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In 2021 a volcano spent three days in eruption without anyone finding out. Now it helps us ahead of the silent volcanoes

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Knowing how to read the signals that a volcano gives before erupting can make a difference between a scare and a tragedy. Some volcanoes make it easy for experts who know how to read these clues but others erupt without prior notice. Or maybe just we couldn’t decipher your signs. At least until now. A new tool. A team of researchers He has devised A new mechanism to model the behavior of some volcanoes. This tool, its creators stand out, will serve to more effectively monitor the eruptions of some volcanoes reducing the risk associated with these natural phenomena often so violent. Some special usefulness in the case of “silent” volcanoes. “Despite great advances in monitoring, some volcanoes erupt with minimally detectable or even without them precursors, significantly increasing the risk of nearby populations,” pointed in a press release Yuyu Li, co -author of the study. As explained by LI herself, some of these volcanoes are located not only near communities, also near important air traffic routes. Silent volcanoes. For the development of its tool, the team resorted to the Veniaminaf volcano, located in the North American state of Alaska. This is one of the so -called “silent” volcanoes, volcanoes whose eruption is not preceded by the signals that are generally associated with an imminent or close eruption, such as earthquakes or the deformation of the soil in the surroundings of the Magma Chamber. Veniaminof’s is just an example that We can find In this family of silent volcanoes that also includes some closer such as Stromboli in Italy or Popocatepetl in Mexico. Looking inside the volcano. But among all of them, the Veniaminof volcano is perhaps the most paradigmatic. Not because only two of the 13 rashes that have leaded since 1993 have been planned, but because in 2021 he achieved the milestone of erupting without anyone noticing Until three days later. The team responsible for the study analyzed the internal conditions that make it a silent volcano. Factors such as a slow supply of magma and a warm host rock are key in this regard. The monitoring of the volcano was carried out for three summers prior to one of the silent eruptions of the volcano, that of 2018. A model to get ahead of the eruption. The result, a model that conforms to the state of different variables that can condition the probability of the burst of the magma, such as the volume of the reserve, flow conditions of the magna, depth of the reserve or the form that it acquires is. Thus they could estimate what kind of conditions could be linked to a silent eruption and which ones were not. The team found that soil deformation could help prevent some eruptions of the volcano but that the relationship between underground magma and rashes were somewhat more complex than it might seem. The details of the study have been published In an article In the magazine Frontiers in Earth Science. The following steps. Monitoring the numerous silent volcanoes distributed throughout the world will not be an easy task. For now, the resolution gives a clue to what are the volcanoes to monitor more closely: volcanoes with small and warm reserves and slow magma flows, explains the team. In Xataka | In 2021 a volcano spent three days in eruption without anyone finding out. Now it helps us to unmask the silent volcanoes Image | Alaska Volcano Observatory Photo Gallery

Porsche’s record has been carried ahead in Nürbrugging

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The Xiaomi Su7 Ultra is already the fastest electric car of Nürburgring. No, calm, you are not living a déjà vu. In October 2024Xiaomi’s electric Berlina became the four fastest doors of green hell. But it was then a time marked by a car that was not production, with specifications designed for circuit. Now, the company has certified that it has the fastest electric car of the German circuit. And the circuit itself has confirmed it In a press release that speaks of “the fastest electric luxury sedan in the world.” The truth is that this is the category that collects the attempts of production electric cars. That is, we find rolling in the market. Two seconds With this new record, Xiaomi uploads the bar of electric production cars and begins to bring this technology closer to the mythical barrier of the seven minutes to cover the more than 20 kilometers of, probably, the most challenging circuit in the world. Specifically, Xiaomi has stopped the clock in 7: 04,957. Time has signed it with the Xiaomi Su7 ultra equipped with the competition package, the same as has caused the wrath of some buyers Checking that your supposed competition hood had no practical function. Time improves in more than two seconds the registered by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package in 2023, which certified a time of 7: 05.55. This Open the battle with Porsche that until now had the two best production cars times in the circuit. The aforementioned and a 7: 33.35 signed by the Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Now we know that the record was achieved on April 1 but it has not been until now when it has been certified and We can see the complete video of the return to the green hell. “I saw the video more than 10 times and my heart still beat extremely fast and the blood boiled,” he said Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, in Weibo In relation to the new record. The record is just the certification of something we already knew: the Xiaomi Su7 Ultra looks at Porsche. During the presentation of the vehicle they already put all the meat on the grill. Then they confirmed that their car was faster in 0 to 100 km/h than the German, which surpassed him in more than 500 hp and that, above all, despite being equipped with the Nürburgring package, the car costs 814,900 Chinese yuanes (just over 107,000 euros), far from the 1,998,000 yuan (259,000 euros) of the German model. Photo | Lei Jun in X In Xataka | The 1,548 hp of the Xiaomi Su7 Ultra are so wild that the brand wanted to send you to a circuit first to examine you

