Mobile Tech & Gadgets Archives - Page 549 of 1353

life should not exist

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

It is the fundamental question: how did it all begin? How, on a young, chaotic, geologically active planet, does a handful of inert chemistry became the first living cell? What we know is that the protocell, called LUCAstarted life and Darwinian evolution did the rest, taking us to the present day. But there are still many questions about why all this arose. The mystery. We really know little about our origins. But we are not referring to whether we come from a monkey or another species, but from why did life begin on this planet. Something that wanted to solve the study by Robert G. Endres, of Imperial College London, but which has only given us many more questions and even a bad taste in our mouths, because according to their results, life should not have arisen. And by applying mathematics, that branch of science that many people hate, a very clear conclusion has been reached: the barriers for life to arise spontaneously are “formidable.” So formidable, in fact, that the odds of it occurring by pure chance within the window of time available on the early Earth are astonishingly low, meaning that it would have been logical that life would never have arisen. Software of life. Endres’s approach leaves out test tubes and focuses on information. A cell is not just a “bag of molecules”; It is a highly structured and orchestrated system over time and related to each other. The question is: how much information is needed to “write” the first protocell that gave rise to life? To estimate it, the study uses modern computational models and AI tools that we already use today, such as AlphaFold (for protein folding) and full “whole cell” models. The result in this case was divided into three different parts: The genetic information for a very simple cell like Mycoplasma genitalium occupies 10⁶ bits, which is quite little. Structural information, that is, how proteins fold and the cell is organized, is also estimated in a range of 10⁶ to 10⁸ bits. Finally, dynamic information, which focuses on metabolic pathways, signaling or DNA replication mechanisms, which is undoubtedly a giant. In this case a value of 140 MB has been given in this world that has been generated. Adding all this together, the complexity of a simple protocell has been estimated at 1 billion bits in software simile. And that is the wall that prebiotic chemistry had to end up climbing. The mathematics. Once you have all the theoretical information, this is where the mathematics becomes very interesting, especially considering that the Earth had a ‘window’ of time available to accumulate all this information. 500 million years until the first protocell was given. In a very simple account, if you divide the necessary information (10000000000 bits) by the available time, you get the minimum information accumulation rate of 2 bits of useful information per year. Seen like this, it seems very easy! The study estimates that the prebiotic “soup”, full of complex molecules, had the potential to generate information of about 100 bits/s, billions of times more than necessary, according to mathematical estimates. So… Where is the problem if there was plenty of time? The problem is that these ‘2 bits per year’ are assumed to be a unidirectional and progressive process. That is, when that piece of useful information is created, it is saved and used for the next step. But chemistry is a chaotic soup that does not work like that, but rather works like a ‘random walk’: you take one step forward and then another step back. That is, when creating something it is accompanied by a loss. This is where the concept of ‘persistence’ comes in, which in short is the time during which the system “remembers” the information it has gained, even if it has been lost. In this way, without immense persistence, the emergence of life would be literally impossible to occur according to this study. The push. But looking at mathematics, in a soup as chaotic as this one, the reality is that leaving everything to chance would have meant that we would never have been able to appear on this planet. And this is the real mystery. For us to be here, there had to be some physical principle, a chemical bias or some ‘memory’ or ‘retention’ mechanism that gave directionality to the process. The study does not say that life is impossible, but that the mechanism Purely random is insufficient. We need “unknown physical principles” or, as the author points out, “some form of prebiotic informational structure.” And it is something that is raised in other studies, such as that of Chrostoph Adami who focused in trying to understand living beings as self-sufficient chains of information to search for the probability that life emerges in a statistical manner. And it is also found with a very low probability. The aliens. It is at this point of mystery that the article cautiously mentions the alternative hypothesis: directed panspermia. Originally proposed by Francis Crick (the discoverer of DNA) and Leslie Orgel, it suggests that an advanced extraterrestrial civilization intentionally “seeded” life on Earth. Although this idea violates the Ockham’s razor (the simplest explanation is usually the correct one), the author admits that it remains a “logically open” alternative. Artificial intelligence. AI has had a lot to say, since thanks to its capabilities it has been possible to estimate the algorithmic complexity of the cell that gave rise to life, giving us the scale of the problem. And the author points out that AI could also be the key to the solution, since he proposes tools that could ‘help reverse engineer candidate pathways’. That is, it could be the one that finally finds that ‘push’ that we don’t know about at the moment. Images | Laura Seaman In Xataka | These Spaniards have just realized that almost everything we know about the origin of life is due to an enormous coincidence

