Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Europe has found the antidote to Russian drones. So demand for a 100-year-old gun has skyrocketed.

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The war in Ukraine has become an immense laboratory for new war technologies, but it has also reminded us that beyond the sophistication of modern artillery, the experience of the past remains a weapon as powerful as any missile. we have seen optical illusionsthe return of the horses or weapons 1940’s vintage. In fact, Europe is arming itself against Russia’s hybrid war with a 100-year-old weapon. The resurgence of a legend. The war in Ukraine has returned a veteran of more than a century to the front line: the M2 heavy machine gun Browning, symbol of 20th century war engineering and now a key piece in the arsenal of modern armies. Designed in 1921 by John Moses Browning and mass produced during World War II, the M2 (capable of firing .50 caliber projectiles at a rate of up to 600 rounds per minute) has once again proven indispensable, especially on the Ukrainian front, where it is used on civilian trucks to shoot down Russian Shahed drones. Its mechanical simplicity, extreme reliability and devastating power have made it a weapon with no direct substitute, and its use has contributed to a surge in global demand reminiscent of the most intense years of the Cold War. Industrial boom. The rebirth of this icon runs parallel to the FN Browning expansionthe historic Belgian firm that from its headquarters in Herstal manufactures not only the M2, but also the FN MAG and FN Minimi (known in the United States as M240 and M249) along with FN SCAR rifles and ammunition of standard NATO calibers. After decades of relative calm, its production of machine guns has been doubled compared to 2022, and the demand for ammunition has quadrupled. Although the company does not sell directly to Ukraine, its contracts with allies such as the United States, the United Kingdom or France have grown exponentially. France, for example, has recovered thousands of M2s abandoned by US troops in 1945 for FN to modernize and return them to service with “like new” guarantees. The conflict has revived interest not only in new generation weapons, but also in those that have proven to be reliable under any circumstances. Economy of rearmament. The war has awakened a cycle of massive rearmament in Europe, with more than 930,000 million of dollars committed through 2030, and FN Browning has become one of the epicenters of this military reindustrialization. Despite a stable business volume (1.3 billion euros in 2024, after the acquisition of the ammunition producer Sofisport), the company is expanding its workforce and increasing the production of weapons and ammunition by thousands of units annually. The stagnation of its sports division, which flourished during the pandemic, contrasts with the avalanche of state contracts that consolidate its strategic role within the European defense ecosystem. The machine gun market, relegated for years, is experiencing a second youth marked by the urgency of replenishing depleted arsenals after the massive shipment of weapons to Ukraine and the perception of a persistent Russian threat. Classic weapons, modern warfare. The Ukrainian conflict has shown that even in the era of artificial intelligence and drone swarms, classically designed weapons still play a critical role. The M2 they have adapted to unmanned ground platforms and remote stations controlled by AI to improve precision in the fight against drones. F. N. Browning collaborates with technology firms to integrate automatic target recognition systems into their turrets, anticipating a convergence between mechanical tradition and algorithmic warfare. At the same time, European militaries, after decades of disinvestment, are faced with the need to rebuild their heavy fire capabilities from the ground up. From the past to the future. The longevity of the M2 It is a testament not only to its design, but also to a cyclical military reality: modern wars continue to depend on the reliability of steel and gunpowder. From the beaches of Normandy to the fields of Donetsk, this machine gun has accompanied Western armies through a century of changing conflicts, and today it once again symbolizes resistance in the face of technological adversity. For FN Browning, the resurgence of its most emblematic weapon marks not only the most active moment since the end of the Cold War, but also the beginning of a new era in which war tradition and digital innovation march, once again, at the same pace. Image | Wikimedia Cominos In Xataka | Europe has decided to take action against Moscow’s hybrid war. So Germany has started hunting for Russian drones In Xataka | “Why don’t we shoot?”: in the face of Russian drone incursions, Ryanair has its own alternative to the European wall

