aging

Cancer in people under 50 years of age has been growing for decades. A macro study finally points to the big culprit: biological aging

by

The increasing incidence of cancer in young adults is one of the most debated topics in recent oncology. In recent years, exhaustive reviews have warned of an increase in diagnoses in those under 50 years of agealthough medical science had long been searching for the underlying mechanism that connects the dots between modern lifestyle and the early onset of this hated disease. The answer. A new study recently published seems to have found a key piece of the puzzle, which is nothing more than that our cells are aging faster than our ID card. This is the conclusion of research published in the journal Nature that indicates that accelerated biological aging is associated with a greater risk of developing early-onset cancers, especially solid cancers such as lung, stomach and also uterine cancer. Two concepts. To understand the finding, we must first differentiate between chronological age and biological age. The first of these is immovable, since it is nothing more than the years that have passed since our birth. But biological age is flexible, since it is calculated by evaluating the physiological state of a person through blood biomarkers and metabolic profiles. It reflects how “old” our tissues and organs really are. How to measure them. To measure this, Tian’s team used models already consolidated in scientific literaturesuch as PhenoAge and the Klemera-Doubal method. With these tools, they crossed the data of more than 150,000 adults from the UK Biobank and approximately 10,000 program participants. All of Us of the United States. The result shows a dangerous imbalance. This means that those people born in more recent decades had a greater tendency to have a biological age higher than that corresponding to their date of birth. And this time “jump” has direct clinical consequences such as the appearance of cancer. To be more specific, it has been seen that every time we have a person with a biological age higher than their corresponding age, they have an 8% higher risk of having early-onset solid cancer before the age of 50. If we compare the extremes, individuals located in the tertile with the greatest biological aging have a 15% greater risk of developing the disease compared to those in the tertile with the least biological wear and tear. The context. The main thing is not to fall into alarmism, since, although it is true that cancer is increasing in the youngest people in society, it is also increasing in all remaining bands due to multiple factors such as general population aging and better screening methods that allow us to detect cancer earlier. However, the specific data on early onset are undeniable, since large studies point to significant increases in thyroid, breast, colon, kidney and endometrial tumors in the 20 to 49 age group. Colorectal cancer, specifically, is the one that worries the most due to its escalation in young adults. The lifestyle. That we are biologically aging much faster than we should is not magic, but rather it seems to be influenced by different factors related to lifestyle. These include rates of youth obesity, prolonged consumption of diets rich in ultra-processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle, and exposure to environmental toxins. What this new work provides is the quantification of the damage, since these risk factors accelerate the biological clock. We must keep in mind that the human body is exposed to pro-inflammatory factors for more years from early stages of life, which makes it easier for DNA damage to accumulate faster than cellular mechanisms can repair it. In Xataka | Experts agree about the sun and hair: “It is one of the most exposed areas and one of the most forgotten”

If the question is whether we can delay aging, Russia has an unusual plan with the “cousin” of the wild boar and humans

