Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Japan has just landed with a weapon to take down its shaheds

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Sometimes wars change because of an unexpected solution to a seemingly minor problem. There we have the case of the Second World War, when the Allied pilots began to use simple aluminum strips launched from aircraft to confuse enemy radars, saturating them with false echoes and completely disrupting German air defense. The idea, as simple as it was cheap, showed that in certain conflicts the key is not to have the most powerful thing, but to find the most effective way to neutralize what already exists. Japan enters the drone war. Yes, Tokyo has taken an unprecedented step in the Ukrainian war by directly introducing proprietary technology on the battlefield, something unusual in its recent defense policy (although not for the future). Through the Terra Drone companyTokyo has not only invested in the Ukrainian Amazing Dronesbut has taken one of its systems from the laboratory to the real front. The result is a new type of cooperation where Ukrainian combat experience is combined with Japanese industrial capacity, creating a hybrid actor that did not exist until now in this conflict. An interceptor to knock down swarms. A proper name appears here. The key system is Terra A1 interceptor dronedesigned specifically to address threats like the Shahedthe same ones that Russia has used massively since the beginning of the invasion. We are talking about devices with speeds close to 300 km/h and a range of about 32 kilometersdrones that can detect and attack targets in the same mission cycle. Their advantage is not only in their features, but in their approach: they are designed to combat cheap drones with equally cheap solutions, avoiding the use of much more expensive missiles for lower value threats. The Terra A1 interceptor The cost war. Here is the key change of the conflict. While a Shahed drone can cost tens of thousands of dollars, such an interceptor can cost just a few thousand. Faced with this and how we have been countingtraditional systems such as anti-aircraft missiles can easily exceed one million per unit. This difference allows Ukraine to raise a volume based defensecapable of responding to massive attacks without exhausting strategic resources in each interception, something critical in a war of attrition. Ukrainian technology, Japanese industrial muscle. In reality, the alliance is anything but casual. Ukraine provides direct knowledge of combat, with systems adapted to electronic warfare, jamming and real front conditions. For its part, Japan provides production capacityfinancing and industrial scaling. The objective here is clear: to move from improvised or limited solutions to mass production capable of sustaining the pace of the conflict, all with a view to even exporting this model to other scenarios where cheap drones have become a dominant threat. Towards more autonomous drones. In fact, the next step is already practically defined and is none other than reduce human intervention. Current developments seek to ensure that these interceptors can take off, locate targets and attack automatically, without the need constant control. In theory, this not only increases efficiency, but allows you to respond faster to crowded attacks, where reaction time is key. In this field, the combination of Ukrainian software and Japanese technological development aims to accelerate a trend that is already transforming the air war into other conflicts like the Middle East. A new front for Russia. It is the last of the legs to analyze, because the arrival of the Terra A1 It means that Russia now faces a different problem than usual. These are no longer just traditional Western systems, but a new layer of defense based on cheap, scalable drones specifically adapted to your tactics. Japan’s entry into this field introduces an unexpected factorthat of a country with great technological capacity that is beginning to directly influence the balance of the battlefield, and does so by providing tools designed precisely to neutralize the type of weapon that Moscow more has exploded on Ukrainian territory. Image | Amazing Drones In Xataka | Ukraine is shooting down Russian drones with “pilots” 500 kilometers from the front: it is a radical revolution in war In Xataka | In 1914, submachine guns forever changed the way war was waged. In 2026, it’s algorithms’ turn

