Month: April 2026

Almost 20 years ago Iceland stumbled across a pocket of magma by chance. They found a vein of unlimited energy

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The search for alternative energy sources to classic fossil fuels has led countries to use the resources they have available at their fingertips: (it is not the only thing but) Spain has sun and wind, Japan has waves and Iceland has volcanoes, many volcanoes. But unleashing the full potential of geothermal energy It is difficult: to begin with, to understand how magma chambers work, science has studied lavas that have already erupted, however they lose essential information when they violently come to the surface. This data gap is a huge obstacle to taking advantage of it, but an accident that occurred in 2009 could change everything: a drilling Iceland Deep Drilling Project touched live magma when no one expected it at just 2,104 meters deep, in the Krafla volcanic field, in northeast Iceland. What began as a mishap has become a fascinating geological experiment in recent history and a real gateway to safely exploiting geothermal energy. The discovery. Upon contact with the magma, the drilling fluids cooled the molten material in a few seconds, generating fragments of volcanic glass. This glass is a treasure for analyzing magma: normally it is not possible to carry out an analysis with the material that comes out of volcanic eruptions because it is shot like shrapnel, changing temperature and pressure. But a new study led by Janine Birnbaum and her team at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in Munich have analyzed these crystals, solving yet another little problem: that rapid cooling distorts the chemistry of the material. The analysis yielded good news: the magma was stored in conditions of saturation of volatiles at lithostatic pressure, that is, completely loaded with energy and gases, despite being so close to the surface. Why is it important. It has two most advantageous direct readings: that it has more usable energy than previously thought and that it can be drilled in a controlled manner without exploding. From an energy point of view, it is revolutionary because it validates the viability of Magma-enhanced Geothermal Systems, an evolution of conventional geothermal that seeks to extract heat directly from the vicinity of a magmatic body or superhot rocks (when they exceed 374 °C). A well under these conditions has an energy transport capacity between 5 and 10 times greater than traditional geothermal energy, as CATF explainsa nonprofit organization specializing in energy policy. But for the first time there is a robust mathematical tool to predict the behavior of magma during drilling. This is essential for security, critical when considering this resource as exploitable or not. In fact, it can applied already in a veteran projecthe Krafla Magma Testbedwhich has been running since 2014 with this goal in mind. Exploitation diagram of a superhot rock. CATF Context. Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the border between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, making it one of the most geologically active territories on the planet. Nearly 30% of its electricity already comes from geothermal sources and almost 66% comes from renewable sources, according to IRENAbut this constitutes a giant step to continue delving into geothermal energy. Until now, conventional geothermal energy is limited to extracting heat from groundwater at temperatures between 150 and 300 °C. He IDDP (Iceland Deep Drilling Project) is the research program in which both scientific organizations and Icelandic energy companies have participated since the 2000s. Following the 2009 incident, the KMT project emerged in 2014 with an even greater ambition: not to stop at drilling near the magma, but inside it, but in an intentional and controlled way. How they do it. The methodology is based on the quenchingthe rapid tempering of the samples obtained by drilling the magma, which become vitrified. The scientific team analyzed its water content, carbon dioxide and the structure of vapor bubbles that formed during cooling. From these measurements, they built numerical simulations of how bubbles grow and are reabsorbed under different pressure and temperature trajectories, using H₂O and CO₂ diffusion models. already validated. These models use the speed at which bubbles try to escape the magma during drilling to reverse engineer what the exact pressure and volatile content were before the drill bit acted. The solution they obtained was magma at a lithostatic pressure of between 50 and 57 MPa and a temperature of approximately 900 °C. The KMT’s plan now is to use this model to design the two wells it plans to drill. Yes, but. The model is solid and the paper has passed peer review in the demanding Nature, but the engineering challenge remains stratospheric. Just because magma is safe to drill into in theory doesn’t mean it the engineering to do it on an industrial scale is resolved (spoiler: it is not): it is necessary to use materials and sensors capable of withstanding these extreme temperatures in a sustained manner and the chemistry of these environments is corrosive. On the other hand, there is geographical limitation: this technique is mainly applicable in rift zones or hot spots where the magma is at reachable depths (less than five kilometers). Expanding this technology worldwide will require drilling up to 10 kilometers, where the pressure and heat exceed the current capabilities of most oilfield and geothermal services companies. In Xataka | It is very cold outside the European Union: this is something that Norway and Switzerland are discovering with the gas crisis In Xataka | With oil skyrocketing, Japan has resurrected an old idea to extract infinite energy from the ocean Cover | Diego Delso and Einar Jónsson

