Month: April 2026

wants to extract infinite energy from the waves

by

In the global race for decarbonization, humanity has managed to tame the wind and the sun, but the waves of the sea still resist it: the wave drive It is still a sleeping giant within renewable energies. Although the energy potential of waves is immense (unlike wind or solar, the contribution is continuous), the challenge lies in its effective technical use. In this scenario, Galicia has taken a step to place itself at the forefront of marine energy with Innomara project to move from theory to practice with the first floating prototype in Spain capable of connecting marine generation devices and evacuating the energy produced to land in Punta Langosteira, one of the most demanding marine environments on the planet. The project. It consists of designing, manufacturing and installing a next-generation floating prototype, a floating multi-connector with integrated sensors that will act as a central hub: it will connect multiple marine electrical generation devices and evacuate the energy produced to land through a single line. In addition, it will also integrate sensors to monitor in real time the waves, wind, currents, tides and marine biodiversity in the waters of the Outer Port of A Coruña. Why is it important. Because Spain is one of the leaders in solar and wind energy but in wave driving it is still in its infancy: as explains the XuntaInnomar is the first system of its kind in the state as there is currently no marine energy experimental zone in the country with a similar multi-connector. The extracted energy could be used for self-consumption in the port of A Coruña and the surrounding industrial estates, contributing to the energy decarbonisation of the port environment. More generally, this prototype allows companies to validate their projects in a real environment and speed up the development of their own patents in a sector with enormous growth and export potential, which means taking a step towards energy and technological sovereignty. Context. Wave energy is one of the great pending issues of the energy transition: the technology to exploit it has been in the research phase for decades without making the commercial leapAmong the main problems, the unpredictability of the waves (yes, they are constant, but they vary in height, rhythm, direction) and the harsh conditions of the marine environment when designing and maintaining it. However, recently we have seen promising initiatives in the United States and in Japan. And be careful, Europe is also taking the race seriously: United Kingdom, Portugal either Denmark They are investing in similar test zones. In this scenario, Punta Langosteira is a first-rate strategic asset: as explained by MITECO and IDAE in the official roadmap of offshore wind and sea energy in Spain, is considered the second area in the world with the highest concentration of wave energy, only surpassed by the south coast of Wales. Bottom line: if it works there, it has a good chance of doing it anywhere else in the world. In detail. The prototype will function as a smart laboratory on the high seas: with an underwater cable to bring electricity to land, sensors to monitor biodiversity and the marine environmental environment, and it will also be a kind of testing platform where different components can be tested. The project has been promoted by Inega (Energy Institute of Galicia) and its budget amounts to 5.7 million euros, of which 60% is financed with FEDER funds. There are seven companies that have submitted candidates for the prior selection, whose award is scheduled for September 2026, following a Public Procurement of Innovation model. Yes, but. The location is magnificent, the European co-financing provides solidity to the project, the model between the Administration and the private sector provides the best of both worlds and also the multi-connector hub approach is technically intelligent since it reduces redundant infrastructure, lowers costs and allows testing several wave converters in parallel. In short, they have everything in their sails, but the technical challenge is immense. Furthermore, the prototype is still a connection and measurement infrastructure, but it does not generate energy. Effective generation will depend on the devices that connect to it in the future, technology that is still far from being commercially mature. And here again the unknowns and viability appear again, since the cost per kWh of wave power is notably above wind and solar. That there is interest from the main actors is good news, but it does not imply that the leap to an effective solution is just around the corner. In Xataka | The United States is launching giant spheres into the sea with one goal: to take advantage of one of the largest sources of renewable energy In Xataka | With oil skyrocketing, Japan has resurrected an old idea to extract infinite energy from the ocean Cover | Deensel, Wikimedia and photoholgic

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro vs Google Pixel 10, when you offer more for much less money

