Mobile Tech & Gadgets

The startup that capitalizes our fear of an invisible enemy

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The places where we can find microplastics grow as time passes. We have already detected them in Testicles, lettuce, at seathe breast milk either even in the air. Taking advantage of this growing concern for this pollutant, there is a London company that is selling an ‘innovative’ therapy: clean the blood of microplastics in exchange for a payment of 11,500 euros the session. It is not yet known if microplastics are in the blood. Today, microplastics have been found in many parts of our body, but the fact that they are circulating in the blood is something that today is not serious for our health. Although companies have seen the opportunity to create a great business around health and this pollutant. A luxury treatment in the heart of London. In the prestigious Harley Street, known for its private clinics and its wealthy clientele, between 10 and 15 people a week they sit on a comfortable armchair to undergo the treatment of the company Clarify Clinics. The procedure, which lasts about two hours, resembles a dialysis session. Although previously we have to pay 9,750 pounds, which would be around 11,500 euros. Something that the big stars pay such as Orlando Bloom. A cannula extract the patient’s blood and introduces it into a machine that separates the plasma from red blood cells. This plasma passes through a filter designed to catch microplastics and other pollutants such as perfluoroalized and polyfluoralized substances. Once the blood is ‘clean’, the plasma is recombine with blood cells and reintroduced into the body. So comfortable that you can work during therapy. In his attempt to attract more and more patients, CEO of Clarify Clinic points out that it is a “very comfortable” technique According to Wired. So comfortable is that he acknowledges that patients make calls, gather by zoom or even watch a movie while their blood is cleaned. Indicated for patients with nonspecific symptoms. According to the company itself, customers who go to their clinic share chronic fatigue or ‘mental fog’. Although the clinic also promotes its treatments for people who take medications to lose weight such as Ozempic, couples seeking to conceive or those concerned about dementia. The result is always the same: they come out as new. Science is not clear. The scientific community has shown that microplastics are literally surrounding us. But there is no evidence of its effects on the body. WHO itselfin a report published in 2019, he concluded that there is still not enough evidence to determine if they suppose a risk to human health. We do not know if they are safe, but we also do not know the risks they could raise to create specific therapies to ‘detoxify ourselves’. If we go to the website of this clinicthe truth is that available from a section called ‘Science’. But upon entering it offers many data, but few references (if not any) of research that speak of the effects on the health of microplastics. They are limited to what we know: their presence in numerous places. But, on the other hand, they point out that they eliminate all the effects of this pollutant. More research is still needed. Although some studies have found worrying correlations, causality remains very elusive. A 2022 review associated microplastics with damage to human cells in the laboratory, but did not examine health results in living people. More recently, In a study Published in the prestigious magazine New England He found that people with microplastics in the fatty plaque of their carotid arteries had a higher risk of heart attack and cardiovascular accident. However, the study was observational and could not prove that microplastics will cause That greatest risk. There could be other factors: patients with microplastics in their arteries were also more likely to be men, smokers and to have pre -existing cardiovascular diseases. A anecdotal -based therapy. Although the evidence is very small, the CEO of Clarify Clinics sells its therapy as a miraculous thanks to the effects it has on its patients. It points to the fact that higher levels of energy or better sleep are reported, and even herself monitors her dream with The oura ring And he assures that after the treatment, his sleep score has not dropped from 90, when before 70 was a good result for her. Biohacking for rich: a booming trend. Microplastic blood cleaning joins a growing list of high -coastal treatments and with doubtful scientific evidence. From the injections of stem cells in Bahamasuntil Receive a child’s plasma injection To stay young. And in many cases these treatments have a common goal: to stay young. And for this there are many people who They can invest millions of dollars in therapies. Our obsession with this objective makes even investigations are pointing to medications that reverse human agingalthough without thinking about the consequences you have. Images | Flyd Ozkan Guner In Xataka | Telling what worries the AI was just the first step: there are already bots that are passed through collegiate psychiatrists