19 Essential Excel Formulas to Master the Application

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We are going to tell you the 19 Essential Excel Formulaswith a compilation for you to squeeze out the spreadsheets of Microsoft Office. Excel. This tool is together with Google Sheets one of the best alternatives to create spreadsheets, and these resources are initial ideas so you can see what you can do with it. And if you don’t know enough, remember that we have also shown you the best excel tricks. Excel formulas are the heart of the program, since they are what will allow you to do all types of calculations, and they can adapt the program to your needs. Today we will review the most useful formulas for the general public, with examples of how to use each. Excel files can be opened in other appsremember it, but if you use another one, the way you proceed with the formulas could be different. And these formulas are our basic proposals, but don’t be afraid to modify or combine them. And if you think there is any other that should be on the list, we invite you to tell us in the comments section so that other readers can benefit from the knowledge of our xatakeros. Simple math operations Before getting into more complicated formulas, let’s see how to do the simpler math operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Technically only the sum is a formula, since in the rest of the cases special operators are used. ADDITION– This formula adds the values ​​of the cells inside it. Supports both separate cells and intervals. Example: =SUM(A1:A50) Subtractions: To subtract the values ​​of two cells you must use the subtraction symbol “-” between them. Example: = A2 – A3 Multiplications: to multiply the values ​​of two cells you must insert an asterisk * between them. Example: = A1 * A3 * A5 * A8 Divisions: to divide the values ​​of two cells you must include the line / between them. Example: = A2 / C2 Excel respects the logical order of mathematical operations (multiplications and divisions first, then addition and subtraction) and supports the use of parenthesis to give priority to some operations over others. This way, you can create formulas like = (A1 + C2) * C7 / 10 + (D2 – D1). AVERAGE The average formula returns the value of arithmetic average of the cells you pass or range of cells you pass as a parameter. This result is also known as the mean or arithmetic mean. Use:=AVERAGE (cells with numbers) Example:=AVERAGE (A2:B2) MAX and MIN If instead of wanting to know the arithmetic mean you want to know what the highest value or lowest value of a set, you have at your disposal two formulas with predictable names: MAX and MIN. You can use them with separate cells or ranges of cells. Use: =MAX(cells) / =MIN(cells) Example: =MAX(A2:C8) / =MIN(A2,B4,C3,29) YES.ERROR SI.ERROR is a formula that will get you out of more than one trouble. With it you can avoid mistakes #DIV/0! and the like. This formula allows you return a value in case another operation fails. This is quite common with divisions, since any division by zero will give an error, which can cause a chain reaction of errors. The operation in question can be an operation or any other formula. Use: =IF.ERROR( operation, value if there is an error) Example: =IF.ERROR (MAX(A2:A3) / MIN(C3:F9),”There has been an error”) YEAH SI is one of the most powerful formulas in EXCEL and with it you can return a different result depending on if the condition is met. This way, you could use it to have one cell say “APPROVED” if another is a number greater than 5, or “SUSPENDED” if it is less. Use: =IF(condition, value if the condition is met, value if it is not met) Example: =YES(B2=”Madrid”,”Spain”,”Other country”) WILL COUNT COUNTA is one of the formulas for counting values. Unlike simple COUNT, WILL COUNT also count values ​​that are not numbers. The only thing it ignores are empty cells, so it can be useful for you to know how many entries a table has, regardless of whether the data is numeric or not. Use: =COUNT(range of cells) Example: =COUNT(A:A) COUNTIF The COUNTIF formula is a kind of mixture of the previous two. It will count the specified range of cells as long as when they meet certain requirements. These may have a certain value or meet certain conditions. Use: =COUNTIF(cell range, criterion) Example: =COUNTIF(C2:C, “Pepe”) SUM IF This is the equivalent for sums of the previous one. SUMIF is just as essential and very intuitive for users who already understand COUNTIF: it adds only the values ​​that meet a given criterion, without the need to manually filter. Use: =SUMIF(criterion_range; criterion, sum_range) Example: =SUMIF(B2:B50; “Madrid”; C2:C50) → adds all the values ​​of C only when the corresponding cell in B says “Madrid”. RANDOM.BETWEEN This formula generates a random number between two other given numbers, and is therefore ideal when you need to choose something at random. The generated number changes each time the sheet is regenerated (for example, when you type a new value). Use: =RANDOM.BETWEEN(smallest number; largest number) Example: =RANDOM.BETWEEN (1;10) DAYS The date calculations They are always a tricky subject if you have to do them by hand, but everything is much easier when a formula does the hard work for you. DAYS he tells you number of days difference between two dates. Use: =DAYS(first date, second date) Example: =DAYS (“2/2/2018”, B2) NOW Another Excel essential is the NOW formula. This generates the date for the current moment and it is data that will be automatically updated every time you open the sheet or its values ​​are recalculated (because you change a cell, for example). This formula does not require any parameters. Use: =NOW() Example: =NOW() DAYSEM SEMDAY is another useful formula related to dates, which returns numerically the day of the week of a date. Monday is 1, Tuesday is 2, and so on, although there are several ways to start … Read more

Science now suggests that it also improves mood (even decaffeinated)