semiconductor control

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The Dutch government has taken control of Nexperia, a semiconductor company based in the Netherlands but owned by China. To do this, it has used its “Law of Availability of Assets” for the first time. And with this he has made the chip war face a new and tense episode. what has happened. Nexperia is a chip manufacturer that was spun off from the Dutch company NXP Semiconductors. In 2017 Nexperia was acquired for $2.75 billion by a Chinese state-backed consortium, and became majority owned by Chinese technology group Wingtech in 2019. As indicated in Financial Timesthe company has now been unexpectedly seized by the Dutch government, which has alleged “serious deficiencies in governance and actions.” That allows Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans to take de facto control over Nexperia’s operations. Objective, protect Europe’s chips. It is the first time that Holland makes use of its “Law on Availability of Assets.” The economy minister assured that the decision was made due to “a threat to the continuity and safeguarding of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities in Dutch and European territory.” Nexperia produces used chips in the European automobile industry and in consumer electronics. Geopolitical tension. The Dutch government’s intervention in the company has escalated rapidly in recent days. In early October, several court decisions suspended the powers of Nexperia’s Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng. A court later ordered that he be succeeded by a non-Chinese director with decisive voting power, in addition to transferring almost all of the shares to custodial management. Wingtech officials have called the decision an “act of excessive interference driven by geopolitical bias.” It was already on the “entity list”. The United States has already added Wingtech to its particular commercial blacklist —the famous “entity list”— in 2024, accusing it of helping China obtain sensitive semiconductor manufacturing technology. That forced US companies that wanted to work with Wingtech to obtain a specific license, and doing so is not easy. Restrictions on trade even with subsidiaries of companies on that list have become even more complicated a few weeks ago, which made working with Nexperia, a subsidiary of Wingtech, even more problematic. The chip war intensifies. This technological seizure is another clear symptom of the growing geopolitical reconfiguration that we are experiencing in the technological field. We are passing from the era of economic globalization to an era of technological sovereignty and national security. For decades, market efficiency caused companies to seek global ownership and production even in critical sectors such as semiconductors. This decision by the Dutch government once again signals the end of that era of complacency in which if a Chinese company acquired a vital chip company on European soil nothing seemed to happen. Now it happens. The Netherlands had already made things difficult for Beijing. If there is a leading technology company in Europe Nowadays that’s ASML. This semiconductor giant has an effective monopoly on photolithography machines SVU and High aperture SVU. The sanctions of the US and its allies ASML is prevented from selling in China its most advanced lithography equipment. Holland was therefore already one of China’s great “enemies” in this chip war, but the movement with Nexperia goes even further. And meanwhile, rare earths and tariffs. The seizure of Nexperia is the new chapter in this recent escalation of events that was reactivated last week. China imposed new restrictions on rare earth exportwhich caused the US government will increase tariffs by 100% to Chinese imports. Tension is increasing, and the chip war could have enormous consequences for the global economy. We are already seeing it in the stock markets: the announcement of the tariffs caused a notable drop in both the stock markets like in the cryptocurrency market. We will see how this new move by the Dutch government affects these assets. In Xataka | The biggest obstacle preventing China from winning the chip race is called ASML. So they’re trying to copy it

Having many children sounds great as a way to preserve the species. Until you start passing genetic mutations

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Men do not have a limit marked by nature in which a ‘stop’ is applied when it comes to having more offspring (such as if women have), although little by little it is becoming more complicated. But even if there is no such limit choosing to become parents at an older ageis not the most recommended due to the great risks it has, as pointed out a published study in Nature magazine recently. Risk age. The idea that the age of the mother It is a crucial factor for the baby’s health is deeply rooted in the collective consciousness and has been seen to Older age is associated with diseases such as Down syndrome. However, science has been accumulating evidence for years that the father’s age also plays a fundamental role. We already knew that about 80% of new genetic mutations (those not inherited from either parent) come from the paternal germline. What we didn’t know was the magnitude of the mechanism that accelerates it. Selfish sperm. The team of researchers from Wellcome Sanger Institute in the United Kingdomled by Raheleh Rahbari and Matthew Neville, has put a name and surname to the problem: selfish selection of spermatogonia. In simple terms, this means that certain genetic mutations not only alter a gene, but give a competitive advantage to the stem cells that produce sperm (spermatogonia). These mutated cells replicate faster and more efficiently than their healthy counterparts, so they will predominate ahead of the gametes that are suitable. As a result, as the years go by, the percentage of sperm carrying these “selfish” mutations increases exponentially, not linearly, and this results in a man in his early thirties having 1 sperm in every 50 with a disease-causing mutation. But when you reach the age of 70, this figure shoots up to 1 sperm in every 20. How it has been seen. To reach this conclusion, scientists needed highly precise technology, since right now standard sequencing methods have an error rate that can make it difficult to see a specific mutation. This is where a technique called duplex sequencing (NanoSeq). Its operation is very simple, since instead of reading a single strand of DNA, this method reads both strands of the double helix. If a mutation is detected on both strands in exactly the same place, it is virtually impossible for it to be a machine error. It is a real mutation. Thanks to this precision, they were able to analyze more than 35,000 mutations in the sperm of 81 men between 24 and 75 years old. In this case, the results identified more than 40 key genes where these selfish mutations tend to occur. Most are associated with serious neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism itself or even increasing the probability of suffering from cancer throughout the offspring’s life. Genetic sanctuary. Interestingly, the study revealed a surprising fact when comparing the mutations in the sperm with those in the blood cells of the same men. In the blood, the impact of lifestyle was evident: men who smoked, drank alcohol excessively or were obese had a much higher mutation burden. However, no correlation with these factors was found in sperm. The mutations accumulated at a rate eight times slower and seemed immune to the individual’s habits. This suggests that the testicles function as a biological “sanctuary,” a protected niche that the body strives to keep safe from harmful environmental factors. Family planning. Logically, when making the decision to reproduce this changes many things, since to avoid this accumulation of mutations it would be interesting to do it the younger the better. Both in the case of men and women. But the reality we have in our society is that family conciliation has not yet been achieved, and this means that becoming mothers and fathers has to be delayed. In this way, the study points to the possibility of including sperm freezing at an earlier age if considering having children or considering genetic screening techniques for elderly parents. Although all this has a cost behind it. In Xataka | Someone thinks they know why fertility is plummeting around the world: men and women are doing “better” separately

