Month: January 2026

Until now, launching satellites was the business. The US has just turned its exorbitant cost into a million-dollar opportunity

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For years, the space business has revolved around a very specific idea: launch more satellites, faster and cheaper. The race to fill low Earth orbit with large constellations has skyrocketed demand and turned takeoff into a multibillion-dollar industry, but it has also brought to the table a problem that for a long time remained in the background: what to do with these satellites when they reach the end of their useful life and continue to take up space in orbit. In this context, the United States has taken a decisive step by promoting and beginning to materialize the exorbitant market. New business on the horizon. This step forward has already resulted in a concrete contract. Starfish Space has been awarded of an agreement valued at 52.5 million dollars by the Space Development Agency (SDA) of the United States Space Force to offer a service for deorbiting satellites at the end of their useful life. The assignment includes the development, launch and operation of the otter ship in low orbit intended to deorbit satellites of the PWSA when they are no longer operational, with a first operation and the possibility of carrying out several more. The launch is planned for 2027. behind the scenes. This shift cannot be understood without the economic context that has turned space into a high-volume industry. Global space launch services market reached $21.19 billion by 2025 and, according to estimates by Precedence Researchcould climb to 70,560 million in 2035, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.56%. A substantial portion of that revenue comes from continuous satellite deployment, driven by constellations that require frequent launches to maintain and renew their in-orbit networks. An increasingly saturated orbit. Having thousands of satellites operating at the same time is not only a question of deployment, but also of end-of-cycle management. Those responsible for large constellations must decide whether to deorbit their satellites relatively early to limit the risk of orbital debris or whether to keep them active for as long as possible to extract their full economic and operational value. This tension, without a simple solution, has become one of the main drivers that push us to search for new formulas to manage the end of life in orbit. What changes with “deorbit-as-a-service”. Starfish’s proposal is based on separating the end of life of the satellite from its design and daily operation, allowing an external spacecraft to be responsible for deorbiting without requiring prior modifications to the devices in orbit. The company maintains that this approach allows operators to maximize the useful life of their constellations and delegate the retirement of those satellites that cannot deorbit themselves. The previous step. Although the deorbit mission has not yet launched, Starfish Space comes to this point with a previous history of in-orbit demonstrations. The company launched Otter Pup 1 in June 2023 and managed to maneuver it to within 1,000 meters of a target ten months later, a relevant milestone for approach and control operations. In October, an Impulse Space Mira spacecraft used Starfish software to approach another spacecraft to within 1,250 meters, and in June 2025, Otter Pup 2 was launched with the goal of performing the first commercial docking of satellites in low orbit. The big question to answer. What is now being tested is whether satellite deorbiting can go from being an exception to becoming a recurring industrial practice. The expansion of constellations and the pressure to keep low orbit operational force us to look for solutions that do not depend solely on each individual satellite. In this context, the United States’ decision to contract this type of services offers a first sign of where the sector can evolve, although its real scope can only be measured when the first missions begin to operate. Images | Starfish Space In Xataka | Human beings have not set foot on the Moon for 54 years: the mission that aims to correct it has just entered its final phase

Europe produces more clean electricity than fossil electricity for the first time. The hard part starts now