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For many of us, life doesn’t begin until we drink our first cup of coffee in the morning to receive the morning rush that we directly associate with the power of caffeine. But the reality is that this is not the culprit, but rather the coffee itself (even without caffeine) and its interaction with the microbiota It is our digestive system that is truly responsible for our high. What has been seen? A recent and exhaustive study published in the prestigious magazine Nature has shown than regular coffee consumption drastically modifies our intestinal microbiomewhich is increasingly beginning to have more relevance. And, through the well-known gut-brain axis, which can be imagined as a highway that connects both places, this drink is capable of improving our mood and reducing stress. An experiment. To reach this result, the research team recruited 31 regular coffee drinkers, who consumed between 3 and 5 cups a day. But at the same time they also needed 31 people not to drink any coffee. From here, regular consumers were subjected to what was probably the worst fortnight of their lives: two weeks without drinking any coffee. The good news is that, after this period, the drink was reintroducedbut in a controlled way, separating the subjects between those who drank normal coffee and those who drank decaffeinated coffee. The result. Through stool and blood analysis, along with psychological and cognitive tests, it was possible to see that when coffee was reintroduced, markers of perceived stress plummeted and mood improved. And since decaf achieved the same psychological impact, the researchers concluded that what is responsible for making us feel good is not (only) caffeine, but the bioactive compounds in coffee feeding our bacteria. Because? When we are drinking coffee, the reality is that we drink a powerful cocktail of polyphenols and chlorogenic acids that act as prebiotics, making them perfect food for certain beneficial bacteria that live in our colon. Here the study detected that coffee promotes the growth of some specific species such as Eggertella sp. as well as an increase in the Firmicutes family. Although they have very strange names (like almost everything in microbiology), these microorganisms are health factories, since when they digest the compounds, short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate are produced. And these metabolites travel from the intestine to the brain, reducing neuronal inflammation and modulating the production of neurotransmitters key to well-being. There are many tests. In addition to this study, there are other different ones, such as one published in 2024 that linked coffee consumption to an increase in bacteria Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticusa powerful butyrate producer strongly linked to intestinal and mental health. but another published in 2022 showed that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee mitigated depressive behaviors and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, normalizing the microbiota deregulated by lack of rest. More than a stimulant. For decades, coffee’s relationship with gastrointestinal health has been a topic of debate that is often blamed on reflux. However, current evidence paints a very different picture in moderate doses, since here it is an active tool to maintain a diverse intestinal ecosystem and is also positive to protect us against other diseases. Images | prostooleh on Freepik In Xataka | If the question is “how much caffeine is in each cup of coffee or tea,” this graph offers insightful answers.

the last time all humans were on Earth

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It sounds like the beginning of a work of science fiction, but it is a quiet milestone in the history of our species. On Tuesday, October 31, 2000 marked the last day in which every human being on the planet was on this side of the atmosphere. Since then, there has not been a single moment in which all of humanity has been confined to our home planet. A historic launch. That October 31, 2000, A Soyuz spacecraft took off from the Baikonur Cosmodromein Kazakhstan, carrying Expedition 1 of the International Space Station on board: American commander Bill Shepherd of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko of Roscosmos. The crew arrived at a fledgling ISS on November 2, 2000. It only had a couple of modules (the Russian Zarya and the American Unity, assembled in 1998), but since then, the orbital laboratory has been occupied continuously. For 24 and a half years, there is always a human floating about 400 kilometers above our heads. A quarter of a century. The International Space Station is a collaborative project between five space agencies (the American NASA, the Russian Roscosmos, the European ESA, the Japanese JAXA and the Canadian CSA). It is not only a symbol of international cooperation, but an unparalleled scientific laboratory, which orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at a speed of almost 28,000 km/h. In this quarter of a century, the orbital station has reached a habitable volume greater than that of a six-bedroom house, with a wingspan of 109 meters and an average of seven people always on board. It can dock up to eight spacecraft simultaneously and has hosted almost 3,000 investigations from more than 108 countries, taking advantage of microgravity to study everything from particle physics to the effects of space travel on the human body. The ISS passes the baton. Aged and with age-related ailmentslike the air leaks that cause headaches for its operators, the ISS partners plan to abandon it in 2030, before a ship developed by SpaceX tow it to a safe place for atmospheric reentry. NASA’s strategy is clear: move from being the primary owner and operator to becoming a key customer, thus ensuring continued human presence in low-Earth orbit. This will allow further research in microgravity (which is crucial for future missions to the Moon and Mars), maintain international collaboration and foster a commercial space economy. USA announced last year its intention to reduce the budget allocated to the ISS hoping for a quick transition to new commercial space stations. Companies like Axiom Space (with its Axiom Sation project), Blue Origin (with its Orbital Reef) or Voyager Space (with Starlab, in collaboration with Airbus) are developing new private orbital platforms. What if they are not ready on time? If commercial stations do not arrive by 2030, humanity will continue to inhabit low orbit thanks to China. Banned from the ISS, China has expanded its presence in space with Tiangong space stationcontinuously inhabited since 2022. Not only does China plan to double its size from three to six modules in the coming years, but it is already opening its doors to international cooperation, as demonstrated by the recent agreement to train and send Pakistani astronauts to the Chinese space station. With NASA focusing on a business model and deep space exploration, Beijing is strategically positioned as a central player and potential alternative in low orbit, especially for nations seeking to collaborate outside the American framework. A changing environment. But there is another reason why the United States has focused on the Moon and Mars. Low Earth orbit faces the increasingly critical challenge of space debris. Millions of objects, from dead satellites and rocket upper stages to small undetectable fragments generated by collisions or anti-satellite missile tests. This debris travels at enormous speeds and represents a constant and potentially catastrophic collision risk for astronauts. The ISS itself has had to carry out numerous evasive maneuvers in recent years. Managing this problem through better tracking systems (especially for small objects), active removal of the most dangerous debris and, above all, prevention and mitigation in the generation of new space debris (such as rapid deorbitation of rocket stages) will be essential to ensure the safety of future crews in the long term. For now, and for just over 25 years, we continue to inhabit the space. October 31, 2000 was the last day of an era in which humanity was anchored exclusively to the Earth. Since then we have been, without interruption, a species with an extraterrestrial presence. Human permanence off Earth seems assured, but its sustainability will require even more effort and global cooperation. Image | THAT In Xataka | Elon Musk has made public his latest recommendation for Trump: deorbit the International Space Station in two years In Xataka | Boeing has lost: NASA will cancel the SLS rocket and look for a cheaper alternative to colonize the Moon and Mars A version of this article was published in May 2025

