Month: January 2026

We have been telling ourselves since 1945 that we should drink “two liters of water a day.” Science is clear that this is not the case.

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One of the most popular rules in popular health culturewithout a doubt it is in the amount of water you have to drink per day. An amount that is located in eight glasses a day or what is the same: the immovable figure of two literss. We see it in fitness applications, in influencers’ advice and we hear it repeated like a mantra, but the reality is that there is quite a myth behind this. We are different people. A very common phrase within medicine is precisely “there are no equal people”, and not only because of the external physique, but because of everything that is inside. This forces the medicine Focus towards a more individualized idea in your medical advice that have to be given, included in nutrition or water consumption. This forces us to have to personalize the amount of water that each person should consume, because a person who is 2 meters tall and weighs 100 kg with a large amount of muscle is not the same as an elderly person who has a much slower metabolism. Logically, the two liters of water mantra cannot be established here. The origin of the error. To understand why we drink (or think we should drink) so much, you have to travel back to 1945. According to key review by Dr. Heinz Valtin in it American Journal of Physiology 2002, the myth of the “8×8” rule, that is, 8 8-ounce glasses to have almost 2 liters of water, probably comes from a misinterpretation of a guide from the Food and Nutrition Board. A guide that indicated that it was always recommended to have an adequate intake of 2.5 liters of fluids per day. But most people ignored the accompanying sentence that said, “most of this amount is in prepared foods.” What the institutions say. So the question is quite clear: how much should we drink per day? In this case there are different official figures, but they have fine print. We have one of the examples in the European Food Safety Authority Panel 2010 established adequate water intake at 2 liters per day for women and 2.5 liters per day for men. But here’s the key: the EFSA specifies that this refers to total water, that is, the sum of drinks plus food. And there are many dishes that have a large amount of water, such as soup, although fruits also have a lot of water inside. Even in the United States. If we move to the recommendations made in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the USA from 2005, suggests that the total water figures should be 2.7 liters per day for women and 3.7 liters per day for men. But again, it includes all the dietary intake that is made per day and not just glasses of tap water. The latest science. If we come more to the present, we also have scientific studies that have sought to dismantle a universal fixed figure set at two liters per day. One of the most important is the one published in Science in 2022 that used isotopes to measure water exchange in 5,604 people, and that showed that real needs vary enormously between people. One of the conclusions they addressed was that for most people in temperate climates and with sedentary lives, the real water intake needs are between 1.5 and 1.8 liters per day, far from the demands of wellness marketing. And it is reinforced. It is not a study that is isolated, but also in 2022 the magazine Scientific Reports, published research where this idea was reinforced: they predict necessary beverage intakes of about 1.6 L for women and 2.0 L for men, always depending on factors such as age, sex and body composition. Is more water better? One of the most repeated arguments by proponents of hyperhydration is that we should drink “before we are thirsty.” modern physiology, backed by scientific reviews and analysis of urinary osmolarity, refutes this fear that we may have. Specifically, the human body has an extremely sensitive osmoregulation system. When the concentration of solutes in the blood increases by only 2%well below clinical dehydration, the brain already activates the sensation of being thirsty and releases the necessary hormone to begin conserving water so that it does not ‘leave’ in the urine. There are exceptions. Unless you are an elderly person (whose thirst sensation is attenuated) or a high-performance athlete in the midst of intense effort, drinking when thirsty is the most accurate and scientifically validated strategy for maintaining water balance. When you should drink more water. That the “mandatory two liters” are a myth does not mean that water is not logically vital. The most recent systematic reviews and other clinical means confirm that increasing water intake has clear therapeutic benefits in very specific cases that are not universal. These can be the following: Having a kidney stone: here the “more, the better” applies since increasing urinary flow is key to preventing the recurrence of this disease. Urinary infections: a problem that mainly affects women, and that requires ‘overhydration’ to reduce risk of new episodes. Weight loss: Although the evidence is mixed, drinking water may help with satiety and, marginally, energy expenditure. Although it is not a magic solution against obesity. More common sense. The obsession with two liters is a perfect example of how an old and misinterpreted scientific recommendation becomes a cultural dogma. The reality, supported by decades of studies from Valtin to the latest isotopic analyses, is that we are not machines that need a fixed tank filling every 24 hours. In this way, our body’s water needs are dynamic. Water needs are dynamic. If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, work in an air-conditioned office, and don’t run marathons every day, forcing yourself to drink 2 liters of extra water will probably only do one thing: interrupting your work to go to the bathroom more times. The situation. In this way we can understand that … Read more