ios 26 has a very hard path ahead

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Apple celebrated its WWDC 2025one in which the Redesign of iOS was even above artificial intelligence implementations. At least, as far as speech is concerned. Liquid Glass It is the new interface shared among all Apple operating systems, starting from the design language we saw for the first time in Vision Pro. iOS 26the operating system of iPhonehas been updated in your beta for developers. And a server has been testing it since yesterday. I’m going to tell you what I found in This first betaone with a lot of work ahead and that sets the foundations of a new era for Apple. One in which curves come. Liquid Glass in iOS 26 Blocking screen notifications are practically illegible, for the moment. iOS 26 has completely changed the design we had in iOS 18and absolutely all the elements of the interface are starring transparencies. When it is more or less aesthetic I will not enter, it is subjective. What leaves no mistake is that … There is a serious problem with contrast. It is a first version, but Apple has a challenge ahead with transparencies: readability The elements of the blocking screen and notification screen, if we have a clear background (the one that comes by default), present important readability problems. It does not depend on having a more or less large panel, it is barely seen as soon as the notification lands in a darker element of the wallpaper. If it falls to a darker area, the improvement visualization (something). That the elements of the UI have the transparent edges do not help, that absolutely everything is transparent, does not help. This is the first beta for developers, so it is convenient to be cautious. The first Dark theme implementation in iOS was simply terrible. Now it works perfectly. Which We are seeing right now is the sketch on which Apple is going to workand these readability problems, at least on paper, should be resolved. I am especially concerned with Glow that have the edges of some apps. This brightness is sought, but ends up achieving that apps with white background are perceived quite blurred and little defined. Apple will have to seek balance between respecting this new visual identity, and that everything is readable under any circumstance. The redesign affects all native appswhich now have a dynamic bar at the bottom. Perhaps, too dynamic, to the point that the camera app seems completely broken when you open it, and you have to be you who intuits that, sliding on the photo icon, the rest of the options are displayed. Very little Apple, even for a first beta version. The system is loaded with details, such as the remaining load time in settings (it does not appear on the lock screen, as on Android). On the positive side, There are very careful elements: sickly refined animations, improvements on the blocking screen with the automatic adaptation of the clock to the main element and, although it is missing, a cohesion at the level of native apps and system that was not so deep before. The animations are half cooking, there are broken elements in the interface, and it shows that everything is still quite green. It is not something that worries me in excess, it is the first beta for developers of the greatest design change in the history of the iPhone. An AI that continues behind its rivals Do not expect great changes in Apple Intelligencebecause there are no. Screen recognition through chatgpt does not work yet, the news to generate Genmojis in Image playground They are insignificant, and automatic translation does not work for the moment, it is frozen. Yes I have been able to try the new call filter, one that comes to compete with Google’s and that is much more aggressive. Apple filters absolutely all unknown calls: Siri pauses them, ask who he is and what he wants, to show us later. Only there we will decide whether we want to take the phone or not. It is a solution that ends radically with spam, but that kills gunflows. There is nothing of Google’s intelligent detection, just an aggressive filter that ends all the calls of numbers that we do not know. If we have any urgency or the person who calls us is special has a hurry, we can end up losing the call in the process. The key in Apple’s AI is working locallywith its own model that does not need a constant cloud connection. Apple will open these Apple Intelligence tools to third parties so that developers can use them in their apps, always running in local models. His second big point is silence. Apple wants AI to be there to help us in day to day, not to modify by system elements. It is a discreet implementation, although insufficient. Nothing that Apple has presented is new or exclusive: Google and Samsung have leading the AI ​​career in mobiles for more than two years. The translation of calls live, the call filters (although less aggressive), and functions with which Apple does not have the audio draft, navigation assistant or sharing screen with Gemini Live (the assistant sees the screen in real time and interacts by voice, not only text) in models such as the Samsung Galaxy S25they show that Apple is still far from the throne. Apple continues to the defensive Apple has decided to follow a strategy in which its AI controls the everyday, and the advanced is subcontracts to companies such as OpenAi. The changes that, at some point, They will arrive in Sirithey are drawn as something irrelevant at this point. We already know what Apple’s position is with AI, and makes some sense. The problem is that it is not an AI that comes to win. And Apple seems to be clear that this race is no longer yours is worrying. The local approach is plausible, but not enough. Regarding the change of design, my point in this … Read more