The best offers from MediaMarkt and El Corte Inglés in technology and entertainment, today April 25

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We are ending a month of April in which we have been able to find many discounts on both technology and entertainment products. MediaMarkt and El Corte Inglés will now have a good assortment of discounts throughout the weekend, so in this article we have put together the five best deals we’ve found. Google Pixel 10a by 499 eurosa good mobile if you are looking for a balance between price, quality and software updates. Roborock Qrevo Edge 5V1 by 479.20 eurosa robot vacuum cleaner that vacuums, mops and includes a self-emptying base. nintendo switch 2 by 489 eurosa pack that includes the console, a video game and a keychain. Kobo Clara BW by 129 eurosa good e-book reader for reading at home or on the subway. Pirates of the Caribbean Lego by 279.99 eurosa great construction set that has many details of Jack Sparrow’s ship. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google Pixel 10a He Google Pixel 10a It has dropped in price to what is MediaMarkt’s all-time low. You can find it by 499 euros (before 549 euros) and it is ideal if you are looking for a mobile 6.3 inch compactthat will be updated for many years (seven in total) and that offers good performance. Furthermore, although they are not on par with their older brothers because they are ultimately more expensive, they have very good cameras. Google Pixel 10a (128GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Roborock Qrevo Edge 5V1 Nowadays we can find many robot vacuum cleaners, and some have exorbitant prices. He Roborock Qrevo Edge 5V1 is precisely one of them, although El Corte Inglés now has it much cheaper: for 479.20 euros instead of 999 euros. It stands out mainly for its self-emptying base, because it vacuums and mops the floor using two mops, has laser navigation and offers good suction power. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 Another one! MediaMarkt has launched a new pack of the nintendo switch 2but this time it includes a different video game: ‘Pokémon Pokopia‘. Additionally, the store is giving away a ‘Mario Kart World’ keychain. All this for 489 euros. It is an especially interesting combo if you are looking for a fun and relaxed experience, since it is a relaxed title very far from what we usually see in the Pokémon saga. Nintendo Switch 2 + Pokémon Pokopia + keychain The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kobo Clara BW If now that we have passed Book Day you want to encourage yourself to read more, MediaMarkt has lowered the price of the Kobo Clara BWone of the most interesting readers to read at home or away. Because? Basically because it comes with a six-inch screen, so the size of the reader is small so you can store it almost anywhere. In addition, it is waterproof and its battery lasts for weeks. Now you can find it by 129 euros instead of 149 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Pirates of the Caribbean Lego If you like the Pirates of the Caribbean saga and are looking for a relaxing experience assembling a good Lego set, El Corte Inglés has the Jack Sparrow’s ship for a price of 279.99 euros instead of 349.99 euros. This is a 2,862-piece set that includes eight minifigures and has a fairly large size of 64 cm high, 64 cm long and 23 cm wide. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (10365) 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. Image | MediaMarkt, El Corte Inglés and Compradicción (header), Google, Roborock, Nintendo, Rakuten Kobo, Lego In Xataka | The best mobile phones (2026), we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best robot vacuum cleaners in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

If the question is whether the rich are born or made, the answer is condensed in a graph that shows that Spain is different

