Month: May 2026

Having a beer in the sun was the problem. The residual hops from manufacturing it are the solution

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When you slather on sunscreen, most conventional sun-blocking ingredients are synthetic. He problem is where the chemical UV filters that make sunscreens effective They are endocrine disruptors.can penetrate the skin and are toxic to coral reefs. So the industry has been looking for years for sustainable alternatives that provide that protection while minimizing the environmental impact. A research team from the University of São Paulo has found a natural alternative that also usually ends up in the trash: the remains of hops discarded after brewing beer. The discovery. It turns out that the hops used in beer production, a waste generated on a large scale, can serve to significantly improve sun protection. Through a process of maceration and percolation in ethanol, the bioactive compounds are extracted from discarded hops and incorporated into sunscreen formulations. When they mixed 10% of this extract with the usual UV filters, the resulting sunscreen multiplied its protection factor by more than three: it went from 53 to 178 in laboratory tests. Interestingly, those used hops performed better than unused hops, although the authors admit that the exact mechanism by which this occurs is still unclear. Why is it important. Approximately 85% of the bioactive compounds in hops remain intact in the material discarded after dry hopping (dry hopping), which turns this waste into a functional raw material that today is mostly thrown away or used as feed. Revaluing it as a cosmetic ingredient reduces the environmental impact of the brewing industry, opens a path towards more sustainable and potentially cheaper sunscreens, and fits directly with the principles of the circular economy. Context. Hops contain a family of compounds with proven properties on the skin: reduce inflammation, neutralize free radicals and even stop enzymes that degrade collagen. Especially relevant is xanthohumol, a polyphenol with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and metalloproteinase inhibitor properties in dermal fibroblasts. The key is how the hops are processed: when added cold after fermentation, without boiling, the xanthohumol is not thermally degraded and remains intact in the residue, which partly explains why reused material is more active than fresh hops. How they do it. The team left From the remains of hops from a craft brewery, he immersed them in ethyl alcohol to extract their compounds, dried the result and incorporated it at 10% into a standard sunscreen that already contained two conventional UV filters. They then measured how much ultraviolet radiation that cream blocked using international reference equipment, the same ones used by health authorities to certify sunscreens. Yes, but. As the research team itself recognizes, all the results are exclusively in vitro, since they used plates and not human skin. Likewise, there are no clinical trials that study whether the cream is stable over time or whether it can cause irritation. Furthermore, it is not clear why it works so well. As says the coordinator André Rolim Baby himself In the note from the FAPESP Agency, stability studies, standardization of assets and clinical evaluation of safety and efficacy will be necessary before any commercial application. On the other hand, the variability in the composition of reused hops (depending on the variety, the dry-hopping process or its origin) complicates standardization: for a filter to be approved by authorities such as the European Commission (EC Regulation 1223/2009) or the FDA in the United States, it is necessary that there be chemical consistency from batch to batch. In Xataka | We humans like beer. The big question is whether we like it enough to have invented agriculture In Xataka | Spain can tell itself as many times as it wants that it hates Cruzcampo. The figures say a very different thing Cover | Onela Ymeri and Urban Gyllström

