Mobile Tech & Gadgets Archives - Page 281 of 1642

Researchers point out that the first 1,000 days in a person’s life are key to our life and memory

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

Something quite popular among society in general is that the youngest children are true sponges that absorb everything that is around them, this being fundamental for their adult personality. Here are some experts who specifically point out that the first 1,000 days of life are They are practically everythingsince a temporary window opens that can largely determine the intelligence, health and social skills of the future. But… is it like that? There are questions. Scientific evidence calls for pressing the brakes, since, although the overwhelming importance of these first stages of life is not denied, researchers are beginning to warn against absolute determinism. And all this because, although the first 1,000 days are a critical window, the next 1,000 days They are just as crucial. The first days. What happens up to two years in the brain, the truth is that it is fascinating, because here some research they point specifically because early feeding influences physical development and long-term metabolic health. But in addition, the attachment bond with an adult figure traces the physical, neural, cognitive and socio-emotional trajectories, meaning that, if this attachment does not exist, many problems can arise. But also, listening to caregivers, such as parents, speaking, singing and interacting, lays the foundations for the neural networks linked to language and the communication skills that we will have in the future. The effect on memory. We often think that memory is the adult ability to remember knowledge that we have ‘put’ in our brain ‘drawer’, but in childhood memory It is a basic neural learning mechanism and identity construction. In these cases, babies record constant sensory and emotional information, such as smells, voices, affective responses, and the receiving context. And precisely, experts point out that if at this stage the child is correctly stimulated and takes in the memories well, the brain “trains” its synaptic circuits, making learning new skills much easier in the future. It is literally as if a base is being generated (which we will not remember) to generate new skills in the future by generating very strong neural networks for future memory. We don’t have to be absolutists. Saying that only those 1,000 days determine cognitive and social development is a mistake, since the literature tells us that we are not facing a “closed window”, since human brain plasticity is amazing and does not have a switch that automatically turns off when two years have passed. From here, what surrounds the little ones in the house, the education they receive and also the social interactions continue to have a profound impact beyond 24 months. That is why simplifying the concept to the extreme can lead to a biological determinism that diverts attention from other equally important stages of childhood. Everything that happens. This is where the most recent evidence comes in so we have to focus on what they can be. the “next 1,000 days” which is the period that goes from 2 to 5 years. This preschool stage is not a maintenance period, but rather it is a new golden window of opportunity, since during these years complex motor skills are triggered when starting to walk, for example. But beyond this, language also goes from isolated words to a complex grammar and the ability to narrate and reason. And even social-emotional skills such as empathy or impulse control are also experiencing rapid growth. This is why promoting an environment of safe care and healthy habits in this period is capable of significantly altering and improving development, compensating for the deficits that may have occurred in the first years of life. Images | javi_indy on Magnific In Xataka | One baby, three (biological) parents: a promising fertilization technique that, for now, we will not see in Spain

