Month: January 2026

fusion energy no longer has a ceiling

by

For four decades, nuclear fusion scientists have lived under the shadow of a figure: the Greenwald limit. Something that, in essence, is the “glass ceiling” of the reactors tokamak type and that supposedly prevents them from producing more energy than they could. But the one known as the China’s ‘artificial sun’ has broken this ceiling completely, and on top of it in a stable way (surpassing the European model). The Greenwald Wall. To understand the achievement, you must first understand the problem. In a fusion reactorthe power you generate depends on the square of the density, this way, The more density there is inside the reactor, the more energy it will produce.. However, in 1989 the physicist Martin Greenwald formulated a rule that has remained unbeaten: there is a maximum density. If this maximum density is exceeded, the plasma inside the reactor becomes unstable. What does this mean? Well, if this line is passed, the edge of the plasma cools down too much due to radiation, the electrical current contracts and the reactor suffers a disruptiona sudden stop that can even damage the reactor structure. Bordering the limit. In this way, nuclear physicists have always been very attentive to this limitsince exceeding it can generate great chaos in a nuclear power plant. But logically what is always sought is to get the most out of all the resources available, which is why they have always been working very close to this limit, but never without exceeding it. Until in the end it has been possible to overcome it and remove this limitation from the ‘speedometers’ of nuclear energy. The study. The researchers They have achieved this fact, as they have reported in their article published in Science Advancewhere they point out that they have managed to achieve stable densities of between 1.3 and 1.65 times the Greenwald limit. It was not by brute force, but by experimental “finesse”. Something that they have been able to achieve within the Chinese Artificial Sun. This means that the reactor has been able to work at 165% of its maximum theoretical capacity without suffering any disruption. It is as if we had discovered that an engine designed to go 200 km/h can travel at 330 km/h constantly and without overheating. How has he achieved it? The key has not been just to “put in more gas”, but to change the way in which the Artificial Sun interacts with its own walls. Unlike other reactors, the Chinese Artificial Sun has tungsten on its walls, which is a metal that withstands heat better and makes the plasma less dirty. In addition to this property of its walls, The researchers used high-power microwave waves to heat and “clean” the plasma just before ignition. This is in addition to the fact that they were able to validate a new theory that says that, under certain conditions, the plasma “organizes itself” to move away from the walls and remain stable, even if the density is extreme. Real energy. What China’s Artificial Sun has shown is that the “density-free” regime is real. This changes the rules of the game for ITER (the large international reactor being built in France) and for the future CFETRthe reactor with which China hopes to begin pouring fusion energy into the electrical grid before 2040. Its importance. With this new milestone, making giant reactors will no longer make sense, since with this new theory we no longer need gigantic machines to obtain the same energy. Furthermore, by operating in this new regime, the risk of plasma damaging the reactor is drastically reduced, since you will not be “playing” with the limit. But the most relevant thing is that it has been seen that the denser the plasma is, the closer we are to “ignition”, the point where the Artificial Sun generates more energy than it consumes. This may mean that we are closer to the longed for infinite energy. Images | Daniele La Rosa Messina POT In Xataka | China has discovered an energy source so massive it potentially lasts 60,000 years. The bad news: it’s thorium

This is one of the most complete controls with which you can turn your iPhone or Android mobile into a portable console

by

If you usually play a lot on mobile and you are tired of doing it through the touch screen, having a good mobile controller is the best option. He Razer Kishi V3 It is one of the most popular and works for both iPhone and Android. Razer Kishi V3 – USB-C haptic gaming controller for iPhones and Android smartphones The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A very complete controller that offers a complete gaming experience on mobile This Razer Kishi V3 mobile controller is, without a doubt, perfect for playing with your mobile as if you were playing on a portable console. This is thanks to your full size controller designwhich allows you to comfortably play games on your mobile for hours. Offers mobile ergonomics iPhone and Android and features full-size TMR joysticks with interchangeable covers. In addition, you can perfect your aim with the anti-slip control levers high precision, superior to Hall effect designs. It also features dual mouse click rear buttons and pincer grip top buttons. Plus, thanks to Razer Neus Game Launcher, you can discover thousands of games for iOS and Android and save your games. The best thing about this controller is that it is Plug & Play typeso you just have to plug it in and start using it, without having to download any software. You may also be interested Utilify RGB Gaming Mobile Cooler with 2 Modes The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Logitech G G435 LIGHTSPEED The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Razer In Xataka | Best controllers to play on the computer. Which one to buy and 10 recommended PC gaming controllers for all budgets In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes

The fight between Ryanair and Aena has left a trail of victims throughout Spain. But none as serious as Vigo

by

This Sunday, January 4, Vigo airport closed its stage as an international terminal with the last Ryanair flight to London-Stansted, which took off at 9:30 p.m. The Peinador airport has thus become the only Galician airfield without connections outside of Spain, a situation that it already experienced between 2019 and 2023 after the first departure of the Irish airline. What does it mean for Vigo. The most populated city in Galicia loses its only air gateway to abroad after almost three years. Since the end of March 2023, the flight to London had returned the airport’s international status, but is now relegated to an exclusively domestic airport with routes to Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Gran Canaria and Tenerife, in addition to some specific flights to Mallorca. A stormy relationship. The divorce between Ryanair and the Vigo Council is consummated with crossed reproaches. The City Council imposed two sanctions on the company in 2025 for an amount greater than 67,000 euros, accusing it of suppressing 16 frequencies during the summer of 2024 and failing to comply with the agreed tourist promotion actions. “They are not serious people,” Mayor Abel Caballero even stated, according to collect Vigo Lighthouse. Although the contract ended in December 2025, Ryanair took advantage of Christmas to maintain the flight for a few more days. The goodbye numbers. Ryanair closes its second stage in Vigo after selling almost 1 million tickets in a decade of operations, according to The Voice of Galicia. In its first period (2016-2019), the airline received 4.4 million euros from the City Council for three years of presence. In this second phase, it received an additional 1.87 million for the three-year period that is now ending. According to account the mid-Atlantic, the route to London moved nearly 45,000 passengers in 2025 alone, its best record in these three years. Galician airports. The situation contrasts with Santiago de Compostela, which maintains twelve international destinations, and A Coruña, with four. Peinador exceeded one million passengers in 2025, although a good part of that traffic is due to Imserso trips, as collect Vigo Lighthouse. In this way, those who want to leave Spain from Vigo by plane will have to depend on other airports. It will be international again. The Vigo terminal will recover international connections in October, although in a timely manner: the Travelmakers agency has scheduled two planes to Egypt, as already happened in 2025 with charter flights to Morocco, as collect the middle. In addition, Aena and the Port Authority agreed to promote the arrival of cruise passengers at the airport in 2026 to reinforce Vigo’s role as a base port. But they are sporadic solutions, not stable routes. The battle for the north. The Peinador case has been a consequence of the pulse between Ryanair and Aena due to airport taxes, which has caused cuts of 80% in Galicia and also affected Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country. Other airlines such as Vueling, Volotea or Aer Lingus are occupying part of the gap left by the Irish in airports such as Santiago, Bilbao or Santander, but the recovery is not the same in all airports. Between the lines. Peinador also enters the list of the nine Spanish airports that operate exclusively in national territory, including Valladolid, Salamanca and Pamplona. For an airfield that in 2017 served eight international destinations and handled 1.5 million passengers in its golden age, the step backwards is significant. It remains to be seen if this status is maintained for long or if the airport will be able to attract new international flights in the future. Cover image | Wolfgang Weiser In Xataka | This is the DGT map to visualize where there are active V-16 beacons in Spain. There is another more useful unofficial map

It’s a warning signal from your brain.

