All AI companies promise that the AGI will arrive very soon. The problem is that chatgpt is not the way

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In December 2022 chatgpt He left us speechless to all. However, two and a half years later we have a problem: it does not seem that after all this time I can go to much more. It has improved, yes, but in the meantime we are moving away from the great promise of AI, which is none other than going beyond and that someone manages to reach what is known as the General Artificial Intelligence. And it seems clear that this path, that of Chatgpt, is not the good to get it. Promises, promises. A few months ago Sam Altman called the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and He said that the AGI would arrive before it ended its mandate. It is a message that has been repeating for months, although then spoke of “A few thousand days“Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, believes that It could arrive beforein 2026. Elon Musk – who promised that he would have a totally autonomous Tesla in 2016 – agreed and pointed at 2026 as the year we will have an AGI. All are hypeptimists for a simple reason. Money. Like Altman, all who defend the rise and development of AI and the imminent arrival of the AGI do so to raise more and more money for their companies. We know that developing, training and running models of ia costs true fortunes, but the progress in this field seems to be slowing down. Doubts with climbing. There are many who believe that the current strategy of climbing the models – give more GPUS and get more data to train them – no longer compensates as much as before. The latest versions of the great foundational models exceed their predecessors, yes, but not in a striking way. It’s as if we had touched the roof. This is not the way. And for months the voices of experts have begun to be heard making it clear that other solutions must be sought. Nick Frosst, a student at Geoffrey Hinton and founder of Cohere, is clear that current technology is not enough to reach an AGI. What the generative AI does is “predict the next most likely word”, but that is very different from the way humans think. Lecun believes that we will take a long time to achieve an AGI. Personalities respected in the world of AI such as Yann Lecun, head of the division of AI in the finish line, are clear. Models as chatgpt They will not be able to match human intelligence. Also ensures that achieving a human level AI It will take a long time: Nothing “a few thousand days” as Altman said. And Sutskever coincides. This openai co -founder, is also skeptical with the potential of the generative AI, which according to him It is barely improving. His new startup, Safe Superintelligence, aims to create a superintelligence with “nuclear” securityalthough at the moment there have been no details about the strategy they are following to achieve it. It is not of course the one that followed when it helped create chatgpt. A recent survey to an academic association of experts in this field They thought the same: Three quarters of those who responded do not believe that current methods serve to end up developing an AGI. The generative AI is not a miracle. As they point out In The New York Timeswhat chatbots like chatgpt or other developments in this field is to do one thing very well, “but they are not necessarily better than humans in others.” According to him there is a certain temptation to think of these chatbots as something magical, but “these systems are not a miracle. They are very impressive gadgets.” Chatgpt does not challenge what he knows. Thomas Wolf, co -founder and Chief Science officer of Hugging Face, is clear that the generative AI is very good, but is far from taking us to an AGI. What we have, he explained a few weeks ago, is like “a country full of people who tell us yes to everything.” Chatgpt does not challenge us, but he does not challenge what he knows either. “We need a system that is able to ask yourself things that nobody had thought Or that nobody had dared to ask, “he said. Many challenges ahead. Among the differences between AI and human intelligence is that the latter is linked to the physical world: part of our intelligence is to know when to turn the toast, for example. There are advances in robotics and sensors that can help solve such problems, but this is a good example of how there are still many challenges to overcome to achieve that general artificial intelligence that is supposed to match (or overcome) to human intelligence in all disciplines. And the Ias that reason? The generative AI companies have found a small respite with the modes of reasoning of their chatbots. Here we find a singular advance that allows AI to respond more precisely and detailed thanks to “thinking” their answers and following a process of “reasoning” that tries to imitate the human. However, this does not seem to take us to an AGI, and again these modes of reasoning are rather a way to try that the answers are something better and do not see “hallucinations” by the chatbots. In spite of everything, Chatgpt and its rivals continue to make mistakes in this and the rest of the ways. Odds. On the horizon some possibilities appear. The current approach based on neural networks accompanies the approach of symbolic systems (based on rules) that can help provide elements such as deductive reasoning or abstract knowledge management to current models. It also works on training of models with physically precise virtual environments and in the so -called systems of meta-learningwhich allow to train new neural networks quickly and with a limited data set. But companies need products to sell us. These approaches to the development of new research roads are there, but the problem … Read more

