Mobile Tech & Gadgets

science already knows what happens to your brain

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after one night intense partya phrase that can become common is “yesterday I drank so much that I have blackouts.” For years, popular culture has treated these episodes as the fact that alcohol is a kind of eraser of memories in our brain, but the reality is very different: It’s not that memories are erased, it’s that they never existed.. The notice. Our parents didn’t say it anymore: drinking a lot of alcohol and smoking controversial substances is something that can fry the brain. And they were partly right. different experts point out in connection with research and meta-analysis on alcohol consumption and brain health, which shed light on what exactly happens in our heads when we go too far. A blackout. What we usually call a ‘gap’, memory loss the morning after a drunken night, is technically anterograde amnesia, or blackout. During a blackout a person can continue talking, walking (not always straight) and even having apparently normal conversations, but your brain has stopped transferring information from short-term memory to long-term memory. The person responsible for all this It is in the hippocampus itselfa region of the brain that acts as the logistics center for our memories. They arrive here to be stored in long-term memory, which is what interests us to remember what we did the next morning. A chemical interference. When the blood alcohol concentration begins to rise rapidly, quite significant chemical interference occurs. In this case modulates NMDA and GABA receptors which alters the communication between neurons and interrupts the ‘Long-term empowerment‘ (LTP). The latter is the physical process by which neural connections are strengthened to consolidate a memory. In short: during a heavy drunk, the hippocampus is still on to store memories, but the ‘save button’ is completely switched off. Therefore, the next day no matter how hard we try: there is nothing to recover because nothing was recorded in the hippocampus. They fry the brain. If we recover the idea that our grandmothers and parents transmitted to us about the effect of alcohol on the brain, the reality is that neuroimaging studies show As in chronic users there is significant hippocampal atrophy. This does not mean that memories become like water, but rather that the volume of brain matter is decreased. As brain tissue shrinks due to neuronal and connectivity loss, the empty space is occupied by cerebrospinal fluid. And this can give us the myth that the memory turns into water or black spots appear on the imaging tests when they pass. The effect on young people. In this population it has traditionally been said that they can handle alcohol much better and with several drinks they continue to be in top shape. But scientifically a great paradox occurs: the adolescent and young brain is extremely plastic, which makes it much more vulnerable to external aggressions. This is why binge drinking in developing brains not only causes blackouts more easily, but can also generate persistent changes in brain structure. Science has shown in this case that even moderate consumption (more than 14 units per week) is linked to greater hippocampal atrophy and worse long-term cognitive performance. He doesn’t forget who he is. Excessive alcohol does not cause us to suddenly forget our names, something that would fall squarely into the realm of serious dementia. But what is clear is that the blackouts repeated are an obvious risk marker. Not only because of silent structural damage, but because of behavioral vulnerability: a person who is not creating memories is a person who has lost the ability to learn from the consequences of their actions in real time, drastically increasing the risk of accidents and dangerous decisions. Images | Nate Holland Alyona Yankovska In Xataka | Forgetting things is not a bug, it is a feature of your brain: how not remembering things makes us think better

China has made a decision regarding layoffs justified by AI: they will not be appropriate

