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Someone has created the website “is AI profitable anymore?” to answer the question of our time in real time

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There is a website called “Is AI Profitable Yet?” whose sole mission is to answer one of the most important—and most uncomfortable—questions of today’s technology industry: does artificial intelligence make money anymore? The visual response It is absolutely forceful: The short answer is a priori a big NO, but be careful, because that answer is in a certain sense misleading. The graph effectively shows how the companies that are building frontier models are burning money like there’s no tomorrowand they all spend much more than they earn. The four that appear with long red bars (expenses) and very short green bars (income) are precisely the companies that are betting almost everything on the future of AI. Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta They have not stopped increasing their capex (capital expenditures) in recent years, and that logically means that their accounts are in the red. In fact, the announcements of these “hyperscalers” in their latest financial results have not only failed to soften that capex, but have driven it even further. The combined capex of these technology companies by 2026 is expected to amount to $725 billion, 25% of all world military spending. But the message of “everyone is losing money” is dangerous, because what all these companies are doing is investing in your future although when doing so they are running out of cash flow. There are two clear examples that can alert us. Companies are spending so much on AI infrastructure that they are running out of cash flow. It’s a dangerous bet. Source: Financial Times. The first is Amazon, which did not stop losing (investing) money for years and then became the giant it is today. The second, Uber, a company to which the same thing happened: it lost (invested) money for a decade, and although it does not have the size or success of Amazon, today it is an absolute world leader in its segment. That leaves us with a clear message: Not being profitable by investing in your future is not the same as not being clear about the economic model.. And all these companies are very clear about the economic model of AI: it is to invest today to earn (a lot) tomorrow. Nvidia is the big winner, but not the only one The great irony of AI is that for now the big business does not seem to be in AI, but in selling infrastructure to those who try to do business with it. It is the same thing that happened during the gold rush in the mid-19th century in California: Those who amassed stable fortunes were not the miners who searched for goldbut those who provided them with services and tools. There are several well-known examples: Levi Strauss saw the need of tough clothing, Samuel Brannan bought all the shovels, picks and pans he could in the area, and Henry Wells and William Fargo founded the famous postal and financial services company that allowed money and supplies to be sent safely to gold seekers. Nvidia is basically doing that: (making and) selling shovels. This has caused absolutely extraordinary growth in the stock market, and in the last three years it has become the most valuable company in the world and has not stopped breaking market capitalization records. Here it must be clarified that the estimates on that website are striking, but they do not mean that these companies are in any way bankrupt. Google/Alphabet continues to make billions of dollars every quarter, and the same goes for its rivals. All those red bars don’t mean that AI is smoke: just that we’re footing the bill for the experiment. One that could go wrong, of course, but one that could also go really, really right. The phrase that best sums up this “AI fever” is what Mark Zuckerberg said a few months ago: “We’re going to invest aggressively. Even if we lost a couple hundred billion dollars it would be a bummer, but it’s better than being left behind in the race for superintelligence.” Neither Zuckerberg nor his rivals seem upset about losing $200 billion right off the bat. They certainly do not seem to wrinkle despite the fact that at the moment there is a reality on the market: AI already works technically, but What it doesn’t do is function economically. for those who invest in frontier models. Here, however, there are a couple of notable notes. The first, the fact of Anthropic apparently expects to end the quarter making moneysomething unusual and promising. The second, that this website only shows Nvidia as the winner of this AI race, but that company is by no means the only one that has managed to make gold with this technological fever. The growth of stock market memory manufacturers is extraordinary. In just one year they have multiplied their market capitalizations by up to 11. Source: Reuters. In fact, we are seeing how a large number of technology companies have grown extraordinary in recent months thanks to the demand for hardware and components such as memories. Micron. SK Hynix and Samsung are the big beneficiaries of this situation, but they are not the only ones either. These days we have seen how PC manufacturers barely grow in income from those PCs, but they are doing it with the servers. There are more winners. There are photolithography equipment manufacturers such as ASML or Applied Materials, but also electrical, liquid cooling, networking, storage companies, and of course companies specialized in data center construction. This website answers the question in a very limited way, because the AI ​​segment is not only the one in which OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, xAI or Google operate. What is happening is simply that the big business of AI is currently not where everyone thinks. AI is being very profitable. The problem is that perhaps we are looking in the wrong place. In Xataka | The problem is not spending a lot of tokens, it’s that most of them are being wasted