by

In 1928, a Soviet scientist convinced that young blood could rejuvenate the body exchanged his own with that of a university student. The experiment turned the student into a survivor and the researcher into a of the first victims of the modern pursuit of longevity. The great Russian bet. If the question is whether aging can be delayed, Russia has decided to respond with an initiative of extraordinary dimensions. Under the direct impulse of Vladimir Putin, the weekend counted the wall street journal that the Kremlin has made longevity a national priority through a program valued at about $26 billion that seeks to develop technologies capable of prolonging human life and combating age-related deterioration. What for many Western leaders and businessmen remains a private bet financed by technological fortunes, in Russia has become a state strategy which combines genetic research, organ printing, xenotransplantation and other experimental technologies with the promise of saving hundreds of thousands of lives before the end of the decade. New organs for aging bodies. One of the most ambitious ideas of the project consists of progressively replace the defective parts of the human body as if it were a complex machine. It we have told before and Putin himself even commented publicly on the possibility of achieving a kind of practical immortality through the continuous replacement of damaged organs. To get closer to that goal, Russian scientists are working on two main lines: three-dimensional bioprinting of living tissues and the growth of human organs inside minipigs, a variety of pork considered especially compatible for this type of research. The stated goal is to achieve functional transplants of laboratory-produced organs by 2030, a goal that, if achieved, would represent one of the most important biomedical advances of the century. Genes, tissues and pigs at the service of longevity. The program also includes the development of gene therapies aimed at slowing down cellular aging. According to Russian authorities, these treatments represent some of the most promising tools to combat the biological wear and tear that accompanies the passing of the years. At the same time, researchers they claim having managed to print human cartilage and a mouse thyroid gland using bioprinting techniques, preliminary steps towards much more complex structures. The combination of Genetic engineering, organs grown in animals and the manufacture of artificial tissues paints a vision in which medicine stops limiting itself to repairing damage and begins to replace entire components of the organism. Putin’s daughter and the architects of the project. Behind this strategy appear some of the most influential figures of the presidential circle. Among them stands out Maria Vorontsova, Putin’s daughter and an endocrinologist linked to various state genetics programs, as well as the physicist Mikhail Kovalchuk, director of the historic Kurchatov Institute and one of the Kremlin’s main scientific ideologues. Kovalchuk holds that humanity is approaching an era in which organs can be routinely repaired or replaced, prolonging life for increasingly longer periods. For its defenders, aging will no longer be seen as an inevitable destiny and will begin to be treated as a technical problem susceptible to scientific intervention. Between cutting-edge science and community doubts. However, the program’s promises are far from to generate consensus. Many researchers they point out that much of the progress announced by Russia has barely been published in peer-reviewed international scientific journals. Some scientists who participated in the early stages of these investigations hold that there is a great distance between the proclaimed objectives and the results actually demonstrated. International sanctions, scientific isolation derived from the war in Ukraine and the difficulty of collaborating with Western centers also limit the capacity Russian to validate many of these projects. For critics, some of the statements made by the authorities should be interpreted more as aspirations for the future than as technologies close to becoming a reality. Personal obsession turned into state policy. Putin’s fascination with longevity it’s not new. For years he has cultivated a public image associated with physical strength through exhibitions Carefully constructed for sporting activity, hunting or outdoor adventures. At the same time, their behavior during the pandemic showed a extreme concern due to illness and physical deterioration, with strict quarantines, disinfection protocols and isolation measures that attracted the attention of the entire world. At 73 years old, also surrounded by an aging political and economic elite, the fight against the passage of time seems to have become more than a personal curiosity: it is part of a strategic vision shared by much of the Russian leadership environment. The long Russian tradition. The current project does not come out of nowhere either. Russia and previously the Soviet Union have historically shown a recurring fascination for research aimed at prolonging human life. Since the experiments with rejuvenating blood transfusions carried out by Alexander Bogdanov in the twenties until the theories of Oleksandr Bogomolets Regarding a life expectancy of 150 years supported by Stalin, different generations of Soviet and Russian leaders have pursued the idea of ​​overcoming aging. Paradoxically, many of those pioneers they died long before to reach the extraordinary ages they defended. A race against an uncomfortable demographic reality. The bet is even more striking because it takes place in a country that continues to suffer some of the worst mortality indicators of the developed world. Male life expectancy in Russia He is currently around 68 years, well below that of the United States or Western Europe. In this context, the gigantic longevity program promoted by Putin it reflects both a scientific ambition and a national need. The question is whether printed organs, genetic treatments and minipigs capable of hosting future transplants will bring Russia closer to that vision of a increasingly longer life or if they will end up joining the long list of projects that promised to defeat aging and ended up crashing into a biological reality much more difficult to defeat. Image | IToldYa, Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation, Picryl In Xataka | We knew that living … Read more

Japan has plunged into a crazy spiral of aging that is claiming an unexpected victim: the yakuza

