Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Four astronauts are going to undertake an unprecedented journey to the Moon. They have no intention of stepping on it

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After years of delays and rumors, NASA confirmed it finally: Artemis 2 will take off towards the moon imminently: it will be on February 6 when the team of astronauts formed by Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen returns to lunar orbit after almost 60 years. More specifically, it was in ’72 with Apollo 17. There is nothing left in the countdown for a 10-day mission full of doubts and some controversy. The previous steps. On January 17, NASA began the deployment of the enormous SLS rocket (Space Launch System) and the Orion capsule from the vehicle assembly building to launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in a 6.4 kilometer journey carried out on a gigantic Crawler-Transporter 2 tractor in enormous logistics. Now that you are on the platform, the next step is the “Wet Dress Rehearsal” (something like the general rehearsal) where the cryogenic propellants are loaded to check that there are no leaks and a complete countdown is executed that stops just before ignition to validate the flight software and the synchronization of the ground systems. If all goes well, the launch window opens on the aforementioned February 6. The crew. POT The mission. Artemis II will not land on the Moon, but will instead perform a lunar flyby with the aim of testing the life support systems and manual maneuvering capabilities of the Orion capsule in the deep space radiation environment. In addition, the spacecraft will use lunar gravity to “propel” its return to Earth without major engine ignitions. The parallels with Apollo 8. Analogies with the veteran ’68 mission are inevitable since Artemis II will not land on the moon, but will instead perform a lunar flyby. On that mission, the astronauts were able to see and photograph the far side of the moon and now, the team will travel beyond its far side. Apollo 8 was launched at a time when the program’s lunar module was not yet ready for manned flight and with Artemis II more of the same. Thus, the first planned lunar flight of Artemis is called Starship HLS (Human Landing System), it is being developed by Space However, given the doubts regarding its development schedule, NASA has a plan B: hire another company. Why don’t you go to step on the moon?. In short, because it is not a lunar module and therefore, because it is not prepared for such a purpose. NASA Deputy Director of Mission Analysis and Evaluations Patty Casas Horn deepen: “Throughout NASA’s history, everything we do carries some risk, so we want to make sure that risk is sensible and only accept as much risk as is necessary, within reason. So we develop a capability, then we test it, then we develop a capability, then we test it. And we’ll land on the Moon, but Artemis II is really focused on the crew.” The program’s debut was Artemis I, which on a 25-day uncrewed mission orbited the moon in 2022. Now we are in the next phase: the first time there will be people aboard the Artemis spacecraft. The crew will transfer to the Orion capsule to move around the moon just before the SLS rocket launches Orion into Earth orbit. Horn explains that in this mission “we will test many new capabilities that we did not have available in Artemis I”, for example the comfort of people or collateral effects such as the humidity they add to the air, their needs for food, bathrooms or water. Wet Dress Rehearsal. POT What makes it unique. The crew intends to travel beyond the far side of the Moon, which could open the doors to a new record for the distance that humanity has traveled from Earth, a title that to this day boasts Apollo 13 with 401,000 kilometers. On the other hand, the SLS is the most powerful rocket in operational configuration, surpassing the mythical rocket in thrust. Saturn V of the 60s. Logically, it will also do so with cutting-edge technology, such as autonomous optical navigation systems or the Orion heat shield, redesigned after data from Artemis I, to protect the crew during re-entry at 40,000 km/h. Furthermore, in this mission NASA has remembered diversity to mark a milestone in the form of a trip beyond low Earth orbit for a woman, a Canadian and an African American because yes, there is life beyond the white American male cishetero In Xataka | It is now possible to book a hotel stay on the Moon for $250,000. Building it is still the complicated part In Xataka | We have been deceived by the distances of the Solar System: the closest neighbor to Neptune is Mercury Cover | POT

