Month: July 2026

This is how nature reacts to a solar eclipse

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Humans are not the only animals that we are guided by circadian cycles. Many other animals, and even some plants, undergo ordered physiological changes in 24-hour cycles. Here, light is of great importance. There are animals that increase their activity in the dark, while others do the opposite. There are also plants that close their flowers and fold their leaves at night, while others, especially in drought conditions, prefer darkness to open in all their splendor. Therefore, it is actually not strange that one of the most curious effects of a solar eclipse are, precisely, the behavioral changes in animals and plants. Although the solar eclipse this August 12, 2026 It will be the first time in which it is studied how it affects the circadian rhythms of people, in the case of animals and plants there are already many records and published studies. In all of them, as well as in the testimonies of those who have witnessed the eclipses, there are some very interesting data. Nervous, lazy and confused animals due to the solar eclipse One of the first people to study how a solar eclipse affects nature was the New England entomologist William Wheeler. In 1932, he called on citizens to record all changes in the behavior of animals and plants that caught their attention during one of these phenomena. received more than 500 testimonies about birds, mammals, insects and plants. Among them, for example, the cases of bees that returned to their hives or owls that began to hoot in broad daylight stood out. The case of bees has been recorded on many more occasions. In fact, during an eclipse in Idaho in 2017 it caught the attention of many people that the bumblebees stopped buzzing. That same year, at a South Carolina zoothe animals’ caretakers were fascinated by their behaviors. They reported that 75% of them had some strange behavior. In some cases it was nervousness and in others it was a change in routines. That is, the nocturnal animals began their activity, while the diurnal animals stopped it. The remaining 25% were quite lazy. They remained as if nothing had happened. Regarding those who got nervous, The case of giraffes stands out, who began to run in terror. This has been reported in other zoos and, although it is not so easy to measure in nature, the same thing possibly happens, basically because at night they must hide from predators. Seeing that the sun disappears, they realize that they are already too late to flee. Among the behavioral changes they detected at the zoo, one of the most curious is that of the turtles that began to mateeven without being necessarily nocturnal animals for this type of habits. The darkness of the eclipse must have seemed magical for sex. Another curious fact is that, during eclipses, crickets usually start singing and? the cattle move to the stables. But, without a doubt, the most curious behavior is that of the birds. In 2018, scientists verified the global change in their behavior with a curious study. Instead of analyzing bird by bird, they measured the total amount of biological matter in the air during the eclipse. This is done using a signal that a radar emits and measures its return, more or less like sonar. That value, called reflectivity, is different for a bird or bat than for something inorganic, like a storm cloud. Therefore, global behavioral changes could be measured in all flying animals. On a normal day, this value reaches its maximum at dusk, as this is when most birds begin their nocturnal migrations. However, when they measured it during an eclipse, it plummeted. The birds that were flying They stopped dead and went down to the ground or the branches, possibly to take shelter, as if a storm were coming. What happens to the plants? There are also many testimonies of changes in plants and, of course, it has been analyzed by scientists. For example, in 2017 a study was carried out with four plants that normally show measurable changes with changes in light. These were, first of all, mimosa and oxalis, They normally close their leaves at night. The other two were corn and soybeans stressed by drought, since in these conditions they do the opposite: they fold their leaves during the day and open them at night. During the eclipse, it was seen that there are plants that are “deceived” by this phenomenon and others that do not change their behavior when darkness and temperature changes occur for such a short time. Among the unstressed plants, the mimosa did experience changes and “confused” the eclipse with the night, but the oxalis did not. Of the stressed ones, the corn continued its normal behavior, but the soybeans did open their leaves as if it were dusk. In short, it seems that all living beings are driven a little crazy by eclipses. But, almost always, crazy in the good sense of the word. That is why there is so much expectation with the Iberian trio that we will be able to enjoy from this very month of August. Image | Magnificent In Xataka | A third of Spain will be completely dark for a minute or two. The astronomical event of the century is approaching

Scientists threw a cow into the depths of the China Sea. They discovered eight unexpected guests at the feast