In reality, it hides elevators that take boats up through the heart of a mountain

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Let’s imagine a ship that, instead of descending through locks, rises up a mountain inside a chamber of water. That’s exactly what happens in Goupitana dam in southwest China where the difference in level between the reservoir and the river reaches almost two hundred meters. To overcome this gap, engineers designed three consecutive elevators capable of transporting boats of five hundred tons. It is a system that combines the scale of a hydroelectric dam with the precision of a clock and has once again transformed the Wu River into a continuous navigable waterway after more than twenty years of interruption. For years, the Wu River was a natural highway for Guizhou. From its mountains, barges descended towards the Yangtze loaded with minerals, cement or fertilizers. Everything changed with the construction of large hydroelectric dams in the early 2000s: the reservoirs generated power, but completely cut off shipping. Between 2009 and 2016 there was no continuous navigable passage in Goupitán: the goods had to be unloaded before the damget on trucks, go around the mountain and embark again upriver. That transshipment could take one or two days and cost more than 20,000 yuan per barge, an obstacle that discouraged river transport and made the local economy more expensive. Three elevators, the same river and a mountain in between Goupitan is not one boat lift, but three that work in series to allow the river to become navigable again. Each one overcomes a part of the unevenness and, between them, a connection channel It combines tunnels dug into the mountain and an aqueduct suspended over the valley. According to the Guizhou Department of Transportationthe group forms a route of just over two kilometers where they can operate barges standard five hundred tons. The design distributes the total elevation into three sections, with a fully balanced central level and two submersible-type ends. This system became the first in the world in applying three consecutive elevators within the same project and in achieving an unprecedented single level elevation of 127 m. The investment was around three billion yuan (about 400 million euros), and the infrastructure can move almost three million tons of cargo per year. The operation of Goupitan is based on a principle as simple as it is effective: that of balance. Each ship enters a chamber filled with waterso that the total weight hardly changes when the boat floats inside. This almost constant mass is compensated by counterweights and steel cables that raise and lower the drawer with a precision of centimeters. The first and third elevators are submersible type, with the box that sinks into the water to equalize levels, while the central one uses a fully balanced system, similar to a conventional elevator but on a monumental scale. Electric motors drive the drums that wind the cables, and the entire operation is controlled by sensors that measure tension and position in real time. If they detect a deviation, the system stops immediately. Three years after the hydroelectric dam came into service, navigation works began. For almost ten years, the place was transformed into an engineering laboratory. Navigation tunnels had to be opened under the rock, metal towers had to be erected and the steel caissons had to be assembled by hand inside the valley. In June 2021, a boat five hundred tons completed the journey of the three elevators, marking a milestone. In 2023After the latest inspections, the Ministry of Transportation declared the system operational and handed it over to the provincial authorities for commercial exploitation. Once in service, the system operates as a synchronized chain. The complete transit through the three levels takes approximately 38 minutes, according to official data. The process is automated: sensors, cameras and a central control room manage the gates, water pressure and cable movement. The impact was noticeable from the first day. In November 2021a convoy of fourteen barges carrying seven thousand tons of phosphate completed the journey of the three lifts and marked the official return of navigation on the Wu River after more than twenty years of interruption. Since then, river traffic has established itself as a real alternative to road transport, with lower costs and a much smaller environmental footprint. For Guizhou, a landlocked provincethat difference is strategic. The Wu River connects with the Yangtze and, through it, with the port of Shanghai. The reactivation of traffic makes it possible to export minerals and construction materials directly from the interior and, in turn, receive raw materials without depending on land transportation. Maintenance tasks are constant. Each elevator undergoes daily inspections and more in-depth checks every few weeks. The technicians, for their part, have received specific training to operate the machinery. Keeping such a structure in balance requires the same precision as building it and close operational coordination with the exploitation of the reservoir. Goupitan’s system changed the map of boat lifts. Until its entry into operation, the reference was the elevator the Three Gorges Damwith a difference in altitude of 113 meters. In Europe, the Strépy-Thieuin Belgium, with 73 meters, and the Falkirk Wheel Scottish, a rotating structure of 35. None approaches 199 meters that covers the whole of China nor the 127 of its central section, the highest individual elevation recorded to date. The Goupitan boat lift is nestled in one of the most rugged landscapes in southwest China. The river meanders between forest-covered mountains and villages scattered on the banks. Official photographs taken with drones show the real scale of the complex: three gigantic chambers connected by tunnels and aqueducts, with ships that appear tiny as they ascend. The contrast between industrial precision and the geography of the valley explains part of the visual impact of seeing them in motion. Although its purpose is strictly logistical, The place has attracted the attention of curious people and visitors. From the road that borders the reservoir and the access to the damand get panoramic viewsand media coverage has popularized aerial images of the maneuvers. Images | Guizhou Government In Xataka … Read more