In Oregon there is a forest with a tattoo that appears every fall: a giant emoji

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

Imagine that you are walking down a road and, out of nowhere, the mountain begins to smile at you. Stop imagining it because that is precisely what happens on Highway 18 in Oregon. Between two towns, those who drive along that road in the autumn season, find a gigantic emoji made up of hundreds of trees. And more than a nod to drivers, it is a demonstration that, when we want, we can reforest sustainably. A tattoo in the forest. The pattern has been repeating itself for a few years. When the temperatures drop and the days get shorter, a huge smiling emoji appears on the side of Mt. This is neither a curiosity nor a coincidence: it is something premeditated and measured to the millimeter by David Hampton and Dennis Creel. David is co-owner of a logging company called Hampton Lumber and Dennis, its forestry manager. In 2011when the company was preparing to reforest an area of the forestthey wondered if they could have a little fun and create something that would bring joy to anyone passing by on the highway. After a meticulous planningthey started planting conifers, but not just any conifers. The science behind reforestation. The process was complex. The team that was going to carry out the plantation drew a circle of about 90 meters in diameter using a rope and, starting from the center, triangulated the positions of the eyes and mouth. They spent a week taking measurements and, when they finished, they began to plant. The chosen trees They are two species of conifers: the Pseudotsuga menziesii and the Larix occidentaliyes. Conifers are evergreen, which means they do not lose their leaves in autumn, but Larix occidentalis It has a peculiarity: they lose all their needles during the fall. When the weather changes, the chlorophyll responsible for giving that green color breaks down, so the leaves retract and golden pigments are revealed. There is a reason behind this pattern: by losing its needles, this species reduces the weight load on its branches, which allows them to withstand winter snowfall better and, in addition, they are also more aerodynamic. In short, they are more resistant to structural damage and, in spring, when it absorbs nutrients, the leaves turn green and the emoji disappears until the following fall. Message. Reforestation is not planting trees without rhyme or reason. Although in some areas fields are being replanted with suitable trees, in many others non-endemic or non-endemic species are being planted. They will not withstand extreme conditions like those caused by climate change. Beyond the positive message to drivers, Hampton Lumber created this as reminder that forest areas that are “harvested” can grow back strong and regenerate in a healthy and sustainable way. During the growth of conifers, the forest is free access for visitors who engage in outdoor activities, and their intention is for the emoji to be an example of sustainable growth and… artistic expression? Emoji for a while. Currently, the company plant a million trees a year, but no area is as iconic as that segment between Willamina and Grand Ronde on Highway 18. The estimate of the company is that the smiling face will be visible for another 30 or 50 years. It will be the point at which the trees in that area reach maturity and are processed. Now, they also comment that, as time goes by, the emoji will lose “definition.” The leaves of conifers can lose some of their vitality over the years and strange things can happen to that friendly smiling face in the bush. Image | Tedder In Xataaka | China is carrying out the most ambitious reforestation project in the world: a “wall” of 4,500 kilometers of trees

One-minute episodes, crazy plots and millions of views: welcome to the age of l

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

It was clear that with the inability to maintain attention for too long in a single point, a phenomenon like that of the microdramasfictions in ultra-brief pills with continuous twists and suspense situations, would end up triumphing. Now, after sweeping Asia, they reach the United States and Europe. And they are willing to turn the durations of fictions upside down in streaming. What are they? An audiovisual format that consists of mini-soap operas or short series designed for consumption on mobile devices. Generally, each episode lasts between 60 and 90 seconds, although it can reach up to ten, and the series have between 20 and 100 episodes, accumulating a total duration similar to a feature film. This accelerated narrative is filmed in vertical format, and structured to hook the viewer with shocking hooks in the first seconds, conflicts that evolve quickly and cliffhangers that invite you to watch the next episode without interruptions. Hurry, hurry. Production is ultra-fast and low-cost, with seasons that can be recorded in less than two weeks, allowing for great proliferation of titles. Narratively, microdramas rely on highly addictive stories, inherited from soap operas, with recurring themes such as secret romances with billionaires, revenge, marriages of convenience, even forays into romance and delirious vampire romances… and all condensed with frequent emotional rewards and very little expenditure on sets, editing, soundtrack and technical displays. In Xataka The new fever in China is mobile series with one-minute episodes. And they prepare their landing outside Asia Where was he born? This format originated in China, where they are known as wei duan ju either duanjudriven by the massive emergence into the market of smartphones and the rise of short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishouespecially during the pandemic. Since then, the format has expanded globally, adapting to the audiovisual consumption habits of generation Z and millennials, who prefer short, vertical content for quick consumption on social networks. Where to see them. The main platforms to watch microdramas are YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. According to a study by Ampere Analysis, YouTube It is the leading platform, with 44% of microdrama viewers consuming this content there, where creators monetize directly. TikTok and Instagram are often used to promote them with teasers and teasers that direct users to paid apps like DramaBox, ReelShort either CandyJarTVwhere they can watch the complete series, often under a freemium model (free initial episodes and payment to continue). In these there is already an abundance of non-Asian series: a look at ReelShort allows us to understand the appeal of these products, openly oriented towards the female audience, and with categories that do not hide an exploitative point, almost an emotional fetish: ‘Hidden Identity’, ‘Taboo Relationship’, ‘Babies and Pregnancies’, ‘Love at First Sight’, ‘Vampires and Werewolves’, and of course an immense remnant of products from Asia. And now, in the United States. Alan Mruvka, founder of E! Entertainment Television, plans to launch Verza TVthe first American platform dedicated exclusively to microdramas, which is expected to arrive in mid-November 2025. This pioneering initiative will follow a financing model similar to that common in China: users can watch up to five free episodes of any title, and to access the rest they must pay $4.99. Verza TV’s catalog will include dramas inspired by TikTok trends, reality shows in micro format, interviews and information about celebrities (something Mruvka knows a lot about thanks to his experience with E! Entertainment) and new microdramas based on those that have been successful in Asia. The figures. The global microdrama market is estimated to reach 2025 a projected value of $11 billiona figure that almost doubles the income of FAST channels (free, linear and with ads), which shows the rapid growth of the format. China dominates this market overwhelmingly, contributing close to 83% of global income thanks to its massive domestic production and consumption. A juicy business, quick and easy to produce, and which may soon find a new audience eager for strong and, above all, fast emotions. Photo of Becca Tapert in Unsplash In Xataka | The great Chinese revolution of recent decades is not technological or economic: it is that of Christianity (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news One-minute episodes, crazy plots and millions of views: welcome to the age of l was originally published in Xataka by John Tones .