and that includes products from Korea

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Entering Mercadona and finding empty shelves in the cosmetics section is no longer surprising. What was once an almost automatic purchase—gel, deodorant, a basic cream—has transformed into a treasure hunt driven by social media: 3.50 euro products They sell out, they are recommended as if they were high-end and They generate videos with millions of views. It does not happen in a specialized perfumery or in Sephora, but between preparations and delicatessen. In the last year and a half, the white label Deliplus has gone from being a functional and cheap option to becoming one of the great engines of skincare in Spain. And not only because of price. What is happening in the aisles of Mercadona is the visible symptom of something deeper: a change in the way of consuming beauty, in the perception of luxury and in the growing—and now structural—influence of Korean cosmetics. Before the Korean aesthetic became explicit in its launches, Mercadona had already been training its consumers in a different logic for some time. In the last two years, Deliplus has intensified its presence with products that go far beyond basic care: serums with promises botox-likepatches, facial treatments, perfumes inspired by great houses and cosmetics designed to function as dupes of the high range. The strategy is to detect trends, replicate them quickly and place them in an everyday and massive environment, where the low price reduces the perceived purchase risk to almost zero. The result is not only sales volume, but a cultural phenomenon: the supermarket cosmetics aisle converted into a new aspirational showcase. Trying stops being a thoughtful decision and becomes an impulsive gesture. It is on this basis – a brand already accustomed to virality, to dupe and immediate consumption—where the codes of Korean cosmetics fit with special ease. The settlement of K-Beauty Korean cosmetics, known as K-Beautyhas not prevailed only for its products, but for a combination of industry, culture and digital marketing that has been going on for more than a decade expanding outside of South Korea. In economic terms, Korea has established itself as one of the great cosmetic powers in the world. since last year compete directly with historical giants like France or the United States. The K-Beauty It has ceased to be a niche fashion and has become a structural force in the global market, with a presence in pharmacies, department stores and European supermarkets. But its success goes beyond the numbers. Korea has been able to sell a specific idea of ​​beauty: compared to the traditional Western approach, which is more corrective and focused on treating visible problems, Korean cosmetics has built his story around prevention, care of the skin barrier and consistency from an early age. It is not about covering up imperfections, but rather preventing them from appearing. Hence aspirational concepts like the glass skin: luminous, uniform and healthy skin. This approach fits especially well into the logic of the algorithm. Step-by-step routines, visual formats, assets with recognizable names and photogenic results turn the K-beauty in perfect content for TikTok and Instagram. Added to this is the cultural weight of Hallyu u “Korean wave”: music, series and aesthetics that reinforce the association between Korea and cosmetic innovation. Mercadona does not adopt this philosophy in all its complexity, but it does translate its codes to European mass consumption: sticksessences, “all-in-one” products, language of star assets and visible promises in a short time. Koreanness works here as a cultural shortcut: it evokes care, modernity and efficiency without needing to explain the entire system behind it. One of the clearest examples is the Facial Clean detox & illuminating stick facial mask, which costs 3.50 euros. As explained Trendsit is a stick mask—very common in Asian cosmetics—whose format and message of quick results explain a good part of its success. However, compared to the narrative of “it works for everyone”, the first crack appears when the dermatological criterion comes into play. “There are no miracle creams”: the warning that does not go viral The dermatologist Almudena Nuño, who we have interviewedmakes it clear from the beginning: there are no universal or miraculous products. “The same cosmetic can be wonderful for one person and disastrous for another,” he explains. The difference is not in the price or the virality, but in the type of skin, in habits and in the rest of the products that are being used. In the specific case of this type of masks with clays, Nuño emphasizes that they can work well on combination or oily skin because they help absorb sebum and mattify, but they can be irritating on sensitive skin or skin with previous pathology. “When you see completely opposite opinions – some love it and others it destroys their skin – it is not because the product is good or bad, but because it is being used without criteria.” For the dermatologist, this is one of the big problems of the skincare viral: the promise of an immediate result detached from the context of use. The stick mask is no exception. In recent months, Mercadona has launched facial essences, hydrating mists, products with hyaluronic acid microcapsules and cosmetics that are deliberately placed in concrete steps of the Korean routine —after the toner and before the serum—. They are no longer just selling a cream: they are selling a way to take care of your skin. The problem, according to Nuño, is that they try to replicate a complete ritual with one or two products. “Korean cosmetics work because they are accompanied by habits: strict sun protection, consistency from an early age, careful diet, medical treatments when necessary. Here we want the result without everything else.” However, this phenomenon cannot be understood without the economic and cultural context. Mercadona has perfected what has been called the luxury of hallway: products reminiscent in texture, packaging or effect to high-end cosmetics—Lancôme, Dior, Shiseido—eliminating the price barrier. You don’t just buy a functional product; you buy the feeling of participating in a global trend. This … Read more

For thousands of years, human beings have avoided crossing the Taklamakan Desert. Now China is raising fish there