the day the US stole a Soviet nuclear submarine 5,000 meters deep

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In the 1970s, a gigantic American ship sailed slowly through the Pacific while several Soviet ships they watched him a few meters away, taking photos and listening to every conversation. On deck, the sailors talked loudly about rocks on the seabed and collected samples so that everything seemed routine, without anyone suspecting that, right under their feet, one of the most unusual operations of the entire Cold War. An impossible robbery. At the end of the 60s, in the middle of the Cold War, the United States secretly located the Soviet submarine K-129 sunk to more than 5,000 meters deep in the Pacific, a distance that made any recovery attempt practically unfeasible. Even so, the strategic value it was hugesince the submersible carried nuclear missiles, codes and key technology that could tip the balance at a time of nuclear parity between superpowers. With that goal in mind, the CIA launched the Azorian Projectan operation so ambitious that for years only a small circle within the Government knew of its existence. Context. In reality, the mission, which lasted more or less six years, had begun in 1968, when the K-129 loaded with ballistic missiles disappeared without explanation somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The situation was not entirely strange if we think that, at that time after the Cuban Missile Crisisboth American and Soviet submarines patrolled the high seas with nuclear weapons on board, prepared for possible war. Model of the sunken and deteriorated submarine K-129 The sinking. There are reports indicating that it was due to a mechanical failure, such as the missile’s engine accidentally starting, while the Soviets suspected for a time that the Americans had acted in bad faith. Be that as it may, and after two months, the Soviet Union abandoned the search for the K-129 and the nuclear weapons it carried, but the United States, which had recently used Air Force technology to locate two of its own submarines sunken, located the submarine 2,400 kilometers northwest of Hawaii and 5,030 meters deep. According to the declassified history of the project by the CIA decades later, “no country in the world had managed to recover an object of this size and weight from such depth.” Sherman Wetmore, chief engineer of the Glomar Explorer, looks at an oil painting of the ship refloating the Soviet submarine The great theater of lies. Once Washington found its location and in order to hide the true purpose, one of the more elaborate covers of history: an alleged underwater mining mission led by the eccentric millionaire Howard Hugheswhose reputation made any extravagant project credible. As? The enormous was built Hughes Glomar Explorerpresented to the world as a ship capable of extract manganese nodules from the seabed, while in reality it hid inside a secret system designed to capture the submarine. The operation was so convincing that even influenced markets and universitiesfeeding for years the illusion of a new mining industry that was never actually the objective. Details of the construction plan of the Glomar Explorer (reproduction), from 1971. In the lower central part of the ship, you can see the plans of the so-called “lunar pool”, into which the claw could introduce the submarine The giant claw. The heart of the mission was, possibly, the most exciting part of an already incredible story. It was a device hidden under the boat: a gigantic mechanical “claw” capable of descending kilometers to the ocean floor, hugging the hull of the submarine and raising it through a complex system of pipes and cables. The entire process had to be executed out of sight, using an internal opening in the ship (the called “moon pool”) that allowed working completely hidden, even under the constant surveillance of suspicious Soviet ships, but they couldn’t prove anything. There is no doubt, the operation required extreme precision, withstanding colossal stresses and maintaining the ship’s position in the open sea for days, something that in itself already represented an unprecedented technological challenge. Everything (almost) ready. In the summer of 1974, after years of preparation, the CIA managed to reach the submarine and hooked it with the claw, at which point he began to slowly raise it towards the surface, in an operation that lasted days and kept the entire crew tense. However, halfway through the ascent, the structure gave way and much of K-129 fell back to the ocean floor, leaving only a recovered section. Even so, they managed to rescue remains of the helmet and bodies of several Soviet sailors, who were buried with honors at sea, while the real loot (the missiles and secret codes) was shrouded in uncertainty and absolute secrecy by the United States, since many of the details remain classified today. “We neither confirm nor deny.” The biggest twist in history came when the operation came out in 1975 after leaks and thefts of documents linked to the business cover, forcing the US Government to face a most delicate diplomatic situation. However, instead of admitting or denying the theft of a Soviet nuclear submarine more than 5,000 meters deep, Washington adopted a response that would go down in history: “We neither confirm nor deny”a formula designed to avoid direct tensions with Moscow and which has since become a standard in intelligence matters. That calculated silence It encapsulates the essence of the entire operation: a gigantic mission, almost impossible on paper, visible to everyone in appearance, but whose true purpose and results remain, to a large extent, hidden from the general public. The legacy. Although he Azorian Project did not recover the entire submarine, it left a deep mark on history of espionage and engineeringamong other things because it demonstrated that it was possible to operate at extreme depths and execute missions of a unprecedented complexity. Of course, it also demonstrated the extent to which the Cold War promoted radical technical solutions and operations that bordered on the improbable, in a race for gain strategic advantage at any price between both sides. Decades later, it remains one … Read more