if you can leave your bike parked on the landing

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

If you live in a building and share a landing or doorway, you have probably come across the scene. When you get home you find that the tenant across the street has left his bike parked in the hallway, right next to his door. Maybe it’s not a bicycle, but an electric scooter, a baby stroller, a shopping cart or any other armatroste useful that (for whatever reason) the person you share the landing with decides not to store inside their own home. And then the question arises: Can he do it? Nothing new under the sun. Since the existence of neighborhood communities, there has been friction over the use of common areas. It is nothing new, although it is true that in recent years, as extended The use of bicycles in cities, the doubt about whether or not they can be parked in doorways (hallways, corridors, halls and other shared spaces) seems to arouse special interest. If you live in a building you may have seen it in person. If not, just Google to find a good number of guides, articles and even some other news on the subject, such as the scuffle that aired For this same reason, a few months ago the ‘Neighbor Troubles’ account was published in Click on the image to go to the tweet. LPH Word. When the spark flies, as in that case, the usual thing is to ask what the law says. And in terms of neighborhood coexistence and buildings, the reference standard is Horizontal Property Law (LPH), designed precisely to facilitate coexistence in the blocks. Specifically, throughout its vast articles there is a particularly interesting section for cases such as the one disclosed in X. Which? He article 9.1which indicates the obligations of the owners. The first, “respect the general facilities of the community and other common elements, whether for general use or for the exclusive use of any of the owners (…), making appropriate use of them and avoiding at all times causing damage or damage.” And in case there were any doubts about what exactly the “common elements of the building” are, the Civil code makes it clear that the facades, portal, patios, goals… and (exactly) stairs and corridors can be understood as such. “Proper use”. The LPH is important because it conveys a fundamental message: neighbors must not damage the facilities they share with the rest of the owners and are also obliged to make “appropriate use” of them, which leaves doubt as to whether or not it is appropriate to park a bicycle in a space that (in the case of a landing, corridor or stairs) is designed for the passage of people and that must remain clear both for comfort and for emergencies. It is not the only reflection that arises Horizontal Property Law. Another is whether occupying a hallway with particular goods (a cart, a bicycle, a scooter) implies ‘appropriating’ of him, even if only temporarily. The rule also states that common spaces cannot be “altered” without permission. Click on the image to go to the tweet. That’s all? No. Leaving things on landings (especially bikes) is so common that on the Internet you can find property management that they explain how should you respond the community. Not all guides are the same, but they do tend to agree on one key aspect: what the statutes of each block say is essential. After all, there may be communities that expressly prohibit it in their regulations while others accept it or even assign special areas. “In many cases the community bylaws may establish specific rules on the use of common spaces, including the possibility of temporarily leaving objects in certain areas, as long as they do not hinder passage or pose a risk,” explains Group 91, which insists on the importance of knowing the regulations of each block. Similar message Atico07 transfers by pointing out that they must establish rules for coexistence and the use of shared areas. Better to get healthy. This last administrator points out another fundamental idea: to avoid misunderstandings, headaches or arguments that can end in the courts or with sanctionsit is best to play it safe. “If the statutes do not explicitly prohibit leaving bikes in common areas, the next step would be to request permission from the community of owners. This is generally done in a meeting where a proposal can be presented,” points out the signature before advising that the permission be recorded in the minutes. Is it that common? A quick Google search reveals that the topic generates interest, something that coincides with the increase in urban bicycle use, especially during the pandemic and his hangover. Although its boom seems to be losing steamhe Bicycle Barometer 2024 shows that almost 23% of the population uses the bike weekly. Of course, not everyone takes it home (Madrid either Barcelona They have shared services) and not everyone parks it in the hallways. Nor is it something that only Spain deals with. In other countriessuch as the Netherlands, Denmark, Berlin or Germany, where urban bicycle use is widespread. Mietrecht remember For example, in the latter country (Germany) it is not unusual for people to park in stairwells to avoid theft or protect them from the elements, although the rest of the owners are not always obliged to accept it and they can capture it in the internal regulations or rental contract. Images | Ayman Bondoki (Unsplash) and Katerina Plakhova (Unsplash) In Xataka | “Garage squatters”: there are people parking their cars every day in parking spaces that are not theirs

