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US sanctions are collapsing China’s factories. It’s bad news for the rest of the world

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The US has intensified in recent years its tariff policy against China. Under the shield of “national security reasons,” the Trump administration has attempted to isolate China from essential components to create cutting-edge technology. The play didn’t go too welland China is at its best moment of national production. So much so that the capacity of its factories is reaching the limit. There are those who warned. Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel, warned at the beginning of February in his statements. He pointed out that the US blockade is only achieving the opposite effect, driving giants like Huawei to develop silently and accelerating the race for China to obtain the capacity to make three nanometer chips. SMIC confirmed it. He SMIC report corresponding to the fourth quarter of 2025 is a perfect summary of China’s efforts to one day end up leading the semiconductor race. China doesn’t just want to make chips for mobile phones: it wants to dominate the semiconductors that support AI, cars, telecommunications, industry, energy and defense: because whoever controls these chips controls technological power. The key data. That SMIC’s profits have grown by 39% in the last year is quite revealing, but that the capacity of its factories has risen to 93.5% is even more so. In other words, the Chinese company is practically at the limit of its production capacity, having to satisfy the demanding demands of both the government and local companies. How does this affect me?. Among the key sectors that China wants to lead is AI. And this one needs many, many chips. So much so that SMIC has warned that the demand for them is being so enormous that the rest of the consumer electronics orders are being compromised. This ends up translating into delays in supply, price increases and something that we have been warning about for months: basic components such as RAM, SSD memories and so on. They are going to be more expensive than ever. Without help from anyone. China, without access to ASML’s most advanced machines, is achieving alternative routes for your manufacturing processes. Although some of its manufacturers are still in collaboration with giants like TSMC (case of Xiaomi with “its” XRing 01 chip, manufactured by TSCM in 3nm), the plan is to be completely self-sufficient. Something that they will end up achieving, sooner or later. In Xataka |

Great white sharks are appearing off the Alicante coast. The problem is that we don’t know if it’s good news or bad news.

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On April 20, 2023, by pure chance, some fishermen caught a juvenile-sized white shark. No one would have been surprised if it weren’t for the fact that the fishermen were in Spanish waters, right in front of the Alicante Cape of La Nao. Two meters 10 centimeters of white shark in the middle of the Mediterranean, what was happening here? Do we have to worry? That is the question that was asked at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and, in collaboration with the University of Cádiz, has carried out a deep review of the presence of white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea. It is not something superficial: they have collected all the records (direct and indirect) from 1862 to 2023 and have reached a surprising conclusion. The presence of this type of specimen has been “persistent” (although “extremely rare”) in the Spanish Mediterranean. It is not something, a priori, worrying. As explained José Carlos Báezresearcher at the IEO-CSIC, “we have only found two attacks: one in 1862, in which a person died in Malaga who was swimming, and another in the eighties, when a shark bit a surfer’s board in Tarifa and caused serious injuries.” But the problem is not that. And, although “with the available data, it is not possible to affirm that the Mediterranean white shark population is recovering”, it is inevitable to think about what will happen in an increasingly warmer sea. In the end, “the presence of young individuals provides key information about the demographic structure of the species” and, one way or anotherthis leads us to seriously consider the risks of having breeding spaces in Spanish waters. However, everything seems to indicate that there is a relationship between the presence of the shark and the routes of the bluefin tuna. If so, it would be another symptom of the problems that sharks have to keep their populations healthy and robust. Should we worry? It doesn’t seem like it. Against the media angle about the “return of the monster”, international evidence tells us that attacks are extremely rare and the role of sharks in the conservation of aquatic ecosystems is very important. Be that as it may, monitoring and conservation programs must be developed. And it has to be done soon. Image | Oleksandr Sushko In Xataka | The white shark is an exceptional swimmer. Its secret is in its “teeth”

If you’re in a hurry to upgrade your PC, NVIDIA’s CEO has bad news: don’t be in a hurry