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The ocean is full of surprises. Sometimes, as happened several years ago in Canada, enigmas appear floating in a of human feet adrift. However, in others, the majority, you have to go down to the depths to try to solve the mysteries. That was precisely what a group of researchers proposed. It all started by throwing the carcass of a cow. A cow at 1,600 meters. In one of the most unusual marine experiments in recent years, a group of scientists threw a dead cow 1,629 meters deep on a continental slope of the South China Sea, off the Chinese island of Hainan, with the aim of simulating the sinking of a whale and studying the scavenger behavior of deep waters. What they found surprised even the most experienced researchers: eight sleeper sharks of the Pacific (Somniosus pacificus) appeared at the site, marking the first documented observation of this species in the region. The discovery not only unexpectedly expands the distribution map of this elusive shark, but also provides valuable information about its behavioral patterns, feeding hierarchies, physiological adaptations and its possible geographical expansion. An unexpected visitor. Although the Pacific sleeper shark is a species with a wide distribution in the northern Pacific Ocean (from Japan to Alaska and south to Baja California), its detection in waters off southern China was not only unexpected, but raises questions about the actual extent of its habitatits possible displacement due to the effect of climate change or even the existence of a stable and not yet registered population in that region. Food label. The recorded images The underwater cameras not only confirmed its presence, but also revealed unusual behavior for large predators: a kind of shift systemin which the sharks lined up to feed on the corpse, giving way to other individuals that approached from behind. This type of “food label”rarely observed in predatory species, suggests that feeding order could be determined by the competitive intensity of each individual, rather than a chaotic struggle for resources, which would indicate a more complex level of social organization than previously suspected in these animals. New clues. He study also documented variations in behavior depending on body size. The specimens that exceeded 2.7 meters in length were very more aggressive and direct in attacking the carrion, while the smaller sharks opted for cautious movements, circling the carcass before approaching. The pattern suggests that even in an environment where food is scarce and opportunities are random, sleeper sharks could have developed a coexistence strategy with hierarchical ranks that minimize direct conflict. One more thing. Another notable finding was a behavior of eye retraction observed during feeding. Since this species lacks nictitating membrane (the protective “third eyelash” that other vertebrates such as cats or certain reptiles have), researchers believe that this retraction reflects a evolutionary adaptation to protect the eyes during bites or struggles, which provides new information about the defensive physiology of these sharks in their natural environment. The unknown. And more, since the recordings also showed other revealing aspects. To wit: several sharks carried visible parasites in his eyes, identified like copepodsalthough it was not possible to accurately classify the species. This detail reinforces the biological parallel between Pacific sleeper sharks and their better-known relatives, the Greenland sharkswhich also tend to harbor parasites in their visual organs. Aside from sharks, the experiment attracted a surprising variety of deep-sea fauna, such as snail fish and numerous amphipodsall attracted to the source of decaying organic matter. These records confirm that the deep areas of the South China Sea not only host a biodiversity that is still poorly documented, but could be more productive than previously believed, contrary to the idea that the tropical depths are biologically poorer than their polar counterparts. The great unknown. Ultimately, the presence of these sharks raises a crucial question: is this a recent expansion of their range due to global warming, or has it always been part of their habitat and simply never been observed? The species is known to have occasionally appeared in such remote regions like Palau or the Solomon Islandssuggesting that there could be more southern populations than the scientific literature indicates. However, the “frequent occurrence” in the southwest China Sea, according to the team itself researcher led by Han Tian, ​​suggests rather a structural lack of data in an underexplored region rather than a recent change in the distribution pattern. In that sense, the experiment with the cow corpse has not only provided a specific observation, but has also opened a way to review key concepts about the marine biogeography of abyssal species. The new discovery. In February 2026, it was documented, for first time in historya shark (of the sleeper family, possibly a southern sleeper shark, a very close relative of the Pacific sleeper shark) off the South Shetland Islands, in Antarctic waters, 490 meters deep. This is the first time that an elasmobranch has been filmed in the Southern Ocean, and several experts suggest that warming waters could be facilitating the movement of this family of sharks to areas where they were not previously expected, although they also warn that they could have been there for a long time without having been detected. Know the depths. All these findings They highlight the usefulness of simple but carefully designed experiments to obtain data about remote, inaccessible and often poorly understood environments. The idea of ​​simulating a whale sinking with a cow not only proved effective, it proved to be a powerful ecological magnet capable of revealing complex biological interactions. In a context where the climate change and human activity are altering ecosystems even at great depth, this type of research is crucial to understanding the invisible functioning of the deep ocean. The appearance of eight sleeper sharks where no one expected them, behaving with order, measured aggression and sophisticated adaptive mechanisms, is further proof that the deep sea they keep secrets that we are only beginning to understand. A version of this article was published in July … Read more

How to change your doctor to choose another depending on your autonomous community