NASA’s alliance to finally understand dark matter

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This week, NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, better known as the Roman Space Telescope. With its launch scheduled for September of this year at the earliest, it will become the space agency’s newest space telescope. It will coexist with others like Hubble or James Webbbut it has something that these don’t have. The ability to track vast expanses of the Universe at once. That’s what makes it special. Much more space. The Roman Space Telescope has 18 detectors that give it a panoramic view of space. It has been baptized with this name in honor of what is known as the mother of Hubble, for her important role in the development of this other space telescope. However, both have major differences. It is capable of looking at a field 100 times larger than that of Hubble. As a result, is expected that discovers tens of thousands of planets, billions of galaxies and stars and thousands of supernovae. An ideal companion for James Webb. The Roman Space Telescope also has advantages over the James Webb. If it is capable of analyzing a field 100 times larger than that of Hubble, in the case of James Webb exceeds it by 50 times. This allows you to observe without a clear objective on the part of the researchers. When exploring such large expanses, you may find something unexpected at any time. That’s where James Webb comes into play. And, although it can analyze less space at once, it is much more precise. Its mirrors are larger, so it captures more light and can discern more details. If the Roman detects something interesting, the James Webb analyzes it with a magnifying glass. Context matters. We have already seen that the James Webb can study the Roman detections with more precision. However, they can also help each other in the opposite direction, since the Roman is capable of providing context around James Webb’s objectives. Together to unravel dark matter. The biggest difference between the Roman Space Telescope and the James Webb compared to Hubble is that they can analyze space by focusing on emissions in the infrared spectrum, rather than visible light. As a result, it can see through cosmic dust, detect cold objects, and look further back in time. The latter is extremely useful for understanding the expansion process of the universe and, incidentally, unravel some mysteries about dark matter. The Universe expands. We have known for a long time that the universe is expanding. That is, the galaxies are moving away from each other, but not because they are moving, but because the space between them is stretched, like a balloon that is inflating. It is also known that this is happening more and more quickly. But why does it happen? It is not clear, but it is suspected that it may be due to dark matter. Supernovas that act as lighthouses. To better understand what is happening, it is important to measure very well how galaxies are separating. One of the ideal ways to do this is by using Ia supernova explosions as beacons. They are phenomena with a known maximum brightness, so they are used to measure distances, taking into account the analysis of their relative brightness from Earth or the place where a space telescope is located. The problem is that they only occur once every 500 years in the Milky Way. A telescope that measures in the infrared can travel very far back in time, but the James Webb only does so in small pieces. The Roman, on the other hand, can analyze such large areas that several of these explosions could be detected at the same time. That would allow several beacons to operate simultaneously to better map the Universe and understand why it is expanding as it does. Once the beacons were located, the James Webb would enter the game to do its detailed analysis. Together they can unravel very ancient mysteries of astrophysics. There is no one better than the other. Image | POT In Xataka | We have been studying the planets of TRAPPIST-1 for years with great hope. James Webb just knocked it down

We have stuffed the Gibraltar monkeys with Doritos. His solution has been to eat dirt as if it were omeprazole

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On the Rock of Gibraltar, one of the most classic scenes that can be found without a doubt is that of the Barbary macaqueswho seem to be the absolute kings of the entire terrain. Here it is quite likely to see tourists end up stealing a piece of sandwich, chips or a sweet that they have in their hands, especially when the rules are not followed that are marked. But this, which may have its funny point, the truth is that it generates quite a few alterations in the animals, to the point of needing to eat dirt. It has been studied. That a macaque takes a bag of Doritos from a tourist and begins to eat it, among many other types of junk food, is something that has focused the attention of science. And it has reached such a point that it has materialized in a study published in Scientific Reports where numerous continuous episodes of geophagy have been documented among these primates. This is nothing more than the usual consumption of red soil, which is known as terra rossa, and even, in some specific groups, a strange mixture of dirt and tar. Its consequences. What at first glance may seem like simple animal curiosity is actually a survival mechanism, as researchers have found a statistical correlation between the consumption of this junk food, loaded with sugars, salt and dairy, and the frequency with which they eat the earth. In fact, the data shows that this practice increases in summer, when there are a greater number of tourists in the area, and decreases drastically when the influx of people and, therefore, the availability of junk food in the area decreases. Why do they do it? Here we must take into account that the stomachs of these macaques are not prepared for the junk and processed food that humans consume. This is why the earth can act as a gastric cushioning system and can be compared in our minds to a stomach protector. After a heavy meal, macaques use clay to purge themselves, absorb toxins and relieve the digestive discomfort caused by our diet. In addition to providing them with certain minerals that junk food lacks, scientists point out that swallowing dirt helps them try to rebalance an intestinal microbiome that has been altered by the excess of salt and sugar. A cultural tradition. The most interesting finding of this research is that eating dirt is not a mere isolated instinct, but has become an anthropogenically induced tradition of primates. That is to say, we are dealing with a behavior of social transmission, since the macaques learn from each other that eating dirt relieves the belly pain after stealing an ice cream from a tourist. This, logically, is a cultural component of self-medication that has arisen purely and exclusively due to the alteration of their environment at the hands of human beings, demonstrating the great capacity for adaptation that they can have to any situation that comes upon them. Images | wirestock 8photo In Xataka | We have been believing for 50 years that the Strait of Gibraltar was “closed” with an apocalyptic cataract. Now we have nuances