An orbital computing network designed for AI

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Just a few minutes after noon on May 14, a Long March 2D rocket took off from Jiuquan’s launch center with an ambitious objective: to put into orbit the first 12 satellites of the “Three-Body” computer constellation. It is the official beginning of which China presents as the first supercomputing network distributed in space, a movement that marks a before and after in the race to move artificial intelligence beyond traditional data centers. A scale jump: from data centers to space. The constellation, led by Zhejiang Lab and developed in collaboration with the company Guoxing Yuhang (Ada Space), is part of the so -called “Star Computing Plan”. This first mission, called 021, has placed in the same orbit 12 smart satellites with names that honor Chinese cities such as Neijiang, Haikou or Taizhou. Each of them is equipped with an intelligent calculation system and laser connectivity up to 100 GB/s to form an interconnected orbital network. According to the official information published by the Chinese Government and collected by media like Xinhuathese first satellites total a capacity of 5 pops (peta-operations per second) and have in conjunction of 30 TB of storage on board. What are pops? HkexNews explains that 1 pops equals a four -year period (10^15) of operations per second. China’s goal is to deploy a constellation that, According to the information that Spacenews managescould reach 2,800 satellites, with a total capacity of 1,000 POPs. An orbit laboratory. Each satellite has a space computer developed by Zhejiang Lab, with a capacity of up to 744 tops (thera-operations per second) per unit. In addition, they are accompanied by a model of 8,000 million parameters, specially designed to operate directly into orbit. This allows real -time data processing tasks without the need to send all the information to land stations. Use cases: from natural disasters to astronomical science. The satellites They are designed To offer very specific services: Gamma ray detection, generation of 3D digital twins of entire regions, remote observation with processing on board and monitoring of natural phenomena. One of them even includes an x ​​-ray polarimeter Developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Guangxi, designed to detect Gamma explosions and activate in second coordinated observations with other missions. Besides, According to Ada Space herselfthe data collected will also serve for civil applications such as emergencies, immersive video games and smart tourism. A orbital cloud under sovereign control. Behind the deployment there is a geostrategic ambition: build a spatial computing infrastructure under Chinese control that combines global coverage with energy efficiency and low latency. Unlike land data centers, satellites can use solar energy continuously and do not require active cooling systems. What’s coming: more power, more satellites. Ada Space has already confirmed that is working on a second generation of satellites with even more power. The objective is clear: validate the computing architecture distributed in orbit, climb it and turn it into the nucleus of a space cloud capable of operating large -scale AI models without depending on the terrestrial infrastructure. Images | Ada Space In Xataka | We knew that the space spheres were at some point in the universe. We have a new theory about its origin

The remote roads of Teruel are filled with trucks loaded to the top of clay. The reason: Ukraine

