Mobile Tech & Gadgets

The video game has realized that it is no longer culturally relevant. So he’s taking desperate measures

by

If you have heard about the launch of new ‘Resident Evil’ and you go on TikTok looking to see something gameplay or how to defeat a specific zombie, be careful because you are more likely to end up watching videos dedicated to the back of its protagonist Leon Kennedy than to any weapons guide. You’re reading right: at his back, at his growls and the way he forces a closed closet, and not exactly at his return to Raccoon City. None of this is coincidental. Capcom, responsible for ‘Resident Evil’, has not only launched a tremendously anticipated title from a saga much loved by players, it has built a campaign to generate conversation, desire and, above all, a constant presence on networks. Thirst tweets (messages from fans expressing attraction or admiration for a character), clips designed to go viral and creative decisions aimed at provoking a specific reaction in the audience. fandom It is something that we usually see in marketing campaigns for cinema. A very obvious recent example may be that of the actor Jacob Elordi in the middle of promoting ‘Wuthering Heights‘ being a victim of countless fancams (those clips with images highlighting an actor or character). But no, this time we don’t have a Hollywood star but a fictional character; and the effect is the same. Capcom has joined the wave and in doing so has put many unknowns surrounding the video game industry on the table while beginning to clear up others. Because the question is not why this particular campaign has worked, but why the video game industry needs to do it now. Video games sell but they don’t create conversation The truth is that we cannot say that the video game industry is in the midst of a creative crisis, but rather in a crisis of cultural visibility and, therefore, it is beginning to react with strategies typical of other media. The list of video games that may interest us by theme, gameplay or aesthetics is infinite, but really that wealth remains largely for those who are already in the medium. For the general public, the video game is still something more opaque and specializedcompared to other cultural areas. The audience, even if they are not movie buffs or music fans, can be up to date with the big premiere of the week or a new album by Taylor Swiftbut it is difficult to know about the new game of Hidetaka Miyazaki. And the thing is, not only does it help that you like the product, but also the red carpets, the media interviews and the marathon weeks of promotion. Capcom would kill for this. Thus, we can stay up to date and find out about Zendaya’s new premiere thanks to a viral video talking about the theme of her looks for the red carpet or about Bad Bunny’s new album through a clip of her interview on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon. On the other hand, here the video game is at a clear disadvantage and does not generate that type of media attention and following outside of the endemic media. Cinema and music with trends, premieres and their stars constantly cross the public conversationa barrier that the video game cannot break. With few exceptions such as ‘Grand Theft Auto‘or a new generation of’Pokémon‘, few releases achieve a similar level of expectation. We are facing a striking paradox, we are talking about an industry that manages to generate more money globally, but at the same time has difficulties occupying that space in the collective imagination. This disconnection seems difficult to overcome, because although the ideas and quality of many titles are more than remarkable, there is an underlying problem that shakes the world of the industry. While income shows record numbers (the global video game market grew by 5.3% in 2025 to reach $195.6 billion), the truth is that the sector is going through a wave of continuous layoffs that hits both small studios and big companies that seemed untouchable like Epic Games with its totem Fortnite. These dynamics of layoffs, cancellations and restructuring show the structural tension that goes further of the games themselves and make it imperative to rethink, not so much what is done, but how it is presented. Video games have not known how to turn their icons into elements of constant cultural conversation. It is striking how some of its most emblematic characters such as Cloud Strife from ‘Final Fantasy VII’ or Ezio Auditore from ‘Assassin’s Creed’, despite their influence in the sector, barely permeate the broader collective imagination and only become icons recognizable mainly by those who already know the medium. And for this. Trailers or old classic events like the E3 or more recent quotes like Game Awards They are not enough to wake up the interest of the general public for new releases; recognizable “faces” and viral moments are needed. We already had a clue in 2023, if for the world of video games the title ‘The Last of Us’ is a reference, the king of the fancams Pedro Pascal and the HBO adaptation so that, through another format, this story would reach the global conversation, even increasing game sales. In this context, strategies like Capcom’s make complete sense: the aim is not to alter the product, nor the original idea, but to transform how it communicates, positions itself and, above all, how it becomes more visible beyond its own niche. Capcom and the twist “thirsty” New releases, such as in film or music, should also be an event with shared experiences and campaigns that transcend the news and Capcom has taken note. It even seems that the Japanese company has attended the “Margot Robbie school”: just as the actress throughout the promotion of “Wuthering Heights” commented and fangirled with all of Jacob Elordi’s romantic gestures during filming, making him the perfect Heathcliff; Capcom has moved that same logic to the world of video games. With a campaign that reaches not only hardcore … Read more