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For more than 1,500 years, the merchants who traveled the Silk Road dared with oceans, mountains and jungles, they dared with endless walks, with warlords, with hunger and pain and the cold; with one of the most destructive epidemics in history; but they did not dare with the Taklamakan. That sand hell (whose name comes from the word ugiur for “abandon, leave alone, leave behind”) is not only the second largest dune desert in the world, but it moved, invaded and devoured everything around it. It’s been a nightmare for thousands of years. Well, now, China is farming fish right there. As? As it sounds, Xinjiang has been committed to producing fish and seafood “in the middle of the desert” for years. And no, obviously, it has nothing to do with “releasing fish in the sand” as if it were worms from Arrakis. The key is saline-alkaline water, lined ponds and recirculation techniques. It is not a revolutionary approach (already We have talked about similar techniques), but without a doubt Chinese producers are taking it to another level. Xinjiang aquaculture production was 196,500 tons in 2024. And, of course, the “desert seafood” boom raises questions about water, energy and scalability. From the promise of fresh fish… We are talking about a very harsh physical context (annual rainfall of less than 100 mm, very high evaporation and salinized soils): thus, the entire Tarim sub-basin depends on melting snow to provide water. Therefore, on the table, there are two clear approaches: the first, which has become popular in the Westtalks about the construction of monitored ponds. And this is already, in itself, very effective: “species such as grouper, mullet, shrimp, oysters and pearl musselsyes reach commercial size with survival rates close to 99%”, always according to the available data. But that’s just the beginning; just a proof of concept. …to the promise of mar. As explained by several chinese mediathe final horizon of the project is much more ambitious: creating a sea in the middle of the desert. That is, take advantage of the water associated with saline-alkaline soils and saline lakes to simulate marine conditions with technical adjustments, circulation systems and cultivation of microorganisms. And thus be able to breed species normally linked to the sea. But can that be done? Of course you can. We have the technology to do it. In a world where aquaculture already exceeds extractive fishing in volume, the interesting question is not that: the question is whether the model is scalable without aggravating tensions over water in a hyper-arid region dependent on snowmelt. What the industry that sees tons of fish emerging from the desert is asking is something even more basic: is it possible that the beginning of the end of commercial fishing is beginning? Image | On Magnet | China is exporting millions of shrimp with antibiotics to the world. And they could end up on your table