by

Nothing has surprised us again with a mobile phone that manages to stand out in both its mid-range and high-end. In fact, it can compete with much more expensive models, as is the case with the Google Pixel 10. But… How are these two phones different? Let’s go over it in this article. Nothing Phone (4a) Pro (8 GB, 128 GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The differences between the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and the Google Pixel 10 Design and screens One of the most important differences is in size. He Nothing Phone (4a) Pro bets on a larger diagonal of 6.83 inches, while the Google Pixel 10 It is more compact with a screen size of 6.3 inches. The curious thing is that, despite the size, There are only six grams of differencewith 210 grams for the Nothing and 204 grams for the Google. On the back we also see a very striking difference. The Google Pixel 10 maintains the sober appearance that we have already seen in previous generations, while the Nothing mobile incorporates a larger rear camera module, in which we find several cameras and a screen (Glyph Matrix) with luminous points that turn on and off when receiving notifications or listening to music, shows the time and can even be personalized. Processor and RAM and storage configurations While the Google Pixel 10 comes with the Google Tensor G5the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro incorporates the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4. The Qualcomm processor offers balanced performance for the mid-high range and stands out for its energy efficiency. On the other hand, the Google chip is aimed at the use of artificial intelligence functions, although it heats up excessively when executing intense tasks. Both phones start with a minimum storage configuration of 128 GB, but while the Google Pixel 10 comes in this case with 12 GB of RAM, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro stays at 8 GB. Keep in mind that this configuration of the Nothing mobile phone can be very tight if we are going to use many apps or process AI locally. Photographic section Google phones usually stand out for their photography section and the Pixel 10 is no exception. However, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro has hit the table by betting on a much more attractive telephotodespite having fewer increases. The Nothing mobile telephoto offers processing that is supported by the hybrid zoom of up to 7x and the results are very good in terms of detail, sharpness and color. Its maximum digital zoom is 140x and, although it takes time to process the image and can sometimes invent some details, the level of success is adequate. Battery Both phones come with batteries with quite similar milliamp figures, since the Google Pixel 10 incorporates a 4,970 mAh battery and the Nothing mobile comes with another 5,080 mAh. However, we do have differences in the charging options: The Google Pixel 10 supports 30W fast charging and 15W wireless charging. This means that it will take a while to have the battery at 100%, especially if you use wireless charging. The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro supports only 50W fast charging (although it also supports reverse charging), which means that you will have a 100% battery in less time than with the Google mobile, but you will not be able to use a wireless charging base. Software, support and price Both phones come with Android 16, but they are different. Nothing’s mobile relies on its NothingOS customization layer, which incorporates a minimalist aesthetic and is supported by three years of updates and six for security patches. For its part, the Google Pixel 10 has purer softwarewithout a customization layer. Support in this case is seven years of updates and security patches (six taking into account that the mobile was launched in 2025). And if we talk about prices, we are faced with two mobile phones that compete in different ranges. The Google Pixel 10 is currently available for a price of 599 eurosbut it was initially launched for 899 euros. On the other hand, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is currently priced at 479 euros. In summary: which mobile phone to choose according to your tastes and needs Why choose the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro has been a surprise. Its price right now is 479 euros and it stands out in several aspects: Its quality-price ratio: Nothing’s mobile phone stands out both for its price and for its processor, the photographic section and, of course, the design, especially on the back, where we find the Glyph Matrix screen. fast charging: Despite not having a battery that supports wireless charging, the 50W fast charging allows it to be recharged to 100% in less time than the Google Pixel 10. telephoto sensorthe icing on the cake to a good photographic section in the mid-range that yields very attractive results for the price of the mobile. Why choose the Google Pixel 10 The Google Pixel 10 continues to be a very good purchase option. It has been dropping in price since its launch and is now available for 599 euros. Where it stands out the most is in: Minimum storage configurationwhich despite only having 128 GB of internal storage, at least comes with 12 GB of RAM. wireless charging so as not to be limited to using only wired charging. Google supportwhich offers six years of software updates and security patches. Technical sheet with the main differences between the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and the Google Pixel 10 Nothing Phone (4a) Pro google pixel 10 SCREEN 6.83 inch LTPS flexible AMOLED panel 1,260 x 2,800 pixel resolution Adaptive refresh from 30 to 144 Hz 2160Hz PWM 1,600 nits maximum brightness with 5,000 peak nits Gorilla Glass 7i 6.3-inch OLED panel Resolution of 2,424 x 1,080 pixels 60-120Hz refresh Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 3,000 nits peak brightness DIMENSIONS AND … Read more

James Webb has had to investigate whether he was born “from the top down” or “from the bottom up”

by

29 Cygni b is a huge celestial object, with a mass equal to 15 times the mass of Jupiter. Apparently it is a planet, but that mass could place it as a star. For example, a brown dwarf. Therefore, a team of astronomers has used the James Webb to analyze its origin, further refining the concept of the formation of stars and planets. A question of metals. The authors of the study, who it was just publishedhave used the NIRCam camera on the James Webb Space Telescope to take photographs of this planet. This instrument allows high-resolution images and spectroscopy measurements to be taken, with which the composition of the atmospheres of stars and planets can be studied, taking into account how they reflect light. Thanks to this, it has been seen that 29 Cygni b is very enriched in metals compared to the star around which it is located. Specifically, it has an amount of metals equivalent to 150 Earths. This is compatible with the accretion of a large amount of metal-laden solids into a protoplanetary disk. It is then confirmed that it is a planet, but a planet very unusual. Planet or star? That’s the question. Planet formation takes place in a bottom-up process. In a disk of gas and dust, known as a protoplanetary disk, dust particles collide to form small fragments of rock and ice, which continue to clump together and grow until they form a planet. It is a process called accretion. The largest ones, in addition, in this process capture gas, which is why they later become gas giants. On the other hand, stars form from top to bottom. A gas cloud fragments and each fragment collapses under its own gravity, becoming smaller and denser. From paradox to paradox. This definition could lead us to think that planets are larger than stars. After all, planets go from less to more and stars from more to less. However, that is not true. Stars form when huge clouds of gas collapse, so they are still very massive. So much so that nuclear fusion can occur in them due to the high conditions of pressure and temperature. On the planets, although there is a growth from less to more, it is not so great. The problem is that with planets as immense as 29 Cygni b there are doubts about the formation from less to more. It would seem that they were also formed by a fragmentation process in protoplanetary disks. As explained by the European Space Agency in a statementis something that “could explain why some very massive objects are found billions of kilometers from their host stars, in regions where the protoplanetary disk should have been too weak for accretion to occur.” That’s just what happens with 29 Cyni b. It has an enormous mass and is 2,400 kilometers from its star. What James Webb teaches us. The fact that 29 Cygni b is so rich in metals indicates that it must have been formed by an accretion process, in which it accumulated more and more. In fact, heIt is normal for a planet to have many metals in proportion to its starwhich happens in the system in which 29 Cygni b is located. In short, it is shown that much larger planets than we thought can be formed by accretion, without having to resort to a top-down process. And now what? 29 Cygni b has been the first of the four objects that will be studied by James Webb. All of them have a mass between 1 and 15 times that of Jupiter and are at least 1.5 billion kilometers from their star. This indicates that they are all in that dilemma of being huge planets or another star. Cataloging them into one of the two groups can help us understand much better the process by which the largest planets are formed. Image | NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI) In Xataka | Since we were children we have been told that Jupiter is enormous, colossal, exaggeratedly large. It is 8 km smaller and that changes everything