the main ingredient is the plastic of the shampoo bottle

by

We have been wanting for years retire to traditional brick. This piece that has been the pivot on which civilizations have been built has ended up becoming a headache. The same thing happens to us with him concrete: It’s easy, cheap, but very polluting. That is why there are universities, organizations and even agencies like DARPA investigating to find alternatives. A young woman in Kenya believes she has found -another- solution: plastic. And it is a very interesting 2×1. plastic bricks. Nzambi Matee is a young Kenyan materials engineer who founded her company Gjenge Makers with one goal: turning the numerous plastic waste into bricks. Whoever says bricks says any urban element such as paving stones, tiles or manhole covers. The idea is to address the plastic waste crisis in Nairobi while trying to provide a solution to the need for eaffordable building supplies. And, also, giving work to women and young people belonging to vulnerable communities. The process. To create these plastic bricks, Matee was experimenting with different formulas until he found one that achieved the right properties. To do this, it mixes the plastic with sand into a whole that is heated and compressed to form solid blocks. With the right proportions, they calculate that the plastic bricks are five times more resistant than traditional ones. When that step has been completed, the mixture is introduced into an extruder where it is heated, with the plastic reaching the melting point, but without chemically degrading. The material is then poured into molds and a hydraulic press compacts to achieve both a high density and the desired shape. When it cools, it is removed from the mold and we now have a batch of bricks. Properties. The result is a material that, according to those responsible, has good thermal resistance as it has a melting point of more than 350 degrees. For paving streets in Nairobi, this is an important detail because it ensures that it will maintain its shape under normal use. They also do not crack as “easily” as a conventional brick while maintaining some flexibility. What uses? Well…anyone that involves the use of a traditional brick. Apart from the cases mentioned, you can also pave sidewalks, patios, parking lots or as decoration, since they can be designed in various colors. Tackling the plastic problem. Many times we have echoed the so-called ‘neobridrillos’. There are a lot of materials, plastic being a common component to address the recycling problembut There are also cane ones, for example. And we always say the same thing: they are interesting, but they cannot be used because they are not approved. The difference is that the Kenya Bureau of Standards is responsible for legitimizing use for urban and residential projects in the country, and Gjenge Makers’ plastic bricks have obtained permits. Examples of use The plastics they use are also those that can be left out of the recycling circuit. Kenya, with 95% of its waste recyclable, but where only 5% are recycled, it is not the most committed country in the world in this sense (in fact, it is one of the great pending tasks of the planet). And the plastics used are common: HDPE -high-density polyethylene-, LDPE -low-density polyethylene- and PP -polypropylene-. They are widely present in shopping bags, wrappers, detergent bottles, ropes, buckets and many other containers that simply end up in traditional trash. According to the startup’s numbers, since the start of the project in 2020, 200 tons of plastic waste have been used to convert it into construction material. Beyond the brick. But something that we also often say is that it is one thing for the invention to be ready and work… and quite another for it to be consolidated as a new construction material. Because other elements such as the cost per unit or the economic interests of the traditional industry come into play there. And something that is also important is the social impact of the company. According to its website, it provides direct and indirect employment to more than 600 people. They are linked to the collection, classification and manufacturing of the product, and a large part of the workforce is women and young people who find it difficult to participate in other economic activities. In the end, it is a project that is located at the intersection between the circular economy, sustainable urbanism and social inclusion. And it is a nice program, but as we say, there are more and more sustainable bricks, but in the end we continue to choose the most polluting process. Images | Gjenge Makers In Xataka | We have just reinvented the brick. It is just as it was millennia ago