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When in de February 2022 The Kremlin troops advanced on Ukraine a complex domino effect was activated that ended up letting himself be felt far beyond the battlefield. The war altered global geopolitics, the Financial systemthe agriculturethe energyhe air transportthe world market … and also (in a turn as unexpected as surprising) The national roads of the Maestrazgo and Bajo Aragón regions, in the province of Teruel. The pumps and bullets fly about 3,000 kilometers away, away from Aragon, but its effect is evident on Turolenses roads. There the war has unleashed an intense heavy traffic that is saturating the roads “Feeling of insecurity”. Aguaviva, more of Las Matas, Castellote, breast, mills and the Parras de Castellote are six municipalities of Teruel that in April They joined forcesnext to the town of Cuevas de Cañart, to send A joint letter to the Government of Aragon and the Provincial Council. In it basically they alerted a problem that worries the residents of the seven territories: in just a few years their roads have been filled with hundreds of trucks, which has generated concern for the security or the state of infrastructure. Accidents. The municipalities do not speak only of risks or abstract threats. His letter was written weeks after a truck collided Against a bus in Aguaviva and just two months after Another trailer I would have overturned after leaving the road, an incident that It was not new either. The result, as the mayor of Aguaviva recognized in April to the newspaper Heraldis that neighbors live with “a very large sense of insecurity.” That without counting on The deterioration which causes heavy traffic on tracks and roads that are not prepared for trucks. From asphalt to regional policy. The issue did not take to transcend the municipalities of the regions of Bajo Aragón and Maestrazgo to make the leap to regional policy. Teruel exists took the issue to the courts of Aragon, which A few weeks ago He claimed the regional government to seek a solution for Vials A-225 and A-226. In the background, the same problem: the transfer of hundreds of trucks, which according to some calculations overcome the 400 daily In Aguaviva, more than respectable figure if one takes into account that some live some 500 people. A few days ago the Diputación even went further and promised to invest 150,000 euros In the improvement of one of the roads affected by the trucks, the road that goes from the sale of La Pintada to Castellote by Molinos. A priori, money will be used to improve soft, correct the deformations caused by the daily transfer of trucks and renew the signaling. And why so many trucks? The key is what they transport. In their trailers they carry clay, raw material extracted from the MINES OF THE AREA For the ceramic industry and Castellón tile. That was for example the cargo of the truck that ended up colliding in Aguaviva against a bus or the one that overturned end of February. According to Ascer data (The employer of the sector nationwide) The ceramic industry represents around 22.2% of the industrial GDP of the Valencian Community and more than 32.2% of the total of Castellón’s GDP. As They point from The regionclay -loaded trucks leave Teruel and advance Morella, leaving an intense flow of vehicles that in some locations reaches several hundred daily. Recently the mayor of Castellote explained to The confidential That in the school where he works they have to keep the windows closed by the intense transfer of trucks that pass to about 300 meters from the center. “If I open them, I don’t hear the creatures,” he says. And what does it have to do with the Ukraine War? Simple. Ukraine is a huge supplier of the clay that is used in the manufacture of tiles. At the beginning of the war it was calculated that around the 70% of the raw material that imported the Spanish ceramic sector arrived from Donetsk, in the Donbás region. In February 2022 Ascer recognized his “worry” And the truth is that the sector has not taken to look for alternatives, including neighboring Mines de Aragón. In October 2022 Aragon News already pointed out that the clay mining of the region were seeing how their activity shot. If in 2020 the quarries of Teruel had produced a million tons, two years later it was expected that this volume exceeds the five million. And not just that. The increase in activity was accompanied by multiple studies to activate farms. The earthquake. Since 2022 the trend does not seem to have stopped. While Ukraine is still shaken by bombs and drone attacks, Teruel has seen how her clay mining was sued. The data of Aragon News are eloquent again: production has shot, with dozens and tens of permissions for farms. Joaquín Moreno, councilor of Utrillas and deputy of Teruel exists, calculates that with the outbreak of the Ukraine War the number of exploits and investigation licenses has been quintupled. Just a year ago Portsur de Castellón received The first ship With clay of Ukraine from the outbreak of the war, a cargo of 52,000 tons for the company Vesco Clays Spain. That has not prevented, however, that the peoples of Bajo Aragón and Maestranza warn of how they are affecting the changes in the sector to their roads. It is the (another) face B of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Images | Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (Flickr) and Manel Zaera (Flickr) In Xataka | Aragon wanted his children to eat more fruit at school. So he went to look for her 10,000 kilometers away

We knew that the space spheres were at some point in the universe. We have a new theory about its origin