The war already lasts longer than the Soviet fight against Hitler

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On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa with almost four million soldiers and thousands of tanks, opening the largest front in history. In just a few months the Red Army lost millions of men, but that war would end up becoming in a total pulse: factories dismantled and moved to the east, entire cities converted into fortresses and a mobilization so enormous that even today it remains the central axis of Russian memory. The invasion of Ukraine has just surpassed the Soviet fight against Hitler in days. A historic threshold. Yes, the war in Ukraine reached a milestone as symbolic as it was grim on January 11, 2026: 1,418 days of combat since the Russian invasion, then exactly the same duration as the Red Army’s fight against Nazi Germany in the so-called Great Patriotic Warfrom June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. The comparison is devastating by contrast and propaganda, because the operation that the Kremlin sold as quick and surgical has ended up fitting into the schedule of the greatest existential war of Soviet history. And it also does so with an ironic twist that weighs tons: then the USSR was fighting against invaders who reached the gates of Moscow, and now Moscow is the invader, and after almost four years it still has not closed the conflict or translated it into a clear victory. A war of attrition. Far from a rapid campaign, the conflict has become a slow crushermore similar to a war of positions than to the decisive offensives of the 20th century. Russia occupies about a quarter of Ukraine, but its advance is described as progress at a snail’s pacepaying each kilometer with time, lives and ammunition. In that sense, there is an image especially revealing: After years of fighting, Russian forces are further from kyiv than in the first weeks of the invasion, when the initial blow seemed destined to topple the Ukrainian government. The war, even with external attempts of negotiation, does not give clear signs of closure, and each month that passes reinforces the idea that Moscow underestimated Ukraine, overestimated its own performance and entered a field where attrition rules more than maneuver. Panzer III marching towards Voknavolok on 1 July 1941 Russia and its tradition of wars. Russian history is plagued by conflict prolonged and campaigns that lasted much longer than expected, almost as if duration were a structural constant of their way of waging war. There are examples that draw a pattern: an endless war in the Caucasus that lasted for more than a century, or a chain of wars with the Ottoman Empire that spanned centuries and reordered borders and loyalties in the Black Sea and eastern Europe. Even when Russia sought “quick solutions,” the result was often the opposite: unexpected defeats, victories very expensive or bogged down that forced them to sustain the effort for years. In that sense, Ukraine would not be an anomaly, but rather another confirmation that the “short hit” in Russia is often more a political wish than a military reality. When losing is very expensive. Furthermore, Russian defeats are not measured only in territories or casualties, but in political earthquakes. The war against japan in 1904-1905 not only meant a military coup and the humiliation of a European power defeated by an Asian rival, but also fueled an internal crisis that led to the revolution of 1905exposing incompetence, eroding morale and opening the door to a decade of instability that would end exploding in 1917. The idea is clear: when the war drags on, the defeat becomes visible and the State loses its aura of control, the damage filters inward. The country does not need to collapse immediately, it is enough for legitimacy to crack and fear to become in everyday wear. Afghanistan as a warning. The most modern parallelism It’s Afghanistan: a Soviet intervention designed to sustain an allied regime that ended devouring resources for more than nine years. It was not only a military defeat against insurgents, it was an economic and moral drain thatthat accelerated the decline of an already rigid, inefficient and stagnant system. The 1989 withdrawal It left a demoralized army and a tired society, and the impact was so profound that it became one of the wounds that preceded to the Soviet collapse. That memory works as a warning because it shows that, in Russia, a long war can survive on the front while rotting inside, leaving a bill that is paid years later. Ukraine and the weakening. The war in Ukraine may not cause an immediate collapse of the Russian state, but it will aims to subdue him to continuous pressure on the economy, industry, army and social fabric. Even if there is no revolution, attrition operates like acid: it erodes capabilities, pushes to improvise solutions, exhausts reserves and reduces room for maneuver for other challenges. The Russian death toll (more than 156,000) illustrates the magnitude of the cost, higher than the total for Afghanistan despite having been sold as something quick and controllable. And although those losses do not come close to the demographic horror of the Great Patriotic Warare enough for the war to stop being an episode and become a structural wound. Blow to prestige. Beyond the battlefield, the invasion has also damaged Moscow’s image as a global supplier of weapons and as a military power. They remembered in Forbes the sharp drop in its exports and a symbolic change: France overtaking Russia as the second largest arms exporter in the world, something unthinkable recently. Also the decline of emblematic programs due to cost and performance, such as the T-14 Armataand the Su-57 casea fifth-generation fighter that fails to attract buyers and whose actual operational presence seems limited. Contrasted with this is the industrial and export success of the F-35, which has become Allies and partners standardwhich accentuates the feeling that Russia not only wears itself out fighting, but also emerges from the war with less technological brilliance and less … Read more