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Talking about artificial intelligence is talking about Jensen Huang. The CEO of NVIDIA has become the figure of an industry: that of artificial intelligence. In large part, it is your company’s products that are driving the engine of the data centers and, at the same time, enormous semiconductor industries and memory are the essential components of NVIDIA GPUs. And if Huang has been commenting for a few weeks that this 2026 it’s going to need wafers and a lot of RAMhas now asked for patience with AI. Because he has another seven or eight years of unchecked climbing left. In short. When we talk about artificial intelligence, there are two poles. On the one hand, those who see signs of a bubble that will burst in the short term. On the other hand, those who defend the billion-dollar investment against all odds. In that boat is Jensen Huang, who recently noted in CNBC that this massive spending is “necessary and appropriate” because a “once-in-a-generation infrastructure” is being shaped. The most interesting thing is that, for him, this career will continue for several years, pointing that the investment and construction of infrastructure for AI has seven or eight years left. Mortars of money. In his statements, Huang pointed out that companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are making money despite everything invested and that their current brake is not so much the budget as the limit of computing power. That is why you want your suppliers –Samsung in HBM4 memories new generation or TSMC with the processors- increase the pace. It remains to be seen, however, if the pace can be maintained over the next five years. On CNBC, the CEO of NVIDIA pointed out that, despite the astronomical amount of money, the spending is sustainable. And proof of this is that it is increasing. If in 2025 the total spending of Big Tech did not reach 400,000 million, wait that this year the number of American companies will rise to 650,000 million. Only between Amazon and Alphabet -Google-, they will invest about 385,000 million. They see the AI ​​computing race as the next “whoever wins the most,” and none are willing to lose – DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria speaking to Bloomberg Parallel career. And that, as we say, in American companies, since China is the other pole in this race for artificial intelligence. The Asian giant is the birthplace of several extremely capable models, but also something that is missing in the United States: energy to feed the enormous needs of AI. China is betting on AI, but also on robotics, and all this at the same time buy NVIDIA products and develop your own semiconductor network with the goal of achieving technological sovereignty. It is another race parallel to that of the United States, and apart from the two poles of infrastructure development, we have particular names. That so much money is being invested means that opportunities are being created, and there are companies that have gone through a bad patch and want to surf the wave. For example, a Intel that, after needing a rescue by the United Statesis positioning itself as one of the great foundries in the United States. In addition, they are putting their foot in a segment that they had not explored, that of DRAM memory, and They are doing it with the Japanese giant SoftBank. Japan has not had a say in the memory industry since the 80s, when South Korea snatched their positionand now they may have another chance. Translation for the user. These are a couple of examples of companies that are taking advantage of the conditions to obtain financing and expand, seeking to position themselves in what they have determined is the future of the technology industry. With that amount of money and investment, there is a question you may be asking yourself: will I be able to buy a PC? The answer It is not hopeful. Giants like Micron -one of the heavyweights in the RAM segment- They are investing a lot to expand facilities and be more capable when creating memories, but they will not be for us: they will be for data centers. If the end of 2026 or 2027 was targeted as the end of the component crisis like the RAM or SSD (which are still components with memory modules), now it is Lip-Bu TanCEO of Intel, who states that It won’t be until 2028at the earliest, when we can see a horizon in the current panorama. So, yes, the entire tech industry has turned to AI and those that can increase their production of key components will do so over the next few years. The issue is that they are going to focus on components that users neither care about nor care about, neglecting those that we really need on a day-to-day basis. AND an example is NVIDIA itself. Image | NVIDIA In Xataka | Apple has been the industry’s first customer for decades. AI is relegating it to the background

Zara dressed Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl. That says much more about Zara’s plans than about Bad Bunny