Spacex has always been 10 years ahead of the competition. The problem is that in China that law no longer applies

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The Falcon 9 rocket has turned 15 this week. In December they will do 10 years of their first landing. Eight ago that was first reused. More than 400 reusations later, Spacex still has no competition. But the competition will not arrive staggered, it will arrive suddenly and will do so from China. The Boyante China Space Industry He is living an authentic effervescence in the development of reusable rockets. Operations? Even none, but far from being projects on paper, there are already several companies that have successfully completed vertical take -off and landing tests with prototypes that mix technologies inspired by Falcon 9 with more modern ones, anticipating the entry into Starship service. These advances, which remind the first days of the Grasshopper and Starhopper Spacex prototypes, are not only aimed at deploying mega-constellations of Chinese satellites, but also to compete in the global release market. Assembly of astrophysic Daniel Marín (Eureka) with Chinese VTVL prototypes Space Epoch: This relatively young company (founded in 2019), hit the table on May 28, 2025. Its VTVL Yuanxingzhe 1 (YXZ-1) prototype, 4.2 meters in diameter and made of stainless steel, made a leap of 2.5 kilometers high, threatening controlled in the sea. According to Eureka, it was The first Chinese VTVL prototype to make controlled amelizer: He had no landing train and was designed to perch and sink slowly, a strategy that Space Epoch plans for recovery From the first stage of its orbital rocket Yuanxingzhe 1. Once operational, this rocket intends to place more than 10 tons in low orbit. The prototype is propelled by a longyun Ly-70 engine of methane and liquid oxygen. Landspace: One of the most advanced private, Landspace is developing the Zhuque-3a two -stage rocket of methane and liquid oxygen built in stainless steel, with a height of 76.6 meters, comparable to Falcon 9. Its VTVL prototype performed An impressive 10 -kilometer altitude In September 2024 (Eureka mentioned a second jump of the ZQ-3 VTVL-1 at this point on September 11, while other sources point to the end of August for a similar milestone). This flight included the first realer in flight of an engine during the descent in China, landing successfully. Landspace aspires to a first orbital launch of Zhuque-3 in 2025, with recovery of the first stage by 2026. ISPACE: Another private pioneer, Ispace, is working on its reusable Hyperbola-3 rocket. To do this, his Hyperbola-2y (SQX-2Y) test vehicle completed several VTVL jumps at the end of 2023: one of 178 meters in November and another of 343 meters in Decemberboth with successful landings. These trials were crucial to validate the technology of their Metallox engines and guidance systems. ISPACE plans the first flight of Hyperbola-3 by 2025 and the recovery of its first stage in 2026. Deep Blue Aerospace: This Nanjing-based company develops the Nebula-1 (Xingyun-1), a fluid oxygen rocket and oxygen. Already in May 2022, its demonstrator VTVL completed a 1 kilometer jump with successful landing. In September 2024, a major prototype tried a jump with greater altitude (between 5 and 10 km), But he suffered a hard landing due to a problem with thrust controlalthough the company considered that many objectives of the essay were met. Deep Blue Aerospace also has the Nebula-2 in its plans, a Heavy Class-class launcher 9. Sast (Shanghai Academy of SpaceFlight Technology): This state entity, part of CASC (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation), is leading government effort in reusable rockets. Its VTVL prototype, sometimes called Longxing 1 and associated with the future CZ-12A or CZ-12R (a reusable version of the CZ-12), has also made remarkable jumps. On June 23, 2024, this prototype, propelled by three longyun Ly-70 engines (the same as Space Epoch), reached 12 kilometers of altitude on a test flight from Jiuquan. Subsequently, on January 19, 2025, a second prototype tried an even more ambitious leap of 75 kilometers from Haiyang, but was lost during the flight. Galactic Energy: Known for its CERES-1 rocket, Galactic Energy is developing pallas-1, a fluid oxygen rocket and oxygen with a first reusable stage. Although he has not yet made a VTVL jump with a full rocket prototype, In August 2023 he carried out a vertical landing test using a reaction motor proof vehicle (nicknamed “Firebird”) to validate control algorithms. They expect the first orbital launch of Pallas-1 (in disposable mode) between the late 2025 and early 2026. Linkspace: It was the first Chinese private company to focus on reusable rockets. Already in August 2019, its RLV-T5 prototype made a 300-meter leap with successful landing, a pioneering milestone for Chinese startups. Although its subsequent progress has been slower compared to its competitors, its initial role was fundamental. Space Pioneer: This company is developing the Tianlong-3, a Falcon 9 class launcher designed from the beginning for reuse. Although he has not yet performed a VTVL test, the company has advanced in the construction and proof of the Tianhuo-12 engines and the first stage of the rocket. Its first orbital launch is expected between 2024 and 2025 (without attempted recovery on the first flight), closely followed by VTVL landing tests. Vertical landings ‘Made in China’ The list does not end there, which draws a trend: China not only wants to match Spacex’s reuse capacity, but is cultivating a robust ecosystem to compete directly with Elon Musk’s company. The objectives: reduce launch costs, increase cadence for the deployment of new mega-constellations (Like Guowang, the Chinese answer to Starlink) and, ultimately, cut distances with the company that is launching 80% of the total mass that is put into orbit. So, although Spacex remains the indisputable reference in the reuse of orbital rockets, the question is no longer whether it will have a serious rival in China, but which of this growing legion of contenders, in addition to the CASC itself, will be the first to consistently replicate the feat of landing and reuse orbital rockets as something routine. The race is in full swing, and landing platforms on land and sea … Read more