A survival thriller coming to Netflix tomorrow that pits Charlize Theron against a psychopath in the depths of Australia

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A murderer chooses his victim carefully. That’s what Ben (Taron Egerton) does when he determines that Sasha (Charlize Theron), an elite climber who has entered the outback Australian to overcome a duel, is his next objective. What Ben doesn’t know is that Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur has spent twenty years specializing in placing extraordinary actors in devastating environments. The result of this clash receives the poor translation of ‘Dominant predator‘in Spain (the original is the most elegant’Apex‘), premieres on April 24 on Netflix and is pure popcorn party. Shot entirely in real locations, the film put Egerton and Theron, who are joined by Eric Bana, to the limit of their strength. In fact, Theron suffered a broken toe during filming and continued filming without anyone on the crew knowing. A good example of how the film posed a challenge for its performers that went beyond the strong psychological tension that is drawn between the two rivals. In fact, The approach of ‘Apex’ is one of the oldest in action cinema: The short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ by Richard Connell, published in 1924, described an aristocrat who hunted humans on his private island, and inspired a total classic of the genre in 1932, ‘The Evil Zaroff’. From there, multiple variants of the “people hunting” trope, and which is often, as here, accentuated by a danger that is added to the relentless hunters: an environment that functions as a gigantic trap. ‘Apex’ director Baltasar Kormákur has spent two decades building a filmography around a single question: what does extreme adversity do to people? His most relevant survival films, ‘Everest’ (inspired by a real catastrophe in 1996), ‘Adrift’ (about a couple trapped in the ocean after a hurricane), and ‘The Beast’ (where Idris Elba confronts a lion in South Africa), have common characteristics: real locations, actors subjected to harsh physical conditions and landscapes that are both scenery and threat. This new Netflix exclusive ‘Apex’ plays in that same league. In Xataka | 16 premieres on Netflix: this week, the new ‘Stranger Things’, a rare British series and the return of Charlize Theron

We thought that AI was going to collapse the electrical grid. The solution is to “unplug” it 18 days a year