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Let’s explain to you how to change your GP through the Internet, and without having to do any in-person procedures. This way, if you are not satisfied with the attention that the professional assigned to you is giving you, you can make a change. The process depends on each autonomous community. Some will allow you to do everything online, and in others you will simply have a page explaining the necessary documentation and how to make an appointment to make the request in person. This procedure is called Right to free choiceand all autonomous communities allow it to be done. Of course, in almost all of them it is a purely in-person procedure, although some already allow it to be done online. Change doctors in each autonomous community Let’s tell you the links for the doctor change process that each autonomous community has available. Thus, depending on where you live, you will know the page where you have to make the change. On the pages where you can complete the procedure online, the first thing will be to identify yourself using a digital certificatelike the FNMT certificateor alternatively be registered in the Cl@ve system. Then, each page will guide you through the steps you need to take. And on the pages where there is no online procedure, what you have is information about everything you need to be able to do it in person. You will be told the requirements, where to go and the papers you must provide. In Xataka Basics | News about My Citizen Folder: everything new you can do after its March 2026 update

Alcohol has found an old ally among Generation Z, social pressure

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Do the young people of 2026 drink? Yes. But in a different way than those of two, three or four decades ago. falls usual consumption and the majority (57.9%) of people between 15 and 29 years old claim that they only try alcohol very sporadically or have directly banished it from their lives. However, that does not take away the other side of the coin: a considerable percentage of young people maintains the more or less frequent habit of raising a glass to their lips and, above all, remains social pressure that continues to associate partying and drunkenness. That’s at least what the latest studies reveal. Of young people and bottles. Generation Z is changing the way they relate to alcohol. The trend is not new (in Xataka we have talked other times of her), but that does not mean that it is easy to keep track of it: the change is so multifaceted, has so many chiaroscuros and above all has given rise to so many statistics, that it is difficult to summarize it with clear concepts. What is indisputable is that, beyond its socio-health dimension, the phenomenon is already influencing the way to relate of Generation Z and the alcohol industry, which faces what is likely to be your biggest challenge: how the hell to attract an audience that is increasingly less interested in the bottle. A percentage: 57.9%. The first touch that helps to understand the trend was provided a few days ago by FAD Juventud in a report about the matter. Among the many data in the document, there is one eloquent one: the majority of its interviewees were between 15 and 29 years old (57.9%) claim that they do not consume alcohol on a regular basis. In fact, the percentage is the sum of those who drink only a few times a year (22.7%), those who almost never do so (12.7%), those who have given up drinking (8.1%) and those who have never touched it (14.4%). When asking their respondents how often they try beer, wine, cocktails or any other alcoholic product, FAD researchers have also found that only 13.2% admit to doing so with a “high frequency”, which is equivalent to drinking every or almost every day. less and less present. It’s not just that most young people drink very occasionally, it’s that their relationship with the bottle is cooling. That’s what at least one other recent study on the subject suggests: the ‘Spanish Health Survey’released by Health and which, although it includes indicators for 2023, has just been published now. When analyzing the adolescent population cohort, its authors have had a surprise: a collapse in alcohol intake. If in 2006 the prevalence of habitual consumption among people aged 15 to 24 was 43.8%, in 2023 this figure had dropped to 17.9%. That is, the indicator decreased by 60% in less than 20 years. “It is the largest drop observed among all age groups,” confirm the Ministry of Health, which recalls that, in general, the prevalence during that period went from 48.8% to 31.1%. The other data: 35.6%. Fad provides a third interesting indicator. According to your latest surveyfocused on young people between 15 and 29 years old residing in Spain, 35.6% say they have reduced their alcohol consumption and 17.3% have directly decided to give up drinking permanently. It is not at all surprising if we take into account that 51.9% considers that alcohol is harmful to health and most adolescents know well what getting drunk entails. When Fad asked the young people what made them give up alcohol, 33.5% explained that “under its influence you do things that you shouldn’t” and 30.4% acknowledged that when drunk “you are more exposed to something happening to you.” Not only that. The majority of those interviewed (67.6%) boast a “fairly or very healthy” lifestyle, which among other things includes going to the gym (23.1%) or playing sports (21.6%). These are interesting percentages because, as Fad recalls, they exceed those associated with alcohol-based activities. Everything perfect, right? No. And here the nuances begin. Over the last few decades, Spain has been “significantly” changing its way of consuming alcohol. And that transformation is being especially clear among young people. That’s something that recognize even the Ministry of Health. However, it is one thing to drink less or differently and another to turn your back on drinks. In the same report in which he confirms the collapse in consumption, Fad issues a warning to sailors: “Despite this trend, alcohol is still very present in the lives of youth: six out of ten young people between 15 and 29 years old consume frequently or occasionally.” The agency has also detected another worrying trend: 20% of those who use alcohol and energy drinks acknowledge that they mix them frequently, and they know their effects on the body. Social pressure, untouchable. Curiously, despite all the changes registered in recent decades, there is something that persists: social pressure around alcohol. More than half of young people have internalized that drinking is harmful to their body, but that does not mean that the consumption of beer, wine and other spirits continues to be normalized at night. What’s more, Fad has detected “a general pressure to drink,” especially at parties. “It exists in leisure and party contexts and is related to the need to ‘be normal’, fit in, integrate into the peer group and belong to something, and has intensified at an early age,” warns the organization, which adds: “Those who do not drink say that they often have to explain themselves, justify their position. Furthermore, in some contexts it is assumed that those who do not drink ‘cut the bulls’.” “So that they leave you alone”. The Fad Juventud report is not based only on polls or statistics. Its authors have relied on discussion groups with 32 young people between 18 and 28 years old residing in Madrid. And their conclusion is clear: as paradoxical as it may sound, they drink less … Read more