Santa Claus has turned his “neighborhood” into an unbearable theme park

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In December, millions of children – and not so children – they write their letters for Santa Claus and they send them to their house in Lapland. In Lapland there are also people who write their letters, but wishing for something completely different: that tourists stop coming looking for Santa Claus. Because few places reflect so well what causes tourism such as Rovaniemi, the capital of the region. And the locals are fed up. Santa Claus’s city. Lapland is a Finnish region located near the Arctic Circle and its capital, Rovaniemiis a small city of about 65,000 inhabitants. It is surrounded by nature, but what puts it on the map each winter season is the “Santa Claus VillageFounded in 1985, the idea was to imitate something that disney I had been doing quite well for years: monetize the illusion. In fact, the country itself was the one that promoted officially Lapland as the authentic home of Santa Claus. And what was initially a decision to energize an area devastated by the Second World War (in fact, Rovaniemi’s population was residual until the mid-80s), it ended up forming a huge snowball. Burst. HE esteem The Santa Claus Post Office has received more than 15 million letters from 200 countries since it opened in 1985. In the busiest months, they receive 30,000 letters a day. But they don’t just receive letters: they also receive tourists. The “attraction” is open all year round, but it is during the busiest months (as Christmas approaches) when the number of tourists can exceed the local population by ten to one. The busiest day is obviously the 23rd, as tourists want to see Santa Claus leave. And the estimates is that Rovaniemi alone accounts for a third of the benefits of all tourism in Lapland, contributing around 400 million euros to the city. In fact, it is expected to increase by another 200 million annually over the next five years, something that motivates the opening of new hotels and more air connections, even in summer. Doesn’t stop. Because, of course, that number of tourists must sleep somewhere and, although Rovaniemi is not very big and depends on that Christmas tourism, it also seeks to stop being stationary. For example, there is a airport expansion plan for add 1,000 square meters to the terminal, as well as projects to diversify the tourist offer beyond the Christmas season. The plan is to develop adventure and wellness tourism in summer, taking advantage of the fact that they are surrounded by exotic nature and, thus, distribute the flow of visitors throughout the year. To contextualize, esteem that more than 700,000 people visited the region in 2024. They are almost the same as who visited Yucatán at its peak. To the south is Rovaniemi and next to the airport is the village of ‘Santa’ Reviews. And what had to happen happened, something that many other cities around the world are experiencing: a huge influx of tourists that are disturbing the local population. Part of the complaints about this touristification of Lapland They come from those who live all year round in Rovaniemi. Although hotels have been built and more are underway, they are not enough to accommodate so many tourists, so the tourist apartments make their august. This causes a shortage of housing and price increase. They also lament the saturation of local infrastructure during these peak seasons (going to the market on one of those days must be… fun) and something deeper: the loss of cultural identity in the face of excessive commercialization. In fact, in September last year, a group of local activists organized demonstrations demanding measures to prevent uncontrolled tourist growth. The mayor of the city himself recognized that something must be done to find balance, but that the financial gains are there. And both the Finnish Parliament and the Sami themselves they published in 2018 a guide to promote more sustainable and ethical tourism. And nature? Well, there is the other part of the cake and another reason for complaint for the locals. In a report by Guardianthe data of an analysis is presented that shows how, around the most popular tourist spots in Lapland, huge green areas have been developed focused solely on tourism. They include parks, hotels, ski slopes, virtual reality experiences to see the northern lights out of season, and vacation homes. In fact, they estimate that 15% of new urban developments in the region are related to tourism and that, over the past few years, 2.7 million square meters of nature have been consumed in a 10-kilometer radius with Rovaniemi in the center. Half of them are attributed directly to the tourism sector. But tourism is not the only threat. Snowball. In statements to the British media, a pastor from reindeer Sami (the local indigenous community that has been herding reindeer for generations) regrets that there is a set of factors (tourism, mining and logging) that is destroying grazing areas, but it is a situation that is not going to stop, but will increase as if it were a snowball. Taking into account that estimate of adding another $200 million in the short term to annual tourism, the Lapland regional council is already weaving a strategy to “grow resorts until they reach a critical mass in which the conditions for growth are so favorable that they attract more business and vitality to the area.” Meanwhile, environmentalists and locals will continue to wonder what will happen to the cultural heritage of the Sami people when the wave of tourism finishes passing over them. Images | Visit Rovaniemi, Ernmuhl In Xataka | “We do not want to be the Ibiza of the north”: the anti-tourism movement in Cantabria already mobilizes thousands of people