It is called CY8, and it is the missing piece to transport tons

by

In some of the most extreme environments on the planet, such as plateaus above 4,000 metersair density can reduce the takeoff ability of an aircraft by more than 30%forcing a complete redesign of how any cargo is transported. For a long time, that has limited what can be moved… and, importantly, where. The “air truck” of Beijing. Yes, China has just successfully tested a pilotless “air truck” in the form of a drone. It’s called CY-8 and its first flight in Zhengzhou was not only a technical test, but the confirmation of a concept: an unmanned aircraft capable of combining large load capacity with operational flexibility that until now was reserved for much more complex or infrastructure-dependent platforms. Designed to charge. The CY-8 stands out for a very clear logic: moving weight efficiently. With a maximum weight of 7 tons and a 3.5 ton loading capacitypractically equals its own useful weight, something key in logistics operations. Your closed cellar 18 cubic meterswith front and rear access, allows you to accelerate loading and unloading processes, reducing time on the ground and increasing the pace of operation in environments where every minute counts. Operate where others cannot. The local media reported that the true advantage of the system is not only in how much it transports, but in where can you do it. The CY-8 can take off in less than 500 meters and operate on basic tracks, allowing you to access high mountain areas, isolated regions or island environments. It is optimized for extreme altitudes such as those in Tibet and for territories with limited infrastructurewhich greatly expands its radius of action beyond conventional airports. Autonomy, range and versatility. With more than 3,000 km rangethe drone not only connects remote points, but does so without the need for pilots and with the ability to adapt to multiple missions. Plus: can be set up quickly for logistics transportdisaster relief, emergency communications or reconnaissance tasks, making it a hybrid platform between civil and military, designed to respond to changing scenarios. Pilotless logistics. The development of the CY-8 is part of a growing competition to dominate heavy unmanned aerial transport. China is already working in even bigger modelswhile the United States explores alternatives with vertical takeoff that completely eliminate the need for runways. In this context, the CY-8 represents a more or less intermediate bet: it does not eliminate the infrastructure, but it does reduce it to the essential minimum. More than a drone, a strategic piece. Beyond its numbers, this “monstrous” drone redefines a key idea: in conflicts or crises, it is not enough to arrive, we must be able to sustain. This type of platform makes it possible to maintain supply chains in places where it was previously complex or impossible to do so. Therefore, more than an isolated technological advance, this kind of Chinese “air truck” points to a paradigm shift: logistics, silent and constant, as the true engine of any modern operation. Image | x In Xataka | China just showed the world what comes after the combat drone: 96 drones with a science fiction launch In Xataka | For years we have associated drones with propellers: in China they explore an alternative inspired by nature

What is SMIC, China’s big chip manufacturer, doing right now? According to the US, sell them to Iran for the war

by

The war in Iran continues. On the one hand it is said that it is almost finished, but on the other we have the shipment of thousands of American paratroopersmore calls for support and one sided offensives and from another. But in almost any conflict, not only those in the countries involved come into play, but also the allies. And the United States has leveled a pretty serious accusation against China: SMIC is selling chips to Iran. Well, “almost certainly.” SMIC in the spotlight. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp the great Chinese semiconductor foundry. Included in the blacklist of the United States government along with Huaweihas managed to develop advanced chips in record time. They have not only challenged everything the US thought they could dobut that association with Huawei and the country’s push for the technology industry have made it one of the spearheads of China’s technological sovereignty. That SMIC has been able to manufacture advanced chips when it was denied access to cutting-edge technology is something that upsets the US government, which reiterated the sanction and keeping the company on the blacklist for alleged ties to the Chinese government. And the latest accusations are not going to relax the tension. ANDUSA says yes. SMIC makes chips and obviously sells chips. And the United States claims that they are supplying technology to Iran. a few days ago, Reuters published an article in which it included two statements by “two senior officials in the Trump Administration” that suggested that Beijing, perhaps, is not staying as far away from the Iran war as they would have us believe. In the article they state that SMIC has been sending chip manufacturing tools to the Iranian army. This raised questions about Beijing’s stance in the conflict, with officials noting – on condition of anonymity – that the company began shipping the tools about a year ago and that they have “no reason to believe shipments have stopped.” A year ago, the United States was not at war with Iran, and China has long maintained a normal trade situation with Iran. US officials note that, in addition, “they have almost certainly also technically trained Iran on semiconductor technology.” And let’s remember that these chips are in everything: from routers to missiles. China says no. The Reuters article does not give any further information or details on whether Iranian tools that included US technology have been confiscated –something that does occur in other conflicts– and neither the Chinese embassy in Washington, SMIC or an Iranian spokesperson at the UN responded to requests for comment. Who has left Lin Jian, the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke out and did not hesitate to classify the report as “false information.” He accused certain media outlets of launching self-serving news and then classifying all reports as “false information.” On this issue, China has been caught between two waters, first condemning the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khameini by the Israeli and US forcesbut also expressing his rejection of the Iran attacks on Gulf states that house US bases. Back in focus. Beyond Iran, the United States accusations are part of an operation that began a few years ago. The veto of Huawei marked the beginning of the current trade war between China and the United States, but it also marked China’s ‘awakening’ in technological matters, quest for sovereignty and a technological war that branched into chips, robotics, energy, communications, artificial intelligence and in the military arm. SMIC is the large Chinese manufacturer that defied US vetoes by managing to manufacture the chip of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro before whom The US authorities could not believe and, if they manage to demonstrate that they are involved in supporting Israel when China is not actively participating in the conflict, they will have more reasons to intensify the vetoes and sanctions. And all this is framed in a current situation in which Trump and Xi Jinping will meet in a few days to discuss international relations and where the purchase of American technology by China is expected to be one of the points of the day, with NVIDIA very interested in biting a piece of the $50 billion pie that the Asian giant represents. Images | Ballistic Missile, ASML In Xataka | While the US bombs Iran, something unusual has happened: drones attacking the nuclear bases in North Dakota