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Daily headlines bombard us with the insatiable hunger for Artificial Intelligence, painting a future where data centers will devour our infrastructure. However, reality hides a fascinating irony: the same technology that clutters cables today could be our greatest ally. According to estimates of DeloitteAI will optimize global systems saving more than 3,700 TWh by 2030, almost four times the energy consumed by all data centers on the planet combined. But to get to that stage, you first have to turn on the machines today. And the solution is surprisingly analog. Paweł Czyżak, from the Ember analysis center and one of the most authoritative voices in the European energy transition, sums it up with a simple idea: A data center does not need to operate at full power every hour of the year. In the face of system collapse, the industry’s new survival dogma is clear: “Connect now and operate flexibly.” The heart attack of the network. We have been victims of what we once defined as “tyranny of 24/7”. Algorithms do not sleep and demand uninterrupted supply. This voracity has caused a heart attack in the traditional data epicenters in Europe (the “FLAP-D” markets: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin), almost completely paralyzing new deployments. The bottleneck is no longer the latest generation microchips; transformers and free electrons are missing. Added to this physical collapse is the bureaucratic one. The European University Institute (EUI) warns that connection queues are a critical funnel: in countries such as the United Kingdom or Italy, the requested capacity exceeds the peak of national maximum demand by more than 10 times. All of this is aggravated by speculative “zombie” projects that block entry to legitimate developers. The obstacles are, as detailed in the recent study by Camus, encoord and Princeton ZERO Laba double wall: there is a lack of cables for day-to-day operations and a lack of clean capacity built to provide backup. Flexibility as a lifesaver. Is it possible to “turn off” part of the AI ​​brain without the system crashing? Yes. A recent trial led by Nebius, Emerald AI and National Grid showed that an AI cluster was able to cut its consumption by 30% in just 40 seconds to relieve the network, keeping critical tasks intact. Even Google already boasts of having reached 1 GW of “demand response” by combining batteries and the ability to move loads between regions. As Czyżak explainsmoving just 5% of the load (the equivalent of a few critical hours per year) unblocks the grid massively. In fact, this strategy would save more natural gas than a country like Denmark consumes in electricity generation, by preventing electricity companies from having to turn on expensive and polluting combined cycle plants to cover demand peaks. For its part, the Camus and Princeton report proposes to scale this with two mechanisms: Flexible connections: The center operates normally 99% of the time, but in the scarce 40 or 70 hours a year of extreme network saturation, it reduces its computing or draws on its own batteries. BYOC agreements (Bring Your Own Capacity): Big tech finances its own clean energy capacity instead of waiting for the state to modernize infrastructure. The combination is magical: it reduces the wait to connect to the network from 7 to just 2 years. For a technology company, this means starting to bill three years earlier, generating net returns of between 1,000 and 4,000 million dollars per site. The citizen will not pay the bill. On a social level, the transition towards this flexible model brings excellent news for the average citizen. The detailed modeling of Princeton’s ZERO Lab confirms that a flexible data center (under BYOC schemes) assumes practically all of the incremental costs it generates to the electrical system. In other words, the billions needed to host the cloud will not be transferred to household electricity bills. On the contrary, by making the most of the existing network instead of building massive new lines, the fixed costs are distributed among more actors. In Spain, organizations such as the CNMC are already applying “flexible access permissions”forcing by law to accept controlled cuts in emergencies to protect the stability of the country. The plug that will rule the world. In the frenetic geopolitical and business race to dominate the future of Artificial Intelligence, the narrative has changed. It is no longer enough to design the fastest microchip or have the most brilliant engineers. Today absolute victory belongs to whoever has a free plug. But rather than desperately burning gas or waiting a decade for governments to bury thousands of kilometers of copper, the industry has found a pragmatic way out. Demand flexibility from Big Tech Not only does it allow them to turn on their servers years earlier; It protects citizens’ bills, squeezes the infrastructure of the 20th century and banishes the dangerous ghost of a Europe forced to relapse into its old addiction to fossil fuels. Image | Photo by Scott Rodgerson on Unsplash Xataka | There is no energy for so many data centers and the consequence is clear: half of those planned for 2026 in the US are in danger

MrBeast challenged people to live several days in a supermarket: they did not expect to run into ‘Juan the Mexican’