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Globally, the distribution of wealth is not only measured by how much money the richest have, but also by the economic flow and what it is like. the architecture of success that each country has built. The balance between “own merit” and “cradle” defines the identity of an economy: while in some countries they function as innovation laboratories where fortunes emerge from nothing, in others they function as a kind of safe deposit box where heritage is transmitted from generation to generation like a modern noble title. This chart from the German economic data analysis platform DataPulse and is made from Forbes data for June 2025. At that time, the business magazine counted 2,838 billionaires around the world. Forbes ranks each using its own scoring system (Self-Made score), which ranges from 1 to 10 according to the weight of the inheritance versus one’s own merit. The overall result is clear: two out of every three millionaires are millionaires because they “made themselves.” But this statement hides abysmal differences that reflect how economic power works in each society. By the way, a global fact that the graph itself highlights: between 2024 and 2025 the total wealth of all the billionaires in the world grew by 13.4%. According to the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025that growth pushed aggregate wealth to an all-time high of $15.8 trillion. Wealth: Self-made vs. inheritances. Data Pulse with data from Forbes Where does the fortune of the world’s richest come from: inheritance or self-made? The upper area of ​​the graph is where those countries are located where it is easier to get rich on your own and is led by Russia and China: both appear with 97% of billionaires self-madethe highest percentage in the world. They may be entrepreneurial countries, but the true differential feature must be found in their history: their respective revolutions of the 20th century They destroyed any inheritable private capital (the Bolshevik in 1917 and the Maoist in 1949). So technically, their fortunes are first generation because they couldn’t be from any other. However, this small print also includes Forbes’ conception of Self-made: In the Russian case, the main oligarchs accumulated their wealth in the 90s by taking advantage of Yeltsin’s savage privatizations. He Harvard’s Wilson Center says it loud and clear: It was one of the largest transfers of public wealth into private hands in modern history. Calling it self-made is at least generous. Although the United States is the country with the most millionaires in number with almost 924 people and according to the UBS Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025 74% of them are self-made, not the one that appears higher in the graph. The United Kingdom, Canada and Israel stand out there. What they all have in common are economies with developed capital markets, active venture capital ecosystems and legal frameworks that facilitate the creation and scaling of companies. In Germany, France or Spain inheritance rules. The Western European bloc is the area where inherited wealth weighs the most, with Germany as an extreme case: only 25% of its rich people are so because they built their own fortune. Family Capital explains it quite well: the ten largest German assets are all linked to family businesses. There are no great new generation technological fortunes. What there are are “old-fashioned” names, such as the Quandts at BMW, the Albrechts behind Aldi or the Würths: post-war industrial dynasties that have passed down their empires from generation to generation. Spain and France embrace a similar logic: they have legal frameworks that strongly protect intergenerational wealth transmission, scarcity and/or weakness of a technological ecosystem comparable to that which exists in the Anglo-Saxon or Asian ecosystem, and a business culture where family control of capital is considered a value in itself. Just above Germany is Spain, which has second place in the world in percentage of inherited wealth, with 74% of its billionaires in that category and only 26% self-made. Although there is the occasional green shoot of a modernized economy, it is residual: Spanish wealth is historically concentrated in a very small number of families with dominant positions in sectors with little competition. In short, generally In Spain wealth comes from dad. As in Germany, the names in the Spanish state are great classics: the Ortega family with Inditex, the Del Pino with Ferrovial, the March, the Entrecanales or the Lara. They are fortunes built for the most part during the Franco regime or the transition, in a context of little competition, privileged access to credit and close relations with political power. The result is what the graph shows: a country where becoming a billionaire from scratch is statistically almost an anomaly. In Xataka | We thought that millionaires had their fortune rain down from the sky without the slightest effort: Spain is different In Xataka | The “Great Transfer of Wealth” is not only a thing for the rich: demographic change will concentrate wealth among the youngest Cover | DataPulse

Spain 1- Hungary 0. MG chooses Spain for its European electric car factory, according to Bloomberg

