Mobile Tech & Gadgets

The fastest private plane in the world is now ready to fly, covering non-stop intercontinental routes and less jet lag

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Few aircraft projects raise as much expectation as that of the Bombardier Global 8000 because he who It will be the fastest civil aircraft in the world since the Concorde It has some characteristics that leave people open-mouthed and others, such as the promise of ending jet lag, that arouse some skepticism. And furthermore, it is rigorously complying with its roadmap to go from becoming an ambitious prototype in testing to being a certified commercial reality: a few days ago completed its international certification process and can now operate without restrictions in the European sky. He Bombardier Global 8000 breaks records. In its test flights, one of its aircraft reached a Mach speed of 0.941, even exceeding Mach 1.0 (Mach. 1.015) in a dive, making it the first aircraft within its commercial people transportation category to break the sound barrier in a controlled and sustainable manner. And also, in the fastest civil jet in active service. However, his certified maximum operating cruising speed is Mach 0.95, exceeding its own expectations and leaving behind others like the Gulfstream G700 or the Dassault Falcon 10X. This is possible thanks to its engines GE Passport and its aerodynamics. Its propulsion system is optimized for a high bypass ratio and thermal efficiency, enabling long flights. Its wings have a design Smooth Flĕx Wing critical: it is a variable profile structure that optimizes lift both when flying at low speed and at cruising speed. This minimizes resistance and improves stability against turbulence. With intercontinental capacity. Precisely its surname 8000 comes from its autonomy: it is capable of flying 8,000 nautical miles, about 15,000 kilometers. Again, its engines and design are largely to blame. If we take into account its range and speed, in practice it means that it is practically capable of linking two cities in the world without the need for stopovers. It is no longer that it can connect New York with Hong Kong, it is that compared to the traditional commercial flight it could save almost two hours. Goodbye to damn jet lag? As if flying from one end of the planet to another non-stop and in less time was not enough, the Bombardier Global 8000 promises minimize jet lag through pressurization and systems engineering. Go ahead something: the jet lag It’s not just lack of sleep and jet lag, it’s also an effect of air pressure. While a standard commercial airliner maintains cabin pressure equivalent to 6,000 – 8,000 feet, the Global 8000 maintains it at only 2,900 feet (about 880 meters) even when flying 41,000 feet. This means more oxygen in the blood of people traveling, so fatigue is reduced. Likewise, it integrates the Soleil System LED circadian lighting based on the dynamic position of the sun depending on the destination. A most exclusive aircraft. This aircraft does not skimp on details to optimize flight or comfort. Thus, it has a HEPA filtration system that renews the cabin air in less than 90 seconds, it has very comfortable a priori Bombardier patented Nuage seats with zero gravity position, four private suites with king-size beds and there is no shortage of shower on board. Beyond its innovations and luxuries, it has something essential from a practicality point of view: its design allows it to operate in small airports and even on wet and bad runways, so it can land or take off in up to 2,050 airports. According to Bombardier, this marks the difference with the competition. The interior of one of its exclusive suites ready to fly. As we mentioned in the intro, the Bombardier Global 8000 already has everything to fly. After the envelope validation phase which took place between 2021 and 2023 where the company verified that elements such as the wing and the stabilizers supported transonic shock waves without losing structural integrity, they moved on to the testing and certification phase. First Transport Canada, then the FAA American and a couple of weeks ago, the European, which opens the doors to accepting deliveries in the United States and Europe. However, the first customers of the launch have already begun to receive their units from 2025. By the way, those who own the previous model, the Global 7500, you can upgrade it to the new Global 8000. In Xataka | The largest plane in the world has just broken its record for flight hours: its real mission is even more ambitious In Xataka | The whale of the skies says goodbye: the Airbus Beluga ST retires after years transporting other aircraft parts Cover and images | Bombardier