‘solo-maxxing’ is Gen Z’s answer to the stifling dating industry

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It’s Friday night. A decade ago, the routine for a person in their early 20s would have been predictable: choose clothes in front of the mirror, reserve a table at a trendy restaurant and go out in the hope of meeting someone. Today, that same scene is interrupted by a lethal crossroads of notifications on the mobile screen: the notice of rent collection, the status of the bank account and, in the background, the endless catalog of faces on a dating application. By adding up the expenses, the user does the math and reaches a clear conclusion: falling in love is an unaffordable luxury. He cancels the plan, closes the app and stays home. Love is not dead, but its business model has gone bankrupt. Generation Z faces a perfect storm where inflation, the housing crisis, job insecurity and psychological exhaustion after years of digital overexposure have turned traditional romance into a risky sport. Faced with a scenario where a date can cost hundreds of euros and rejection seems more public than ever, dating applications are facing a structural problem: their users are discovering that singleness is not only cheaper, but also much less exhausting. The data paints an uncomfortable picture for the entire romance industry. According to a report by Bank of Montreal collected by Fortunethe total cost of a date in the United States—including dinner, transportation, drinks, and preparations—now reaches $189. Among Generation Z the figure climbs to $205 per meeting, while millennials are close to $252 after experiencing a 32% cost increase. Faced with this emotional inflation, the response has been simple: spend less or not spend at all. A report from Bank of America reveals that 53% of young people from Generation Z He doesn’t spend a single dollar a month on dating. Among those who do, most try to stay below $100 a month. Inflation is not only making the shopping basket more expensive or making it difficult to access housing. It is also transforming the way an entire generation relates to each other. The phenomenon already has visible consequences. a study cited by Newsweek points out that 46% of members of Generation Z do not have any romantic relationship, compared to 28% of millennials and 26% of Generation X. Even large technology platforms are noticing the change. Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Match Group, recently recognized that applications like Tinder can be “intimidating” for those under 30 years of age, in a context marked by the drop in active users and the growing exhaustion towards the traditional model of dating apps. The Spanish case: when rent eats up social life Although many of these trends were first detected in the United States, the Spanish context adds additional pressure: housing. According to the latest data of the Emancipation Observatory of the Youth Council of Spainthe average rental price absorbs 98.7% of a young person’s salary. The risk of poverty among young people who live in rent increases drastically once the cost of housing is taken into account. The problem goes beyond economic figures. For decades, romantic relationships followed a relatively clear sequence: meet someone, become independent, live together and, eventually, start a family. Today that chain has been broken. Spain registers some of the highest ages of emancipation in Europe. Millions of young people continue to live with their parents much longer than they would like, not by choice but by economic necessity. In this context, the problem is no longer just paying for a dinner or a drink. It is also having your own space where you can build intimacy, coexistence or a shared life project. Precariousness not only delays the purchase of a home. It also delays relationships. As Holly O’Neill summarizedBank of America executive, Generation Z is discovering that adulthood has a much higher price than they imagined. However, money explains only part of the phenomenon. The call “paradox of preparation” describes an increasingly common contradiction among young people: they want stable emotional ties, but they feel less and less prepared to initiate them. After years of living much of their relationships through screens, many members of Generation Z perceive dating as an emotionally demanding experience. The fear of rejection still exists, but it is now combined with a constant feeling of public exposure. Social networks have turned every relationship into a small media event. Make a couple official on Instagram using a hard launch or hint at her through a soft launch It can feel like a public statement that is difficult to reverse if the relationship fails. As a result, the first step becomes increasingly complicated. An appointment is no longer requested. Instagram is requested. Then come weeks of messages, reactions to stories, and intermittent conversations that often never lead to a real meeting. The potential connection exists, but the action is suspended indefinitely. The rise of solo-maxxing In this context, a new philosophy has emerged, baptized in social networks as solo-maxxing. Far from presenting singleness as a transitory situation or a waiting stage, this trend redefines it as a conscious choice. Being alone is no longer necessarily interpreted as a sentimental failure, but as a strategy to protect time, money and emotional stability. A MyIQ survey reveals that almost half of young people between 18 and 34 years old consider that being single is more peaceful than being in a relationship. A third say they actively avoid dating to preserve their mental well-being. Behind this trend there is a logic that is difficult to ignore. If each romantic interaction involves increasing economic costs, emotional uncertainty, and a high risk of disappointment, singleness ceases to be a provisional state and becomes a rational decision. For many young people, peace of mind has become an asset too valuable to risk. The crisis is also forcing us to rethink the way people get to know each other. For years, dating apps promised that an infinite number of options would make it easier to find a partner. The result, however, has often been … Read more