The remake of ‘Prince of Persia’ aimed to be the turning point for Ubisoft. It has been canceled along with other titles

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There are games that are not only played, they are remembered. ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time‘ belongs to that category and for years was one of Ubisoft’s calling cards in its most inspired stage. Its remake, announced after a streak of ups and downsaimed to serve as a bridge between that legacy and a new stage for the company. What its cancellation reveals is just the opposite. Ubisoft is going through a period of harsh changeswith delays, cuts and decisions that reflect the extent to which the group is reviewing priorities to adapt to a tighter economic and creative scenario. The announcement came todayJanuary 21, coinciding with the presentation of financial results, and marks a turning point in the group’s strategy. Ubisoft announced a “reset” on a global scale that includes a new creative structure, a deep review of its game portfolio and an adjustment to the size of the organization. The company places these decisions in a more demanding market context, with higher costs and a “more selective” AAA. according to your own diagnosis. The stated objective is to gain agility, accelerate decision-making and guide the business towards what it defines as a more player-centered model. Cascading cancellations and delays. The restructuring has immediate consequences on the catalog. Ubisoft confirmed the cancellation of six games in development, including Prince of ‘Persia: The Sands of Time Remake‘, along with three new unannounced IPs and a mobile project. In addition, the company has decided to delay another seven titles to, as it explains, ensure that its new quality thresholds are met. One of those games, initially scheduled for fiscal year 2026, now moves to 2027, a move that directly impacts its short- and medium-term planning. A new internal map by brands and genres. One of the most profound changes affects how Ubisoft is organized internally. The company is reorganizing its production model to group its teams into five “Creative Houses”, each focused on specific franchises and genres, and supported by a “Creative Network” of studios to support production. The first brings together brands such as ‘Assassin’s Creed’, ‘Far Cry’ and ‘Rainbow Six’, while others group together sagas such as ‘The Division’, ‘Ghost Recon’ or ‘Splinter Cell’. ‘Prince of Persia’ is integrated into the fourth of these units, along with Rayman, Anno or Beyond Good & Evil, with its own leadership and greater creative autonomy. Beyond the canceled or delayed games, the restructuring implies profound changes in the company itself. Ubisoft has reiterated its intention to close studios, reorganize teams and reduce costs continuously over the coming years. In its plan, the company sets a reduction in its cost base of at least one hundred million euros by the end of its 2025-2026 financial year, and adds another two hundred million additional euros to be cut over the following two years. The group admits that the process will be difficult, but presents it as a necessary step to regain stability in a market that is increasingly less tolerant of errors. A new creative focus for the coming years. Looking ahead to this stage, Ubisoft states that it will concentrate its efforts on large open worlds and games as a service. At the same time, he has indicated that he will accelerate investments in “player-oriented generative AI”, a formulation with which he points to uses aimed directly at the player, without yet specifying how it will translate into specific titles. The company also recognizes that the revision of its roadmap will have effects on the release schedule and its financial forecasts. It is, in practice, the price assumed for the model change. Images | Ubisoft In Xataka | Sony has come up with something taboo in the world of video games: that AI starts playing for you when you crash

Productivity had become an obsession. Until leisure has started to give better results at work