a material that “fishes” it in the sea

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Building a nuclear power plant costs a fortune. It is estimated that between about 24,000 and 60,000 million, depending on the characteristics of the plant. However, China has taken the lead in this race and account with 56 nuclear reactors, as well as almost another thirty under construction. It takes half as long to build a plant and it is cheaper, which puts them in the race to be the greatest nuclear power by 2030. But these plants need to ‘eat’, and China has realized that it has to get uranium from wherever. His latest invention is a metamaterial that fishes that uranium in the sea. Prevailing need. Being a powerhouse in renewables is not enough for a China that needs energy both to satisfy its population and its industry and, above all, its data centers. With his Big Tech thrown into the roboticsthe chip creation and the artificial intelligence, all the energy It is welcome to dump it into the grid, but as we say, a nuclear power plant needs fuel. They need a lot, a lot of uraniumand the problem is that their mines do not produce enough. It is estimated that, in 2023, production was only 1,700 tons. In 2024 they imported 22,000 tons and, if they want to continue at that pace, they need more. They have found important reserves in Ordosbut they also want to exploit the sea. The oceans have uranium. It is estimated that there are about 4.5 billion tons of it, but it is found in an extremely low concentration of just three micrograms per liter. Due to the vastness of the ocean, there is a thousand times more uranium in the seas than in known land reserves and China wants to apply the “whoever extracts it first, keeps it.” The metamaterial. For that, the Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, presented A few days ago a peer-reviewed study detailed a metamaterial that, in essence, is like a sponge for hunting uranium. It is extremely small, just two micrometers in diameter (much thinner than a human hair). The ‘device’ is a metal-organic framework (MOF) micromotor that moves autonomously in two ways. When exposed to small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, it travels at about seven micrometers per second. When exposed to light, it doubles that speed. According to the researchersby moving passively, is more efficient and environmentally friendly than other materials. Uranium as prey. But… fishing? According to the investigation, in laboratory tests they achieved that each gram of material captured up to 406 milligrams of uranium. It is an amount that may seem ridiculous, but the idea is to have swarms full of these uranium ‘sponges’ hunting in unison. The researchers point out that, in the tests, they noticed patterns reminiscent of hunting, with the swarm of sponges chasing the uranium particles. According to them, the application of the metamaterial goes beyond uranium fishing and could be used to recover other strategic elements such as rubidium and cesium. These are alkaline elements that are very valuable in advanced navigation technologies, electronics, ion propulsion or atomic clocks. In short: like uranium, it is a very valuable element in technology, defense and the aerospace industry. Work to go. However, although the laboratory results are promising, the Qinghai researchers’ work has important challenges to overcome. Micromotors, for example, are in their early stages of development and also ensure that high-salinity environments limit system performance. They are not the only ones. For now, this uranium-hunting sponge is a successful proof of concept, but it will take a lot of work before it can be applied to the real world. Now, China is promoting not only its nuclear programbut everything that has to do with high technology and strategic elements, and the one from the Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes is not the only uranium-fishing MOF metamaterial that we have known recently. The Frontiers Science Center for Rare Isotopes at Lanzhou University is also developing a similar concept capable of absorbing up to 588 milligrams of uranium per gram of material. In the end, the idea of ​​fishing for uranium is not new, since Japan began developing the technology in the 80s and other countries are developing the technologybut with a China that, esteemwill need 40,000 tons of uranium by 2040, it is not strange that they are the ones taking giant steps to get uranium out from under the stones. Images | Esin Üstün, RobertoUderio In Xataka | Much of the world economy right now consists of Google and Amazon buying GPUs: 95% are idle