How many Hz will the monitors go up to? LG has a wild new answer: 1000 Hz

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Carefully choose the monitor The one we accompany our gaming team with is more important than it seems. And be careful, because there are so many specifications to look at when choosing one or the other that finding the right one can be quite an odyssey. Although if we are players of competitive titles, there is one detail to take into account above the others: the refresh rate. Here the choice is clear: the more hertz, the better. AND LG breaks the mold with its new 1,000 Hz monitor. With a 24.5-inch 1080p panel perfect for competitive gaming The UltraGear family of LG monitors will soon grow with a new member who stands out for its monstrous amount of hertz. He UltraGear 25G590Bwhich comes with a 24.5-inch panel with Full HD resolution and 1,000 Hz. It should be noted that it is a native Full HD, compared to other monitors that drop from that resolution to, for example, 720p, to achieve higher refresh rates. This translates into a safe bet for enthusiastic players of PvP titles (player vs player) who want to take the gaming experience to a new level and, in addition, achieve a real competitive advantage: the more hertz, the more FPS they can take advantage of and less latency (or input lag) experience. In other words: faster frame rates, faster actions and an advantage over players with “slower” monitors. Of course, we must bear in mind that to fully squeeze those 1,000 Hz we need a high-end team that offers the highest possible number of frames per second. Desktop (or laptop) configurations with high-end graphics and processors up to the task that, by adjusting the graphic options in video games, comfortably exceed 240, 360 FPS and even more. Keep an eye on the price, yes. For now, We do not know the official arrival date to Spain or how long it will take. (although, according to LG, during the second half of 2026 it will land in several markets to later reach the rest of the world). But we imagine that it won’t be cheap, precisely. if we take into account what other models with high hertz rates cost. Like this AOC 1080p 610 Hz that around 800 euros on Amazon. Or this other MSI, which ups the ante to Quad HD (but drops to 500 Hz), in the same price range. Other gaming monitors with very high refresh rates The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | LG In Xataka | This is the gaming tower that I would buy. The computers with the best quality-price ratio for gaming recommended by Xataka In Xataka | Liquid cooling or air cooler? What to choose so that your CPU doesn’t smoke without having to spend a fortune

If the question is what the European Orion module is doing among giant speakers, the answer is NASA’s extreme tests

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When we talk about Artemis We almost always look in the same place: NASA, the SLS rocketthe Orion capsule and that plan to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon. It makes sense, because the United States leads the program and a good part of the space imagination continues to revolve around its missions. But that reading falls short. Artemis is not just an American story.It is also an international architectureand in that architecture Europe has a much more important piece than it usually seems at first glance. That role has just been realized in a very visible milestone. Airbus Space recently announced that ESM-3, Orion’s third European Service Module and the unit destined for Artemis III, had its four solar wings installed. It is a powerful image because it summarizes well the nature of the project: an American ship with an essential part developed on the other side of the Atlantic. The module, built by the aerospace giant for the European Space Agency, will use those wings to provide electrical power to Orion during its mission, although there is still work to be done before the assembly can be considered ready to fly. The ESM has a much deeper function than a picture of newly installed solar panels may suggest. In the Orion architecture, this module is placed under the capsule where the astronauts travel and concentrates systems that are essential for the mission. NASA explains that provides electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and waterin addition to serving as support to the ship during flight. That is why its role is not understood as a symbolic contribution, but as an operational part of the vehicle. A test on the ground, between speakers and noise The following, however, was not one of those scenes that we immediately associate with space. Airbus Space noted on May 6 that the next step was an acoustic test, a ground test designed to see how the spacecraft responds to the extreme launch environment. Simply put: before thinking about docking, orbits or manned missions, the module had to deal with the noise and vibrations that occur when the rocket takes off. That trial has already begun to materialize. NASA has shown the Orion service module for Artemis III during its acoustic tests at the Kennedy Space Center, surrounded by a wall of high-powered speakers to simulate the sound and vibrations of launch. According to the center, these tests help measure how the structure responds, verify the physical integrity of the spacecraft, protect sensitive avionics and propulsion interfaces, and detect potential problems on the ground well before launch day. This type of test is known as direct field acoustic testor D-FAT, and involves surrounding space hardware with an array of high-power speakers to reproduce the acoustic environment of launch. In equivalent testing of the Orion European Service Module, ESA has spoken of more than 200 speakers and more than 140 decibels. It’s not a new rarity: NASA already submitted Apollo vehicles underwent vibroacoustic testing in the 1960s to see how their structures and systems responded to the noise and vibrations expected during flight. That this test has arrived now does not make the module a ready-to-fly piece, but it does mark another advance in Orion’s preparation for Artemis III. And there the context matters, because the mission in which this module must participate is no longer counted exactly the same as it was a few months ago. Artemis III was for a long time the mission associated with the return of astronauts to the lunar surface, but NASA has rearranged the calendar and now places it as a demonstration mission in low Earth orbit. The plan involves launching four astronauts in Orion, on the SLS, to rehearse rendezvous and docking maneuvers with one or two commercial lunar landing vehicles from SpaceX and Blue Origin. It is not the end of the lunar goal, but an intermediate step to test an architecture that still needs to fit many pieces. The interest of this module is best understood precisely because of this new role of Artemis III. If the mission will be used to verify docking and operations with commercial vehicles, Orion will have to act as a manned platform within a much broader test than a simple test flight. In this scenario, the ESM-3 is not a peripheral contribution, but rather an integrated part of the ship in which the astronauts will travel. Europe, therefore, does not appear only in the cooperation communications: it appears in the machinery that has to make the mission work. The paradox sums up the moment quite well. Europa has just completed a visible part of the preparation of the module that will travel with Orion, and its next test has not been on the Moon, not even in orbit, but among noise, vibrations and speakers within a test on the ground. That is also the reality of Artemis: large lunar objectives supported by a long succession of technical, industrial and often inconspicuous steps. In that chain, ESM-3 makes it clear that the return to the lunar surface is not being prepared only from the United States. Images | Airbus Space | POT In Xataka | The Earth has had a traveling companion for millions of years and we don’t know where it came from, but there is a ship ready to give us answers