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The universe is full of spherical objects: stars, planets, black holes and a part of the satellites that we can find in our environment have more or less round shapes. However, there are other types of spheres (or rather other types), spheres that are not formed of compact matter but whose circular nature can be captured by our instruments. Teleios. A few days ago, an international team led by researchers at the Western Sydney University announced The discovery of a unique object spherical located in our own galaxy. Although the main hypothesis about the origin of this object is in the outbreak of an IA type supernova, the team admitted that some pieces did not fit. This leaves the door open to different possibilities. One of the details we know about this object is that it can be detected “almost exclusively” in radio frequencies, something not so conventional in this type of objects. This and other details of the discovery make the object an immense enigma. An enigma that does not even escape its location. The problem of distance. We know that this sphere is found at a not very large distance from our solar system, inside the Milky Way. The problem is that the team responsible for its study has only been able to delimit two possible distances to which the object could be found: either at around 7,175 years-years of us, or about 25,114 light years of our location. This has an obvious involvement and we don’t know what size this sphere is either. If we assume that it is located at the closest point, its size would be about 45.7 light years in diameter. However, it could also be further and be larger: it would be more than 156.6 light years of length if it was found in the farthest location contemplated. Unknown age. The size is in turn a temporary implication. Being an explosion, the object would have formed from inside out, as an expansive wave. That is, if the radius of this explosion is longer, we would be facing a burst occurred longer than if we were watching a shorter radius. The team’s estimates indicate that, if located at the closest point, the supernova that this remnant would have left would have been given less than one millennium; While if it was about the location, we would be talking about an event that occurred more than 10,000 years ago. The problem of X -rays. One of the enigmas that surrounds Teleios has to do with the X -rays or, rather, with the absence of these. The models used by the equipment suggest that the remnants of a supernova as the detected should emit radiation not only in radio frequencies but also in X -rays. IAX type supernovae. The fact that this is not the case has led the team to raise a somewhat different hypothesis: that it is not the remnants of a Ia supernova but of a IAX type. The IAX supernovas are a subtype of the former. The IA Supernovas occur in binary systems dominated by a white dwarf star that absorbs the subject of its companion star until reaching a critical mass that leads it to explode. The explosions of this type of supernovas are very predictable: as they always explode when reaching the same critical conditions, these supernovas shine with a predictable intensity. But not always: There are cases in which the outbreak is lower speed and luminosity. Something that makes these supernovae unique is that they leave behind a important remnanta “zombie star” that we cannot find in conventional supernovae. This hypothesis however poses another problem, and for this to be the case, Teleios would have to be much closer to our planet than the estimates of the team itself posed. As noted, none of the hypotheses raised can answer all the issues raised by this enigmatic object, so more observations will be necessary and determine exactly what we have in front. Askap. The finding of G305.4–2.2, another designation for teleIos, was made in the context of the creation of the evolutionary map of the universe or EMU (Evolutionary Map of the Universe), A work done by the Askap Observatory (Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder). The team recently sent an article to the magazine Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia detailing the details of the finding. The drafteven under review, it can be consulted through the repository Arxiv. ORCS. In recent years it has been done relatively common Topar with strange circular objects with a certain resemblance to teleIos. Some of these objects are usually classified as a strange circle of radio or orcs (Odd Radio Circles), A name that already accounts for the strangeness they generate in astronomers. These circles usually occur in the Intergalactic space So the scale in which they are given is different from that of Teleios. Initially cataloged as Supernovas, these circles still consider an important enigma for astronomers. In Xataka | We have a new explanation for dark matter. We have found it in superconductivity Image | SUPERNOVA TYCHO, NASA/CXC/SAO/JPL-CALTECH/MPIA/HIGH CALAR/O. Krause et al.