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For years, the European energy transition advanced without completely displacing fossil fuels. Last year marked that turning point. According to the report European Electricity Review 2026wind and solar generated 30% of EU electricity in 2025, surpassing coal, gas and oil combined for the first time, which fell to 29%. As Dr. Petrovich explains by Emberwe are facing record growth. It is not normal to go from a 20% to 30% quota in just five years, but the numbers are there. The energy map is changing: there are now 14 EU countries where wind and sun generate more than gas or coal. In this scenario, Spain, Greece or Hungary already play in the league of solar powers. Beyond statistics. The milestone does not imply that Europe has left fossil fuels behind or that gas has disappeared from the system, but rather that it changes the hierarchy of the electricity mix. For the first time, variable renewable energies come to occupy the center of the electricity mix, while fossils are relegated to a technical and security support role. According to Emberrenewable energies as a whole contributed 48% of the EU’s electricity in 2025, practically half of the total, a figure that remained stable even in a year marked by adverse weather conditions, with less wind and less rain than usual. Coal, the most polluting fuel in the system, continues its withdrawal. In 2024 it fell to 9.2% of the European electricity mix, a historical minimum compared to the almost 25% it represented a decade ago. Gas, for its part, rose slightly compared to 2024, although it is still 18% below its 2019 maximum, confirming that its role in the system is increasingly residual. This rebalancing has consequences that range beyond the energy mix: Dependence on imported fossil fuels continues to be the main source of price instability and strategic vulnerability in Europe, even outside the climate debate. Five years that changed everything. The sorpasso – as it has begun to be called in the sector – is not the result of a mild winter or a stroke of meteorological luck. It is the consequence of sustained growth, especially in solar energy, during the last decade, accelerated very notably in the last five years. According to the reportsolar generation grew by 20.1%, this being the fourth consecutive year with increases of more than 20%, an unprecedented growth rate in European energy history. In absolute terms, solar reached 369 terawatt hours (TWh), more than double that of 2020, and the annual increase in 2025 alone is equivalent to the electrical production of three French nuclear reactors. A dizzying growth. This expansion responds mainly to the installed capacity. In 2025, 65.1 GW of new solar power was added in the EU, distributed almost equally between large plants and self-consumption on rooftops. All community countries increased their solar production, and in several of them—Hungary, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and the Netherlands—the sun already provides more than 20% of national electricity. As for wind power, although more affected by the weather conditions at the beginning of the year, it remains the second largest electricity source in the EU, with 17% of the total, above gas. The system, therefore, begins to rely structurally on variable renewables, something unthinkable just a decade ago. The reverse of success: when gas continues to set the price. Despite the historic advance of wind and solar, 2025 made it clear that gas continues to have a disproportionate weight in the European electricity system, especially in price formation. According to the think tank, gas-fired electricity generation increased by 8% in the EU, mainly to compensate for the drop in hydroelectric energy caused by the drought, and this greater use of gas raised the electricity sector’s import bill to 32 billion euros, 16% more than the previous year. The impact was especially visible in the electricity markets. Ember detects that price spikes They are concentrated in the hours with the highest gas use, while the hours with abundant solar and wind tend to make electricity cheaper. In 21 European countries, wholesale prices rose in 2025, driven almost exclusively by these fossil time slots. This is where the paradox of the current system: although gas no longer dominates by volume, it continues to set the marginal price of the market at critical moments. In other words, despite the oversupply, the price structure continues to be conditioned by fossil fuel when there is a lack of wind or sun. The new energy frontier. Ember’s report devote an entire chapter to what it considers the next big front of the transition: storage and system flexibility. Without these pieces, he warns, the sorpasso runs the risk of remaining a statistical victory. This was one of the large deficits of the European transition: investing massively in generation without doing so at the same pace in networks and storage. Batteries are now emerging as the piece that connects renewable success with stable prices and security of supply. Last year, the EU exceeded 10 GW of large-scale batteries in operation for the first time, more than double that of 2023. In addition, there is a portfolio of projects that could raise that figure above 40 GW if fully implemented. The first signs are already visible in countries like Italy, where batteries have begun to cover part of the demand during peak gas hours, reducing prices and displacing fossil generation. Physical bottlenecks: European infrastructure. It is not just a question of how much energy is generated, but where it enters and how it circulates within the continent. Europe has reduced its direct dependence of Russian gas, but continues to face physical limitations in terminals, transportation networks and cross-border connections. This substitution of Russian gas has been slowed by the slowness in the construction of critical facilities, such as regasification terminals and high-capacity networks, and by the insufficient interconnection between national electrical systems. This bottleneck explains why countries with abundant renewable production, like Spain, often cannot easily export that surplus, or why the European … Read more

“Taxes for us. Taxes for the super rich”