The best technology deals we have found in the first week of April, Bargain Hunting

by

We have started the month of April quite busy in terms of number and quality of offers, especially in stores like Honor, Amazon or PcComponentes. There is a lot to choose from, so in Bargain Hunting this week we have put together the five technology offers that we liked the most. Honor Magic V5 by 1,164.21 euros With several coupons, one of the best folding phones almost half the price. Kindle by 99 eurosa good e-book reader from Amazon. Fire TV Stick 4K Select by 28.99 eurosthe latest model that Amazon has launched to date. AirPods Pro 3 by 199 eurosthe lowest price Apple headphones have had to date. Marshall Emberton II by 89 eurosa Bluetooth speaker with good autonomy. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Honor Magic V5 If we talk about good deals on mobile phones, right now there is nothing better than what Honor has in its store, especially in the Honor Magic V5. Because? For its triple discount that leaves it for 1,164.21 euros: Direct discount: goes from 1,999 to 1,499 euros. Coupon AES1215: goes from 1,499 to 1,184.21 euros. Gift of 2,000 points when you log in, which is equivalent to 20 euros: it goes from 1,184.21 to 1,164.21 euros. He Honor Magic V5 It is a folding mobile phone (one of the best, in fact) very thin with a thickness of 8.8 mm and a good battery. It has two screens of 6.43 inches and 7.95 inches, both AMOLED LTPO. Internally it comes with the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and its photography section offers very good results. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle There is very little left until Book Day, so if you want to start reading by buying a good eReader, Amazon has an offer on Kindle by 99 euros (before 119.99 euros). It is the most basic model, but it has good features: a six-inch anti-glare screen, adjustable light, a battery that lasts for weeks, 16 GB to store many books, and a weight of 158 grams that allows it to be used with one hand. Kindle (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Fire TV Stick 4K Select Amazon has also taken the opportunity to launch offers on all your Fire TV Stickbut if we talk about good value for money, the prize goes to the Fire TV Stick 4K Selectwhich has dropped to 28.99 euros (before 54.99 euros). This model offers 4K resolution on supported contentsupports content with HDR10+, incorporates Alexa as a voice assistant and is as compact as the other Amazon models. Of course, it comes with its own remote control with direct access to apps like Netflix or Prime Video. Fire TV Stick 4K Select (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links AirPods Pro 3 There are also offers on Apple devices, and the crown goes to the AirPods Pro 3 that are on offer at historical minimum price: by 199 euros (before 249 euros) at PcComponentes. These headphones offer very good active noise cancellation (double that of the previous generation, according to Apple), their theoretical autonomy is up to eight hours of use with noise cancellation activated and comes with a set of pads to fit better to the ears. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Marshall Emberton II If for the summer you are already looking for a good Bluetooth speaker that allows you to enjoy your favorite music in the pool, be very careful with the Marshall Emberton IIwhich has dropped in price to 89 euros (before 149 euros) at MediaMarkt. This model maintains the brand’s retro design and includes a battery with autonomy of up to 30 hours. It weighs less than a kilo (0.7 kg), is resistant to water and dust (IP67) and comes with a button on the top to control it. 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 | Honor, Amazon, Apple, Marshall In Xataka | Best Amazon Fire TV. Which one to buy and recommended models to convert your TV into a smart TV depending on use In Xataka | Best Bluetooth speakers in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