be the perfect candidate for each position

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In the same way that you would not be able to play a game of Soccer with moccasinspersonnel recruitment experts recommend Adapt the curriculum to the job offer to give Priority to skills that the company claims. This Curriculum adaptation It is a basic strategy when applying to any job offer today. In the early 70s, Bill Gates used that same strategy to Adapt your academic skills In registration applications for Yale, Princeton and Harvard universities: three universities, three different Bill Gates. An actor: three characters In his autobiography ‘Code Source: My beginnings’Bill Gates tells how he faced his admission application in some of the best US universities. Although in the case of the young Gates it was almost a joke with himself, his strategy, reminds to which any candidate who runs to a job offer should do. In autumn of 1973, Bill Gates participated in a play during his last year of high school. It was there when he discovered in the theater a new way of relating With other young people and show aspects of your personality that were in the background in other activities that were usually carried out, such as programming or making long excursions through the mountains. Just then, Gates had to send income requests for universities. That raised some doubts about what his Labor future. The options that were raised were to go to Harvard and follow in the footsteps of his father as a lawyer; orient towards a more political profile studying public administration at Yale; or go to Princeton to train as an engineer and develop software, something he had already done His first steps. Bill Gates tells in his book that “while filling the requests, I experienced with my personality. As I had learned in the theater class, each was a performance: An actor, three characters“The millionaire said. “For Princeton I said that I wanted to be an engineer who knew how to develop software. I boasted with examples of my programs and emphasized my mathematics notes. To Yale I said that I wanted to study public administration and, perhaps right, highlighting my experience (like Ujier during a couple of summers in Washington DC), my fondness for the boy scouts and my interest in dramatic art.” However, the request that had more weight for Gates was the one he presented to Harvard, “as I wrote in my essay, I expressed my inclination for business and law,” following his father’s professional steps. All gates, all certain Sincerity It is something that recruiters They value very positivelyso adapt the curriculum for a certain position It does not imply lying in skills, but to give priority to those who have A positive impact In the position to which it is postulated. “We expect sincerity. If a person comments that he is good to work as a team, but in the day to day he avoids participating in meetings, that is where we see that there is an incoherence with what he explained in the interview,” he explained Lidia Sanz CostaTechnique of Selection, Development and Training in companies IMAN. The “Three Bill Gates” presented by the millionaire in their respective income requests They were realbut little was going to serve a software engineer to have learned the values ​​of the scouts, or have knowledge of dramatic art. For that reason, the young Gates arranged to play a paper highlighting only the skills that They contributed value to their candidacy. In this sense, it is increasingly common to use the help ofChatgpt to adapt the curriculum to a specific job offer. This automation applied to curricular adaptation will also take into account other factors such as including Keywords and skills what would priority to office, preventing them from candidate monitoring algorithms (ATS) Believe your curriculum In the first rounds of the process. In Xataka | A young computer scientist was looking for work. So “hacked” LinkedIn to always receive offers first In Xataka | If your chair holds in a job interview, it is no accident: they are evaluating more than your curriculum Image | Flickr (Statsministerens Kontor)