His Porsche 911 discovered it on a 2,000 kilometer trip and the police also discovered it

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In the late 70s and early 80s, Bill Gates was not only known for his talent in programming and for having founded one of the most thriving technology companies, but also for his love for speed and supercars. Especially those of porsche. The problem with driving a supercar is that it is relatively easy to exceed the speed limits. Thanks to this ease of stepping on the accelerator more than necessary, Gates has a strange record: three speeding tickets in a single trip. According what was published by Luxury Launchestwo of them placed by the same police officer who was following him. Release stress at full speed. When Microsoft was still in its infancy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Gates used to drive his Porsche at high speed through the desert after long days of programming. This habit caused him more than one problem with the local police and ended with the now famous photograph of his mugshot in 1977. Although, in his defense, it should be said that this arrest was due to skipping a stop sign and driving without a license to Albuquerque, not for speeding. That reckless behavior behind the wheel caused him all kinds of problems, and ended the patience of everyone around him. As Walter Isaacson said in an interview for Time, Paul Allen, his founding partner at Microsoft, had to bail him out of jail after one of his midnight escapades to drive at full speed on the roads of the New Mexico desert. 2,000 kilometers go a long way. In 1979, Microsoft made the decision to move from Albuquerque to Seattle to establish its headquarters there, so its founders also packed their bags back north. However, Gates decided that, instead of sending his Porsche 911 in a truckit would be a good idea to drive it to Seattle himself. As the millionaire has acknowledged in several interviews, on that trip to Seattle he accumulated up to three “very serious fines for speeding”, two of them from the same agent who, after detecting Gates’ speeding, began to follow him. In this section, the millionaire committed another reckless act, which led to a double fine. “It was a very long trip,” said the millionaire. Gates and his obsession with Porsches. Since started driving – and he could afford it – Gates has been especially attracted to supercars made by Porsche. In 1987, Gates ordered a Porsche 959then considered one of the most advanced supercars in the world, thanks to its biturbo engine, all-wheel drive and pioneering electronics. The car was capable of reaching 317 km/h and only 337 units were manufactured, something that made it a true collector’s item. However, when the car arrived in the United States, it was detained at customs in Seattle because the brand had not passed the safety tests for the US for that imported model. For 13 years, Gates paid a fee of $28 a day to keep the car guarded at the port, which added up to more than $133,000 just to keep it stored until it was passed a law that allowed him to circulate legally. Your Ferrari “Sand Buggy”. In addition to a large collection of Porsches, cars from Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz have also paraded through Gates’ garage. According to what he said Walter Isaacson in his interview with Gates, the most popular of them was a Ferrari 348 that earned the nickname “sand buggy” after Gates got into the sand with it and started drifting with it. In addition to different collector units and 911 variantscurrently the millionaire regularly drives a porsche taycana sports car fully electric with which Gates appears in some shots in his miniseries ‘And now what? The future according to Bill Gates‘. In Xataka | A $700,000 Ferrari F40 spent a decade parked in a Munich garage: its owner had forgotten where he had it Image | Flickr (First Minister of Scotland), Unsplash (Jeff Cooper)