that “drink” fuel without stepping on land

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In the 80s, during exercises in the Atlantic, several pilots British Harrier They confessed that one of the greatest tensions was not the combat itself, but rather the time to return to the aircraft carrier with fuel in the red, adjusting each maneuver so as not to run out of margin in the last minutes. On more than one occasion, that millimeter calculation turned the landing into a matter of well-timed seconds. The limit that was always there. The anecdote is not trivial, since for decades the Harrier fighters of the Navy have operated with a clear restriction that conditioned each mission: their fuel dependency available when taking off from the ship. This limitation marked the time in the air, the radius of action and the ability to sustain operations far from the starting point, forcing each flight to be planned carefully. very tight margins. Let’s think that we are talking about an environment where projection and persistence are increasingly determining factors, which is why this barrier had become one of the most difficult factors to overcome. Without depending on land. That scenario has now changed with a milestone that, although seemingly technical, has quite profound operational implications: for the first time, a Spanish Harrier has been refueled in flight for a A330 MRTT of the Air and Space Army. The maneuver not only demonstrates compatibility between platforms, it also opens the door for these fighters to stay in the air much longer without needing to return to deck. In practice, it means that the Harrier can continue operating, surveilling or attacking without the fuel clock marking the end of the mission. A range and time multiplier in combat. The announced in-flight refueling completely transforms the aircraft’s operational profile, and it does so because expands its radius of action and allows you to stay in the area for much longer periods. This is especially relevant for a carrier-based fighter, an aircraft whose natural environment imposes obvious logistical constraints. In other words, with this capability, the Harrier can get further away from the shipcover more space and respond more flexibly to changing situations, something key in both defense missions and projection operations. Interoperability: two armies in one. Beyond refueling itself, the Spanish exercise represents a leap in integration between the Navy and the Air Forceby coordinating different systems (the Harrier boom and the A330 basket) in a joint operation. Plus: this type of capabilities reinforces the idea of ​​a more connected force, capable of operating in coordinated and efficient manner in complex scenarios. Furthermore, the A330 MRTT establishes itself as a central piece, capable of supplying multiple platforms and acting as a true force multiplier. Extend the life of a “veteran”. It is the last of the legs to analyze, because the context is key to understanding the importance of the advance: the Harrier continues to be a fundamental asset for the Spanish Navy, especially while its replacement by the F-35B. In the face of uncertainty, the strategy involves extend its useful life through maintenance, spare parts and improvements that maintain its operational relevance. The in-flight refueling capability fits perfectly into that goal, increasing its utility without the need to introduce a new system. Beyond a simple test. In short, what at first glance may seem like a technical test is, in reality, a paradigm shift on how Spain can use its embarked fighters. Allowing these planes to “drink” fuel in the air eliminates one of their main restrictions and brings them closer to a much more efficient operating model. more flexible and sustained in time. In a scenario where the speed of response and the ability to remain in the area make the difference, the advance redefines the role of the Harrier and expands the real scope of Spanish aerial projection. Image | Navy, Counting Stars In Xataka | Spain has a dilemma that is difficult to solve: call the US or be the last with a fighter jet in danger of extinction In Xataka | Spain has built a laser that shields the backbone of its Navy: the A400M is now ready for combat

The ambitious adaptation of a literary classic with 70 million copies sold comes to Prime Video

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In 1993, Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons and Antonio Banderas starred in the first adaptation of ‘The spirit house‘but Isabel Allende’s novel did not turn out very well, because the film left its Latin identity behind. Thirty-three years later, Prime Video premieres the first television adaptation in Spanish of the work, filmed entirely in Chile, with an Ibero-American creative team and Allende herself acting as executive producer. Published in 1982, the novel has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide and is considered a classic of 20th century Latin American literature. The Amazon adaptation was conceived by Francisca Alegría and Fernanda Urrejola, who co-wrote the pilot, who were later joined by Andrés Wood, director of ‘Machuca’ and the series ‘News of a Kidnapping’, who directed four of the eight episodes and served as co-showrunner. Isabel Allende herself and Eva Longoria are on the list of executive producers, in a proposal where Wood recognizes a very extensive female presence. The series follows the Trueba family through several decades of the 20th century in an unnamed South American country (although it is unmistakably Chile) undergoing profound political and social upheavals. At the center is Esteban, an ambitious, authoritarian and violent patriarch who builds his fortune by subjugating the peasants who work on his hacienda, Las Tres Marías. In front of him, Clara del Valle, a woman with supernatural gifts, who is gifted with clairvoyance and communicates with spirits, and whose sensitivity contrasts with the brutality of Esteban, whom she ends up marrying. The story unfolds through three generations of women, each facing power in their own way. The series is part of Prime Video’s commitment to Latin American content: according to data from Parrot Analyticsstreaming originals in Spanish and Portuguese grew 266% between 2020 and 2024, outpacing the growth rate of content in any other language. For this series, the platform is betting on a staggered premiere, with three first episodes available from this Wednesday, April 29, two new ones on May 6 and the three on May 13. It is a formula that Prime Video has used with other productions to keep the conversation active for several weeks, unlike the Netflix model. In Xataka | A porn video club in Valladolid in 1998: Prime Video gets naked with ‘Cochinas’

The cure against hyperconnection is to go “slow”