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On the grass of Levi’s Stadium, at halftime of the Super Bowl, the Puerto Rican artist made history Bad Bunny. At an event where ads cost $16 million a minute, he didn’t appear dressed in Gucci or Dior or Versace. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio “materialized” with a total look creamy white, almost angelic. A monochrome suit designed to float rather than step on, visually blending with the lime lines of the field. The big surprise was not only aesthetic but also corporate: behind that sobriety was Zarathe flagship brand of Inditex. It was a movement of contrasts. Just a week before, the singer had swept the Grammys with a spectacular design Schiaparelli haute couture. Going from the most exclusive Parisian craftsmanship to retail Arteixo’s overall performance in just seven days is not an accident, but rather a declaration of intent in the most expensive setting on the planet. The architecture of an “anti-luxury” look What we saw on stage was not off-the-shelf clothing, but a designer piece bespoke (custom made). The initial outfit consisted of pleated pants, a shirt, a tie, and a key piece: a padded sports-inspired t-shirt (linebacker) that evoked the protections of American football. All in a sober and calculated, stylized cream tone by his regular collaboratorsStorm Pablo and Marvin Douglas Linares. The design evolved in real time. Midway through the performance, Bad Bunny transformed his silhouette by adding a double-breasted double-breasted blazer in the same hue, elevating the sporty tone to classic sartorial elegance. However, so that no one forgets that sobriety is an aesthetic choice and not an economic necessity, the Puerto Rican maintained a single nod to status superstar on your wrist: an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch. A piece of yellow gold 18 carat with a malachite dial that served as a silent reminder: the suit may be democratic, but Bad Bunny’s time is money. Zara’s choice stood out even more due to the contrast with her companions on stage. While he wore the mark of high street par excellence, Lady Gaga appeared with a design from the Luar brand and a brooch representing the flor de maga (the national flower of Puerto Rico), maintaining the dialogue between fashion and cultural identity. This movement represents an alliance where both parties gain cultural capital, but from opposite directions: Zara seeks to rise towards luxury and Bad Bunny seeks to “come down to earth” towards authenticity. According to experts consulted in Guardianlike Professor Andrew Groves of the University of Westminster, seeing a Zara suit on a Super Bowl stage is a statement about the “power shift” (power-shifting). The suit projects authoritybut that authority comes from Bad Bunny’s cultural position, not the seal of a luxury house. It’s a way of saying that style doesn’t lie in price, but in narrative. Furthermore, there was an undeniable language connection. Being the first artist to perform at halftime entirely in Spanish, challenging the Anglo-Saxon hegemony of the event, the choice of a global brand of Hispanic origin came full circle. As they pointed out from the Vigo Lighthouse“Zara is Spanish, as is its music”, the shared language functioning here as a tool for mass projection in the American market, beyond the complex historical legacies. Fast Couture and the commercial counterpoint For Zara, this is the culmination of a strategic shift. The brand issued a statement highlighting that “artistic vision” was prioritized and clarifying a crucial point: this outfit will not be made available for sale. By renouncing the immediate mass sale of the product, Zara positions itself as a creator of culture and visual narrative, moving away from the image of a seller of quick copies. They have preferred the prestige of having been there to the immediate cash benefit. However, the commercial machinery did not stop completely. Here lies the genius of the strategy: while Zara capitalized on the immaterial prestigethe tangible business was at the feet. The sneakers that completed the set were not from Inditex, but rather the BadBo 1.0his most personal collaboration with Adidas. Unlike the unaffordable tailored suit, these did go on sale just 24 hours after the show for about 160 euros. The artist achieved the perfect balance: narrative exclusivity for clothing, mass consumption for footwear. Benito’s clothing functioned as a canvas for encrypted messages that the internet attempted to decode in real time. On the one hand, the padded T-shirt read the artist’s maternal surname, “OCASIO”, along with the number 64. Speculation soared: Was it the year of birth of his mother, Lysaurie? A reference to the victims of Hurricane Maria? A nod to a Billboard music record? Finally, the most intimate answer was given Complex Magazine: The number was a tribute to his late uncle, who wore that number during his time as an American football player. Bad Bunny turned a sports shirt into a family love letter. On the other hand, white as a political response. The color cream/white It wasn’t accidental either. Colorimetry experts They point out that this tone conveys transparency, purity and leadership (“I have nothing to hide”). This visual message gains strength after his speech at the Grammys, where he protested against ICE (Immigration Service) stating: “We are not savages, we are humans.” Wearing angelic white in front of millions of spectators visually counteracts the narrative of danger associated with Latino immigration in certain political discourses. Marta Ortega’s plans To understand why Zara invests resources in dressing a superstar without then selling the clothes, you have to look your recent business strategy. Inditex, under the presidency of Marta Ortega, is trying to distance Zara from the stigma of fast fashion to bring it closer to fast couture or “affordable luxury.” A clear example is the recent reopening of its store in Barcelona, ​​designed by the Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen with an aesthetic of boutique deluxe. Zara no longer wants to compete only on price with Shein or Primark; wants to compete in image and experience with luxury brands, maintaining affordable prices. Dressing Bad … Read more