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Artificial intelligence is already showing signs of being the most transformative element of the productive fabric since the Industrial Revolution, even more than the arrival of the Internet. This means that its arrival has a direct impact on million jobs that will no longer be necessary or will be changed by others of new creation. This transformation of the labor market will not be something that happens in a few years: AI is already reducing hiring of the youngest and is behind many layoffs. China, one of the main actors in the race for AI, has put a limit on AI: its use will not be a justified reason to fire employees. Limit on layoffs due to AI in China. In a publication The Commission for Arbitration of Labor and Personnel Disputes lays down case law on whether the adoption of AI by companies can be considered a justified reason for dismissing an employee. The decision has its origins in the case of a worker who had been collecting manual data for maps in a technology company since 2009. Last year, the company implemented a system that automated that same task using AI. As a result, the company eliminated his department and fired him for alleged drastic change in working conditions. The arbitration commission ruled that this dismissal was unfair because the deployment of AI is a voluntary business decision to gain competitiveness, and does not represent a justifiable reason under its labor regulations. Therefore, the company had to compensate the employee and was recommended to negotiate contracts or relocate the affected personnel to another position. Chinese labor law leaves no room for AI. In China, the law allows contracts to be terminated only if there is a major objective change that makes it impossible to continue developing that position, such as force majeure or public policy closures. That is, if the collection of this data had been prohibited by law, his dismissal without compensation would be justified, but not for applying business strategies aimed at improving the company’s productivity, such as deploying AI or purchasing new machinery. The arbitration court’s decision recognizes that these technological changes may “lead to adjustments in the employment structure,” but “do not present the characteristics of force majeure and unpredictability required by ‘objective circumstances’.” That is to say, it is legitimate for them to be applied, but companies must assume the payment of severance pay. collected in the Labor Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China, which establishes the payment of one month’s salary per year worked. Social responsibility of AI implementation. Chinese Arbitration Commission ruling recognizes that companies can deploy AI to improve your productivitybut forces them to “simultaneously assume the corresponding social responsibilities, achieving a harmonious balance between the application of technology and the protection of workers’ rights.” The ruling emphasizes that companies cannot let the weight of technological innovation fall on their employees, so, instead of firing them, they must offer training in the new technologies they implement or in new positions to balance technical progress with labor rights. AI claims thousands of jobs in the US. Labor legislation in the US has not been so protectionist with employment. According to a report from the consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas AI has been the reason for the dismissal of 48,414 employees in 2025, with the technology sector being the most affected for this reason, with restructuring due to the integration of AI or by improve efficiency in its development. ​In the United States, most states (except Montanafor example) follow the doctrine of “at-will” employment, which allows tech companies to fire engineers or other employees for any non-illegal reason, including adopting AI to automate tasks. It is not necessary to justify with specific causes as in other countries, as long as there is no discrimination based on race, age or gender. Europe and Spain closer to China’s approach. In Europe, or more specifically in Spain, labor regulations do not contemplate the implementation of new technologies as a valid justification for the dismissal of workers, so they go associated with the payment of compensation for unfair dismissal or the legislation that regulates Employment Regulation Files (ERE) That does not mean that Europe (or Spain) is immune to the impact of AI. In fact, according to what was published for him Financial TimesEuropean banks could eliminate around 200,000 jobs by 2030 due to AI automation and branch closures, equivalent to 10% of the workforce of 35 large entities. In Xataka | We believed that AI was going to retire an entire generation of workers early. The opposite is happening Image | Unsplash (aboodi vesakaran, Arif Riyanto)

Today’s Barcelona game, the African Cup final and more on Movistar Plus for 9.99 euros per month. And without permanence

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Being able to watch all the football in Spain it’s not cheap at all. Those of us who are soccer fans and like to watch games every week (whether our favorite team is playing or not) have a very interesting alternative that has a much more attractive price. We refer to Movistar Plus+a streaming platform that costs 9.99 euros per month (or 99.90 euros per year). And be careful: because it includes much more than the beautiful sport. Monthly subscription to Movistar Plus+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Movistar Plus+ comes with a lot of football this January It is a quite attractive price if we take into account everything it offers. Before that is what we will be able to see in the coming weeks, it is worth noting that it is a platform that we can hire regardless of the operator we are, so we will not have to change companies for it. Besides, has no permanenceso we can try it for a month and if it doesn’t convince us, unsubscribe in a couple of minutes. Let’s assume that we subscribe today, January 15. In that case, the first thing we are going to be able to see is the Copa del Rey round of 16 match against the Racing de Santander and Barcelonarecent champion of the Spanish Super Cup. Is it the only party that broadcasts this platform? Not at all. As a summary, below are some of the most notable matches of the coming days: Third and fourth place in the African Cup (January 17) Betis-Villarreal (January 17) Manchester City-Manchester United (January 17) Africa Cup final (January 18) Galatasaray-Atlético de Madrid (January 21) PAOK-Betis (January 22) Atlético de Madrid-Mallorca (January 25) Arsenal-Manchester United (January 25) Benfica-Real Madrid (January 28) Betis-Valencia (February 1) Beyond football, Movistar Plus+ also has a fairly extensive catalog of high-quality films, series and documentaries where there is a presence of its own productions that we will only be able to see on this platform. If we add to all that that, in addition, we can share it with whoever we wantThe truth is that it is worth giving it a try. Besides, It is the only platform compatible with the Young Cultural Bonus. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Movistar Plus+ In Xataka | The best streaming platforms 2025 | Comparison of Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Movistar Plus+, Filmin, Apple TV, SkyShowtime and Rakuten TV: catalog, functions and prices In Xataka | Mega-guide to set up a home theater: projector, screen, sound system and more