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You’ve spent two hours, or maybe three, in an impossible position looking at your phone in the middle of a kind of trance. A notification made you unlock the screen and, after jumping from one application to another, you fell into the black hole of the scroll infinite. You could hardly tell what you have seen. What perverse mechanism has hijacked your attention? Technology has “hacked” our psychology based on experiments with laboratory rats that psychologist BF Skinner conducted in the 1940s. Just as rodents became obsessed with a lever that sometimes gave them food and sometimes not, we are victims of intermittent booster. We slide our finger across the screen looking for an unpredictable reward (a likea funny video or an outrageous news story), which generates a highly addictive spike. It is no coincidence that addiction expert Dr. Anna Lembke describes smartphones as “modern-day hypodermic needles“. The problem of living on this digital merry-go-round lays it out clearly psychiatrist Evita Singh: short, frequent bursts of dopamine end up overstimulating us. As the months go by, brain pathways lose sensitivity and what previously gave us gratification stops doing so, opening the door to depression, anxiety and lack of concentration. The great myth of dopamine fasting To solve this short circuit, Silicon Valley popularized the concept of “dopamine fasting,” created by psychiatrist Cameron Sepah. However, this term has generated enormous confusion. Dr. Peter Grinspoon warns in a publication for Harvard that the name should not be taken literally. Biologically speaking, it is impossible to “fast” from a natural brain chemical. In fact, Dr. Singh clarifies that the goal of reducing screen time is not to rid the body of dopamine, but reset the sensitivity of our nerve cells so that they react to normal stimuli again. Faced with the frenzy of scrollthere is a trend that has appeared strongly: slow dopamine (slow dopamine). It is an approach that advocates pleasures stretched over time, almost meditative, where intensity gives way to nuance. In practice, it is retraining the brain in delayed gratification: accepting that the reward requires patience and prior effort, as occurs when preparing a meal from scratch, reading a book for hours, or tending a garden. This is in stark contrast to fast dopamine, which offers an instantaneous spike followed by a sharp drop (the scrollsugar, shopping on-line). The science of speed The difference between something addictive and something constructive often lies, purely and simply, in speed. A study published in the scientific journal Neuropsychopharmacology showed that the rewarding effects of stimulants in the brain depend crucially on how quickly they raise dopamine. Through brain scans, researchers observed that rapid increases in dopamine activate neural networks linked specifically to the subjective experience of the “high” or intense reward. In contrast, slow increases generate radically different and opposite patterns of global connectivity in the brain. Furthermore, it is vital to understand that we have trivialized this molecule. Dopamine is not only the “pleasure hormone”, but it is a fundamental neurotransmitter that acts on our movement, memory, attention and sleep. Its imbalance not only generates addictions, but is linked to diseases such as Parkinson’s, schizophrenia or ADHD. Breaking this circuit is not solved in a weekend, restoring these brain pathways and forming new habits can take up to 90 days. From addiction to isolation Misunderstanding neuroscience can be dangerous. Journalist Kirsty Grant, of the BBCunderwent a radical 24-hour dopamine fast: no screens, no music, no interaction, and barely any water. His conclusion was revealing: Instead of achieving enlightenment and concentration, he experienced a level of overwhelming boredom, intense hunger, and felt like he was punishing his body. Dr. Grinspoon in harvard criticizes precisely these extreme drifts, where people deprive themselves of speaking or interacting socially based on bad science. The medical literature supports this concern: an investigation published in the magazine Cureus concludes that intense dopamine fasts, which include extreme isolation or crash diets, can harm both physical and mental health. These types of radical practices cause feelings of loneliness, anxiety and malnutrition. Instead, the studies propose exploring a comprehensive approach that includes mindfulness. Practices such as meditation or yoga offer real and positive effects on the regulation of dopamine, allowing us to disconnect from digital distractions in a healthy way. The antidote to doomscrolling and mental exhaustion does not involve locking ourselves in a cave without stimulation. Science and psychology point towards gentle re-education. It is re-teaching our mind that sustained effort is also a reward. “Slow dopamine” invites us to regain control of our time and attention, transforming pleasure into something deeper and less volatile. Ultimately, it is about ensuring that technology once again becomes a useful tool at our service, and stops being a slot machine permanently installed in our pocket. Image | Photo by Borna Hržina on Unsplash Xataka | The science of “doomscrolling”: how technology hacked psychology so we can’t let go of our phones

We have been thinking about a single path to Mars for decades. A group of scientists has just found a “shortcut”