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MrBeast bought an entire supermarket in North Carolina, put dozens of random people inside, and told them that the last one out would get $250,000. What he did not calculate is that among the participants was a 56-year-old father from Hidalgo, Mexico. That is destroying all the success projections of its rivals. The supermarket as a coliseum. Last April 18 MrBeast posted a 42-minute video on his channel, ‘The last one to leave the store wins $250,000‘. The mechanics of this new test by the YouTuber was as simple as it was extreme: he had bought a supermarket in Greenville, North Carolina, filled it with products and invited real customers to participate in an endurance contest. With only one rule: the last one to leave wins the prize. Those who did not want to compete could take their already full cart for free. It’s not the first time that does something like this: MrBeast has been perfecting the “last to leave” scheme for years in different scenarios (circles painted on the floor, islands, closed rooms…) Strategies. Inside the establishment, participants began to build sleeping structures with empty shelves, improvised showers with hoses from the fruit section and organized themselves into factions with their own names (the Dream Team, the Innovators, Fort Freezy near the frozen ones). The rules allowed sabotage and alliances, which turned the competition into something that was very close to psychological warfare. In Xataka MrBeast turned YouTube into a franchise: now all content creators make the same video over and over again Juan García, hero of the people. Among all the contestants, one was gaining ground among MrBeast fans. Juan García, 56 years old, originally from the state of Hidalgo, who had entered the supermarket accompanied by his son Ángel. After 15 days, the young man had to retire to return to school and work. When MrBeast asked Juan if he also had pending obligations, the response was: “I’m going to ask for a vacation and stay a little longer.” From that moment on, Juan advanced practically alone: ​​he was excluded from the initial alliances after his son left, which left him without a support network in the always wild environment of reality competitions. However, he withstood the isolation, the constant noise, the cold at night and the confrontations. The moment that ended up making it go viral was one of the simplest: when another contestant threw his pots and pans outside the establishment, Juan simply told him “Don’t do that, friend.” The other’s response was “I don’t respect you at all.” Five days later, that participant dropped out. Day 67. At the end of the video, we see how four contestants remain inside and refuse to come out. They have made alliances, they get along well, and they can hold out indefinitely. MrBeast decided to offer the four a new mission: become a team and consume the entire supermarket inventory to win a million dollars, with the store refurbished with beds, showers, a gym and a nutritionist. The group accepted. The volume of product available suggests that the confinement could be extended for several additional months, and in fact, MrBeast says goodbye for another year. Vote for Juan. When the video was released, messages of support began to multiply on social networks: “Juan already won”, “All of Latin America with Juan”, “I am not Mexican but I support Juan.” Danay Escanaverino, digital monetization specialist, explained that Hispanic audiences respond with special intensity when they find someone on screen with whom they emotionally identify. The figure of Juan (father, older, calm, without allies) connected with an audience unprepared for his frankness. In Xataka MrBeast has been giving money to his followers in his videos for years: now he wants them to be the ones to give it to him Up Mexico. A comment that is repeated among many Mexicans is, precisely, that Juan may have unknowingly blown up the MrBeast concept: locked up for a year with expenses paid and all you have to do is eat and relax? A vacation and a million in perspective? Is a humble Mexican, finally, the perfect fit for MrBeast? In Xataka | MrBeast has discovered a much more lucrative business than making videos on YouTube: selling chocolate (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 MrBeast challenged people to live several days in a supermarket: they did not expect to run into ‘Juan the Mexican’ was originally published in Xataka by John Tones .

At 11 km long and with a roof with a light show, China’s longest underwater tunnel has become a tourist attraction

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Under the waters of Lake Taihu, in the Chinese province of Jiangsu, lies the longest underwater tunnel ever built in China. Although it serves today as a great solution to decongest one of the most dynamic regions in the country, it has also become, almost by surprise, a tourist destination on its own merits. The reason: a majestic ceiling full of LED lights that change color and an architecture almost designed more to be contemplated than to be functional. A key point. As we mentioned, the tunnel extends under Lake Taihu, in Jiangsu province, about 50 kilometers east of Shanghai. It aims to connect the expressways of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou to relieve traffic pressure in the lakeside cities, while also serving to boost economic development from the Yangtze River Delta region. It is also a segment of the highway that connects Shanghai and Nanjing, the former national capital. For this reason, it is a key piece in China’s infrastructure network, but its design and light show have also led to it being transformed into a whole tourist experience. Figures. With 10.79 kilometers in length, the tunnel had a cost of about 9.9 billion yuanabout 1,230 million euros. Work began in 2018 and lasted almost four years. To build the two-way tunnel, with six lanes and 17.45 meters wide, more than two million cubic meters of concrete were used. For ventilation, there are three complexes distributed along the surface of the lake that guarantee air circulation inside. The challenge of building under the mud. It was not a simple work. The bed of Taihu Lake is formed by large accumulations of clayey silt, which made it impossible to use conventional excavation methods with tunnel boring machines. The engineering team opted for a cofferdam system: the route was divided into nine sections and, in each one, a temporary dike was built to “create solid ground” and work dry. Once that section was finished, it was filled with water and moved on to the next. According to collect Tunnels & Tunnelling, one of the biggest challenges was waterproofing the structure, since at some points the tunnel is 20 meters below the lake bed. Thes LED lights yesThey always improve everythingeither. Their figures and the work that had to be done for something of such magnitude to materialize is impressive. But the tunnel has attracted more and more attention for a clear reason: its roof. Those responsible They installed LED lights on the roof of the tunnel to combat driver fatigue during what would otherwise be a very monotonous journey underground. The panels do not simply project a uniform color, but rather show images that change. Ventilation and architecture. But the LEDs on the ceiling are not the only eye-catching element. The three ventilation points that emerge on the surface of the lake have been conceived as sculptural pieces. According to China Dailythe one located in the center of the tunnel was transformed into an artificial island 150 meters in diameter; that on the western side, near Mashan, is shaped like a conch; and the one on the eastern side, next to Nanquan, evokes the silhouette of an ancient boat. The most striking is the one known as “Jade Snail”: 45 meters in diameter and 39 meters high, it is equipped with 174,000 LED light points. A tunnel that generates tourism. The CCCC construction company points out that the Taihu tunnel is now the second highway between Shanghai and Nanjing, and has increased the number of visitors to the tourist enclaves of Lingshan and Nianhua Bay by 50%. The Mashan area, directly connected by the tunnel, is home to the Lingshan Great Buddha, one of the largest in the world and a pilgrimage destination for millions of people. Liu Xiaoyu, head of Wuxi National Taihu Lake Tourism Resort, pointed out told China Daily that “the tunnel will bring more tourists to the Lingshan Scenic Area and hotels in the area.” recordd. At almost 11 kilometers, the Taihu is the longest underwater tunnel in China, but it is not the first in the world. The title of longest underwater road tunnel remains with the Norwegian Ryfastwith 14.3 kilometers, connecting the city of Stavanger with the municipality of Strand. On the other hand, if we talk about underwater tunnels in general, the Eurotunnel (which links England and France by rail) retains the absolute record with 37.9 kilometers of submerged section. Images | CGTN In Xataka | Xiaomi or Xpeng car factories are so advanced that they have become the favorite destination of Chinese schools