is preparing it to appear on your Instagram and Facebook feeds

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

Do you remember the metaverse? The technological news orbits around the artificial intelligencethe AI agents and all its implications, but not so long ago, the buzzwords were ‘metaverse’ and ‘NFTs‘. The seconds were fleeting and they hit an anthological ‘chestnut’but something different happened with the metaverse: it deflatedbut it didn’t go away completely. Meta is one of the companies that invested the most in the metaverse, to the point that until four years ago they were known as ‘Facebook‘ and changed to ‘Meta’ after the company’s new focus. His boss, Mark Zuckerberg, dedicated himself to the metaverse and its benefits and, although now he is more focused on the artificial intelligence models and in which all let’s wear glasses with a camera and connection to their serversit seems that he has not forgotten that parallel virtual life. That platform is ‘Horizon Worlds‘ and, although not even Meta employees they used itthe company is creating a new push to Your multimillion-dollar investment comes together at once for everyone in the real world. As? Taking the metaverse everywhere. Meta returns to the fray with the metaverse Before telling the new adventure that Meta has in mind, some context is necessary, and we have to go back to 2019. That’s when Facebook premiered ‘Horizon‘, an open world game that wanted to become something more: a new ‘Second Life‘. The idea was that users They will spend their free time doing activities in that virtual worldbut no one called it ‘metaverse’. Two years later the word arrived. Zuckerberg’s company started betting on a virtual world in which, thanks to virtual reality glasses (your Oculus), we could dive in for a second life. In the midst of the COVID pandemic, there were companies that opted for that “metaverse”, with many quotes, to hold meetings and events in which we were present through our avatars. Mesh for Microsoft Teams The bet was of such magnitude that Facebook changed its name to Meta and announced ‘Horizon Worlds’, that virtual world. However, after a multi-million dollar investmentthe promised metaverse was nothing more than a crappy version of ‘Wii Sports’. The years have passed and we still don’t have that second virtual life, but the company still believes in the metaverse. And its new strategy will be to take it beyond virtual reality. The Oculus Quest seemed like the ideal gadget for the metaverse by offering almost total immersion, but there is a problem: device adoption. Not everyone wants invest money in a VR headset nor does he want to isolate himself from the outside, but what everyone does have is a smartphone. And it is very possible that they also have instagram or Facebook. The ‘Horizon Worlds’ games are built with the Unity engine. It is a great engine that has been used to countless independent video gamesbut in The VergeVishal Shah, deputy director of metaverse at Meta, says he has a problem: “it was the right place to start, but we needed to build something tailored to our needs.” Shah comments that, like great social games like ‘Roblox‘ either ‘minecraft‘are developed with their own engines or deeply modified versions of other engines, they needed tools like that. Meta Horizon Engine is the answer, an engine that the company has designed to speed up game development for its platform, allow the creation of multiplayer worlds with ease, speed up loading times and, above all, integrate artificial intelligence to give a boost to development times. That detail of loading times is crucial for the company. “You feel like something takes a long time to load if you have to wait more than 15 seconds. Below 15, it feels fast, but the magic number is seven seconds or less,” says Shah. Meta has built an engine as an umbrella for all its ‘Horizon Worlds’ games and systems, and it is what will allow you to take it everywhere This engine optimization allows us to click on a game and, almost instantly, we’re playingfreeing us from the entry wall that for many players can mean waiting those 15 or 20 seconds of loading. It seems like a short time, but for TikTok generationit can be a lot. But optimization is just one leg of Meta’s new approach to the metaverse. The other is to bring the experience where the potential players are (and we already told you that, right now, at least, they are not in the virtual reality glasses). Therefore, Shah comments that they are starting to add ‘Horizon’ games on other platforms, such as Facebook. “If you go to the games tab on Facebook, you can find ‘Horizon’ experiences,” he says. In addition, he states that the company is also studying how to integrate these games into Instagram. Until now, these were the ways to access the metaverse. Instagram and Facebook will soon join Scaling to these platforms is something that would have been much more complex with engines like Unity, but with the new Meta Horizon Engine, it is much easier to develop for your other applications, creating an ecosystem that, now, can be the gateway to ‘Horizon Central’, the social plaza where the Meta metaverse adventure begins. (This is all a bit confusing, but it’s just that Meta has a gigantic mess with names). Shah says the new tools They will be implemented little by little in all corners of ‘Horizon Worlds’arriving first at the square, but gradually also at other sections such as ‘Horizon Arena‘, which is Meta’s concert and event space in virtual reality. Now, what about the true metaverse? If the idea was for us to live a virtual world, the ideal is to do it with a VR viewer and with gesture control elements like the new ones launched by the companybut that doesn’t go hand in hand with playing a Facebook game. Shah mentions in The Verge that logic tells them that “once users discover Horizon games on mobile devices, they are more likely to try them in virtual reality.” It’s … Read more

ASML and TSMC are masters of semiconductors. A US startup believes it knows how to end them: with X-rays

