age

More and more countries see how the average age of its population approaches 50 years

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Europe ages. That is not No novelty. Not an exclusive phenomenon of the old continent. In other regions of the planet, such as Japan, South Korea or even ChinaThey also suffer more or less clearly The effects of A demography marked by the collapse of birth rate and the increase in life expectancy. With everything and despite the fact that the trend is known, from time to time data arises that help us better understand the scope of change. Eurostat has shared one that shows to what extent the EU begins to become a territory of middle -aged people. The data also reveals another trend: aging is much clearer among the native population, those born within the EU itself, which among immigrants. A figure: 44.7. Recently Eurostat technicians made accounts and calculated that The middle ages From the EU population it is already at 44.7 years. The data is interesting for several reasons. The first, because confirms the gradual aging of Europe. Does A decade That same statistical indicator was 42.5 years ago, two ago it was 39.3 and if we looked back further back, 2001 (the first year documented by Eurostat), it did not reach 38.5. The second reason why the data is interesting is for What reveals us. The median is not the same as the average, but it shows us the value located just in the middle of the statistical series. In this case that means that 50% of the EU population is already above 44.7 years. They are probably even more because the median was calculated based on the statistics of January 2024 and the indicator has not stopped growing over the years. Differences in the EU. 44.7 is the data of the European Union as a whole, which means that there are countries in which the median age is even higher. The clearest cases are Monaco and Italy. In the first, the indicator is already 50.5 years and in the second brand 48.7. In Bulgaria, Portugal and Greece approaches or exceeds 47 and in another half a dozen countries the median overcomes the 45 years. Is The case of Spainwhich started 2024 with half its population above 45.6 years. In 2014, the median was 41.8, two decades ago it marked 38.3 and in 1994 it did not even reach 35 years, which gives an aging. Native Foreign Vs.. Eurostat tables show something else: how immigration is serving to cushion the aging of the EU, just as it has helped some countries (Spain included) To win population despite prick of indigenous birth. According to the data of the EU Statistical Office, on January 1, 2024, the average age of the population born outside the 27 countries of the community club was two years lower than that of the natives. Moreover, Eurostat acknowledges that “compared to the native population, those born abroad are overrepresented between 20 and 54 years” and “underrepresented” in the groups located at the extremes, those of younger and more advanced ages. “59.7% of the population born abroad was between 20 and 54, compared to 42.1% of the native,” They need. A percentage: 6.1%. Eurostat data also reveal that the EU demographic pyramid narrows every time by the base and grows on the cusp, among the older population group. And clearly, in addition. Between 2004 and 2024 the proportion of citizens over 80 years in the EU increased from 3.8 to 6.1%. The statistical office Precise In addition, growth was recorded in all EU countries, with increases especially pronounced in Greece, Latvia and Portugal. The same happened with the group of those over 65: to assume 16.4 went on to represent 21.6%. The other face of the currency. The trend is diametrically opposite among people under 15. At the statistical level, today children and adolescents “weigh” much more in the EU that just two decades ago. If in 2004 they represented 14.6%, now they suppose 16.2%, a setback that has been even more pronounced in countries such as Malta or Cyprus. “During the same period the proportion of young people (children under 19) decreased in all EU countries at the level of the Union, the Fall was 2.4 percentage points, from 22.4% to 20.0%,” Clarifies Eurostat. Why is it important? Because demography is much more than mathematics or simple statistics. The evolution of the middle ages helps to understand where the whole of European society walks and better understand the scope of its aging with All drifts that this implies at a social, economic, welfare or even in defense level. It is not something exclusive to the EU or the West. TO late 2024 South Korea officially became a “overwhelming” society, a label that reveals that about 20% of the population already exceeds the 65 -year barrier. Japan’s example. The clearest case is probably Japan. After decades seeing how its birth rate collapsed, in the country it begins to talk about “Problem 2025”marked by the gradual aging of the millions of citizens who were born during the Baby Boom in the middle of the last century. There the experts already warn of the challenge that this growing imbalance between the population of working age and the elderly will have at a social and economic level. Images | Bennett Tobias (UNSPLASH) and Eurostat In Xataka | Russia is desperate to increase its birth. So you will veto the series that promote a “culture without children”