See exclusively a masterful movie lesson that lasts six hours

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Fast, think a current actor to whom you could hang the Sambenito of “too much passion for his.” Tom Cruise, right? He makes his own risk stounts, co -produces everything he stars in, he actively intervenes in the creation and design of multiple aspects of his films … already the one that is neglected, plugs you a master class on video of six hours about “how a movie is made.” Friends forever. Apparently, Glen Powell, co -star of ‘Top Gun: Maverick‘It’s now Very friend of Tom Cruise. There is nothing strange: the aura that this actor gives Sydney Sweeney) It has a lot to do with the one Cruise owned when it was something younger. It is in this context when it arose, In the middle of an interviewRevelation: When Intimas with Cruise, he sends you to school. A designed by the superstar itself. Six master class hours. Cruise sent Powell to a Los Angeles cinema who had emptied only for his friend, and there the surprised actor met a masterful film class: how the movies work, how they are made, all the knowledge and experience that Cruise had accumulated in decades of profession at six hours. At first, Poiwell believed that he was going to see a projection for several people and that he was one more guest. But he found himself alone in the room. Pure Tom. It is complicated to imagine something more Tom Cruise than a six -hour video of the star, to the cloths of youth enthusiasm, telling you all about the cinema. Thing that he can do, because as Powell says, “in what I feel that we are twin souls is that he is obsessed with the movies. That was our way of communicating in the set. The uncle knew all the departments, he could interact without problems with everyone, be kind and respectful, and communicate his vision.” Therefore, according to Powell, the video consisted of Cruise looking at the camera, showing the utillería of a filming and saying things like “Do we all agree that this is what a camera is? This is the difference between a movie camera and a digital camera …” And of tip, aviation. But that’s not all, that six hours give for a long way. For some reason, Cruise thinks that piloting planes is essential to make movies, and the video includes a good part of his knowledge as a pilot. Again according to Powell: “The funniest part is the one that is about flying, it is as if I had mounted a whole flight school. So literally, he says in the video: ‘Ok, this is what a plane is. This is how things fly. This is how air pressure works …’” Bumper with Tom. This enthusiasm for the cinema is unheard of, but it is the image that Cruise has been elaborating little by little, chiseling a very peculiar public image. His extraordinary discipline, ethics of work and physical capacity, which allow him risky action scenes without double or tricks, surprise his more than 60 years. Train seven days a week and exceeds physical and mental limits at each premierehas done more than 500 parachute jumps And authenticity is An absolute challenge for him. With someone like that, absolutely unusual in the industry, recording a six -hour video with everything you know about cinema is a joke. In Xataka | The new ‘mission movie: impossible’ is practically science fiction. And explain why the franchise is still alive