His most iconic novels and how to read them

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Paul Auster is one of the most influential writers in contemporary literature, with works translated into more than forty languages. Despite his fame, delving into his work can be difficult given how precise and refined his prose is. To avoid unnecessary frustrations with Auster, we have prepared a reading guide for you: a tour in 10 easy steps so as not to miss any of the author’s key works. Where to start reading Paul Auster Born into a middle-class Jewish family, Auster studied French, Italian, and English literature at Columbia University before settling in Paris for three years, where he worked as a translator of Mallarmé, Sartre, and Simenon. His arrival on the American literary scene in the eighties was a breath of fresh air for a narrative that needed renewal: his work, impregnated with influences from the old continent, fused the best of North American and European traditions. His narrative universe, characterized by the exploration of chance, identity and metafiction, established a unique style that has inspired countless writers in aspects such as fiction that contaminates reality. To delve into his work, the ideal path begins with ‘The New York Trilogy’. This volume not only established him internationally, but also reinvented the detective genre with metafictional games, characters that unfold, and investigations that become existential searches. From there, two possibilities open up. On the one hand, the path of autobiography, with works such as ‘The Invention of Solitude’, written after the death of his father. On the other hand, Auster continues to explore the possibilities of pure narrative, with works such as the contemporary serial ‘The Moon Palace’ or ‘Leviathan’, a political reflection on the ravages of Vietnam on an entire generation. Finally we will stop at the ambitious ‘4 3 2 1’, which narrates four parallel lives of the same protagonist. The best novels by Paul Auster, in order 1. The New York Trilogy (1987) Consecrating work published between 1985 and 1987, which includes ‘Crystal City’, ‘Ghosts’ and ‘The Locked Room’, and which launched Auster to international recognition and marked a new starting point for the North American novel. Postmodern reinvention of the police genre where detective investigations are transformed into existential inquiries about identity, language and reality. In ‘City of Glass’, a crime novel writer named Daniel Quinn receives a wrong call that confuses him with a detective named Paul Auster, which leads him to accept the case and meet the real Auster, who is a writer, not a detective. ‘Ghosts’ presents a private detective named Blue watching a man called Black on behalf of White, in a claustrophobic urban universe where the watcher and the watched write identical reports sitting face to face, questioning who is watching whom and who is writing the other’s life. ‘The Closed Room’ closes the trilogy with the disappearance of a writer modeled after Auster himself, whose life, work and wife are inherited by the narrator, which makes him explore whether living the life of another corrodes to the point of destruction. Three seemingly independent stories that are interconnected with cross references. The New York Trilogy (Formentor Library) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 2. The invention of solitude (1982) After that first instruction manual of the Austerian universe, we delve into the emotional engine of his work. Written after his father’s death, he explains why narrative games are not exercises, but rather tools for processing trauma. It is divided into two complementary texts that make up an autobiographical exploration of fatherhood, memory and loneliness. ‘Portrait of an invisible man’ is based on the impact of the news of the father’s death and the act of confronting the objects of the deceased to reconstruct a father who was absent even in life, including the reconstruction of a crime. In ‘The Book of Memory’ he distances himself from the initial grief and links reflections on his role as a son with his own early fatherhood. An unclassifiable text that establishes the emotional foundations of his later work. The invention of solitude (Formentor Library) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 3. The Palace of the Moon (1989) After ‘The New York Trilogy’, Auster tackled this contemporary serial about paternity and imposture. It established Auster in Europe and for many it is his masterpiece because of how it grabs the resources of the nineteenth-century adventure novel and makes them his own. Marco Stanley Fogg (Marco Polo + the journalist who found Livingstone + Phileas Fogg from ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’) is an orphan who is left destitute after the death of his uncle. He will end up working for an old paralyzed painter, for whom he writes a biography for the son he never met. The novel is structured in a network of metaphors about the moon and light, in a journey of self-discovery full of stories within stories. The Palace of the Moon: 185 (Panorama of narratives) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 4. Leviathan (1992) Auster’s most political novel is a reflection on the broken dreams of the Vietnam generation. The narrative begins at its end: in 1990, a man has a bomb explode in his hand and fly into pieces, an anonymous dead man that the FBI cannot identify. A writer suspects that it is his missing best friend, and decides to write his biography before the official story does so. The subject of the book is another writer, a conscientious objector imprisoned during Vietnam, the author of a youth novel that briefly turned him into a cult author, and also a possible murderer and urban terrorist who blew up replicas of the Statue of Liberty. Leviathan: 283 (Panorama of narratives) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 5. The Music of Chance (1990) One of Auster’s most absorbing works, about destiny and freedom, which begins as a purely American road novel and mutates into Gothic literature. A Boston firefighter is abandoned by … Read more

This is the impressive interactive map to see the Earth in 4K live from space and monitor satellites

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Cartographically speaking, our planet is fascinating: its evolution over time, what it’s really like taking into account the precision of physics and of course, per se: the mountain ranges, the irregularities of the coasts, the tectonic plates… all of that looks great from space. And be careful, because the space that surrounds the Earth It is full of satellites: only Starlink ones around 15,000 units. But satellites allow us to have a fabulous view of the earth. And in fact, some of the main space projects that monitor the Earth have their recordings open, without going any further, what the International Space Station “sees” either NASA events They are available to anyone. The problem is that not everyone knows it, nor do the tools shine for having a clear and intuitive interface. So to someone who loves astronomy it occurred to him to create it to follow from satellites to shooting stars or racing cars. SatellitesArg Although you can see the Earth from space live and in 4K without doing anything, it is worth setting your location for a more personalized and precise experience of everything it offers. From here, there are several ways to select a satellite to follow, some as intuitive as tapping on “Satellites” and selecting from the list (there are some as popular as Starlink or BlueWalker 3) to see, for example, the ISS live camera. However, you can also save them to your favorites. Another interesting option is “Visible Passage”, which is what happens when a satellite crosses the sky illuminated by the Sun while it is night in your location. To do this, simply select a specific satellite, open it on the map and click “Visible path”. Within “Best steps” those satellites that will be highest and brightest in the coming days are shown. Likewise, there are filters to, for example, see only the steps at dawn or dusk. The “Radar” option is used to locate a specific satellite, something especially interesting if done from a mobilesince with the help of the compass you can hunt it at some point in the sky. You can also view those that are nearby, use augmented reality to superimpose the trajectory using your phone’s camera. Although you can see in real time, you can also go back to monitor past trajectories and have access to astronomical events, the phases of the moon and even have a map of the stars in the sky. But even if you don’t take advantage of all those functions, the option to see the Earth in real time in 4K by tapping on “ISS Live Camera” It is simply spectacular. In Xataka | This map shows what the Earth will be like in 250 million years. If it comes true, Spain will be very lucky In Xataka | The Earth has moons that we don’t know about: exploring them is key to revealing the secrets of our solar system