SMIC is the Chinese TSMC and sums up all investment in AI

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The semiconductor industry has pressed the panic button. Unlike the chip crisis of 2020the new one has not been caused by a ‘perfect storm’ and has a first and last name: artificial intelligence. The push for this technology and the rampant construction of data centers has caused a stock out of all computer components. And if the world’s leading companies have been caught on the wrong foot, the Chinese ones are no exception. To the point that SMIC has confirmed the lean times. The Chinese industry has activated “crisis mode.” Crisis (don’t bother…). At this point, introductions are unnecessary. The RAM market is broken because the main players (Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix) have focused on creating memory for data centers. The reports point to an NVIDIA that would ‘pass’ on launching consumer GPUs this year because you need all possible wafers to create GPUs focused on AI. And after the SSD price risethe following can be the processors. A few days ago, a report from Reuters noted that Intel and AMD were beginning to notify Chinese customers to sit tight for new shipments of server CPUs. Because we always talk about NVIDIA as if it were the only one that creates components for data centers, but the chips Threadripper from AMD and Xeon from Intel are key parts of servers. According to Reuters sources, AMD has warned of an increase in delivery times from eight to ten weeks. And if we look at an Intel whose sales in China represent 20% of its general income, they point out that the price of the fourth and fifth generation Xeons are being rationed and, in addition, increasing the price by 10%. As with other components, they are not enough. From hope to victim. From Reuters they point out that AMD hopes that its relationship with TSMC will allow it to maintain the supply chain. The problem is that TSMC has to be working hard to supply all its customers. NVIDIA is putting pressureQualcomm also needs its premium range mobile processors this year and they are the ones that make Apple’s processors. SMIC -Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp- is the main Chinese semiconductor company. It is the one that in recent years has gained prominence defy US restrictions and provide high-performance chips to Huawei. It is also the great hope, together with Huawei itself, to develop a GPU that can cope with NVIDIA. Zhao Haijun is the co-CEO of SMIC and has come forward to be anything but reassuring. Double reservation. SMIC is winning more money thanks to demand, but production capacity is limited, to the point that he considers that the industry has entered “crisis mode.” “Customers are hesitant to place orders because no one knows how many memory chips will be available and, therefore, how many orders for phones, cars or other products they will be able to build,” stated to investors. In fact, analysis from Counterpoint reflect this crisis with a figure: 2.5%. This is what would have lowered the shipping forecast for Honor, OPPO and Vivo phones for the coming months. That leads manufacturers to book with multiple suppliers, something Zhao has compared with the “double booking” behavior that can be seen on an airline. “If one airline is fully booked, passengers will immediately book another, making total bookings appear inflated even though actual demand has not increased proportionately.” In essence, if the production capacity is limited, but the companies that need chips reserve several suppliers that draw from the same source, it seems that the demand is beastly, although, in reality, this is not so much the case. The result is the same: the system collapses. Car-free highways. The note of the double reservation is not the only pearl that Zhao has left. It is evident that, whether they can handle the demand or not, it is good for SMIC because Chinese companies eager for chips to develop their AI (of which They don’t stop releasing new models) are purchasing components for their data centersand the executive commented that “no one has really thought about what exactly those data centers will do, but companies would love to build the total capacity of the next 10 years in just one or two years.” “It’s like building train stations and high-speed highways even if there aren’t that many cars that need them yet” – Zhao Haijun Three billion dollars. But it’s about being there, having a place at the table where the conversation that, they hope, will shape the future is being defined. American Big Tech plans burn more than 650 billion dollars this 2026 alone, a brutal increase if we take into account that the investment was 400,000 million in 2025. But if we look at the global estimate, with Alibaba, Bytedance or Tencent in the equation, the estimate is three trillion dollars for the next five years. Crisistunity. In the face of crisis, opportunity. We have already commented that AMD, Intel or NVIDIA they are saturated. Also Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron on the memory boat, and in that scenario is where there are certain companies that can begin to carve out a space for themselves at an accelerated pace. SMIC is one of them, satisfying the demand of local customers, but memory manufacturers such as CXMT or YMTC that They had never painted anything in the conversationyou have a chance. We already know that PC manufacturers such as Asus, Dell or HP are considering buying CXMT memories and that Lenovo has already started to do so. And it is not only a window for Chinese companies: Intel has an adventure with the Japanese SoftBank to stand up to Samsung and its HBM4 memories. And even ByteDance would be working on your own AI chip. The problem is the same one we have been talking about for a long time: no matter how much they increase production and no matter how much new players appear, they are all playing in the same game, that of allocating most … Read more