why Gen Z has fallen in love with technologies that they did not experience

by

Technology has been sneaking into almost every corner of everyday life for decades: how we communicate, how we save memories, how we listen to music or how we entertain ourselves. ada generation has enjoyed its own innovations: from the Walkman to the compact camera, including the Game Boy and the Nintendo DS. As the years went by, many of these devices seemed destined to remain as relics in a drawer, surpassed by increasingly powerful mobile phones capable of concentrating almost all possible functions in a single device. However, in the era of the smartphone, AI or virtual reality, some of these “relics” are regaining prominence among recent generations. Compact digital cameras, retro consoles or cassettes reappear in second-hand stores or in TikTok videos where the young people who use them have not witnessed their birth or their rise. Nostalgia or novelty? The “return” or growing interest in vintage technology could be explained as a new wave of nostalgia. Alvaro Soler, sociologist and disseminator in social networksspeaks of a “retro utopia”: an idealized look capable of commercializing aesthetics and products from the past. “May we consume again retro technology “It has to do with the consumption of retro culture,” he explains, giving as an example the success of series like Stranger Thingswhich “make us go back to the 80’s, with consoles and arcade games, but also with fashion, music…”. In this way, Soler explains the market’s ability to take advantage of previous designs or products and present them as something attractive and desirable again. This is precisely one of the nuances that explains the return of retro from places beyond nostalgia. Although some of these devices do awaken memories and have a nostalgic connotation for those who grew up with them, not all the young people who recover them today have used them. In fact, many of them become familiar with these devices through social networks. Soler attributes to these platforms the power that classic advertising had before. They also come into play influencerswhom Soler defines as “figures of success or in whom you have to see yourself reflected.” In many cases, he adds, a large part of their identity is built through what they consume and display. This makes those who follow them more likely to be interested in or consume what they show in their profiles, including vintage technology. Thus, although many young people have not grown up with these devices, they can become desirable objectsassociated with an aesthetic or a way of being in the world. What for some is nostalgia, for others becomes a new necessity. This is the case of Lara, a young woman – who prefers to keep her identity private – who is fond of analog cameras from the 70s (like the Zenit). Although he did not experience either the arrival or the rise of these devices, he confesses in conversation with Xataka find something “unique” about them that attracts you. A camera not to scroll The return of this type of technology also has another reading. For Claudia Pradas, psychologist and disseminator on social networksin a young population overexposed to constant stimuli, screens and immediate rewards, “a more limited technology can be psychologically attractive” because “it reduces the load.” Compared to the mobile phone, which is at the same time a camera, console and music player, these devices have a single functiona restriction that can feel like a relief. “We are constantly exposed to super-overloaded technology that can fatigue us,” he explains, while these devices “can promote relaxation or deactivation of the nervous system, generating well-being.” Therefore, instead of interpreting this boom as a rejection of the new, Pradas proposes reading it as a search for alternatives: devices that allow us to continue using technology but at a different pace. The type of experience they offer also influences. “Old” devices force a more physical relationship that moves away from using the smartphone: insert a cartridge, rewind, press buttons, print a photo… For Pradas, that tactile dimension is key. In a context of digital saturation, “a sensory experience beyond the visual and auditory can help us become more rooted in the present.” Sociologist Soler agrees that the search for disconnection is one of the factors behind this return to previous technologies. Many of these retro consoles, he explains, they do not depend on the internet: they allow you to continue using digital technology, but without constant connection or online services. Something similar happens with photographs. Uploading images to networks or storing them in the cloud does not generate the same relationship with memories as printing them and saving them in an album. On the Internet, he says, images can become more volatile, get lost among thousands of files or become diluted in the continuous flow of content. Instead, developing photos or physically preserving them creates another way of relating to time and memory, “more tangible and lasting.” In a context of hyperconnectivity, changing memories from the digital environment to the physical dimension can also function as a way to organize and preserve what we really want to remember. This power of disconnection is corroborated by Elena, a 23-year-old young woman whose playing with practically discontinued consoles evokes the same tranquility as “when you watch a movie you’ve seen 200 times”; The simplicity of these devices gives you the calm that current video games do not achieve. “Right now (video games) are like a movie, but before everything happened on a very small screen with drawings that could even be in black and white,” he points out. The simplicity and the imperfection that characterize old games—and that extends to the grain of a compact camera or the less clean sound of a vintage player—are part of their appeal. In the face of increasingly perfect and faster devices, these small failures or limitations are perceived almost as a mark of authenticity and humanity. “Old analog cameras have nothing to do with cell phone photographs. I don’t take photos with my cell phone because for me … Read more