It is to “eat” your bacteria

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Every time you go to the beach or walk under an intense sun, the skin starts a complex chain of reactions on its surface. You can think automatically In vitamin D and in the burnsbut at the microscopic level a fascinating ‘battle’ is fought where bacteria that cover the skin have a leading role. And what they do is surprising: literally, they “eat” one of the most negative effects of the sun, altering the way our body responds to it. The sun is a threat to the immune system. To understand this story, you must first know that the sun does not only bronze. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) acts as a powerful ‘switch’ for the immune system. When UV rays affect the skin, it converts a very abundant molecule called urocanic acid In its ‘twin’, cis-urocanic acid. This new molecule, the CIS-UA, has a very clear mission: to be a powerful Immunosuppressive. It is as if it disarms the ‘defenses’ in the skin so that they do not react to the presence of the sun. As a positive point, it allows us to use the UV light phototherapy to calm inflammatory diseases such as dermatitis. But it also has a negative point, since not having the defenses ‘on alert’ can hinder the elimination of sun damaged cells that in the long term they can in the long term evolve to skin cancer. Bacteria again demonstrate their importance. A published study by the magazine Journal of Investigative Dermatology It has given light to why the immunosuppressive effect of CIS-UA in a real environment was not always as powerful as expected in the laboratory. The answer to this dilemma was in the billions of microorganisms that inhabit the skin: the Microbioma. In a series of animal experiments, the researchers saw that when exposing the skin to UC radiation, the population of certain bacteria (especially the Staphylococcus epidermidis) He shot. And it wasn’t a coincidence. This bacterium It has an enzyme of the catalase type that functions as a perfect ‘crusher’ to eliminate the CIS-UA. In essence, while the sun produces this immunosuppressive molecule, the bacteria of our skin use it as a source of food, limiting its amount and, therefore, its effect on our defenses. They demonstrated it by eliminating bacteria. To give more validity to the theory presented, the researchers disinfected the skin of the mice to eliminate their microbiome. When exposing them to UV light, the immunosuppressive effect shot. Without bacteria that end the CIS-UA, the molecule could continue ‘silence’ to the skin defenses and give rise to having a greater probability of cancer. But when they only left the bacteria on the skin Staphylococcus epidermidis The defenses were not depressed. This was a great proof that the bacteria and its enzyme were responsible for regulating the effect of the sun on the skin. A door to sun’s sun’s sun. These discoveries are not only to satisfy scientific curiosity, but opens the door to new medical and cosmetic applications. For patients with psoriasis or atopic dermatitis, a simple step such as disinfecting the skin before applying UV light therapy can greatly enhance its effectiveness by suppressing skin defenses. For the day to day, we are interested in otherwise: limit immunosuppression to maintain active defenses in the skin against the damage that prolonged exposure to the sun can do. The creams of the future could not only block UV rays, but also include ‘probiotics’ or ingredients that feed these beneficial bacteria. We would be in this way by promoting our natural defenses instead of depending solely chemicals. Although for now the sun cream is still essential. Bacteria are one of us. Although bacteria are almost always related to a pathology, the reality is that There are about 100 billion microorganisms in the body (ten times more than cells). And the reality is that they do important functions such as in the human microbiota, whose alteration has been related With serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s wave depression. Now we see a new beneficial function of the bacteria that live with us, and that are more allied than enemies. That is why the investigation is pointing out that A healthier chocolate must focus on probiotics or that one of the most famous diets such as intermittent fasting It has positive effects In our health, But also negative. This makes your research right now in the priority of numerous groups and very diverse disciplines. Images | CDC Morgan Alley In Xataka | Science has solved one of the strangest mysteries of the human species: the people who do not like music

A simple gene can send a divine punishment to the snails: turn them into “left -handed”

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It is estimated that Something more than 10% of the world population is left. Today, this does not usually involve greater inconveniences, but there are animals that have a more problematic asymmetry: snails. Left -handed snails. Most snails share the direction in which their snail draws its spiral characteristic that revolves in the direction of the clock needles. But there is a very small population of snails whose shells develop in reverse. The reason It seems to be In a small genetic variation. The snails that develop their shell symmetrically to the rest are usually called them as “left -handed snails”, but if we had to look for a more precise human analogue we tended to go to the condition to which which We call SITUS INVERSUS. People with this condition, also of genetic origin, develop one or more organs on the “incorrect” side, for example they can have the heart to the right and the liver to the left. This condition occurs in around one person in 10,000 and rarely generates disorders, but in the case of these mollusks, the investment of their snail can cause problems, for example, making it difficult to reproduce these animals. A vital gene. Understanding the genetics responsible for change in these animals is important since it can give us clues about the evolution that was modeling the different genera and gastropod species. According to Explain the team Responsible for discovering the main gene involved in this differentiation, throughout the evolution, these changes resulted in the appearance of new species, something striking when it comes to mutations that hinder reproduction. Laboratory snails. The team conducted its study with a variant of snails of the species Bradybaena Similaris. The variant has the characteristic of presenting a high prevalence of “left -handed” snails, almost half of the specimens are born with this characteristic. The team compared the genes of the mice born with shells that turned to either side. They discovered that the main difference was in a gene, Diaph, but not in the gene itself but in its expression. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Zoological Letters. Jeremy’s curious case. Perhaps the most famous snail to present this anomaly was a British snail nicknamed Jeremy in honor of politician Jeremy Corbyn, the leftist politician who was twice a candidate for prime minister in the United Kingdom. Jeremy was the protagonist of another investigation whose results postulated an alternative hypothesis to genetics based. The team responsible for the study concluded, after gathering numerous specimens such as Jeremy so that they could reproduce between them, that the change obeyed external forcesnot by genetic inheritance but for accidents in development. The study, Posted in 2020 In the magazine Biology Lettersreminds us that we will still have to investigate these mollusks, their genetics and their development, if we want to know exactly what phenomenon is behind this unique characteristic of a small amount of snails and, above all, of its implications. In Xataka | They identify the smallest land snail species: Round 0.5 mm high and its discoverers needed brushes and microscope Image | Angus Davison