Someone has taken more than 12,000 Spanish laws and converted them to source code. It is a real gem to search for legislation

by

If you have ever prepared for competitive exams and are looking for the legislation that you have to prepare for or need to consult a law for any management, you will have already realized that the Official State Gazette is a pain. (also applies to regional versions) to find out what is current and what has changed: transpositions, various PDFs, annexes and cross references that make you go crazy. You are not alone: ​​sooner or later it has happened to everyone. Until now you only had two alternatives: consult with someone who did know about the subject to clear your doubts or resort to artificial intelligence to then carefully check that nothing is left out. To the computer engineer Enrique Lopez It must have happened to him too and he took action on the matter. The project. Is called Legalize and it is in a few words a digital repository of state and regional legislation available on GitHub, as if it were a computer project. Thus, it has translated more than 12,000 regulations in force in the state (both state and regional), each one into a Markdown file with plain text on which you can search for what interests you. In addition, each of the laws are grouped in folders based on their jurisdiction. In short: one law, one file, one folder, one jurisdiction. The organization follows the standard ELI (European Legislation Identifier). As the project’s GitHub explains, all content comes from the BOE Consolidated Legislation APIthe text of the legislation is public domain. What Legalize-es provides is structure, version control and metadata. What has changed about this law. But the laws have their drafts, consolidated texts and subsequent reforms, so sometimes being clear about what is in force and what is not is an odyssey. So you added each reform as a commit, with the actual publication date. This way, even if you have no idea about laws, you can see what exactly has changed in the regulations: in red is what is deleted and in green is what is added. We see it better with an example, that of Royal Decree-Law 8/2010: Royal Decree-Law 8/2010 Why is it important. Beyond the practicality of access of this format, the true relevance is that anyone can know what has changed in a law without tricks or cardboard. It is true that the BOE is public, but it is far from friendly. On the other hand, when a law is reformed, it is easy to lose sight of previous regulations. With this format it is easy to know what has changed and when. Context. In a state like Spain where the normative production report of the CEOE for 2024 (the last one released) lists 719 regulations, being up to date with regulations that affect matters as important as taxes or retirement is an arduous task. The digitization of current legal regulations is a pending issue that this project addresses as a civic hack: using technology to simplify and clarify what the administration hinders. How it works. The core of legalize-es is the automation of legislative data through a pipeline, that is, with a “robot” that periodically monitors the BOE’s Consolidated Legislation API. The system extracts the text from the official PDF and cleans it of strange formats, leaving it in plain text. Once processed, the law is integrated into a Git version control system where each reform does not overwrite the previous one, but is saved as a new layer to allow access to the history of changes, which allows traceability. In Xataka | The “ChatGPT for lawyers” exists, it was born in Spain and has just reached a milestone: becoming a unicorn Cover | Flickr