Diesel remains the king

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When a year ago Tesla He invited us to his gigafactoría In Berlin, he also offered us to return to Spain testing two of his cars. So once our visit to the factory ended, our return began. First aboard a Tesla Model and Long Range RWD And after a Tesla Model 3 highland in its version of great autonomy. A 2,500 kilometers return trip With the city of Berlin as origin and Madrid as destination. As we have, and my partner Mario Arroyo reflects in the video that accompanies this text, the differences between Travel with an electric car and one of combustion They were simply minimal. On the way we take advantage of the recharge stops to stretch the legs and rest every 200 or 300 kilometers. In fact, most of the time the car was ready to continue before we finished going to the bathroom and having coffee or eating something fast. As we verified firsthand, the driving experience was not suffered in the least, what cost did the trip mean? What differences are there between an electric car and one diesel or gasoline? All details about the price of recharges One of the main doubts we had when putting ourselves behind the wheel for 2,500 kilometers is whether there would be any substantial economic difference in traveling with an electric car or one of combustion. Before putting the numbers on the table, we have to explain some points. How do we choose the recharges In the first place, throughout the trip we have recharged the batteries in the super -cargers that Tesla has distributed in Europe. In the first place because we wanted to experience what was the most comfortable way to travel with the American firm’s car. Keep in mind that when planning the trip, Tesla gives priority on the route to its supercargers, although it is also possible that it shows the competition. Understanding that it is the type of usual conduction That a customer of this type of vehicle would do, we let the planner mark the road, provided that it complied with some minimums, such as not arriving excessively battery in the destination. Recharges prices The reflected prices refer to the cost that a Tesla owner would have or who decides to subscribe monthly to the company’s posts. In addition, the prices collected here are the ones we are in every moment and place. As can be seen, the most expensive price for recharge is in Spain and the cheapest recharges were in France. The price of the same can vary in practice because in the valley hours it is cheaper than in the peak or of greater influx. This means that the reflected price can vary between four and five cents per kwh recharged. Gasoline and diesel prices To compare electricity prices with fossil fuels, we have taken as a reference the Official Bulletin of the European Union in which the average cost of gasoline and diesel is collected by countries. The reflected prices are those collected by European organizations the days we were circulating in Europe. Keep in mind that these are an average so the final price can vary in practice. Taking into account the kilometers made in each country, we have been able to make the corresponding accounts. As for consumption, we have simulated prices with a gasoline car that consumes 7 liters/100 kilometers and one diesel with a consumption of 5.5 liters/100 km. The cost of our 2,500 kilometers trip Clarified all these points, then we leave what was the total cost of our electric car trip from Berlin to Madrid. In the upper image all the costs of the recharges are reflected. It reflects the following: In blue: the kilometers and the cost per day In green: the cheapest option (electric car) In yellow: the intermediate option (diesel car) In red: the most expensive option (gasoline car) When taking out our own conclusions, anyone can take their cost per kilometer if you have a diesel or gasoline car. The formulas are simple: We take out the liters consumed on a day. To do this, we apply the following formula: (km made * liters / 100 km) / 100 The result is the liters we have needed for the day. For example. If the car consumes 7 liters/100, for the first day of 500 kilometers we have needed 35 liters. (500*7) / 100 = 35 liters That figure is multiplied by the price of gasoline in each country. Following the example of the first day: 35*1,889 = 66,115 euros The cost is taken per day and adds day by day until our own result is obtained. If we talk about an electric car: First we have to know the battery size. We take the percentage of recharged battery as a reference. If our battery has 100 kWh and recharges 75%, we will be recharging 75 kWh. We multiply those KWH by the cost/kWh of recharge. In this case, 75 kWh*0.42 euros/kWh = 31.5 euros. We add the recharges to have the cost per day. We add the days to obtain the total cost. Only 50 euros difference At 2024 prices, 53.62 euros is the difference we have obtained at the end of our trip between recharging a Tesla electric car during Almost 2,500 kilometers in the company’s rapid recharge posts and fill our diesel deposit (taking as reference the average prices reflected by the European Union) with a consumption of 5.5 liters/100 km. If we take as reference a gasoline car with a consumption of 7 liters/100 kilometers, the difference It shoots at 136.61 euros. Again, we take as a reference the average prices reflected by European agencies in each country. This tells us that in the time/money relationship, what is most profitable is, without a doubt, the diesel vehicle when it comes to traveling by road for long distances. Keep in mind that although in all cases the breaks exceeded the time of the recharges, who … Read more