Investigate Pornhub for not complying with age verification

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A click on a yellow box that says “I am 18 years of age or older.” That is all the age verification that Pornhub makes, one of the largest pornographic content websites in the world. And indeed, it is not enough, at least for the European Commission. And it is not in Pornhub, Stripchat, Xnxx and Xvideos, websites all of them that, from now on, They are being investigated by the European Commission for “suspicions of gaps of the digital service acts”. Context. One of the objectives of the European Act Digital Act, AKA DSA, is to protect minors from certain types of network content. The pornographic, among them and in particular. Since December 2023, Pornhub, Stripchat and Xvideos are considered Vlops (Vary Large Online Platforms), that is, platforms that have an average of 45 million monthly users and, therefore, have additional obligations. Since December 2023, Pornhub (among other websites) has been considered a Very Large Online Platform and, as such, has additional obligations What obligations? In order to concern this text, Vlops must offer greater protection to minors. According to the European Commission, “Vlop must design their services, including their interfaces, recommendation systems and terms and conditions, to address and prevent risks for the well -being of minors.” They must also offer “palliative measures to protect the rights of the child and prevent minors from accessing online pornographic content, even with age verification tools.” In other words, which must offer mechanisms to ensure that minors do not access adult content. Among those mechanisms is, for example, age verification. It is a fairly complex issue, which has not been exempt from criticism and that He has been on the table for more years. Completely impassable | Image: Xataka What happened. That the European Commission has taken the magnifying glass to take a look at what Pornhub, Stripchat, Xnxx and Xvideos are doing to prevent minors from seeing porn. As reflected in the commission in the releaseinvestigations focus on “the risks for the protection of minors, including those related to the absence of effective age verification measures.” The preliminary research carried out by the European agency suggests these platforms have not implemented “appropriate and provided measures to guarantee a high level of privacy, safety and protection of minors” or risk mitigation measures, “in particular through adequate tools for verification of age,” says the Commission. Image | Shane Uchi What could happen? That the European Commission opens the investigation does not mean that these companies are guilty. If it is, something that will be resolved later, they would face a sanction of up to 6% of their global annual turnover. In the case of Pornhub, perhaps the best known, the website is owned by Aylo (previously Mindgeek) and its estimated income are around 500 million dollars annually. The potential fine would therefore be about 30 million dollars. And what systems are there? We have visited the four websites mentioned above and then we show the mechanisms for protection of minors: a screen where we accept that we are (or not) minors. There is no verification. Interestingly, stripcams links a kind of guide for parents to teach to configure parental control via Google SafeSearch or in iOS/Android. However, the DSA establishes that it is the websites that must offer the prevention mechanisms, not leave the ball on the parents’ roof. Pornhub age verification systems, XVIDEOS, XNXX and Stripchat | Image: Xataka In any case, and as far as Stripchat concerns specifically, the commission has announced that it has lost its status of Vlop and will cease to be considered as such in four months. However, general obligations will continue to apply. In that sense, the Commission has commented that there are many pornographic platforms that are not so large and in which, therefore, national laws are applied. Thus, a working group has been established with the objective of better coordinating the actions between the different countries. Doors to the field. Throughout history there has been countless attempts To restrict access to the pornographic content, but the reality is that blocking access to content available on the Internet without going through an exhaustive age verification is … complex. Not because blocking a website is impossible, which is not at all, but because pornographic content can be found on any platform. Porn websites are the best known distribution platforms, but this type of content can be found on social networks, platforms such as Reddit, in Telegram channels or in WhatsApp groups. Limiting access to websites is a step, but it will not eliminate the root problem: accessing online porn is extremely simple. Digital portfolio operation scheme | Image: Government of Spain Pajorto. The Government of Spain announced last year Beta digital portfolio creationbetter known as “pajorto” although its implementation could be expanded until November 2026 (which is the maximum date to comply with the European regulations eidas2which forces member states to have digital identity systems), it was supposed to be ready by the end of this year. Interestingly, Cumlauder, a well -known Spanish website, He advanced to the “parsport” with a system based on or verification of DNI or through a selfie. And speaking of Spain … According to the then Minister of Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá, Beta Aka Digital Portfolio the “Pajorte” was being a “study in Europe and the same within a year all of Europe is applying it”. In that sense, the European Commission has said that it is in “in close collaboration with the Member States, it is developing an application of verification of the white marked age, aimed at covering the void until the EU digital purse is available at the end of 2026” Well According to EFE Agencythat quotes sources from the aforementioned Ministry, the European Commission I would have chosen Spain for the pilot project of said verification tool. The idea would be to offer the national system as a base and that the rest of the countries can adapt it to their own contexts. After … Read more

Denmark’s life expectancy has grown. His politicians have taken the opportunity to raise the retirement age up to 70 years