We have been wondering for 4,500 years why the Great Pyramid of Giza resists earthquakes. Physics finally has the answer

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Throughout its more than 4,500 years of history, the Great Pyramid of Gizathe tomb of Pharaoh Cheops, has witnessed the rise and fall of empires, the erosion of the desert and also the earthquakes in an area with very intense seismic activity. This is crucial, because while the Alexandria Lighthouse or the Colossus of Rhodes succumbed to the Earth’s tremors, the 138-meter-high mass has remained immovable. The secrets Their longevity has been a topic of conversation for decades among Egyptologists, engineers and architects who tried to understand why they were still standing. And it is logical, because every physical object has a “natural frequency” of vibration, and this is crucial because when the seismic waves of an earthquake coincide with the frequency of an object, a very important amplification effect is produced. It is an effect that we can see, for example, on a swing, since we push it at the exact moment so that it goes higher and higher. And this is where the “superpower” of the Great Pyramid lies. What does it consist of? According to a study published in Scientific Reports, the pyramid and the ground on which it sits dance to completely different rhythms. This means that the pyramid has a natural vibration frequency which is around 2.3 Hz. For its part, the surrounding terrain of the Giza Plateau vibrates at a drastically lower frequency, close to 0.6 Hz. This mathematical gap is a true structural lifesaver, since, since there is no coincidence between the frequency of the stone mass and that of the ground during a seismic event, resonance is practically impossible. Waves from the earthquake pass through the area, but the pyramid does not amplify the vibration, dispelling the danger of a catastrophic collapse. It is, in modern terms, perfect passive seismic isolation behavior. Extreme geometry. This frequency decoupling is one part of the equation, since the focus is also on the impeccable architectural design and geometric of construction, which provides a uniform structural response to any mechanical stress. All this is thanks to the ingenuity of Egyptian engineers who created an artificial monolith that defies the laws of destruction through several characteristics, such as greatly lowering the center of gravity. And, unlike modern structures that are slender, in pyramids the vast majority of stones are concentrated in their lower third. This makes the building virtually impossible to overturn, regardless of the violence of the transverse shaking. More reasons. The square pyramid shape is not just an aesthetic or religious choice, but it is the most stable geometric figure that exists to withstand compression. Symmetry ensures that when seismic waves shake the building, the load and stress are distributed equally across all faces, avoiding critical fracture points. The internal chambers. One of the details that the investigation has pointed out is the unsuspected role of the famous internal chambers of the pyramidlike the King’s Chamber. Historically, they have been analyzed from a funerary perspective, but it is now suggested that, together with the impressive granite discharge blocks, they also act as a system to dissipate energy. In this way, seismic waves that manage to penetrate the structure encounter abrupt changes in the density of the matter, which causes the waves to refract and disperse. Did they do it on purpose? This is the question we can ask ourselves after reading all this, and the most plausible answer is that the Egyptians did not handle all these technical concepts, but they were absolute masters of empirical engineering. Through observation, trial, error and a deep knowledge of the materials, they arrived at the optimal solution so that they would last for life. They built for eternity based on massive stability and, in doing so, accidentally designed a building that meets the same safety parameters that we demand of our most critical infrastructure today to prevent them from collapsing in an earthquake. Images | Jeremy Bishop In Xataka | What we see in Petra is a city “carved in stone”: what it really hides is an amazing water system