In 2015 Scotland launched a route to revitalize highlands through tourism. Ten years later they have a problem

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The story dates back to 2015. Those who know the details that with the support of the then Prince Carlos already through the North Highland Initiativean ambitious project was launched to economically reactivate remote highlands from northern Scotland. To that route the They called North Coast 500but they did not measure the impact it was going to have an “old acquaintance”. The birth of myth. He project A very clear lines had a decade ago. On the basis of existing roads, a circular route of 830 kilometers with start and end in Inverness, conceived as a Scottish version of the mythical American Route 66 Route. The promise It was double: To energize the economy of small forgotten locations and offer the traveler an unforgettable experience between castles, abrupt coasts and virgin landscapes. In their early years, the numbers confirmed success: a 26% increase in visits to tourist information centers and up to 30% in local attractions. In 2018, a study calculated that the route generated more than 22 million pounds per year For the region. That comes tourism … mass. Success, however, brought consequences unwanted. The massive arrival of caravans, motorhomes, sports cars and motorcycles overflowed precarious roads and little prepared peoples, turning them into a sound hell. What was initially presented as an economic impulse ended up being perceived by many residents such as An invasion: Prairies razed by barbecues, paths turned into improvised toilets and fragile ecosystems, such as the habitats of Atlantic Frailecillos, disturbed by reckless tourists. The route Untenable. The lack of basic infrastructure (parking lots, toilets, wastewater discharge points) derived from garbage spills and human waste in private properties and in constant interference in those fragile habitats such as those of the frailecillos. The accidents increasedaggravated by visitors little accustomed to a single lane roads or to the fact of driving on the left. In fact, the official data They show a rebound of serious collisions caused by American tourists. Meanwhile, the mythical port of Bealach Mountain Na Bàwith its curves closed to more than 600 meters high, it became a dangerous funny for Motorhomes oversized. The massive tourism paradox. The prosperity provided by the NC500 is unquestionable: thousands of Linked jobs to tourism and the rescue of rural business that would otherwise have disappeared. Accommodation owners recognize that without the route their companies would not have survived, especially after the pandemic. But that economic bonanza lives with the perception of an authentic “Seasonal invader” that alters the rhythm of life of the communities. Daily coexistence with caravans parked in the windows of the houses, rallies at high speed or campists carving trees to make fire has fed an increasing discomfort, channeled in Facebook groups such as NC500 The Dirty Truth. For many, the brand has become Hostage of large companies that explode it without responsible for cultural and environmental damages. Local and future responses. The situation has led to the NC500 already appears on the blacklist of Fodor’s Travel destinations, which He advises it for “unsustainable popularity.” Given this, authorities and promoters try to recover balance with campaigns Like Press Pausewhich seeks that the communities themselves decide how to promote their territory, and with the hiring of rangers that patrol and educate tourists. The company NC500 LTD. has introduced In addition a “traveler commitment” on its website, with More than 4,000 signaturesto promote environmental and social respect. However, the background It is complex: How to make the appeal of a route that has placed north of Scotland on the world map with the need to preserve its identity, its nature and the daily life of its inhabitants? The Highlands dilemma. If you want too, The NC500 Encarna a global dilemma which we have spoken a lot: the tension between the economic benefit of mass tourism and the erosion of what makes it desirable. In this case, the risk is that the “last wild border” of Scotland becomes a saturated showcase, unable to support either its visitors or its communities. For some stores, the answer goes through Limit the flow of tourists and reinforce infrastructure. For others, for accepting that the Highlands culture It will inevitably change under the weight of international tourism. Between the enthusiasm of the business and the frustration of the residents, the NC500 remains an uncomfortable mirror: a dream of rural development that threatens to destroy what made it possible, the majestic serenity of some lands that everyone now wants to travel. Yeah William Wallace looked up would not give credit. Image | Fabian to Scherschel, Lauren Friedman, ThincatNC500 The Dirty Truth In Xataka | After expanding throughout the planet, touristification has reached Antarctica. And it is already taking its toll In Xataka | Decades ago the cities of Europe joined to capture tourists. Today they allied to the opposite: throw them out