BTS returns after its members have gone through military service. Now the real war begins: get tickets

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After almost four years of silence, the flagship group of the k-pop phenomenon returns. And he does it in a big way: announcing a world tour of unprecedented dimensions that will travel through 34 countries between April 2026 and March 2027. The announcement was made at midnight on January 13 and marks the official return of the South Korean group after complete mandatory military service of all its members, with a new album scheduled for March that will be their first joint work since 2022. A huge tour. The magnitude of the event transcends the merely musical. The tour will begin with multiple dates in Goyang (South Korea) and Tokyo before traveling across all continents, culminating in Manila in March 2027. The group’s website It also anticipates additional dates in Japan, the Middle East “and more regions”, suggesting that the final scale could be even higher than initially announced. A different panorama. The world of Korean pop that welcomes BTS in 2026 has experienced a radical metamorphosis compared to how they left it in 2022. What was then an emerging phenomenon in the West has been established as mainstream global cultural. When BTS momentarily disappeared, a phenomenon like ‘The K-Pop hunters‘, a film that became the most viewed in the history of Netflix and whose soundtrack dominated the sales charts for weeks. Every day we are more. BTS’s competition has intensified dramatically. Groups like Stray Kids have broken multiple records previously held by BTS: with eight consecutive albums debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 (compared to six for BTS), they have become the group with the most number one albums of any band of the 21st century. Seventeen was the best-selling K-Pop artist in 2025 and his world tour generated $142 million. The evolution of the genre has also transcended linguistic and national borders. Katseyethe global group created through a collaboration between Hybe and Geffen Records, represents this new direction: formed after a selection process that attracted 120,000 applicants from around the world, its six members hail from the United States, the Philippines, South Korea and Switzerland. Her repertoire was documented in the Netflix series ‘Pop Academy: KATSEYE’, and her repertoire is mainly composed of songs in English, aimed at the Western market. And let’s not forget that ‘APT.’Blackpink and Bruno Mars’ Rosé’s 2024 hit, was a best-seller with Grammy nominations. How are the sales? The BTS tour comes amid a deeply deteriorated ticket sales outlook. The last three years have shown that the global technological infrastructure for mass events is facing systematic crises. It all started with Taylor Swift’s debacle with Ticketmaster in November 2022, when the pre-sale of ‘The Eras Tour’ collapsed the system: the platform received 3.5 billion requests on the day of the sale, causing millions of users to be expelled with error messages after hours of waiting. The controversy ended up in the US Senate and Live Nation’s monopolistic dominance in the industry was questioned. Dramas in Europe. The Oasis case, in 2024, showed that Europe was not exempt from similar problems. Tickets advertised at 150 pounds escalated to 355 because of dynamic pricing, and he had to intervene on the issue the british competition authority. In Spain, the most notable cases have been those of Rosalía and Bad Bunnyseasoned with presence of banking institutions giving favored treatment to their clients. K-pop, in short, has not been immune: Blackpink had its own difficulties with the topic, and although the random selection system characteristic of K-pop is fairer, it also generates brutal speculative secondary markets. The strategic dimension. Furthermore, the return of BTS transcends the merely artistic to become a corporate rescue operation. Hybe, the group’s parent company, has seen its position shake during the hiatus of its main assets: the controversy with NewJeans, which we already explained hereeroded market confidence, and the reputational scars are on the table. The ensuing legal battle publicly exposed internal tensions over the treatment of artists and corporate practices. The key is BTS. However, BTS has potential that many of the groups that have continued their legacy cannot replicate. To begin with, they arrived first: they were the ones who transformed K-pop from an Asian niche into a global phenomenon mainstream. They are considered pioneers. But in addition, their fan base has matured economically: ARMYs, as they call themselves, who were 16-20 years old in 2018 are now 23-27, with significantly greater purchasing power. A test return. The BTS tour poses a definitive test for the infrastructure of live music in 2026. Will current anti-bot systems be enough to cope with unprecedented demand? The US BOTS Act of 2016 imposes fines of up to $16,000, and The European Union banned ticketing bots in 2019. But there is much more to take into account, such as international coordination that requires synchronizing not only ticketing technology but also radically different laws, with different regulations for secondary markets, for example. A real challenge that will put one of the biggest musical events in the world to the test. In Xataka | The economic phenomenon of BTS is so gigantic that you can now invest in them on the stock market