turning the “sea of ​​death” into a carbon sink

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For decades, the Taklamakan desertin the Chinese region of Xinjiang, has had a nickname quite eloquent: “the sea of ​​death.” And it is no wonder, since it is the second largest mobile dune desert in the world and a place where, historically, whoever enters does not usually leave. But faced with this major problem with sand for the surrounding areas, China decided to find a solution. The solution. China since 1978 has been waging an ecological engineering war against sand with a very specific weapon: the Three North Shelter Belt Programbetter known as the Great Green Wall. A name that seems to come out of Game of Thrones, but its objective is to stop erosion and sandstorms. But a new massive study published in PNAS has just revealed an unexpected and monumental side effect: human intervention has turned the edges of one of the driest places on Earth into an active carbon sink. The data. The study has focused on 25 years of data obtained through field work and also with satellites. What the team has found on the margins of the Taklamakan is what they call a “cold spot” of carbon dioxide. This means that in reforested areas the concentration of CO₂ is between 1 and 2 parts per million smaller than in the surrounding environment. And although it may not seem like much, in climatology it is an outrage. The trend in this case is quite clear, since The vegetation cover is increasing every yearand there is also a tendency for soil and plants to be “eating” more carbon than they are emitting. How is it possible? The million-dollar question here is pretty clear: how do you keep 66 billion trees alive in a place where it barely rains? The answer lies in water management technology and species selection. In this case, the project does not focus on planting oaks or pines, but is based on Extremophilous species like him Tamarixhe Haloxylon and the Euphrates poplar, which are plants evolutionarily designed to survive on very little. But the technological key has been the use of drip risk with saline water. Origin of water. China discovered that under the Taklamakan there are immense aquifers, but they are too saline for traditional agriculture. However, these “halophytic” plants can tolerate it, so it seemed like it was done on purpose. That is why groundwater is used to irrigate the protective strips that exist, especially around the famous tarim desert highway. The result with this is that soil moisture drops drastically between waterings, but the plants survive. And, although the salinity of the superficial soil increases, studies indicate that it is manageable in the long term and does not salinize the deep layers. This has made it possible to complete in 2024 a “green belt” of 3,046 kilometers that encloses the desert, stabilizing dunes that previously moved meters each year. Its stability. Unlike the Great Green Wall attempts in the Sahara, which have suffered from political instability and a lack of continued funding, the Chinese project has maintained its course since 1978. This continuity has allowed a “40-year experiment” that is now bearing fruit with important conclusions. The Chinese authorities themselves cite that national forest coverage has gone from 10% in 1949 to 25% today, thanks in large part to this project. As a result, in places like Maigaiti in Xinjiang, sandstorm days have dropped from 150 a year to fewer than 50. It is not the panacea. The source article warns of the limitations of this project: photosynthesis and carbon sequestration are strongly correlated with seasonal precipitation. This means that at least 16 liters of rainfall per month is needed in high season to maximize its effect. But behind it is climate change that is drastically altering rainfall patterns in Central Asia, which could weaken the carbon sink. Although what is happening in Taklamakan is causing a paradigm shift, since now where we see reforestation of deserts, we also see a way to cool our planet by reducing the concentration of CO₂. Images | Wikipedia Jasmine Milton In Xataka | Someone has counted each and every tree in China. Because? Well because now it is possible

The canonical “living room furniture” in Spain in the 80s and 90s is dead. That says more about us than it seems.

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There is an object that disappeared from Spanish homes within a generation or two, without almost anyone noticing: the living room furniture. I’m not talking about a base for the TV but about that solid wood architecture that occupied an entire wall, with its display cases, shelves, drawers, space for the TV and, in the most ambitious models, even an integrated minibar, the only thing in my childhood home that seemed like a luxury to me. For decades that piece of furniture was the nerve center of the home. It housed books, television, mini chain (another vestige of another era), family memories and the boy’s judo medals. Today it is a relic that no one millennial buys and that Generation Z doesn’t even recognize. The obvious explanation is practical: televisions grew much faster than the space that these pieces of furniture reserved for them. It became impossible to fit a 42 or 55 inch screen where barely 21 could fit.. Apartments shrank while prices skyrocketed, and dedicating four square meters to a cherry monolith no longer made sense. Furthermore, moves have multiplied because job insecurity forces people to change cities more than in the past, and no one wants to carry a piece of furniture that requires a truck and three rocks. But That doesn’t explain why no one misses them.. What died with the living room furniture was something deeper: the idea that the home should display who we were. These displays were, in addition to functional display cases, a showcase: the good dishes that were only used at Christmas, the collection of porcelain figurines, the religious motifs if the family was a believer, the bound volumes of encyclopedias that no one read but that let visitors know that culture is valued in this house. The shelf with the VHS carefully arranged, the crystal glasses, the framed photos. It was all there to be seen by those who came to see us, to say, “This is our family, this is our status, this is what we value, this is who we are.” That today is, at best, a piece of melanin furniture with some funkos and the Switch. Image provided by an acquaintance. In this case, a 55″ TV covers more than what the furniture manufacturer had planned and there is no room for more. In this case, the tradition of furniture and tea sets coexist with the modernity of consoles, the yoga mat or souvenirs definitely different from those of yesteryear, such as the Japanese torii or the Mexican mask. Where was the ceramic with ‘Memory of Torrelavega’. Today we exhibit on Instagram, or in our profile photo and WhatsApp statuses, but not in the living room. Identity is no longer constructed through physical objects arranged in a display case, but through selected images on a screen. It is no longer necessary to demonstrate to visitors that you have good taste (visits, in fact, are increasingly rare) because your followers They have already seen it in the stories. The other thing is a matter of our parents and in-laws. The living room furniture was a gesture of permanence and stability: We bought one that we knew would last a lifetime, we even inherited it. Now we live in forced flexibility, in rental apartments with annual contracts, in Ikea as religion and in the imperative to travel light. It’s not just that it doesn’t fit. It is that its very logic (the solid, the definitive, the expository) belongs to a time that no longer exists. The space where the furniture used to be is now occupied by a giant television mounted on the wall, a minimalist shelf from Amazon or, directly, nothing. And that absence is not coincidental. It is the symptom of a culture that stopped believing in the idea of ​​the home as a personal museum. and he began to conceive it as a provisional set for a life that happens, above all, elsewhere. On the screens. In Xataka | The 17 photos that explain the 90s as if you had lived them Featured image | Xataka