Ryanair is abandoning small airports in France. There is an unexpected beneficiary: a Spanish airline

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France is the queen of world tourism. Spain is close, but the neighboring country moved In 2024 almost 90 million visitors. A good part of them depend on the plane to arrive, and the problem is that they will soon pay more money to leave. The reason? A “solidarity tax”. And Ryanair has not been funny. So little that will leave some routes in winter. On the other side of the door, ready to collect the witness, was a Spanish airline. Volotea. Taxes. The trigger is the TSBA. This is the abbreviation of ‘Taxe de Solidarité Sur Les Billets d’Avion’, a tax applied in France to the tickets. It is the French authorities that set the amount of tax with the aim of financing international aid programs or to promote ecological measures. A few months ago, that tax experienced an increase of 180% and, although It depends on the flightdistance and plane, in a Economic flight Within France or Europe, the rate went from 2.66 euros to 9.5 euros. Other countries have other rates and in Spain, for example, there is one that applies to the use of infrastructure, security, shipping and other services that will rise about 68 cents per passenger as of March 1, 2026. It is a 6.5%rise, much lower than French. But well, as we say, Italy, Germany or Netherlands also have their rates. Leave. Ryanair comes into play here. The airline, the largest in Europe by fleet, considers that they are excessive and threatened to state that the increase will make many routes unfeasible. In a nutshell: trips to regional airports to small and medium -sized cities will not be so profitable by reducing the margins of these Airlines ‘Low Cost’ and, therefore, it would cease to make sense to keep them. And so it has been. As we read in Radar TravelRyanair will completely retire from Strasbourg, Brive-La-Gaillarde and Bergerac airports from this winter. In total, it will cut 25 routes and 750,000 seats on those dates, reducing its operations in France by 13%. Proper names. The consequences are devastating for the affected cities: Brive loses routes such as London-Stansted. Strasbourg loses links with Porto and Agadir. Bergerac will lose 33% of the activity, which can even touch the airport. They are the most affected, but other larger airports such as those of Toulouse, Marseille or Beauvais in Paris will also have activity cuts. “Unless the government eliminates this unfair air tax, Ryanair’s capacity and investment in France will inevitably redirect to more competitive European markets such as Sweden, Hungary or part of Italy, where governments are eliminating air taxes to stimulate traffic, tourism, employment and economic recovery,” Comment The CCO of Ryanair, Jason McGuinness. Volotea. This decision has resonated at the Volotea offices, a low -cost Spanish airline that bases its business on connecting small and medium -sized cities in Europe. They are those that do not usually cover the big companies, with 420 Routes in 2025reaching up to 100 cities in 18 European countries. Two names that we have already commented and that covers volotea are those of Marseille and Toulouse. And, how we read in Hosteltur And that Volotea itself collects in its press section, the withdrawal of Ryanair leaves room for the Spanish to stay with the connections of Strasbourg with Agadir (Morocco) and Porto, with the intention of creating 70 jobs to operate. “I don’t want money”. Thus, from this new pulse of Ryanair to the authorities of a country, the Spanish company benefits. And it is a sum and continues in a particular battle that Ryanair undertakes when the margins are at stake, such as when the controversial CEO of the company, Michael O’Learyconfirmed that aspires that passengers fly without suitcaseseven when of the 13,400 million euros that entered 2024, 4,299 million come from Extras how to fly with a cabin suitcase or choose a seat. Images | CJP24 In Xataka | The great secret of Ryanair’s success is that he does not earn money to fly: he does so squeezing you in everything else