by

the yakuza it’s news in Japan. And not because of his coups, a particularly successful police raid or a change in policy by the Government of Sanae Takaichi to combat the criminal network that takes centuries filtering into Japanese society. No. The yakuza is in the news because after several years of seeing its ranks decimated, it has reached an all-time low. According to police statistics, in 2025 their criminal groups numbered about 17,600 people (among members and allies), far from the more than 80,000 just a decade and a half ago. This loss of strength is explained by the control of the police and a turn in the underworld towards new criminal networksbut also because of a trend that affects the rest of the country: the yakuza ages, just like society ages Japanese. The yakuza is shrinking. These are not good times for the yakuza. Not at least as far as follow-up is concerned. Statistics from the National Police Agency show that Japan’s quintessential criminal institution (and one of the best-known in the world) has seen its member and affiliate base fall to a minimum. In 2025 They totaled 17,6001,200 less than the previous year. If we look only at the hard core, the full members, the figure is even more devastating: it remains at 9,400, the lowest since there are records. Is the data so bad? Yes. The problem is not that 2025 has been a particularly bad year for the yakuza, but that it maintains a trend that goes back a long time. Nippon explains that the institution has been seeing its ranks thinning little by little for at least 21 years, tracing a negative curve that has no signs of improving. For reference, the newspaper recalls that until 2009 the yakuza had more than 80,000 people spread throughout the country. If we go back to the 1960s, that support base was considerably higher. The crisis also seems to be affecting (to a greater or lesser extent) the different organizations that make up the yakuza. Nippon appointment half a dozen entities that have either stagnated their social mass or have lost members. The worst stop is Sixth Yamaguchi-gumiwhich in 2025 remained at 3,100 members and 3,200 affiliates. They are 200 and 400 less respectively than a year before. Curious yes, new no. The 2025 data is revealing, but will probably surprise few people in Japan. The country takes years reading headlines that report the gradual loss of base of organized crime networks. In 2022 the Police Agency already revealed that the number of members and associates of mafia groups had fallen to 24,100, the lowest figure since at least 1958, the first year with statistics. Only a few years later the ranks of the yakuza fell below the 20,000 barrier, a new low. What is the reason? As is often the case with all social phenomena, whether related to crime or not, this trend is explained by a combination of factors. In the case of Japanese bands, however, there is one particularly interesting one: age. The Japan Times reveals that one of the theories that the authorities use to explain this decline is the aging suffered by organized groups. The yakuza is getting older, just like japan. In 2022, the Japanese police estimated that 30.8% of members They were between 50 and 59 years old, making it the largest cohort. People between 60 and 69 years old represented 12.5% ​​and septuagenarians 11.6%. More than 50% were 50 or older. In general, the average age of the members was 54.2 years, seven more than a decade before. Members between 40 and 30 years old accounted for 12.9% and those in their twenties did not exceed 5.4%. An increasingly aging country. That the ranks of the yakuza are aging can be explained for several reasons. A key one is that Japan in general is getting older. The country has been immersed in a serious demographic crisis which has plunged its birth rate and raised the average age of the population. According to the records According to Statista, in 1950 this indicator marked 21.3 years, in the mid-90s it had already risen to 39 years and in 2020 it was close to 48. Their forecasts assume that at the end of this century the average will comfortably exceed 50 years. The result of that drift? Japan presents one of the worst percentages of population over 65 years of age: represents more than 29%. Click on the image to go to the tweet. One word: tokuryū. There is, however, another factor that explains why the organizations that make up the yakuza are increasingly aging. It is not that crime is fading in Japan, rather it is transforming and it is doing so by leaning towards a new format: the tokuryūcriminal networks that flee from hierarchical and well-structured models, such as the yakuza. The tokuryū (the word is the sum of tokumeik“anonymous” and ryūdo“fluid”) often operate as groups of criminals who form for coups, without structure, codes, organizational rigidity or bonds. That nature deprives them of some of the advantages of the yakuza, but it also has its strengths. The police find it difficult to deal with such loosely knit groups. And they also seem to offer an attractive model for younger offenders. The Japan Times assures that last year 12,178 people related to tokuryū were arrested, 2,073 more than in 2024. Many of them were under 40 years old or even in their twenties, which gives another clue about the changes that the underworld world is experiencing. “The younger generations’ aversion to yakuza organizations, with strict codes of conduct and hierarchies, is a contributing factor to their decline,” precise the diary Sankei Shimbun. Fighting crime. When explaining the bleeding of the yakuza, the authorities point to another factor: the work of legislators and police. Specifically, they point to greater application of the law and ordinances that complicate the participation of companies and individuals in organized crime. To combat crime the … Read more

