Mobile Tech & Gadgets

It also had a sophisticated water system in the middle of the Jordanian desert.

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There are few monuments better known on the entire face of the Earth than Petra, the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom in the south of modern-day Jordan. That majestic facade sculpted in rock It is a world heritage site. However, there is a dimension of the city that is equally impressive and that often goes unnoticed: its hydraulic engineering. In a semi-arid environment, control of water was not a mere matter of survival (as if that were not enough!) but also a symbol of power and prestige and strategic resource. The capital of the kingdom required a stable and carefully managed water supply for drinking, bathing, agriculture, temple basins or gardens. To date, archeology believed it had a reasonably clear map of how its water network worked, but a research team from the Humboldt University of Berlin has just shown that the map was incomplete and partially wrong. His research has been published in a paper in Levant. The discovery. On the slopes of Jabal al-Madhbah the team has identified a 116 meter stretch of pressurized lead pipe preserved in situ in the ‘Ain Braq aqueduct, in a prospecting area of ​​2,500 square meters. This feature is poorly documented in open-air aqueduct corridors in the eastern Mediterranean. Most importantly, it demonstrates that it was not a system built in a single phase. Because the investigation has documented nine conduits in total (including the aforementioned lead one), in addition to a large deposit sealed by a high dam, two cisterns and seven basins of different sizes and purposes. That is, two different technologies superimposed: first the pressurized lead pipe, which at some point was sealed, and on top of it a later terracotta network. Why is it important. There are two levels where the discovery is relevant: From a technical point of view, the use of lead is rare beyond building interiors. Its presence in an outdoor channel shows that the Nabataeans had access to sufficient resources and technical knowledge to use it outdoors, rivaling the achievements of Rome. It should be remembered that lead requires mining, transportation and artisans. From a political point of view, it was a symbol of power and prosperity. The system fed the Az-Zantur reservoir, located on a high ridge. From there, water could be distributed under pressure to monuments such as the Great Temple and the Garden and Pool Complex. These structures require a continuous and reliable water supply, so as lead researcher Niklas Jungmann proposes, they demonstrate the luxury of running water in the desert. If you control the water, you control the city. Context. The Siq, ‘Ain Braq and Wadi Mataha systems were the three main water supply systems of Petra and were fed by springs and reservoirs. Each of them were designed with different objectives to deal with the challenges of physics and the particular geology of the landscape, which made it possible to supply the different sectors of the city. In a desert environment, it was an essential requirement to master water and boy did it do so: they had baths, ornamental gardens, sacred water installations and monuments that continually needed water. Petra flourished as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom before its incorporation into the Roman Empire and its subsequent decline following the earthquake of 363 AD. The chronological context places the lead phase probably at the height of the kingdom (1st century AD), under the reign of Aretas IV, when the city experienced an urban explosion. The transition to terracotta coincides with periods of economic restructuring or changes in administration after the Roman annexation in 106 AD, showing an adaptation towards materials that are easier to maintain. How have they done it. Classic research approaches on Petra approached the entire city from a macro perspective and resorted to extrapolations, but Jungmann’s study focuses on a 2,500 square meter area of ​​the Jabal al-Madhbah massif. This has allowed him to document every visible trace of hydraulic infrastructure with precision using photogrammetry and digital elevation models to understand how the terrain dictated water flow and where the use of pressure was necessary. Likewise, it did not focus on searching for objects through excavation, but rather on detailed reading of the stratigraphy and morphology of the infrastructure. Yes, but. Although the discovery is revolutionary, unknowns remain and Jungmann himself is cautious with interpretations. To begin with, the lead pipe was abandoned and sealed to be replaced by a second network of open canals and terracotta pipes, a decision that was probably explained by costs. In addition, the study focuses on a small area and a first prospecting campaign (September 2023). That is, the connection with the reign of Aretas IV is plausible but not definitive when it comes to dating. On the other hand, the use of lead raises the eternal question about toxicity. As a general context, in calcareous waters such as those in the region, calcium carbonate tends to form an internal layer that isolates the metal from drinking water, which would reduce the risk of contamination, although the paper does not address this issue. What is clear is that Nabataean water management was more advanced, experimental and adaptable than previously thought. In Xataka | 2,600 years ago four Etruscans were buried in Rome. And today archaeologists have found a treasure thanks to them In Xataka | 12,000 years ago a tribe in North America carved small dice with a single objective: to create bets. Cover | Bernard Gagnon and Diego Delso

Mexico touches the sky with a new and elegant skyscraper of 484 meters and 99 floors. It will be the highest in all of Latin America