Tesla’s enormous problem in Germany has an alarming figure and a clear person responsible: Elon Musk

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Three out of four potential buyers of an electric car reject the idea of ​​buying a Tesla. The study points to the German market, which is the first electric car market in Europe by sales volume, and explains an important part of Tesla’s failure in Europe during 2025. Three out of four. 75% of potential buyers of an electric car in Germany do not value the idea of ​​buying a Tesla car, according to a study by the German Institute of Economics in collaboration with the Technical University of Dresden. The figure, which in itself is bad, has even more meaning. And that 75% is made up of potential customers who believe it is unlikely to buy a Tesla (15%) and those who completely reject buying a vehicle from this brand (60%). The reason, as we could imagine, is not a question of competition or price. The disaster. Last year, 545,142 electric cars were sold in Germany. It was, by far, the strongest electric car market in Europe. The growth was 43.2% compared to 2024, the year in which just over 380,000 electric cars were sold. Its market share reached 19.1%, above the European average, according to ACEA. For Tesla, however, it was not a great year. In Europe, 150,504 electric vehicles from Elon Musk’s company were sold, 37.9% less than the previous year when 242,436 registrations were registered. The most problematic thing is that the company had achieved a market share of 2.3% (a good bite to eat on the electric car pie, which in 2024 was only 13.6% in the European Union. That is, almost two out of every 10 electric cars sold in Europe were from Tesla. The drop was even more pronounced in Germany. There, the drop was 48.4%, as recorded Reuters at the beginning of the year. And, with everything, It has not been its strongest percentage drop in European countries but the damage in volume is more than evident. The politics. The decision by which the Germans seem to completely reject Tesla is evident to the creators of the study: Elon Musk’s political positioning. According to the authors, political positioning influences the purchase of a car more than sociodemographic characteristics. They point out that young people, those with a higher level of education and those who live in urban areas are more inclined to purchase an electric car. In political terms, Green supporters are the most open to acquiring this technology and AfD (German far-right) voters are the least enthusiastic. On average, they say, the potential customer for an electric car has grown by over 40% and those who reject it outright have also fallen. But the problem for Tesla is that it is not attractive to either group. Among the Greens, only 10.8% value the purchase of a Tesla as their first option and the percentage grows among AfD followers to 15.2% but it must be taken into account that these voters are also less in favor of buying a car of this type. Just lose. The study concludes with a statement: Elon Musk has lost support for buying cars among progressive groups (those who buy the most electric cars or are willing to buy) and has not attracted enough conservative groups to alleviate this disadvantage. The result is a direct consequence of a year 2025 that began with Elon Musk doing a Nazi salute during Donald Trump’s takeover of the United States and which continued with a explicit support of the company’s head for AfD and other far-right parties in Europe. It must be taken into account that this type of political positioning in Germany is much more delicate than in other countries. In Germany the Nazi salute is a crime punished with a fine in minor cases but which can be grounds for imprisonment in more serious cases. Study on preferences when buying an electric car in Germany segmented by political parties. Source: German Institute of Economics The worst option almost always. The image above shows the predisposition of Germans to the type of electric car they want to buy, segmented by their origin and the political parties that these potential customers vote for. According to this data, Tesla is the last option in four of the six political parties studied, even behind Chinese cars as the first option. The latter always surpass him except among CDU and SPD voters (although in both cases a greater percentage considers it possible to buy a Chinese car over a Tesla if we add the second level of predisposition). Tesla reaps the worst results among the Greens and Linke (The Left) and the absolute rejection is greater among the supporters of the latter political party. Chinese cars are, in all cases, the second option chosen when considering those who are willing to buy an electric car and those who value it as a possible purchase. The Germans are the ones who obtain the most support and the first option in all cases, with the greatest support among Green voters and with the AfD as the party with the greatest reluctance to buy it. Photo | Elon Musk in X and German Institute of Economics In Xataka | Tesla is discovering in real time that the most difficult thing was not to build a car brand from scratch: it was to maintain it