the true antidote to aging is in a step

by

For decades, standard medical advice for older adults has been nearly unanimous: walkswim or do a little stationary cycling. In the end we talk about low impact activities focused on the cardiovascular system, but recent scientific evidence is giving a 180 degree turn to this recommendation, since the real enemy of aging is not only the lack of physical background, but sarcopeniawhich is the loss of muscle mass and strength. And to combat it, science points to a simple exercise. A simple exercise. Something as simple as stepping up a step, especially if done with optional extra weight, known as a weight step exercise, is not just a ’90s aerobic movement, it’s top-notch functional training. And one of the great benefits of this exercise is that it does not require having to go to a gym or have extensive equipment, but rather it can be done at home and integrated into your daily routine. Studied. It is not something that personal trainers say just for the sake of it, since there are different essays published in several top-level magazines that demonstrate that doing training sessions stepping They are tremendously effective tools. The first of them consisted of analyzing a program of only six weeks of stepping with weight at home in women over 65 years of age. The result was that they increased the power of their lower extremities by 10 to 11% and improved their stair climbing time by 9%. Another 12-week study confirmed that step aerobics Elevates overall functional fitness, muscle volume and balance. An undisputed king. Although he step It is fantastic for legs and glutes, the truth is that this should be the gateway to doing strength training with loads. This is something that made clear a systematic review of Cochrane which analyzed a meta-analysis of 121 randomized clinical trials with more than 6,700 participants. In this case, progressive resistance training, using weights 2 or 3 times a week, has a very important effect on improving muscle strength, reversing the unwanted effect of age. In this way, short sessions of just 20 to 30 minutes are enough to improve the ability to carry out complex daily activities, reduce osteoarthritis pain and increase muscle mass. More evidence. As if that were not enough, the Mayo Clinic points out that doing interval training from the age of 70, such as 6-second sprints on a stationary bike, is capable of reversing the aspects of muscle aging at the cellular level. In this way, with only 1 or 2 sessions a week for 8 weeks, participants not only reduced their blood glucose, but showed 100% adherence without serious adverse events. Of course, studies emphasize that this type of routine requires professional supervision in the beginning to avoid overtaking people or falls that are fatal at this age. Images | Vitaly Gariev In Xataka | Neither walking nor running: science suggests that the squat is the true “drug” for healthy aging

We have found the “switch” of cellular aging. The secret is called protein AP2A1

by

Regenerative medicine has a very clear objective ahead today: to look for the ‘button’ that can stop aging and allow us live much longeror at least have a better quality of life when we reach certain ages. And here the Japanese have a lot to say with a discovery that gives us more clues about how to preserve our cells much better. A new study. Everything that has to do with living a little longer, the truth is that it causes a little stir in the scientific world, and the article published in January 2025 in the magazine Cellular Signaling it was no wonder. Here it was shown how a team of researchers from Osaka University managed to identify a protein that literally acts as a cellular senescence switch called AP2A1. Our cells. Just as aging can be seen aesthetically, our cells also age through a process of senescence. Upon entering this state, the cells stop dividing, but do not die, since they become larger, more rigid and adhere strongly to their environment. And here a team of scientists has discovered the exact mechanism that causes this. Here the study has pointed to a protein as the culprit: AP2A1. A molecule that acts as a kind of biological transport truck that moves another protein, called β1 integrin along the fibers of the cell. That is why, over time, this process strengthens cell adhesion, causing the cell to become rigid and “old.” The revolution. The important thing here is that if the function of AP2A1 is suppressed in old cells, the biological clock reverses. That is, the cells decrease in size, lose rigidity, drastically reduce the classic markers of aging and proliferate and migrate again. Basically, they rejuvenate themselves. Furthermore, it has also been seen that if this protein is overexpressed in young cells, the result is great aging that accelerates. Your potential. Here the scientific team has seen that AP2A1 is not only emerging as a great marker that measures a person’s aging, but also acts as a direct therapeutic target. That is why some specialized websites such as Fight Aging! already analyze how blocking AP2A1 prevents inflammatory signaling typical of senescent cells. In this way, if we manage to inhibit this protein in the future, we could develop “anti-senescence” agents capable of extending our healthy life expectancy and combating age-related diseases, such as osteoarthritis. A long way. For now, this is something that has been estimated in cellular models in a dish in a laboratory, but it still remains to be seen how it works in the human organism with all the factors that intervene on a cell that is not isolated. What is clear is that the discovery of AP2A1 is a spectacular milestone in cell biology. We have basically found the button that controls the size and youth of cells in the laboratory, but the next big challenge for science will be to find out if we can press that same button, safely, inside the human body. And for that, there are still many years of research left. Images | National Cancer Institute Huy Phan In Xataka | While half the world is worried about aging, one industry is rubbing its hands: the elevator industry