call the only ship that has been repairing them for more than a decade

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That an underwater cable breaks (or someone cut it) can happen anywhere. There is amazing ships dedicated to deployment and repair of this critical infrastructure in our hyperconnected world. However, when it happens in Africa there is only one ship that can answer the call at any time. Is called Leon Thevenin and has been in operation for more than forty years. The ship. As they say in Rest of WorldIn the world there are 62 cable repair ships that are always available, but in Africa there is only one. The Léon Thévenin is part of the fleet of Orange Marinea subsidiary of the French operator Orange, and for thirteen years has been in charge of all repairs from Ghana to Madagascar. It is 107 meters long and the crew that operates it is 60 people. It also features a remote submarine and a small work boat. According to the official ship record, It is capable of making repairs in extreme weather conditions, in both deep and shallow water. African cables. In this map We can see that the continent is surrounded by countless cables that provide connections to both its inhabitants and data centers and ground stations. Among the most notable is the ‘Peace Cable’ connecting Singapore to Kenyathe West African cable system and the Alphabet Equiano that go from Portugal to South Africa. The cable also stands out 2Africa which with its 45,000 kilometers is the longest in the world; It connects from the United Kingdom, goes all the way around the African continent and ends in India. And there are many more. Accidents. Cables deteriorate, they can also be damaged after storms or if a ship drops anchor and drags it. Many times the cuts are intentional, but they usually occur in other places in increased geopolitical tension like Taiwan either the baltic sea. In March 2024, much of the west and center of the continent was left without connection due to simultaneous failures in several cables. The Léon Thévenin was in charge of returning connectivity to millions of people. It has not been the only case. In recent years the ship has been having a lot of work because the Congo Canyona huge underwater canyon that extends 280 kilometers into the Atlantic, is suffering many landslides that have affected several cables. A great responsibility. It is estimated that 99% of the world’s internet traffic travels over submarine cables. If a cable breaks, it can leave millions of people without connectivity. Furthermore, in the age of AI, connectivity is even more important because it connects the infrastructure that makes it work. The price to pay for the Léon Thévenin crew is spending very little time with his family. Sometimes they rest for a month, the problem is that if a breakage occurs they are the only ones who answer the call. Image | Wikipedia In Xataka | The submarine cables belonged to the teleoperators, and now the big technology companies are controlling them