five big tech deals ending today, February 15

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Taking into account that yesterday was Valentine’s Day, many stores have taken the opportunity to launch a wide range of offers, whether or not they focus on this special day. Today ends the MediaMarkt Valentine’s Day and the El Corte Inglés Limit Offersso we have reviewed both stores to comment on some of the best deals we can find. LG OLED55B56LA by 669.94 euros When registering in the store, a 55-inch OLED television with a very reasonable price. Xiaomi 15T Pro by 687.14 euros when registering in the store, an excellent mobile that comes with 512 GB of storage. Marshall Acton III by 169.15 eurosa Bluetooth speaker with an exquisite retro design. Google Pixel 10 Pro by 764.54 euros When registering in the store, a high-end mobile phone with an outstanding camera section. Samsung HW-S700D by 196.94 euros when registering in the store, a powerful sound bar that is compatible with Dolby Atmos. LG OLED55B56LA Having an OLED television does not have to cost a fortune, there are models that cost less than 1,000 euros. Right now, the LG OLED55B56LA is the best example, since when you register with MediaMarkt an additional discount is automatically applied that leaves you 669.94 euros. It not only stands out because it incorporates a 55-inch OLED panel, in this case, but also because it offers a 120Hz refresh ratebecause it is compatible with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and because it also comes with some gaming-oriented technologies, such as Nvidia G-Sync. LG OLED55B56LA (OLED, 55 inches) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi 15T Pro If you are looking for a good high-end mobile phone that also has a lot of storage, the Xiaomi 15T Pro has dropped to 687.14 euros (again when registering with MediaMarkt). This is an excellent model that comes with 512GB storageits screen is ideal for viewing multimedia content in good quality, its MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ processor is quite powerful and its cameras are signed by Leica, so they offer very good photographic results. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Marshall Acton III He Marshal Acton III It is a beautiful speaker. Perhaps the characteristic retro design is the first thing that catches the eye, but we cannot ignore that, for 169.15 euros At El Corte Inglés, we talk about a good model. It offers a good power of 30W at 2.0 channels, has Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and incorporates a button panel on the top. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google Pixel 10 Pro If the Xiaomi mobile does not convince you and you are looking for one of the best from Google, be careful with the MediaMarkt offer: by registering in the store you can buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro by 764.54 euros. And be careful, this is the version with 256GB storage. It comes with an excellent 6.3-inch screen, its operating system is a real delight, and its cameras are outstanding. Google Pixel 10 Pro (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung HW-S700D Although El Corte Inglés has a good price (229 euros) on the sound bar Samsung HW-S700Dby registering with MediaMarkt you can buy for 196.94 euros. It is a 2024 model that includes its own wireless subwoofer, although the difference is that the bar is very thin. It incorporates seven 3.1 channel speakers, is compatible with Wireless Dolby Atmoshas Chromecast and has Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi and HDMI eARC connectivity. 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 | MediaMarkt, El Corte Inglés and Compradicción (header), LG, Xiaomi, Marshall, Google, Samsung In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price (2026). Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 99 euros

a scar that “splits” the peninsula with water

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We have had 2026 going through water. Christina It brought strong winds and covered the central part of the peninsula with snow. Then, the storm Leonardo left torrential rains and strong winds in Andalusia and we didn’t finish saying goodbye to Marta and Nils is here. So much water has fallen that the state’s reservoirs store 117% more hydroelectric energy that a year ago, classes have been suspended in almost all of Andalusia and municipalities such as Grazalema have been evicted in the face of the threat of almost 600 liters of water per square meter, a figure that beats any previous record. Not only Spain has suffered the intense rain, Portugal has also taken its share: affected areas include Alcácer do Sal and the Tagus River basin, in the southern part of the country. Luis Montenegro, Prime Minister of Portugal, has declared the state of calamity in 68 municipalities until mid-February due to unprecedented rains and floods. Visually we have seen how rivers and reservoirs reached unusual heights, but from space the image of the trail left by the train of storms in the southwest of the peninsula it is also impressive. Below these lines, the radar image of the European Space Station based on data captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1 with the extension of the floods around the Tagus River and its basin. The extent of flooding around the Tagus River and its basin. THAT To create this composition, ESA has superimposed an image taken on February 7, 2026 over one taken on December 27, 2025. The area marked in red indicates how far the water level has risen in the Tagus basin and surrounding areas. This synthetic aperture radar is capable of operating even in unfavorable conditions, such as low sunlight and dense cloud cover, allowing continuous monitoring. The map that we see below shows the accumulation of rain in the Iberian Peninsula in a few days: from February 1 to February 7, 2026. For this, the European Space Station has taken the data of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) missionan international network of satellites that provides global observations of rain and snow. Those areas in red indicate a record of more than 250 millimeters of rain in just one week. Accumulated rain from February 1 to 7. THAT As can be seen, North Africa, southwest Portugal, Galicia and the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz bore the brunt, which explains the situation of saturation of the land and why several hydrographic basins increased their flow significantly. By combining both systems it is possible to relate how intense the precipitation is with its physical impact and its real extension. In Xataka | Google flood risk map: so you can see if you live in an area that is at risk In Xataka | Map with the level of reservoirs: how to check their status and the dangers of river overflowing with infoAGUA Cover | European Space Agency