While half the world is worried about aging, one industry is rubbing its hands: the elevator industry

by

The world ages. And at a good pace too. If the World Health Organization (WHO) hits the nail on the headin 2050 the percentage of people over 60 years of age will double that of 2015. From representing 12% it will become close to 22%. Beyond the percentages, this aging translates into challenges in economic, health and social matters. Also in juicy business opportunities, like the one that he thinks he has before him the elevator industry. In their case, an older world will be a world with more work. What has happened? That TK Elevator has shaken the elevator sector by openly recognizing that the gradual aging of the planet (very visible already in Europe or countries like Japan either Korea) represents a lucrative business opportunity. The reason is simple: the more elderly, the greater the need for elevators in buildings. Especially since these and their services are also aging. “A growing trend”. If TK’s words have generated so much expectation, it is because it is not just any company. The firm, based in Düsseldorf, is a heavy weight within the sector, where it is responsible for both manufacturing machinery and maintaining it. Their models can be found in emblematic skyscrapers in New York, although the bulk of their business comes from much more modest buildings occupied by homes, offices or shops. His prediction about the future of the sector in an increasingly aging world has not been made anywhere either. has shared it with one of the most influential newspapers in the US, Financial Times. “As the population ages there is a need to install elevators. We see this becoming a growing trend,” recognize the firm’s executive director, Uday Yadavl. The example of Japan. During his interview, Yadaval cited a specific case: Japan, perhaps one of the countries that is most clearly suffering from the winds of demographic winter. Although all your attempts to reactivate its population engine (and there have been many), the birth rate continues at levels historically low while on the streets it is increasingly easier to find elderly people. According to Our World in Datathe country has the highest “old-age dependency ratio” (the ratio between people over 64 and people of working age) in the world: in 2021 it exceeded 50%, which means that there are only two people of working age for every elderly person. And since then demographic indicators have not exactly improved. It is estimated that about 30% of the country’s population is 65 or older, which is equivalent to tens of millions of people. A widespread phenomenon. Japan is not the only nation facing an aging population, a problem with which Europe fights and other countries, such as South Korea either China. In general the WHO has warned that the trend seems to be accelerating globally and remember that in 2020 the number of people aged 60 or over exceeded that of children under five. “In 2030, one in six people in the world will be 60 years old or older,” insists the WHO, recalling that by then the world population over 60 years old will total 1.4 billion people, well above the 1,000 in 2020. Demographics (and more). It’s not just that more and more older people live in cities and need elevators to get to their homes, it’s that the buildings themselves need renovations. At the end of the day, we age… and the blocks in which we reside. Yadav estimates There are about 22 million elevators worldwide, of which a third (30%) are more than two decades old. In practice, this translates into an immense number of facilities that probably need improvements and tune-ups, a demand that, assures the manager from TK Elevator, is already “growing in a meaningful way.” “More than remarkable”. Although his weight in the sector gives him special relevance, Yadav is not the first to have publicly recognized the good forecasts that the elevator industry has. Last summer Roland Berger published a report in which he provided several insights into the global elevator market, valued according to his calculations at 107 billion dollars. After “several ups and downs” in recent years, marked by COVID-19 or the real estate crisis in China, companies now face a “more than notable growth panorama.” A trend that connects the sector with the flourishing silver economythe economy driven precisely by aging. Images | Zhuojun Yu (Unsplash) In Xataka | In Japan there is no doubt that they live worse than 30 years ago. Houses are literally getting smaller.