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For decades, it seemed that “the sky is the limit” applied to architecture was a maxim that only Asia and the Middle East reached. In fact, in recent times the world has witnessed a frantic race to see who has the biggest (skyscraper) between Dubai and Saudi Arabia. But there are some notable exceptions like the one that is about to premiere in Monterrey: the Tower Risea skyscraper that will not only be the tallest in the Central American country, but will also lead the skies of all of Latin America. If we open the range to the entire continent, it is only overshadowed by the mythical One World Trade Center in New York. The project. The Rise Tower is a mixed-use skyscraper that is being built in Monterrey (Nuevo León). It will have a height of 484 meters, of which 408 make up 96 residential floors and the remaining 76 make up the architectural spire that crowns the structure. More specifically, it will house residences, offices, a hotel, commerce and leisure facilities in a single structure, as is usual in skyscrapers of these characteristics, thus turning it into a city within a building. It will be located in the Obispado neighborhood, on Constitución Avenue in front of the Santa Catarina River, in one of the densest and most representative urban corridors of the city. The project is in charge by Nest and Ancore Group, has been designed by the Ancore architecture team and Mexican architect Esteban Ramos. Pozas Design Group and Next are responsible for its luxurious interior. Rise Tower layout diagram. Rise Why is it important. The Rise Tower will surpass the Torres Obispadowhich is also in Monterrey and is still the tallest skyscraper in the country. But once completed, it will officially be the tallest building in Latin America, a title that gives Mexico symbolic and technical leadership in the urban and architectural sector. Without going any further, it also moves the Great Santiago Tower in Chile. The building also positions Mexico in the world leagues of vertical architecture, a race dominated by Asia and the Middle East. For Mexico it is also a demonstration that the region can conceive, finance and execute projects at the scale of the world’s large urban centers and at the metropolitan scale, it can function as an engine for the repopulation of the urban center that favors investments in infrastructure. Context. Monterrey has been consolidating itself as the laboratory of vertical urbanism in Mexico for two decades. Without going any further, the construction of the Obispado Towers in 2020 had already surpassed the 300-meter barrier that defines it as “supertall.” The Rise Tower itself has been evolving since its first plans, when he aimed “only” 350 meters. The project is part of the trend of mixed-use supertalls that began to emerge in Asia and the Middle East since the 2000s and is now beginning to materialize in Latin America. Monterrey is in an area with wind and seismic activitywhich adds a layer of technical complexity to any potential design. In figures. Some numerical data of this stratospheric construction: 484 meters high: 408 habitable meters and 76 meters from the spire It will be the 13th tallest skyscraper in the world 35 levels of offices, 22 floors of apartments, 10 levels of luxury hotel 4,300 square meters of green areas and 8,000 square meters of leisure spaces. In detail. The tower has a rectilinear shape with a reinforced structural core and a perimeter framing system designed to withstand lateral loadssomething essential given that Monterrey is in a region where there is seismic activity and a lot of wind. The building envelope consists of a modular aluminum and glass curtain wall system, an aesthetically striking and effective combination for thermal control and management of dynamic wind pressures at high altitude. The concept of the façade is quite reminiscent of the architecture of mid-20th century skyscrapers. Points out The Civil Engineer The initial sketches suggested a more robust metallic aesthetic inspired by the historic Torre Latinoamericana in Mexico City (the grandfather of Mexican skyscrapers, built in 1956), but with the progress of construction, a greater presence of glass has become evident. In terms of sustainability, the project already has LEED Silver, Green Globes, Building EQ and Well certifications from the International Well Building Institute. For when? Construction began in 2023 and by March of this year the Rise Tower exceeded 306 meters and reached the 52nd floor, but there are still 170 meters left. The construction pace is high and in accordance with the governor’s statements from Nuevo León, Samuel García Sepúlveda, the inauguration is projected for the summer of 2026, before the FIFA World Cup. Nevertheless, other specialized sources They suggest that it will be delayed until the end of 2026 or even 2027. In Xataka | If the question is whether a skyscraper can be erased without demolishing it, Paris has the answer: yes, in exchange for a fortune In Xataka | Cancun has a huge bottleneck in its tourist area: Mexico is going to solve it with a megabridge Cover | Chorizowithegg and Rise Tower

Sylvester Stallone and the phrase that turned a scene into the most dangerous of his career: “Hit me for real”

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For years, in action cinema there was a kind of unwritten rule: the more real a scene seemed, the better it worked on screen, even if that meant taking unusual risks. That limit was unexpectedly tested when, in the middle of filming Rocky IVa seemingly minor decision ended up forcing Sylvester Stallone to leave the set and be transferred urgently to the hospital. “Hit me for real.” Rarely has a phrase said on set had consequences that were as real as they were dangerous, but that is exactly what happened during Rocky IV. Sylvester Stallone, obsessed with making the final fight convey absolute authenticity, made a decision that would mark the filming: he asked his partner to leave the choreography aside and really hit during part of the fight. That order, which had to be translated into dramatic intensity on screen, ended up becoming a physical experiment that crossed a dangerous line between interpretation and reality. He almost doesn’t count it. The result did not take long to arrive. Dolph Lundgren, much larger, stronger and with training in martial arts, executed what was asked of him without restraint. In the middle of that unscripted combat, a direct blow to the chest hit with such force that it compressed Stallone’s heart against his ribcage, causing an injury that doctors compared “to a traffic accident“. The most disturbing thing was that the actor did not notice anything at the moment of impact, but hours later his body began to collapse, dizzy and with symptoms that showed that something was very wrong. From filming to the emergency room. That same night, the situation became critical. Stallone’s blood pressure shot up to extreme levels and his heart began to swell, forcing to transfer him urgently by plane from Canada to a hospital in California. The actor entered directly in the ICUwhere he spent several days surrounded by health personnel, in a surreal scene due to the way it occurred. Stallone himself I would admit with the time that he was very close to dying that day, in an episode that turned a simple creative decision into an extreme experience. ANDThe plane that he did not want to cut. The most surprising thing is that the blow responsible for that entire critical situation was not eliminated of the final assembly. On the contrary, Stallone, faithful to his obsession with the authenticity of the saga he had created, decided to keep in the film the exact moment that took him to the hospital, turning the moment into a key piece of the intensity conveyed by the fight. Paradoxically, a scene that seems spectacular due to its realism and brutality is precisely because, for a few seconds, it stopped being fiction. Return to the ring later. Far from abandoning, Stallone returned to filming after leaving the hospital to finish the production, thus closing a production marked by physical excess and the search for truthfulness at any price. That decision reinforced the myth of Rocky IV as one of the most extreme installments in the saga, but it also left an uncomfortable lesson about the risks of pushing realism too far. Authenticity turned into danger. If you also want, the case of Rocky IV It’s not just a filming anecdote, but a clear example to what extent the film industry has historically played with the limits of security in search of greater impact on screen. What happened that day sums up an idea that is difficult to ignore: sometimes, in the attempt to make a story seem real, there is a risk that it stops being so altogether. Image | United Artists In Xataka | In 1953 Hollywood filmed a blockbuster in front of US nuclear tests. It was the most radioactive movie in history, literally In Xataka | The day a man dared to go further than anyone else: a real fight with Bruce Lee where there were no limits