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If you travel to the Moon It’s quite a challengethe next step is only for the brave. To date, no one has traveled to Mars and even unmanned trips encounter multiple drawbacks. The first of them is the duration of the trip itself, since it can extend up to 8.5 months, one way. Almost nine months of space route, with all the inconveniences that may arise during it. That is why the shortcut that a team of scientists from the State University of Rio Janeiro has just proposed is so interesting. With it, the trip could be shortened to 153 days, round trip. The key is in the asteroids. The authors of this study They have looked for shortcuts on the route to Mars in a quite interesting way: by noticing other travelers. After studying the trajectories of several asteroids, they have focused on those whose orbit intersects both that of Mars and that of Earth. Until now, the trajectories are designed from the Earth’s orbital plane. If the orbital plane of one of these asteroids, specifically 2001 CA21, is also taken into account, new paths are opened, which were hidden from our planet. One of those paths, according to the study, would drastically reduce the duration of trips to Mars. The asteroid is not a vehicle. It is important to note that this study does not propose using asteroids as a vehicle to Mars. They simply use them to open horizons to other trajectories. We from Earth see only a few “roads”, but asteroids like this have other options. By looking for connection points between the Earth’s orbital plane and that of these asteroids, it can be linked to these other routes, some of which turn out to be more direct. Traditional tours. Normally, to travel from Earth to Mars something known as the Hohmann trajectory is used. This consists of beginning to make a turn around the Sun in our own elliptical orbit; to, when the time comes, take advantage of its gravitational pull and extend the ellipse to the Martian orbit. Broadly speaking, the ship does not go in a straight line to where the destination planet is, but rather travels to where it will be at a given time. It is not a short trip, but with it, by taking advantage of the gravitational pull, fuel consumption is greatly reduced. Planned trajectory for ESA’s ExoMars For this to be carried out, launch windows must be taken advantage of in which the Earth, the Sun and Mars are properly aligned. All this lengthens trips a lot. A change of plane. The orbits of the different objects that revolve around each other are not all in the same plane. Each one has its own plan. Like a sheet of paper that is spinning. The Earth’s plane is not exactly the same as that of Marsbut very similar. That of the asteroid in this study, however, is very different and is much more inclined. That is why it allows us to open the window to new trajectories. As explained in Wired, It is something like opening a secondary window in a video game to see a scenario that we do not see in the main one. Multiple launch windows. Taking into account the need to have a proper alignment between the Earth, the Sun and Mars, there are soon three interesting launch windows to travel to the red planet: 2027, 2029 and 2031. By studying them one by one, the authors of this study saw that it is in 2031 when the best alignment with the plane of the asteroid occurs and, therefore, a much faster opportunity for travel. In the best case, Mars could be reached in 33 days. The complete trip would be 153 days, although in less optimistic cases it could be 226 days. Be that as it may, it is still much less than those 9 months, one way, that it takes now. Other asteroids. Although the study has been carried out with specific data from a single asteroid, these scientists believe that, in reality, the orbital planes of others could be taken whose trajectories also intersect with Earth and Mars. Basically, the key is to look outside the box. Or, much more literally, out of shot. There are many interesting routes out there. More powerful propulsion systems. All this sounds beautiful, but there is a big drawback that we must take into account. And, in order to carry out this process, much more energy is needed. Therefore, it would be necessary to resort to practically unfeasible quantities of fuel or to new, more powerful propulsion systems. Today this is not possible, so advances in this regard should go in parallel with the development of advances in propulsion systems. Many examples are already being investigated, such as the use of nuclear energy. Even has been proposed use lasers, although it is a project that is very much in its infancy. There is still a long way to go, never better said, but if the future is in these short and alternative trajectories it must also be in new propulsion systems that leave traditional ones behind. Image | NASA | THAT In Xataka | ExoMars, this is Europe’s most ambitious mission to Mars

Not even God is saved from AI, so the Vatican has gone from the commandments to being the first State to legislate it