Madrid wants the largest Ferris wheel in the world. For now he is settling for a French merry-go-round

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Fifty-nine years old. That is the amount of time that has passed since the noble Madrid Amusement Park has not had a new tender that allows a new company to manage the more than 30 machines that attract approximately one million visitors each year. A single operator. The concession worked in favor of a single company: for an initial period of 35 years, until 1992, the concessionaire could thus fully amortize the investment in civil works and attractions. And so much: it is estimated that more than a million people visit these attractions every year. The term was extended: first, an extension of 24 more years, until 2016; then another extension to the September 27, 2027coinciding with successive major internal reforms—more thematic areas, roller coasters, Nickelodeon expansion—that justified maintaining the same operator. almost six decades of continued exploitation since the concession to Parques Reunidos that began in 1967. And now, Madrid wants to “resurrect” it under two clear rules: a non-renewable eight-year concession and a complete overhaul. And, on the horizon, that gargantuan attraction that we have talked about on occasion. London Eye twice. Literally, Madrid dreams of the largest Ferris wheel in the world. Behind the capital’s Business Forum, which has been defending a structure of about 260 meters for years, doubling the 135 meters of the London Eye. Carlos Rubio’s design proposes an elliptical apparatus higher than the Ain Dubai (250 meters), with panoramic cabins and a multi-story observation deck in the center. The problem is that a good part of Madrid does not want to talk about the Ferris wheel. In 2025, the City Council commissioned a geotechnical study to assess whether it was viable to plant something of such a scale in the Enrique Tierno Galván park, within Arganzuela. The report concluded that technically it could be done. And the neighbors opposed it, suspecting that this move would be the prelude to the privatization of a green lung, an idyllic area to walk the dog or read for a while. The Delicias para Todos neighborhood association warned of the impact: 300 fewer trees, almost a thousand meters of lost soil and a stolen public landscape. They gathered more than 14,000 signatures against it in a few weeks. Finally, a municipal plot next to the EMT garages, next to the hospital Peace in Madrid Nuevo Norte, even without a formal project registered with the City Council, will presumably be the new home of this star wheel. A French merry-go-round. At the same time, the City Council has decided to put out to tender the management of the legendary Casa de Campo Amusement Park. José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of the city, announced during the State of the City Debate that those almost twenty hectares will go to competition. Aim: modernize it. Among the conditions there is a very specific jewel to preserve, maintain and restore: the wooden merry-go-round, the oldest of all the machines, built in France in 1927 and acquired for the inauguration of the park in 1968. A fair trader from Madrid bought it and took it to the San Isidro meadow, to finally pass into the hands of the City Council and install it in Casa de Campo. It is considered “one of the pieces with the greatest heritage value in the complex” and protected under a wooden pergola to prevent it from deteriorating. Taxidermy and memory. This merry-go-round is an artisanal attraction in the art deco/modernist style, handcrafted by French cabinetmakers, with horses, tigers, elephants and even pigs carved in wood, some with glass taxidermy eyes, and period melodies that recreate the atmosphere of the early 20th century. A little murky for current childhoods, although the memory of the carousel outweighs any scare. During its last major restoration, completed in 2012 by artist Félix Rego, figures were disassembled and recomposed, damage after decades spent outdoors was corrected, and everything from the hood to the chrome was repainted. The idea was for the carousel to continue spinning as something active, not to leave it relegated to a museum piece. Madrid already had its ferris wheel. Compared to the 260 meter tall monster, Ferris Wheel Vision was modest, to say the least. Installed in the 70s next to the central lake and dismantled in 2011, this attraction offered views of the Casa de Campo. It was part of a period of expansions along with Jet Star, La Casa Magnética and Las Alfombras Mágicas. His disappearance was experienced as a small trauma. After 40 years of service, he received a tribute video official when he retired to make way for more intense speeds, like the Abyss or Tarantula. And she wasn’t the only one to die either. Seven Peaks, the Cafeteria Tree, the Ghost Ship… most of them have been falling in favor of roller coasters. New times, new rhythms. With the cable car under renovation —47 panoramic cabins Swiss-made, with glass floors in some of them, sensors, AI and almost double the speed—it seems time to check the nostalgic button. That today the City Council protects an almost hundred-year-old French merry-go-round at the same time that it opens the door to a gigantic structure says a lot about the moment: the capital wants to play in the league of global icons – “a Ferris wheel is worth a ride,” it is often said – but it knows that its true emotional heritage continues to float on the artifacts that have been spinning at 10 km/h in the Casa de Campo for decades. Continuous circular motion, the cycle of life. Images | Madrid Amusement Park; own assembly In Xataka | Madrid has been obsessed with having the largest Ferris wheel in the world for years. And it’s closer than ever to getting it. In Xataka | The best amusement parks in Spain: a selection of getaways full of fun and strong emotions