Renewables have stopped their emissions ahead of time

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China has achieved what until recently seemed unattainable: reduce its CO₂ emissions while continuing to expand its energy capacity. An unexpected turn to The biggest issuer in the world. Short. A Brief Carbon report He has revealed that CO2 emissions in China decreased 1.6% year -on -year in the first quarter of 2025 and 1% in the last 12 months. Investment in renewables. China hoped to start reduce your emissions in 2030. But The strong growth of renewables “Leolar, wind and nuclear,” is advancing the times. And most interesting: this fall in emissions is not due to a crisis, but to a real transformation of the energy system. For the first time, the growth of clean energy has reduced China’s fossil fuel energy to the growing demand for electricity In data. To dimension the rhythm of change, Carbon Brief He has highlighted that only in March of this year 23 GW of solar energy and 13 GW of wind were installed, breaking all the previous records. The new installed capacity not only covered the growing energy demand, but allowed to reduce the use of coal. Other factors in early fall. The decrease in CO2 before planned has not been only due to an expansion of renewable Focused on internal production. Can this be only temporary? As have indicated The data, the emissions are only 1% of the peak, so any economic activity or change of energy policy can change this situation. In fact, there are precedents of temporary falls in 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2022, all driven by crisis or economic decelerations. In addition, the Asian country Keep maintaining A strong investment in coal plants for your “electrostate.” The big question now is whether this fall can be maintained and becoming a structural trend, or if it will be just a respite before new increases. Uncertainties. Next June It enters into force A new renewable energy price policy. With this rule, guaranteed rates disappear that were linked to coal and new projects must directly negotiate their contracts in the market. In the short term, an impulse is expected in the installation figures, but in the long term the measure could generate instability if there are no clear incentives that maintain rhythm. Forecasts According to Carbon Brief analysisthe long -term trajectory will depend on two key factors: the next five -year plan that China is developing and the economic response of the commercial warfare, now in a momentary truce. In short, the challenge is political and structural. If the decisions taken in the coming years manage to consolidate this trend, China will not only fulfill its climatic commitments, but also lead the global energy transformation. Image | Unspash and Unspash Xataka | This researcher is convinced to know the measure with the greatest transformative potential today: make cities a good place to live