Bad Bunny deleted his Instagram after the Super Bowl. Everything is part of a larger project

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On Sunday, February 8, 2026, Bad Bunny starred in an unprecedented milestone in Super Bowl history by becoming the first solo Latin artist to star. the concert-show during the intermissionin a performance almost entirely in Spanish that reached more than 100 million viewers. Just hours later, the Puerto Rican artist deleted all of his content on Instagramleaving their more than 51 million followers in front of a completely empty profile. The avalanche of speculation has been immediate. What was seen? Bad Bunny’s approximately 13-minute concert turned the intermission into a visual love letter to Puerto Rico. The artist started walking through sugar cane fields, crossed a Puerto Rican street fair and incorporated La Casita, the iconic traditional Puerto Rican pink house that has become a distinctive element of his concerts. The fluidity of the camera, the variety of topics included, the surprise appearances of Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, or guests such as Pedro Pascal or Jessica Alba stood out. The irony of the scenario. The choice of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, as the setting for the largest celebration of Latino culture in the history of the Super Bowl takes on an ironic dimension in the context of 2026: California is going through one of the most intense episodes of immigration enforcement in decades. Immigration arrests in San Diego they shot up 1,500% compared to the previous year. For this reason, the political context surrounding the performance was especially tense. In October 2025, when the action was announced, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared on a conservative podcast that ICE would be “everywhere” at the Super Bowl and that “only law-abiding Americans who love this country should attend.” The Trump administration had intensified raids in Californian cities while the Puerto Rican artist publicly expressed his fear that “the damn ICE could be outside” his concerts, which is why he canceled several on the US mainland and focused on his residence. Bad Bunny closed his performance with a bright sign that read “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” Beyond music. ‘‘I should have taken more photos’, the artist’s latest album, has been described as “a cry of resistance” for Puerto Ricans everywhere: it is about preserving a culture in danger of disappearing. It was recorded entirely in Puerto Rico with collaborators exclusively from there. The 13-minute short film that accompanied the release of the album explores themes of loss, displacement and the fading of cultural identity. The project’s mascot is an endangered toad. And songs like ‘What Happened to Hawaii’ address issues like gentrification. This political charge is not new in the artist’s career. In July 2019, interrupted his European tour to return to Puerto Rico and join the massive protests demanding the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rosselló. In 2020, made visible on ‘The Tonight Show’ the murder of Alexa, a Puerto Rican trans woman. The Super Bowl performance was not an isolated event but the continuation of a narrative meticulously constructed across multiple platforms. The visual coherence (La Casita, the flags, the aesthetics) are the constant reminder that each performance is a chapter of the same project: pan-Latin representation in times of adversity. The strategy continues. The emptying of Bad Bunny’s Instagram profile just hours after his performance at the Super Bowl is not a break with his communication strategy, but rather its confirmation. In 2022, before the release of ‘A summer without you’, used the same tactic to generate expectation. That album would become the most successful Spanish album in history. In 2023 repeated the procedure after their world tour, announcing a period of hiatus. The difference in 2026 lies in the political context surrounding the gesture. While previous wipes functioned primarily as a prelude to new musical releases, this one comes on the heels of the most politicized performance of his career, which has included criticism of trump and threats from Secretary Noem. Unlike similar maneuvers that they already did Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, with this Bad Bunny continues with the construction of his transmedia project, whose next step is a world tour that will take the message to Australia, Japan or Spain, among other destinations. Each platform (the album, the stage, social networks) becomes a chapter in a story about Latin identity that transcends the merely commercial. In Xataka | Spotify killed the record and the industry pivoted to concerts. Netflix killed cinema and the industry was left with a “space crisis”