who wants to live like in 1565

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From 1059 to 1901, Basque sailors they launched to the ocean with one goal in mind: hunt whales. Due to the abuse, they killed the whales on the Cantabrian coast and headed for new seas, making enemies like some. Icelanders who could “hunt” Basque sailors. The expansion took them to Canadian waters, where the imposing whale ship San Juan was shipwrecked. Now they are reviving the ship and they need the most important piece to revive the whaler’s voyage. A “motivated” cook who wants to replicate the 16th century voyage in the same conditions as 500 years ago. And with the same menu. The new San Juan. A few years after the arrival of Christopher Columbus To America, the ship San Juan left for the Canadian coast. In the middle of the 16th century, the Basque whaling industry It was a world power with a significant share of the whale blubber and meat market in Europe. The expeditions took them far away, so much so that they had to create settlements and bases like the ones they founded in North America. On one of these expeditions, the San Juan was shipwrecked. It was in 1565 in Red Bay in Canada after a strong storm. In 1970, remains were discovered of the ship and, after the remains of the San Juan were brought to light in 1990, it was recognized by UNESCO as a symbol of underwater cultural heritage. It was in very good condition, which encouraged the Albaola Maritime Factory to build an exact replica of it. The special thing? They only use materials and techniques from the 16th century. The Saint John Handcrafted to the extreme. This ‘whim’ follows a rigorous process in which construction methods from 500 years ago are reproduced, something that is being documented step by step and which is not easy at all. The original San Juan It weighed 200 tons, was 20 meters long, 7.5 meters wide and had a six-meter depth. And they are not only rebuilding it with those measurements, but with the original materials. For example, for the keel, they have carved a 14.5 meter long piece of beech extracted from an eight-ton tree. And for the rest of the structure it has been employee wood from 200 oaks forests of the Navarrese ‘Sakana’. In total, it will also have six kilometers of hemp ropes, hand-forged anchors and 560 square meters of cloth for sails. It is a faithful reproduction, but they also want it to be functional because this new San Juan will once again sail the seas. Vintage wine cellar. The idea is to return to Canada aboard the ship, reproducing the original journey and to do so they will need another vital piece, in this case human: the cook. This search for historical fidelity will ensure that the wineries have the foods of the time such as double-baked bread, dehydrated bread, legumes such as peas and beans, sardines, cod, bacon and oil. It is part of the food they carried, and in large quantities, along with others such as bacon and drinks much more Spanish, and Basque, than the famous rum. There they highlight the cider, txakoli or the came. Why didn’t they carry water? Due to the difficulty of storing and conserving fresh water in good conditions. And, as for quantities, it is estimated that a ship like the San Juan could carry up to 50,000 liters of cider. Top ship chef. And those foods are what the chef who is on board during the “expedition” will have to create the menus with. The Albaola factory itself is the one that will carry out the selection process to find the ideal chef. It won’t be an easy job because there will be no showers as we know them today or toilet paper on board, and nor a huge range of ingredients, but the candidates are already getting into the role. In one demonstrationMichelin-starred chefs have prepared some examples of dishes that sailors might see on the menu. For example, a pea soup with cod, garlic and oil. Also a ‘zurrukutuna‘, which is a traditional Basque soup in which the ingredients are garlic and cod, or ‘soupoko‘, which is a traditional bread from the Basque Country created from leftover dough to create a bread intended for soups. 2027. While they choose a chef, the factory continues working, because on November 7 will be done the launching of the ship after twelve years of construction. Once in the water, the remaining elements will be installed to turn the ship into one worthy of sailing the seas as the original did 500 years ago. And, in 2027, the new San Juan will leave for Canada, recreating that original journey. And he will do it with his sailors and everything, reproducing the medieval way of sailing. Let’s hope that this new ship reaches a better port than the original. Images | Lolabimba, Ksarasola In Xataka | In the 19th century we found 7,000 rivets in a tomb. It turned out to be the largest Viking ship in Norway

The price of silver is exploding to levels not seen since 1980. The reason: we need too much

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The silver has just reached 51 dollars per ouncea level not seen since 1980. The metal is up 75% so far this year, even surpassing the spectacular gold rise. This increase corresponds to the growing industrial demand for said metal, especially in a context in which mining production stagnates and forms an imbalance that puts a price on the shortage. Structural deficit for the fifth consecutive year. The silver market has been in supply deficit for years. Mining production is not growing at the rate that the industry needs, and this gap is reaching historic levels. Metals Focus projects that the 2025 deficit will be 187.6 million ounces, one of the highest figures ever recorded. Therefore, less and less silver is extracted than the world consumes. The technology that devours silver. industrial demand It already represents 59% of total consumption of silver, according to the Silver Institute. Solar panels are behind much of that pressure. And it is that are expected to absorb 195.7 million ounces this year. But it is not the only thing: the semiconductors that shape artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and consumer electronics also pull strongly on this metal. A refuge at a lower cost than gold. Silver also benefits from the drag effect of gold, which just surpassed $4,000 per ounce for the first time in its history. Many investors who see the gold market as too saturated they are looking towards the silver as a more accessible alternative to protect against economic uncertainty, geopolitical instability and the weakening of the dollar. Flows into silver-backed exchange-traded funds have already reached 2025 the highest levels since 2020. The psychological barrier of $50. The silver has never been able to maintain sustainably above $50. Each time it has approached that level (in 1980 and in 2011) it has been followed by deep corrections that have scared away investors. “Psychologically, silver has never gone above $50 and has really stayed there,” explained David Morgan, editor of the Morgan Report, to the specialized media Investing News Network. Morgan calls it “crossing the Rubicon,” a defining moment that could open up uncharted territory for the metal’s price. India strongly joins the demand. Since its regulator approved silver exchange-traded funds in 2021, India has become a key source of new demand. Silver-backed products accounted for 40% of the country’s total retail investment in 2024, and Indian imports are at all-time highs. China, for its part, industrial consumption is increasing for technological installations and solar panels. Two Asian giants pushing demand at the same time. And now what. Morgan don’t wait Silver will shoot up to $70 in the short term, but it will consolidate above $50 if it manages to cross that barrier solidly. HSBC projects that the price could reach $55 in 2026 before retreating in the second half of the year. What seems clear is that, as long as the technology industry continues to need more silver than it can be mined, the pressure on the price is not going to disappear. Cover image | Scottsdale Mint In Xataka | OpenAI is the King Midas of the stock market: everything it touches skyrockets