Tesla trusts the Robotaxi as his next Milmillonario business. China is already in conversations to get ahead in Europe

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Robotaxi is the business of the future in urban mobility. At least that is what technological giants such as Tesla, Google or Baidu believe and what some analysts have been saying for years. Although for now it is a business where profitability does not seem to be in sight, expansionist plans continue. And the next battlefield is Europe. That is what they claim from The Wall Street Journal. The American media ensures that Baiduconsidered the Chinese Google, works to try its vehicles without driver in Switzerland. Türkiye would follow the deployment and would be the first step to hit the table and position himself as pioneers on European soil. The information comes after Baidu has opened conversations with Swiss Post for Postauto, one of its units that provides the public bus service, has vehicles of this type on the street. If everything goes ahead, the goal is to start testing at the end of this year. The project with Türkiye, internal sources have affirmed WSJ It is similar. Objective: Be the first Putting autonomous buses on the market that can make trips for themselves without the intervention of a driver is a shortcut to open the way to a future robotaxis business. While in the United States and China, this business is being tested for a long There are active tests with busesa horizon for a robotaxis service in the street has not been completed. The problem of these services is that, for the moment, they are not generating any profitability. In the United States, General Motors burned so many Cruise tickets that he has preferred Cancel the project Despite having squandered billions of dollars along the way. Waymo’s success is partial because despite working in various cities in the country, its reach is small. And, at the same time, Tesla has also put all the machinery in motion to enter the market. However, the company’s own shareholders They have expressed their doubts on whether this must be the path that the company has to take. The project seems to have surpassed a more affordable Tesla, which has generated doubts. As to ChinaRobotaxis are much more widespread. In fact, Baidu operates in 12 different cities with its apologue service but Face Weride competition that is already available in eight cities, Pony.ai either Momenta that are in full phase of expansion. Given the competition and the hard challenge of profitable services, these companies are in full expansion to third countries. For example, Weride has already reached an agreement with Uber to integrate into its platform and offer trips with autonomous robotaxis in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The objective is to take the service to 15 different cities in the future. In spite of everything, companies that want to enter the European market have it complicated. At the moment, European regulation is very demanding with autonomous vehicles and, in fact, Tesla herself has to save some functions In vehicles that are able to advance without a driver inside the park, offering a service cut in front of what they have on the street in the United States. For now, the closest thing to a robotaxi is what offers Mercedes. The company already has functions for the driver to completely disregard the car, as long as it circulates less than 60 km/h, the environment has previously mapped and the weather conditions are good enough. Despite doubts, as we say there are companies that see in this business a clear commitment to the future. Tesla has joined In the background to the business proposal of Waymo or Baidu, technological giants that aspire to develop their own software for autonomous vehicles and put them on the street associating with a large vehicle company that provides them with the hardware, that is, of the car in itself. The only difference with Tesla is that Elon Musk’s company can manufacture its own vehicles and with their own assembly chains and the acquired knowledge They aspire to earn more money working in vertical integration with proper vehicles and software development that stays at home. Photo | Baidu In Xataka | I have tried a totally autonomous taxi. This is traveling without driver

We are getting closer to ahead of the arrival of Alzheimer’s. Knowing it can reassure us, but maybe too much