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MG is one of the Chinese fashion brands in Spain. It is the company that dominates the market by sales volume, among other things thanks to its clear focus on the entry-level or mid-range. Its figures in the Spanish state rise like foam: In 2025 they sold 45,163 units and grew by 46.78%. In the midst of the global structural reconfiguration of the sector towards electric mobility enhanced by an EU that does not hesitate to try to regulate the market in favor of classic players located in its territory against the deluge in quantity, quality and price made in ChinaSAIC motor has made a move to protect its piece of the pie in the old continent: set up a plant to act as a European hub. Anonymous sources They have leaked to Bloomberg that the chosen destination is Spain. MG Choose Spain. SAIC Motor, one of the China’s largest automakers by volumeplans to establish its first electric vehicle production plant in Europe within Spanish territory. Anonymous sources linked to the sector they point out to Bloomberg that the decision is not yet final and that key details such as the size of the investment, production capacity or deadlines are missing. As explains The EconomistSAIC Motor has been studying options within the Spanish state for more than a year, which has experience in the deployment of electric vehicle platforms under the umbrella of government incentives. Why is it important. For SAIC Motor the answer is simple: investment is critical to mitigate the impact of the tariffs that the EU applies to Chinese manufacturers. By producing on European soil, MG escapes these taxes, which allows it to continue maintaining its aggressive pricing strategy, essential for its rapid growth. From a technical point of view, having a plant here would allow it to better adapt its models to the standards and tastes of the European consumer, in addition to reducing its logistical footprint. Spain It is the second European automobile producer and ninth in the world, with almost 2.3 million vehicles produced in 2025 according to ANFAC data. The arrival of a brand with the sales volume of MG represents traction for the entire automotive and associated industry, in the face of a panorama of forced transition from combustion engines and with an uncertain future of its most historic plants. That the industry shifts from fossil fuel engines to electromobility is key so that it does not lose relevance in the state GDP. Context. After eight months of investigation, Brussels determined that Chinese electric manufacturers receive state subsidies that distort competition and threaten millions of European jobs, so producing these cars on the old continent avoids those tariffs in the bud. The final tariffs approved by the European Commission applicable to BEVs imported from China are: BYD Group, 17%; Geely Group, 18.8%; SAIC Group, 35.3%, among others. To that we must add 10% base. Bottom line: SAIC Motor Corporation Limited is more interested than anyone in finding a solution. Despite this, they are selling cars like hotcakes: just look at any recent ranking of best-selling cars. Chinese brands have found two ways to avoid tariffs: establish factories within Europe or import vehicles in unassembled kits (CKD) to assemble them on European soil. SAIC aims to combine both phases. What Spain has that Hungary does not have. The eastern European country has until now been the favorite of Chinese manufacturers in terms of electric cars and batteries and there are no shortage of reasons to choose it: it offers lower labor costs, it has a geographically central position in Europe and direct links with China through the Belt and Road Initiative (Belt and Road). In addition, it already accumulates investments from BYD, CATL either NIOas well as other classic actors in the industry. Spain adds to its industrial muscle and its consolidated experience in the sector an advantage that Hungary does not have: a market where MG already leads sales and an ecosystem that is fully activated. In addition to having efficiency as a flag, in the words of the Spanish Minister of IndustryJordi Hereu. But there is a key milestone: the Figueruelas (Zaragoza) plant now has a date for make Leapmotor electric vehicles starting in October of this year, combining Chinese technology and Spanish production, consolidating a model in which SAIC can be reflected. Zaragoza is not only a precedent: it is proof that Spain can accommodate the Chinese electricity transition without industrial or political friction. All the pools point to Galicia. In the absence of official confirmation and knowing more details, the location for the future plant What sounds the most is Galicia: has extensive industrial experience linked to the sector, a consolidated chain of suppliers, the Salvaterra-As Neves logistics platform and the proximity to the port of Vigo, which opens the doors to maritime connections with the United Kingdom, northern Europe and Atlantic markets. The icing on the cake: the president of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, focused on his recent official trip to China in strengthening commercial relations in the automotive industry and in his busy schedule he had time to visit the SAIC factories and hold a meeting with the board of directors. First steps. Unveil Galicia Press that the model initially proposed for its Spanish plant points to CKD assembly, with the possibility of evolving towards full production according to sources in the sector. That is, the main components of the vehicle are manufactured at source and sent in pieces to the new factory for final assembly. Leo Zhang, head of SAIC for Spain and Portugal, has already spoken profitability of a possible European plant: from around 250,000 units per year. Although it is unknown which model they will start with (there are those who point to the utility vehicle MG2, direct rival of the Renault 5 and the future Volkswagen ID.2), if there is an orientation regarding deadlines: SAIC intends launch the first model manufactured in Europe in 2027. Yes, but. The news rests on anonymous … Read more

In 1972, a Swedish model posed nude for ‘Playboy’. Years later, we have the JPEG format thanks to this