There was a lot of money at stake

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A few years ago we talked about the “Fasters“, that group of people who did not conceive of their favorite series to less than 1.5x. The same with the podcasts or the audiobooks. At that time, they were the exception, and when asked about social networks, people would be surprised and horrified at the possibility of enjoying the culture in that way. Today things have changed, and being “faster” becomes quite common: according to a survey of The Economist and Yougov31% of Americans between 18 and 29 years listen to audios for more than 1x. The greats of the Internet have made it very easy to accelerate everything. YouTube, Spotify or Netflix are Internet giants that They only do not compete against their direct competitorscompete against everything And all looking for one thing: Our sustained attention. They want us to spend more and more time on the platform, not only to prevent us from going to the competition, but because they loyalty more and generate more advertising income per user. In the case of Spotify, for example, earn more money when we reproduce podcasts (and it is common to accelerate them) that when we listen to music, because they save rights to pay the recordings. On YouTube the logic is similar: if we accelerate reproduction, we can consume more content at the same time. Thus the part is understood the success of rapid consumption of content: these companies and others not only implemented the speed of accelerating reproduction where before it was not so common (outside the audio), but they put the function almost at the level of relevance of pausar or advance reproduction. Thus, YouTube offers to tricks such as leaving the video clustered on mobile or on the web so that reproduction goes from 1x to 2x automatically. Life at 1x becomes slow. WhatsApp and Telegram know it, and in 2021 they implemented the possibility of Accelerate audios Of our contacts, something that a server values greatly. The feeling with the audios, as one of Your hateorsthere is “there is a lot of detour, pauses, unnecessary repetitions”, and accelerate them to 1.5x offers, in many cases, a more normal cadence of conversation. As in person, with fewer distractions. Personally, all audios are already reproducing them at that speed, and I feel that I do not lose attention, context or data of what my friends and family explain to me. The audios of some slow -speaking people are compatible with climbing 2x, but it is usually not comfortable. Accelerating everything so much has consequences: when listening again at normal speed, there is some feeling that people are “drunk.” This effect is extreme if instead of accelerating we slowly slow down. Fomo as a factor of a huge “savings” of time. To understand the effects of accelerating reproduction in different services it is very useful to remember its official figures. According to YouTube in 2022, its users They saved 900 years of video per day Seeing them faster of their original speed. For Linda Stone, researcher at the Digital Revolution, accelerate everything has to do with the phomothe fear of losing things, not to get to everything. TV, redoubt of respect for creative intention. Of the big platforms (Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and Apple TV+), Netflix is the only one that allows us to accelerate its contents from the official mobile application. The rest, neither in mobiles nor on other platforms, perhaps following The reasons that Netflix alleged Not to offer the function on larger screens: “We have been sensitive to the concerns of the creators and we have avoided including larger screens, especially televisions.” Five years after releasing the mobile adjustment, Netflix still does not allow reproduction on the smart TV. YouTube does not take it that way, and among its adjustments the possibility of Vary the reproduction of 0.25x to 2x for 15 years. Do not destroy my work. The rhythm and assembly are key elements of series and films. That they are slow or fast is not a failure, they are a decision with which they reflect an intention. So the filmmakers consider that accelerating reproduction is something devastating for work. In the face of the joy of the “fasters” for being able to accelerate Netflix and “unnecessarily stretched” series, Peyton Reed (Ant-man) and Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Ambverse) were clearly against implementing functionality, to which Aaron Paul joined, despite having worked with them in ‘The way‘. The effects. The Economist includes the position of different experts and studies regarding the phenomenon. The conclusion of researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada was that consuming content up to 1.5x does not add cognitive differences with respect to doing so at the original speed. Yes, but. However, when we approach or overcome the 2x speed, the thing changes: the responses to the evaluation of students who had seen evidence at this speed were of much worse quality. Taking this into account, the striking thing is that YouTube is already offering the option to reproduce its videos to 4x speed to premium subscription users. The experience of a fan. My partner and editor of Xataka José García acknowledged in a talk among colleagues to have seen ‘One Piece‘At 1.5x speed, “in those scenes that I knew they were important, but in which they also did not contribute to me 10 seconds of intense looks”, while “what I knew was mythical (coffee for coffee growers: episodes 483, chapter 1,000 and 1,076, for example) left it to 1x”. And he did not have the feeling of missing anything with this concrete anime, because “the dialogues are relatively slow and total, I do not understand much Japanese, so with being able to read the subtitles it is worth.” He also points out that something like this was possible at 1.5x, while “A 2x was already another story.” Unlike what can happen to WhatsApp the audios, returning to 1x was satisfactory: “It was weird. He was accustomed to … Read more