by

in a world where insomnia is the order of the dayhearing people saying the phrase ‘it’s like putting your head on the pillow and going cold’ can make you very envious. An attitude that in some cases is seen as a great skilland that certainly seems like an evolutionary advantage. However, science has a much darker reading: it is not efficiency, it’s debt. The thermometer of fatigue. In sleep medicine, the time between getting ready to sleep (such as turning off the light in the bedroom) and entering the first phase of sleep is called Sleep Onset Latency (SUN). A time that has been measured to establish how long is normal for a person, and science estimates it between 10 and 15 minutes. That is to say, between turning off the light and lying down until we start to sleep, the normal thing for an adult is that about 10 minutes pass. When we are below. If there is a range, being above or below it can trigger alarms, such as when the value in a blood test is not within the normal ranges. If it is below, the brain enters a state of “homeostatic hyperexcitability” according to research done for the Sleep Foundation. By this they mean that when the system is so desperate to recover, it ends collapsing when given the chance. And that is why we have three different stages depending on how long it takes us to sleep: The normal range is between 10 and 18 minutes. We speak of pathological drowsiness when it lasts less than 8 minutes. We refer to severe sleep deprivation when we spend less than five minutes. The brain shuts down very quickly. The idea, replicated by experts and based on principles of chronobiology, suggests that instant sleep is the response to chronic restriction. In this way, if for weeks or months you sleep less than necessary, the body accumulates a “bill” that tries to charge himself in every microbreak. Science has wanted to delve into this aspect, and that is why different studies that have been published in Nature and PMC link this ultra-short latency not only with fatigue, but with metabolic alterations and a decrease in cognitive performance. That is why the idea that falling asleep quickly is synonymous with better rest is completely wrong. In fact, research shows that people with this “short latency” often suffer from involuntary lapses of attention and accumulated fatigue which, in environments such as driving or precision work, can be fatal. A long process. The sleep debt is not erased with a night of ‘bingeing’ in bed and getting up at 3 in the afternoon, but studies suggest that this latency can persist during the day. It all depends on what sleep deprivation we have faced our body with. But logically you also have to be careful with this false belief of having rested a lot because the onset of sleep is very rapid. The quality of sleep is only measured by its phases, but in no case does the variable of how quickly I enter the sleep phase come into play. What needs to be done. In the case of a person who falls exhausted at the first yawn, the first thing is to check sleep hygiene. But also be attentive to other indicators such as a possible sleep apneasince this value of sleeping quickly or in any situation is an indication of the presence of this disease that can be really serious and difficult to diagnose. The important thing is that one of the initial symptoms What must be checked in these cases is this poor rest. Images | Shane In Xataka | We thought insomnia was just not being able to sleep. Now we know that there are five different disorders

South Korea has designed a rover with wheels that change size to explore them

by

The dream of colonizing the Moon has been around since we set foot in it more than five decades ago. Settling on our satellite poses innumerable challenges; from how to get oxygen, what the food should be likeeven of course what is the best place to do it. We already have an answer to the latter: in caves. The problem is that you have to explore them first. A new rover. They count in Futurism that a team of South Korean scientists and researchers have designed a rover specially designed for the exploration of these lunar caves. The work has been published in Science Roboticswhich includes a video showing how the rover is capable of moving through difficult terrain, withstanding extreme temperatures and even being launched from a drone without suffering damage. The key is in the wheels. They are made up of metal sheets assembled to form a type of helix. The peculiar thing is that the wheels are soft and are capable of changing their diameter from 23 to 50 centimeters. This makes it much easier for you to overcome obstacles, enter smaller gaps when necessary, and also cushion falls. It is a very simple design, without hinges or bearings or complex parts; They simply fold or unfold by torsion, as if they were a spring. Moon cavesyes. As we said, there are many, but the main one is that the conditions are extreme. During the day, the temperature can reach 127ºC and at night it drops to -173ºC, which is not feasible. There is also the problem of long-term radiation. This is on the surface, but there is good news and that is that the Moon has a series of pits or caves where the temperature is much more stable, around 17ºC. A lunar tunnel. There is still more. By mid-2024 NASA discovered a huge cave in the Mare Tranquillitiatis crater, near the area where the Apollo 11 mission landed in 1969. It is estimated that the cave (actually a lava tube) measures about 45 meters wide and reaches up to 80 meters long, and the ground is also quite flat, so placing a settlement inside it could be viable. At the moment this cave has not been explored, although Solutions have already been proposed to do so. Artemis Program. Returning to the Moon is one of the most important space projects currently underway. Artemis It not only proposes setting foot on our satellite again, but also establishing our presence on it. The first unmanned mission was launched in 2022 and the plan is that Artemis II takeoff in February 2026. Artemis III will be the first manned mission, although this could still be missing several years. Image | Kaist In Xataka | We are sending cannabis samples to space. They are going to be key to knowing if we can colonize the Moon or Mars