The problem is how to prove something that is not impossible

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The capture of Nicolás Maduro by the US special forces has generated one of those stories that, due to its form and timing, seem designed to colonize the collective imagination even before a verifiable version of the events can be established. The rumor: Washington has been able to use its own secret weapon from a Marvel movie. It’s not impossible, and that’s the catch. The perfect rumor. We are not talking about something completely new, because this theory already sounded strongly with Washington and Cuba as protagonists years ago. The return of the “sonic weapon” now appears as a perfect story to explain a humiliating defeat. Also to elevate the operation to the category of a technological demonstration: a group of special forces captures Maduro and, according to a guard, leaves the defenders bleeding, dizzy and lying on the ground unable to get up. It is a type of narration that automatically has gone viral because it does not require nuances: it converts a confusing fight in a clear scene of absolute superiority and ends with a deterrent conclusion (“no one should confront the United States”), which is exactly the phrase that an intimidation campaign would want to put in the mouth of the enemy. From TikTok to institutional speaker. The origin of everything is quite flimsy: it appears in a TikTok videoa testimony impossible to verify (an alleged member of the Venezuelan security forces as a witness), then translated and later amplified by commentators with the clear intention of dramatizing it and making it viral. Then something happens that changes everything: the White House spokesperson share it and promote it as required reading. Without confirming anything, this gesture gives it authority and creates the most certain ambiguity: it is not official, but it is no longer a simple hoax, and in that gray area it fuels conversation, fear and propaganda. The Pentagon and SOUTHCOM take shelter in operational securitywhich leaves the ideal void for the myth to grow without the need for evidence. @franklinvarela09 loser of January 23 recognizing the surrender of Diosdado Cabello eschunlo friend s #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound – Varela News What we know about the assault. He described operational framework was already, in itself, that of a high-risk mission with specialized means: nighttime heliborne insertion, armed support helicopters, shooting, American injuries and a high number of casualties on the defending side, including foreign military allies of the regime. With surprise, local air superiority, electronic warfare, cyber support, and precise fire, a defensive collapse can occur without the need for mysterious “lightning strikes.” That is why the rumor that has gone viral is not essential to explain the result: it is, in any case, an embellishment that transforms a complex tactical victory into a fable of technological domination. But there is something else. Technology that exists. What really means that the rumor does not die instantly and that many specialized media have remembered, is that it relies on a real background: Washington takes decades researching non-kinetic capabilities and “less lethal” to incapacitate without killing, from the called Active Denial System (millimeter microwaves that cause severe pain) to long-range acoustic devices LRAD type scope and dazzling lasers to deny vision. It has also been explored combine sensory effects (pain, disorientation, temporary blindness, confusion) to break an adversary’s coordination without resorting to immediate lethal fire. There is no doubt that programs exist of this type does not prove that they were used in Caracas, but it does provide veracity: “it may exist” is enough for the story to survive. A briefing slide from about a decade ago describing the “Non-Lethal Weapons Demonstrators” available to the US military at the time, including the Active Denial System and Acoustic Call-type systems “Sonic” as a label. They remembered in Forbes that sound as a weapon has physical limits and is riddled with historical exaggerations: it is easy to promise “paralysis” or “panic” over frequencies, but much more difficult to demonstrate consistent effects beyond hearing damage or disorientation from extreme volume. Furthermore, the TWZ analysts explained that a witness under stress can describe as a “sound wave” any devastating sensory experience: close explosions, flashbangs, overpressure, daze, and trauma. The language of the victim in this scenario does not identify the mechanism, it only transmits an experience, and that difference is crucial when the story travels through networks as if it were a technical report. An ADS prototype loaded into the back of a heavy truck EPIC, the hypothesis. Forbes too emphasized in a more “coherent” alternative with certain symptoms: EPICa concept that would use radiofrequency pulses to interfere with the inner ear and balance, causing extreme vertigo, inability to stand, and visual disorientation. The idea would be tactical and attractive because, unlike sound, radio waves cross obstacles and may feel like pressure or “popping” in the head as it affects the vestibular system. The problem is that there is no public evidence that this program went beyond early phases nor that it exists as an operational capacity, so here it functions more as a credible anchor than as proof. Havana Syndrome. It we count a few years ago. The debate over anomalous health incidents associated with the so-called Havana Syndrome prepared the ground: there was already a conversation about possible invisible mechanisms (acoustic, radioelectric or other) capable of producing real symptoms without an obvious explosion. The official evaluations have oscillated between skepticism about foreign authorship and the caution of not ruling out that a small number of cases could fit with known scientific principles used for harassment or incapacitation. In this scenario, any “invisible weapon” story is feasible because it leads one to think that the strange is not impossible, just classified. The most plausible explanation. If the strongest hypothesis is to be chosen, it is likely to be a combination of actual combat, explosions, distraction devices, smoke, shock and disorganization, amplified by testimony that has every incentive to exaggerate and convert defeat into technological inevitability. Details like “vomiting blood” or … Read more