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Demographic aging is putting serious to the labor market and the pension systems of countries around the world. Most European countries have already taken measures in this regard delaying retirement age legal for your workers. However, Denmark has been the most expeditious: from 2040, Danish workers will have to wait until he turned 70 to retire. With this reform, Denmark is like the country with the Higher retirement age from Europe. Progressive increase up to 70 years. According to what was published by The media Danes, the Danish Parliament has approved with 81 votes in favor and 21 votes against the new law that will raise the retirement age from the current 67 years to 70 years in 2040. According to explained The British BBCthe process will be carried out progressively, progressively looking at 68 by 2030, the 69 by 2035 and, finally, reaching up to 70 years in 2040. More pensions for a longer time. In 2006, the Danish parliamentary arc parties signed the well -being agreement in which the country’s life expectancy was indexed. That measure served as the basis for Danish retirement age It will rise From the 65 years they had in 2004, at the 67th that was reached in 2019. However, last year the Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the variable escalation of the retirement age should be renegotiated to shorten the increases in increases. Reducing these deadlines would serve to adapt to the current life expectancy of the country. According to data of the Better Life Index From the OECD, Denmark has an 82 -year half -life expectancy. Are they too many years? Some Danish workers consider the new retirement age excessive. In statements To the public station Denmark Radio, Tommas Jensen, roof assembler, assured that he had undergone knee surgery, shoulder and back. “I just turned 47 and I see that I have many years left in the labor market. Maybe I have to look for a new profession.” Jesper Ettrup Rasmussen, president of one of the main union confederations in the country, described the proposal as “totally unfair.” “Denmark has a healthy economy, and yet imposes the highest retirement age of the entire European Union. A later retirement means losing the right to a decent life in old age.” In the same line He manifested Trade union leader Henning Overgaard, who considered that working until 70 was unfeasible for jobs with greater physical demand. “Many politicians have gone to university. You can read reports and see statistics, but that does not replace having risen at four in the morning with frost in the beard and the back hunched over by yesterday’s turn,” said the unionist. Europe retires between 65 and 67 years. Given the progressive aging of the European population, most European countries have chosen to delay the retirement age of their workers to maintain the stability of their pension systems. Nevertheless, According to data From the Finnish pension center, most European countries have maintained their retirement fork between 65 and 67 years. The measure that the Danish Parliament has taken is the most ambitious in terms of postponement of the retirement age of its workers. In Spain, the legal retirement age It remains in the 65 years until 2027 provided that a minimum of 38 years and six months have been quoted. If this requirement is not met, the minimum age to retire will increase progressively until reaching 67 years in 2027. In 2025, the legal age to retire if 38 years and three months or more have been quoted and more is 66 years and eight months. In Xataka | There is a man who has been working for the same company for 86 years. And you have no plans to retire In Xataka | From the “great resignation” to “great prejubilation”: the labor market loses the experience of those over 55 years Image | Unspash (Diana Parkhouse, Hannah Thiel)

The ice age had a solar storm so powerful that its effects can still be detected in trees

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How powerful can it become a solar storm? More than one will have ever asked this question for mere curiosity. And also out of necessity. Answering this question is important in order to prepare in the face of potential storms of great magnitude, but it is complicated: we have a limited sample and the most intensity events are those that happen less frequently. But now we have a new track. The mother of all storms. A recent study has analyzed The remnants of the greatest solar storm of which we have record to date. The storm, about 500 times more powerful than the largest solar storm since the beginning of the space era, would have happened about 14,300 years ago. Although We already had enough previous clues about this eventThe new study facilitates the work of preparing for such events, and can also help us improve our radiocarbon dating techniques. 14,300 years ago. The discovery of this solar storm has been possible thanks to the detection of a radiocarbon peak, the well-known carbon-14, happened towards the year 12,350 AEC, towards the end of the last glacial period. This implies that the storm is not only the most powerful of which we have record, it is also the only solar storm known outside the Holocene, the contemporary geological era (if we exclude the existence debated from the anthropocene). Different storms. The storm analyzed was a solar particle storm. There are different events That we can catalog as solar storms, each with its characteristics, such as radio blackouts, solar radiation storms or geomagnetic storms. Radiation storms, such as the one studied, are produced when large amounts of charged particles from the sun reach the magnetic field of the earth. This field tends to divert the particles towards the poles, making the effect on high latitudes greater. Carbon 14. The team responsible for the new study He turned to a new model Chemist-Climatic, Socol: 14C-EX, for analysis. This is a model designed to rebuild solar storms of particles in climatic conditions of the past glaciations. Thanks to this model, they explain, it was possible to verify that this solar storm was 18% stronger than the event of the year 775 EC, the largest solar storm known until the discovery of this event. “Compared to the largest event in the Modern Era of Satellites (the 2005 particle storm) the old 12,350 AC event was about 500 times more intense, according to our estimates,” explained in a press release Kseniia Golubenko, co -author of the study The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Earth and Planetary Science Letters. More than establishing a record. The study allows us to establish a new framework to the “most pessimistic scenario,” says Golubenko. Knowing what we can face gives us essential tools when preventing this type of event. The study can also help scientists who study something very different: archaeologists. The analysis has been based on carbon-14, a very important isotope when it comes to very diverse organic matter remains, from fabrics to ships. Understanding the peaks of this isotope caused by the impact of loaded particles from the Sun can help us to date back objects created in past times. In Xataka | NASA has calculated how much time we would have to prepare before a devastating solar storm and has got to work to get that time Image | NASA/GSFC/CIL