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Get ahead of the arrival of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s is today a chimera, but achieving it would be key when looking for treatments that manage to go beyond containing symptoms and are able to reverse the disease. What is already in our hand is to estimate our risk of suffering. The question is to what extent is a good idea. Pros and cons. This type of evidence that allows us to know our chances of suffering from Alzheimer’s impact on our psychological well -being and our motivation. A new study He has investigated In these effects and has observed that, although this knowledge does not have an effect on our emotional stress can reduce our motivation to maintain a healthy life. Even among people with a high risk of suffering from this disorder. Win the career to the disease. Get ahead of Alzheimer’s arrival It is key For professionals who treat it: the sooner the diagnosis is the greater the margin of maneuver to design the ideal therapeutic strategy that allows to slow down the appearance of symptoms and their progressive worsening. It also helps patients and their environment adapt to the arrival of the disease, psychologically but also more practical. Count plates. Although we do not know the mechanisms that operate after Alzheimer’s, we know that beta-amyloid plaques play a fundamental role. These clusters that are formed in the brain appear in people with this disease and are therefore an important diagnostic tool. The scanners Positron emission tomography offer a non -invasive technique that allows you to detect these clusters in the brain. From the identification of these clusters it is possible to estimate the risk that the disease begins to unleash a patient and allows health personnel and affected people to take the necessary preventive measures. 199 participants. The new study had 199 participantsall healthy adults who would go through this process to determine the presence or absence of plates in the brain. Before completing the scanner, the group completed surveys to find symptoms of anxiety, depression, memory and motivation problems; Surveys that repeated six months after the test. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Lights and shadows. As explained by the team responsible for the study, participants who did not present plaques experienced “emotional improvements”: lower depression, anxiety and even less memory problems. However, the team also observed a lower degree of motivation when taking measures to improve their lifestyle to make it healthier. Among the participants there were also cases in which plaques were detected. They also did not see an increase in depressive symptoms a memory problems, but their anxiety level was reduced. The problem is that, as in the case of the first group, its motivation to introduce changes in their day to day was also reduced. “The findings suggest that revealing the presence of amyloids does not negatively affect the participants, and simply knowing the results seems to decrease the negative feelings globally,” explained in a press release Schnaider Beeri, Ocautora of the study. The role of the psychological. Physiological diseases can affect our mental well -being, but our psychology can also play a determining role when facing body diseases. Motivation when introducing changes in our life is, in this sense, of difficult importance to estimate. In Xataka | If the question is how to hunt the Alzheimer Image | Daria Obymaha

The magic number that puts Mercadona very much ahead of its competition and that has a hidden cost