They are smaller than ever, they swim further and die in a river at more than 20ºC

by

The Bidasoa River marks the southern limit of the European distribution of Atlantic salmon, acting as a canary in the mine in the face of climate change. And what the Orekan technical team (the public environmental management company of the Government of Navarra) has seen is that the Atlantic salmon is becoming accustomed to swimming upstream. more uphill than ever: It is neither fishing nor illness, more than half die because the river water is too hot. And the lucky ones who arrive are smaller. The Bidasoa salmon is dying. News from Navarra echoes of Orekan’s research, which has been individually tracking Atlantic salmon by radio telemetry for seven years as they travel up the Bidasoa towards their spawning areas. In warmer years, mortality in summer exceeds 50%. Data collected between 2018 and 2025 show a direct and unequivocal correlation: the more days per year with water temperatures above 20°C, the higher the percentage of fish that do not make it to autumn. From 20 °C onwards, Atlantic salmon enter physiological stress. Science documents it solidly.: The optimal growth of juveniles occurs between 16 and 20 °C and stops when approaching 23 °C, which explains the decrease in size. Furthermore, the lethal limit of the species is estimated at 27.8 °C, with 33 °C as the absolute mortality temperature. At these temperatures, adults that are in the migration phase (which do not feed and spend energy traveling up rivers) are especially vulnerable. He Orekan report It is a full-fledged warning: with three exceptions, the species has been below the Critical Conservation Limit in Bidasoa of one million eggs per season for more than 26 years. The population is kept alive artificially thanks to annual repopulation from the Oronoz-Mugaire fish farm. Why is it important. Because Atlantic salmon is a umbrella species: its conservation guarantees the population of the entire Bidasoa river ecosystem and other species, such as the European mink, the otter or the common trout. As a biological indicator, its decline is an alarm signal about the health of the peninsula’s rivers and the loss of biodiversity. But also, the fact that it is the southernmost population of the species in the European Eastern Atlantic makes it especially unique in that they concentrate the greatest adaptive genetic diversity (they live on the edge), so that they function as sentinels of environmental change. In short: it is a matter of a few decades before what we see today in the Bidasoa reaches rivers further north. Losing the Bidasoa salmon is not only saying goodbye to the presence of a species in one of the most southern and important places, but also losing the entire genetic archive of adaptations to temperatures and drought. Context. The decline of Atlantic salmon is not exclusive to Bidasoa or Navarra. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea public last year an alarming report: 2023 and 2024 were years in which the return of salmon marked historic lows in most North Atlantic countries. And the ICES is clear: not even fishing restrictions are stopping the decline of the species because it is a marine issue. In the Iberian Peninsula the problem is more serious: a study of 65 years in the Asturian Sella River demonstrated that the factor that best predicts the collapse of catches is not fishing pressure but temperature, both local and oceanic. Thus, Iberian populations make the longest oceanic migrations towards subpolar feeding areas, which implies more energy expenditure and greater exposure to predators. In detail. Warming is strangling the Bidasoa salmon twice: in the Navarrese river and in the sea. The temperature series surface of the North Atlantic processed by the Climate Change Institute of the University of Maine through ClimateReanalyzer.org confirm it: the average daily water temperature in the salmon feeding area has increased compared to the last years of the 20th century. This displaces their prey, forcing a longer migration. The result? Their biggest threats are climate change and predation. In the river the consequences go beyond mortality. Orekan records the reduction in size in young individuals and delays in the migration and reproduction calendar. As pointed out this global reviewthe timing of migration and the bioenergetics of the adult are the stages of the life cycle most sensitive to changes in temperature and flow. Yes, but. The Orekan data is robust at tracking individual fish, but has an important limitation: seven years of measurement is a short time series to isolate the climate signal from interannual noise. Without going any further, the studio on the river Sella needed 65 years of data to build statistically robust models. On the other hand, it is important to highlight that the Bidasoa population is artificially supported by repopulation, which masks the real magnitude of the natural collapse. Without Oronoz-Mugaire’s annual releases of fry, the wild population would probably have collapsed by now. Or what is the same: that the observed abundance data are more optimistic than the real ecological situation and that any interruption in the breeding program could precipitate extinction in a few years. And it leaves another question on the table: if the sport fishing for salmon in the Bidasoa It is still ethically sustainable when the population has been below its critical conservation limit for 26 years. This 2026 is prohibited. In Xataka | The great salmon hoax: its true color is gray but the industry has spent years spending millions to hide it In Xataka | We are drugging the salmon with cocaine and anxiolytics. And that’s causing them to behave strangely. Cover | Annual and Hector Berganza