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Once a year, the quiet city of Davos becomes the financial and political capital of the world during the World Economic Forum in Davos. World leaders and executives from the world’s largest corporations debate for a few days the course What will the economy take? and global geopolitics. In this context, almost 400 millionaires from 24 countries have presented an open letter asking for something that, a priori, goes against their own interests: higher taxes for those who, like them, have several hundred million dollars of assets. Millionaires against their interests. The initiative of this group of millionaires it’s not new. They have been asking the economic authorities to meet in Davos on tax tightening for the richest. The difference is that this year different groups of millionaires have joined together, such as Patriotic Millionaires and Millionaires for Humanity to Oxfam to join forces and accuse the ultra-rich of capturing democracies, aggravating poverty, stopping innovations and damaging the planet with their economic control. The group denounces in its letter that this extreme wealth “has led to extreme control” for those who risk everyone’s future in exchange for obscene profits. Among the signatures on this manifesto are those of actor Mark Ruffalo, Disney heirs Abby and Tim Disney, and real estate developer Jeffrey Gural, who directly proclaim: “Taxes for us. Taxes for the super rich.” According to a poll conducted by the Patriotic Millionaires organization to G20 millionaires, 77% of those surveyed believe that the ultra-rich buy political influence, and 71% believe that this influence serves to create states of opinion in elections. More millionaires than ever. The claim coincides with a moment in which the stock market situation is generating millionaires at a frenetic pace. The report Global Wealth Report 2025 prepared by UBS revealed that 379,000 new millionaires were created in the US alone during 2024. This increase caused the world’s population of millionaires to go from 13.27 million people with more than one million dollars available to invest to more than 52 million people by the end of 2024. The concentration of wealth that has been occurring in recent years is evident. According to data According to the Federal Reserve, in the US the richest 20% of households, with an average of $4.3 million, controlled 71.1% of the total wealth in 2024. On the other hand, the poorest 50% of households, with an average of $60,000, only accounted for 2.5% of the wealth. Philanthropy falls short. Some rich people try to compensate for the imbalance in the distribution of resources with voluntary donations with initiatives such as The Giving Pledge, promoted by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, which has brought together more than 250 billionaires. Each of them promised to give at least half of their fortune during their lifetime or by will. However, the creators themselves recognize that these initiatives are not enough to tackle the problem. Warren Buffett confessed in his traditional letter to his shareholders that some of these philanthropic plans were frustrated by political decisions or due to the lack of consistency of donor commitment. “I have witnessed ill-conceived wealth transfers by cheap politicians, dynastic decisions and, yes, inept or peculiar philanthropists,” wrote the “oracle of Omaha in his last letter. Less taxes for millionaires. According to a study Prepared by economists from the University of California, in the US the 400 largest fortunes paid an effective tax rate of 24% between 2018 and 2020, below the 30% paid on average by the rest of taxpayers. The report concludes that this happens because capital gains on investments and certain business profits are taxed less than high salaries, allowing billionaires to reduce their real tax burden so that their income They do not depend on a salary in the companies they run or have founded, but of shares thereof. This mismatch fuels the argument of the Davos letter, which urges global and local leaders to tax large assets more. However, it is a risky request since the simple proposal of a measure that would tax California’s large fortunes at 5% has caused some of the largest fortunes to have already packed their bags for other states with more lax tax policies. In Xataka | An atoll in the South Pacific has become a magnet for millionaires. Its great attraction is not its beaches, it is its banks Image | Flickr (Fortune Live Media, Gage Skidmore)