AEMET warns that, after the cold, something much more problematic comes

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The Mediterranean asks to speak and the polar jet seems ready to give it all the prominence: if everything goes as planned, after a very cold weekend, What is happening? That the polar jet is contorting again and, this time, it is going to turn so far south that a good part of Spain is going to be in the cold zone. We will change the warm and humid air masses of the Gulf for cold masses that, since they are not arctic, will also have a lot of humidity. For practical purposes, that does not stop the “train of storms” that was affecting us; but its temperature. Therefore, the “storms, fronts, wind and rough seas“will be accompanied, once again, by a drop in temperatures: snow is, in fact, expected in the north of the Sahara. That and a strong storm in the middle of the Mediterranean. But let’s start with the cold. During the weekend (accompanied by that contortion of the jet) orA mass of cold air will invade Spain: Not only will the minimum temperatures drop and frost will return to a large part of the country, but the maximum temperatures will suddenly collapse. The great Mediterranean storm. Although on Saturday the 17th there will be movement in the Gulf of Valencia and the Balearic Sea, the strong will begin on Monday the 19th. That day, the undulation of the polar jet has a good chance of setting up a very powerful cyclogenesis. A cyclogenesis is an intensification of a low and, the Mediterranean knows a lot about that: the arrival of cold air at altitude over a fairly warm sea only needs a good shot of humidity to transform into a very intense storm. These days we will have all the elements on the table. And what can we expect? The models are beginning to converge in a full-fledged winter storm in the Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean coast. Although, as Martín León explains“it could leave abundant rain and snow in medium-high areas in the eastern part of the Peninsula”; The truth is that the position and intensity of the storm is still unclear. And those uncertainties will make the difference between a cold calm or a real winter storm. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | The soils of Spain are already saturated with water. And now a new train of storms threatens something worse