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The constant pressure to perform to the maximum has marked work life for a long time, leaving rest almost forgotten. A recent study shows how reserving well-planned leisure time changes the perception of daily routines and contributes to improved performance at work. Experts have verified that organize free time actively through crafts or other forms of abstraction brings improvements to creativity and motivation in your work tasks. This finding questions the belief that only by working non-stop can we achieve good work results. Let the brain create things. A group of researchers from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands investigated on the effects of creative craft-based entertainment during employees’ leisure time. The result of the experiment was not an improvement in the morale and motivation of the employees who participated in the study, but rather it contributed to these employees offering a more creative response in solving the problems that arose at work. Improvements in daily work life. The workers who participated in the study felt that, by exercising new manual skills, they better appreciated the processes of their crafts, making them gain value. The curious thing is that the change was bigger in the workplace than in his personal life, even though it was his leisure time. “We were surprised to see that crafts had a greater impact at work than in personal life. We expected similar benefits in both areas,” explains Professor George Michaelides, from UEA Norwich Business School. Curiously, the group that noticed this improvement the most was the one formed by the most senior employeesthose over 61 years of age. The explanation for this phenomenon is found in cognitive aptitude, a brain condition that is activated during learning processes. Gymnastics for the brain. Just as they collect the studies of Professors Gilkey and Kilts, of the schools of medicine and business at Emory University, carry out various creative activities that require a motor and cognitive combinationlike playing the guitar, juggling or learning a new language, helps expand the neural system and makes it more communicative. That is, the development of new skills through crafts was improving the “physical fitness” of the employees’ cognitive system, and the results were more visible in those more prone to cognitive decline and memory deterioration due to age. Keep “fit“Cognitive aptitude improves performance in decision making and problem solving, as well as in the generation of new ideas. The capacity for abstraction. One of the keys to the use of crafts or pleasurable leisure activities is that they act as a natural stress reducer and depressive symptoms. “Hobbies are already known to be good for well-being. But our study shows that hobbies not only make you happier, they can also help you feel more fulfilled and creative at work. This goes beyond simply relaxing or having fun (like watching Netflix non-stop) and turns hobbies into something that helps people grow,” says Dr. Paraskevas Petrou, the lead author of the study. Beyond the cognitive improvement derived from the development of the neural system, a study from Cardiff University found that the use of crafts or repetitive activities, how to knitinduces the brain into a state of full attention that increases abstract thinking activity by up to 25%, which contributes to the generation of new ideas and improves problem solving. In Xataka | Feeling overwhelmed at work is normal, but it is not ideal: six techniques to avoid it and be much more productive Image | Unsplash (Elena Mozhvilo)

Nuclear energy has generated electricity for decades. China is reinventing it for something else: the industry