It has a 31.5-inch screen with 4K resolution and 240 Hz

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OLED gaming monitors are beginning to gain a lot of popularity and are increasingly taking over those that use IPS panels. We already have a new high-end model in Spain: It is an AGON Pro (AOC brand), it has a 4th generation QD-OLED panel and can be purchased from 999 euros. AOC AG326UZD2 Gaming Monitor 32 Inch 240Hz QD-OLED Panel, 0.03ms GtG, HDR500 TrueBlack, G-Sync Compatible, Speakers, Adjustable Height, (3840×2160 HDMI 2X 2.1 DP 1x 2.1 USB Hub) Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A QD-OLED monitor perfect for computers with the best graphics cards This monitor, model AG32UZD2, is the direct successor of the model AG326UDAM. Improves it in almost everythingalthough since it has only been in stores for a very short time, it has a significantly higher price (it costs close to double). This AGON Pro is a monitor designed for enthusiasts who seek to have the best experience when playing, especially if their gaming PC has an RTX 5080 or an RTX 5090. We are looking at a 31.5-inch screen with 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 240 Hzmaking it perfect for offering a very fluid gaming experience. In addition, its response time is 0.03 ms, a very low figure that also makes it perfect for competitive video games. It also has a high maximum brightness level of 1,000 nits and DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification. To all this, we have to add that it mounts a 4th generation QD-OLED panel. This type of panels, which are self-emissive, They are going to give us a pure black color and outstanding contrast. This is something that we are going to notice especially in night scenes or in horror video games, since dark sequences abound in them. At the connectivity level, it comes with DisplayPort 2.1 and HDMI 2.1, so it will help us reach 120 fps on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. It also comes with a USB-C port (perfect for charging the laptop or mobile phone), supports NVIDIA G-Sync and has a matte finish and anti-reflective treatment. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: aoc ag326uzd2 monitor ✅ THE BEST 4th generation QD-OLED panel: This new generation of panels has a higher brightness level and is more durable. Outstanding Image Quality: The pure black and outstanding contrast of a QD-OLED monitor like this AGON Pro changes (for the better) the gaming experience. ❌ THE WORST Its price: At launch it arrives at around 1,000 euros, a very high price if we take into account that its predecessor does not reach 600 euros. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for a high-end QD-OLED monitor with a good refresh rate and a great level of connectivity to play with your gaming PC or your console. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You prefer to opt for a cheaper model that also has 4K resolution, like its predecessor or one of the most popular OLED monitors such as the MSI Mag 321UPX You may also be interested Samsung LS27FG816SUXEN, 27″ 4K Odyssey OLED G8 G81SF Gaming Monitor (3840 x 2160, 16:9, 240Hz, 0.03ms(GTG), 4K, FreeSync Premium Pro, Glare Free, VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 400, Silver The price could vary. We earn commission from these links AOC AG326UDAM Gaming Monitor 32 Inch 165Hz QD-OLED Panel, 0.03ms GtG, HDR400 TrueBlack, G-Sync Compatible, Speakers, Adjustable Height, (3840×2160 HDMI 2X 2.1 DP 1x 1.4 USB Hub) Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | A.O.C. In Xataka | Ultrawide monitor vs two monitors: productivity science says it’s not just inches that matter In Xataka | Best monitors to work with in terms of quality and price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

China has erected two mysterious “rectangles” in the middle of the desert that point to Taiwan