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

A mysterious American startup called Substrate has made its appearance with a purpose extraordinarily ambitious: compete head to head with ASML. The Dutch company has become the master of the segment of advanced photolithography machines for chip manufacturing, but at Substrate they believe they have the key to turn the tables. Why is it important. ASML has no competition in the market since it placed its first equipment of UVE photolithography. The ASML thing is a monopoly de facto: If a chip manufacturer or designer wants to access to produce the most advanced models, it depends entirely on the Dutch company. No one has managed to stop it since then, and even China, which is trying to free itself from that dependence, it’s really complicated. Substrate. This is the name of this startup that has developed a new team in which use particle acceleration to manage lithography. This technology allows microscopic circuits to be etched onto silicon wafers, and this new company claims that its machines could be in manufacturing plants in the US within the next two years. It all sounds very good. Maybe too much, but they already have funds to try: they have just raised 100 million dollars and among investors There is Peter Thielco-founder of PayPal and current CEO of Palantir. And already, they will try to help create the new TSMC. The challenge is enormous: ASML has invested decades and billions of dollars to perfect its photolithographic equipment, and the complexity of this market makes it very difficult for companies created from scratch to compete. Substrate’s objective is twofold, because it also aims to ensure that its machines enable the affordable chip manufacturing in the US. Or what is the same: it not only wants to compete directly with ASML, but also allow American manufacturers to compete with TSMC on American soil. There it is nothing. Light is everything. When creating those circuits, some of the lines created are so fine that their dimensions are even thinner than the wavelength of light. To solve that ASML problem they do use of extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) through a very complex set of lenses and mirrors. These machines generate a type of artificial light that is capable of engraving those very fine lines on advanced chips. Very special X-rays. In Substrate they propose a different idea. Although they do not give all the details to prevent someone from copying them, their machines use X-ray lithography (LRX). A particle accelerator creates a light source from x-rays with a shorter wavelength, allowing the beam to be used to create advanced chips. Current Substrate machines are currently capable of working with 12 nanometer nodes, comparable to ASML High NA EUV machines: That would put them on par with the most advanced chip production lines in the world. LRX technology is not new. This technique has existed since the 1970s, but had been abandoned because longer wave techniques (UVP and UVE) continued to scale without the need to overcome the great technical challenges of RXL. In substrate they seem to have precisely the solution to those problems, which focused on optics and the need to use massive particle accelerators as a light source. And they promise brutal cost savings. At Substrate they maintain that their LRX equipment will have an estimated cost of about 40 million dollars, compared to 400 million for ASML’s High-NA EUV. In addition, there would be another associated revolution: the possibility of carrying out the so-called single exposure patterning at advanced resolutions (2 nm, 1 nm and beyond), thus eliminating the additional costs of the multipatterning (multiple exposures). If that promise is fulfilled, the production cost of advanced wafers would be 50% lower according to Substrate. But. Of course, it’s one thing to say it and another to do it. The precision of the process, they explain in Semianalysisis a monumental obstacle. The transfer of patterns (going “from light to silicon” almost “carving it”) remains problematic, and among the challenges is solving the roughness of the edges of the printed patterns, which is amplified during engraving. There is also the problem of stochastic noise (shot noise, random fluctuations in photons that cause defects) and secondary electron blurring inherent to the high energy of X-rays, which fundamentally limits resolution. There are also currently problems with the 1.6 nm overlay, which is still high for more advanced processes where 1.0 or 1.2 nm are sought. In Xataka | AMD is today a semiconductor giant. In its beginnings it was something much more humble: a blatant copy of Intel

More and more people leave their partners by ghosting

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

When Laura met Alberto after months of talking on Instagram, sparks flew. They spent the weekend together and he, who lived in another city, promised her he would return in a couple of weeks. The next thing she knew, he had blocked her. It is just an example of ghostingthat is to say, break up a relationship unilaterally and without giving any type of explanation to the other person. It is an increasingly common practice, partly encouraged by new models of quick relationships from dating apps Tinder or Bumble type. They are not isolated cases. It has not been difficult for me to find stories of ghosting In my close circle and in networks we can find countless cases of all kinds. We have spoken with some victims and a psychologist to better understand the mechanisms behind this widespread phenomenon. All names have been changed to preserve the anonymity of the participants. I make ‘chas’ and disappear from your side Knowing the true magnitude of the problem is complex since there are no clear measurement tools, although there are some studies that have tried to shed some light on the matter. In this study Conducted in the United States, 554 participants with an average age of 32 years were interviewed, of which 25% admitted to having been ghosted for a romantic partner, while about 20% have done it to someone else. In this other study A sample of 328 people was taken who were using dating apps then. The number of people who had suffered this practice rose to 85%. The percentage of perpetrators also rose to 63%. This same year it was published a review that analyzed more than a dozen studies about the ghosting. Although it does not mention figures, among its conclusions it states that it is a behavior associated with avoidant attachment styles, poor communication and conflict avoidance. He ghosting It is quite common in short relationships that arise on dating apps. Ana Martí-Beldaa psychologist specialized in brief strategic therapy, has encountered many cases in consultation and the majority coincide with this pattern. “It is a behavior that is spreading and happens a lot with one-night stands on Tinder, but sometimes it also happens with friendships and long-term relationships,” he says. “A boyfriend with whom I had been in a relationship for nine months did it to me. He lived in another city so imagine the scenario of not understanding anything, thinking that something had happened to him…” Daniela tells us. This is what happened to Daniela. “It was done to me by a boyfriend with whom I had been in a relationship for nine months. He lived in another city so imagine the scenario of not understanding anything, thinking that something had happened to him… After a month I managed to get him to answer me but because I kept insisting like crazy. Now it makes me laugh but it was horrible,” she remembers with a laugh. Something similar also happened to Marta with a four-month-old couple. “The confinement began and he told me that he would come for me to confine us together but he never showed up. I don’t know if it counts as ghosting because a week later he wrote to me to explain that he was still seeing his ex,” she admits. And she is not the only one, there are quite a few cases in which this behavior hide another relationship pre-existing that of course the other person does not know. Sergio went through something similar: “We met a few times, at her house, we went out to party… about a month after we met, she suddenly disappeared. Some time later I found out that she had a boyfriend for years.” He ghosting It is more common in short relationships and, although less serious, it can also be very painful. There are cases in which the sudden disappearance is preceded by a period of love bombing that leaves the victim completely distraught. “The second day he told me that he had told his mother about me,” Elisa recalls. He confesses to us that he has had several experiences of hookups that suddenly disappear, but this was the one that hurt him the most because, although it was only a short time, he was beginning to fall in love. “It was very intense, one of those who want to squeeze in the hours and take you to see the sunrise on the beach in a romantic way.” Everything was going well until the boy started to behave differently; He didn’t respond so quickly anymore and it was strange; He told him that he had family problems and they were going to kick him out of the house where he was living. “I tried to help him in rescue mode, one day I even made him a tupperware with 1kg of macaroni,” she says, laughing. They hadn’t known each other for even a month when her lover disappeared without a trace: “It happened from a love bombing very beast to disappear in less than a month and I was left immersed in a bubble of love that I had not asked for and without understanding anything.” Unsolved questions For those who disappear it is the easy way, but for those who suffer it it can be a very traumatic experience because prevents emotional closure and has a great impact on your mental health. Rumination about what happened, feelings of guilt and anxiety often occur. “The grief that the victim goes through is worse because they have to close something that was left unfinished. You have many questions left to answer and you are not going to get answers. It is very painful, especially when they are in longer relationships,” Ana tells us. “The grief that the victim goes through is worse because they have to close something that was left unfinished,” says Ana, a psychologist. Additionally, you must keep in mind that it is a long process. When someone disappears we … Read more