“Experience never deceives; only our judgments are wrong”

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When in 1482 Leonardo da Vinci wanted to offer his services to Ludovico Maria Sforza sent him a letter in which he basically presented himself as an engineer especially useful on the battlefield. Only at the end, almost in passing, does he mention his skills as an architect, sculptor, and painter (in that order). The letter It is written to capture the attention of Sforza, an aristocrat more concerned with wars than the arts, but it still reveals something valuable about Da Vinci: although today we remember him as a painter, he saw himself as a man of science. In fact, he left notes that make him one of the great precursors of modern science. There are even those who consider it “the first scientist”. Who was Leonardo Da Vinci? I know, in 2026 that question seems like a truism. Everyone knows who Leonardo da Vinci was, just as we all have a (more or less vague) idea of ​​who Beethoven, Newton, Vang Gogh, Galileo, Alexander the Great or Cleopatra were, to name just a handful of historical figures who have ended up becoming popular icons. However, it is one thing to place Da Vinci in a historical framework or cite his most famous paintings and another to peer into his enormous intellectual complexity, the same one that he allows to be glimpsed in a calculated way in the letter to Ludovico Sforza and in a much more clear and detailed way in his note books. Beyond the brushes. In his mirror writing notebooks, Da Vinci leaves an enormous number of designs that anticipate by centuries what would be the helicopterhe tank or even the submarine; but he also speaks on topics as varied as morality, theology, psychology, geology, anatomy, hydraulics, aesthetics… and that among a long, long etcetera. Some time ago the engineer Eduardo García de Zúñiga (1867-1951) helped us navigate that intellectual tidal wave bringing together a large part of the aphorisms written by Leonardo. The result can consult in the Miguel de Cervantes Library and it is interesting (among other issues) because it reveals something about Da Vinci: although he wrote profusely on topics such as aesthetics or morals, a large part of his annotations focus on purely scientific issues. And that includes everything from notes on geology and anatomy to reflections of an epistemological nature in which he reveals how he understood knowledge and the way to achieve it. Why is it important? Because the first (the notes on his observations) reveal Leonardo’s curiosity and intellectual acuity. The second (the epistemological ones) tell us about something more important: in the 15th century, even before the birth of Galileo, Da Vinci looked at the world with the eyes of a scientist, one who distrusted inherited authority (breaking with scholasticism) and advocated verifying knowledge based on experience. Hence there are those who consider it a pioneer of science. Reviewing your notebooks. Between his syllogisms There are many who point in that direction, including the one who heads this article: “Experience never deceives. Your judgments only deceive when it promises effects that cannot find their cause in our experiences.” What does Da Vinci want to tell us with that phrase? That our great crutch to know the world is experience, direct observation, not inherited knowledge that cannot be verified. “Whoever argues claiming authority does not apply ingenuity, but rather memory,” he emphasizes. Does that mean that we should deny the wise men who preceded us? At all. The key is not to accommodate ourselves to the detriment of rigorous observation, a critical spirit and empirical experimentation. Does it tell us anything else? Yes. Leonardo’s notes are full of reflections that insist on the importance of verification. Of all, the most popular may be “Wisdom is the daughter of experience”, but it is not the only one. In another part of his handwritten notebooks, we read: “Vain and full of errors seem to me the sciences that are not born from experience, mother of all certainty (…). Neither their origin nor their middle, nor their end pass through any of the five senses.” “The true sciences are those that experience has made penetrate through the senses, imposing silence on the arguers and not nourishing their researchers with dreams; those that, on the first known principles, proceed successively and with true unity to the end.” And in case there were still doubts, Da Vinci leaves us advice that is totally valid in 2026: “Flee from the precepts of speculators whose reasons are not confirmed by experience.” Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Da Vinci’s last secret was not in his paintings or notes, but in his family: a direct link with Barcelona

