boost to certain routes of merchandise trucks that cross the territory. MEH. Aim Football World Cup. Now, from Amtrak they don’t have it so clear. At the moment, the public company has release that they are not going to promote this proposal for America because they are not clear that public investment has to be made. It is not closed, eye, since the drivers maintain that there is enormous potential to convert long -distance services into profitable and sustainable lines, and that is something that Amertk needs. Images | Ameristarrail, Amtrak In Xataka | Renfe has a new and gigantic project in progress: a night train to connect Europe from this to west

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