If the question is who can turn Amancio Ortega into his personal tailor, we already have an answer: Bad Bunny

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The launch of the joint capsule between the Galician giant Inditex and the Puerto Rican artist marks an unprecedented milestone in the industry. This long-awaited collection of 150 pieces, baptized as “BENITO ANTONIO”has landed this May 21 just in time to become the official uniform of his imminent I SHOULD TAKE MORE PHOTOS Tour for Spain. If the videos of “Get Ready With Me” (GRWM) flooded the networks looking for the perfect look for Rosalía’s concerts, with Bad Bunny the phenomenon will be very different. Given its 12 dates in Spain and 600,000 tickets sold, the stylistic dilemma has already been resolved in one fell swoop. As explained esquire, this capsule is not the typical merchandising on tour, but a democratization of the artist’s closet. There is no longer a need to invent or imitate your style: now your followers can directly wear your same aesthetic universe and street sensibility. Behind the alliance. Far from being a simple commercial move, choosing a security firm fast fashion to dress a global superstar hides a deep social message. Bad Bunny launches a declaration of rebellion against the inaccessible standards of the industry: good taste and style go beyond spending thousands of dollars on luxury brands. This phenomenon has been baptized by experts as a true “change of power.” As Professor Andrew Groves points out from the University of Westminster, wearing a Zara suit to events the size of the Super Bowl or the MET Gala conveys authority, but “that authority comes from Bad Bunny’s cultural standing, not a luxury house’s seal of approval.” The message beyond. Beyond fashion, the message is sociological and political. Choosing Zara (a Spanish brand with global reach) for the Super Bowl halftime or the MET Gala, an event historically dominated by Anglo-Saxon culture, was a declaration of intent. Bad Bunny uses his influence to tell the world that the Latin and working class identity no longer needs to ask permission or dress in Parisian haute couture to sit at the table of the most powerful. With this on the table, Inditex has not limited itself to hiring the face of a celebrity for a seasonal campaign. The final result shows that it was the artist himself who has adapted all of Zara’s machinery to his universe, his instinct and his identity. Strengthening the Galician firm as its head. The construction of this alliance has been a careful chess game designed over the last few months, evidencing Marta Ortega’s firm intention to strengthen her brand in the US market under the concept of fast couture or “affordable luxury”: The first advertisement in Super Bowl LX: In February, Benito performed before more than 100 million viewers wearing a tailored outfit (bespoke) cream color designed by the Spanish firm. Zara preferred intangible prestige to mass sales, refusing to commercialize the design, although it did have a close gesture by giving away exact replicas of the garment to the workers at its headquarters in Arteixo. The transformation at the Met Gala 2026: The next coup de effect It happened at the so-called fashion Oscars. The Puerto Rican braved the red carpet with a black double-breasted tuxedo custom made by Zara. The suit, sober and elegant, gave all the attention to a hyperrealistic makeup with prosthetics created by Mike Marino, which added “53 years” to the artist to adapt to the theme of the event about the aging body and discuss the social fear of mortality. He teaser by Marta Ortega: To confirm the rumors of the collection in an organic way, the president of Inditex herself wore it at the Longines Global Champions Tour in Madrid a new green cap with the embroidery “Benito Antonio”, advancing the news before the official statement. The soul of Puerto Rico spun into 150 garments. Developed side by side with its creative director Janthony Oliveras, the collection completely escapes tropical caricature. The specialized newspapers agree in praising the authenticity of the proposal, highlighting a design and aesthetics that, as it points esquiremoves between relaxed tailoring, artisanal textures, a great weight of color and basic garments oversizeideal for withstanding the heat of the imminent concerts. Added to this careful preparation is a rich graphic imagery created together with the prestigious M/M Paris studio. The visual identity of the clothing takes direct references from urban infrastructure, electric poles and everyday elements of the streets of San Juan, a decision that should not be interpreted as an exoticization of the Caribbean, but as a demonstration of a deep sense of belonging. Finally, as a definitive detail of loyalty to its roots, L’Officiel remember that Zara decided completely redesign its Plaza Las Américas store in San Juan, Puerto Rico, turning it into an immersive space to debut this capsule exclusively with its compatriots before making the final leap to the rest of the world. A commercial and identity milestone. With this collection, Zara and Bad Bunny have not only signed the most astute agreement of the year, but they have changed the rules of musical fashion. When thousands of fans fill the Metropolitan Stadium dressed in ‘Benito Antonio’ ​​basics, it will be demonstrated that the luxury of our era is not exclusivity, but the ability to make an entire stadium dress with your own identity. Image | Zara Xataka | Zara dressed Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl. That says much more about Zara’s plans than about Bad Bunny