give it a second life on your Smart TV or PC

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Let’s tell you How to give a second life to your old mini or micro systemso that you can reuse it, especially its speakers. Thus, if you have one at home or see one that is quite cheap second-hand, you should know that it may be better for you to reuse it than to buy a sound bar for your TV or speakers for your computer. Let’s start by telling you about the limitations you will have if you want to do this, such as limited audio formats or no network access. Then, we’ll tell you what you’ll need and how to proceed. These are the limitations The first limitation that you are going to find is in some audio formats. If you connect the mini system to a device such as a TV or computer, you can play almost all types of files, although you will not have support for Dolby Digital, DTS or Dolby AtmosFor example. What you will have is support for great audio quality, since the speakers are connected. The other limitation will be in the connectivity that your chain supports. The safest thing, being a few years old, is that you do not have support for USB-C or HDMI, and possibly not WiFi or Bluetooth support either. Mini chains that are a few years old will surely be limited to analog audio inputs by RCA-type coaxial cable, and it probably has two different inputs, one for the left speaker and the other for the right. The speakers you bring may also be connected to the micro system via a specific speaker cable. This is what you can do If your TV has support for RCA coaxial cables, there is no problem, because you just have to connect them to the micro system, and then the speakers to it. But not all TVs have this support, and of course your computer will not have it. For these cases, there are two solutions. The “easy” solution is to opt for a 3.5mm jack cable. Many TVs and some computers may have one of these connectors, the headphone jack for life, and many micro systems may also have an input to use them. Then, on the device you will have the option to output the audio to speakers or headphones. If your chain doesn’t support it, there are 3.5mm jack to RCA cable adapters, another good option. However, the best option is to buy a DACespecially if you want to reuse the mini system on a computer. These are small boxes that are responsible for converting digital audio into analog. This means that you can connect your computer or TV to the DAC via USB, and after the DAC the RCA cables come out. In fact, you can even use DACs as intermediaries for other PC speakers you have, because they usually improve the sound a lot. This is how I told you back in the day when I explained to you how to improve the sound of your computer. The negative part here is that DACs have a cost. I use a Fiio K7 with support for Hi-Res audio, and Its price is about 200 euros. You can also buy others for less than 100 or less than 50 euros in stores like Aliexpres, they will also work for you. There are many models and many prices, and it all depends on the use you want to give it. Some DACs even have Bluetooth support, which will add this connectivity to your micro system. Regardless of the method used, once you have connected your TV or computer to the micro system, then turn it on in the INPUT options choose the auxiliary or the one designated to input sound from another device you have connected. Reusing speakers is not easy Reusing only the speakers of a micro system without the device itself and its electronic part is a little more complicated. This is only possible if the speakers have passive filters for the frequency range already installed inside them. Almost all speakers are two or more ways, with at least one driver for treble and another for bass-midrange. For everything to sound correctly, the speakers need to send the corresponding frequency range to each driver through prior filtering. These filters can be passive with a filter made up of capacitors, resistors and coils, or electronically active. The normal thing is that the technology to be able to do this is within the microchain itselfso separate speakers sometimes won’t do. In Xataka Basics | Improve the sound of your computer: basic tips and what you can do to make music sound better