The first letter bomb was made in a pharmacy in Vigo and exploded in the hands of the captain general of Galicia in 1829.

by

TO Nazario Eguía and Sáenz de Buruaga (1777-1865) we remember him for his political and military career, which even earned him the title of Count of Casa Eguía, but if this Biscayan with strong absolutist convictions was a pioneer in something (despite himself), it was in something else: letter bombs. In October 1829, Eguía found an envelope in his office in Santiago de Compostela that burst as he took off the flap, causing him more a dozen woundssome very serious. Let it be known that it was the first letter-bomb in history and its origin (or at least that is suspected) you have to look for it in a pharmacy in Vigo. “Excessively hard”. Nazario Eguía He was going to become a clergyman, but the war got in his way. At the age of 16 he abandoned ecclesiastical studies, took up arms against the French troops and began a brilliant military career that led him to serve under the orders of Wellingtonpromote to Field Marshal before the age of 37 and occupy the position of captain general of Galicia. Over time they would even name him a count and he would distinguish himself as an outstanding Carlist. In addition to his successes on the battlefield, Eguía was known for his toughness, which among other things earned him the hatred of the liberals while he served as captain general of Galicia. As explained the biography dedicated to him by the Society of Basque Studies, displayed an “excessively harsh” character. And that ended up generating quite a few enemies. Among them some with chemical knowledge and amazing expertise when it comes to assembling almost undetectable bombs. “Del Rey, for General Eguía”. The event occurred on the morning of October 29, 1829 in the Santa Cruz palace in Santiago de Compostela, where Eguía had his office. The soldier was reviewing the correspondence with his assistant when a package caught his attention. The sheet in question came from León and came wrapped in three different envelopes. The assistant was in charge of opening the first two, but when he reached the third he found a note: “Very reserved. From the King to General Eguía”. The soldier, a staunch absolutist, could not resist the temptation: he took the letter from his assistant, went to his table, ran his index finger along one of the folds and tore the envelope. Mistake. “At the same moment a loud explosion was heard. The table sprang to pieces and the general and the chair rolled on the floor,” details the writer Manuel Curros Enríquez (1852-1908) when remembering what happened that morning. “When he got up he had one of his hands destroyed.” “A terrifying detonation”. Curros’ story is not the only story that allows us to get an idea of ​​how serious the explosion was. Another testimonyeven more valuable, was contributed by Eguía’s secretary: “A frightful detonation and the surprise left the bystanders as if petrified, whose astonishment grew when they saw their general pouring blood from his face (…) and observed the frock coat he was wearing, defeated by the mouth-sleeves and part that covered the belly.” The journalist and historian Eduardo Rolland remember that the Galician press even explained how the explosion left a blood stain on the roof of the palace that could still be seen several months after the attack. Result: 13 wounds. Not only do we have a precise idea of ​​what the explosion was like. We also know what the bomb looked like and the effect it had on its victim. Regarding the first, the letter contained gunpowder mixed with arsenic and crushed glass, a combination designed to cause maximum damage. As for the captain general, he survived by a pure miracle. The chronicles say that he suffered 13 woundssome very seriousdistributed over the face, belly and thighs. The worst part was taken by their hands. The right one was so torn that doctors had to amputate it. On the left he lost two fingers. He was so badly off that the Government had to grant him a dispensation special so that he could sign documents with the help of a stamp. Who was the author? It seems that Eguía did not have many doubts. The story de Curros (not without epic) claims that after the explosion the captain proclaimed that he still had one hand left “to hang the culprit” and then cited his main suspect: “No one but Chao is capable of inventing such a perfect work!” This Chao was neither more nor less than José María Chao, chemist, pharmacist and above all a militant liberal. We know that he was a native of Leiro (province of Ourense), who participated in skirmishes during the Liberal Triennium and that around 1826 he set up a pharmacy in what is now the historic center of Vigo, a pharmacy that ended up becoming a reference for liberals forced to adapt to the Omino DecadeOh the repression under the reign of Ferdinand VII. The big doubt. Was Chao really the creator of the first known letter bomb? It is certainly not strange that Eguía suspected him. In addition to his chemical knowledge, in October 1829 Chao he had just gotten out of prison and it is said that his pharmacy was a hotbed of conspirators. It is true that the package bomb had been sent from Leónbut that could have been a ploy to deceive the authorities. However, evidence is one thing and evidence is another. Not all sources agree on whether the attack was clarified and Chao’s responsibility was confirmed. The biography that the Royal Academy of History (RAH) dedicates to Eguía assures that, although the liberals were suspected, “the authors could not be discovered.” The Voice of Galicia assures However, the apothecary could not get rid of a punishment and Rolland goes further and he slips that in 1873 Chao was “unequivocally” identified as the author of the letter. The first letter-bomb in history? What surely neither Eguía, nor Chao, nor any … Read more