This is how the public demonstrations will be

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For years, the Full Self-Driving of Tesla has been a promise that advanced at different speeds depending on the country and the regulatory framework. In Europe, that future has always seemed a little more distant, but now it is beginning to take shape with concrete decisions. Tesla is not yet talking about a complete deployment, but it is talking about something tangible: allowing the public to see the system in action in Spain, while the company maintains its forecast of launching the function in Europe in early 2026. Countdown to try FSD in Spain. What Tesla has put on the table is a public and limited experience, designed to show the system as it works today. Starting January 26, customers in Spain will be able to see Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in action through tests organized in selected brand stores. The company has confirmed that these demonstrations will take place in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Seville and Malaga, and that the sessions can now be booked through its website. It should be noted that this is not a general activation of the system, but rather an opportunity to observe it under controlled conditions. Why now. The announcement of the demonstrations does not come in isolation, but at a time when the regulatory framework is beginning to show signs of progress. In Spain, the General Directorate of Traffic authorized at the end of 2025 tests on public roads with 19 vehicles equipped with FSD, a phase aimed at collecting data and adapting the system to European traffic. Added to this previous work is the continental context, with demonstrations already carried out in countries such as France, Italy or Germany. Another promise from Elon Musk. From Davos, Elon Musk said today that the company expects to obtain approvals for the supervised FSD in Europe “next month.” And here the Netherlands comes into play: the Dutch authority RDW expected to rule on the software in February, and Tesla has defended that this approval could facilitate recognition in other EU countries before formal approval at European level. Advanced assistance, not autonomous driving. Despite its commercial name, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) does not turn the car into a vehicle that drives itself. In the documentation that Tesla distributes about the systemthe company insists that it requires active driver supervision and does not make the vehicle autonomous. In other words, the system can take over driving tasks, but it does not replace the driver, and legal responsibility during its use is not delegated to the car. What FSD can do. In its current state, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) acts as an advanced assistant capable of performing multiple driving maneuvers on its own. According to Tesla, the system can follow routes to a destination, navigate urban streets, highways and residential roads, manage intersections and roundabouts, and automatically control steering, acceleration and braking. The company also mentions lane changes, turns and highway entrances and exits, in addition to functions related to parking, always with the driver attentive and prepared to intervene at any time. Tesla highlights safety. In its communication, Tesla accompanies these demonstrations with usage figures and safety claims. On the one hand, it maintains that Tesla owners have traveled more than 11 billion kilometers around the world with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) activated. On the other hand, it ensures that, when activated and used with active driver supervision, the system “reduces the risk of serious collisions up to seven times”, a statement that the company itself presents with notes and conditions of comparison. The last pending challenge. In any case, the main condition for a broader deployment in Europe remains the same: regulatory approval, which Tesla recognizes as a prerequisite. That is why these in-store tests fit better as a controlled demonstration and a thermometer of what is to come than as a definitive arrival. Images | tesla In Xataka | Madrid has bought so many electric cars that the DGT has ended one of its great incentives

Going to the mountains to go hiking is increasingly popular in Spain. And those who are suffering are the golden eagles

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Go on the weekend to take a route through the countryside It is a plan that can be very playful and, above all, healthy for us humans. But… What happens to the native fauna of the area? This is a question that It’s starting to resonate a lot on the internet.by focusing on the impact that our presence in the mountains can have on the most emblematic species of Spain such as the golden eagle or the partridge that have begun to have a lesser presence. A technological solution. The main idea that was in mind was that the animals were crashing into the hikers and causing great damage to their presence on the mountain. But to solve this mystery, biologists chose to put a GPS device on the eagles to monitor what they were doing. And the reality is that they are not crashing into us, but rather they are fleeing. The result. In this way, when it is confirmed that we do not have any type of collision with the eagles that could respond to their change in behavior, we have to go where they go when we humans are in the mountains. The University of Valencia in 2019 led this investigationdetecting that without a doubt there is a “weekend effect.” This effect can be seen in telemetry data which shows that during Saturdays and Sundays, the eagles are forced to modify their hunting routes. All this to avoid humans who, among other things, may be scaring away their targets on the ground. A greater expense. When these birds have to go to other areas to look for food because of hikers, they have to cover a longer distance than they are normally used to. This only means greater physiological stress and energy expenditure that can compromise their reproduction or survival, even if they never touch a human. But in addition, this translates into a situation known as ‘Landscape of Fear’, where the animal perceives the human not as a physical obstacle, but as a potential predator, which triggers its stress and cortisol levels, affecting its ability to breed. The real threats. To understand the real danger that these birds are in, we must look at the different mortality statistics in Spain. In this case, although a sedentary lifestyle causes great discomfort to the animals, the causes of death are much more industrial and violent. According to the studies collected, such as those of the GER-EA projectthe main cause of death is collision with power lines and electrocution. This is followed by poisoning and shooting, with 13 and 8% respectively. But what is clear is that humans are not a direct cause of death due to collisions with us when we are sedentary in the countryside. Distinction matters. Stating that eagles collide with hikers may sound spectacular, but it diverts attention from the real problem that we can solve as mountain users. The study in Ecology and Evolution (2025) and data from Ecologists in Action They point out that the problem is Yontrusion into breeding areas. Climbing, off-road vehicles and off-road hiking near the nests cause the adults to abandon the nest or the chicks, leaving them exposed to the cold or predators. Images | Mathew Schwartz In Xataka | Japan has been looking at its bears in fear for months due to a record wave of attacks. Now he looks at them with something else: gluttony