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Aerial photographs played a decisive role during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the images taken by American spy planes that revealed the installation of launch ramps Soviet forces on the island and unleashed one of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War. Since then, many of the great military advances have begun as a handful of strange shapes detected from the air long before there was official confirmation. Two rectangles that don’t fit. The latest images from the Chinese base of Jilantai, in Inner Mongolia, have focused on two mysterious structures Hardened rectangular with retractable roofs. The facility is not just any base: since the late 2010s it has been one of the main centers testing and expansion of China’s new ICBM silos. Precisely for this reason, the appearance of two constructions that do not resemble the known silos has aroused enormous interest among military analysts. The dimensions point to another very different mission. He prepared report by analyst Eli Tirk argues that these structures are too small and shallow to house intercontinental ballistic missiles like the DF-31 either DF-41. “These structures appear to be shallower than the silos intended for intercontinental ballistic missiles,” explains. Its dimensions, therefore, fit better with smaller weapons, such as short and medium range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or even hypersonic systems. like the DF-17. Although there is still no official confirmation about their function, the measurements, the design of the roofs and their configuration clearly differentiate them from the nuclear silos that China has built during the last few years. Satellite image of the site in question The great hypothesis looks at Taiwan. They remembered the TWZ analysts that the explanation that is gaining the most weight is that Beijing is developing a new rapid conventional attack capability. Instead of serving as a nuclear deterrent, these facilities would allow launching large quantities of missiles during the early stages of a crisis to saturate enemy defenses. According to the tirk reporta massive deployment of this type of launchers could facilitate a rapid escalation from a naval blockade to a campaign of attacks against targets in Taiwan, US bases located in the first island chain or even naval groups deployed in the region. Close-up of one of the new reinforced structures with a retractable roof, as seen on January 28, 2026 An infrastructure designed to survive. Regardless of the type of missile they can house, the design reflects a trend that is spreading through the Chinese armed forces. The retractable roofs They allow launch systems to be kept hidden until the last moment and protected against precision attacks or drones. Researchers believe they could be part of a vertical launch system capable of using different types of ammunition from the same platform, increasing flexibility and reducing the time needed to execute consecutive attacks. A satellite image shows what appears to have been a new air defense emplacement pattern, with reinforced structures and retractable roofs It is not an isolated case. These new structures add to a much broader process of hardening of the chinese military facilities that we have been counting. During the last years have appeared hundreds of new silos for nuclear missiles, reinforced shelters for aircraft, completely closed hangars and protected facilities both inside the country and in strategic areas near the border with India or the South China Sea. The war in Ukraine and the growing prominence of drones have reinforced the need to protect any fixed infrastructure against increasingly cheaper and more precise attacks. A mystery far from being solved. The own authors of the report They recognize that there are still many unknowns. It is possible that these structures have a different function, that they are related to testing of new systems or even that they hide underground facilities deeper than the available images show. However, satellite photographs have been enough to put on the table an idea that is difficult to ignore: China appears to be building a new generation of military facilities that do not seek only to increase its arsenal, but to accelerate the speed with which it could use it in a hypothetical conflict. As Tirk ditch at work“if built in sufficient numbers, these systems would allow the Chinese military to quickly move from a quarantine or blockade of Taiwan to a massive campaign of preparatory strikes against targets on the island, US bases in the first island chain, or US naval groups.” Image | Google, China Aerospace Studies Institute In Xataka | Satellite images leave no doubt: China has launched an underwater creature into the sea that defies naval engineering In Xataka | The US Navy warns Congress: China is erecting the largest nuclear barrier in its history under the sea

“Cold water does not block digestion, but if it is too cold it can make it slower and less comfortable”