do not pick up calls from numbers I do not know

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The phone rings, you look at the screen and pick it up thinking “who is it?” or worse yet “let’s see if it’s the electrician.” What you receive on the other side is a recorded voiceover, silence for response or perhaps a person willing to sell you something you don’t need. You hang up. Nothing would happen if it weren’t for the fact that the same thing happened to you the day before yesterday. And last week. So one day I made a decision: I would only take the call if I knew who was on the other end. For great evils, great remedies. This decision came after years of enduring unwanted calls and trying everything. Yes, I’m in the Robinson list and I also signed up for the list Stop Advertising the same day I discovered its existence. For trying, let it not be. The problem is that although they work, They are not infallible: If the company that is going to launch the advertising campaign in question doesn’t even look at it, you’re in the clear. Or if you hire a third party that uses unreliable databases. Or if directly, they don’t care: these lists are subscription services to which the company may not be signed up because it costs them to assume the risk. But there is already legislation against spam. Have them, haylas and without going any further, now there are prefixes that serve as an alert or established schedules. However, the reality is that although you may receive some less, you continue to receive them because well, once the law is done, the trap is done: many companies find loopholes through which to sneak in, some as simple as outsource the service to a foreign companywhere state law does not apply. Or that the service in question is considered “of public interest.” Or because you have unsubscribed and they can pick you up. Or the most common and that falls on the consumer’s side: because we have authorized it at some point. That damn check you marked without reading. Yes, it is true that technically you could dedicate yourself to searching and searching among the services you have contracted to deactivate that option (without going any further, I did it with Vodafone and Penélope Seguros), but it involves thinking about what services you have, going to the apps, searching through the menus and marking while crossing your fingers so that you don’t leave anything out. Deactivating that option in Vodafone, the telecom company of which I am a customer Bombing and security. It is true that taking a call in isolation is not that big of a deal. It is not the first time that the typical demoscopy service has called me and I spend a quarter of an hour answering. The problem is when a company calls you several times in a short period of time. And not just one company, because this siege operation can be followed by several corporations. They call, you answer and another operator from the same company calls again to offer the same thing a few days later. But there are two potential cases that are worse: that you answer “yes”, that short and innocent word is recorded and then it is used to sign you up for services, such as the police warned a couple of years ago. Given this possibility, you can consider the option of remaining silent, but not even then: if a telemarketing company uses auto dialing softwarewhen you pick up the system, it registers the answered call event and your number is marked in its database as active, as told by cybersecurity expert and head of Cybersecurity at GMV Paula González in Damn. Isn’t it killing flies with cannon shots? Maybe when faced with this decision not to answer calls from unknown numbers, someone will throw their hands up thinking about the calls you miss: that call from the doctor, the electrician who never arrives, or from a delivery person. The reality is that it has not come alone: ​​Google It has a great call filter. on Android and in my case, as an iPhone user, I have found my best ally in the live voicemail function of iOS 26 with the option to request a reason. When a call comes in from an unknown number, the phone asks you to explain the reason for the call from the beginning. And here it depends on who is calling: when the call is blatant spam, they usually don’t leave a message and if they do, they will never receive my response. If you have any interest (for example a delivery person), leave me a message. Being a live mailbox, I can even pick up the call instantly, when the call is no longer unknown. In Xataka | Apple introduced the SPAM call filter as the star feature of iOS 26. It took me a week to deactivate it In Xataka | If you are tired of receiving spam calls every day, good news: MasOrange is tired too Cover | Ivan Linares