Coconut oil and the Philippines diesel

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With a spring that is has resisted arrivingit seems that temperatures are going to start taking the aftertaste of an incipient summer and, with it, the time of cooling comes. That is where the ice cream enters, that this year will be doubly protagonist, but not only because its price is going to be more expensive, but also because it will affect the Filipino drivers, but what will have to see the eggs to eat wheat? A simple ingredient: coconut oil. Short. The price of coconut oil has shot in wholesale markets, reaching $ 2,700 by metric ton. As He explained Energy expert Javier Blas, this rise is not an isolated phenomenon and reflects a global tension market where coconut, a product traditionally associated with the tropics, has become the epicenter of a battle between food, cosmetic and energy industries. He started with the boy. Yes, the meteorological phenomenon that He shook the world Between 2023 and 2024, where specifically in Southeast Asia they experienced an unusually warm and dry climate, seriously affecting coconut crops. Philippines, Indonesia and India, 75% responsible Of the world coconut oil production, they registered significant falls in their crops. In addition, the child not only swept coconut crops, but also exacerbated drought conditions in areas where water is vital for palms growth. A coconut tree It takes between 12 and 18 months In producing a new harvest, which means that the effects of meteorological phenomenon will continue to feel until 2025 and possibly until 2026. This delay has created a perfect storm for the markets, where the supply continues to decrease while the demand continues to increase. However, this has only been the first blow. A second blow. To this were added additional sources of demand: the rise of biodiesel and the tendency to position coconut oil as A slimming product and Other uses in beautydriven by social networks. This trend has diverted millions of coconuts from the food market towards the cosmetic market, further increasing the pressure on prices. The coup of grace. At the same time, biodiesel has emerged as a new competitor for coconuts. In the energy sector promises “green” fuel in a hungry world of Sustainable alternatives. But this apparent sustainability has a hidden cost: less coconuts available for food means higher prices for consumers and lower margins for ice cream brands. Biofuel? Almost two decades ago, the Philippines began to mix diesel With coconut methyl ester, a derivative of coconut oil. At that time, the mixture was 1%. However, in October 2024, the government increased the mixture to 3% and announced plans to reach 5% in 2026, as He has collected The energy analyst for Bloomberg. Each additional percentage point means diverting around 900 million coconuts to the biofuel market. If the Philippines reaches its 5%objective, 4,500 million coconuts will be used for biodiesel, which represents almost a third of the country’s annual harvest. The relationship of both. The connection between vegan ice cream and biofuel is direct. Each coconut for biodiesel is a less available coconut for the food industry, but the relationship goes beyond simple coconut deviation. In a globalized market, price increases in a sector quickly have in others. For example, while ice cream brands look for alternatives to coconut oil, biofuel manufacturers can absorb additional costs with government subsidies, which puts food marks in a disadvantageous position, According to energy expert Javier Blas. A coconut ball. A simple dessert that brings us a little freshness in a summer that will be hot, It becomes a mirror of the complexities of the global market. And this is how a simple coconut can be both an essential ingredient in the food industry and a key input for biofuel, competing for its place in an increasingly tense market. While Filipino drivers look for more affordable fuels and ice cream brands fight to maintain their margins, the final consumer feels the impact on each tablespoon. Image | Pexels and Pxhere Xataka | Something weird happens with the price of olive oil and farmers have just reported it: there are up to 2.8 billion at stake

12 million people delivered their DNA to 23Andme. The company broke and its data are about to change hands