Japan has plunged into a crazy spiral of aging that is claiming an unexpected victim: the yakuza

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the yakuza it’s news in Japan. And not because of his coups, a particularly successful police raid or a change in policy by the Government of Sanae Takaichi to combat the criminal network that takes centuries filtering into Japanese society. No. The yakuza is in the news because after several years of seeing its ranks decimated, it has reached an all-time low. According to police statistics, in 2025 their criminal groups numbered about 17,600 people (among members and allies), far from the more than 80,000 just a decade and a half ago. This loss of strength is explained by the control of the police and a turn in the underworld towards new criminal networksbut also because of a trend that affects the rest of the country: the yakuza ages, just like society ages Japanese. The yakuza is shrinking. These are not good times for the yakuza. Not at least as far as follow-up is concerned. Statistics from the National Police Agency show that Japan’s quintessential criminal institution (and one of the best-known in the world) has seen its member and affiliate base fall to a minimum. In 2025 They totaled 17,6001,200 less than the previous year. If we look only at the hard core, the full members, the figure is even more devastating: it remains at 9,400, the lowest since there are records. Is the data so bad? Yes. The problem is not that 2025 has been a particularly bad year for the yakuza, but that it maintains a trend that goes back a long time. Nippon explains that the institution has been seeing its ranks thinning little by little for at least 21 years, tracing a negative curve that has no signs of improving. For reference, the newspaper recalls that until 2009 the yakuza had more than 80,000 people spread throughout the country. If we go back to the 1960s, that support base was considerably higher. The crisis also seems to be affecting (to a greater or lesser extent) the different organizations that make up the yakuza. Nippon appointment half a dozen entities that have either stagnated their social mass or have lost members. The worst stop is Sixth Yamaguchi-gumiwhich in 2025 remained at 3,100 members and 3,200 affiliates. They are 200 and 400 less respectively than a year before. Curious yes, new no. The 2025 data is revealing, but will probably surprise few people in Japan. The country takes years reading headlines that report the gradual loss of base of organized crime networks. In 2022 the Police Agency already revealed that the number of members and associates of mafia groups had fallen to 24,100, the lowest figure since at least 1958, the first year with statistics. Only a few years later the ranks of the yakuza fell below the 20,000 barrier, a new low. What is the reason? As is often the case with all social phenomena, whether related to crime or not, this trend is explained by a combination of factors. In the case of Japanese bands, however, there is one particularly interesting one: age. The Japan Times reveals that one of the theories that the authorities use to explain this decline is the aging suffered by organized groups. The yakuza is getting older, just like japan. In 2022, the Japanese police estimated that 30.8% of members They were between 50 and 59 years old, making it the largest cohort. People between 60 and 69 years old represented 12.5% ​​and septuagenarians 11.6%. More than 50% were 50 or older. In general, the average age of the members was 54.2 years, seven more than a decade before. Members between 40 and 30 years old accounted for 12.9% and those in their twenties did not exceed 5.4%. An increasingly aging country. That the ranks of the yakuza are aging can be explained for several reasons. A key one is that Japan in general is getting older. The country has been immersed in a serious demographic crisis which has plunged its birth rate and raised the average age of the population. According to the records According to Statista, in 1950 this indicator marked 21.3 years, in the mid-90s it had already risen to 39 years and in 2020 it was close to 48. Their forecasts assume that at the end of this century the average will comfortably exceed 50 years. The result of that drift? Japan presents one of the worst percentages of population over 65 years of age: represents more than 29%. Click on the image to go to the tweet. One word: tokuryū. There is, however, another factor that explains why the organizations that make up the yakuza are increasingly aging. It is not that crime is fading in Japan, rather it is transforming and it is doing so by leaning towards a new format: the tokuryūcriminal networks that flee from hierarchical and well-structured models, such as the yakuza. The tokuryū (the word is the sum of tokumeik“anonymous” and ryūdo“fluid”) often operate as groups of criminals who form for coups, without structure, codes, organizational rigidity or bonds. That nature deprives them of some of the advantages of the yakuza, but it also has its strengths. The police find it difficult to deal with such loosely knit groups. And they also seem to offer an attractive model for younger offenders. The Japan Times assures that last year 12,178 people related to tokuryū were arrested, 2,073 more than in 2024. Many of them were under 40 years old or even in their twenties, which gives another clue about the changes that the underworld world is experiencing. “The younger generations’ aversion to yakuza organizations, with strict codes of conduct and hierarchies, is a contributing factor to their decline,” precise the diary Sankei Shimbun. Fighting crime. When explaining the bleeding of the yakuza, the authorities point to another factor: the work of legislators and police. Specifically, they point to greater application of the law and ordinances that complicate the participation of companies and individuals in organized crime. To combat crime the … Read more