in Córdoba they even make batteries

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

Lithium-ion batteries dominate energy storage, from mobile phones to electric vehicles, but they have a big problem: they depend on materials that are scarce, are expensive and are conflictive from a geopolitical point of view. So science takes years looking for alternatives: with more abundant and cheaper elements like sodium or sulfur. In this scenario, a research team from the University of Córdoba has taken a turn of the screw to an agricultural waste to store energy: the pistachio shell. The invention. The Chemical Institute for Energy and the Environment of the UCO has developed a sulfur-based battery that does not require lithium or critical metals such as cobalt, nickel or copper. The cathode is made with pistachio shell converted into microporous carbon that at room temperature physically traps the sulfur inside, preventing it from dissolving in the electrolyte and degrading with use. This lithium-free battery reaches a specific capacity of approximately 803 mAh·g⁻¹ at 1C and withstands more than 1,000 complete charge and discharge cycles with stability. Compared to a commercial lithium ion battery it is capable of storing up to five times more energy per gram of active material. Why is it important. Because it solves the chronic problem of sodium – sulfur batteries: the shuttle effect, such as concludes this paper on the status of this type of batteries. With use, some of the sulfur dissolves in the internal liquid of the battery, passes to the other electrode and destroys the battery. This phenomenon also causes secondary reactions with the electrolyte that accelerate degradation and drastically reduce the useful life of the battery. Pistachio shell charcoal solves this elegantly: its pores are so small that the sulfur is physically trapped and cannot dissolve or migrate, achieving stability for more than 1,000 cycles. Beyond solving this technical challenge of this type of battery, its relevance lies in the fact that this battery does not need lithium, cobalt, nickel or any other critical metal to function. Sodium and sulfur are abundant resources around the world, making this technology a cleaner, cheaper and scalable alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries, whose supply chain depends on scarce materials concentrated in very few countries. Context. The dependence on lithium and critical metals is not only a cost problem: it is a strategic vulnerability for Europe. Sodium and potassium are significantly more abundant than lithium, making sodium-sulfur systems more cost-effective and scalable for large-scale grid storage, an urgent need in the context of the global energy transition. Added to this is the agricultural context of the Spanish state: according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Spanish, pistachio production in Spain grew by 73% in the last year, also driven by the frosts of 2025 in Turkey and Iran, which devastated a large part of the harvest of the main world producers. Logically, this increase has generated an increasing volume of shells as unused waste. IQUEMA’s work not only proposes an alternative battery, but a circular economy model that transforms this waste into a material of high technological value. How have they done it. The manufacturing process of activated carbon follows a relatively simple synthesis route. From the pistachio shell treated with potassium hydroxide at high temperature, they obtain a carbon with a network of nanometric-sized pores, so small that they physically trap the sulfur molecules and prevent them from dissolving during the operation of the battery. The result is a microporous carbon with oxygen and nitrogen functional groups integrated into its surface, which not only retains sulfur mechanically but also interacts with it chemically, reinforcing the stability of the cathode for more than 1,000 cycles. The research team highlights that the synthesis is simple and scalable, which opens the door to its industrial manufacturing without the need for specialized equipment or difficult-to-access materials. Yes, but. The electrochemical results are tremendously promising, but on a laboratory scale. Sodium-sulfur batteries face to other challenges that this work does not resolve, such as the insulating nature of sulfur and sodium sulfide, the expansion of the volume of the cathode or the formation of metallic sodium dendrites in the anode and that would have to be solved for future commercialization. The practical application of these batteries remains limited by the rapid degradation of capacity and the low conductivity of sulfur and its reduced products. In short: the invention takes an important step, but there is work to be done on the anode and electrolyte before this technology can leave the laboratory. In Xataka | The pistachio has worked an unexpected wonder: generating thousands of jobs in the fields of Castilla-La Mancha In Xataka | The war in Iran is skyrocketing the price of pistachios. And that threatens to take down Dubai chocolate Cover | Theo Crazzolara and Newpowa

China is successfully replacing a 19th century industry with drones: skyscraper window cleaners