The European Bizum will soon be a reality. It is very bad news for VISA and Matercard

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Europe will have its pan-European mobile payment system. Although we all thought that we would have a unique and universal Bizum For EU countries, what will happen will be a little different, but just as effective and probably better: long live interoperability. European Bizums connect. As indicated in CincoDíasBizum and the rest of the European platforms that imitated those free transfer functions easily accessible from mobile phones have finally joined forces. all friends. That was the last obstaclebecause all of them wanted to become the unique and universal Bizum. That would have forced the rest of the platforms to say goodbye to make way for that single platform, but instead what will happen is that the different platforms will be interoperable. The agreement includes 130 million connected users. Thanks to this interoperability project, 130 million EU (and Norwegian) citizens will be able to use this system. Not only that: the interoperable platform will be prepared to accept those from other European countries such as Switzerland or even others from markets not belonging to the euro zone. The key is in SPL. This interoperability can be achieved thanks to the so-called Standard Proxy Lookup (SPL), a “directory” service at the European level managed by the European Payments Council (EPC). This service allows banks to check which IBAN corresponds to each telephone number. Everything runs on the SEPA Instant Transfer infrastructureand thanks to new EU regulations, these transfers will soon be mandatory free or will have the same cost as a standard transfer, eliminating the traditional abusive commissions for immediate transfers. In 2026, personal payments. The technical implementation will begin in the coming months, and it is expected that before the end of the year a Spaniard with Bizum will be able to send money to a German with Wero and vice versa in a transparent and simple way. In theory, the operation of the system will not change for users, who will simply have to enter the recipient’s mobile number, regardless of the EU country, so that the transfer is carried out instantly. Shops in 2027. These personal payments with the European Bizum will end up giving rise to the other great option of the system: payments in electronic stores and points of sale. This option will arrive a little later, in 2027, and will undoubtedly be the great spearhead of these platforms against the two fierce competitors that dominated this segment. Setback for Visa and Mastercard. This agreement allows the European Union to have an internal payment system that will allow it to reduce its dependence on the systems that have been the de facto industry standard for decades, those offered by Visa and Mastercard. And a measure of the banks for the banks. European banks are also strengthening their position regarding the digital euro project that the European Central Bank (ECB) is preparing. This currency will in the future allow European citizens to have deposits in central banks without intervention by private banks. That, of course, took power away from these entities, but with this European Bizum they reinforce their role. Another step towards European digital sovereignty. For decades Europe has delegated all its digital systems to companies, especially from the US, and this project confirms an increasingly strong trend: that of European digital sovereignty. When processing payments within a European banking network, citizens’ consumption data does not go to US servers (as happens when using Visa, Mastercard, Apple or Google). And you can use Bizum without a bank card. This agreement does not prevent the platforms from continuing to evolve and improve on their own. This is what Bizum intends to do, which will launch Bizum Pay this year to pay directly in stores with the current account and without the need for a bank card. This will allow us to avoid dependence on Google Pay or Apple Pay, for example, on our mobile phones. It will first offer this option in shops in Spain, and in 2027, in line with the objective of that interoperable European Bizum, in shops in the EU. In Xataka | The Treasury confirms it: payments for dinner and gifts to your friends through Bizum do not go to the Tax Agency

That Oracle speaks out on the soap opera between NVIDIA and OpenAI is a bad sign. That it will not have benefits until 2029, too