We attended a crash test and discovered the new (and first) Ebro full electric

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Wuhu has turned out to be quite a surprise. While Beijing has those aromas and that life of what, clearly, is a great capital, Wuhu, although it is enormous, is more reminiscent of that “neighborhood China.” The multi-hundred-story buildings that can accommodate hundreds and hundreds of families make an appearance, of course, but the atmosphere is different. There are restaurants, small shops, it feels more local, more authentic. It is here where Chery, the technological partner of the Spanish company Ebro, whom I accompany on this trip, was born and has its headquarters. And it shows. Not because the hotel we stayed in belongs to the company, that too, but on the road. A walk through Wuhu | Image: Xataka If in Beijing you didn’t see a single Chery car, here they are religion. They are everywhere, wherever you look. The taxis? All Chery. Personal vehicles? Absolute omnipresence of the Tiggo and Arizzo ranges. BYD, Geely, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai are also here, but Chery’s dominance is absolute. Caught | Image: Xataka It’s something normal. China has that component of betting on the local. It is a kind of pride, something to boast about, using a product born in your city and the government promotes it. That’s why BAIC reigns in Beijing and that’s why when they ask you about your cell phone or watch model, they smile a little when they see that, in my case, they are an honor and a Huawei. The same thing happens with Chery, but today it’s not time to talk about Chery, but about Ebro. Chery is the partner technology from the Spanish Ebro, which uses its platforms to sell its own models in Spain, Portugal and, soon, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia. A Ebro s700 It is, at its core, a Chery Tiggo 7. Knowing that, it will not surprise anyone that Ebro’s new model is based on the Chery QQ3 EV. Because yes, Ebro has finally announced a completely electric car which will be produced in its factory in the Free Trade Zone of Barcelona. It still does not have a name and the specifications are not final, since the homologation is missing, but I can tell you a little something, since I have been able to see it in first person. The new electric Ebro | Image: Xataka This car has a clearly urban vocation and is focused on the younger audience. More circular and oval shapes, 2.7 meters between axles and 4.3 meters long give shape to a more compact car and very different from what Ebro has put on the road to date. It is a risky bet for 1) a brand that until now was synonymous with SUVs and 2) a market whose electrification still has a way to go. It has a 42.7 kWh lithium-ferrophosphate battery, which translates into a range of more than 300 kilometers. It has a 90 kW rear axle motor, which allows it to offer, always according to the brand, 122 HP, 111 Nm of maximum torque, 135 km/h maximum speed and acceleration from zero to 100 in less than 11 seconds. At the moment, his name is Ebro BEV | Image: Xataka The power of the charging system has not been revealed, but it will be compatible with AC and DC and will be able to go from 30% to 80% in 30 minutes. Inside the car we find two generous screens, a 15.6-inch floating central one with 2K resolution and a system powered by a Snapdragon chip, and another smaller one, 10.25 inches, in the instrument panel. In China, analog needles and lights have passed away. Interior of the Ebro BEV | Image: Xataka The price has not been revealed either. and the specifications, as we said, are provisional. When the process of industrial adaptation and approval is completed, we will clear up doubts. This is not the only novelty, although it is the most notable. Ebro has taken advantage of the presentation in Chery’s hometown to announce a new version of the Ebro s400 with 1.5 TGDI engine and DHT transmission with two electric motors. This has a power of 224 HP and consumes 5.55 L/100 km. An interesting thing is that it can move in tandem mode (so that the combustion engine generates energy so that the electric one moves the wheels) or in parallel (both engines working at the same time). In theory, this should help reduce the car’s engine noise and improve the lack of “oomph” seen in the previous model. Restyling of the Ebro S800 PHEV. The s700 and S400 maintain the same front grille design | Image: Xataka Ebro also announced a restyling from the s700 and s800with a new front grille with rectangular shapes inspired, according to the firm, in Barcelona, ​​and aesthetic adjustments designed to homogenize the design and give it a more rounded touch. This has been one of the parts of the day, but today I have also been able to witness something that, to date, I had never seen: a crash test. I don’t know, there’s something, let’s say, funny, in seeing a car going towards another knowing that both are going to break down. Under controlled conditions, needless to say. It has a certain charm and, frankly, the real shame is that it lasts so little, because it’s barely a second. New car for sale, few kilometers, one owner, always in a garage | Image: Xataka For the test, Chery placed a Tiggo 9 (remember, the base of an Omoda 9 SHS) at one end of the road. To the other, a Tiggo 7 that rushed towards him at 50 km/h. At the same time that the Tiggo 7 crashed head-on, the Tiggo 9 received a complete impact against a barrier vehicle at 40 km/h from behind. They are, from what they have explained to us, two overlapping forces whose purpose is to bring the test closer to a real environment. To the right and in the background, … Read more