We have been fighting with fish bones for centuries. China just won the war with molecular scissors

by

For fish lovers, carpin (gibel carp) has historically been a culinary paradox: a meat appreciated for its tender texture and its rich protein profile, but a real challenge for the diner due to its more than 80 “Y”-shaped intermuscular spines (IBs). This inconvenience has caused countless incidents in cafeterias and visits to the emergency room, but now China has made a radical decision: rewrite the DNA of the species to adapt it to our needs. The “Zhongke No. 6”. The research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), led by academician Gui Jianfang, has announced success of the creation of a new variety called “Zhongke No. 6”. Unlike other scientific advances that remain in the laboratory, this specimen is a variety specifically designed to reach consumers’ tables and transform the aquaculture industry. Molecular surgery at the embryonic level. The key to success lies in a “surgical attack” on the fish’s genome. Scientists identified the gene runx2b as the “architect” responsible for giving the order to the fish’s body to develop those 80 pesky spines. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, described by researchers Like “molecular scissors,” they cut this specific genetic code during the embryonic stage. The process has proven to be of unprecedented precision. The main skeleton of the crucian carp – spine and ribs – develops completely normally, allowing the fish to grow, swim and stay healthy. However, the biological pathway that activates intramuscular spines, the ones that really get in the way of eating, do not develop. A six-year challenge: From the laboratory to production. Although the announcement of “Zhongke No. 6” is recent, the journey began years ago. According to the scientific journal Aquaculturethe seminal study that demonstrated the viability of these spineless mutants was originally published in early 2023. That initial work was the result of a six-year systematic effort under the CAS strategic program called “Design and Creation of Precision Seeds.” This project is especially complex because the crucian carp is hexaploid (it has six sets of chromosomes), which forced Gui Jianfang’s team to simultaneously edit all copies of the genes involved to ensure that not a single spine appeared in the new generations. More than an easy-to-eat fish. “Zhongke No. 6” has not only been emptied of thorns; has been optimized for industrial efficiency. According to published technical data, this variety presents accelerated growth since it reaches “commercial size” in less time than wild varieties. Additionally, it is designed to survive in dense, intensive aquaculture environments, where diseases often decimate production. Finally, it requires significantly less feed to produce the same amount of protein, reducing costs and the environmental impact of feed. The limit of the natural. However, this scientific advance places us before an uncomfortable mirror. As official sources conclude from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this milestone represents a triumph of applied science that solves an ancient problem, transforming a difficult-to-eat fish into an efficient and safe source of protein. But, from a more critical perspective, an inevitable question arises: by optimizing every stroke of life for our comfort, what are we losing along the way? If we keep editing species so that they grow faster, are more resilient, and have no natural “defects,” we will reach a point where we won’t really know what we are eating. “Zhongke No. 6” is undoubtedly an engineering miracle, but it is also a reminder that the line between nature and the factory is increasingly thin. Image | Needpix Xataka | All the fish we eat are contaminated by methylmercury. But there are only four specific ones to avoid