If the question is whether AI data centers end up increasing temperatures in a region, the answer is: 2.2ºC

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A group of researchers from Arizona State University have published a study striking. They wanted to estimate the impact of AI data centers on the average temperatures of the region in which they are installed. Their conclusion is disturbing, because this increase can be up to 2.2 ºC. The massive use of AI raises another problem. There is already a clear debate about the water and energy consumption of AI data centers, but this study has focused on an equally important problem: thermal pollution. It’s hot. The researchers focused on the Phoenix metropolitan area, the hottest in the entire US. There, their analyzes indicated that data centers expel air from their cooling systems at temperatures that are between 14 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient temperature, creating thermals that can affect nearby neighborhoods. The air says it all. This is the first known research to use high-precision vehicle-mounted sensors to compare air temperature before and after passing through the facility. The data was clear: Downwind areas of a data center had average temperatures 1.6ºF higher, with peaks of 4ºF (2.2ºC) compared to the reference areas. Heat island effect. The impact of this increase in temperature is also notable in terms of the distance affected: these increases were detected even 500 meters away from the source, which is equivalent to about five “blocks” of homes in the city of Phoenix. Vicious circle. The very design of data centers causes this problem to feed into itself. A single data center can generate as much waste heat as a small city of 40,000 homes, and the vicious cycle is clear: The data center blows very hot air to cool its servers The air warms the surrounding neighborhood Neighbors use their air conditioners more Air conditioners expel even more waste heat Location is the key. David Sailor, who led the study, indicated that what they seek with their conclusions is not to prohibit data centers, but to rethink their integration with urban centers. To avoid or mitigate problems, solutions are proposed such as reorienting air outlets or creating parks that cushion these increases in temperature. The key, these researchers say, is urban planning: these facilities must be treated as sources of industrial thermal emissions, because that is what they are. Prevent before cure. The projected computing capacity for data centers to be built in the US will double in 2030, which according to this study makes it necessary to take action. The challenge, they say, is to apply these solutions before the waste heat generated by data centers becomes a public health problem. Spain may also have that problem. Projects that affect our country should also take this circumstance into account. In recent months we have seen how the Autonomous Community of Aragón has focused part of the protagonism of agreements with large technology companies, and both Amazon and Microsoft have data centers planned in the metropolitan area of ​​the city of Zaragoza. The towns of Villamayor de Gállego and Villanueva de Gállego are less than 20 km from Zaragoza, and both already have data centers planned. These initiatives promise to boost the region’s economy, but they also bring doubts. Not everyone is in favor of such centers, of course, and there are even judicial processes trying to stop its construction. Image | David Vives and AWS In Xataka | The great paradox of Madrid: the region with the largest energy deficit in Spain is losing the data centers

If you’re wondering where all those shared scooters went, this study gives you the answer