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With the arrival of the heat, something that many people may want is to grab a bottle of very cold water and start drinking as if there were no tomorrow. But along with this common practice, a classic phrase also arises under the myth that drinking ice water can “block” digestion. The idea in mind. The claim has a physiologically plausible basis, since cold induces transient gastric vasoconstriction. However, when crossing these claims with the primary scientific literature, we discovered that the line between proven biological mechanism and exaggerated myth is extremely fine. To break this line, Silvia Gómez, specialist in the digestive system, in statements to La Vanguardia pointed that “cold water does not block digestion, but if it is too cold it can make it slower and less comfortable.” And this last part is where the key to this issue is found. The physiology of cold. To understand what happens when we drink ice water, we must know that our digestive system operates optimally at the body’s core temperature, which is approximately 37ºC. In this way, when we introduce a liquid at temperatures close to 0ºC the body reacts and the cold causes the blood vessels to constrict to conserve heat. The consequence is simply a temporary alteration in the contraction patterns of all the muscles in the stomach and, therefore, affects the ability to digest. It is studied. The most direct and recent proof of this is found in a work published in 2020. In this crossover experimental trial, researchers followed 11 healthy men after ingesting 500 mL of water at three different temperatures: 2°C, 37°C, and 60°C. Gastric ultrasound results made it clear that 2°C water significantly reduced the frequency of gastric contractions compared to body temperature or hot water during the hour after a meal. But curiously, this modulation of gastric motility showed that the subjects who drank the ice water experienced earlier satiety, reducing their energy intake in the subsequent meal by between 19% and 26%. It is not a block. The fact that it is proven that the stomach reduces its contraction work does not mean that digestion is “blocked” or “cut off.” We must keep in mind that the human body has an enormous thermoregulatory capacity that means that, when we drink a cold liquid, it reaches body temperature in a matter of minutes, restoring normal gastric activity. Many myths. There are many phrases around drinking cold water that are very mythical in our society, such as, for example, that it “solidifies fats.” And, although thermodynamics dictates that cold hardens fats, in the human gastric environment this has no clinical relevance, since the thermal effect is so ephemeral and the combined action of hydrochloric acid, enzymes and subsequent mechanical agitation is so powerful, that the body compensates for the thermal impact quickly. Another quite important myth is related to the effect that cold water has on the intestinal microbiota, but so far there is no solid evidence that demonstrates damage to our bacteria. We are not all the same. That the effect is harmless to the general population does not mean that all digestive systems react the same. In clinical practice, the temperature of beverages becomes important in patients with important functional pathologies such as, for example, functional dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux, gastritis or irritable bowel syndrome. In these cases, sudden thermal stimuli that modify gastric motility can increase the symptoms, and here the gastric slowing of cold water can be a problem. Although we are talking about specific cases that should follow the recommendations of your specialist doctor. Images | Nigel Msipa In Xataka | Science has disproved the productivity gurus’ morning mantra: a cold shower is as useless as waking up early.

The US taught that access to advanced AI can be cut off. China is studying the same thing, according to Reuters, and Europe is watching from the outside

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When the United States activated export controls which ended up leading Anthropic to deactivate Fables 5 and Mythos 5 For all its users, a reality that was difficult to ignore was exposed: access to advanced AI may be cut off. Not because the model disappears, nor because it stops working technically, but because a national security decision can convert an available tool into a conditioned capability. Things have changed slightly since then: controls on Fable lifted after new safeguards and Mythos was limited to a few trusted American organizations, but the precedent is still there. Now that question returns from the other side of the board. Reuters reports that Chinese authorities have held meetings over the last month with the country’s major technology companies to study possible restrictions on foreign access to their most advanced AI models, including some that have not yet been launched. Alibaba, ByteDance and Z.ai participated in those meetings, according to three people familiar with the conversations. At the moment there is no approved measure, no fixed calendar, nor definitive scope. Perhaps more revealing, Beijing is discussing how far it wants to open up its most advanced AI products. What was discussed in those meetings goes beyond closing an API or limiting access to a specific product. According to the agency, participants talked about putting limits on the most advanced models, both closed and more open versions, and also about toughening the consequences for what they call leaks or thefts of proprietary AI technology. One of the sources consulted indicated that these leaks could be treated as crimes linked to China’s strict national security law. New restrictions were also raised on who can fund domestic AI startups. Advanced AI enters the logic of strategic control There are several reasons why what was mentioned does not remain solely within Chinese borders. Since the emergence of DeepSeek R1, remember, AI developed in China has gained ground outside the country thanks to a very attractive combination for many companies: low costs and increasing capabilities. Alibaba has Qwen, ByteDance features Doubao and Z.ai has attracted attention in Silicon Valley with GLM-5.2a model that comes close to leading American offerings at a fraction of the cost. If Beijing limits that access, many businesses and users could find themselves with fewer options and, presumably, higher bills. The Chinese AI sector also seems interested in developing cybersecurity-oriented systems equivalent or superior to those in the United States. Zhou Hongyi, founder of 360, a cybersecurity company with weight among government and enterprise clients, has said that China needs to develop its own Mythos. The company came to present Tulongfeng as a Chinese response to that type of system, stating that it is capable of detecting a large number of vulnerabilities. This is where the most delicate part of the debate appears when viewed from Europe. When the Anthropic case brought to the table the possibility that access to American models would be conditioned by Washington, some raised the Chinese models as a possible alternative: cheaper, increasingly capable and, in certain cases, available through API or with open weights. The new information from Reuters introduces an important nuance in that reading. Changing suppliers can reduce costs or open up new technical options, but does not eliminate the dependency if the critical capacity continues to live under a foreign jurisdiction. Europe, moreover, had already been thinking about this kind of risk before Anthropic and China occupied the center of the discussion. The Commission has defended the need to reduce dependencies on cloud, artificial intelligence and semiconductors, and has linked that agenda with the autonomy and digital resilience of the continent. In that discussion, Brussels has come to warn of the risk of “kill switches”: the possibility that a foreign supplier or a government with the ability to pressure can interrupt essential technological services. That is why Europe looks from the outside. The United States preserves some of the most advanced models in the world and has already made it clear that access to them may be conditioned by a political or national security decision. China, for its part, has gained ground with cheaper and increasingly capable modelsand now I would be studying my own restrictions. The Old Continent is in another place: it has regulation, sovereign ambition and promising companies, but it does not yet seem to have an equivalent in commercial weight, global adoption and strategic capacity to the products that today set the technological bar. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana | Arthur Wang In Xataka | Alibaba’s Qwen AI model is the new crown jewel. The only problem is that they don’t make money from it.