What mobile charger to buy without spending a fortune and that is reliable

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You remove the seal from your new mobile phone, open it and… well, it’s no longer a surprise: it comes without a charger. Almost everyone has one (or several) with USB-C that could be useful to you, but What happens if your new phone has a very high fast charge? Well, it’s time to go to the checkout, but be careful when choosing what you buy: there is no need to buy a very expensive one nor do you need to stick with the first one you see that costs three euros. The important thing is to know what to look at before choosing and that is exactly what I am going to tell you below. Xiaomi 120W HyperCharge Combo USB Charger (1xUSB-A) + Cable (USB AC) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The first filter will always be the power Let’s get down to business with the first filter that we are going to use when choosing a charger: charging power. This is not much of a mystery, since it is the energy it is capable of delivering and is measured in watts (you will see it reflected with a ‘W’). To know which one is ideal for us, the first thing is to look at the data sheet or specifications of our device. For example, let’s look at the POCO X8 Pro. If we look, we will see how this device has a maximum fast charge of 100 W, so, if we want to make the most of it, we should look for a charger that delivers this power. Be careful with this, since it is possible that our device also has wireless charging, in which case we will see two values ​​in your specifications. Small aside to answer a very recurring question: is fast charging harmful? Historically, this has been said repeatedly because This type of load causes more heat to be generated and this is one of the worst things there is for the degradation of a battery. However, there are already experiments that show that, although there is more degradation, The impact is much less than believed. Now, what happens if my charger has 100 W of power and I plug it into a mobile phone with 45 W fast charging? Short and to the point answer: nothing. The charger can have a lot of power, but it will always deliver to your devices the necessary. Imagine this power as a water faucet: it can pour a huge spout, but it can also be regulated so that a trickle of water falls. Let’s look at this more closely. Charging protocols are more important than it seems As we say, although a charger has very high power, it does not mean that it will deliver it to your devices. There is ua kind of negotiation between the charger and your mobile to determine how much power to deliver or to regulate it at certain times during charging (for example, before reaching the charging limit you have set). This is known as the loading protocol. There is a universal charging protocol called USB Power Delivery (or PD) that, yes or yes, your charger must have. Chargers without this standard are already somewhat outdated, so you may find them at ridiculous prices. Now, although this standard is the universal one, there are many others. And that’s where we might find a “problem.” In addition to PD, we already have other standards such as Programmable Power Supply (or PPS), an extension of USB Power Delivery, but there are also others that are specific to certain manufacturers. For example, brands like OPPO have VOOC, just as Samsung has Super Fast Charging or Huawei has SuperCharge. The important thing here is that you keep the idea that, if your mobile phone has one of these protocols in its specifications, the ideal is that, to make the most of its fast charging, so should your charger. What is GaN? If you start browsing chargers in stores like Amazon, it is very likely that you will find models that, in their description, indicate that they have something called GaN. What does this mean? It’s very easy to explain: while the vast majority of chargers use silicon (surely it sounds familiar to you with how fashionable they are). carbon-silicon batteries), GaN chargers use galli nitrideeither. In short, this material is better and more efficient than silicon. This implies that they have a better efficiency when charging and generate less heatsomething that, as we said above, is very good. Additionally, by dissipating temperature better, GaN chargers are more compact, which is also great. Is it mandatory for your new charger to have this material? No, but if you bring it, all the better. Don’t lose sight of certifications, the cable and the ports You already know the essentials for choosing a charger, but three more notes. The first thing would be to check that the charger is certified, especially with the most relevant certifications. It should have the CE seal yes or yeswhich means that it complies with European safety regulations. In addition to this, you may also have others from certain entities such as TÜV. There is no point in buying the perfect charger for your mobile if you do not accompany it with the correct cablesince these also have to be compatible with the power we need. It is important to look at this, but also its compatibility with the different charging protocols, its materials (if it is braided, better) and its length. And finally, there is the issue of charging ports. If you only plan to charge one device, as long as it has a port it will be enough for you. Now, as a personal recommendation, I wouldn’t lose sight of chargers with two or more portssince being able to charge several devices with a single charger is very convenient and saves you one less thing. Of course, be careful with the ports: not all of … Read more