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For decades, nuclear power plant cooling towers symbolized one thing: electricity. However, off the coast of Jiangsu province, China has just begun a maneuver that will change the usefulness of fission. It’s no longer just about turning on light bulbs; It is about feeding, with clean steam, the voracious thermal heart of heavy industry. The first concrete of a new era. According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)the first concrete was poured for the nuclear island of Unit 1 of the Xuwei project. This act is not just another procedure, it is the first nuclear project to break ground in the inaugural year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, symbolizing a strategic shift towards diversified energy applications. The project, developed by CNNC Suneng Nuclear Power, is strategically located near the Lianyungang petrochemical hub, an area that requires a staggering 13,000 tons of steam every hour to maintain its operations. The concept of the super boiler. Xuwei’s great innovation lies in its technical architecture. As explained by Global Timesthe project is the first in the world to couple two different generations of reactors to maximize thermal efficiency: The Hualong One (Generation III): Two units of this pressurized water reactor (PWR) provide the base heat to convert demineralized water to saturated steam. The High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR – Generation IV): This unit acts as a “super boiler”. The steam produced by the Hualong One is superheated a second time by the primary steam of the HTGR, reaching the necessary extreme temperatures. for complex chemical processes such as petroleum refining, distillation and cracking petrochemical. This “double coupling” system allows, according to NucNetthat the plant will be useful for applications ranging from refining to desalination and steel production, sectors that have traditionally depended exclusively on fossil fuels. Cleaner than coal. The urgency of this project responds to a critical climate need. The petrochemical industry is one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize due to its constant heat demand. The figures provided by CNNC yvsupported by media such as World News Nuclear They are compelling: once the first phase is operational, the plant will supply 32.5 million tons of industrial steam per year. This will reduce standard coal consumption by 7.26 million tons and avoid the emission of 19.6 million tons of CO2 annually. Advances in cutting-edge technology. To manage the complexity of joining two very different types of reactors, Chinese engineers have turned to Artificial Intelligence and robotics. The design team used hierarchical digital simulations to create the system’s control logic, allowing heat and electricity to be balanced based on grid and industry demand. In the field of construction, progress is not minor. Li Quan, project manager, explained to Global Times that automatic metal active gas (MAG) welding systems with intelligent laser tracking are being used, a technology three times more efficient than manual welding. In addition, they emphasize that the localization rate of equipment (100% Chinese technology) exceeds 95%, promoting a national high-tech supply chain. Towards a global standard? Beyond its borders, China sees Xuwei as an export model. The CNNC has described the project as a “Chinese solution” for the low-carbon transformation of energy-intensive industries around the world. The goal is to demonstrate that heavy industrial development does not have to be tied to coal smokestacks. This move aligns with the 2025 white paper titled “China’s plans and solutions for carbon neutrality”which advocates for safe and orderly development of nuclear energy not only for the electrical gridbut for clean heating and desalination. The European contrast. While China is betting on nuclear energy to power heavy industry, in Europe the approach to waste heat is taking a digital path. Cities like Helsinki are finding an unexpected source of heat: data centers. As we have explained in Xatakacompanies like Telia or Microsoft are recovering up to 90% of the heat generated by their servers to inject it into district heating networks (district heating). A single data center in Finland can heat up to 20,000 homes. Although the scale is different – ​​China seeks heat to make steel and plastics, while Finland seeks shelter for its citizens – the philosophy is identical: in a world in climate crisis, wasting heat is a luxury that no one can afford anymore. Both models demonstrate that the energy transition depends on taking advantage of every calorie produced, whether it comes from a uranium core or an artificial intelligence processor. The end of thermal waste. The start of work in Xuwei marks a turning point. As the CNNC analysis concludesthe project is a “strong and clear beat” towards deep decarbonization. China is trying to show that nuclear power is the missing piece of the puzzle to reconcile mass industrial production with net-zero emissions goals. If Xuwei’s model is successful, the image of the nuclear power plant as an isolated island that only produces electricity will become history. The future of the atom seems to lie, rather, in its ability to become the invisible “heat engine” of modern civilization. Image | CNNC Xataka | In Finland they already know how to deal with excess heat from data centers: convert it into district heating

Satya Nadella knows that AI now has “social permission” to burn electricity. And also that everything has a limit

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From time to time, a number of billionaire people get together to discuss topics that are considered important. This time he played at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, has issued a warning clear about the use of artificial intelligence and its excessive energy consumption. And for the executive, this technology only makes sense if it generates a real and positive impact on society, otherwise, “social legitimacy” would be lost to allocate scarce resources, such as energy, to its development. Energy. It is no surprise that AI data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and water. They already did it before dedicating themselves purely to the operation of AI, but now that expense has more than multiplied. A while ago, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, gave some estimated figures about ChatGPT’s power consumption, stating that it used about 0.34 watt-hours for each response generated. On a larger scale, the combined electricity consumption of Microsoft and Google exceeded that of more than 100 countries in 2023, according to the analysis by Michael Thomas, founder of Cleanview. The demand is not only energy, since a disproportionate volume of production of critical components is being allocated towards the development of projects related to AI, such as is happening with RAM in the world. Nadella’s warning. During his intervention In Davos, the CEO of Microsoft said that “We will quickly lose even the social permission to take something like energy, which is a scarce resource, and use it to generate these tokens, if these tokens are not improving outcomes in health, education, public sector efficiency or private sector competitiveness.” The CEO of Microsoft assured that the ultimate goal must be “to use AI to change tangible results in people, communities, countries and industries.” Otherwise, “none of this makes sense.” Tokens as a new global currency. Nadella mentioned in the conversation the “tokens” as the new currency among big technology companies. In this area, tokens are the basic processing units that users of AI models purchase to execute tasks. According to the CEO, “GDP growth anywhere will be directly correlated” with the cost of energy used in AI. In this way, Nadella says between the lines that if a country can produce tokens more cheaply, it will have a competitive advantage. The medical example. Among the specific applications that Nadella sees as valuable is the use of AI in the healthcare sector. He mentioned doctors who can spend more time with their patients while AI transcribes consultations, enters data into medical records systems and assigns correct billing codes. The risk of bubble. Nadella also addressed growing warnings about a possible AI bubble. For him, it will only be a bubble if everything remains in partnerships between technology companies and infrastructure spending. “A telltale sign that it’s a bubble would be if all we talk about are tech companies,” pointed out in his conversation with Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock. The executive was confident that AI will “bend the productivity curve” and bring global economic growth, not just driven by capital expenditures. Mass adoption necessary. Microsoft’s CEO also insists that companies must start using AI on a large scale, describing it as a “cognitive amplifier” that grants “access to infinite minds.” It calls for workers to develop AI skills, similar to “how they master Excel to improve their employability.” Microsoft plans to invest 80 billion dollars in building AI data centers, with 50% of that spending outside the United States. Cover image | İsmail Enes Ayhan and World Economic Forum In Xataka | Europe is discovering right now that the US is not the partner it thought. And that is a problem in AI.