Apple has been resisting turning Siri into a chatbot for years. Until the evidence has been surrendered

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2026 will be the year of Siri, but not because of an internal turn at Apple or because of the maturity of Apple Intelligence. It will be because the pact with Google will allow Apple to use Gemini technology as your assistant’s base. The details about what Apple will do with its assistant have not taken long to come to light and, we have good news: they will arrive in the next version of iOS. The new Siri. Apple has been announcing the benefits of the new Siri since before having prepared their news. With the Apple Intelligence announcement He put on the table a Siri completely integrated into the system, capable of functioning as a complete assistant and functioning mostly locally. The reality? Everything remains practically the same as before and, when Siri doesn’t know how to respond to something, ends up opening ChatGPT. What is going to change. They explain in Bloomberg that Apple, as of iOS 27will surrender to the chatbot model that has worked so well for companies like OpenAI and Google. The mere assistant model has expired, and Siri will become a chatbot at the service of any of our requests. This new chatbot will be integrated into all Apple apps (expecting an API open to developers to integrate it into their apps), allowing us, for example, to find specific photos in the app Photosfunction as a programming assistant in Xcodeetc. What won’t change. The only certainty with the new chatbot model is that Apple will continue to maintain its obsession with privacy and maintaining its AI ecosystem as its own, even if it is based on Gemini. Apple’s intention is to integrate this experience into iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watchmaintaining activation through Voice command “Siri” or holding down the power button on the iPhone. The difference. Today, Siri is an assistant, a command system. You tell him something Siri classifies the intention (set an alarm, call X person, send a message) Execute the order Moving to the chatbot model means having a generative model capable of interpreting natural language, maintaining conversations and a more “human” interaction with the phone. This is what their rivals have been doing for a few years. Adapting to the inevitable. That Siri will evolve in 2026 is proof that the classic assistant model is exhausted. Apple will have to adopt the chatbot model as an inevitable transition, previously led by OpenAI and in which Gemini now seems to be leading the way. The thing doesn’t end here. The destination of the new Siri is not only current Apple devices. As my colleague Javier Pastor says, the company plans to launch a device without a screenits first AI-focused wearable. According to the leaked information, it will have a format similar to that of AirTags, a microphone system and a launch scheduled for 2027. New assistant, new devices, and alliance with Google. The new stage of artificial intelligence for Apple is finally arriving. The question is whether they will manage to offer something new. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Hey Siri: 134 voice commands to get the most out of Apple’s assistant

Madrid has bought so many electric cars that the DGT has ended one of its great incentives