give reasons to bring back teleworking

by

When the price of oil soars Because of a war, governments look for ways to reduce their consumption. This is something that already happened with the oil crisis of ’73 and it is being repeated again with the war between Iran, Israel and the US. One of the quickest is usually that people stop commuting to work. What is happening now leaves us with a certain déjà vu of 2020with the difference that the reason is no longer a virus, but an energy crisis and the objective is save energy. Asia has already released the 2020 manual. Given its greatest dependence on Iranian crude oilthe first movements have arrived from Southeast Asia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim advertisement that officials linked to the Administration will implement teleworking to reduce fuel consumption. The Philippines chose cut the work week to four days for executive officials, with the same objective. The measure has a preceding in 1990, when the country experienced a situation similar to the current one during the Gulf War. Sri Lanka and Pakistan also implemented the four-day week in their State departments, and countries such as Vietnam and Thailand They explicitly asked teleworking to reduce unnecessary travel. The International Energy Agency recommends teleworking. The International Energy Agency published a decalogue of measures to reduce the impact of the power surge. Teleworking tops that list due to its direct effect on fuel consumption during daily trips. The recommendation of the energy agency for reduce the volume of trips is not trivial, the report notes that “three additional days of teleworking, for those who allow it, could reduce automobile oil consumption by 2% to 6%, with average potential reductions of around 20% for individual drivers.” Spain advances its mobility plans one year. On March 20, the Government approved the Royal Decree-Law that launches the ‘Comprehensive Response Plan to the Crisis in the Middle East’ with a mobilization of 5 billion euros. One of the measures that this plan also includes is to advance the entry into force of the work mobility plans provided for in the Sustainable Mobility Law that was already approved, going from 24 to 12 months. This Mobility Law included the obligation for companies with work centers with 200 or more workers (or shifts of more than 100 workers) to create sustainable mobility plans that must include concrete measures to reduce travel through active mobility, collective transport and, this is the key, offer teleworking options in positions that allow it. Teleworking is already in the law, although no one has imposed it. In 2020, teleworking was an emergency measure and without a prior regulatory basis to regulate it. Now, there is a Remote Work Law and is being integrated into sustainable mobility plans, with deadlines and sanctions. Companies are not obliged to offer teleworking in a generalized way to its employees, but to design a strategy to reduce travel, which in many cases involves remote work. Not having teleworking does not carry a direct sanction. Not having a mobility planyes it does, which makes teleworking an increasingly less discretionary option for certain companies. If the energy crisis continues, the jump from recommendation to obligation now has much less distance than it did five years ago, because the legal basis is already in force. In Xataka | Teleworking will experience a second youth, at a very specific moment: when the boomers retire Image | Freepik, Unsplash (Jan Baborak)

China says it has built its largest data center. And confirms that your problem is precisely in the chips

by

China has just turned on its new technological pride in Shenzhen: an AI cluster with 14,000 petaflops built entirely with Huawei Ascend 910C chips. the city has presented it as the first scale computing center with 10,000 cards with completely national technology. It is an undeniable milestone, but if we give it context, an alarm signal and a dose of reality. Why is it important. The Shenzhen cluster, with all its rhetoric of technological sovereignty, represents about 1% of the capacity of the largest US data center in operation today. In other words: China has built, with great institutional effort, what OpenAI already had available to train GPT-4 in 2022. The gap is not a question of ambition (China has it) or capital (it also has it) or energy (of course, he also has it). It’s a chip issue. What are they capable of manufacturing and in what volume today. Between the lines. The Shenzhen government statement highlights energy efficiency metrics and occupancy rates of 92%. It’s really good data. But the selection of indicators (the cherry picking) says a lot so it is omitted: there are no direct comparisons with the clusters of NVIDIA H100 that colonize the data centers of Microsoft, Google or Amazon. Posting only what you have is also a way of not publishing what you lack. The context. At this point no one doubts that China does not lack electricity, not even engineersnor money to build large-scale AI infrastructure. What is still missing, despite the advances, are the chips. Export restrictions imposed by Trump They have cut off access to advanced semiconductors from NVIDIA and TSMCand that has forced China to accelerate its own ecosystem. Huawei has responded with the Ascend 910Ca capable chip but that still has performance limitations and, above all, volume production. If wafers were not in short supply, this data center would be a hundred times larger. Yes, but. Can China close that four-year gap before it gets even bigger? The answer depends almost entirely on how much its domestic semiconductor industry manages to scale, and whether or not Western sanctions manage to stifle that process. At the moment, in Shenzhen they are celebrating an achievement as undeniable as it turns out that in the eyes of Silicon Valley they are still in 2022. Featured image | Huawei In Xataka | Memory prices have started to fall in some markets. There is still a long way to go to close the AI ​​crisis