We have been using the excuse of hunger for years to justify our bad mood. Science has just proven us right

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There are people who when they are hungry seem to completely lose control and jump at the slightest, making it difficult to approach them. And it is not a lack of patience for waiting for lunch or dinner, nor is it a personality trait, but rather It’s pure biology. Here society has even given it a name to explain this phenomenon that relates quick anger to the desire to eat: ‘Hangry‘, a fusion between hungry (hungry in English) and angry (angry in English). The definitive experiment. Although this attitude has been internalized in society as a personality trait, like someone who wakes up and can’t have a conversation, science has a lot to say. Specifically, a study published in the journal PLOS ONE in 2022 continued to 64 adults for 21 days to see what happened. Using an app, participants recorded their levels of hunger, anger, irritability, pleasure and arousal five times a day, accumulating more than 9,100 observations. And here the results, the truth is, were devastating: being hungry was directly associated with negative emotions, such as anger or being irascible. A great anger. If we go into detail, the feeling of hunger It was able to explain 34% of the cases of anger, 37% of the cases of irritability and also a 38% drop in the feeling of pleasure. But the most important thing is that this correlation remained firm even after scientists controlled for variables such as age, sex, weight, or even personality traits when not hungry. Because? The answer to these mood changes seems to lie specifically in what we need to ingest: glucose. And it makes a lot of sense, because this carbohydrate acts as the main fuel for our brain and its scarcity generates a true energy crisis that forces the body to draw energy from other places, such as ketone bodies. The brain here is a really demanding organ, since, although it only represents 2% of the body weight, it consumes around 20% of the energy, and in these situations it is noticeable. And it is proven. Without going any further, a study published in 2014 analyzed 107 couples for 21 days, measuring their blood glucose and measuring aggression. The best thing is that they quantified it with a voodoo doll that represented their partner and a pin cushion. From here it was seen that the lower the glucose levels were at the end of the day, the more pins were stuck in the doll. The conclusion seemed very clear: glucose acts as the “fuel of self-control.” Without it, the prefrontal cortex, which is in charge of regulating impulses, loses its ability to stop the amygdala, which is the center of primitive and less rational emotions. What happens. When the brain detects this lack of “fuel”, it does not interpret it as “the restaurant reservation has been delayed”, but as a vital threat that there is a lack of food in the environment. That is why to compensate, the adrenal glands release both cortisol and adrenaline, which are involved in the stress situation. Logically, an increase in these hormones generates irritability that is typical of hypoglycemia. Although if we go further, there are studies that suggest that the brain, in emergency situations such as hunger, prioritizes survival over patience or social courtesy, making us ‘jump’ at any interaction. The good news. Here, being aware of what is happening to us and that it is related to hunger is the most valuable thing to avoid getting angry with our partner or friend. Logically, this makes the brain understand that it is not in the middle of the jungle and that it needs to look for food as soon as possible, but it will only delay a little returning to the glucose levels to which it is accustomed. Images | freepik In Xataka | We thought that quenching hunger with Ozempic was the definitive remedy against obesity. Until we look at the muscle

It has such a mundane history that it is fascinating.