the Bethlem psychiatric hospital where the patients were fairground attractions

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Between brushstroke and brushstroke, Richard Dadd (Victorian painter) conceived the disturbing idea that his father was the reincarnation of a devil. During a summer walk through the countryside in 1843 he stabbed him to death. He ran away. Shortly after, the police arrested him in France. Fed up with claiming without anyone paying the slightest attention that he, in reality, was Saint Paul, at the beginning of 1790 John Frith He tried to attack King George III of England with a stone. The last drop of energy left in the veins of Eliza Josolyne It froze in the winter of 1857. The only servant in a house with twenty rooms, Josolyne (23 years old) had to ensure that every corner was clean and tidy. When in January he was also ordered to keep alive the 20 fires that heated his weak balance, he jumped into the air. The stories of Richard, John and Eliza have different characters, settings and dates, but they share the same ending: the Bethlem Royal Hospitalone of the most famous psychiatric hospitals in the world and the one that has contributed the most to creating the myth of the nightmare asylum. Also one of the oldest. Since its foundation, in the 13th century, and until its therapies began to modernize between the 18th and 19th centuries, the London sanatorium left disastrous chapters. For years more than a hospital It was almost a “human zoo”a gallery where the rich of London flocked to (after paying a shilling per entry) enjoy the spectacle of the “crazy ones.” In 1681 rulers shamelessly referred to patients as “lunatickes”, a mixture of “lunatic” and “tickets”. Added to the public humiliation were cruel treatment and deplorable conditions. Bethlem in 1739. The black legend of Bethlem has been replicated a thousand times in literature and in 1946 inspired Mack Robson for his film Bedlam, Psychiatric Hospital. Today it is a center respected in the United Kingdom, but has not yet managed to completely shake off that disastrous past. From time to time it appears from the most unexpected corner. Five years ago, workers working on London’s Crossrail (an underground train to improve the City’s communication) came across an unpleasant surprise: bones. A pile of human bones. Upon investigation it was discovered that they belonged to the old cemetery from the psychiatric hospital. Between the mass graves with Bethlem inmates and the corpses left by the Black Death, it is estimated that there could be 4,000 skeletons. Bethelem, the remote origin of everything The origin of the psychiatric hospital dates back to 1247. Simon FitzMaryformer sheriff of London, donated land in Bishopsgate to build an asylum which was named Priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. From that name the abbreviations Bethlem and Bedlam were derived, today synonymous of commotion and chaos. Liverpool Street station now stands at that location. Decades later, the center is already listed as a hospital and around 1400 it welcomed inpatients. In 1547 Henry VII made the decision to hand it over to the city of London to house its mentally ill patients. Over the centuries and as its activity increased, the psychiatric hospital changed locations. When the old medieval building became too small in 1676, the hospital moved to a new and opulent one located in Moorfields. Its creator, Robert Hooke, wanted it to be the Versailles of London and threw the house out the window: he planned a 165-meter-long façade, Corinthian columns, a tower with a dome, gardens… “It was a contrast: that grandiose façade and the somber interior,” explained in 2017 to the BBC Mike Jay, author of This Way Madness Lies. Great, but a total ruin. The heavy façade soon cracked and the hospital suffered serious damage. leaks. Writers like Thomas Browne doubted whether the “madmen” were the inmates or those responsible for that nonsense. The psychiatric hospital would be moved two more times. In 1815, to St. George’s Fields, in Southwark, to a building that has been occupied by the Imperial War Museum since 1936. And in 1930 Beckenhamits location even today. During his journey he passed through all kinds of hands. Towards the end of the 16th century, James I put his doctor Helkiah Crooke in charge of the hospital. It is suspected that the doctor he was so good with the scalpel as with the sack. In 1632, a decade after taking office, he was removed amid accusations of corruption and neglect of his duties. Bethlem is not remembered, however, for Hooke’s strident project or the corruption of those responsible. It is because of the chains, confinements and punishments that the patients suffered. Not always in the same way. Towards the end of the 19th century, pain therapy was “prescribed” within its walls. rotationa practice supposedly inspired by the theories of Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of the famous naturalist author of The origin of species: Sitting the patient in a chair suspended high so that he turned and turned during long sessions. William Hogarth’s “A Rake’s Progress” series of paintings ended in Bethlem. Throughout the 18th century, cold baths or shackles were not unusual either. Of Edward Wakefield (a pioneer in the colonization of New Zealand) is said to have spoken in horror of the naked, starving men chained to the walls he encountered during a visit to Bedlam in 1814. Fair attraction for the bourgeoisie For one shilling, visitors could tour the psychiatric hospital as if it were a zoo. For at least one period, inmates were exposed to the public. Nor was it unusual for them to be allowed to egg them on. “At that time (1610) there was nothing strange about encouraging such a spectacle: visiting Bethlem was seen as edifying for the same reasons as attending hangings was edifying,” explains to the BBC Jonathan Andrews, author of The History of Bethlehem. Tradition assures that up to 96,000 visitors in a single year. Different personalities also passed through the psychiatric hospital. In 1732 the painter William Hogart began a series … Read more