a puppy from 15,800 years ago rewrites the history of domestication

by

For many, the dogs they live with They are another member of the familybecause the link that is created surpasses many friends with other humans. And it is no wonder, because we have been living with them for millennia, but the exact origin of our bond in history has always been involved in a scientific debate. But this has finally been solved thanks to genetics. The study. They have been two monumental published reviews in Nature those that have hit the table thanks to the analysis of the DNA of a puppy that lived 15,800 years ago at the Pınarbaşı site, in modern-day Turkey. This discovery has not only set back the biological clock of our canine companions by at least 5,000 years, compared to previous genetic records, but demonstrate that our alliance with wolves was forged long before we invented agriculture. A puppy with honors. The discovery is undoubtedly a triumph of pelogenetics, since for years scientists depended on the shape of bones to distinguish between a wolf and a primitive dog, a method that has many errors. But now science has turned to the genetic material found inside your cells to clear up any doubt. The remains of three puppies were found at the site, but what is fascinating is not only their antiquity, but also how they lived. Here the chemical analysis that was carried out reveals that these animals had a diet surprisingly similar to that of the humans with whom they lived, including a strong base of fish. Furthermore, they were buried following human rituals, which is a posthumous treatment that demonstrates a deep emotional bond. Its expansion. But the Turkish puppy is not an isolated case, since the first study of Nature demonstrate that, by the Late Upper Paleolithic, dogs had already spread rapidly throughout western Eurasia. Here the team also analyzed remains found in Gough’s Cave, in the United Kingdom. There they identified another domesticated dog from 14,300 years ago whose jaw had perforations, again suggesting ritual practices. The most interesting thing is that, despite the enormous geographical distance that separates Turkey from England, the genomes of both animals present strong genetic similarities, confirming that they belonged to the same large population of Paleolithic dogs. Another study. In parallel, he wanted to broaden the panorama after examine the remains of 200 European dogs from more than 14,000 years ago, managing to confirm the presence of another primitive dog in Kesslerloch (Switzerland), dated at 14,200 years. This second team demonstrated that the lineages of these first Paleolithic dogs did not become extinct, but rather that their genetic signatures have survived and are present in the modern dogs that sleep on our sofas today. Before agriculture. The most classical culture told us that the domestication of animals was a by-product of the Neolithic, since here we began to settle, invented agriculture, and along the way, we domesticated animals. But this has completely changed with these studies, since the genomes analyzed confirm that these dogs descend from a lineage of ancient wolves that formed an integral alliance with strictly hunter-gatherer humans. Images | Road Ahead In Xataka | Traveling with a dog is increasingly common, so the European Commission has decided something: mandatory passport

China has been boasting about its driverless robotaxis for years. Until more than 100 have stood at once in Wuhan

by

The screen inside said: “Driving system failure. Staff will arrive in five minutes.” But no one came. The passenger pressed the SOS button and was told they were on their way, but it took 30 minutes just to get someone to pick up the phone. Meanwhile, the robotaxi was still stopped in the middle of a lane in Wuhan, with traffic passing on both sides. That is what happened on the night of Tuesday, April 1, in the Chinese city of Wuhan: More than a hundred autonomous cars from Apollo Go, Baidu’s robotaxis subsidiary, have stopped working at the same time due to a system failure. It is the first time that a collective robotaxis blackout has occurred in China, and it has exposed a concern that the sector has been avoiding for some time. Why is it important. Baidu is not a minor player. Apollo Go operates more than 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan alone, its largest deployment, and has already accumulated more than 20 million trips in its history. The company just started in Abu Dhabi and Dubaithe two large cities of the United Arab Emirates; It is negotiating its entry into the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and has an agreement with Uber to operate through its app. An incident of this magnitude doesn’t come at any time: it comes when the company, like its entire sector, is trying to convince the world that it is ready to scale. Between the lines. Technically, the incident could be explained in many ways. Some Chinese media cited anonymous sources who pointed to the security self-verification systems, which would have detected some abnormal condition and stopped the vehicles preventively. If this were the case, the system would have worked exactly as designed, but the result has been chaotic: cars stopped in the center lanes of expressways, some passengers trapped for more than 90 minutes, collisions caused by vehicles that suddenly braked on highways… That no one has been injured is almost a matter of luck. The contrast. It is not the only precedent. In December 2025, A power outage in San Francisco left Waymo robotaxis immobilized throughout the cityforcing Waymo to send software updates for its entire fleet. Months before, in August, An Apollo Go fell into a ditch in Chongqing; in may, a Pony.ai car caught fire in Beijingwithout causing injuries. It’s easy to see a certain pattern: large-scale autonomous driving has not yet achieved the reliability it needs to justify the trust that is being asked of the public. And now what. Cars stopping is a problem, but an even bigger problem is that no one knows why. Baidu has not explained what caused the failure or how long it took to resolve it. Wuhan police have confirmed the incident but without giving further details about the cause. This opacity weighs as much or more than the incident, especially if we talk about a sector that has been arguing for years that its cars are safer than those driven by humans. We assume that is very true, but block failures like this do not invite optimism without questions. Featured image | Baidu-Apollo In Xataka | Waymo’s self-driving cars have started honking at each other. At 4 in the morning

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.