China has a solution that only takes 0.1 seconds

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In the age of electricity, time is no longer measured in minutes, but in milliseconds. As Fatih Birol explainsexecutive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world has fully entered a new era where electricity consumption grows twice as fast as general energy demand. However, this advance has an “Achilles heel”: network stability. Renewable energy, although necessary, is inherently unstable. The great fear of operators is that a small failure in a network saturated with solar and wind energy will cause a domino effect that ends in a total collapse. Faced with this scenario, China has deployed technology capable of detecting, isolating and recovering the network from a failure in just 0.1 seconds. From hours of darkness to the blink of an eye. Historically, managing power grid failures was a slow and manual process. As a South China Morning Post report recallsrestoring power after a community blackout typically required between 6 and 10 hours of work. That year, China already marked a milestone by testing an artificial intelligence system that reduced that time to 3 seconds. However, that is no longer enough. The recent achievement of 100 milliseconds (0.1 seconds) It is the result of a collaboration of more than a decade between elite universities (Tianjin and Shandong), the state corporation State Grid and automation specialists such as Beijing Sifang Automation. This technology is not only faster, but is capable of identifying “micro-currents” of just 100 milliamps, almost invisible faults that previously went unnoticed until it was too late. “Self-healing” versus intermittency. The fundamental problem, detailed in the study published in Energy Informaticsis that modern networks are much more complex. The massive incorporation of renewables and extreme weather conditions make traditional diagnostic methods based on static rules fail due to lack of precision and adaptability. This advancement means that the Chinese power grid —the largest in the worldwith projected consumption in 2025 of more than 10 billion kWh—is moving from a reactive system to a “self-healing” one (self-healing). This capability is so strategic that China already has exported the technology to 12 nationsconsolidating its influence not only as a panel manufacturer, but as the architect of global electrical safety. The algorithms behind the miracle. To understand how this speed is achieved, we must look at academic study by Qi Guo and his team. The system is supported by a dual structure of intelligent algorithms: Fault Location Algorithm (FLA): Uses a fault classifier Support Vector Machine (SVM) with a radial basis function (RBF) kernel. This “brain” analyzes variables such as voltage, line impedance and weather conditions to predict with 92% accuracy where exactly the problem has occurred. Fault Isolation Algorithm (FIA): Once the critical point is located, a decision tree logic comes into play that evaluates the severity. According to the research, if the fault is critical (such as a short circuit near a substation), the system orders the immediate isolation of that section and redirects the energy along alternative routes almost instantly. This hybrid approach allows the system to learn from historical data and adapt to dynamic conditions, something that conventional distance protection systems simply cannot do as effectively. The new geopolitical battlefield. The energy transition not only redefines how energy is produced, but also who controls the rules of the new industrial system. While the West focuses its response on ensuring the supply of critical minerals through initiatives such as ReSourceEU, China advances in less visible terrain but more decisive: the standardization, digitalization and integration of the infrastructures that will sustain the low-carbon economy. Rather than competing for resources, the dispute revolves around who designs the technological architecture on which global growth will function. The ability to recover a network in 0.1 seconds is not just a technical record; It is the life insurance of a highly electrified economy. The greatest current risk is that this clash of strategies between powers ends slowing decarbonization. However, in the race for stability, China has shown that while the rest of the world continues to search for the switch in the dark, they have already designed a system that never lets the light go out. Image | Unsplash Xataka | China dominates the world of renewable energy, but it has an Achilles heel: it depends on the West more than it admits

The big problem with lithium ion batteries is their degradation over time. A chemical adjustment can change it

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It doesn’t matter if it’s a mobile phone, a laptop, the Nintendo Switch or a Dyson: as you use it, the battery life will reduce. Yes, lithium ion batteries they have changed the world and for years they have been the absolute standard in consumer electronics, but degradation over time is their endemic evil. While we look for alternatives To this technology, a research team has found a promising solution in a seemingly simple chemical tweak. The advance. The main idea of ​​this research is not to change the main materials of the battery, but simply to add a small amount of an additive: lithium difluorophosphate. Its existence is not new, but this research led by Professor Chunsheng Wang of the University of Maryland reveals how effective it is in stabilizing batteries. Why is it important. Because lithium ion batteries are present everywhere and this modification would extend their useful life using standard, low-cost chemistry. The result of their experiment is that with this additive, batteries can be optimized to maximize power and energy, or to achieve greater useful life and stability. For practical purposes, the study shows how with this adjustment they maintained a significantly higher capacity after hundreds of charge and discharge cycles. As Wang explains.“It is a relatively simple modification of current batteries.” Or what is the same, after having run security tests and long cycles, “it could realistically reach consumers.” Brief notes on the mechanism of a battery. Lithium ion batteries are made up of a negative anode and a positive cathode and have a porous separator between the two. The assembly is immersed in an electrolyte whose mission is to allow lithium ions to move between electrodes during charging and discharging. With the discharge, the anode releases electrons to the electrical circuit (gives electricity to the device) and ions to the electrolyte, meeting again at the cathode. Upon charging, an external source (the charger) reverses the process by “pumping” the ions back to the anode to store the energy in the chemical structure. The degradation of its capacity with use occurs due to the irreversible loss of lithium in secondary chemical reactions and due to mechanical fatigue of the electrodes. Basic diagram of the operation of a lithium ion battery. Walter Davison. Via: Wikimedia In detail. If we delve a little deeper into the previous explanation, the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) appears, a thin layer that forms on the anode during the first charges. In standard batteries, this layer is fragile and breaks down with use, consuming lithium and reducing battery life. Through a simple reaction inspired by organic chemistry, this additive makes the electrolyte more prone to accepting electrons, making degradation more controlled. In short, it helps to form a more robust, elastic and uniform SEI, thus acting as a kind of shield that prevents the electrolyte from reacting parasitically with the electrodes. In addition, it is a flexible chemistry that can be adjusted to be more or less protective and the presence of the additive minimizes the presence of cracks in the cathode. In Xataka | They have found a way to turn tall buildings into batteries. And that makes Benidorm our best asset In Xataka | China sold cheap batteries for years. The problem is that in the meantime no one built an alternative Cover | John Cameron