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The one of Lena Sjööblom It is one of the most delirious races in the history of technology. To begin with, because when she made her mark in the sector she was not an engineer, nor a mathematician, nor a physicist, nor anything that resembled her in the slightest. Nor did it have any known “Eureka” moment nor did it contribute any discovery or invention. No. Sjööblom was a model. From a model she became what was then known as a “Playboy girl.” And from the pages of the nude magazine he jumped to the front-line research that today, half a century later, allows us to enjoy the JPEG image format. Let’s go in parts. In the early 70s, Sjööblom, a 21-year-old Swedish immigrant Recently landed in the US, she made a living as a model. To make her way and probably without the slightest idea of ​​the journey her image would end up taking, at the end of 1972 she agreed to pose nude for Playboya magazine that at that time sold millions of copies around the world. In one of the central photos that he took of him Dwight Hookerone of the most famous portrait painters of the city, appears from behind, in front of a mirror, with no clothes other than a hat, a red boa, stockings and heels. I liked his work. A lot. At least that’s what we can deduce if we take into account that the November 1972 issue, in which Sjööblom was the playmate main feature and Pamela Rawlings was on the cover, sold 7.16 million copiesmaking it the most successful in the magazine’s entire history. The pose became so famous that in 1973 Woody Allen He even snuck it into one of his movies. As often happens with fame, that sudden public interest came, swept away and, with it, evaporated. Sjööblom continued her modeling career and, once retired, returned to Sweden. Chances of life, one of those 7.16 million copies of the 1972 magazine ended up in the hands of a person linked to the Signal Image Processing Institute (SIPI) of the University of South Carolinaa laboratory in which, at that time, they worked on image processing and were laying the foundations of what would end up being the JPEG and MPEG standards. The coincidence would not be of greater interest if it were not for the fact that that reader took his Playboy to SIPI at the right time: just when They were looking for an image for their tests. The right place, at the right time Today it may seem crazy for someone to show up at the office with a nude magazine under their arm. Not in the 70s. As Lorena Fernández remembersof the University of Deustoin The Conversationnot only was it common for the staff to show themselves with their Playboy in teams that, like Carolina’s, were made up solely of men. It was even well seen, just like doing it today with The Times or the guide with the programming of La 2 documentaries. In that context, the arrival of Sjööblom’s photos was as well received as it was proverbial. Around June or July 1973, electrical engineering professor Alexander Swachuk, one of his graduate students, and the manager of SIPI were madly looking for a photo that they could scan and include in one of their presentations on image compression. They had their own stock, of course, but it was made up of files inherited from the boring and trite television standards of the early ’60s. The Swachuk Team I wanted a human face and an image that was also bright to guarantee a good output dynamic range. And what better option —they thought— that Sjööblom’s face? Skipping all the rules on property rights and decorum, the researchers used the image of Playboy. They kept only the top third of the magazine’s central poster and placed it under their muirhead scannerequipped with analog-digital converters and a minicomputer Hewlett Packard 2100. Jamie Hutchinson details To stay with a section of 512×512 pixels, they scanned 5.12 inches of the top of the photo, which in practice showed only Lena Sjööblom’s face, her shoulders and part of her bare back. The result showed a software error that forced the team to retouch it, but Swachuk’s team was working against the clock and decided to keep the distorted and altered image. The fact is that he liked it. Just as I had liked Sjööblom’s photo shoot in Playboy at the end of ’72. “They asked us for copies and we gave them to them so they could compare their image algorithms with ours on the same test image,” the professor himself recalled some time later. The final process At the SIPI they turned Sjööblom’s portrait into a test image for digital compression and transmission work. Arpanetthe precursor of the Internet. And that, with the passage of time, had an unpredictable result: the image of that model that everyone began to refer to as “Lena” or “Lenna” and whose origin began to blur became the standard used by other researchers who wanted to compress similar files with their algorithms. The face of that twenty-year-old Swedish woman, with a hat and a bare back, was replicated in books, conferences, articles, traveled through the “Atapuerca” of the Internet and helped lay the foundations for the JPEG image format. “Many researchers know the Lena image so well that they can easily evaluate any algorithm that runs on it. That’s why most people in the industry seem to believe that Lena has served well as a standard,” comments Hutchinson. In addition to being a “familiar image”, the photo combines shadows, highlights and blurred and sharp areas and details, a mixture that makes it “a tough test for an algorithm processing”. Perhaps the most curious thing about the entire story is that so much Playboy Like Lena Sjööblom herself, they spent decades without knowing the exorbitant fame—and the important role—of the 70s portrait. The first to … Read more

Profeco has something to tell you about it

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Tipping is part of many consumer experiences, especially when we talk about restaurants, bars or cafes. For some people it is a natural way to recognize good service; For others, an added expense that should be decided calmly when reviewing the account. The sensitive point appears when that decision stops being completely in the hands of the consumer and begins to be integrated into the payment process as if it were just another charge. In Mexico, that border between custom is once again at the center of the conversation. The reminder. The practice has spread enough that Profeco has had to launch a specific reminder. The Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office indicated that no establishment that provides a service can require payment of tips or establish the amount that must be covered. The agency also urged consumers to report when this happens, because the tip cannot become a condition for receiving or closing a service. In other words: it can be proposed as a voluntary option, but not imposed or charged as if it were a mandatory part of the account. What the law says. The basis of the reminder is in article 10 of the Federal Consumer Protection Law, which establishes that “Suppliers may not apply coercive and unfair commercial methods or practices, nor abusive or imposed clauses or conditions in the supply of products or services.” In practice, this means that tipping can exist as a voluntary gratification for direct attention, but not as a condition added to consumption. The reminder is not just a warning: it can also translate into sanctions. The Official Gazette of the Federation, the official medium where rules and regulations of the federal Government are published, specifies the amounts in force for 2026. According to this update, the sanctions provided for by the Federal Consumer Protection Law can range in these ranges: Article 128 of the Federal Consumer Protection Law: from $1,053.01 to $4,118,491.38 pesos Article 128 BIS, which also contemplates the temporary closure of the business: from $219,912.08 to $6,157,537.94 pesos The specific amount is not automatic: it depends on the severity of the violation, the recurrence and the damage caused to the consumer. That legal distinction clashes with a scene that has become recognizable at checkout. According to The Truth Newsin bars, restaurants and cafes in Mexico, the collection of tips continues to generate disagreement, especially when the staff asks if they want to add it or when it is included directly in the bill. In some cases, this medium points out, it is proposed with a minimum percentage of 10%. The American factor. There is context that helps understand why this conversation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As reported by Bien Informed, between January and October 2025, Mexico received 38.4 million international tourists and 67.3% of them came from the United States, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism cited by that medium. It is relevant because we are talking about visitors who arrive from a country where, as we have told in Magnetthe tip has a much greater social and economic weight. It is not enough on its own to explain the practice, but it does allow us to understand why some businesses may see an incentive to push it. The reference with the United States. We are faced with a fact that is not minor because there, tipping has been part of the daily operation of restaurants and services for decades, to the point of seeming almost inseparable from the experience. But that tradition is also being questioned from within. Even McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski criticized the system for “shifting the responsibility for payment of labor to the client.” What to do if they charge you. Profeco’s recommendation starts with something as basic as checking the account before paying. If the consumer detects an unrecognized charge, the agency advises notifying the establishment; and if the establishment requires the tip, then you can file a complaint or complaint through institutional channels. The channels are the Consumer Telephone, 55 5568 8722 and 800 468 8722, the email denunciasprofeco@profeco.gob.mx and the 38 Consumer Defense Offices. Images | Xataka with Grok In Xataka | MrBeast created an extreme survival challenge with the goal that no one could overcome it. Until ‘Juan the Mexican’ arrived