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Electric cars and plug-in hybrids will not be able to circulate in the Bus-HOV lane unless the signs indicate so. The DGT has confirmed that it was one of the most attractive measures for the potential customer of a car with a Zero Emissions label to take the leap. Now, so many cars of this type have been sold in Madrid that they have ended up putting an end to this advantage. What has happened? The DGT has sent a statement announcing the “Resolution on special traffic regulation measures for 2026.” Nothing very juicy except for one detail: the announcement that the Zero Emission cars they have run out of taking advantage the Bus-HOV lane to avoid traffic jams. The DGT explains that from now on, drivers of a Zero Emissions car (electric or plug-in hybrid with more than 40 kilometers of autonomy) will only be able to circulate on this special lane when it is specifically signposted. By default, they will not be able to enter it. Because? According to the DGT, the decision “responds both to the demand of the citizens and to the requests of the public transport companies and the Ombudsman who have conveyed to the DGT their concern about the progressive loss of effectiveness of the HOV lanes that directly affects the regularity and punctuality of the service, discouraging its use and harming thousands of daily users who opt for public transport.” And they provide data: traffic jams on the main roads have increased by 10%, while in the Bus-HOV lanes they have increased by 22%. But the data skyrockets in Madrid. According to their accounts, traffic jams are 20% more frequent on the main road of the A-6 entering and exiting Madrid. In its Bus-HOV lane, traffic jams have increased by 90%. Madrid, absolute leader. According to ANFAC data, Madrid was the Autonomous Community where the most electrified cars (electric and plug-in hybrids because the data also discriminate by non-plug-in hybrids) were purchased. In total, at the end of 2025, 102,245 cars of this type were recorded. Across Spain, 245,629 Zero Emission cars were purchased. The next region in which the most Zero Emission cars were purchased was Catalonia but it remained at 33,309 units. Behind them, only the Valencian Community and Andalusia exceeded 20,000 units. Goodbye to one of the great incentives. Until now, switching to the Bus-HOV lane despite only having one passenger traveling in an electric or plug-in hybrid car was one of the great incentives to get a vehicle of this type. The HOV Bus on the A-6 in Madrid, the only one for which the DGT offers data, is a relief for a road that is clogged daily. Beyond the driving comfort (absence of noise or vibrations) and the savings if we recharge at home, the Zero Emissions cars had two great incentives that were considered “political”. One is the purchasing aid that until now was collected in the MOVES III Plan but that have been frozen waiting for a Auto+ Plan that has not yet materialized. The second was this use of the Bus-HOV lane, since the time saved per day was considerable. However, advantages applied by each municipality such as unlimited access to ZBEsexemptions in the payment of road taxes or free parking in regulated parking areas. These aids are of municipal application and, therefore, vary from one city to another. Goodbye, goodbye. The loss of the unlimited pass for the VAO Bus is only a reminder that Zero Emission cars continue to enjoy some aid that, it is hoped, will end up disappearing. This is what has happened, for example, in Norway, where the exemption from paying taxes has caused a hole of 1.8 billion euros. The solution that has been proposed is to tax the weight of vehicles to alleviate this problem. In other cities, like parisit is also ignored whether the car is electric or not and a similar mechanism is also used to charge in regulated parking areas. Photo | DGT In Xataka | Guide to know if your car will be able to circulate in the ZBEs of Madrid in 2026: labels, registrations and areas

Santander and BBVA co-finance Netflix’s cash offer with 3.8 billion

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Santander and BBVA have doubled their financing to Netflix to $3.8 billion to support the acquisition of Warner Bros. for $27.75 per share in cash. The Spanish bank is thus positioned as a key actor in the most significant consolidation operation for the global audiovisual sector, in the midst of a battle to reconfigure the streaming market. How it works. The financial structure rests on a trio of international banks. Wells Fargo leads the credit union with the highest documented individual commitment for an investment grade acquisition, accompanied by the French BNP Paribas and the British HSBC. Between the three of them they have extended the initial bridge loan up to 42.2 billion dollars. What do the Spanish do? In this context, Santander commits to 2,672 million dollars divided into two blocks: 1,360 million in the bridge loan and 1,312 million in the long-term financing agreed in December. BBVA, for its part, offers 1,088 million: 510 million in the transitional loan and 578 million in the permanent lines. Other entities. Along with the Spanish entities, there are the French Société Générale, the German Commerzbank, the Canadians RBC, Banco de Montreal and Scotiabank, the Japanese Mizuho and MUFG, as well as Morgan Stanley, PNC Bank and Standard Chartered. The union brings together fifteen institutions that share the risk of an operation without comparable precedents in the recent history of the audiovisual industry. The Spanish participation, although secondary compared to Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas and HSBC, consolidates the presence of both entities in the corporate financing segment in the US. Seeking internationalization. The presence of Santander and BBVA in financing Netflix illustrates the internationalization strategy of both entities in large-scale operations linked to technology and media. For example, Santander announced in December 2025 a strategic alliance with MoffettNathanson to strengthen its sector analysis in technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) in the United States. and BBVA closed 2024 with record revenue of 3,194 million euros in the first half of 2025, driven by investment banking and corporate financing operations. All in cash. On January 20, Netflix modified the initial structure of its offer for the purchase, which combined money and shares of the platform. Now, Netflix values ​​the operation at 83,000 million dollars through an all-cash offer of $27.75 per share. Paramount, meanwhile, maintains a hostile offer of 108 billion dollars at $30 per share. Netflix wants exclusively the movie studios and HBO Max, excluding the cable TV business. This division will create an independent company, Discovery Global, which will be listed on the stock exchange and whose shares will be delivered to current Warner shareholders. When will we know something? Warner’s board of directors has rejected Paramount’s proposal eight times, calling it “insufficient value”. Netflix’s offer, on the other hand, has the unanimous support of Warner management. Shareholders must vote by April 2026, according to the accelerated schedule following the conversion of Netflix’s proposal to cash. In Xataka | All the unanswered questions left by Netflix’s purchase of Warner: a huge mess