a Russian startup has hacked their brains to turn them into drones with wings

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Nothing more a priori innocent than a pigeon flying over the buildings of a city or perched in a square. Or not, because in addition to being just another city dweller (sometimes excessively so, which becomes a problem), pigeons have been used as discreet express messengers from the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations. And also in war scenarios: in World War I, the United States Army created a carrier pigeon service called United States Army Pigeon Service for tactical messaging when all else failed or was destroyed. Now the Russian startup Neiry assures having given them one more twist: it has turned pigeons into biological drones. An electrode in the brain. What the Russian company proposes is not to biomimic a drone so that it resembles a pigeon, but to convert this animal into a transport vector by equipping it with implanted neural interfaces. More specifically, they implant electrodes in the brain, which are then connected to a stimulator attached to the head. That is, a kind of GPS that speaks with the brain of the bird. Neiry explains that the interface provides mild stimulation to certain brain regions, thus causing the bird to (artificially) prefer a certain direction. Otherwise, the bird behaves naturally. This system does not replace the bird’s will, but rather biases its sense of orientation to follow pre-established routes. Why birds? According to the Russian startupthe objective is to use biological carriers in situations where drones have limitations in range, weight or others such as a restricted area. Alexander Panov, CEO of the company, explains that birds can maneuver in complex environments, fly for long periods and operate in places where drones are restricted, such as collects Bloomberg. Anyone who has handled a drone knows that there is one critical element: the battery. Unlike unmanned aerial vehicles, a pigeon does not need to change its battery nor does it require frequent landings: its nature gives it everything necessary to carry out a long-distance flight. Millions of years of evolution make a bird beat any commercial drone and its 20-minute battery life in terms of flight stabilization and energy efficiency. In fact, up to 400 kilometers a day without stops. Pigeons with backpack. In the test flights that Neiry has carried out with these pigeon drones, the birds were equipped with this neural interface, in addition to a small backpack with the controller, solar panels mounted on the back and a camera. Of course, without giving as much singing as a drone, they did not go unnoticed, as can be seen in the video provided by the company. Pigeons are just the beginning. Panov has explained that although they currently focus on pigeons, “different species can be used depending on the environment or payload.” Bloomberg echoes of other similar implantations, such as the brain of cows for NeuroFarming, so that they produce more milk. And a rather spooky ultimate goal: “to create the next human species after Homo sapiens: Homo superior.” Possible applications. After the tests, the company ensures that the system is ready for practical implementation. According to Neiryhave no plans to use these birds for military purposes despite the fact that in a war or surveillance scenario their use is disruptive: the radars are programmed to filter out winged fauna as ‘noise’ or false positives. In short: they would go unnoticed. Among the ideas of use where they see an opportunity are infrastructure inspection, support for search and rescue, coastal and environmental observation or monitoring of remote areas in places like Brazil or India. Where is the ethics?. Mechanical drones are easier to control, they are capable of carrying larger loads and obviously, they do not need to feed nor will they defecate on you. And that’s not to mention the ethical implications of altering an animal’s behavior. Gizmodo details that after the surgery to implant the chip, the pigeons are almost ready to fly, so the risk “is low for the survival of the birds.” Of course, the startup has not provided independent third-party reviews, which makes specialists question the ethical implications of its technology. The bioethicist and law professor at Duke University Nita Farahany affirms that “Every time we use neural implants to try to control and manipulate any species, it is disgusting.” In Xataka | The war in Ukraine has become something absurd: there are drones shooting at Russian soldiers dressed as “penguins” In Xataka | We had seen everything in Ukraine, but this is unprecedented: Russia is not launching drones, it is launching “Frankensteins” Cover | sanjiv nayak and Andreas Schantl

Countries are trying to prevent the accumulation of wealth of technological millionaires. Ancient Rome tried it too