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In the North Atlantic Ocean, off the southern coast of Iceland, there is a solitary building framed in a postcard setting whose image probably sounds familiar to you because it has been photographed to death: it is a small, lonely white house planted in the middle of a rock, surrounded by intense green grass and vertical cliffs that reveal a rough sea and majestic snow-capped mountains in the background. Of course, the house and the island exist: it is not a montage. It is often referred to as “the loneliest house in the world“and around her there are legends like that the singer Björk lived there, that there lived a religious hermit and until it was a billionaire’s idea to flee there in the face of an eventual zombie apocalypse (all false). And one thing is certain: although the idea of ​​the loneliest house in the world sounds exaggerated and difficult to measure, in practice it is close. If it is not the most isolated, it is not missing much. Of course, the reality around it is much more modest and yet interesting: It’s a hunting lodge.now in disuse. A house in the middle of nowhere. Because technically it is not a house, but a hunting lodge that built the Elliðaey Hunting Association in 1953 to provide shelter to its members during the hunting seasons of the puffina most picturesque bird that nests on the island. In 2017, an Icelander named Bjarni Sigurdsson went there to document what was in a video and the truth is that the inventory is quite modest and functional: bunk beds, a room with a long wooden table with chairs, kitchen, radio, candles, refrigerator… come on, a Scandinavian mountain refuge. The shelter does not have an electrical connection to any external electrical network or running water, plumbing or of course the internet. The water comes from a rainwater system and the energy comes from propane gas that has to be transported there. Of course, like good Icelanders, It has its sauna. The best thing in the world after spending several hours exposed to the cold polar wind from the Atlantic. As a curiosity, on the island there is another construction older and much smaller, probably used as a warehouse by research teams studying the nature of the place. Hansueli Krapf Where Christ lost the lighter. The building is in Elliðaey the northeasternmost island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago (called the Vestman Islands or Westman Islands), about eight kilometers off the south coast of Iceland. The archipelago is made up of 18 islets of volcanic origin originated in the last 12,000 yearswhich in geological terms makes them “newborn” territory. The largest island and the only one currently inhabited is Heimaey, with about 4,400 inhabitants. From there on clear days you can see Elliðaey. With just 45 hectares, to give us an idea, Elliðaey has an area similar to that of the Vatican. And its almost vertical cliffs, its sloping plateau and the absence of any port or docking area make getting there impractical: you have to jump from a boat and then climb to reach the meadow, as Bjarni Sigurdsson’s excursion documents. This Iceland tourist guide reflects the difficulty of getting there due to its remote location, the lack of a port and the protection provided by the Icelandic government, since it is classified as a protected area. The island is abandoned. Today no one lives there, but Elliðaey was not always empty. The book “Iceland Adventure Guide” is mentioned that in the past there were fishing camps scattered throughout the island and that there were up to three farms, so that 17 people and 258 sheep and even cows lived there. This census continued until the 20th century: in 1920 there were only five people and around that period Olafur Jonsson and his family became the first fox breeders on the islands. A cycle of precarious occupation, dependent on the sea and the climate that was slowly exhausted. Finally, in the 1930s it became uninhabited. Two decades later, the Hunting Association built the refuge. That void between the last inhabitant and the white cabin is, perhaps, what gives the image its very particular character: it is neither an abandoned house nor a new house, but something in between, a place that was once human, stopped being human, and became human again in the most minimalist way possible. Getting there is quite an adventure, so it’s best to see it from the boat. Diego Delso What is it for today?. We have already seen the concrete and unglamorous function of the hut for which it was built: it is a hunting base for the puffin. Puffin hunting is a centuries-old tradition in the Westman Islands, where the bird has historically been a source of food and continues to be practiced in a regulated manner. Of course, puffin populations have been in decline for years in several areas of Iceland due to the change in ocean conditions and the reduction of their food source, so hunting is becoming increasingly residual. Snopes concludes It is not clear that hunters continue to use the refuge and there are no signs of hunting. In practice, today it is probably more of a tourist attraction than a hunting refuge. Björk’s story. That the Icelandic singer lives there or even owns it is one of the most widespread rumors because, well, the Prime Minister of Iceland sowed the seed: the island was (and is) state property, but the then top leader Davíð Oddsson declared that he was willing to give her the island and build a house for Björk to live there rent-free as a sign of gratitude for her work for the benefit of the country and its people. Of course, the island was not “our” Elliðaey (the one with “the loneliest house in the world”), but another Elliðaey, which is in Breiðafjörður. According to the Irish Examinerthe singer turned down the island’s offer because she didn’t want her home to … Read more

The most important question to understand someone is not what they believe in or what they hope for. The question is what does he love?

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“To know if someone is good, we do not ask what they believe or hope for, but rather what they love.”. One reads this phrase and it is almost inevitable to think that it is the typical self-help junk merchandise that fills feeds, mugs and WhatsApp statuses. But nothing could be further from the truth. And not only because It was written more than 1,500 years ago by one of the most influential thinkers in history, but because (in addition) it has become one of the philosophical concepts of recent months. So maybe the question is not what an old priest can teach us in this time full of haste, but also; The question is why that old priest has returned to the center of public debate exactly now. What exactly did Saint Augustine mean? The phrase is very interesting because, beneath an apparent meaningless string (what do you believe? What do you expect?), it hides a very clear idea of ​​what is important in life. In Christian thought, the three great traditional virtues are precisely faith, hope and love. What the philosopher from Hippo defended is that faith is important, of course; Hope is fundamental, of course it is: but at the center of everything is love. In fact, Augustine himself has another famous phase (“Love and do what you will”) that goes much further in his master-centrism. Nobody can be very surprised, really. Saint Augustine has great hits like: “Lord, grant me chastity and continence, but not now.” That “Do whatever you want” sounds suspicious, but (actually) it’s not so suspicious. We’ll see. Why has all this become popular right now? For politics, of course. On January 29, 2025, US Vice President Vance defended in an interview that canceling most US foreign aid and mass deportations with that argument. That “there is a Christian concept old-school “where you love your family, then your neighbor, then your community, then your fellow citizens, and after that, you can prioritize the rest of the world.” Later, at X.com, he spent the afternoon sending people to google “ordo amoris”. That is to say, Vance endorsed that idea of ​​”love and do what you want” in the most direct way possible. But does it make sense? Translated into a more current language, the Augustinian idea simply tells us that the subject is defined by the direction of his desire, not by the correctness of his beliefs or his expectations. But, without getting into political questions, that doesn’t exactly mean that there is a clear order of obligations that tells us who we should love first and who we should love second. It is not a ranking. Augustine’s idea is more complex because, deep down, he was convinced that love has a transformative power over people: it orders them from within. That is the order he claimed. What we can learn from Saint Augustine without entering into politicking. That what is important are the things that really matter to us; not our ideas about the world, nor what we hope will happen. But, above all, because what we love will end up turning us into the type of person we want to be. In someone, as the Father of the Church would say, good. Image | In Xataka | “If I am wrong, I exist”: 1,500 years ago, Saint Augustine had already given the best argument against the productivity gurus