10,000 steps a day are of no use if they are not done well

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For years, the public health mantra has undoubtedly been focused on something very simple: walking. Anyone with high blood pressurediabetes or any other chronic illness received as a ‘treatment’ by taking a walk with the mantra of 10,000 steps in the background ringing. But the reality is that there are some voices that want to overthrow this concept in a radical way. The criticisms. Felipe Isidro, professor of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, has put his finger on the sore by pointing out that walking is not exercise, but rather it is wander. For this expert, prescribing “walking” to a patient is as useful as telling him to breathe because logically we are walking every day to get from one place to another (unless we are immobilized). And taking less than 120 steps per minute is inefficient. And science is something that is supported in different studiesbecause human biology is extremely efficient: if an effort is not challenging, the body does not invest energy in adapting. This is what science calls “insufficient stimulus.” For example, the LITE studio analyzed people who walked at low intensity and discovered something quite frustrating: in resistance and functional capacity tests, the results of those who walked slowly were practically identical to those in the control group that didn’t do anything. And it makes sense, since for the body that level of activity was background noise, not exercise. It’s literally like you’re wandering around. The x3 rule. If we compare casual walking with moderate or vigorous exercise, the difference is not linear, but rather exponential. According to the data of the Framingham Heart Studyone of the longest-running and most respected analyzes in the world, moderate-high intensity exercise is three times more effective at improving physical fitness than walking at a slow pace. And it makes sense. The metabolic response that our body has means that one minute of vigorous activity can provide the same cardiovascular benefits as six minutes of moderate walking. But in addition, meta-analyses on type 2 diabetes show that interval training (walking fast in sections) lowers blood sugar levels much more aggressively than always walking at the same pace. And although walking more steps reduces overall mortality, the published reviews in The Lancet suggest that maintaining excessively slow paces can increase cardiovascular risks by up to 44% compared to those who push the pace. A lie detector. Where is the scientific border between “walking” and “training”? The technical literature places the turning point in the cadence. For walking to have a real impact on health biomarkers (blood pressure, aerobic capacity, fat composition), studies suggest a range of between 120 and 140 steps per minute. Below that figure, we are in what physiologists call “light physical activity.” This activity is useful for breaking a sedentary lifestyle (and has proven benefits on the mental health and mobility of older people, reducing motor difficulties by 14-16%), but it is insufficient to reverse metabolic problems or improve the cardiorespiratory system in healthy adults. A clear verdict. Science does not say right now that walking is bad, but that what gives a neutral or even harmful effect is doing the basic minimum. This is why total steps are excellent for extending overall longevity and not dying early, but what really protects quality of life is intensity. In short, if the smartwatch on duty indicates that you have taken 10,000 steps, but without your heart knowing, the truth is that you have only been wandering. What should be done is simply accelerate the pace so that our body can react (as long as each person’s limits allow it). Images | Arek Adeoye In Xataka | Walking changes the rules of Alzheimer’s: a few steps a day are enough to stop the spark that ignites the disease

OpenAI’s obsession was to train its models like crazy. Now it’s run them faster than anyone else

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OpenAI has signed an agreement estimated to be worth more than $10 billion with Cerebras Systems, a startup that designs advanced AI chips dedicated to one thing: running AI models as fast as possible. It is a unique alliance not only because of that change of focus, but because there is a conflict of interests. what has happened. The firm led by Sam Altman has committed to purchasing 750 MW of computing capacity over the next three years from Cerebras. Sources cited in The Wall Street Journal indicate that this alliance has an estimated value of more than $10 billion. We are therefore facing an operation extraordinary in size, but peculiar in form and substance. What Cerebras does. The firm based in Sunnyvale, California, was founded in 2015 by former engineers from SeaMicro, purchased in 2012 by AMD. The startup designs artificial intelligence chips specifically aimed at the inference stage of AI models, that is, executing them. More tokens per second please. When we use ChatGPT or any AI model, what we are looking at is an AI model using inference. Some “write” faster than others, and that speed of displaying text in responses is measured in tokens per second. Typically NVIDIA chips are great for the training phase, but not so much for the inference phase. Chips from companies like Cerebras —or those of the well-known Groqwhich has just been “bought” by NVIDIA—are precisely designed to run those models at full speed and obtain very high token per second speeds. The AI ​​is already good. Now she wants to be fast. NVIDIA’s recent “purchase” of Groq makes it clear that Jensen Huang’s company wanted the ability to offer those ultra-fast inference chips, and now OpenAI seems to want something very similar with its deal with Cerebras. AI models have already achieved remarkable performance in many scenarios, and although they are not perfect, now companies want them to not only work well, but also work very very fast and their responses, even if they are long, appear almost instantly. OpenAI wants more computing power. This operation also helps Sam Altman’s company with another objective: to obtain (and reserve) as much computing capacity as possible in anticipation of the fact that demand for these AI models will grow non-stop in the coming months and years. According to WSJ OpenAI already has more than 900 million weekly users, and its managers have frequently commented that they continue to have computing capacity problems. Brains grow. This agreement reinforces Cerebras’ position in a market that clearly demands this type of solutions. The firm is negotiating a $1 billion investment round that would bring its market valuation to $22 billion, tripling the current valuation, which is around $8.1 billion. In the past it has raised $1.8 billion according to PitchBook. Conflict of interest. This agreement also draws attention for an important aspect: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is also an investor in Cerebras (he is at the bottom of this Cerebras website) and indeed your company At one point he considered acquiring Cerebras although in the end that operation did not bear fruit. We are therefore faced with an operation that theoretically benefits Altman on both sides, which is worrying. How will OpenAI pay for this party? This new agreement once again triggers the debate about OpenAI’s ability to meet its credit and debt obligations. In 2025 it generated about 13,000 million dollars in income, but that enormous amount remains minuscule if we take into account that the contracts it signed with OracleMicrosoft or Amazon They amount to about 600,000 million dollars that will have to end up getting from somewhere. Where from? It’s a good question. We’ll see if they can end up answering it. In Xataka | The alliance between Oracle and OpenAI is not just about data centers: it is about overtaking Google, Apple and Microsoft on the right