The electric car has an average age of just 3.5 years and does not stop falling. It is very good news

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Changing car is usually a reason for joy in a house. Unless you are forced by the circumstances of an unexpected breakdown or before what has been expected, acquiring a new vehicle is usually exciting for the buyer. And it is because, on average, it occurs every long. Whenever it is not electric, of course. A study. The average age of electric vehicles is 3.5 years. That is what the latest available report states S&P global in which this dynamic is studied. The figure is inferior to that of past years and remains down. In 2022, the Middle Ages was 3.7 years and in 2023 of 3.6 years. The figure contrasts with that registered for diesel and gasoline cars. Following the reverse road, the Middle Ages of the American Mobile Park has been growing over the years until it is 12.6 years. Taking into account that the electric car barely represents 3.2 million vehicles of the 286 million units in operation in the country, its impact on the Middle Ages is negligible. And in Europe? In Europe there are no data segmented by technologies. Acea, employer of manufacturers in Europe, only refers to the average age of cars in the continent and by countries. Points out that in Spain, According to the latest studiesIt is 13.9 years. A figure higher than the European average. In the continent, the average is 12.5 years. A figure that is lower because in Germany and France, the two largest car markets in Europe, the decade is barely exceeded. They are also the markets where more electric cars are bought. Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland or Sweden, countries that are located in the European average or in the upper part in the purchase of electric cars, also have lower figures in the Middle Ages of the mobile park compared to the rest of Europe. On the contrary, Spain, Italy and all the rest of Europe have the most aged mobile park. Although the almost 14 Spanish years are far from the more than 17 years of Greece, we share with those countries that the market share in the purchase of electric cars is very low, just a third of the European average. Why is the electric car important? The impact of the electric car on the Middle Ages of the mobile park is evident, especially the smaller the market. It is shown that where cars are growing are more modern. This is because the Middle Ages of the electric, as seen in the United States and is presupposed in Europe, is very low. It has all the meaning of the world. If electric car sales continue to grow, the Middle Ages has to go down. In the study of S&P global It is pointed out that in 2024 there were 50% more electric cars in American streets than in 2022. If sales are stopped, on the contrary, the age of the mobile park will increase in line. In the United States, where the sample is more than 286 million cars the impact is very low. In Europe, on the contrary, the impact is more evident because we can segment through countries. It is estimated that there is 256 million cars in circulation in Europe But Luxembourg, Germany, Sweden and Belgium are the countries where there is a higher percentage of cars with less than two years. Removing the peculiarities of Luxembourg, coincide (again) with electric sales. Two good news. That the electric car continues to expand its customer base are good news for the fleet of vehicles at European level. Confirms that every view more customers are trusting technology and that adequate incentives There are more drivers willing to jump into the electric car. It also means greater security. This is independent of the new car sold. With European obligationsa new car is always going to be safer than one with more than a decade behind it. Although they were systems that have already been seen ten years ago, now all cars (regardless of the price) have to have systems such as rear camera, emergency braking or lane output alert. And a regulate. Although with good prospects. And is that S&P globalin its report in this regard in 2023, it indicated that 6.6% of the electric cars that were in operation a decade before had been sent to recycle. The figure is higher than that of vehicles with combustion motor (5.5%). This means that the electric car becomes obsolete before, which has all the logic. We are talking about a technology that advances very quickly and, above all, has been widely improved in the autonomy offered by the vehicle. It’s easy to think about Many vehicle fleets They have gone to better life as better options have been offered. In addition, it must be taken into account that the same has been seen in the second -hand market. The depreciation of electric cars It is much faster and more accused than those of combustion. If the company interested in selling it cannot place the car, the most logical thing is to send it to destroy if you need space and replace its fleet. More and more cars. To all of the above we must add that the average age of the cars is expected to remain in the coming years since the electric car seems to have an ally between the fleets. Countries like Belgium or Germany They have discovered that the company car is an especially attractive means to boost sales of this type of car. While a individual aspires to have a car for many years in property, unless you opt for a rentiercompanies often use this formula since it allows them to renew the fleet every three or four years. If we take into account that the electric car has grown a lot among rentals And companies of all kinds, we have years ahead where its Middle Ages remains very low. Photo | In Xataka | I’ve been trying electric cars for … Read more