Casio knows that his calculators have the lost battle in the West. So you have designed a B: Africa

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In a world dominated by smartphones, where any mobile has a calculator application, it might seem that the days of pocket calculators are counted. However, Casio, the Japanese giant who has been in the business for almost 60 years, has a plan to stay as a relevant company: carry its scientific calculators to the classrooms of developing countries. In search of the ideal countries to continue expanding. Since its first scientific calculator in 1972 was launched, Casio has achieved great achievements such as a reference in the Spanish Meracdo. But now he focuses on eight countries in Asia and Africa, among which are Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladés and the Philippines. The calculator as an infallible ‘antitrampas’ system. The program baptized as ‘Gakuhan’ is not limited to selling calculators only. Casio seeks to promote teaching methods that integrate these devices, pressing so that schools use them in classes and allow their use in exams. The reason is simple: the calculators They have a much less copy risk than smartphoneslacking Internet connection functions. In the case of Spain this is something that we see in the selectivity, for example, where one of the requirements is obviously not having any electronic device on top and Nor any calculator that can transmit information. Although always when you get to Baccalaureate, it is raised The question of which is the best calculator to study. And this is precisely what they sell to the professors of Asia and Africa with a sales manager who has become the official ambassador of this program. The objective of its task is clear: create educational material where the calculator is essential to develop the activity and offer competencies to students. A market in decline, but with a resilient niche. Despite the presence of smartphones, Casio has managed to maintain a stable business with calculators. Although the sales of this device have fallen two thirds from its peak in the last 20 years, the company sold more scientific calculators than basic last year. In fact, it has expanded its range of scientific calculators to 73 models, 40% more than seven years ago, to adapt to the subtle differences of each country. European countries have their ‘antitrampra’ versions. For example, in Germany and France Comas are used instead of points for decimals and the graphic calculators of the United Kingdom They have an “exam mode” that deactivates the functions not allowed. Although the educational technology business of Casio is not as large as that of watches, which generates 60% of total salesit does provide a constant income flow. The company expects Sell 23 million scientific calculators in 202510% more than the previous year. Other products have not had the same fate as calculators. Mobile phones have caused the disappearance of many products or even icons that we had normalized in our society, such as public phones, Pocket cameras or the music players like the walkman either The iPod. In this case they have failed to reinvent themselves to continue advancing with the new advances of society. Others, such as instantaneous cameras, They still have their niche Within lovers of Vintage, Like what happens with vinyl. But in this case the calculators in mobiles, tablets or computers do not seem to end the products dedicated to it. In institutes it remains a practically mandatory product and on which we depend on not making the calculations with a pen and paper such as a simple division. Images | Robert Schneider Aaron Lefler Doug Linstedt In Xataka | Better scientific calculators: which to buy for the institute and the university and eight recommended models from 10 euros

To the big question of whether you can lose weight, science has an answer. And it has everything to do with genetics