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

When we think of skyscrapers, the Western culture in which we have grown up makes us inevitably associate them with the United States and iconic skylines in cinema such as New York or Chicago, but the current reality is very different: China is the country that breaks the cord, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitatthe world’s leading authority on the classification of tall buildings: it is home to more than half of the world’s tallest skyscrapers. This architectural explosion has created an unprecedented maintenance challenge: having to clean millions of square meters of glass and metal facades. What started as a need for manpower has become a testing ground for advanced robotics and unmanned aviation thanks to a state plan called “Robot+” that automates tasks to compensate labor shortage. One of the most striking recent examples: automated cleaning from Nanchang Railway Station. Goodbye to human window cleaners. The traditional Spider-Man of buildings is disappearing and it makes perfect sense: the risk of accidents and the climatic conditions of cities like Shanghai or Guangzhou have made this profession increasingly less attractive for new generations, so cleaning companies it is difficult for them to find relief: the perfect scenario for automation. Furthermore, the data from cleaning drones is compelling: going from being able to clean 200 square meters a day to 10,000 with a cost between 10 and 20% less, according to the Wuhan startup Aero Technology collected by China Daily. Drones are best suited to difficult outdoors such as corners and nooks and work even on rainy or windy days without risk. And when finished, the drone uses its camera to capture images of the clean surface, which it transmits to ground personnel for review. If it doesn’t comply, give it a review. Why is it important. We have already glimpsed some of the advantages of automating cleaning at height, but one is truly essential: safety. According to the WHOfalls are the second global cause of death due to unintentional injuries, only behind traffic accidents, with about 684,000 deaths annually. In the specific workplace, they constitute one of the main risks in sectors such as construction or industry. especially dangerous are the falls in height. In the United States, OSHA data They return that falls represent between 35 and 39% of construction-related deaths. In Spain, falls from height represented in 2024 12.2% of all work-related deaths during work hours in all sectors and this year alone they cost the lives of 79 people in the Spanish state alone. The other big advantage is price: less labor, less operating time because they clean faster, lower equipment costs, and lower insurance premiums. Aero Technology quantifies savings between 10 and 20% compared to traditional methods, although the drone company Apex is more optimistic for your business, raising the range of savings up to 30 or 50% (although the reason is probably that you consider assemblies like scaffolding). Regarding water consumption, a study by Shanghai University of Engineering has shown which spends 21.8% less. Context. China faces the worst possible scenario in this framework: it is the country with the most skyscrapers in the world, it has a lot of air pollution that quickly dirtys its facades and it also suffers labor shortage for manual jobs. Although if we are looking for pioneers in the drone cleaning segment we have to go to the North American one. Surname born 2014, the Elevation from the Swiss Aerotain AG back in 2015 or the Norwegian KTV Working Dronethe owner and mistress of drone window cleaning is China. China had been preparing the ground for years, as demonstrated by different academic research papers on glass and facade cleaning robotsas this of cable-driven parallel robots from Tsinghua University or this other of fan-powered cleaning robots from the Harbin Institute of Technology. The Asian giant has the academic ecosystem, state financial support and an obvious need. Said and done: China was the one who democratized technology, moving from prototypes and more or less “artisanal” devices to large-scale production with scalable industrial systems and companies like DJI, UAEAV and Foxtech. Today they already produce between 80-90% of the world’s commercial drones and lead an industry that in 2024 was valued at 248 million dollars and has a projection of 1,257 million by 2033. according to Growth Market Reports. The substitutes. China has developed a complete industrial ecosystem that is essentially divided into two major technological aspects. On the one hand, high-pressure cleaning drones that are connected to water pumps that are on the ground, such as the DJI M400 or the solutions of Foxtech Robotics. On the other hand, autonomous climbing robots with sensors and AI navigation (such as robot vacuum cleaners) such as those from OneMovecapable of detecting and adapting to variations in façade surfaces. In between, variants in the form of projects with hybrid platforms such as that of Skybotics Technology Limited or wired parallel systems that offer high precision, such as this from the Faculty of Engineering of Shanghai University with three degrees of freedom. Some of the technologies that can be found in this type of robots are adaptive joints to reduce wind discomfort or “zero distance” spraying to increase pressure, both present in the DJI M400one of the most popular in the sector. Yes, but. Although facade cleaning robots are a revolution for the sector, they are not a panacea: they work best on flat surfaces, they have height restrictions (typically between 60 and 120 meters for wired systems) and although they have more margin than human labor to operate in worse weather conditions, they are not infallible. Finally, the initial cost is significant, which constitutes a barrier to entry for smaller companies because it is not only the drone, it is also extra auxiliary elements such as pumping stations, batteries, software or safety certifications. For example, only the complete Lucid Bots Sherpa kit It costs $75,000.which leads to opting for solutions such as renting or leasing. In any case, and … Read more

When the fathers of quantum physics discovered the fundamental ideas of reality, they discovered that a Jesuit had already been there 200 years before.

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

The story is a classic of popular science: 200 years before the birth of quantum physics, the Jesuit Ruđer Bošković advanced the central ideas of 20th century physics: field theory, the uncertainty principle and even dark energy. Furthermore, he did it alone. What Bošković did, as Héctor Farrés points outit’s incredible. Not only is it real and important, but it is beyond doubt (Heisenberg himself lor recognized in 58), but what he didn’t do too. The latter is, in fact, the most interesting. What Bošković knew. In 1758, the Jesuit (who was one of the great mathematicians of the time and had even helped fix the dome of St. Peter’s) published in Vienna ‘Philosophiae naturalis theoria redacts ad unicam legem virium in natura existentium‘. In this book he developed ideas that he had already presented almost 15 years earlier in Rome: that matter was not made of extended solid corpuscles (as Newtonian physics maintained), nor of inextended metaphysical monads (as Leibniz thought). For Bošković, matter is essentially composed of dimensionless points that only exist as points of force. In essence, Bošković believed that Newton’s inverse square law was a ‘limiting case’ (for planetary bodies) of a different equation that governed the relationship of all things in nature. Just this idea that scale is important, that the behavior of forces could change radically depending on it, deserves to go down in the history of physics. Because? Because it is the piece that helps us stop understanding matter as impenetrable ‘bodies’ and allows us to understand that impenetrability as an effect: it was giving mathematical entity to atomism. And the most interesting thing is that his later influence is real. It is documented, come on: there is a chain of readings that takes us from these ideas to those of William Rowan Hamiltonthe most direct precursor of quantum mechanics. Apparently, Werner Heisenberg, he of the uncertainty principle, he even said in 1958 that “the remarkable concept that forces are repulsive at small distances and must be attractive at greater distances has played a decisive role in modern atomic physics. (…) Bohr’s quantum theory of the atom can be precisely related to this concept, and the study of the atomic nucleus during the last thirty years has taught us that the particles that constitute the nucleus, protons and neutrons, are bound together by precisely such a force.” However, one should not exaggerate either. As Borges said when talking about Kafka, authors create their own precursors. That is, as Heisenberg himself said, Bošković’s work “contains numerous ideas that have only achieved full expression in modern physics in the last fifty years.” They were brilliant intuitions that are fully understood in the light of quantum physics, but not seeds that logically contained all the physics of the 20th century within them. A very common mistake. Too common, in fact. We don’t usually approach history from what we already know and there, of course, the similarities shine in the middle of the night. The reality is that what we see are usually ‘pareidolias’: things that say more about us and the functioning of our brain than about what happened in the past. Image | Xataka In Xataka | One of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century already identified the problem of Generation Z: “Not tolerating boredom”