We thought that oil was a thing of the past. But the oil companies that have remained faithful to raw live their golden age

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While the rise of renewables continues full -potato wind, as can be seen in projects such as GLOBAL RENEWABLE Watchthe big refineries are starring an unexpected return to the center of the energy stage. The commitment to hydrocarbons. Unlike other companies in the sector, French TotalEnergies did not turn completely in an energy conversion. Yes, he invested in renewables. Yes, he developed liquefied natural gas projects. But he never abandoned his base: oil and gas. According to Reutersthe company has increased its UPSTREAM production (crude and gas extraction) compared to the first quarter of 2024. Although oil prices are below the level of a year ago, gas sales have improved, and fuel production is returns to be profitable. Refinement in recovery. The situation is dragging the effects of a profitability drop that has affected the entire industry. According to the company, the profit margins in the oil refining in Europe have increased in the last six months, but there are still 59% below the levels of a year ago. All this is due to multiple reasons, such as a weak demand, the growth of New refineries in Asia and Africa, OPEC+ overproduction and Trump’s tariff war. Even so, as the news agency has detailed, Totalenergies has increased fuel production, partially benefiting from that slight recovery on the margins. The strategy. According to Ahmed Ben Salem, an analyst at Oddo BHF, among the greats of the sector, Totalenergies is “the most resilient in a weaker macro environment, backed by diversification towards liquefied natural gas and renewable energy.” And it is not the only one that has found a new balance between transition and profitability. While Timenergies clings to a hybrid strategy, its Anglo -Saxon rivals are also adjusting the course. BP, for example, has trimmed His green ambitions to focus again on hydrocarbons. Exxonmobil He has opted strong for carbon capture. Together, all of them seem to be converging in the same idea: crude has not yet said his last word. The paradox of the transition. In the decisive decade for climate action, refining recovery sounds almost to Anatema. Can the energy sector continue to win time with fossil fuels without losing the decarbonization train? This dynamic does not occur in a vacuum. As I know He explained The tariff war and the firmness of the OPEC+ to continue producing the barrels has caused a drop in oil prices, with the Brent and the WTI stabilized around 60 dollars a barrel. This scenario impacts directly on the refineries, which try to balance fossil profitability with the growing stark pressure. Image | Pexels Xataka | The US plan to reduce oil is about to derail what worked best in its economy

We knew that the olive trees were very old trees. What we did not imagine is that they arrived at 4,000 years of age