There are 3 fewer days of frost and 5 more days of summer each decade

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Mountains are one of the first thermometers on the planet: they respond earlier, do so intensely and more visibly than any other terrestrial ecosystem to global warming. What begins happening at its summits anticipates what will come later to the rest. The Pyrenees are no exception, in fact they work like a huge natural laboratoryone of the most documented in Europe. And the data they provide is anything but good. He Bulletin of Climate Change Indicators of the Pyrenees prepared annually by Meteocat and coordinated by the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory (OPCC) confirms it: the warming of the mountain range is not something punctual, but structural. What is happening in the Pyrenees. That they are warming asymmetrically and accelerated, with summers exploding at a rate that doubles the rest of the year, which has direct and different consequences on the ecosystem. Jordi Cunillera, head of the Meteocat climate change team, goes even more into detail: on the southern slope the trend is also drier, adding additional water pressure on the southern ecosystems. In data. The list of indicators and the 65 years of monitoring show clear and worrying trends. From 1959 to 2024: Increase in average annual temperature of 1.9 °C. By seasons: while in winter the increase has been 1.4 °C, in summer it has been almost double (+ 2.7 °C) Steady increase in tropical nights. There are 20 fewer days of frost and 32 more days of summer per year. Every decade: There are 3 fewer days of frost with colder winters There are 4.9 more days of summer (temperature above 25 ºC). The temperature increases +0.30 ºC. Why is it important. Firstly, because of the solidity of the research: it does not measure specific variability, but rather the structural and accumulated transformation of the Pyrenean climate over 65 years. The Pyrenees are a climatic island for alpine species that do not have the capacity to migrate further north or higher, a true gem in flora and fauna with endemisms particularly sensitive and vulnerable to changes in temperature. Thanks to its rugged terrain, it has been able to preserve certain spaces from direct human activity (from tourism to agriculture), but it cannot escape this indirect effect. On the other hand, the Pyrenees are also a tap for southern Europe: the accumulated snow and ice feed rivers such as the Ebro, the Segre or the Garonne during the dry season, on whose flow millions of people, irrigated hectares and river ecosystems depend. It is true that precipitation remains stable, but if it gets hotter, water stress increases: evapotranspiration skyrockets, the soil loses moisture faster and terrestrial ecosystems enter a situation of progressive summer water deficit. The system becomes less resilient to disturbances, such as fires. Context. The study is part of the work of the Pyrenees Working Community, which through the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory seeks to unify the data of the Spanish, French and Andorran states through the LIFE project Pyrenees4Climate. This international cooperation effort is essential as ecosystems do not understand political borders and climate change requires joint actions. In addition to climate monitoring, its objective is to implement the Pyrenean Climate Change Strategythe first European initiative of its kind designed specifically for a transboundary mountain bioregion. The project has established 16 key recommendations, including a “Pyrenean Forest Emergencies Protocol” to share cartography, meteorological data and crisis communication. The report highlights that differences in regulations between the three states slow down the response, which is why they urge the interoperability of physical means and improve protocols to be more resilient to climate change. How they measure it. The scientific robustness of these results is based on the analysis of 12 temperature series and 26 high-quality precipitation series, strategically distributed throughout the mountain range. The different research teams use the period 1961-1990 as a historical reference to calculate anomalies and ensure that the observed trends are statistically significant. The work team is led by Meteocat and has the collaboration of affected organizations such as AEMET, Météo-France, the Andorra Meteorological Service, IPE-CSIC or Euskalmet for a complete and unified view. Among the indicators studied are the average annual temperature, seasonal variation, frost days, summer days, tropical nights, warm and cold spells or water stress. These indicators respond to internationally standardized definitions by the World Meteorological Organization, which allows comparison with other European high mountain studies. The impact on the ecosystem. One of the most serious effects is anoxia in mountain lakes: as surface water warms and winter ice reduces, the natural water mixing cycle is broken, leaving the bottom without oxygen. This phenomenon puts at risk the survival of invertebrates and microorganisms that are the base of the trophic chain in these sensitive aquatic ecosystems, something that is happening, for example. in the Ibón de Marboréin the Aragonese Pyrenees. The Pyrenean glaciers have lost 96% of their glacial surface since the 15th century and the future looks even darker: 4% are will be extinct by 2050. On the other hand, the more intense heat is causing the snow to melt earlier due to the arrival of intrusions of Saharan dust associated with warm air masses from Africa: when dust particles are deposited on the surface of the snow, it absorbs more energy instead of reflecting it, thus accelerating its fusion, as explains Meteored. In addition to being a climatic indicator, the disappearance of the Pyrenean cryosphere means the irreversible destruction of a habitat and a hydrological function on which the entire chain of ecosystems rests, from high mountain lakes to wetlands many kilometers ahead. In Xataka | If we want to know how climate change will affect the Pyrenees, we do not have to look at the heat or the snow. You have to study the caves In Xataka | The Pyrenees have become a huge meteorological laboratory: torrential rains have multiplied by four in Spain Cover | jolumurcia and Myrabella