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Oracle counted in a tweet that the agreement between NVIDIA and OpenAI has “zero impact” on your financial relationships with the company that owns ChatGPT. This is more complicated than it seems, because the AI ​​business could end up collapsing if a large company like NVIDIA or Oracle shows even a hint of doubt towards OpenAI. The latest statements by Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, have made the market nervous, although Oracle’s path is not very encouraging either. Why is it relevant? Oracle just announced that will raise between 45,000 and 50,000 million of dollars this year through debt and equity issuance to build cloud infrastructure for its large AI clients. Among them, OpenAI stands out with a contract of 300,000 million of dollars for five years that starts in 2028. The problem is that OpenAI is not profitable right now, and Oracle needs OpenAI to raise capital so that it can pay it. It is a circular financing circuit where everyone depends on everyone Keep signing checks. The numbers don’t add up yet. The contract with OpenAI involves about $60 billion annually starting in 2028. To fulfill it, Oracle must buy approximately 400,000 chips NVIDIA’s GB200, with an estimated cost of $40 billion just for its flagship data center in Abilene, Texas. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s total revenue in 2025 was around $13 billion, according to Bloomberg. Oracle is betting its bottom line that a company that currently burns more cash than it generates can pay bills equal to five times its current annual revenue. The alarm signals. In January, investors accused Oracle of hiding the need for more debt to finance its AI infrastructure, according to Reuters. Oracle’s debt-to-equity ratio is at 6x, and credit default swaps reached levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis in December, according to point Bloomberg. In addition to all this obstacle, Oracle’s action has fallen 50% from its September peak, when it announced precisely the agreement with OpenAIerasing some $460 billion in market capitalization. ANDnegative n until 2029. Developing data centers for AI has pushed Oracle’s free cash flow into negative territory, where it is expected to remain until 2030, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Jefferies esteem that the company will need to raise more funds in 2027 and subsequent years, since cash flow will not return to positive until 2029. Oracle plans to raise 50 billion: half through equity, with convertible preferred securities and a share sale program of up to 20 billion, and the other half through a single bond issue in early 2026. Between the lines. What really worries the market is the structure of mutual dependence. NVIDIA funds OpenAI. OpenAI pays Oracle. Oracle buys chips from NVIDIA. Everyone’s income growth depends on everyone else continuing to write checks. When Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, declared to journalists that the 100 billion agreement with OpenAI “was never a commitment” and that they would invest “step by step”, Oracle had to come out with that tweet to calm the waters. And that tweet is precisely the type of communication that worries investors. Cover image | IEEE Awards, Hartmann Studios, Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | The CEO of Airbnb is clear that there are companies with too many meetings: his trick is to follow Jony Ive’s philosophy

There are people so against sleeping that they have even made caffeine patches. It’s a bad idea