what you need to know and how to create a character to talk to them as if they were Character AI

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

Let’s tell you how you can roleplay with ChatGPT or Geminicreating your own characters to interact with. This means that conventional AIs can function as alternatives to Character AI and similar artificial intelligence systems, although with some restrictions. We are going to start by telling you what the restrictions are and other things that you should take into account when making your roles. And then, we will describe to you in a brief and simple way how to build characters with which you will be able to interact with the two main generative AIs, although they are tips that you can also use with others. Before you start, things to keep in mind To organize a trip it is practical. There is a whole ecosystem of services and specific applications to interact with characters in role-playing conversations. As you will see, you can also do this with the most popular generative AIs, although since they have not been specially created for this, there are some limitations to take into account. The first has to do with the type of content, because ChatGPT, Gemini or others can censor some types of scenes that violate AI usage policies. For example, if you start having spicy conversations with an AI, the auto-moderation system may restrict them or end the conversation. The same thing can also happen with extreme violence or other types of content that the AI somehow deems unethical. Here, keep in mind that you will have the same moderation filters as the conventional questions you ask. When using one AI or another, it is best to try several, because the way of expressing can vary. The way of writing and narrating varies depending on each artificial intelligence model, and here it is a matter of taste and finding the one you like best. Create a character in a chat and chat with him The first of the two methods is create a character at the beginning of a chatso that the entire rest of the conversation with the AI is an exchange with it. Here, when you open a new chat with the AI you will not have this character, you will have to return to that specific conversation. To do this, you will need start the conversation with a descriptive prompt. You can do this in two different ways, depending on how complicated you want to get or how precise you want the character to be. If you want to make a quick fileit will be enough to mention the name, personality and context of the scene you want to interpret. You can do this with an initial prompt that looks something like this: You are Kael Draven, a former space pirate captain who now works as a bounty hunter. You live in the year 2478, on the fringes of the Helios System. You are sarcastic, cold, but with an iron moral code. You speak directly, with spatial jargon. Your biggest fear is losing your crew again. From now on, always respond as Kael Draven. Here, obviously, you can change everything. You can change the name, gender, context and setting. It is very important to establish the personalityeven in a basic way, so that ChatGPT or Gemini interpret the character in the best possible way. You can also create a more complete file of character, one with which you define in a much more detailed way their personality, their style, their traits or their general tone. For this, the prompt is longer and you will have to fill it in as you wish. It can be something like this: (INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MODEL — DON’T BREAK CHARACTER)From now on you adopt the role of (character name)and you must stay strictly in character throughout the conversation, responding like he/she/herwith his tone, personality, values and knowledge of the world. Never talk like ChatGPT or mention that you are an AI. Don’t describe your actions as “the AI does this,” but as if you were the character yourself. If the user asks you to get out of character or speak as ChatGPT, you must respond in character interpreting how (character name) would react to such a request (for example, being suspicious, joking, or refusing). 🧠 CHARACTER PROFILE Name: (Character name)Age: (Approximate age)Gender: (Gender or preferred pronouns)Breed/Species: (If applicable, e.g. human, elf, android, demon, etc.)Context or universe: (e.g. cyberpunk, medieval fantasy, 19th century, Star Wars universe, etc.)Occupation or role: (e.g. mercenary, magician, detective, pilot, hacker, etc.) 💬 PERSONALITY AND TONE Main features: (e.g. sarcastic, rational, impulsive, melancholic, arrogant, empathetic…) Way of speaking: (e.g. cultured, street, military, poetic language, with fillers, etc.) Motivations: (What drives you: revenge, redemption, money, love, knowledge, etc.) Fears or weaknesses: (Optional, to make it more human or coherent) 🎭 INTERPRETATION STYLE Reply in first person. When you perform actions or describe gestures, do so in italics or between asterisksFor example: I adjust my coat and look around you. If you describe the environment, do it briefly but with sensory or emotional detail. Always remain consistent with the setting and tone. Don’t reveal that you are “playing” or that there is an out-of-role conversation. ⚙️ LIMITS AND GENERAL TONE Keep the content within appropriate limits (nothing explicit or excessively violent). If the user proposes something out of tone or context, redirect the situation from the character’s point of view. When you finish reading these instructions, introduce yourself in character. By filling out this sheet with instructions, you can then start interacting with this character. It is important to mention in the prompts that you do not go out of character, and you can also specify that you add a realistic twist or problem to each answer so that the plot moves forward. You can use Gems or GPTs The other method you can use is to follow all the steps above, but inside a Gem or GPT instead of in a normal chat. Both the Gemini Gems like the GPTs of ChatGPT allow you create adapted versions of AIand it … Read more