We have been dreaming of stopping aging for centuries. The question is if we are finally achieving it: Crossover 1×37

by

Myths such as that of the fountain of eternal youth have helped human beings through the ages. let’s dream of not aging and living forever. Reality is still cruel: Although life expectancy has increased, we age without seeming to slow it down. But there are those who argue that there may be. In this episode we have spoken with Dr. José Hernández, longevity expert and founder of a clinic specialized in Age Reversal, to understand what aging really is, why it is considered a disease today, and what technologies could allow us to go back biologically. In this debate we talk about information theory and epigenetic damage, cellular reprogramming, or how there are already large companies —and some billionaires— investing significantly in this. In fact, the most advanced science is accompanied by methods that seem much more effective not so much in slowing down aging but in ensuring that our physical condition is much better when this process affects us: Physical exercise is an absolute pillar of longevityassures this expert. Of course there are other factors that influence – diet and genetics, of course, do – but we are dealing with a question that has opened numerous avenues of research, some of which are promising. Who knows what can happen. On YouTube | Crossover In Xataka | Don’t tell me your age, tell me your grip strength: how simple gestures tell us how well we are aging

20 years after Dolly we still haven’t cloned humans, but stopping aging is feasible: Crossover 1×32

by

In the summer of 1996, a Scottish laboratory made a breakthrough that would forever alter our understanding of genetics and ignite intense debates about the ethics and the possibilities of cloning. That day Dolly was bornthe first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. This milestone, achieved by researchers at the Roslin Institute, opened a new era in genetic engineering and shattered the belief that only embryonic cells possess the potential for the complete development of a new individual. Since then there has been debate about the possibility of cloning human beings, but we have not done it and it does not seem that we will ever do it. Serezade, molecular biologist, researcher and scientific communicator, talks to us about that and many other things this week. But we also discussed with her another fascinating topic: how the latest advances seem to be achieving something long sought after: slow aging. There is a lot of fabric to cut here, and for example the environment, culture and habits shape our DNA. But there are also risks, ethics and genetic privacy intertwined. And all this raises a key question: does it make sense to be immortal? On YouTube | Crossover In Xataka | The promise of 120 years is dismantled: biology sets a life ceiling that is quite difficult to break

Your heart has a natural “handbrake” against aging and it is important to consume enough

by

When we think about diseases related to the heart or with our circulatory system The need to reduce the fat consumption either salt. But there is an actor that we have somewhat forgotten aside and that can significantly influence how our arteries age: magnesium. What is known. Magnesium seems to be intended for athletes so that they put it in their hands and do not slip on the training bars or to avoid cramps or improve sleep. But science is seeing that this mineral is really important for keeping our arteries functioning in a controlled manner. And its function is so critical that experts see it essential to prevent the blood from becoming ‘too active’ and to thus protect the heart from premature wear. The influencers. And the truth is that seeing all the properties it has, there are many influencers that we can see promoting the use of this supplement through social networks. Above all, taking advantage of sales channels like the TikTok Shop to try to sneak it in to anyone who wants to have all these properties, but logically going through their checkout. That is why although it has great features, especially in the coagulation of our bloodwe must understand exactly why its effect is like this and also whether or not it is necessary to supplement. Since with our wonderful Mediterranean diet Few people will see it as totally necessary. The importance of blood. It is known that blood should neither be too liquid nor too ‘thick’ for it to move correctly. Calcium is one of those responsible for keeping the blood in an optimal state, favoring coagulation when it is too liquid (something that could increase the probability of bleeding). But on the other side we must have a brake that does exactly the opposite, to prevent the blood from being too coagulated, which can cause problems such as thrombi. This is precisely magnesium. And the key is in the balance of both substances so that the blood is in optimal conditions to do its job. It is something documented. A review that was published in 2024 Cureu detailed this mechanism quite precisely: without enough magnesium, calcium dominated cellular function. The only thing this caused was that the platelets did not stop sticking together, making the risk of thrombosis increase enormously. In this way, it was seen that magnesium was a natural antithrombotic that kept the blood with adequate fluidity. Living longer with good health. Taking care of the blood vessels is essential to be able to have correct aging, avoiding problems such as the formation of thrombi or rupture of the endothelium of the vessels. Because the endothelium is nothing more than the part of the arteries that is in contact with the blood and its degeneration only causes the formation of atheroma plaques or the lack of regulation of blood pressure. That is why in a randomized controlled trial published in the magazine Circulation shed light on this: magnesium therapy in patients at coronary risk significantly improved endothelial function. The researchers observed that the higher the levels of intracellular magnesium, the better the ability of the arteries to dilate and adapt to blood flow. The secret of a good diet. But with this the question is mandatory: should magnesium supplementation be uncontrolled? The answer is no. Currently we live in a world where food supplements and bioelements such as tryptophan, magnesium, or calcium are the order of the day. But the reality is that you only have to supplement if there is a deficiency demonstrated by an analysis and that it has a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In the normal case, a balanced diet gives us all the necessary elements that we do not produce organically. That is why having a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds is enough to have the adequate level of magnesium to have adequate regulation of our coagulation. On another point, if you do not follow the classic Mediterranean diet and hardly consume vegetables, you should undoubtedly opt for supplementation, but always under medical supervision. Because as with everything, Too much can cause problems also for our body. Images | Kenny Eliason Xataka | You will love muscle above all things: how protein fever has led to a cult of the “perfect” body