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Incredible as it may seem, the Vatican is moving faster than most historical institutions in the face of artificial intelligence and everything that is coming our way (and that, in fact, we are already getting a glimpse of), from disinformation to voice and video deepfakes, to the silent erosion of what we understand as reality. An institution that is more than 2,000 years old and old-fashioned is giving a lesson in institutional agility to governments, parliaments and even technology companies that do not know where they are going. And it does not do so from naivety, but from a firm and concrete theological conviction: that human dignity is not negotiable, not even in the face of a language model with a billion parameters. It has taken the EU years to approve its AI Act and even so it was a pioneer, but big tech in general is behaving like the tobacco industry by self-regulating tobacco. In this scenario, the Holy See has had internal directions in force for months, alliances in cybersecurity and a pope who has already said that AI cannot preach faith. The Vatican’s position. In addition to prohibiting the use of AI to write sermons, last February Pope Leo XIV asked the priesthood do not look for “likes” on social networks. A year earlier, the Vatican had issued one of the world’s first regulatory frameworks on AI demanding ethics, transparency and putting humans at the center Thus, Vatican policy establishes that technology “should never surpass or replace human beings” and must be at the service of human dignity. And it is not something new: the previous Pope Francis already laid the foundations in his Laudato Si’ of 2015, but applied to the digital world. Why it is important. Because the Holy See is moving more and better than the bulk of traditional institutions to establish norms and safeguards against disinformation generated by AI. While the EU approved its legislative framework as a bloc, the Vatican has been the first individual sovereign State to have immediate compliance guidelines for its administration, ahead of powers such as the United States or China. By positioning itself as a moral authority, it seeks to fill the regulatory and ethical void that technology companies have left open. This positioning has real institutional weight: the Vatican operates as a diplomatic actor with permanent observer status at the UN and relations with more than 180 states, which allows it to project its ethical standards beyond the religious sphere, in a space where neither governments nor technology companies have achieved global consensus. Context. We have already seen that the movement is not something sudden or improvised and that the Vatican’s position has been brewing for years. In fact, it is the evolution of the “Rome Call for AI Ethics“, a historical (but voluntary) document where the Vatican managed to get giants such as Microsoft, IBM and Cisco will sign a commitment to develop technologies that respect privacy and inclusion The current geopolitical context, marked by cyberattacks and the use of deepfakes in conflicts, has forced the Holy See to accelerate its cybersecurity partnerships and establish monitoring within Vatican City itself to protect its information sovereignty. At a regulatory level, the Vatican is not going it alone: ​​the Holy See’s approach is complementary to that of the AI ​​Act: the EU regulates by law and the Vatican provides the moral authority and ethical principles of universal application, something that cannot be legislated. Retail. The Vatican’s regulatory framework focuses on both technical security and the social impact that algorithms have and seriously warns about the risk of a new inequality gap: between those who control AI and those who are controlled by it. The Vatican has established formal cybersecurity alliances with simultaneous focus on defense, diplomacy and ethics. The internal guidelines They prohibit AI that manipulates people, generates discrimination or compromises institutional integrity and there are specific safeguards on data. In Xataka | “AI will never be able to preach the faith”: the Pope is asking priests not to use ChatGPT to write their sermons In Xataka | The Vatican, a holy and renewable city: the Pope’s plans to make the small Catholic state more sustainable Cover | Google DeepMind and Julien DI MAJO