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If the 90s were the decade of nicotine patches to save the lungs and the 2000s that of transdermal contraceptives, 2026 has given birth to a different and more revealing obsession: wellness patchmania. If we thought we had seen it all in the universe of digital self-care —tapes to cover the mouth and sleep better, stickers to lose weight effortlessly or nighttime facial bandages that promise wake up with botox effect— the last frontier is here: patches to have energy, concentrate more or sleep better or reduce appetite. Simply peel off a small sticker, adhere it to your skin, and trust it to do its job. The so-called wellness patches or wellness patches are transdermal adhesives that promise to release active substances through the skin for several hours. As brands explain and advertising campaigns, allow you to avoid pills, bypass digestion and offer a slow and constant release of ingredients such as caffeine, berberine, B vitamins, melatonin, magnesium or plant extracts such as ashwagandha. According to The Guardianit is a market that is increasingly saturated with products that promise to treat “the most common symptoms of everyday life”: fatigue, stress, lack of sleep, menstrual discomfort or low mood. Many of these patches are sold in bright colors and designs designed not only to be worn, but to be seen. Well-being stops being something intimate and becomes a visible sign. The phenomenon is not new in medicine: nicotine patches, contraceptives or some hormonal treatments have been used for decades with proven effectiveness. The difference, As several experts point outis that these medical patches work because the molecules they release are suitable for passing through the skin and because they have passed rigorous clinical trials. In the world of wellness, that requirement disappears. An increasingly tired society The appeal of these products lies more in their aesthetics and comfort than in their effectiveness. In other words, there is no need to swallow a pill, prepare a drink or change routines: just stick something to your skin. As pointed out in The Atlanticpatches fit perfectly into a culture obsessed with constant self-optimization and hack vital. Furthermore, by being visible, they turn the user into a brand ambassador: they generate conversation, social validation and the feeling of doing something for their own health. However, the scientific consensus is quite clear. As Michelle Spear explainsProfessor of Anatomy at the University of Bristol, the skin is not designed to absorb substances, but to block them. Its outer layer, the stratum corneum, acts as a wall formed by dead cells and lipids that prevents the passage of most compounds. Only some very specific molecules can pass through it easily: small, fat-soluble and without an electrical charge. Nicotine or estradiol meet these conditions. Many of the substances present in wellness patches such as vitamin B12, minerals such as magnesium or iron, or plant compounds such as berberine are too large or water-soluble to pass through the skin in significant quantities. In other words, if a substance requires high oral doses or even injections to be effective, the probability that a sticker will be able to deliver it in a useful way is very low. Added to this is the lack of independent studies that show that these patches can correct real deficiencies or treat health problems. The problem of “feeling better” Immunologist John Tregoning suggests a key question: How do you measure whether something works when the effect is “feeling better”? Tiredness, stress or concentration are deeply subjective experiences, influenced by multiple variables. Sleeping more, changing routines, eating better or simply believing that something will work can alter perception. Beyond the lack of effectiveness, experts warn of possible side effects. From the British environment have collected cases of dizziness and feeling of weakness after using patches with berberine. Added to this are skin irritations, allergic reactions and a false sense of security that can delay seeking medical attention. When the patch is no longer harmless. Caffeine patches are promoted as a gentler alternative to coffee or energy drinks. However, testimonies collected in different media they mention nervousness, difficulty sleeping or feeling overstimulated. The problem is not just the caffeine, but the inability to control the dose: unlike a drink, the patch continues to release it for hours, even when the body no longer needs it. Berberine poses a different problem. These patches are marketed as appetite suppressants or metabolism accelerators, and have even been compared – without scientific basis – to drugs such as Ozempic. The experts remember that there is no solid evidence berberine can be absorbed effectively through the skin or cause significant weight loss. Furthermore, these products are becoming popular in a context of the return of aesthetic pressure and the obsession with thinness, especially among young women. The risk is not only physiological, but cultural: presenting hunger control as something that can be turned off with a sticker reinforces an instrumental and problematic relationship with the body. The patch as a cultural symptom The underlying question cuts across all sources: why do we look for such simple solutions? As Deborah Cohen points outwe are medicalizing normal life experiences. Sleeping poorly, being tired or losing concentration are not always pathologies; Many times they are logical responses to a demanding, hyperconnected and poorly rested environment. However, we live in a culture that prefers shortcuts to rethinking. It is easier to put on a patch than to review schedules, workloads, expectations or rest habits. These products do not promise to change life, but to make it more bearable without questioning it. They function, in that sense, more as a cultural pain reliever than as a health tool. Most experts agree thatif a patch makes someone feel better and does not cause harm, its occasional use is not necessarily dangerous. The problem arises when they are presented as real solutions to complex problems or when they replace basic habits such as sleeping, resting, eating well or consulting a health professional. Perhaps the success of caffeine and berberine … Read more

Deepfakes are much more than a bad joke. Now the Government wants them to be a violation of the right to honor