DeepSeek no longer wants to compete only with models. Its new front aims directly at NVIDIA’s business, according to Reuters

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In just over a year, DeepSeek has stopped sounding like a rarity in the Chinese industry to become one of those names that already appear every time we talk about the global race in artificial intelligence. First we look at it for its models, for its efficiency and for the shock it caused beyond China. Now the question begins to move to another terrain: what happens when a company that competes in software understands that the next advantage may be in the chips that make it possible to execute that AI on a large scale. The jump to hardware. The information that opens this new front comes from Reuters. The agency assureda, citing three people familiar with the matter, that DeepSeek is developing its own artificial intelligence chip, aimed at inference tasks and not training new models. We will see the technical nuance immediately, because it changes the reading of the movement quite a bit. For now, caution is mandatory: DeepSeek has not publicly confirmed the project would be in an early phase and the company did not respond to the agency’s request for comment. The key is in inference. The easiest way to understand this is to think about what happens after training. Once the model is built, every question we ask and every answer we receive requires putting it to work again. It is not an isolated operation, but a routine that is repeated millions of times if the product works. That is why a chip designed for that phase does not aim so much at technical prestige as at something more earthly: making using AI cheaper, faster and less dependent on third parties. The move is best understood if we look at what DeepSeek has depended on so far. The company has used chips from NVIDIA and Huawei to train and run its models, including the base that held R1, trained on NVIDIA H800a chip designed for the Chinese market whose export to China was banned by Washington at the end of 2023. Since then, DeepSeek has increasingly relied on Huawei: In April it launched its V4 model adapted to Ascend and Huawei said its processors were used in part of V4-Flash training. DeepSeek is no longer a footnote: Until not so long ago, the global debate on AI seemed to revolve almost entirely around American companies such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta or Anthropic. DeepSeek changed part of that conversation by demonstrating that China could also produce models capable of circulating outside its domestic market and force the industry to look towards Hangzhou. Recall that the company was widely celebrated in China as a national AI champion. The trend is already seen in a good part of the sector. Google has been developing its TPUs for years, Amazon has Inferentia for inference payloads, Microsoft has Maia and Meta works at MTIA. Reuters also cites two recent movements especially close to the case: OpenAI announced its Jalapeño chip with Broadcom in Junealso oriented to inference, and Anthropic was considering designing its own chips. The pattern is quite clear: large AI companies want to rely less on third-party providers and better control the cost, performance and availability of the computing that powers their services. The big obstacle is manufacturing it. Designing a competitive chip is not the same as wanting to have it. Developing an AI accelerator typically requires years, a lot of capital, and a network of design, foundry, and memory partners. For a Chinese company, furthermore, the problem does not end at the technical level: US export controls limit access to the most advanced foreign factories and also to high-bandwidth memory, a key component for this type of chips. Times change. NVIDIA arrived at the AI ​​boom with an advantage built over decades: in 1999 it launched the GeForce 256, presented by the company itself as the industry’s first GPU, and in 2006 launched CUDAthe architecture that helped take the parallel processing of its chips beyond graphics. When the models started requiring massive amounts of compute, I already had the hardware and ecosystem in place. For years, for much of the industry, competing in AI meant going through its chips. What the DeepSeek case suggests, with all caution, is that this dependency is beginning to have cracks. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | Samsung earns 19 times more than a year ago. Investors have reacted by sinking the stock 7%

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