How Venezuelan crude oil became a risk

by

On December 14, 1922, the Los Barrosos-2 well in Venezuela exploded into a 60-meter geyser of crude oil that took a week to stop. As CNN remembersthat ecological disaster set the country on a path of dazzling wealth and political turmoil that has led, a century later, in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces. While in Washington they celebrate the “Donroe Doctrine”in the control centers of the Cartagena and Bilbao refineries there is a different tension. For Spain, Venezuela is not just foreign policy news; It is an economic black hole of 1,160 million euros. A deficit out of control. The commercial relationship between Spain and Venezuela has gone from being a balanced exchange to a financial abyss. According to data collected by El EconomistaIn 2024, Spain registered a trade deficit of 1,160 million euros with the Caribbean country. It is triple that in 2022 and the highest figure in the last 18 years. The cause is an alarming asymmetry. While our sales barely reach 230 million euros, our purchases have multiplied by 22 since 2021. Spain has become Venezuela’s fourth best customer in the world, behind the US, India and China. However, it is not a diversified purchase but 94.59% of what we import is oil and derivatives. Repsol: the jewel exposed on the board. If there is a proper name in this conflict, it is Repsol. According to Expansionthe Spanish oil company is the company with the most money at stake in the area. Venezuela is not just another asset; is its second largest source of reserves tested in the world (256 million barrels), only behind the United States. This represents almost 15% of the company’s entire underground treasure. But the risk is not only what is underground, but what is owed. Repsol’s equity exposure due to commercial debts of the state-owned PDVSA amounted to 330 million euros in June 2025. In addition, the Spanish oil company extracts 33% of the gas consumed by Venezuela. As the same source points out, without Repsol gas, the Venezuelan economy would come to a standstill, but without Venezuela’s legal security, the Spanish company’s balance sheet could suffer a “hole” of more than 13 billion euros in reserve valuation. The paradox of “heavy food.” Many wonder why Spanish companies insist on a country with obsolete infrastructure. The answer is technical. Venezuela’s oil is “extra-heavy”, dense as tar. Ironically, the oil that the US extracts through fracking is “too good” (light). To produce diesel and asphalt efficiently, Gulf Coast and Spanish refineries need to blend their light crude with Venezuela’s dense “stuff.” However, this is a “gas station without hoses.” The crude oil arrives “dirty” (with excess salt, water and metals) because PDVSA has dismantled pipelines to sell them as scrap. This turns refining into an expensive and risky process that only companies with decades of roots, such as Repsol – since 1993 – dare to manage. The wall of 100,000 million. Trump’s optimism, which already mobilizes private funds of 2 billion dollars led by former Chevron executives, clashes with technical reality. In fact, analysts consulted by The Wall Street Journal They warn that there will not be an immediate miracle. Rebuilding the sector requires an investment of $10 billion a year for a decade. The infrastructure is so deteriorated that PDVSA acknowledges that its pipelines have not been modernized in half a century. The total repair bill amounts to $100 billion. The Trump factor and the “Donroe Doctrine.” In an analysis by market expert Robert Armstrong highlights a paradigm shift: Trump has shown that his geopolitical ideology is above market stability. By capturing Maduro, he has put his legacy at stake for the objective of controlling the energy flow from Alaska to Patagonia. This movement a priori benefits Repsol, which had been negotiating for months to avoid the export blockade. However, the risk is that the US will prioritize the landing of its own colossi (Exxon, Chevron, ConocoPhillips) displacing the European partners that, such as Repsol or the Italian Eni, stayed when the Americans fled during Chávez’s expropriations. A prize with small print. Spain has before it a historic opportunity to recover its investments and lead the reconstruction, given its historical roots. But the 1.16 billion “hole” is only the symptom of a deeper illness: dependence on an asset that requires massive investment to be profitable in a world that is already beginning to say goodbye to fossil fuels. Venezuela continues to be the largest gas station in the world, but today it is a dilapidated facility whose repair bill threatens to stain the balance sheets of the large Spanish company if the transition is not “surgical.” Image | Pexels and Repsol Xataka | Venezuela has shown that the US can find anyone no matter how hidden they are. You only have to invoke one name: RQ-170