Tourism has turned Norway into the latest theme park. And the business of hunting the northern lights in a risky sport

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

It happened a few years ago in Icelandwhen the authorities saw forced to close temporarily access to a natural canyon after thousands of visitors hiked it off marked trails, damaging vegetation and eroding the terrain in a matter of weeks. What had been an almost unknown corner for years suddenly became in a viral phenomenonleaving an unexpected impression: a remote landscape transformed into an overflowing place in a very short time. Now it’s your turn to Norway. From quiet city to saturated destination. What was for years a peaceful northern town has transformed into a global phenomenon: Tromsø has gone from a medium-sized university town to receive massive waves of visitors attracted by this new hype in the form of northern lights. The growth, driven largely by social media, has local capacity overwhelmed to the point that, in high season, tourists far exceed to residents. We are talking about collapsed streets, strained services and constant pressure on infrastructure that reflect how tourism has turned the environment into something very different from what it was. The rise of a business without control. The problem arises because, at the same time, it has emerged a parallel industry of unregulated guides that operate outside the law, taking advantage of the low barrier to entry and high demand. With a car, a mobile phone and access to aurora tracking apps, these operators offer improvised routes that compete with legal services, eroding both the local economy and the quality of the experience. In fact, they counted in the New York Times that the authorities estimate that a significant part of these activities escapes official control, generating income that does not revert to the community and multiplying the problems. Mass tourism turned into operational chaos. The result is a scenario where the search for auroras has become unpredictablewith convoys of vehicles traveling on roads, constant route changes and a general feeling of disorder. Specialized police teams patrol the city and its accesses looking for these activities illegal, but clandestine operators adapt quickly, sharing information and using tactics to avoid controls. This constant game between surveillance and evasion has turned the activity into something much more complex than a simple tourist excursion. Failed experiences and feeling of being scammed. As a result, for many visitors, the promise of a unique experience is has translated into frustrationdeceptions or unexpected situations, with stories of tours that are not completed, guides who disappear and keep the money or even police interventions in the middle of the tour. The contrast between the idyllic image of the destination and the reality experienced by some tourists has begun to leave its mark in reputation of the place. What should be a memorable natural experience sometimes becomes a chaotic and unreliable process. A destination converted into an extreme theme park. All of this has led to a deeper transformation: one where the northern lights are no longer just a natural phenomenon, but the center of an intensive industry which works almost like an outdoor theme park. The pressure to capture that perfect moment has turned the activity into a constant race against time, weather and competition, raising the risk and tension with each outing. Thus, what was once pure contemplation now comes closer and closer to an experience extreme where improvisation and business weigh as much as nature itself. The impact on those who live from the phenomenon. They remembered in the Times that for legal and experienced operators, the situation has changed radically, facing unfair competition that reduces prices and deteriorates standards. What should be a season of celebration has turned into a struggle to maintain viability of the business in a saturated environment. Another one, as already it happened in iceland and its volcanoes or more recently on Everesta change that reflects a broader reality: when tourism grows out of control, even the most spectacular destinations can end up trapped in your own success. Image | PXHere In Xataka | Touristification has made Mercadona find itself with a rival in Barcelona: 24-hour supermarkets In Xataka | There is something worse than Everest turning into a mountain literally full of shit: scam rescues