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There are multiple reasons to walk, to try to approach that figure (rather symbolic) of the 10,000 daily steps. For many, keeping weight under control is one of the main reasons. In this sense, genetics plays an important role, since some people have greater predisposition to accumulate body mass. We have only a couple of decades learning what are the (diverse) genetic variants that are associated with our ease to increase our weight. Know them, however, the door has opened us To be able to design strategies that bring us closer to our goals When maintaining or reducing our weight, thus minimizing the effort to achieve them. Because each individual is a world and not all bodies react in the same way to certain diets or exercise regimes. This is a breeding ground for failure, since what for a person is a “miraculous” strategy to another can take it to a dead end. A study Published this year made a compilation of the different genetic variants identified to date linked to this ease to lose weight through diets and exercises. The team found 30 genetic markers linked to our body’s response to diets and 24 associated with the exercise. Because LAGENTICS is not an isolated factor: it is not our genes in themselves that make us fat. These are nothing more than a part of a complex system in which they interact with our diet and other life habits. More steps To understand these interactions, A study performed by the American Heart Association analyzed the degree to which walk could reduce the impact of genetics and sedentary life About our body mass index. The analysis, published in 2012, observed that the act of walking could, indeed, counteract our predisposition genetics to gain weight, in front of sedentary habits How to watch television whose effect was the opposite. To carry out the study, the team compiled information on more than 12,000 participants, including information on genetic variants (32 in total) associated with high body mass indices. They estimated that walking at least one hour a day could reduce people’s body mass by about 0.06 kg/m². A more recent study I deepened the matter. The analysis, published this year in the magazine Jama Networkit was raised if people with certain genetic predispositions linked to overweight required specific levels of exercise if they wanted to avoid reaching the limits established in body mass index for obesity. The study It was done With 3,124 adult participants and it was observed that, indeed, people with this genetic predisposition required to walk more in terms of steps given a day than people with less risk associated with their genes. According to the data obtained, people in the high risk of risk should walk about 2,280 more steps That people in the average percentiles, a total of 11,020 steps per day, if they wanted to equate their risk of obesity. Although, as a general rule, controlling our diet is a better tool to lose weight, exercise can help us in our attempts. Exercise is, for example, an ideal tool to avoid recovering the weight we have gained. But exercising is, above all, a way to stay healthy. Active life has very diverse positive impacts on our healthespecially in the field of cardiovascular health. In Xataka | Make cardio or train strength: for science there is no debate about what is the ideal year from 50 Image | Tamar Willoughby *An earlier version of this article was published in August 2024

It has become the Central Bank of the AI

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Nvidia has gone from manufacturing graphics cards for Gamers First and Crypto miners later to become the referee of the technological future. His mastery of the chips market for ia gives him a power that goes beyond the business: he decides who can compete and who not in the AI career. Regulating the flow of critical resources towards companies that need them to survive gives it that capacity, as a kind of Central Technological Bank. The money trail. Nvidia controls more than 80% of the gpus market for AI (some sources They attribute more than 90%), with gross profit margins that They exceed 70%. But true power is not in the numbers, but in the waiting lists. OpenAI, Google, Meta and virtually any company that aspires to compete in the depend on chips H100 and H200 of Nvidia. The waiting time can be one semester and a year. The difference between getting them or does not determine who launches the next revolutionary model and who is left behind. Between bambalins. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, personally manages the most important chip assignments. A simple call of yours can accelerate an order or delay it indefinitely. It is a power that no technological executive had had before. Amazon and Microsoft have tried to develop their own chips to reduce dependence. The results so far are mediocre compared to Nvidia. AMD and Intel They try to gain ground, but they are still behind to train LLMS. China tries to create alternativesbut it’s back behind. Larry Ellison told that he, like Elon Musk and others, “begged” for accessing H100 at a dinner with Huang. Nvidia’s advantage is not just hardware, it is the software ecosystem (CUDA) that has been developing years. The big question. How long will this domain last? The history of technology tells us that no monopoly is eternal. But Nvidia has an advantage: every year that passes, its software ecosystem becomes more difficult to replace. The regulators They begin to pay attentionbut intervening in such a technical and strategic market is complex. And a geopolitical factor comes into play: slowing down Nvidia could mean giving advantage of China in the AI race. And now what. Nvidia continues to increase the distance with its competitors. Its new generation of Blackwell chips promises to be even more powerful. Meanwhile, companies that depend on their products have no choice but to accept their prices. And his times. It is a power comparable to that of a central bank: control the flow of the most valuable resource of the digital economy. The difference is that central banks have supervision and public mandates. Nvidia only responds to your shareholders In Xataka | Intel has a plan to recover his old glory. The problem is that carrying it will not be easy Outstanding image | Xataka

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