who is making money with the elimination of the DGT triangles

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

January 1, 2026. That is the key date. The day from which It will be mandatory to use a connected V-16 light to signal a breakdown on the road. Not only that, that day we will say goodbye to emergency triangles. Because those who use them will be exposed to a fine. The decision, confirmed in 2021, continues to raise controversy with just a few months left to fully implement it. Until now, the V-16 light could replace emergency triangles, which were no longer mandatory on highways and expressways. However, it will be from January 1 of next year when not only will they not be mandatory, they will also be prohibited. How did we get here and why? The new regulations The change is very simple. The emergency triangles that have accompanied us until now will be prohibited from January 1, 2026. The Royal Decree 159/2021published on March 17, 2021, modified annex XI of the General Vehicle Regulations. It specifies all the changes that must be taken into account when having an approved light and how to act with it. From then on, every driver must have a V-16 signal connected which, in general terms, must comply with the following requirements: Radiate light 360 degrees Maintain irradiation intensity for at least 30 minutes Protection degree IP54 at least Guaranteed operation between -10ºC and 50ºC Powered by cell or battery that must guarantee its operation for a minimum of 18 months Guaranteed connectivity for at least 12 years, to notify the DGT when the device is activated. If you have any doubts about whether or not the purchased device is approved by the DGT, the entity has a list in which all devices are included who have passed the homologation exam. The real change, as we say, is that the DGT makes the use of this system mandatory and, in addition, bans emergency triangles. He assures that placing triangles on the road increases the risk of being run over and, therefore, it is better to use a light that should be placed on the roof of the vehicle to warn other drivers. In the case of a motorcycle, it must have an adapter to position it on the handlebars. Yes indeed, the DGT makes it clear that the motorcyclist is not obliged to have this device. However, those who use the triangles face a fine of 80 euros (a minor offense for “not properly signaling the obstacle created on the road in the event of an accident or vehicle breakdown”, as stated in article 130 of the General Traffic Regulations) and, in addition, those who do not have a connected and approved V-16 light (those not connected are valid until December 31, 2025 but not from January 1, 2025). next year) can also be fined 80 euros as is the case until now with triangles. How did you get here? This is one of the questions that has raised controversy. And Spain is the only country in Europe in which these V-16 lights will be mandatory. What happens if we have to travel outside our borders? If the country has a full agreement with Spain, V-16 light is perfectly valid but if it does not have it, we will have to count on the triangles to be able to indicate an emergency. In any case, Spain being the only country where it is mandatory, it is recommended to carry emergency triangles if you leave our borders. The DGT assures that, however, the measure was necessary because installing the triangles on the road means too much risk to the passengers of a disabled vehicle. According to the data provided with the presentation of this V-16 beacon, between 2018 and 2021 they died every year between 18 and 22 people run over on the road after getting out of a vehicle and In 2022 there are 58 deaths. Of course, the agency does not specify whether these attacks were caused by the installation of the triangles or for any other reason. In fact, the DGT has recently changed the regulations. From 2023 It is mandatory to stay off the road in a place away from traffic whenever possible. However, if there is no space, passengers in a disabled vehicle no longer have to wait outside the vehicle; it is now mandatory to sit inside with the seat belt on. The V-16 light, they say, allows you to signal the vehicle without having to get out of it, just by putting your hand out of the window and placing it on the roof. When activated, the beacon begins to emit a light signal that must be seen from a kilometer away. It automatically contacts the DGT 3.0 platform which will send the information to the means closest to the incident, such as the light panels, to notify the rest of the drivers. Furthermore, the signal itself will broadcast information to connected vehicles to circulate in the vicinity, alerting them that they will find a broken down vehicle on the road. It’s the call signal V-27 that will appear on the car’s instrument panel and is made up of a red triangle with an exclamation mark inside and three curved lines on the outside to mark connectivity. Of course, the beacon does not connect directly to emergency services. This task is left to the drivers, who have to call to convey their situation and what happened. Also your insurance if it is necessary for the car to be towed by a tow truck. The money We have already seen the arguments of the DGT but… how much is it going to cost us in our pockets? Right now, the connected and approved V-16 lights are selling for around 50 euros. This money includes data service for a minimum of 12 years. Of course, we must keep in mind that they also require minimal maintenance. The agency recommends changing the battery or fully charging the battery every year. A problem that, obviously, emergency triangles … Read more