The computers of the future have found an unexpected ally to store information: fungi

by

Bioelectronics has been studying for some time the possibility of taking advantage of living organisms in order to produce electrical activity and, in some way, take advantage of it to make our machines work. Although at first glance it could be a topic worthy of the Matrix script, the truth is that there is a whole fascinating world in that of the memristors based on organic elements. Some researchers have found the key to demonstrate how the mycelium of mushrooms such as shiitake can function as a memristor, an electrical component with the ability to ‘remember’ past states. This discovery could be the key to a new generation of sustainable and biodegradable electronic devices. What is a memristor and why does it matter? A memristor is an electronic component that combines the functions of memory and resistance, capable of “remembering” previous electrical states. They are currently manufactured with materials such as titanium dioxide between two metal electrodes, but their production requires scarce minerals and polluting and high-cost industrial processes. Hence the importance of looking for more sustainable alternatives through organic materials. How mycelium works as memory. John LaRocco’s team at Ohio State University grew shiitake mushrooms in Petri dishes until complete development. They then dehydrated them in the sun, turning them into rigid disc-shaped structures that can be rehydrated when necessary. By connecting electrodes to these samples and applying different voltages, discovered that the mycelium presents conductive structures similar to conventional ‘memristors’. According to LaRocco, “if we could develop a microchip that mimicked real neural activity, we could dramatically reduce the amount of energy consumed when the machine is not in use.” The results of the experiment. After two months of testing, the shiitake-based memristor demonstrated the ability to change electrical state up to 5,850 times per second with an accuracy close to 90%. When they applied a specific sine wave, the characteristic figure-eight curve of an ideal memristor appeared, confirming that the mycelium indeed remembers electrical flow. Although performance eventually decreased at higher frequencies, connecting multiple samples improved stability, something the researchers compared to the network effect of neural connections in the brain. Vadvantages over traditional semiconductors. The main attraction of these biological memristors is its sustainability. Mushrooms are developed from organic biomass, they are biodegradable and their environmental impact is minimal. Furthermore, growing them is economical and their production can be easily scalable, from small laboratory experiments to industrial manufacturing. Additionally, fungi have exceptional radiation resistance, which could also make them especially valuable for aerospace applications. Potential applications and pending challenges. The flexibility and scalability of these components opens up possibilities in fields from extreme environment computing and space exploration to autonomous systems and wearable devices. However, significant obstacles remain. And just as they count from Wired, current samples are too large and need to be miniaturized to compete with existing microchips. Furthermore, the electrical properties of mycelium vary between samples even grown in the same medium, which makes its stable industrial manufacture difficult. Next steps in the investigation. The team plans to develop techniques to grow mycelium and give it an ideal shape using 3D printing and methods for incorporating electrical contacts during cultivation. They are also exploring the optimal way to preserve it long-term, combining techniques such as freeze-drying and special coatings. “Society is increasingly aware of the need to protect our environment and preserve it for future generations, and that could be one of the driving factors for new biocompatible ideas like these,” pointed out Qudsia Tahmina, co-author of the study. Beyond mushrooms. This is not the only organic material that has demonstrated ‘memristive’ properties. Researchers from other universities They have experimented with honey and human bloodexploring their possibilities as biodegradable electronic components. Honey, for example, can change resistance in just 500 nanoseconds and is completely biodegradable. In the case of blood, scientists in India discovered in 2011 that it could function as a memristor by applying different voltages, keeping the resistance stable for at least 30 minutes. Cover image | Yuval Zukerman In Xataka | In the midst of the RAM memory crisis, Samsung takes a leap with its HBM4 memory. It does not imply good news for the pocket

To take photos, I am clear about which phone I would buy right now. A high-end that does not increase too much in price