25 million dollars and a commitment to Greenland

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Ironies of history, it is more likely that Donald Trump’s wish incorporating Greenland into the United States will be more surprising to us, the citizens of 2026, than to those of a century ago. The reason: by then Americans and Danes were more than used to reading news about the sale of overseas territory from the European kingdom to Washington. Of course, more than a century ago the focus was not on Greenland, but on much warmer waters and with a strategic value that the Arctic island completely lacked at that time. The land in dispute was Virgin Islands. Nothing new under the sun. The protagonists, the context, even the tone change, but not the background. Although the Europeans of 2026 will be shocked expansionist plans of Trump and his desire to seize Greenland from Denmark (well through a “purchase”pulling a checkbook, or asserting its military power) the truth is that it is not the first time that both countries have been involved in a dispute for Danish territory to remain under American control. It actually happened not so long agobetween the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, although the focus at that time was on the warm waters of the Caribbean. The Danish Western Islands. To understand it you have to travel to the other end of the Atlantic and go back to late 17th centurywhen Denmark took control of a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Over time its domain extended to the insulas of Saint John, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and dozens of islets and cays that formed what was called Danish Western Islands. Although the archipelago in question was thousands of kilometers from Copenhagen, for a time its domain represented a lucrative business based on two big legs: slaves and sugar plantations. From good business to heavy burden. That changed over time. In 1848 the territory lived a revolt which ended up leading to the abolition of slavery in the colony, which added to other economic factors (such as the fall in the price of sugar) made the archipelago less attractive. At least in the eyes of the metropolis, which continued to face the costs of its administration. That was the situation when in 1867 the US Secretary of State, William H. Sewardknocked on the door of Denmark interested in the ownership of the islands. A long tug of war. “After the Civil War it was time to consider strategic conditions in the Caribbean and Seward focused on both the annexation of Mexico and possible expansion into the Caribbean,” explains to BBC the historian Hans Christian Berg. In principle, the winds were favorable for Washington: Denmark’s power was declining and the US faced a new stage, convinced that it had to reaffirm its regional power and erase European influence. For a time the pact to acquire the Danish Western Islands seemed to go ahead, crystallizing in a treaty that contemplated the sale in exchange for 7.5 million of dollars in gold. However, both parties were left wanting. The agreement ended up foundering in the US Senate. The reason actually had little (or nothing) to do with the Virgin Islands. The controversy over the recent purchase of Alaska and Seward’s support for the president Andrew Johnson took their toll on the operation with Denmark, which did not achieve the necessary political support. It wouldn’t be the first time. In 1900 both countries signed a new treaty which also went to waste when it did not obtain the endorsement of the Danish Upper House. It took a global conflagration for that to change. The fateful RMS Lusitania. Things changed at the beginning of the 20th century, during the First World War. To be more precise (and as you recognize the US State Department itself) the turning point was the wreck of the RMS Lusitaniaa British ship that was torpedoed by a German U-Boat submarine while traveling from New York to Liverpool. That episode not only influenced American public opinion regarding the First World War, it also made it understand how much was at stake in controlling the Caribbean Sea. “The purchase of the Danish West Indies once again became an important issue in US foreign policy. The president W.Wilson and Secretary of State Lansing feared that the German Government might annex Denmark, in which case the Germans could secure the West Indies as a naval or submarine base from which to launch attacks against shipping in the Caribbean and Atlantic,” explains the US Department of State Archive. By hook or by crook. No sooner said than done. In 1915 Lansing sounded out Denmark to facilitate (once again) the purchase of the Caribbean archipelago. The new attempt did not go down well in the European metropolis, leading Washington to adopt a tone reminiscent of that assumed by Donald Trump today: “Concerned by recent events and Danish reluctance, Lansing suggested that if Denmark was not willing to sell, the US could occupy the islands to avoid their confiscation by Germany,” remember the file. It was enough for Copenhagen to agree to the sale, which crystallized in a treaty signed in New York in August 1916. The agreement received the blessing of the Lower Houses of both countries and months later it was submitted to a Danish plebiscite (note, not in the Danish Virgin Islands, affected by the decision). Once all the procedures were closed and with the approval of Cristian X, the archipelago was under the control of Washington in March 1917. To this day the renowned US Virgin Islands remain a “unincorporated territory” from the USA. 25 million dollars… and something more. In exchange, the US paid Denmark 25 million dollars in gold coins, which would be equivalent, according to Bloomberg estimatesto 630 million today. In the last days there are who has remembered However, another point of the pact signed by Copenhagen and Washington. As remember the BBCthe US promised not to interfere with Denmark extending “its political and economic interests” … Read more