Why more watts does not always mean charging your phone sooner

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

Depending on the mobile phone we have, we can have its battery fully recharged in approximately an hour or a matter of minutes. But… why does this happen? Why don’t all batteries take the same time to recharge and what should we take into account when buying a mobile phone? Fast charging has arrived in style with batteries that support very high figures. But before choosing a mobile phone, especially if this parameter is attractive to us, we should keep in mind that more is not always better and that there is an ideal intermediate point. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Fast charging technology Fast charging increases the electrical power sent from the charger to the phone, thereby reducing the time needed to complete the charge. It does this by increasing the watts (W) sent from the charger to the phone through the cable. Nowadays we can find mobile phones that charge at 45W, 67W and even 120W or more (although we will focus on the usual ranges on the market and not on the absolute ones), and the higher the figure… The better? Well, not completely: the phone will charge in less time, but There are certain problems that arise from increasing fast chargingas is the case with heat. Furthermore, just because a battery supports 120W fast charging does not mean that it recharges in half the time of a 60W battery. This doesn’t work like that; As the numbers go up, the time we gain is less and less because batteries have physical limits. The limits of fast charging Batteries have limits that cause fast charging values to “stagnate”: A battery that supports 120W fast charging does not always charge at 120W. The power is maximum at the beginning of charging, and is progressively reduced from 50-80% to protect the cells. We can see this well in a charger with a screen that shows the power it supplies in real time (I use in Anker Prime for this). Fast charging generates heat and the higher the power, the more the temperature will rise. If the phone reaches too high a temperature, it will automatically reduce the charging power to prevent damage. Although batteries have systems in place to protect durability, subjecting them to constant stress with very powerful fast charges can reduce their overall ability to retain a charge over time. That is, over time they will not fully recharge. At what point do numbers stop mattering? Charger power Charging time (approximate) Perceived improvement 25W 1 hour. Slow by current standards. 45W 45 minutes. Notable improvement. 67W 35 minutes. Very fast and efficient. 120W 20 minutes. Extremely fast, but generates a lot of heat. Although there are nuances due to the arrival of the silicon-carbon batteries with figures that even exceed 8,000 mAh, and obviously these take longer to recharge, The ideal balance right now is in a range of 65 to 80W. With this charging power you can have your mobile recharged in approximately 30 or 40 minutes without generating too much heat. If you take a look at the table above, going from 25W to 45W (difference of 20W) saves us approximately a quarter of an hour charging the mobile. Something similar happens if we go from 45W to 67W (difference of 22W) because the difference is a quarter of an hour. On the other hand, if we go from 67W to 120W (difference of 53W) the time is the same, 15 minutes. With this we want to reflect that going from 67W to 120W (almost double the power) only saves the same 15 minutes that we gained in the previous jumps, with much more heat generated. Efficiency is therefore reduced. What phones have a good fast charge? Fast charging has not arrived in all brands equally. Some have been implementing good figures on their mobile phones for years and others have been embracing them little by little. In any case, today we can find good purchase options if you value a good fast charge: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. It took a while, but with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra We have seen the highest fast charging within the brand: 60W. It is slightly below the ideal range that we have mentioned, but it is still a good figure if you want to have your phone recharged in a short time, especially considering that its battery is 5,000 mAh. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi 15T. As we have been seeing in the previous generation, the Xiaomi 15T It repeats the 67W of fast charging in a battery that has grown little compared to its previous generation (5,500 versus 5,000 mAh). You can also have it fully recharged in a very short time. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Oppo Reno14 5G. If you are looking for a little extra within the ideal range, the Oppo Reno14 5G It incorporates a good 6,000 mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging. It will be able to reach greater power and will be charged to 100% in around 40 minutes. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TOSome of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Ivan Linares (edited), Samuel Fernandez in Xataka Mobile In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best wireless headphones. Which one to buy and 21 models from 15 euros to 470 euros

We thought Ozempic was only for weight loss. Science is seeing that it can end alcoholism