“forever chemicals” have invaded our closet (and our blood)

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As journalist Jess Cartner-Morley recently wrote on the pages of Guardianthe leggings They have returned with force. They are no longer a garment relegated exclusively to the gym, but have become an elegant option for everyday use. It is a “utilitarian level” garment—as Cartner-Morley defines it—that practically all of us have stored in a drawer. And it’s not the only one: we buy our children “stain-resistant” school uniforms to save hours of scrubbing, or we wrap ourselves up in a state-of-the-art water-repellent raincoat. We look for clothing that offers us absolute comfort. But have we stopped to think at what price? The reality is more chilling. According to a report from the European network ENR (European Newsroom)in the Netherlands, the National Institute of Public Health (RIVM) analyzed blood samples from its citizens and concluded that practically all of them have industrial chemicals in their bodies. At the European level the outlook does not improve: 14.3% of adolescents have blood concentrations that exceed safe levels, reaching peaks of 23.8% in France. These compounds, designed to make our lives easier by repelling water and stains, have jumped from our closets directly into our bloodstream. This is the story of a silent invasion. The toxic magic of the textile industry. To understand how we got here, we have to look at science. According to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)perfluoroalkylated and polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) are a huge family of thousands of synthetic chemicals created in the 1940s. They are popularly known as the “forever chemicals” or “forever chemicals” because they contain a very strong carbon and fluorine bond that makes them practically indestructible in the environment. Their commercial magic lies in the fact that they repel water, grease and heat in an exceptional way. The report Toxic Convenience (Toxic Convenience), prepared by the NGO Toxic-Free Futuredocumented how these substances are used massively in all types of textiles, from sheets and tablecloths to mountain clothing. However, a scientific study published in the magazine Environmental Science & Technology analyzed children’s clothing in North America and found that school uniforms labeled and marketed as “stain-resistant” contained significantly higher levels of PFAS than other common clothing. This obsession reaches the fashion giants. On the one hand, the high-end where the Texas attorney general has opened an investigation against the sought-after sportswear brand Lululemon. How to detail The Washington postit is being investigated whether its garments contain PFAS, which would be an advertising deception for consumers who come to the brand looking for a “healthy” lifestyle, despite the fact that Lululemon claims to have eliminated these substances at the beginning of 2024. On the other hand, the opposite extreme of consumption: ultra-fast fashion. A devastating report published by Greenpeace at the end of 2025, titled “Shame on you, Shein!”reveals that this platform continues to be a drain for toxics. Of 56 garments and shoes analyzed, 32% contained dangerous chemicals that exceeded the limits established by the European Union. The most alarming data was found in a garment purchased in Spain, which exceeded the permitted levels of PFAS by more than 600 times. So how does it affect us? Knowing that we carry industrial chemicals in the clothes we wear every day is already disturbing, but their documented medical effects are even more so. The EPA warns that prolonged exposure and the accumulation of PFAS in the human body are linked to serious problems: alterations in the immune and hormonal system, increased cholesterol, problems in fetal development, lower effectiveness of vaccines in children and a greater risk of suffering from cancers such as kidney and testicular cancer. Until recently, it was believed that the greatest risk came from drinking contaminated water or eating food. However, Marta Venier, environmental chemist cited by Washington Postwarns of the risks of dermal exposure. Their fears have been confirmed by a revealing study led by researcher Oddný Ragnarsdóttir from the University of Birmingham, published in the magazine Environment International. Using equivalent 3D human skin models, scientists demonstrated for the first time that 15 of the 17 most common PFAS show substantial dermal absorption. Some compounds, such as PFPeA, are absorbed by human skin by almost 60%. Areas where the skin is thinner – such as the neck, armpits or groin, where leggings generate greater friction—are especially vulnerable. And the risk does not end when we take off our clothes. Graham Peaslee, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at the University of Notre Dame, explains in Washington Post that some PFAS used in clothing are volatile. “Even if they are hanging in your closet, you won’t smell them because they are odorless,” he details, but they release compounds into the air that you end up inhaling directly in your own home. What can we do about the closet? Faced with this avalanche of data, consumers may feel helpless, but experts insist that there are alternatives. At the corporate level, some brands are taking responsibility. An example is the outdoor clothing brand Patagoniawhich in a statement explained his long ordeal to get rid of PFAS. They recount how they fell into what scientists call “regrettable substitution” (changing a long-chain toxic chemical for a short-chain one that turned out to be just as harmful) and how today, 99% of their fabrics repel water without intentionally added PFAS, promising to reach 100% very soon. For our daily lives, experts offer several practical tips: The Gout Test: Professor Peaslee suggests putting a drop of water about that suspicious raincoat or technical pants. If three hours later the drop is still there, intact, the garment is probably treated with PFAS. If it absorbs within a couple of minutes, it doesn’t have the chemical. Read between the lines: Jamie DeWitt, toxicologist at Oregon State University, rI recommend distrusting marketing. If a garment is sold as water or stain resistant, and doesn’t specify what its lining is made of, “assume it has PFAS.” Wash and inherit: Marta Venier advises washing He repeatedly washes new clothes to remove some of the chemicals, and … Read more

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