woke up with a bill of more than 18,000

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The cloud is somewhat invisible until the bill arrives. We build an application, we test one APIwe leave a budget set up and continue with our lives thinking that the system will warn if something goes out of plan. The problem is that warn is not the same as stop. And that difference, which may seem like a technical nuance, is exactly what separates a controlled test from a huge debt when a key is exposed, someone uses it and the charges begin to accumulate without us seeing it. That’s what he claims happened to Venturaxi, a Reddit user who told his story. According to GRYOnline.pl accountwent to sleep with a budget alert set to 10 Australian dollars (about 7.15 US dollars) and woke up to a bill of 25,672.86 Australian dollars in Google Cloud, just over 18,000 US dollars at the exchange rate. The user maintains that, during the night, some 60,000 unauthorized requests were made through an API key that he could not initially identify. The story, it should be stressed from the beginning, comes from his public testimony, not from an independent investigation. An alert may sound as the bill continues to grow The key is in a nuance that Google explains in its own documentation on budgets: a budget alert does not stop consumption, it only sends notifications when certain thresholds are reached. That is, it serves to inform us that the expense is close to or exceeds a figure, but it does not work as a switch that automatically cuts off the service. In normal use it may be enough to react in time. In a scenario with automated requests and a compromised key, however, the counter can continue running even though the notice has already been sent. The most delicate part of this story is better understood if we leave the jargon behind for a moment. An API key is, in practical terms, a key that allows an application to identify itself to a service and say: I am this account, let me in. As long as it is well stored, it fulfills its function. If it is exposed, another person can use it to generate requests that will be charged to that account. Google recommends protecting these keys, rotating them, and restricting them by domain or IP. Venturaxi claims that the password used came from an old gardening app created for his mother in Cloud Run. There appears one of the most confusing parts of the case. The user explains that, at first, he did not find that key in the usual list of AI Studio keys, although Google indicated it as the source of consumption. Later, saccording to his update on Redditmanaged to locate it in another section of the Google Cloud panel thanks to another user’s tip. The key matched by the visible name, not for the full keywhich made it difficult to follow the trail. The most frustrating part came when he tried to ask for help. In his publication, he says that he first dealt with automated agents, then with different support members, and later with escalation managers, without having a single person to follow the case from start to finish for days. He also maintains that, as the requests continued, he had to insist several times that his account had been compromised before getting an escalation. The other delicate point is at the account level. Venturaxi maintains that its billing account was automatically raised at a higher level due to its age and payment history, although the project affected was much more recent. According to the explanation he says he received from Google, this change responded to a relationship of trust associated with the account, not necessarily the specific project. The result, always according to his story, was that he was able to consume more than he expected, without clear notification or specific consent. The case has had a long history precisely because it does not appear isolated in the conversation. On Reddit, other users assure having experienced similar scares with unexpected charges, compromised passwords or difficult-to-resolve billing disputes. That doesn’t make every story verified evidence, but it gives us an idea of ​​what might be happening. At the same time, it helps to understand why venturaxi’s post has resonated: it points to a concern shared by several developers. According to the developer, the bill of 25,672.86 Australian dollars tfinished being canceled and Google would also have returned the $9,800 that, according to its story, had been distributed in five increasing collection attempts. The economic outcome, therefore, would have been resolved in their favor. Even so, the user maintains that he still had no clear answers about several points of the incident: how the key was exposed, what activated the account level jump or where exactly the traffic came from. The invoice of 25,672.86 Australian dollars ended up being canceled The most striking thing about this story is not only the number, but how easy it is to understand how something like this can get out of control. We are not talking about a large deployment or a huge infrastructure, but rather a key, an old app and an alert that did not do what many users could imagine. There is the warning for anyone working with these services, even in small tests: it is worth reviewing what is left open, what limits are real and what tools only inform us that the problem is already underway. Images | Xataka with Grok | charlesdeluvio In Xataka | You get a job offer from Spotify and another from Disney. What’s behind it is a phishing scam waiting

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