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

The famous Ozempic has been revolutionizing the treatment of type 2 diabetes for years and also has an important effect on obesity when it comes to helping patients lose weight by causing a greater satiety. However, the scientific community had long suspected that its effects went far beyond weight control and now, science has an idea that it may have an effect on alcohol. New advances. A new study published earlier this month in The Lancet ha proven that these drugs are capable of significantly reducing the days of excessive alcohol consumption in patients who have an alcoholism problem. Something that is a great milestone, since until now the evidence on the use of these drugs to treat addictions was based on small studies, but now a big change has been made by designing a trial with the maximum guarantees to find a clear relationship between taking Ozempic and the control of addiction. How it was done. For 26 weeks, researchers followed 108 adult patients who had both obesity and an alcohol use disorder. From this sample, the group treated with semaglutide once a week experienced a 41% reduction in days of heavy drinking, compared to 26% in the placebo group not taking the treatment. In addition, patients on medication consumed an average of 1,026 grams of alcohol per month, which is a significantly lower figure considering that the control group drank 1,550 grams of alcohol. And they both thought they were taking the same treatment, although that was not the case. It’s not magic. To understand why this happens, we have to go to 2023, where a study showed that semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in Ozempic, binds directly to the nucleus accumbens of mice. By doing so, it suppresses the release of dopamine induced by alcohol consumption, suppressing the reward circuit that generates satisfaction when you drink a little alcohol and that is the effect that addicts seek. In this way, if alcohol does not generate that chemical “high”, the desire to consume it disappears. The limitations. Despite the enthusiasm that this may generate for having a new treatment against alcoholism, which is an addiction that has great negative effects, we must put the brakes on a little. At a technical level, we must keep in mind that 108 people is still a relatively small group to extrapolate the results to the entire population. Furthermore, all patients who participated in the study were obese and white, which limits the generalizability of the results to patients of normal weight or other ethnicities. And as if those were not enough limitations, it should be noted that the trial was funded by the drug manufacturers and does not have follow-up data beyond week 26. Images | freepik freepic.diller on Magnific In Xataka | We thought that quenching hunger with Ozempic was the definitive remedy against obesity. Until we look at the muscle

This soprano learned ventriloquism in confinement. He ended up performing in Las Vegas without using dolls

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

When ventriloquist Señor Wences became one of the most famous Spaniards on American television with his appearances on the legendary ‘Ed Sullivan Show’, ventriloquism was an art form typical of a variety show. The most unexpected heir to her talent is Celia Muñoz, who not only continues the tradition of talking dolls, but is connecting ventriloquism with opera thanks to her experience as a lyric soprano. And it’s taking Las Vegas by storm. Wences, the teacher. The Spanish ventriloquism tradition is unusually powerful for a country our size. We have the very media-savvy José Luis Moreno (nephew of Mr. Wences himself) and the legendary Mari Carmen and her dolls, yes, but also legends today unjustly half-forgotten like Paco Sanz or Herta Frankel and her dog Marilyn. None achieved as much international significance as Mr. Wences. This man from Salamanca emigrated in 1934 to South America and from there to New York, where his appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, on Broadway and on the music circuit music hall They made him one of the best-known Spaniards to Americans. His technique was minimalist to the point of absurdity: his character Johnny was his clenched fist with lipstick and a blonde wig; and his Peter was a stuffed head in a box. Wences died in New York in 1999, aged 103. For decades, no other Spanish ventriloquist had managed to penetrate the American circuit with that reach. Until today. A soprano with a foreign voice. Celia Muñoz had no relationship with ventriloquism until 2020. Trained as a lyrical singer at the Madrid Conservatory and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, she had worked on international operatic projects in Finland, Berlin, Avignon or New York. There, watching ‘America’s Got Talent’ discovered two ventriloquists spectacular: Darci Lynnewinner in 2017, and Terry Fatorwinner in 2007. He became interested in the discipline and, dedicating himself to the subject almost obsessively, he received training from Gary Owen, Darci Lynne’s own coach. To succeed. The result of this accelerated learning could be seen in 2021. In the semifinals of ‘Got Talent Spain’, Muñoz sang opera with her mouth closed in a ventriloquism number without a dummy that won the Unanimous Golden Pass from the jury, and in the grand final she won, becoming the first ventriloquist to win the format in Spain. Muñoz herself planted her victory in that historical lineage, mentioning historical figures such as Paco Sanz and Señor Wences. The international leap. In season 17 of America’s Got Talent, in 2022, Muñoz finished in third place, was beaten by Sofia Vergara and reached the final, where she performed one of her most famous numbers, combining magic and ventriloquism to recreate the spirit of soprano Maria Callas, earning a unanimous ovation from the jury. Thus he made it clear what his indisputable strong point was: the absence of dolls. On ‘AGT Superstars Live’, the permanent show at the Luxor in Las Vegas that brings together the show’s best performances, she was introduced as “the ventriloquist without dummies, making everything around her talk.” Its most notable technical peculiarity is, in addition to projecting different voices onto everyday objects such as a telephone, a radio or a glass of water, doing so while performing actions that seem incompatible with speech, such as eating, drinking or brushing one’s teeth. To Las Vegas. In December 2022, Muñoz joined the cast America’s Got Talent Presents Superstars Live at the Luxor Theater in Las Vegas, where the greats of American variety entertainment have performed for decades. For a year he headlined the show, performing five nights a week. The similarity with Señor Wences’ trajectory is notable, although Muñoz has done it much faster thanks to the immediate popularity of the Internet: in just three years and starting from scratch in the profession: the virality of a semifinal in a talent show can generate more audiences than years on the road. Next up: symphonic ventriloquism. If the American stage consolidated his career, one of the latest projects he has developed points to something more ambitious in artistic terms. Symphonic Ventriloquism with Celia Muñoz It is a show “where classical music and visual comedy meet the art of ventriloquism”, according to the description of the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom it premiered last November 2025. Here the orchestra becomes a narrative thread for a story in which different characters and voices emerge, all articulated by Muñoz without opening his mouth. It is not very clear what the future of ventriloquism is, especially with artists like Celia Muñoz opening paths like this. What is clear is that the wooden doll is definitely no longer essential. In Xataka | For years, I have followed a daily practice to improve my memory, attention and public speaking: doing magic