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The olive tree is undoubtedly one of the most iconic trees in the Mediterranean basin. The olive groves have populated the fields of southern Europe and the Levante since time immemorial, but such is the longevity of this species that the history of some of these trees also goes back, at least to antiquity. An example of this is the Vauves olivelocated on the Greek island of Crete. Conservative estimates throw this tree about 2,000 years. This would imply that in his life he could be a mute witness of events such as the division of the Roman Empire, the fall of Biscay and the Ottoman Empire and, of course, the birth of contemporary Greece. Broader estimates calculate that this tree could reach 4,000 years of age. This would not only do it contemporary of figures such as Pythagoras, Aristotle or Alexander the Great but also implied that this plant was born in the Crete Minoica and it was Witness of the collapse of the late bronze ageone of the most intriguing events that occurred at the dawn of history as and how we understand it. But perhaps the most surprising detail of all this is that the olive tree of Vouves continues to bear fruit. This has led many to wonder, how is it possible? What makes this specimen already its species in general so long? The olive tree (Olea Europea) has a life expectancy that, although it does not become ancient, does exceed several centuries. It is estimated that the life expectancy of the trees of this species Round the five centuriesalthough there is some debate about it. In this sense, A study published in 2021 In the magazine Dendrochronologyestimated that the majority of “monumental olive trees” had maximum ages that ranged between 300 and 500 years. Estimating the age of an olive tree is difficult. We indicated at the beginning that the estimates of the age of this millenary tree ranged between 2,000 and 4,000 years, a very wide fork precisely because of the difficulty that involves calculating the age of these trees. Dendrocronology is based on using the growth rings of tree trunks to estimate their age: how many rings, so many years. Counting rings in a carved copy is simple, but doing it in a living tree and doing it in an olive tree is already another song. The trunks of the olive trees grow irregularly, which implies a seemingly chaotic pattern in the rings inside, making the count especially difficult as pointed out A study published in 2013 In the magazine Plos One. His curious growth could be related to his longevity. According to Scott Travers, Biologist at Rutgers University, In an article for Forbesone of the “Secrets” behind longevity of these trees is in vegetative or clonal reproduction. That is, in the fact that this tree consists of various cuttings that start from the same root. This, adds Travers, allows this type of plants to survive extreme conditions, including similar fires, cuts and incidents. Another of the tricks for survival, Continue explaining traversIt is in the biochemistry of the tree, which offers mechanisms that allow repairing damaged tissues, as well as defending against pathogenic organisms. The same oil that humans take advantage of by the tree that gives us through its fruits. The elders of our environment Spain also has ancient olive trees, although we do want to find a tree that competes in age with the olive tree of vouves, we have to go to Portugal. It would be an olive tree located in Abrantesin the center of Portugal. According to a study conducted by the University of Trás-Montes and Alto Douro (Utad), Mouchão It would be the tree that would have this record with an age that would be around 3,350 years. Spain also has ancient olive trees and among all of them stands out The Arión Fargaa tree that we can find in the province of Tarragona. The estimated age of this olive tree is more than 1,700 years. This implies that this millenary tree would have been planted at the time of Emperor Constantine I. Olives are not the only millenary tree species in our environment. Cedros, Secuoyas and even Dragos Canarios can also reach ages that would pale the biblical matusalem. The olive trees are trees with a long life expectancy but do not usually fill the lists of the longest trees on the planet. The two longest -known non -cloned trees are two pines called Prometheus and Matusalemto which ages are estimated above 4,000 years. Both belong (or belonged in the case of Prometheus) to the species Pinus Longaevathe “long -lived pine” so it is not completely surprising this fact. When Prometheus was cut, the botanists who analyzed him told more than 4,800 rings, so he was estimated at an age of about 4,900 years. Estimates indicate that Matusalem has also surpassed for decades The 4800 -year -old brand. If we include clonal organisms we can find older trees. For example, the Pando forestconsidered the largest living organism on the planet, composed of thousands of cuttings of the same clonic tree, could have close to 80,000 years old According to some estimates. In Xataka | A retiree planted a tree in 2003 in one of the most dangerous areas of Sao Paulo. Today is an amazing “jungle” of the city Image | Eric Nagle, CC by-SA 4.0

North Africa was outside the bronze age map. A metallic waste has been put in the center of history