More than 400 cameras will monitor L6 of the Madrid Metro so that it circulates autonomously

by

Line 6 of the Madrid Metro prepares to operate without drivers in 2027. This means that its infrastructure must resolve a series of technical aspects so that the metro can circulate in complete safety. What was previously monitored by a driver must now be done in an automated manner, and here there are a series of technologies that come into play that are worth highlighting. Rethink security from scratch. When a train has a driver, there are a pair of human eyes in the cabin that detect smoke, obstacles, people on the track or any anomaly in real time. Eliminating this figure does not mean reducing surveillance, but rather it must be technologically multiplied. The Circular, the busiest line on the network with nearly 400,000 passengers daily, needs a system that does not leave any blind spots. What does the system consist of? Madrid Metro plans to install more than 400 cameras along the 23.5 kilometers of route and in its 28 stations, with an investment of around four million euros, according to collect the middle 20 Minutes. The network will cover the entire infrastructure in real time: tunnels, ventilation shafts, emergency exits, pumping areas and platforms. As the media reports, in the underground sections between stations, the devices will be placed at very short distances from each other so as not to leave gaps unattended. dset fire before seeing it. Of all these cameras, about 60 will be equipped with specific smoke and fire detection technology, capable of sending early warnings to the control center before a fire spreads. Just like share In the medium, these devices will alternate with conventional video surveillance devices to guarantee total coverage. Security reinforced with technology. At the most sensitive points of the line (the Ciudad Universitaria and Arganzuela-Planetario depots, the Laguna depot and the stations with correspondence to other lines) perimeter fences several meters high, physical barriers and infrared curtains will be installed, technology usually reserved for industrial facilities or airports. All reinforced with controlled access through doors and control points monitored by video. What about the platforms and accessibility. From 20 Minutes they assure that the doors leading down to the tracks, located at the ends of each platform, will have new intercoms connected directly to the line controllers. Its function will be twofold: to authorize access for Metro staff when necessary for maintenance tasks, and to allow people with reduced mobility to request that the train wait longer before starting. It will be the controller who, from the command post, keeps the platform doors open for as long as necessary. Where is L6 right now. The installation of the platform doors is still underway and is forcing the closing to be brought forward from the line at 11:00 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday (two and a half hours before the usual time). Everything indicates that the restriction will remain in place until the end of the year if there are no changes. Meanwhile, the 40 new trains, manufactured by CAF, which have cost the Community of Madrid around 450 million euros, are advancing in production. When will it be ready. If the calendar is met, 2027 will be the year in which the Circular circulates alone for the first time in its more than 50 years of history. This would make Madrid one of the few cities that offer fully automated metro lines, along with Copenhagen or Lille. Cover image | Metro Madrid In Xataka | In its expansion of the Cercanías, Madrid is considering something unusual in Spain: launching a new line to Villaviciosa