headphones that sit behind the ears

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OpenAI has confirmed that it will launch its first physical device in the second half of this year. Chris Lehane, head of global affairs for the company, announced it at the World Economic Forum in Davos as one of the “top priorities” of the year. The leaks they point to headphones codenamed “Sweetpea.” Foxconn will manufacture them in Vietnam. The sales goal for the first year is quite ambitious: between 40 and 50 million units, approximately. half of the AirPods that Apple sells at the end of the year. Why is it important. OpenAI has more than 800 million weekly ChatGPT users, but relies on third-party devices and platforms to reach them. With their own hardware, they begin to control the entire chain: development, distribution and user experience. It is also a play against Apple. AirPods dominate the wireless headphone market followed by Xiaomi, and now OpenAI enters its field with a proposal based on conversational AI and cloud processing. The audio would be only part of the product, the difference is in the integrated conversational intelligence. The design. The headphones will have a different shape than conventional models. According to leaks from Economic Daily News (UDN)they will be placed behind the ears, closer to what we usually see in headphones than in AirPods-style headphones. The charging case will be shaped like a smooth stone and will house two metal capsules. All this according to the first leaks: it is confirmed that the OpenAI device will arrive, the details are not yet. Jony Ive, the former Apple design chief whose company acquired OpenAI in 2024, is supervising the project. His presence raises expectations regarding the aesthetics of these headphones: Ive was the father of many of Apple’s iconic designs during the first decade of this century. The technology. The headset will use a 2-nanometer chip for basic local processing (the simplest queries), but most of the AI ​​work will be done in the cloud, following the usual OpenAI model. There will be adapted language models that will work on the device for light tasks and more complex ones will require an Internet connection and will run on OpenAI servers. Between the lines. OpenAI initially ruled out Luxshare as a manufacturer due to its location in China. The decision to produce in Vietnam seeks to avoid suspicions in the United States and avoid tariff problems. Yes, but. The history of native AI devices is full of failures: He Humane AI Pin It ended up being sold to HP and its owners were left with a paperweight. He Rabbit R1 It had a lot of initial hype but was soon forgotten. Replacing headphones that people already use daily requires a brutal value proposition, and without deep integration with iOS or Android, the device will have to prove that it justifies changing ecosystems. Nothing launched a headset with ChatGPT integration a while ago and beyond the initial hype, they have not shown any signs of being a special success either. Smart glasses have a similar approach and being able to use them to take photos and videos at any time without using your hands is winning them over. In Xataka | ChatGPT has been a tool. If you start remembering all our conversations, it’s going to be something else: a relationship. Featured image | Dima Solomin, Hostaphoto