The aging of its population is about to leave Japan without a key element for the nation: pants

by

Japan has entered a unprecedented demographic phase for an advanced economy: retirement mass of the generation that supported its industry coincides with a young one that is too small (and unwilling) to occupy the jobs that this economy requires to continue functioning. On paper, global demand for certain domestically manufactured goods has never been higher, but in the engine room, those who know how to produce them are aging without substitutes. Fabric turned into luxury. He japanese denimslowly woven, dense and dyed with natural indigo in repeated cycles, enjoys a moment of consecration worldwide: Dior, Balenciaga and other luxury houses incorporate it, celebrities exhibit it, the market projects grow more than 85% until 2035 and tourism (supported by a weak yen) triple sales in Kojima’s “Jeans Street.” For an industry that had been hollowed out by decades of cheap imports, the return of demand is not marginal but cultural: the value resides in the texturethe way indigo ages and in that kind of aura of exclusivity that results from real and not cosmetic scarcity. In fact, brands with Japanese only website and without direct export they increase that breath of rarity and price. Without a job when it is most demanded. The apogee has arrived when the productive base collapses: There are barely fifty artisans left in the founding heart of the japanese selvedgethe average age is close to seventy, and apprentices last months before giving up due to noise, heat, grease, discipline and slowness. Bloomberg counted that the skill curve is not linear: it takes six months to five years to operate the loom and up to a decade to maintain and repair it. With the master generation entering retirement and entrepreneurs without time to transmit the trade, continuity is broken by calendar, not by market. Ancient technology. The shuttle looms of the early 20th century (now relics) allow continuous edging what gives the “selvedge” and the density of the weave that produces an unmistakable drape, feel and aging in the fabric. Japan came to have 300,000 machines of this type. The problem? Today there are less than 400 operationsa lower third a single signature. To maintain them you have to remove pieces of other machines already stopped and work at a pace that doesn’t fit with today’s industry. They cannot be replaced by automation without losing exactly what the customer pays for: a finish that only time gives on a slow-made fabric. What is authentic is paid for. Plus: the one who pays For this denim you are not looking just for the feel, but for a product that takes time to make, that ages well and does not depend on the rapid rotation of fashion. In other words, this preference fits with the rejection of fast-fashion and a turn towards objects designed to last. The signs are many and clear: Levi’s sells “Blue Tab” lines for twice the price of a normal 501, Capital places jeans worth several hundred or thousands of dollars, and funds linked to the almighty LVMH they invest in Kojima brands. The problem of aging. Japan is getting older faster than there is time to teach the trade. The factories have plenty of orders, but they cannot get hire or train substitutes. The owners travel and manage, but they do not have hours to teach, and the machines will be lost due to lack of parts and hands that know how to maintain them. If the drift continues like this, the problem will not be a lack of demand but capacity: in about ten years (according to own manufacturers) this type of product will no longer be able to be made because neither the technicians nor the machines will be able to work. There are no shortcuts. The final paradox is that the boom of the sector It doesn’t seem like it’s going to save the job, rather it accelerate towards the limit: The more demand grows, the more it squeezes the few remaining hands and the less time there is to teach others. Thus, the world Japanese denim is faced with a disturbing choice: slow down the pace to transmit the trade (even if that means losing sales in the short term) or exploit the latest generation until it is exhausted, knowing that this would leave a product that will possibly disappear, not due to lack of market, but because no one will be able to do it anymore. Image | PxHere, Liface In Xataka | That Japan has 100,000 people over 100 years old explains a problem: they are literally running out of drivers. In Xataka | Japan’s aging has hit rock bottom with a devastating fact: more and more elderly people want to live in prison

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.