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If we look at the map From the Bronze Age, we observe that much of Europe and the Middle East are the protagonists of the period of the Ancient bronze. For a long time it was estimated that Egypt was the only focus of Metallurgical development In Africa during the Bronze age. For years, we thought that the rest of the territories were empty and it was with the Phoenicians when settlements and metal development began. We were wrong. And young archaeologists have shown that Morocco was more connected to other Mediterranean regions of what we thought. And the Kack Kouch settlement is the test. The Phoenicians. The Maghreb was an absent zone in the debates about late prehistory in the Mediterranean region. It was known that he received some influences from the European bronze, but they were pieces, because they did not produce their own metallurgy until the colonization of the Phoenicians. Morocco arrived around 800 AC, founding colonies such as Lixusbut it turns out that there were already stable settlements on the Mediterranean coasts of Africa. In North Africa, the representation is Egypt … and it ended Kach Kouch location Kach Kouch. In 1988, a team formed by Moroccan and Spanish researchers discovered the settlement of Kach Kouch. It was an important finding, since the survey made in 1992 revealed that, at some point between the VIII or VI ac centuries, there had erected a half -hectare camp with cabins built with mud. It was probably an agricultural people and the researchers said that, probably, Kach Kouch had been founded by Phoenician sailors to control access routes to the Mediterranean from the Lau River. Why the Phoenicians? Because the remains found belonged to amphorae of this culture that would have served to transport wine, oil or wheat. Frozen. After the 1992 excavation, the archaeological site had not been analyzed again, until now. He Kach Kouch Archaeological Projectled by researchers from the National Institute of Archeology of Morocco, set out to reach the bottom of the settlement. Literally. The SE development In two phases – in 2021 and 2022 – and, although the archaeological interest was present in both, one of the objectives was that the students of the institute be formed in archaeological methodology. What they found was far beyond what would be expected of training practices: Kach Kouch was not a Phoenician settlement, but had centuries there. Through drones, differential GPS, 3D models and radiocarbon dating, the team of researchers discovered that three phases of occupation had been given in the settlement. Occupation phases | Image of The Conversation, H. Benattia Ancestral occupation. These occupation phases were between 2200 AC and 600 BC and the researchers They have isolated The three phases due to the remains they found. First phase: Between 2200 and 2000 AC the remains are scarce, such as ceramic fragments without decorating, a flint lasc and bovine bones. It could have been a sporadic occupation, but existing. Second phase: Between 1,300 or 900 AC the occupation would have already been stable with circular housing and warehouses, evidencing a sedentary society. Kach Kouch would be agricultural, mainly, due to the silos and grinding stones found. For the remains, it is estimated that they cultivated barley and wheat that complemented with the breeding of sheep, goats and cows. Third phase: Between 800 and 600 AC here and the Phoenicians have played a role. This external cultural influence brought elements such as ceramics to lathe and iron tools, which were mixed with local architecture and stone buildings. From left to right: plant remains, carved bones, flint lacquers The metal. Therefore, the new discovery indicates that, centuries before the arrival of the Phoenicians, Kach Koach was already a stable settlement. But there is a key piece that reveals that the first bronze object found in the region could have arrived through the broader exchange networks of the Mediterranean: among the important recent discoveries, a bronze fragment dated between 1110 and 920 ac This is the oldest bronze evidence in the Maghreb area and, although the phrase is very manida, it is something that changes everything in the archeology of North Africa because the fragment is a waste of the function in a mold, but it is the oldest bronze object known in North Africa if we do not have Egypt into account. In the image on the right, we see a rest of an amphora. On the right, objects A a are grinding tools. E a g are the metal remains so relevant The Phoenician influence. Hanza Benattia is one of the authors of the study, as well as the director of the Kach Kouch archaeological project and, as explained in The conversationevidently the Phoenicians played a role in this story. During the VIII and VII AC centuries, the inhabitants of the settlement had the same material, architectural and economic culture they had during the previous phase, but contact with the Phoenicians introduced new cultural practices. “For example, circular housing coexisted with other squares made of stone and framework of wood and mud, combining phenistic and local techniques,” says Benattia. In addition, he points out that products such as vine and olive tree began to be cultivated, and that was when they began to use ceramics made around and the use of iron objects. This is the first thing that was found in 1992 and for what was considered that the settlement was Phoenician. However, the archaeologist points out that, towards 600 BC, the settlement was abandoned. There is no evidence of violence, so social or economic changes would have pushed the inhabitants to other more prosperous close settlements. To look for. It is curious how a simple waste from a material that should not be there changes the historical perception not only of a specific place, but of a region. As we said, the Magreb was excluded from the conversation about the late prehistory of the Mediterranean, but as Benattia points out, this discovery “not only … Read more