a diamond from 2 billion years ago

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It was at the beginning of the 20th century when, in a south africa minea foreman named Frederick Wells thought he saw a simple flash in a rock wall and decided to check it with his knife. What he got out of there turned out to be the biggest diamond never found, a piece so large that for years was doubted whether it was just a fragment of something even greater. The iconic scene left a curious idea that is repeated in the history of mining: sometimes, the most extraordinary finds appear just when no one is looking for them. Luck at the last minute. It happened at the beginning of April, when in one of the most remote regions of the planet, a few kilometers from the Arctic Circle, a mine which was already facing its last days of activity has left an unexpected discovery that rewrites its ending. This is not just a new geological discovery, but one that combines extreme rarity, almost unimaginable antiquity and a context that makes it something much more symbolic How usual. In a place on the planet where every extraction seemed to be part of the past, the earth has offered one of its oldest secrets at the last possible moment. An extraordinary diamond in every way. It is not trivial, because the stone found, with more than 158 caratsis among the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered in Canada, a country where this type of gem is already exceptional. In more than two decades of activity, only a few few comparable pieceswhich places the discovery in a practically unique and almost unusual category. The rarity is even greater when you consider that this type of diamond represents less than one percent of the mine’s total production. Two billion years. Yes, because the true value of this diamond lies not only in its size or color, but in its fascinating origin. The researchers said that, formed approximately two billion years deep within the Earth, it is the result of extremely slow geological processes that have remained intact until today. Its yellow color, a product of presence of nitrogen in its crystalline structure, it adds another layer of uniqueness to an already exceptional piece. On the brink of closure. As we said at the beginning, what makes this discovery especially significant is the moment in which it occurs. The Diavik mineoperational since 2003, just closed after more than twenty years of activity and more than 150 million carats extracted. In other words, this diamond appears as one of the last great discoveries before the end, functioning almost as a symbolic closure for an operation that has marking the industry in northern Canada. Extreme engineering in one of the harshest environments. The context in which the discovery occurs is key to understanding its importance. The mine operates in subarctic conditionswith extreme temperatures and in an isolated environment that has forced the development of advanced technical solutions, from containment dams in frozen waters to hybrid energy systems with renewables. This level of complexity turns each extraction into a logistical and human challenge that goes far beyond simple mining. Beyond the stone. During its lifespan, the mine has not only produced diamonds, but has transformed the economy of the region, generating thousands of jobs and important industrial activity. Furthermore, it has established collaborations with communities local indigenous people for the management of the territory and its future restoration, a key aspect now that the exploitation has come to an end and the environmental recovery process begins. The last gift. If you also want, together, the discovery sums up the essence of the entire operation: technology, nature and time converging in an unexpected moment. When everything pointed to a definitive closure without any major surprises, the mine has delivered one of its most extraordinary pieces at the last minute, as if the land itself refused to disappear without leaving a last trace. Thus, more than a simple discovery, the diamond has become the region in the final symbol of a cycle with the most filmy closing. Image | Rio Tinto In Xataka | The diamond industry has been looking for a way out of its biggest crisis for years. Taylor Swift just served it on a platter In Xataka | The diamond industry promised to be happy with lab-grown jewelry. Until prices crashed

what to do now with your life

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It was in 2023 when Louis Debouzy sold his companyhe got paid, and found himself with an anxiety that he couldn’t explain. Within five months, 200 founders had signed up for The Exit Clubthe community he founded to talk about it. Most showed symptoms of depression. Why is it important. The phenomenon has a name in psychology: sudden wealth syndromeor sudden wealth syndrome. But in the case of the founders there is an additional layer: it is not just the money that arrives suddenly, it is that the company was their identity. When they sell it, what organized their time, their decisions, and basically their sense of who they are disappears. The calendar that was once bursting with meetings is suddenly empty. Without an agenda there is no identity. Between the lines. The entrepreneurial culture has built the exit like the definitive destination, the moment when everything makes sense. It’s celebrated on TechCrunch, applauded on LinkedIn, included in X’s bio, and talked about at any event. networking. What is not usually discussed is what happens the following Monday. Almost all founders experience deep and prolonged sadness after selling your companyeven when the exit has been a success. The problem is not failure but the opposite. The cases. The best-known examples are the most extreme, but not the only ones. These are extreme cases but they illustrate a logic that is repeated: financial success does not resolve the existential crisis, and in fact sometimes triggers it. The context. 72% of entrepreneurs have difficulties with mental health after the exitwhether it be depression, anxiety or addiction to some substance. 72%. It’s almost the norm. And yet, the taboo remains enormous: admitting that one has become depressed after winning millions clashes squarely with the social expectation that one should be euphoric. The post-periodexit It is a very lonely experience, because people expect you to just be happyand there is no guide to get through it. The question. Why does it take so long to talk about this normally? Probably because it combines two taboos: that of mental health and that of privilege. It’s hard to ask for empathy when eight figures have just arrived in your checking account. The absence of this social permission pushes the problem inward, and aggravates it. Groups like The Exit Club try to break that isolation: a space where you can say “I have all the money in the world and I don’t know who I am” without anyone looking at you strangely. It is not a new phenomenon for Xataka: The question of what to do with life when money is no longer the problem has been looming for years in forums and entrepreneurial communities. Yes, but. Not every founder who sells his company falls into a crisis. Some experience it as a liberation and move on to the next phase without apparent trauma. The problem is not universal, but it is frequent enough that communities, resources and therapists specialized in this specific transit have emerged. That there’s a market for that, especially in a demographic as small as “people who sell their business and get a completely life-changing amount” says something. Go deeper. The post-exit It is not a problem with a solution, but a transition with phases. What matters is recognizing it as a predictable phenomenon that affects high-performing people when their main source of identity disappears. In Xataka | The most expensive house in history is in London, it already has an owner and a dizzying price: 310 million euros Featured image | Xataka

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