by

I have never been a big lover of photography because until a few years ago it had not really caught my attention. But I have been experimenting little by little and Nowadays on a mobile I prefer to prioritize this section before even the power. Although in some cases good power and good photography go hand in hand in the high range, there are times when this is not the case. Here, for color tastes. But me right now I don’t even remotely take advantage of the power that this type of mobile provides.so if I buy one right now I am clear that I would bet on the Google Pixel 10. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A mobile phone with a great photographic section For many years I have played mobile games that were quite demanding. Currently, I only play one or two games very occasionally and they usually require quite low performance or power, as is the case of the Solitaire or, to a lesser extent, ‘Balatro‘. On the other hand, what I am taking advantage of right now is the photographic section of the Xiaomi 14T. I quite like to play with the options offered by the cameras signed by Leicaso it is clearer than water that the next mobile phone I would buy right now is Google’s. He Google Pixel 10like the rest of the brand’s models, has the particularity of having as a base the Google app. Yes, this can be adapted with the GCam in other mobile phones, but to this we must add excellent processing and a five-fold telephoto. The photographic section, focusing on the camera module, is made up of a 50 MP wide-angle sensor, a 13 MP ultra-wide angle sensor and a 10.8 MP telephoto sensor. It is also worth mentioning that it comes with Camera Coachwhich for those less versed in the subject may be attractive to receive recommendations through artificial intelligence. You may also be interested Spigen Ultra Hybrid MagFit Case for Google Pixel 10/10 Pro Compatible with Pixelsnap and MagSafe – Clear White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit Optik Camera Protector for Google Pixel 10, 2 Units, Transparent, Crystal Clear, Full Coverage, Installation Kit, 9H Hardness, Anti-Scratch The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Pepu RiccaGoogle In Xataka | The best mobile phones (2025), we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | The best quality-price mobiles (2025). Their analyzes and videos are here

Science has discovered that the original “home” of primates was the cold of the north

by

The mental image is almost universal: an ape-like ancestor jumping among vines in a hot, humid jungle. For almost a century, paleoanthropology has assumed that primates are children of the tropics, however, an ambitious study published in PNAS by researcher Jorge Avaria-Llautureo and his team has blown up this paradigm, since they have seen that the primates were not looking for the sun. The ‘Tropical Dogma’. Until now, the predominant theory regarding evolution pointed out that primates evolved in warm, stable climateswhere food, such as fruits, were available all year round. In this way, it would only be millions of years later when some species had ventured into more hostile climates such as extreme cold. A great twist of script. Science has changed this paradigm by analyzing data from none other than 66 million years of history. To do this they have crossed the fossil record with climatic reconstructions that were made with great precision to see that the ancestors of all current primates originated in environments that had significantly low temperatures. Nothing to do with the tropical and arid landscapes that we may have had in mind until now. Survival training. How is it possible that a species that we associate with the jungle was born in areas that today would be equivalent to temperate or even boreal forests? The answer is in the adaptability. Science points in this case to the fact that early primates lived at high latitudes in the northern hemisphere, as is Eurasia and North America. And at that time, they were not constant paradises, since the animals had to deal with months of cold where the plants did not bear fruit. Your adaptation. This forced primates to stop being “fruit specialists” and become generalists capable of eating insects, shoots or bark, when the weather got bad enough. And this was crucial for their biology, since their metabolism was forced to adapt to these extreme conditions, which resulted in a brutal competitive advantage when they finally expanded. The researchers point out that this metabolic adaptation to tolerate adverse climates was the basis on which their evolutionary success was based. The paradox of the Tropics. If they were born in the cold, why do almost everyone live on the equator today? The study reveals a fascinating phenomenon: southward migration. And as the global climate changed, primates moved towards tropical bands. There they found an environment where their ‘survival kit’, which was developed in very harsh conditions, allowed them to thrive with great ease. That is why the Tropics were not where primates were made, but rather it is where they diversified explosively because, compared to the north, life there was much easier and they had a large amount of food. In short, the tropics were a refuge for biodiversity, but the spark that makes us primates was lit in the cold. Change the rules of the game. In addition to seeing the past differently with this new study, it also forces us to look at the future differently. Specifically, understanding how species moved between thermal niches over millions of years is vital to predicting how today’s primates will respond to climate change. global warming accelerated. But it also lets us see that if primates have an important history of resistance to cold and seasonal scarcity, it opens the door to our own ability as humans to colonize all corners of the planet as a form of evolution. Images | Anthony In Xataka | Human evolution has not stopped: in fact, there are reasons to think that it is more accelerated than ever

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

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

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

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