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You probably remember it if you have lived in a Spanish city in the last ten years. Overnight, your city was filled with electric scooters and shared bikes. Everywhere. Everywhere. Some well parked, others that made you feel like a 3,000 meter steeplechase athlete. As the last decade nears its end, Spain joined the wave of shared micromobility. Our streets were filled with operators who put on the streets, under the pay-per-use formula, electric scooters, bicycles and cars that promised to revolutionize the way we move. The formula coincided with another movement: low emission zones. At the end of 2018, Madrid launched Madrid Central. With this project he intended to reduce the volume of cars on the street in its central almond. In 2019, Barcelona began to apply similar measures in a much larger area, in this case it extended to the entire metropolitan area of ​​the city. The general feeling is that we were facing a model that had come to stay. The message was that the volume of cars in city centers had to be reduced and that young people, increasingly less interested in their own car, would combine public transport with scooters and electric bicycles for shared use. A new, more efficient door-to-door mobility. Today, almost nothing remains of that. The new and shared mobility that disappeared To understand what happened with that movement, Andrés Camacho Donezar, Professor of Business Strategy and business models, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, and Carmen Valor Martínez, teacher and researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences (ICADE), Department of Marketing, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, have carried out a study in which the evolution of 10 operators that were or are part of micromobility services in our country has been studied. The conclusions have presented them in The Conversation which explains the problems that these companies had to face and how what seemed like a perfect business, with clear benefits for citizens, ended up being diluted over the years. The study indicates that shared micromobility has three obvious benefits: it is affordable for the vast majority of citizens, it is good for society as a whole because it facilitates access to mobility for all types of incomes and, in addition, it is environmentally beneficial since it should reduce traffic and polluting emissions. These promises laid a rug for all types of companies put their vehicles on the street. The most paradigmatic case was that of Madrid, which had up to 18 companies fighting for users and a regulation that allowed having on the street up to 10,000 electric scooters. After various regulatory attempts and closing the concession to three companies, in 2024 it ended up banning them completely. The process was similar to that of Barcelona, Saragossa either Sevilleto give a few examples. In all these cities, the private companies They tried to do business by attracting new users, the neighbors were divided between those who enjoyed them and those who suffered from them. Until, finally, the City Councils ended up banning them. The reasons have almost always been the same. The study details the problems that operators have had to make the service profitable. From an expansive phase to cover the maximum possible territory, we have moved on to atomization, closing the circle. Vandalism, high collection costs and repairs they began to complicate the business from a purely commercial point of view. To this we must add the neighborhood complaints that led to greater pressure from the City Councils towards the companies. Already in 2018, articles began to proliferate that echoed a problem: the streets were invaded by shared electric scooters. Due to a lack of civility and clearly insufficient control by companies, pedestrians began to encounter new obstacles. After many complaints, also in European cities with Paris in the leadthe City Councils began to put their restrictions. In Madrid, for example, it happened from “door to door” to virtual stations. Users could only pick up or park an electric scooter in limited and geolocated spaces. It was a mortal wound for a service that promised to save the last mile. To this we must add that these same town councils saw another business opportunity: controlling micromobility services themselves. And in most of the large Spanish cities public bicycle sharing services have been launched. With limited spaces to collect and release bicycles and a maintenance service that is not pressured by extraordinarily narrow profit margins. The result is that these shared electric scooter companies, the few that remain, have mostly pivoted to offer themselves as a solution to tour operators that offer rides or tourist visits using this means of transport or supply vehicles to the town councils themselves, like Lime in Getafe (Madrid). With mandatory restrictions (geolocation systems, limited parking spaces…) and some citizens who have rejected the use of electric scooters, shared mobility with these vehicles It has been impossible to make profitable. And public bikes have killed the possibility of the business pivoting to this vehicle. The result is a micromobility service that seemed perfect on paper but failed in practice. Photo | Jonas Jacobsson In Xataka | Madrid bans electric scooters on public transport: the latest explosion has broken the camel’s back

We have spent years looking for how to stop muscle fragility as we age. The answer was hidden in garlic

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Aging brings with it a series of inevitable tolls, and one of the most limiting is loss of muscle mass and strengthwhich is a problem known as sarcopenia. This can cause a person to not be able to move comfortably around their home, causing them to have significant limitations in their daily lives. But now we have seen that there is a compound in garlic that can help us delay this agingalthough without being magical. A new study. Now, a promising new study published in the prestigious magazine Cell Metabolism has identified a specific compound derived from garlic that improves age-related muscle function. But we must keep in mind that we are not talking about the raw garlic that we add to the pan and which for many has a horrible taste, but rather about a very particular metabolite present in the aged garlic extract. The protagonist. This study focuses specifically on S-1-propenyl-L-cysteine ​​(S1PC), which is one of the metabolites that is generated during the aging process of garlic. This is where we can find a little help to delay aging. But it is essential to avoid the promises of “anti-aging elixir”, since eating raw garlic daily will not provide you with the necessary doses of this compound to replicate the results. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that it is not a “cure against old age”, but rather a solid therapeutic target to combat muscle fragility and sarcopenia. A surprising connection. The most fascinating thing about the study is not only what S1PC does, but how it does it, since when ingested it directly activates an enzyme called LKB1 that encourages adipose tissue to secrete a key protein called eNAMPT into the bloodstream. This protein is essential, since when it reaches the brain it acts on the regulatory centers of systemic metabolism and causes nervous and chemical signals to be sent from the brain that drastically improve the function of skeletal muscle tissue. Just what we want to improve in aging. Your results. To verify that this mechanism really works, the researchers carried out tests in both animal models and humans. Here, aged mice, after being administered the metabolite S1PC, improved their muscle strength and reduced markers of frailty related to aging. In the case of humans, the team conducted a human clinical trial using aged garlic extract, and the results confirmed that consumption of this compound raises the levels of eNAMPT that we have discussed before. But the most interesting thing is that the effect is greater in those people with enough body fat, which makes sense, since this protein is released by the adipose tissue itself. Images | wirestock at Magnific In Xataka | It is possible to convince an AI that shoving garlic up your ass is a good idea. You just need the right words