construction profitability

by

The construction sector is mired in an apparent contradiction in Spain. Although it puts homes on the market a much slower pace to which new homes are created, although the development companies have been warning for years against a serious residential deficit and although the value of the square meter does not stop climbing, fooling around Already with the values ​​prior to the great brick crisis, today brick is not a business especially attractive in Spain. At least if we look at its profitability. What has happened? That something doesn’t fit in the construction sector. The indicators of the cost per m2 they don’t stop increasingreal estate agencies warn that the apartments last just a few days in the market before finding a tenant or buyer and the developers warn of a growing housing deficit. And yet, despite all of the above, several analysis centers insist that construction in Spain has a serious profitability problem. It’s not just that your current indicators are far below of those that managed the sector two decades ago, before the brick crisis that sank the market, is that its values ​​are lower than those of other neighboring EU countries. In fact, despite the fact that the price of residential m2 continues to become more expensive, in reality brick is a business much less sexy than that offered by other sectors, such as air transport or information services. What does the data say? There are several sources that help us complete the ‘photography’ of the sector, as I remembered a few days ago The World. One of the most interesting is left by the University of the Hespérides, which in a recent report issues a warning to sailors: if new housing is barely being started in Spain despite the constant escalation of prices, it is due, in part, to the fact that “construction continues to be unprofitable.” Or at least not as much as other industries. After studying the sector, assessing the profitability of assets and the cost of financing liabilities, Hespérides technicians came to the conclusion that in 2024 the profitability of construction stood at -0.1% compared to the 2.7% average of all economic activities in Spain. In fact, it detected 68 economic activities more profitable than erecting buildings. Is it the only indicator? The truth is that no. A few weeks ago BBVA Research published another report about the real estate sector pointed in a similar direction: “The profitability of Spanish companies is lower than the European average in the main activities of the economy, although the differences are particularly pressing in construction.” Although in other sectors, such as hospitality, transportation or manufacturing, the ROE (return on equitythe profitability ratio most used by analysts) Spanish is lower than that of companies from countries such as Germany, France and Italy, this gap is especially pronounced when we talk about brick. “In 2024 the ROE of building construction was 4.1%, about 12.5 percentage points (pp) less than that registered by the sector in the historical average of France and Germany,” explains BBVA Research. Added to this is that in 2024 the profit margin of this activity in Spain was 1.3 pp lower than in 2000-2003. “Investment does not increase, largely because it is not profitable,” they warned in November Miguel Cardoso and Félix Lores, from the analysis center. And what is the reason? There are several. However, there is one that analysts frequently point out: the times that are managed in the sector, which lengthens promotions, slows down turnover and forces construction companies to bear the cost of high-cost land that only pays off in the long term. “Although margins have recovered, companies take years to build, maintaining assets (land) that do not generate income on their balance sheet, the report states signed by Cardoso and Lores. “They have to finance their purchase with their own resources, which puts the sector at a disadvantage compared to others.” Does it influence that much? Both experts warn that the procedures to be able to build on land are “long, expensive and often uncertain”, which has a direct impact on the financial costs borne by companies. These complications also make certain promotions less attractive to investors and financial institutions that can turn on the credit tap. “The consequence is an accumulation of land on the balance sheets of companies that do not generate value. These are idle assets that immobilize resources and reduce debt capacity,” they add. The National Construction Confederation (CNC) calculates that taxes, fees and urban planning charges usually represent about 30% of the sales price in new homes. This represents a handicap for both those who want to buy and those who sell and must decide the price and distribution of costs. How does that affect the sector? The analysis by Daniel Fernández, professor at the University of the Hespérides, speaks directly of an “artificial scarcity of land” due to restrictions at the urban planning level, which directly contributes to the increase in land prices and, ultimately, to construction costs. According to their calculations, in Spain only 2.1% of the land is available for short-term construction. 1.3% are in the medium term and 0.9% in the long term. The report also warns of the effect that the regulatory changes in recent years have had, especially since the revision of the Technical Code in 2020. Are there more factors? Yes. It’s not just that companies are slow to take advantage of the land. If the profitability of the sector in Spain is below that of other European countries, it is because their companies, in a certain way, are also different. Cardoso and Lords remember “the reduced size and atomization of the Spanish productive fabric”, which explains why they also have more difficulties when it comes to supporting large immobilized assets. In short: companies are smaller, so they have less muscle and resilience. Its characteristics also directly affect the ability to financial leveragethat is, going into debt to invest. According to their calculations (based on 2023 … Read more

They have a metamaterial that evolves and moves on its own

by

The metamaterials They are exciting. By combining physics, chemistry and engineering, as well as making small variations in the composition or structure of a material, we can completely change its properties. They can be created from light armor, but more resistant that one steel sheet of several centimeters thick to other materials that come to life and change shape at will. And that is precisely what they have done at the University of Amsterdam. “Learn” and “leren” in English and German In short. The center has published an article in Nature called “Metamaterials that learn to change shape” in which they show how worm-shaped materials blur the border between objects and living systems. Each one of them is joined to the next by a motorized hinge that has a microcontroller. Thus, it measures parameters such as rotation, previous movements in a kind of memory and can send information to neighboring hinges. Depending on the information they send, the others adjust their rigidity and position, allowing each segment to “learn” new shapes without the need for a computer to control everything. The key here is “learn.” Training. The shapes and postures they achieve are not the result of chance, but rather the work of the researchers sending impulses so that the segments are organized in the desired configuration. Through different stages of this training, the microcontrollers update and optimize their orders until the chain “understands” that it must adopt a certain posture when a certain stimulus is sent. They can forget old forms, retain recent ones, and, as we say, learn new ones, as well as alternate between those forms. And the interesting thing about all this is that they can develop the ability to grasp objects or move. The researchers themselves refer to this with the term “evolution,” noting that “once the system begins to learn, the possibilities of when it will stop learning feel almost limitless. Future. That hasn’t come out of nowhere. Researchers from the Institute of Physics point out that the current research is based on previous findings in which achievement that objects would roll, crawl and move autonomously over different terrains. The difference is that they did it for the sake of it, while the new metamaterials can learn and memorize behaviors. The future idea is to make that behavior depend on learning time instead of changes in a static way. The team points out which, for example, seek to “allow metamaterials to learn different gaits of locomotion, such as crawling or rolling, depending on environmental stimuli. We also plan to investigate so-called stochastic scenarios, where learning occurs with noise and uncertainty. In such cases, the system would adapt probabilistically rather than by determinism, improving robustness and flexibility in complex environments.” Beyond the laboratory. After all the team’s explanation, perhaps the most complicated thing is to imagine the scenario in which this can be applied. One that they mention is soft robots, which are those that change the rigidity and shape of conventional robots for others with an adaptive structure that may have applications in the medical or aerospace industry. Also on devices programmable that are modulated in real time and “reprogrammed” depending on the situation. But, really, the possibilities of metamaterials feel infinite, as the Institute of Physics pointed out. Playing with these structural particularities of the materials, they can be used as shielding, as isolationin building structures located in areas of high seismic activity so that redirect the energy they receivewhen creating lenses for advanced photonics, in sensors or as active camouflage around a vehicle. Images | Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam In Xataka | In our search for new metamaterials we have reached delirium: one capable of counting up to ten