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Mercadona has achieved something that seemed impossible in the saturated food distribution sector: A net margin of 3.88% in 2024. Well above not only Spanish or European rivals, but even world giants such as Costco (2.95%), Walmart (2.88%) or Tesco (2.87%). The figure, a trifle compared to other sectors, is stratospheric if we compare it with rivals such as Carrefour, with just 0.93%. Others, such as Dia, Casino or Auchan directly record losses. The supermarket business Historically operates with megic margins (1-2%) compensated for its high volume and cash flow. Mercadona, touching 4%, It is an anomaly. And he has achieved it mainly in the last five years, in which it has gone from 2.7% of 2019 to 3.88% of 2024. In addition, its net benefit has shot 37%, to 1,384 million euros. The 6 keys to unprecedented profitability “Total Efficiency” Model. The figures obey a polished strategy for decades. Juan Roig described the results of 2024 as “from ‘very good’ to ‘spectacular’” during his presentation at the central offices in Paterna. He attributed them to “the good progress of the economy, a great business model and brave decision making,” according to Castellón Plaza. One of Mercadona’s distinctive elements is its commitment to an “efficient assortment.” In other words: a short catalog. Other chains offer between 15,000 and 20,000 references, Mercadona has a rather lower number, prioritizing high -rotation products. It is one of the points that highlights the analysis of Food retaila strategy that “allows you to be more efficient, reach economies of scale and boost the quality of your own brand, all this while offering low prices.” That goes in the next point … Own brand domain. The weight of the distributor brand in Mercadona is overwhelming: its landowner brands, green or deliplus forest represent 58.2% of its sales, according to data from Actuality distribution About 2018. The chain then controlled approximately 44%of the total Spanish market of white brands, far ahead of competitors such as day (16%) or Lidl (11%). This strategy eliminates marketing costs and intermediaries associated with commercial brands. And allows you to set competitive prices without sacrificing margin. Mercadona has constantly invested in improving the quality of these products, developing them together with specialized suppliers to match or overcome the quality of leading brands. A unique relationship with suppliers. The Valencian chain has changed the distributor-professional relationship since the late nineties, when Roig promoted the “interproved” model. As it details INFORETAIL MAGAZINEMercadona “selected a manufacturer by category and granted long -term exclusivity to produce its brands”, working in “open book”: the chain knew the costs of the supplier and jointly set objectives of productivity improvement. Although this model has evolved since 2018 to a broader base of 1,400 “Totaler suppliers“, The philosophy of vertical integration and joint optimization remains. Mercadona negotiates block for all its stores, and that allows you to get conditions that other distributors do not get. The success of this symbiosis is such that, according to The economist“Mercadona suppliers are made of gold”, with growth of more than 10% in their sales during the last year. Logistics and automation. Mercadona operates one of the most sophisticated logistics networks in Europe, with 16 large highly automated blocks that supply their 1,674 supermarkets daily. In 2024, it allocated 276 million euros (26% of its total investment) to strengthen this infrastructure, according to Digital economy. The company has implemented advanced technologies such as the system Figa bridge picking (PPG) In its fresh warehouses, which speeds up the preparation of orders: it allows you to carry fresh products from the field to the store in 24 hours. Less losses and better perceived quality. This obsession with efficiency has raised productivity per employee at 313,545 euros per year, the highest in the sector. Almost null expense and marketing control. Unlike other chains with a lotHere is an example in this house) and not so much to announce products. Trust more on the mouth-a-or and the repetition of purchase. This savings in marketing, which for competitors can mean 1-2% of sales, is direct to the net margin. The company also maintains a relatively simple directive structure. In 2024, he even reduced his management committee to only six members, in front of the sixteen he came to have, according to reports Castellón Plaza. The six members of the Management Committee with Juan Roig in the presentation of results of exercise 2024. That committee came to have sixteen members. Image: Mercadona. No promotions or discounts. Mercadona has no loyalty program, points, coupons or specific discounts. Instead, opt for stable and competitive prices throughout the year. He no longer entrusts his motto ‘Always low prices‘which started at the end of the nineties, and in fact He has explicitly said that it is not his goal to be cheapbut the idea of ​​SPB remains in a certain way: fixed prices instead of specific offers. This saves you promotional marketing costs and constant price changes. In 2024 He reduced 2,000 pricesbut permanently and without this affecting its profitability, according to the company itself. In fact, its gross commercial margin remained stable at 24.7%, confirming that the increase in net profit (37%) compared to sales (9%) is mainly due to internal efficiency improvements, not to make products more expensive. Internationalization problems Mercadona has a 28% market share in Spain and is a baggy leader, but it is having difficulties when leaving other markets. In Portugal he has been for five years but “only” has sixty stores. Although the Portuguese is a market that has begun to give benefits (7 million euros in 2024), Roig has admitted that “it costs a lot” to grow there. As collected The avant -garde“after being forty years in Spain” it is not easy to adapt the model, and international expansion requires “generating managers in the country through internal promotion, which is a long process.” Mercadona has had to adapt its assortment to Portuguese taste and develop a local supplier network. According to Merca2although store sales in Portugal … Read more

Ahead of Alzheimer’s is vital when it comes to stopping its advance. Some of the most important clues are in language