the answer was right under our noses

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During Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt, a French soldier accidentally found a black stone covered in inscriptions while working on fortifications near Rashid. That piece, known today like the Rosetta Stoneended up becoming the key that allowed the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs after centuries of incomprehension. Since then, a good part of the history of Ancient Egypt has advanced like this: not so much by discovering impossible objects, but by looking in a different way at things that had been in front of everyone for a long time. A mystery that had been ahead for centuries. The Great Pyramid of Giza has been obsessing archaeologists, engineers and historians for more than 4,500 years because there always seemed to be a missing essential piece of the puzzle: how to move millions of stone blocks at high speed using extremely simple tools and without leaving clear traces of the system used. For decades, theories about giant ramps, external structures or complex internal tunnels ran into the same problem: none of them fully explained the balance between speed, precision and absence of physical evidence. Now, the Spanish researcher Vicente Luis Rosell Roig propose something which completely changes the perspective of the debate. His idea is based on an almost uncomfortable premise because it seems so simple: perhaps the solution was not hidden in a lost technology or in impossible mechanisms, but rather integrated. in the geometry itself of the pyramid from the beginning, in plain sight, confused with the structure itself. A gigantic logistics machine. He great challenge of Cheops It was not only about lifting huge stones, but about sustaining an almost absurd pace of construction for decades. The Great Pyramid contains about 2.3 million blocks and, to finish it within the reign of Khufuworkers would have had to place approximately one block every three minutes for more than twenty years. Rosell understood that the correct question was not “how they lifted the blocks,” but rather “how they maintained that constant flow without collapsing the system.” Your model appears there Integrated Edge Rampa helical structure built within the pyramid’s own edges. Instead of building a huge external ramp that would later have to be dismantled, the Egyptians simply left unfilled runners around each level and used them as temporary access routes. As the work progressed, these ramps disappeared under the final blocks until they were completely hidden. The idea that emerged from an algorithm. The most striking thing is that the theory was not born in an archaeological excavation, but in front of a screen and from a computational problem. Rosell began making sketches after watching a documentary in 2020, but the project changed radically when he moved the problem to a 3D environment and began modeling the pyramid block by block. There he discovered something fundamental: a single ramp was a bottleneck, but replicating the system on several faces of the pyramid turned construction into a much more efficient parallel operation. The model then went from being a simple geometric hypothesis to a logistics simulation complete where several routes operated simultaneously, adapting as the pyramid narrowed upwards. At lower levels they could operate up to 16 ramps at a timelater on, the system was progressively reduced until there was a single track near the vertex. The pyramid thus stopped looking like a static mountain and began to behave like an enormous optimized distribution machine. The hidden gaps make sense. One of the most suggestive aspects of the study is that fits surprisingly well with some of the great enigmas recently discovered within the pyramid. Explorations using muons (cosmic particles capable of passing through dense materials) years ago detected internal cavities whose function remains to be fully explained. He Rosell model coincides with several such anomalies, including the called Great Void and the corridor on the north face. That doesn’t automatically prove the theory correct, but it does introduce something that was missing from many previous hypotheses: testable predictions. According to the studythere should be specific wear marks in certain corners and subtle differences in the masonry where the ramps were finally sealed. For the first time in a long time, a theory about the construction of the pyramids not only attempts to explain the past, but also offer concrete evidence that can be sought in the future. Surprisingly humane solution. Perhaps most interesting of all is the feeling that the answer was always ahead from our noses. For centuries, the mystery of the Great Pyramid It fueled ideas about lost civilizations, impossible knowledge or even extraterrestrials because many people assumed that such a work required extraordinary technology. Rosell’s model points in just the opposite direction. It suggests that the Egyptians solved the problem by using very simple principles of organizationparallelization and intelligent use of space. Impossible machinery was not needed, but to convert the pyramid itself in part of the tool of construction. In a way, the theory reduces one of history’s biggest puzzles to something deeply recognizable: a gigantic logistics optimization problem solved 4,500 years ago by people who understood geometry, coordinated work, and efficiency much better than we usually imagine. Image | Little girl, paweesit In Xataka | We believed that the pyramids of Giza did not hide any more secrets. we believed wrong In Xataka | Germany has set its sights on Tenerife from the sky and has discovered plasma bubbles like those of the Pyramids of Giza

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