Malaga had some enviable rustic plots. Now you have a time bomb with 167,000 tons of debris and asbestos

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The volume of the figures is scary. According to official data from the Ministry of the Interiorthe Civil Guard has uncovered the illegal dumping of 167,000 tons of waste from construction works within the framework of what is called “Operation Cover”. This macro-operation has so far resulted in the investigation of twelve natural persons and three legal entities, all of them strongly linked to the construction and earthworks sector. They are accused of alleged crimes against the environment for systematically evading all legal controls required for the treatment of this waste. The trap of economic profit. Why was this location chosen? The answer, as is usually the case in environmental crimes, lies in economic benefit. As the environmental technical magazine explains Rethemethose investigated used rustic plots located in the Axarquía region to convert them, de facto, into clandestine landfills. The objective was purely lucrative: to avoid at all costs the payment of the corresponding fees for the treatment of this debris in duly authorized recycling plants. Behind the mountain of garbage. The problem is that it has become a critical focus for the residents of the area. According to what they warn from the Interiorthis negligence represents an enormous risk of fire due to the amount of flammable material that has been piled up. In addition, there is a real fear that toxic waste will seep underground and ruin the water in local aquifers. However, the most disturbing discovery in the area has been the appearance of fiber cement (asbestos) among the rubble. According to the local media South Journalimproper handling and exposure to the elements of this “highly dangerous” material causes the release of harmful fibers into the air, posing a direct and lethal risk to public health. The judicial future of operation “Cover”. With the damage already done on the ground, the focus now shifts to the courts. The police proceedings carried out have been handed over to the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of Malaga, which will be in charge of leading the judicial procedure against the fifteen accused. However, the case is far from closed. The investigation carried out by agents of the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Civil Guard remains open. The authorities have intensified surveillance in the province and it is not ruled out that new actions or accusations may occur in the coming months. The ghost of Nerja and urban pressure. This discovery in Axarquía is not an isolated case, but rather the symptom of a structural problem. local media provide fundamental context to understand the magnitude of the situation: the strong urban pressure in the province of Malaga and the immense volume of waste generated by brick greatly complicate control in rural and agricultural areas. Furthermore, what happened a few years ago with the illegal landfill in Nerja. In an old quarry located within a protected area (the Sierra Almijara natural park), more than 802,000 cubic meters of uncontrolled garbage accumulated over 18 years (from 1998 to 2016). Despite the obvious environmental catastrophe, the legal complexity of the matter led to all the accused, including businessmen and senior political officials of the municipality, being finally acquitted through sentences issued in 2023 and ratified in 2025. The bill we all pay. Hiding 167,000 tons of waste under the rural carpet of Axarquía is the empirical demonstration that the apparent economic “savings” of a few private companies ends up becoming a heavy and unfair toxic debt for the entire society. What was going to be a rustic plot dedicated to the land, today is nothing more than a time bomb loaded with asbestos, polluting liquids and flammable materials that waits under the sun for someone to finally assume the real cost of deactivating it. Image | Civil Guard Xataka | BonÀrea has achieved what practically in the world: that the system for recycling plastic packaging works

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