The “Handled PC” are living their golden age

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Yesterday was an exceptional day for nintenders. Nintendo Switch 2 It is official, a console that finally comes to compete with the best in the market, and that leaves Several errands to other companies. Switch’s particularity in front of his rivals remains his portability, and in this generation he is closer than ever to be The final console. However, although it seems that it has no rivals, the truth is that the “Handled PC”, or consoles that we can turn into both desktop and computers, are at their best. Asus Rog Ally X. The Rog Ally X of Asus It is literally a computer locked inside a console. A beast that was born in 2024 with an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage and … a price of 799 euros. In hardware terms there is no comparison and, in software, here we talk about a console with Windows 11. There are no Nintendo games (at least officially), but it is a weight alternative. Asus Rog Ally, 7 -inch Fullhd screen, AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage and Windows 11. * Some price may have changed from the last review Steam Deck. Steam Deck It is one of the clear references within its segment, despite taking time in the market. A beast with Zen 2 processor, OLED screen in its latest generation, external connectivity up to 8K 60 fps and its own system: Steamos 3.0 (based on ARCH). This console is also around 700 euros, but is closer to a computer than a video game device. Valve Steam Deck SSD of 512 GB + 16 GB of RAM, 7 inches, 60 Hz, 1280 x 800 px, hand games console * Some price may have changed from the last review Lenovo Legion Go S. Recently we could try the Lenovo Legion Go Sa beast with Steamos and option to Windows. The tonic is similar to that of its rivals: AMD processor, a lot of storage, option to use desktop functions, etc. The price? Also more expensive than Switch 2, 630 euros for Windows version. Its “Sin S” version, the Lenovo Legion Go, is also available with even more radical specifications. Lenovo Legion Go – Gaming Portable console 8.8 “WQXGA (AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, 8C, 16GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, Integrated AMD graphics card, Windows 11) Black, Legion Coldfront cooling system * Some price may have changed from the last review MSI The Claw. MSI is known for manufacturing computers, but also knows how to make consoles with Windows 11. The Claw A1 follow the line of the other devices: PVP between 600 and 800 euros, in this case an Intel Core Ultra 7, and a lot of chicha under the hood. MSI Claw A1M – Full HD 7 “120Hz (Intel Core Ultra 7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Wi -Fi 7, Windows 11) * Some price may have changed from the last review All are missing something. Nintendo, everyone needs to be Nintendo consoles. The company has achieved something that plays in its favor: buyers who bet their consoles for the mere fact that consoles … are from Nintendo. A nostalgia fever, exclusive games only available on its platform and a different philosophy, one in which the graphics go to a secondary plane (not so much in this second generation) and the only thing that matters is the experience with the game itself. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Adult life has made me sitting to play is increasingly complicated. Until I bought a portable console

A “small ice age”

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“No realistic adaptation measure can face such fast temperature changes under a collapse” of the Gulf current. In recent years we have discussed a lot about The weakening of the AMOC and about the consequences that, especially for EuropeI could have all this. And yet That study phrase that returned the old fear of the researchers to the fore: the one that says that we do what we do, THE END OF THE AMOC It would be a catastrophe of unsuspected proportions. Everything will happen too fast. The amoc is The oceanic flow that runs from north to south in the North Atlantic basin. The process begins with sinking to the cold water background in front of Greenland and the movement of this south. The replacement of that water with a warmer (which flows on the surface to the north) allows to transfer heat from the Gulf from Mexico to Europe. The cold comes. The problem is that the importance of this current in Europe is capital. Without it, both Western Europe and East of North America would cool very significantly. We would see how a “generalized cooling throughout the North Atlantic and Northern Hemisphere in general“That the temperature would collapse in Europe, how they would strengthen” from the winter storms, with more and more powerful explosive cyclogenesis “and a much more snow (taking a lot of productive lands from the market in a matter of years). The change would be (will be) brutal and we know it in good ink. The story is full of examples. The small ice age was, according to NASA a period that began around 1550 and consisted of three cold peaks (around 1650, 1770 and 1850) interspersed with relatively warm intervals. Those peaks were extremely hard and are key triggers of three of the great geopolitical conflicts of the continent: the wars of religion, the French Revolution (and Bonapartism) and the revolutions around 1848. But also the fall of the Ming dynasty in China. These years are full of anecdotes, from the Swedish troops crossing the frozen sea in the Swedish war Until the suspicion that the cold was the Calve factor that caused the wood of the Stradivarius to be denser than usual. Hunger, pain and suffering. In National Geographic published in his day A small summary of historical testimonies where it can be verified that “aldeano aldeans (survived) based on bread made with ground nuts stall The floor was too hard to dig. We are not in 1600, of course. And that shows, especially, in our ability to ‘adapt’ and to use internationalist networks to ‘cushion’ local or regional changes. No one can argue that, in recent decades, our systems have improved: beyond our assessment, Andalusia now has double irrigation that in the 90s in similar climatic circumstances. However, as the authors say, it is very difficult to imagine some scenario in which a climate change of that draft does not lead to a deep economic, political and social crisis throughout the entire continent. And that, of course, is the worst problem of all. Right now, all of Europe is in a hurry for a warmer climate, so that The Sahara extends to the northso that The rains and snow become more rare. At the time the Gulf Current is stopped (And it is increasingly clear that it will stop) We will be headed to the opposite situation. But without time to react. As the old woman said (and probably apocryphal) Chinese curse, we seem destined to live interesting times. Image | Juanedc In Xataka | In 536 the sun began to shine less than the moon. The small ice age began then began

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