Spain is going to freeze this weekend

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As Samu Rivas saidthe image that heads this piece does not reflect what is going to happen in 240 hours. It reflects what is going to happen in three days and that is the key to everything that is going to happen. Because the four big models (GFS/ECMWF/ICON/GEM) seem to have agreed: cold, rain and a very — very — busy weekend. What has happened? What is going to happen? What has happened is that an anticyclonic block has formed between Greenland and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is a large wall of high pressure that will interrupt the zonal flow and force the polar jet to lower latitude. From there, there were doubts about what was going to happen. But those doubts have been dissipating: everything seems to indicate that the jet will descend so low that it will focus directly on Spain, guiding fronts and cold masses from the north. Greeting Ingrid. According to Roberto Grandathe first fronts will affect us starting tomorrow and, from that moment, the storm Ingrid will not stop sending us “various bands of instability throughout Friday and the weekend, bringing rain, wind and snow.” What does this mean? That a mass of maritime polar air will invade the Peninsula from the northwest. That will cause temperatures to plummet to -2 degrees on Friday, but it will also mean that it will rain (a lot) throughout the Atlantic slope. The snow level on Friday will reach 500 meters. That is, the risk is going to be high. And the weekend? If the models are correct, on Saturday we may see snow in many inland provincial capitals and on Sunday rain will be widespread throughout the country (except the Mediterranean coast). Are we facing a new Filomena? It doesn’t seem plausible to meet with the amounts of snow that we saw in Madrid in January 2021, but obviously it is not impossible (unlikely, however). What is true is that every once in a while we expect an ‘Ice and Snow Apocalypse’ and most of the time nothing happens. The important thing is to remember that a big snowfall is not necessary for Spain to collapse and the problems to grow. We better be attentive. Image | Meteociel In Xataka | After the cold comes something much more problematic: the explosive cyclogenesis that AEMET predicts for the Mediterranean

Mexico’s cybersecurity is going through one of its worst moments

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Mexico has had some pretty tough months in terms of cybersecurity. Many of its institutions and organizations have been victims of a cascade of security breaches that have exposed sensitive information of their users. Since the data leak of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) to the security breach from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), passing through vulnerability in Telcel systemseither signs of leak In the Tax Administration Service (SAT), the list is extensive and worrying. The context. Between September 2025 and January 2026, Mexico has recorded at least a dozen serious cybersecurity incidents that have affected public organizations and private companies. The IMSS, the National Employment Service, the Ministry of Education of Chiapasthe Federal Electricity Commission and various state agencies have seen their systems compromised. The result has been the violation of sensitive data of millions of Mexicans. The UNAM case. The National Autonomous University of Mexico, confirmed A few weeks ago it suffered an unauthorized intrusion into five of its more than 100,000 computer systems during the holiday period. Although the university assured that no personal information was extracted, the investigation by journalist Ignacio Gómez Villaseñor revealed that the hacker identified as ByteToBreach would have accessed data of more than 380,000 students and academics, including registrations, institutional emails and encrypted passwords. According to the journalist, the attacker also had access to sensitive documents that include complaints of workplace harassment, alleged academic plagiarism, and confidential communications from the rector’s office. The background. According to account Villaseñor, the UNAM security breach was not a sudden event. The journalist shows internal documents revealing that the university detected a first illicit access on March 13, 2025 and filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, although the case did not progress. The final attack, which occurred between December 31 and January 1, coincided with the fact that engineers and developers from the Technology Projects Coordination had not been collecting fees for months due to “audit processes”, according to an internal letter from September 2025. The situation coincided with the exploitation of a critical vulnerability (CVE-2025-66478) in Next.js servers that allowed the massive hack. The protagonist. ByteToBreach is not unknown in the world of cybercrime. According to SOCRadarhas been operating as a merchant of stolen databases since at least June 2025. It has been linked to breaches affecting airlines, banks, government institutions and health systems in several countries. In Mexico, in addition to the UNAM, is attributed the attack on the Invoice SAT Móvil application in December 2025, although the organization denied that its systems were compromised despite the technical evidence presented by the attacker. The Telcel scandal. Less than 24 hours after the entry into force of the mandatory registration of mobile lines in MexicoTelcel, one of the largest operators in the country, also faced a serious security vulnerability. On January 9, 2026, Gómez Villaseñor denounced that the company’s official portal allowed the personal information of millions of clients to be consulted without the need for passwords or verification codes: identity, CURP (Unique Population Registry Code), RFC (Federal Taxpayer Registry) and email were exposed simply by entering a telephone number. Although Telcel initially issued a statement ambiguous stating that the data was secure, Renato Flores, deputy director of communications for the company, recognized hours later on national radio that “there was a technical vulnerability” that was immediately corrected. The company insisted that users could only access their own information, although the journalist published a video proving the opposite. Answer. After the events, the UNAM assured that will not spare resources in cybersecurity during 2026. Rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas indicated that a network of internal experts and training programs would be created, while ensuring that the security of its systems would be fortified. To this end, an Internal Regulation of the Technical Committee for Computing Governance has been approved and seven specialized subcommittees have been established, including one specifically dedicated to computer security. Real risks. These security breaches pose a real risk to citizens. With data such as CURP, RFC, university registrations and emails circulating on the black market, the risks include identity theft, impersonation to carry out fraudulent procedures, phishing campaigns targeted targeting and access to accounts on other platforms if passwords are reused. And the leak of medical information from the IMSS, fiscal data from the SAT and educational records creates a complete profile of citizens that can be exploited in multiple ways. In this sense, users have no choice but to remain alert: not providing sensitive data by SMS, calls or emails without verifying the identity of the requester, changing compromised passwords and monitoring possible fraudulent use. On the other hand, it never hurts to activate mechanisms of two factor authentication whenever possible. As much as we repeat these instructions when security breaches of this magnitude arise, they are really basic steps that are in our power and that can greatly minimize the risks. Cover image | Chantel and FlyD In Xataka | Endesa hacking: what you have to do to protect yourself if you have received an email saying that you have been affected