Wind turbines planted in the middle of the ocean were a maintenance challenge. Until the scanner drone appeared

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Until very recently, performing a “health check” on an offshore wind turbine was a complex, slow and, above all, expensive logistical process. The industry standard dictated that to inspect the blades, the turbines had to come to a complete stop while specialized technicians traveled by boat to perform manual inspections. This practice represents a direct interruption in the generation of clean energy and loss of income for operators. However, this scenario has changed thanks to Danish startup Quali Drone, which has successfully completed the first contactless drone inspection of a fully operational offshore wind turbine. The landmark in the Baltic Sea. The setting for this advance has been the Rødsand 2 offshore wind farm, operated by RWE since 2010 off the coast of Denmark. There, the AQUADA-GO project team showed that it is possible for a large drone to fly autonomously at a short distance from the blades while they rotate at high speed. As detailed by RWEthe solution has gone from a laboratory experiment to an operational concept successfully demonstrated in real offshore conditions. “We have shown that it is possible to inspect offshore wind turbines with a drone equipped with a visual camera while the turbine is operational,” says Jesper Smit, CEO of Quali Drone. More in depth. To operate in the hostile conditions of the sea, no conventional equipment has been used. The drone is an advanced hardware platform designed for high-precision missions. State-of-the-art sensors: The drone is equipped with high-resolution cameras, infrared thermography and artificial vision systems. Autonomy and precision: It uses mission planning software and an online data infrastructure that allows the drone to track the movement of the blades autonomously. Digital Twins: The technology employs “Digital Twins” to document errors and ensure reports meet industry standards. Subsurface Inspection: Unlike traditional optical methods, this system can scan the internal layers to find damage that is not visible from the outside. Beyond the drone: what the human eye cannot see. The drone is not limited to taking photographs; It is an advanced diagnostic platform. As Xiao Chen explainsassociate professor at DTU (Technical University of Denmark), have developed artificial intelligence models that use algorithms deep learning to identify anomalies. This “digital brain” is capable of detecting everything from surface erosion to internal structural fractures through the use of thermography. Additionally, the AI ​​model learns with every flight: each inspection feeds the system with new data, making it smarter and more accurate each time it is deployed at a wind farm. A paradigm shift. This breakthrough is not just a technical feat; It has profound economic and environmental implications. According to Energy Cluster Denmarkthe impact of the AQUADA-GO project is summarized in compelling figures: Cost reduction: Savings in inspections of at least 50% are estimated in the future. Energy efficiency: By not stopping the turbines, green electricity production is maximized and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is reduced by 2% to 3%. Safety and Climate: The risk for workers is reduced by avoiding the deployment of ships and technicians at height, also cutting CO₂ emissions associated with maintenance by between 30% and 50%. Economic driver: This technology is expected to generate between 33 and 55 new full-time jobs and increase the revenue of the companies involved by up to 230 million Danish crowns after commercialization. Towards a smart wind industry. What started as scientific research in Denmark is today a “market-ready commercial solution”, in the words of Jesper Smit. The ability to monitor blade health continuously and without interruption could be the missing piece to make offshore wind energy even more competitive and safer. Image | RWE Xataka | Northern Europe has launched itself into offshore wind. The problem is that there are countries that ‘thieve’ wind

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