The price of meat is through the roof. An industry has a golden opportunity: artificial meat

by

It is becoming more and more expensive to buy meat in the supermarket. In the midst of widespread inflation, the meat section has stood out and its products are among those that have increased the most. Among beef producers, the trend has been rising for years. According to Eurostat datathe price of live calves rises or falls between 2013 and 2019. But starting this year the rise is continuous. In Spain, for example, 100 kilos of live animal go from costing 226.25 euros in 2019 to having a price of 369 euros in 2023. Another reference: the average price in the EU The price at which producers sold male beef in January 2025 was 570 euros per 100 kilos. A year later, last January, the cost had jumped to 717.11 euros per 100 kilos, an increase of 25.5%. This rise in prices, especially of beef, coincides with a few years in which the artificial meat has progressed. The techniques to obtain a similar texture and achieve flavors and aromas have improved. Production methods have been polished and some companies have gained economies of scale. As a result, your product would have become cheaper. It is the case of Novameat. Giuseppe Sconti, its founder and CEO, says that his company is now capable of producing artificial meat at a much lower price than a few years before. Born in Barcelona in 2018, the startup uses yellow pea protein for its product and has launched its own factory. “We buy a primary ingredient and transform it to have a block of textured protein, which large producers can then mix with minced meat or hamburgers,” he explains. It is no longer about sausages or a hamburger made with plant-based meat. It is an approach that does not aim to create a final product for sale to the public. That’s easier gain scale in production, as long as there are clients to sell it to later, of course. Sconti adds another factor to the decrease in costs. “When we buy our base ingredient in large quantities we can get it at a lower price. In addition, we have diversified the places from which we can get the protein. Now we can get it from Europe, but also from America.” The Novameat facilities. Cheaper raw materials also help. Justo Pedroche Jiménez, senior scientist at the Fat Institute, belonging to the CSIC, has been working with vegetable protein for two decades in research aimed at the food sector. He claims that the diversity of plant protein has increased. “Nowadays we work with a lot of plant raw materials.” He says that before, soy was mainly used as an alternative to animal protein, but now his team is researching lentils, chickpeaslupins, broad beans, even chia and quinoa, among others. “And the more companies there are that work on this, the more competition there is and the more different products on the market, all of this, in the end, leads to lower prices,” he adds. At the exit of the bubble But artificial meat has its own ghosts. It experienced a peak, it became almost a fashion, associated with veganism and healthy habits, and then some of the best-known brands in the sector fell sharply. In response to an email sent by Xataka, Jaime Martín, partner and CEO of the consulting firm Lantern, specialized in the food sector, is skeptical about the phenomenon of meat based on vegetable protein. For him it was a bubble and it is a sector that is devastated. Although he points out that the prices of this type of product are going down in some countries. “It becomes cheaper in countries where there is already a relevant size of consumers, such as Holland or Germany, and a determined commitment by the private label to promote the category.” The two big names in artificial meat, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, chain several years of decline. The losses accumulate, so much so that the first collapsed on the stock market in a spectacular way, while the second saw its valuation shrink in an equally bloody way. There have been bankruptcies, such as that of the British Meatless Farm, which went into bankruptcy more than two years ago. Perhaps the most symbolic thing was that in 2024 McDonald’s, which had promoted a hamburger made with this type of alternative meat, discontinued its sale. There was no place in his letter for McPlant. For Pedroche, positive conclusions can be drawn from everything that has happened. “These companies made a risky bet on a product, perhaps a little sophisticated, for a very specific population niche, but I think that knowledge of vegetables has been created. Now it has stabilized. It is not decreasing but rather there are more and more people who risk, let’s say, trying this type of products that are closely linked to health,” reflects the CSIC researcher. Vegetable protein meatballs. “There has been a bubble that has burst. The question is whether the protein diversification that had already begun will continue. The alternative protein, as it had been defined, in finished products, had created a lot of hype,” says Sconti, referring to the well-known brands that sold packaged products, such as hamburgers and sausages. He talks about them as a commercial proposal, perhaps the most striking in the entire artificial meat sector, but not the only one. “I am optimistic. I think that protein diversification is not going to end. It is going to be like the Internet, when the dotcom bubble burst and then there was consolidation. And now the Internet is much bigger than in the year 2000.” An example of this consolidation would be the movements of the Brazilian JBS, the world’s largest producer of traditional meat. In 2021 acquired the Dutch company specialized in alternative meat Vivera, and last year bought The Vegetarian Butcherthe alternative protein division of Unilever. He has merged both to boost its presence in the European market. The outlook for the sector is encouraging. according to … Read more

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.