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The year started with X filling up with photos of women in bikinis. Everything was normal, except that it was other users who “undressed” them using Grok, Elon Musk’s AI. In the midst of the revived debate about deepfakes, the Government has announced a new draft law with which they seek to combat them. Against deepfakes. The text It is a modification of the organic law of civil protection of the right to honor, personal and family privacy and one’s own image. According to the Minister of Inclusion, Elma Saiz, “it is a more protectionist text, adapted to new technologies.” The “ultra-impersonations carried out with artificial intelligence” or deepfakes They will be a crime when the affected person does not give their consent and the objective is to undermine their moral integrity, generating sexual or humiliating content. In these cases there may be a prison sentence of up to 2 years. The draft also raises the age of consent for image transfer to 16 years (currently it is 14 years). However, the text continues to consider use to damage the reputation of the affected person to be illegitimate, even if they have given their consent. After death. The main novelty of this reform is that it contemplates the protection of the image or voice even after the death of the person, as long as it has been specified in the will. As they point out in The Countrythis could directly affect some true-crime content in which it is used AI to recreate the image or voice of murder victims. Another case that is considered is when the perpetrator of a crime tells details of the crime in podcasts, interviews or other media. If your story reopens the victim’s wound, it will be considered an unlawful interference with their rights. Let us remember the case of book by José Bretón. The exceptions. Those that already existed in the old law are maintained, such as recordings authorized by a judge or the publication of private conversations, as long as their content is news of general interest. The novelty is that specific AI exceptions are included. The image or voice of a public figure may be used if it is in a creative or humorous context. Of course, they must clearly specify that AI has been used in its creation. Was it necessary? This is the question that some lawyers like Borja Adsuara in his X profile. His argument is that the current law already protects the right to honor in all areas, so it was not necessary to mention new technologies such as social networks, AI or deepfakes. However, it must be taken into account, as they point out in Reutersthat the European Union is requiring member countries to regulate deepfakes, especially those with non-consensual sexual content, by 2027. Previous cases. The Grok case has reignited the debate about deepfakes by the volume of images generatedbut it is not the first time that this type of practice occurs. In 2023 there was the first massive case in Spain when some teenagers generated fake nude images of several minors. Recently we also learned about the first fine from the Spanish Data Protection Agency for a minor who used an app to “undress” a classmate. Image | Unsplash (edited) In Xataka | The United Kingdom is tired of people bypassing porn blocking: their new idea is to block it on iOS and Android

Washing chicken “to clean it” sounds hygienic. Science says it’s a bad idea (and very dangerous)

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“Chicken should never be washed.” This time, it was Higinio Gómez (one of the most renowned gourmet polleros in Spain) who reopened the debate in an interview in El País. But the issue is recurrent and inexplicably generates very opposing positions: from those convinced that washing chicken is a way to “remove germs or dirt” to those who, rightly, say that it is a terrible idea. But, as Gómez himself would say in his establishment, ‘let’s go in parts’. What’s wrong with the chicken? Let’s start with the most basic: nothing happens to the chicken. The risk linked to ‘washing chicken’ has nothing to do with the chicken itself. It has to do with cross contamination: the bacteria from raw chicken (which would be eliminated during preparation) transfer to the hands, sink, countertops, and various utensils. Often, in fact, when washing chicken we end up putting those bacteria in foods that are ready to eat. The EFSA estimated in billions of euros annually the impact of pollution Campylobacter (a bug especially linked to chicken). Sometimes it’s because you cook it wrong, yes; but often it is due to handling raw food without any type of rigor. What the evidence says. In a now classic observational study by the North American USDA, was discovered that, in fact, what I just explained was what really happened: among those who washed the chicken, 60% contaminated the sink and up to 26% ended up transferring bacteria to the salad. And, in fact, we already have experimental studies that explain the mechanism: beyond the obvious, “washing generates droplets capable of transferring bacteria and increasing environmental pollution” And why do people insist on washing it? That’s a good question with numerous answers: from the cultural and historical heritage (after all, when the chicken was slaughtered at home, washing did make more sense) to a lack of sense of control that ends up turning against us. Let’s be practical: How to avoid cross contamination when cooking chicken? Separate raw chicken from other foods: It is a good idea to keep the chicken raw separated from other foods. This is always true, but especially with all those that are consumed raw (such as fruits and vegetables). Use different utensils: We have talked about it with the cutting boardsbut it is especially effective advice with knives and other utensils. In fact, the recommendation is that, if we do not have several sets of utensils, wash them carefully between uses with hot water and soap. Wash hands and surfaces thoroughly: After handling raw chicken, you should not only wash your hands with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds; Instead, we should disinfect all surfaces with which it has been in contact. Image | Christian Guillen / Imani In Xataka | Washing raw chicken increases risk of foodborne infection

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