Why are they different and what power does each one represent?

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Let’s tell you what are the colors of USB connectors that you can find both in the memories and in the cables that use this technology. These are the colors that you find on the tab, on the piece of plastic that goes inside the connector itself. Because it is not the same whether the color of this tongue is white or black or it is blue, the three most common colors, since each one points to different characteristics. Therefore, we are going to explain everything to you in a way that you can understand. What are USB colors USB is a plug & play connection interface, a term that means that when you plug it in it starts working. However, there are different USB typeseither because they have a connector with a different form factor or because the chips inside are different. Since its creation, USB has been evolving, and the different types have different powers and speeds. But since on the outside all connectors of the same form factor are the same, The colors added to the tab indicate the USB version that is, and each version has different features. Come on, this way you can know that a USB with a black tab is a USB 2.0 with a fairly limited data transmission speed, or that a turquoise one is a second generation USB 3.1 with a much higher speed. What does the color of the USB mean? Next, we are going to tell you which version of the USB standard each color corresponds toand what is the maximum connection speed that each of them supports. These colors are especially important in USB type A, the usual large ones, because that is where it is best seen. White tongue: It is associated with USB 1.0 and 1.1, the most basic and oldest created for simple peripherals such as mouse and keyboard. Its transmission speed is 12Mbps. Black tongue: It is associated with USB 2.0, also old. These already allow other devices to be powered with powers of 2.5W. Its transmission speed is 480 Mbps. Dark blue tongue: It is associated with USB 3.0 or 3.1 Gen 1, and is used for external drives and fast memories, in addition to supplying power at 4.5W. Its transmission speed is 5Gbps. Turquoise tongue: It is associated with USB 3.1 Gen 2, which greatly improves the performance of the previous generation. Its transmission speed is 10Gbps. Red/orange tongue: It is usually used for fast or special ports, and is also associated with USB 3.2, whose transmission is 5Gbps. It is also present in ports that allow charging even with the device at rest. Yellow tongue: This color usually means “always on,” and is for ports that continue to manage power even if the device is suspended or turned off. It is used as a permanent charging port, and usually uses USB 2.0 or USB 3.X speeds depending on each device. In Xataka Basics | Types of USB cables: which ones exist and how to identify them

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