Houses built on the sea are part of the US identity. Until climate change began to engulf them

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Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, has a problem. The Atlantic is devouring their houses. Literally. For years, the chalets raised on stilts and built on the coast were one of its most emblematic sights, but their privileged position has become a trap as the sea level rises and hurricanes occur like those that hit the area a few days ago. The result: eight houses demolished in record time. What has happened? That hurricanes Humberto and Imelda have left an unusual impression on the Outer Banksthe chain of islands that covers much of the coast of North Carolina, on the Atlantic coast of the United States, where the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Recently the virulence of the waves devastated eight houses of the area, causing them to collapse in a matter of a few days. On Tuesday, September 30, the storm struck five homes in less than an hour in Buxton (Cape Hatteras), the sixth collapsed that same night amid waves of several meters, the seventh suffered a similar fate on the first day of October and the eighth did not last much longer. The buildings were unoccupied. Why is it important? Beyond how shocking it is to see homes swept away by waves, what happened on the North Carolina coast is interesting for several reasons. To begin with, because these are not typical houses. As can be seen in the videos and photos released by C.B.S., AP, BBC either NBC The buildings were houses similar to stilt housessupported on exposed wooden piles. Hence they are a unmistakable piece of the landscape from areas like Rodanthe. Are they the first to fall? No. And that is the second reason why what happened in recent days in the Outer Banks is much more than a curiosity or a misfortune attributable to two virulent hurricanes. A quick search in the newspaper archive arrives to find similar news: two houses on wooden stilts collapsed in September 2024 in Rodanthe, another in November in the same community, another demolished in 2023 precisely because of the threat of the Atlantic waves… the list goes on and on until there are more than a dozen cases. USA Today calculate that since mid-2020, at least twenty houses have been lost throughout the Outer Banks. Very similar data handles Washington Postthat assures that during the last five years 17 buildings have collapsed in Rodanthe and Buxton alone, a list that could soon be expanded, since there are other houses that are also in a precarious situation. “It’s becoming commonplace,” he resigns Rob Young, director of a program focused on coastal studies at Western Carolina University. “It’s not a problem here. There are homes on the verge of collapse in many places.” Why do they fall? In the case of the houses that collapsed in recent days, the final trigger was the Hurricanes Humberto and Imeldabut in reality the problem is broader. Their position, the sandy nature of the terrain but above all the intensification of storms and the rise in sea level caused by climate change is leaving them in a complicated situation. The reason: coastal erosion, a phenomenon that is already is felt in Rodanthe and Buxton. How does it affect them? As I remembered last year in X the architect Pedro Torrijos, the Cape Hatteras It is already such a narrow strip of land that it is difficult not to build near the coast, but in the last 40 years erosion has acted in such a way that today there are houses that have remained practically above the sea. And so it’s a problem. Piles that were once surrounded by dunes are now sometimes covered by the ocean, affecting their foundations. In 2024 the state Department of Environmental Quality published a report which concludes that of almost 8,800 structures built facing the sea in North Carolina, 750 They are in a delicate situation due to erosion. What do the US authorities say? They are aware of the problem, they are controlling the houses that give in and explore solutions“These are typical elevated coastal-style homes, situated on stilts, with a concrete driveway, parking, and septic system. Many private properties adjacent to Rodanthe, which previously contained patio land, dunes, and dry sand, are regularly partially or completely covered with seawater,” the National Park Service acknowledges. “During severe weather events, private homes facing the sea and in vulnerable areas are hit by strong winds and large waves, which has caused homes to collapse in recent years,” recognize the agency, which has counted 21 collapsed houses since 2020 in Seashore. And what is the way out? Good question, difficult answer. There are those who have chosen raise your houses or even move them away to leave them safe from the waves (for now), but it is not a cheap solution and time is against them. Another option is for the authorities to take care of them, although it has its weaknesses: two years ago the Park Service acquired two houses in Rodanthe to demolish them and thus open an area of ​​public access to the beach. They cost him $700,000. Images | Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Flickr) and National Park Service In Xataka | Milton once again puts a big problem on the table: houses on the beach are losing their value due to climate change

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