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For years, spitting in a tube was the first step of an irresistible promise: discovering your roots, knowing your genetic predispositions, even finding family members lost by the world. Everything without moving home. The company behind that phenomenon was called 23ndmeand achieved something unusual: to turn genetics into a mass consumption product. That story has just turned. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has reached an agreement to acquire the main assets of 23Andme for 256 million dollars, According to the official statement published by the pharmacist. It is a transaction that must still be approved by the Banking Court and by US regulators. At stake is a platform that has managed the DNA of millions of people worldwide. An announced end. The 23Andme fall has not been sudden. In recent years, the company went from being valued at more than 6,000 million dollars to fight for its own survival. His commitment to a more ambitious model – based on developing medicines, offering medical consultations by subscription and expanding digital health services – did not set. As details The Wall Street Journalthe company burned more than one billion dollars and ended up offering part of its assets in limit conditions. The sales agreement does not cover the entire business. Regeneron would keep the essential: the direct genomics service to the consumer, its biobanco of genetic samples and the research and total health divisions. The telemedicine subsidiary Lemonaid Health is left out, acquired in its day for 400 million dollars, whose closure will be made in an orderly manner outside this operation. Privacy: The real battlefield. The operation has re -placed privacy in the center of the debate. Regeneron has promised to respect current data use policies and has committed to undergoing independent scrutiny, as established by the judicial framework of the process. Even so, doubts persist on how one of the world’s largest genetic databases will be managed. The suspicion is not new. In 2023, 23Andme was a victim of a massive data filtration which affected 6.9 million people. As TechCrunch revealedthe attackers accessed the profiles of those who had activated the function of “genetic family”, obtaining names, locations and percentages of shared DNA between relatives. The company attributed the incident to the reuse of passwords by users, but the damage was already done. Anne Wojcicki, the face of an era. The 23Andme story cannot be told without mentioning Anne Wojcicki. Co -founder, visible face, visionary of personalized health and, at the same time, responsible for business decisions that led to collapse. His plan was to convert the company to an integral provider of medical services, but this did not prosper. He tried to recover control, but his power vanished with the beginning of the judicial process. According to WSJtheir actions with preferential vote were annulled and their offers rejected by the Board of Directors. Wojcicki opted everything to DNA as strategic assets. And for a while it seemed right. The company that helped to found transformed the way millions of people related to their health. It also showed to what extent a genetic database can become a mined field of legal, ethical and technological risks. A new stage, the same questions. Regeneron aspires to keep a powerful platform, a still recognized brand and an immense volume of genetic information. In its official statement, he affirms that his intention is to maintain service for current users and continue to develop new ways for personalized medicine. Images | 23ndme In Xataka | We have visited the place where the demographic hopes of Spain are literally deposited: the Semen Bank of Granada

Eating fermented col can seem an unpleasant idea. Science is increasingly clear that it is excellent for your diet

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The Germans call it Sauerkraut and the French Choucroutea term that usually is castelling as sauerkraut. It is a fermented col, a typical preparation in various European countries where it is used as accompaniment in dishes of different kinds. A beneficial preparation. We have been indicated that this traditional preparation could contribute important benefits to our health. Now, a new study by two researchers from the University of California, Davis has found new tests that Chucrut can help our health through digestion. According to the study, the fermented col can help maintain the integrity of our intestinal cells. Good news is that this beneficial effect occurred both with the Homemade Chucrut as with which we buy already prepared. “It doesn’t matter, in a way, if we do Sauerkraut at home or if we buy it in the store; both types of Sauerkraut They seem to protect the intestinal function, ”Maria Marco, co -author of the study, explained in a press release. Three elements. The team compared three elements related to the chucrut and its fermentation process: the “raw” vegetable, the brine extracted from the fermented product, and product itself, the Sauerkraut. Team efforts They focused on the study of metabolites present in this food. Metabolites are compounds that occur when biologically decomposing food and its compounds. When passing through a fermentation process, the chemical changes that occur in a food can be important, hence its flavor and aroma, but also its nutritional value. Nutritional changes. The chemical analysis by the team showed changes in the nutritional profile of the Col after fermentation. They found beneficial metabolites, including lactic acid and amino acids, but also observed a lower carbohydrate contribution. Some of the metabolites found were identical to those generated by the intestinal mcirobioma. The changes found, the team stands out, could explain the digestive benefits often attributed to fermented products. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Applied and Environmental Microbiology. More than probiotics. The study conducted in the laboratory is one more indication in favor of the idea that fermented colm is a healthy food that we can include in the context of a balanced and varied diet. Fermented foods are not just a contribution of nutrients metabolized by the microorganisms responsible for fermentation, they can also contribute to us as Probiotics beneficial bacteria that perform similar processes in our digestive system. In Xataka | We have been studying chocolate and tea compounds for more than 75 years. Now we know that they help control blood pressure Image | Jana Ohajdova

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