Science explains why the cure can be worse than the disease

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At the time of want to lose a few kilos The truth is that many different strategies emerge, such as eliminate sweetsstart exercising more or eat much more protein. But, on the other hand, there are strategies that are really extravagant and that are spread by influencers of our society that do not have any solid foundation. The last one arrives from actor Matt Damon who claims to have lost a few kilos thanks to leaving gluten out of his diet. A discrepancy. And the reality is that science has a lot to say about this decision. Since the ‘gluten-free’ foods that now flood supermarkets were born as a medical necessity for 1% of the population. But now it has become a holy grail of weight loss following the following logic: ‘if I cut out bread and pasta, I lose weight. Ergo, gluten makes you fat.’ There is no evidence. Nutritional science has bad news for these peopleincluding the actor, since eliminating gluten does not have a specific slimming effect. In fact, if you do not have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity diagnosed, eliminating it can even be counterproductive for cardiovascular and metabolic health. It’s a calorie deficit. The first myth to debunk is that gluten, per sebe a metabolic villain that makes us accumulate fat. According to a systematic review published in International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciencesgluten-free diets are not associated with greater weight loss compared to normal gluten-containing diets in healthy adults. So… why do some people swear they lost weight by giving up gluten? The answer lies in the changes that accompany this diet, but not in gluten. And when you give up gluten, you automatically stop eating calorie-dense ultra-processed foods such as industrial pastries, cookies, refined pasta… In this way, you eat fewer total calories and this is what causes you to lose weight and not the absence of gluten. The effect of water. In addition to this caloric deficit, a pilot study in athletes noted that the rapid weight loss after six weeks without gluten was primarily due to loss of fluid and glycogen stores, not an actual metabolic advantage. Fewer refined carbohydrates mean less water retention. But if there was any doubt, another clinical trial in patients with a metabolic problem in their history detected reductions in waist circumference and triglyceridesbut without changes in weight. In this way, the researchers suggest that this is due more to better food selection and glycemic control than to a “fat-removing effect” of gluten. A flat stomach. Another of the great thoughts that can be heard in this sense is that people who do not eat wheat feel much less bloated. And this is real, but the culprit is not gluten, but from the fructans of wheatwhich is basically a type of fermentable carbohydrate that produces a lot of gas and bloating. In this way, the abdomen looks much flatter, but not because of a loss of fat. The cardiovascular paradox. But although gluten is seen as a demon, the reality is that it has several intrinsically good things. For example, gluten is often accompanied by whole grains, and whole grains are cardioprotective. This is evidenced in a study published in the BMJ with more than 100,000 participants who were followed for 26 years. This concludes that gluten consumption does not increase the risk of coronary heart disease. What’s more, when the data was adjusted, a higher gluten intake was associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease. That is why the authors warned: promoting gluten-free diets in healthy people can reduce the consumption of whole grains and, therefore, negatively affect cardiovascular health. And in diabetes. In this case they were three large studies that showed an inverse relationship: Those who ate the most gluten had a 13% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate the least. The why? Again, the fiber and micronutrients associated with the cereal that contains gluten. The problem of the accused. When we see that something is ‘gluten free’ we may think that we are looking at something much healthier. But the reality is that sometimes, to compensate for the lack of elasticity and texture that gluten provides, The food industry often reformulates products by adding more saturated fat, more sugar and reducing the protein it contains. Furthermore, gluten-free diets in non-celiac people have also been associated with a lower intake of fiber, B vitamins and a worse long-term cardiometabolic profile. Who should give up gluten? Science is quite clear in this case: who needs it, that is, the 1% of the population with celiac disease. And logically also people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity who may have major digestive problems. For the rest of the population, eliminating gluten offers no clear nutritional benefits. On the contrary: there is a risk of spending more money on products with a worse nutritional profile, reducing the consumption of cardioprotective fiber and attributing to gluten a success that, in reality, simply belongs to eating less ultra-processed foods. Images | Wesual Click Towfiqu barbhuiya In Xataka | Food has been filled with contradictory messages: a sports nutritionist helps us understand what’s behind it