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Alzheimer’s is one of several disorders causing dementia in the third age. It is also the most frequent: in Spain it is estimated that in 2019 there were about 800,000 people suffer from the disease, according to data Spanish Society of Neurology. Globally Estimates They suggest that more than 30 million people live with it. One of the challenges with which patients, family and health professionals have to face is Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Of a Early diagnosis It depends a lot on our reaction capacity to face the symptoms of this disease for now incurable. We have advanced a lot in the diagnosis of this disorder. So much that one of Our main tools Diagnosis is discard, that is, rule out that cognitive deterioration detected in one person is caused by other forms of dementia, such as Parkinson’s. Fortunately, it is not the only tool at our disposal. Another diagnosis pillar are capacities. Specialists can resort to evidence that allows them Evaluate our cognitive abilities And our memory. In this context, interviews can also be conducted to the relatives who help evaluate the patient. The images by scanner, both magnetic resonances, as computerized tomographies or by positron emission, can also give clues. On the one hand they can help in the work of discarding other pathologies, but also They can help To detect the presence of amyloid plates linked to the disease. Until relatively a short time, the confirmation of Alzheimer’s diagnosis could only be done after the patient’s death, examining his brain. Conremps diagnostic techniques can already offer us a comparable degree of certainty. Partly thanks to the last of the tools available to experts, biomarkers. Collecting clues The diagnosis of this disease can only be performed by experts in the field, but sometimes it is important to be attentive to the clues They tell us that in family or relative may be developing the disease. Tracks that can notify us that the time has come to request help from health professionals. In a Recent article in The conversationSarah Curtis, a language expert at Nottingham Trent, listed some perceptible clues through Speech changes of the people who are developing this disease. The first of these indications is the appearance of pauses and doubts in speech, accompanied by a certain vagueness when expressing. That is, the person may have difficulty finding the word you want to use and just trying to overcome this obstacle by resorting to trunk words as “thing” or describing the object vaguely. Another early indication of Alzheimer’s is in confusion when using words. These confusion can be almost imperceptible at the beginning since they can start with words that allude to more general categories, such as using “animal” instead of “dog.” They are more noticeable if the substitution is for another concept in the semantic field, such as using “cat”. Another track listed by Curtis It is the passage of facts to words. People with Alzheimer may have difficulties when completing certain activities, which will result in this person talking about the activity, the emotions that arouses them or even expressing doubts or longing regarding their ability to complete the action. Memory loss can be primed with the lexical variety of the person suffering from Alzheimer’s. That is why this disease can begin by manifesting with An increasingly reduced vocabulary and a greater tendency to repeat words. The fifth and last of the indications mentioned by Curtis on his list, has to do with precision when choosing the words. A person who develops Alzheimer’s can have difficulty listing diverse words in the same category, such as different animals, food or words that begin with a specific letter. This is why the tests used in their diagnosis often ask people who perform this type of enumerations. Many people can read some of these indications and think “this happens to me too.” And it is that confusion of this type are normal. It is common for us to be tongue in countless contexts. That is why it is important to attend to changes in speech and not simply to the existence of confusion or difficulties. Alzheimer’s is a disease that does not appear out of nowhere but is gradually aggravated and is generally not detectable in its early stages. That is why it is often of vital importance attend to your first symptoms. Even more if we consider that some of the treatments are only effective delaying the disease in these early stages. In Xataka | We have a new “theory of all” to understand Alzheimer’s. Your key is in small granules Image | Jiun-Je Lin

has shown a secret project ahead of time

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A few days ago, Apple published in his research blog A video showing Elecnt, an experimental robot-lamina, thus breaking its traditional policy of absolute secrecy on developing products. Why is it important. It is the first time in the recent history that Apple publicly reveals a project before its commercial launch. This change speaks for itself and suggests a new strategy of the company in the race for AI and domestic robotics: a somewhat more public and open. Not without reasons. Between bambalins. The robot shown is an articulated lamp, speaker and integrated projector that responds to gestures and voice commands, reminds a lot of the famous pixar lamp. The device makes expressive movements that emulate human emotions: It moves “curious” when exploring its surroundings. Simulates sadness crouching his head when he receives a “no.” Dance when music sounds. Adjust your position to better illuminate user work. And above all, not only moves, but does it in human, emotional form. In perspective. This movement comes after Bloomberg will reveal that Apple is developing domestic robots With an estimated price of $ 1,000 by 2026-2027, thus entering direct competition with Amazon and Google in the market for intelligent domestic attendees. He also anticipated a somewhat early arrival of domestic devices whose screen would be located on an articulated and motorized arm that “follows” the user in the room. Already common technologies, such as Center Stage or Cented Framego right in that direction. What is happening. Apple seems to be testing the public’s reaction to more “human” and expressive robotic interfaces, moving away from minimalism that has characterized its products in the last decade. On the other hand, this opening and the fact that it has been shown in your blog about Machine Learning They leave another possibility open: that Apple is looking to position themselves in the AI ​​and robotics market to attract talent. A way to proclaim the world that she also has plans in those fields. Deepen. The academic publication that accompanies the video explains that users interact more and better with robots that show expressiveness than with those purely functional, especially in social tasks. And there it seems to be a clear proposal: towards the expressiveness of the robot and not only to cold and functional movements. Outstanding image | Apple In Xataka | The AI ​​already understands the physics of the real world: Nvidia Cosmos is the first step for smart robots

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