your own launch pad

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

Starship’s twelfth flight is just a few days away. In it, SpaceX will test version 3 of the rocket with which they have applied to take the next batch of humans to the lunar surface. However, while its opponent, Blue Origin, is going from strength to strength, SpaceX has experienced some incidents that could complicate their competition. The last of them took place last weekend. An explosion and a flood that doesn’t work. The incidence took place during a test of the launch pad’s deluge system. This is used to shoot water upwards, thus preventing the ignition of the rocket engines from causing a fire. After activating it, a small explosion occurred, followed by the formation of a column of water vapor. Likely, as explained the youtuber and content creator of the Marcus House space, it could be due to the gas unit losing the lid due to excess pressure. It wouldn’t be a very serious problem. The bad thing is that it is not the first time. More incidents. During two static firings of the B19 booster, in which it ignites without moving from the launch pad, it was necessary to abort the procedure due to a similar problem. There were also failures, both in the deluge system and with the steel plate that protects the launch pad. Learning from mistakes. Both the flood system and that steel plate are the result of forced learning. And, during the first test launch of Starship, a huge roar was generated that ended with the destruction of the concrete structure that makes up the launch platform and a hole in the ground. In addition, a cloud of dust was generated that covered a nearby town. Seeing all this, it is not strange that so many Texans want to denounce SpaceX for damage to their homes. To prevent something like this from happening again, the deluge system was put into operation and the platform was covered with a reinforced steel plate. These decisions were a before and after in the Starship launches. But of course, if they fail, things get very complicated. In the race against Blue Origin. The Starship fulfills both the functions of a rocket and a ship capable of landing on the Moon. It is composed of two phases. The first, called Super Heavy, is the rocket itself. The second is the one that, once separated from the rocket, fulfills the functions of spacecraft and lunar lander. That is the one that is proposed together with Blue Origin to take the Artemis astronauts to the selenite surface. Everything is still going. Despite this hiccup, everything is still on track for the next Starship launch. If all goes well, it will take place on May 15. For its part, Blue Origin has already tested its lunar lander in a NASA vacuum chamber with very good results. That doesn’t mean that Jeff Bezos’ company is going to be the winner, but it’s clear who’s luck is smiling the most right now. Image | SpaceX In Xataka | SpaceX is preparing the largest IPO in history: the fact that it is doing so right now is no coincidence

The complex of the wide face and the unusual solution that obsesses South Korea: elf ears