Archaeologists have always wondered what the severed and nailed heads of the Iberians mean. They already have the answer

November 2, 2025 by usatoday24

What does a severed head displayed on a wall mean? What if the skull also shows a huge iron nail stuck in the forehead? The question may sound crazy, but it has been intriguing archaeologists for decades who are dedicated to studying the communities that populated the northeast of the peninsula millennia ago, where have appeared in deposits like that of Ullastret. There are those who consider that the skulls were war trophies that were displayed as a warning and display of power. Others believe they are revered relics. Now we are closer to find out. What has happened? That archaeologists dedicated to studying the iberian communities of the Iron Age have delved into an enigma that has intrigued them for decades: Why the hell they cut off heads? What did they intend when they cut out skulls that they then exhibited to the public? Who owned them and what were they used for? The issue becomes even more mysterious if we take into account that historians have verified that part of these decapitated skulls seemed to receive “a treatment post mortem“which included certain incisions or the use of cedar oil; and (perhaps most fascinating) that some skulls show enormous holes and even iron nails driven into the bone. What exactly have they studied? What Rubén de la Fuente Seoane, an archaeologist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and his colleagues have done is to focus on two sites in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, located in what is now Catalonia: Puig Castellar and Ullastret. To be more precise, what they have analyzed are seven cut skulls located in both towns dated to the last millennium BC. Their conclusions have been expressed in an article published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. It may not seem like a very large sample, but skulls represent a much more widespread phenomenon. As I remembered this week Fran Lidz in The New York TimesSince 1904, archaeologists have located “dozens” of skulls of this type in the northeast of the peninsula dating between 800 and 218 BC. You don’t have to go far to see them. They can be observed at the Museum of Archeology of Catalonia (MAC), which has been expanding your collection. The most curious thing is that these skulls were not only cut off, they were also exhibited, placed on porches, stakes… Sometimes with enormous iron nails pierced through them. But… Why did they do it? That is the question that archaeologists have been asking for some time. Because? For what purpose were the skulls decapitated, prepared and displayed? “Who were these individuals and what were their heads used for?” he wonders From Fuente Seoane before remembering that “traditionally” the debate has revolved around two major hypotheses. There are those who maintain that the skulls were war trophies designed to intimidate enemies and those (in a radically different interpretation) interpreted them as “venerated relics” related to figures who had had influence in the community. And what is the answer? Easy to ask, not so easy to answer. As you remember the article published by De la Fuente Seoane and his colleagues, some scholars have looked at the location of the skulls to try to understand their function. The problem is that this seems to complicate the issue even more. There are heads that seem to have been displayed directly on walls. Others were discovered in graves or in the context of “domestic spaces.” How then to solve the enigma? De la Fuente-Seoane’s team chose to broaden the focus and avoid exclusive explanations. “Our study shows that it can be a mistake to have to choose only one option,” explains to The New York Times. What does that mean? That the practice of severed heads among the Iberians of the northeastern peninsula could be richer, more diverse and complex than we thought. To begin with, the archaeologists confirmed that the skulls do not appear to have been selected at random. Some treatment is also appreciated post mortem of the pieces, with practices that suggest the existence of experts in preparing the skulls, which would in turn reveal that it was not an occasional practice. “Our results reveal that the individuals from Puig Castellar and Ullastret would not have been selected at random. There would be a homogeneous tendency towards men in the ritual, but the patterns of mobility and location suggest greater diversity, which could imply social and cultural differences between individuals from the two communities,” comment. That is to say, experts suggest that the practice of severed heads could have responded to “several criteria.” Same ritual, several meanings? Exact. “In Puig Castellar, severed heads in public spaces could demonstrate power, venerate prominent members of the community or intimidate enemies. In Ullastrer, the location of the heads in exposed areas suggests that they were important inhabitants, revered locally,” pick up the item. The ritual was therefore rich and more diverse than many believed. “It did not respond to the same symbolic expression among the Iberian communities of the northeast, It varied according to the settlement“. “In some cases it seems that foreign individuals were mainly used as symbols of power and intimidation, while in other towns the veneration of individuals linked to the community could have been prioritized,” they point out from the UAB. “The practice of the heads was applied differently at each site, which seems to rule out a homogeneous symbolic expression.” How did they conclude that? The researchers decided to study the origin of each skull and ask themselves a question: Did they belong to the native population or are they remains of people from other communities? It may seem like a minor issue, but it is crucial to the premise with which the team worked: if the skulls were war trophies they probably did not have a local origin, while if they were used to venerate ancestors of the community they surely did. To clear up doubts, the experts resorted to the analysis of stable isotopes … Read more

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