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The concentration of wealth in a few hands that we see today in technological billionaires is not a new phenomenon. More than two thousand years ago, the Ancient Rome faced exactly the same dilemma that worries today to governments around the world: a few rich people accumulated land and resources, while the majority of citizens became impoverished to the point of bordering on misery. A young politician named Tiberius Sempronius Graceither He thought he found a solution to redistribute the wealth accumulated by the Roman patricians: his idea cost him his life. In the middle of the second century BC, after destroying Carthage and Corinth, Rome had become the dominant power of the Mediterranean. However, this expansion it didn’t make everyone rich equally. For the humblest Roman peasants, it brought a devastating social crisis. The small landowners, who for centuries had cultivated their lands and served in the Roman legions, were displaced by large estates exploited with slave labor brought from the new conquered territories. The long military campaigns had prevented the soldiers peasants return in time to harvest their lands, which affected the economies of their families. Furthermore, upon their return they discovered that their lands had been expropriated by millionaire aristocrats from Rome. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchusgrandson of Scipio Africanus, the general that defeated to the Carthaginian Hannibaland heir to one of the most powerful families in Rome, was guaranteed a brilliant political future. However, in the year 133 BC, being elected tribune of the plebs, he decided to propose an agrarian reform with which he attempted to redistribute the enormous fortunes that Roman landowners had accumulated. Something similar to what is trying to make California and other countries all over the world. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus With this measure, Gracchus was directly confronting his own people since he himself came from a wealthy family. Its law established that no citizen could own more than 500 iugera (about 125 hectares) of public land, the so-called ager publicus. The plots that exceed that limit will be expropriated and handed over to landless peasants. A measure that, de facto, ended with the large estates in the hands of the richest romans. The objective of the measure was twofold: to restore economic solvency to the Roman people and to ensure that Rome had enough citizens with assets to nourish its legions, since only the owners They could serve as soldiers. Making friends among the richest According to the ancient sources of Plutarch, written between the years 96 AD and 117 AD, Tiberius did not seek to start a revolution against the rich, but to restore old republican laws that had fallen into disuse. To defend his reform, Tiberius gave speeches in front of the impoverished people of Rome. In one of his most famous, which was collected by Plutarchthe young tribune declared: “Their generals deceive them when, in battle, they encourage them to fight for the temples of their gods and for the tombs of their fathers. This is because, of a large number of Romans, not one has his own domestic altar or family tomb. They fight and die to feed the opulence and luxury of others, and, when they claim to be masters of the entire world, they do not even own a piece of land.” The Senate, dominated by large landowners, tried to block the reform by all means. They persuaded another tribune named Octavius ​​to veto the proposal, but Tiberius responded with a bold and unprecedented maneuver: he called for the assembly to remove Octavius ​​from office for acting against the interests of the people. The reform was finally approved and applied by distributing the large estates of the landowners among the Roman peasants. However, when Tiberius attempted to run for a second term as tribune, a practice then considered contrary to Roman tradition, the aristocracy decided he had gone too far. According to the historical documentationduring the elections in the Capitol, a group of senators led by the maximum pontiff Scipio Násica, a relative of Tiberius himself, burst in with a group of followers armed with clubs and with the legs of chairs torn from the Curia. In the sacred place, where swords were not allowed, They beat Tiberius to death and about 300 of his followers. His body was thrown into the Tiber River without allowing his family to bury him. Death of Tiberius Gracchus Ten years later, in 123 BC, Tiberius’ brother, Gaius Sempronius Gracchustook up the cause started by his brother with an even more ambitious program. Caius approved the Lex Frumentariawhich forced the State to distribute wheat among the plebs at prices below the market, laying the foundations of the food subsidy system that would last for centuries. He also proposed extending Roman citizenship to the Italic peoples who fought in Rome’s wars but did not enjoy its benefits. The Senate used populist tactics, warning that Italian foreigners would reduce aid to Roman citizens, and when Caius lost popular supportwas pursued to the Aventine Hill near Rome, where he ordered his faithful slave Philocrates to assassinate him. Nearly 3,000 of his supporters died with him. The legacy that survived violence Although the Senate murdered both brothers, it could not erase their legacy. The reforms that the Gracchi had proposed would finally be implemented decades later by order of Julius Caesar, who had a powerful army that protected him from suffering the same fate. The historians Plutarch and Appian left record of what happened with the Gracchus brothers centuries later, both agreed to portray Tiberius as a politician with solid ideas who looked to Rome’s past to find solutions to the problems suffered by his people. Paradoxically, although the story of the Gracchus brothers happened more than 2,000 years ago, we could find very similar references today with just a quick glance at the news. In Xataka | Mark Zuckerberg is going to change the California sun for Miami. You have 11 billion reasons to do it. Image | Wikimedia Commons (Lodovico Pogliaghi, Guillaume … Read more

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