May 10, 2026 by usatoday24

Jung Da-yun was not satisfied with what the mirror returned to her. At 31 years old, this influencer South Korean woman felt she had an unusual defect: her ears were not big enough. According to a report from Wall Street JournalJung went to a clinic in Seoul, paid the equivalent of about $70 and underwent hyaluronic acid injections into his cartilage. The result was immediate: his ears leaned forward, rising above his face. Suddenly, his face looked slimmer, younger, and proportionate. “I was very happy with the results,” she confessed. This scene, which in the West could seem like the script of a satire, is a latent reality in East Asia. While in the United States or Europe, people with prominent ears go to the surgeon to hide them or glue them to their heads — a practice that in Korea is “creepy” in the eyes of some, as explained by the influencer Korean-American Krystal Lee—in Asia, the projection of the ears has become the Holy Grail of aesthetics. The magazine MEGA has baptized him such as “silent retouching”. “When I was in China, one of the dermatologists told me that this is one of the procedures he performs the most, and I couldn’t believe it,” dermatologist Jenny Liu tells the same medium. And the true art of this intervention lies in sculpting the face, hiding the trick in plain sight: behind the ear. Although they have coined it with the name “elf ears”, the goal is not to emulate the sharp and fantastic point of the elves of The Lord of the Rings. The clinical and informal term is closer to the concept of “fairy ear” (fairy ear), a procedure that seeks to alter the natural position of the pinna. According to Dr. Jung Gyu-sik in the studio Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery – Global Openthe technique consists of injecting between 1 and 2 milliliters of hyaluronic acid filler in the most lateral part of the helix and in the auriculocephalic sulcus. The goal is to increase the angle between the skull and the ear. It is fast, non-invasive, almost painless and its effects last between 6 and 12 months. Dr. Jung himself confesses in it Wall Street Journal having performed up to 20 of these injections in a single day. Where did this fever come from? The trend germinated in China about five years ago, where the hashtag “Aesthetic elf ear surgery” today exceeds 780 million views on the social network Weibo. However, the definitive outbreak occurred in South Korea when Mimi, a well-known singer of the K-pop group oh my girlconfessed to using special adhesive tape to simulate this effect. Overnight, searches for “ear filler” exploded 1,200% on BarbieTalka popular South Korean aesthetics platform. Those who don’t want needles turn to these adhesive tapes that cost just $3. The terror of “pancake face” To understand this fashion you have to look away from the ear and focus on the cheek. South Korean researcher and academic Leem So-yeon sums it up perfectly in Wall Street Journal: “It would be reductionist to frame it simply as an obsession with ears. Ultimately, it’s a procedure to make the face appear smaller. The ears are just the middle.” This is an optical illusion trick based on negative space. Dermatologist Danny Guo details in the magazine MEGA Asian patients often have naturally prominent cheekbones (zygomas). Since they do not want to increase the volume of their cheeks, injecting behind the ear creates a “lateral structure” that visually slims the contour of the face. All this is born from a deep cultural complex. In East Asia, wide faces and large heads are heavily penalized. While in China they make fun of what they call “tortia faces”, in South Korea a sharp “V” shaped jaw is idolized, details the WSJ. But it is not a mere narcissistic whim; It is a tool for work and social survival. As John P. DiMoia explainsa professor at Seoul National University, young people do not operate out of ego: “It’s about looking my best for my job interviews.” This pressure It is better understood under logic that, in South Korea, “presenting the best version of oneself is a sign of respect for others.” The “Bai Fu Mei” canon Science supports that although there are universal beauty traits such as facial symmetry, the perception of attractiveness varies dramatically by ethnicity. A study of the medical journal Clinics in Dermatology points out that traditional Asian beauty prefers wider faces but with lower vertical height, an inverted triangle shape and a reduced projection of eyebrows and chins. Hence the obsession with fine-tuning the structure at any cost. But the sociological background is even darker. As we detail in XatakaSouth Korea’s strict standards are a form of “cultural racism.” It is a system that excludes different bodies and skin tones under the protection of neo-Confucian traditions, where whiteness and delicacy symbolized social status (the Chinese concept bai fu mei: white, rich, beautiful). By going global through K-pop and K-dramas, the Korean aesthetic or K-Beauty industry has attempted to impose an exclusive standard on the rest of the world. In fact, Korean brands They had to apologize publicly or drastically expand their makeup palettes (such as the TIRTIR brand, which increased sales by 55,000% by offering 40 shades after complaints from black content creators) because, simply, the most innovative industry in the world did not make products for dark-skinned people. “Elf ears” are not born in a vacuum. They are the symptom of a hypertrophied body modification industry. Seoul hosts the “Belt of Beauty”a neighborhood smaller than Central Park but with more clinics than Los Angeles, Miami and Rio de Janeiro combined. As much of the Korean population has already widened their eyes, raised the bridge of their noses and sharpened their jaws, the industry desperately needs to invent new areas of growth. And foreigners are answering the call. According to data from the Ministry of Health cited by the specialized platform Seoulzin … Read more

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