charge a lot to Big Tech that uses it for AI

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The world’s largest free encyclopedia is celebrating. Wikipedia turns 25, and to commemorate this event they have prepared content and activities for all its users that give context to the beginnings of this non-profit project. However, perhaps the most striking thing about your statement It has to do with the new vision that the Wikimedia Foundation will take from now on: a Wikipedia in the age of AI. For this reason, those responsible for managing this digital library have also revealed that Microsoft, Meta and Amazon joined other Big Tech companies such as Google to be able to use Wikipedia content to train their language models. To do this, companies pay good money to the foundation for having premium access to that content. What is happening. The Wikimedia Foundation has confirmed that Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity and Mistral AI have joined Google as paying customers of Wikimedia Enterprise, a commercial platform launched in 2021. According to Lane Becker, senior director of revenue at the foundation, this initiative offers a version of the Wikipedia API “optimized” for commercial use and AI companies, with functionalities customized according to the needs of each company. Why are they paying? Tech companies rely massively on Wikipedia to train their AI models. 65 million articles in more than 300 languages ​​are essential for chatbots like ChatGPT or virtual assistants. However, Wikipedia says that this use has also increased the maintenance and server costs of the library, whose traditional financing comes from small donations from the public. “Wikipedia is a critical component of the work of these tech companies that need to figure out how to support it financially,” explained Lane Becker told Reuters. In detail. Wikimedia Enterprise is not simply downloading Wikipedia. The platform allows these companies to access content at a volume and speed specifically designed to train large-scale AI models, with structured data formats and custom functionality requests. Microsoft, Perplexity and Mistral AI joined forces over the last year, while Meta and Amazon were already partners although their participation had not been publicly announced until now. Between the lines. It is a financing model with which the Wikimedia Foundation would benefit more, in addition to individual donations. It’s also a change in how Wikipedia sustains its nonprofit mission. For years, the platform has relied on individual donations while large corporations benefited from its knowledge for free. Now, the foundation has found a balance: keeping access free for the general public while monetizing heavy commercial use. “Reaching a new sustainable balance with these new companies is critical for our continued existence, but also for yours,” pointed out Becker to The Verge. Wikipedia in the age of AI. Just like account Foundation, Wikipedia continues to be created and maintained by approximately 250,000 volunteer editors around the world who write, edit and fact-check information for free. Tim Frank, corporate vice president of Microsoft, counted that “together, we are helping to create a sustainable content ecosystem for the AI ​​internet, where contributors are valued.” On the other hand, Selena Deckelmann, Director of Product and Technology at Wikimedia, assured that “Wikipedia proves that knowledge is human and knowledge needs humans. Especially now, in the age of AI, we need Wikipedia’s human-powered knowledge more than ever.” Cover image | Oberon Copeland In Xataka | The Apple Intelligence and Siri disaster has caused something unusual: Apple gives the keys to its kingdom to Google

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