Until now, Mexican children under 14 years of age did not have to pass an interview to enter the United States. That’s over

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Mexico is preparing for an image that is difficult to see in recent years. With the changes in immigration policy and of access to the United States As a backdrop, the Trump administration has decided that both Mexicans under 14 and those over 79 will no longer be exempt to pass an interview with a consular officer to obtain their “non-immigrant” visas. In practice, this will affect children and the elderly who want to travel to the neighboring country to spend their holidays, for studies, business or for medical reasons. What has happened? That the US State Department has changed slightly the guidelines that Mexicans who want to apply for a nonimmigrant visawhich is used for tourism or business trips. And it has done so in an aspect that has generated some expectation in the country. From now on (from a few months ago actually) and as a general rule, Mexicans under 14 years of age and those over 79 must undergo a consular interview in person to obtain the document, just like the rest of the population. So far both (children and elderly) They used to be exempt. What does the US say exactly? The guideline collected in the official website of the US Embassy and Consulates in Mexico is quite clear: “All applicants for non-immigrant visas to the US, including those under 14 years of age and those over 79, will generally be required to appear for an in-person interview with a consular officer.” There are some exceptions, although for specific cases and as long as those involved meet “certain requirements”, such as presenting the petition in their country and not having been rejected before. For example, applicants for diplomatic visas or those who want to renew their B-1, B-2, B1/B2 permits or Border Crossing Card or Folio are exempt from the obligation. Of course, your passes cannot be expired for more than 12 months. This is also new, as remember The Country. Before they could take advantage of Dropbox process (visa interview waiver program) for 48 months following the expiration date of the document. Screenshot of the official website of the US Embassy and Consulates in Mexico. Why is it important? For several reasons. The first, as has been responsible for highlighting part of the Mexican press, is that in practice the change will mean that children and octogenarians will have to meet in person with a consular officer if they want to obtain their visa. In the case of minors under 14 years of age, it is no longer useful for their parents to come alone with all the documentation. The second reason is that the concept of “nonimmigrant visas” is broad. The list published by the US Department of State shows that its vast range includes those people who want to cross the Mexican border for business, tourism, to receive medical treatment, as athletes, to study or work as seasonal agricultural workers, among other cases. What do you recommend doing? The range is so wide that there are those who advises plan the procedures well in advance, especially at the busiest consulates, and starting from the base that the applicant will most likely have to pass the interview. The US administration itself remember That, if necessary, the consulate can request this procedure even from those who are exempt. Is it something exceptional? No. The US has tightened the access conditions for citizens of other countries (not just Mexico) and has become stricter with the requirements required of applicants for family-based immigrant visas. At the end of 2025 even transcended a proposal from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that proposes that foreign travelers who want to cross the border in the United States must reveal up to five years of their network history. In the case of consular interviews for Mexican visa applicants, the change in criteria has come up against another handicap: a confusion in the dates. As remember The ImpartialIn July 2025, a guide was published that advanced the changes and stated that these would come into force as of September 2. According to a later update, the change was activated later: in October. Images | Global Residence Index (Unsplash) and Francesca Albert (Unsplash) In Xataka | More and more Americans want to live outside the US but they have a problem: Europe is closing its doors

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