believed

Physicists believed that this quantum phenomenon was impossible. They were very wrong

by

This appointment of Richard FeynmanNobel Prize in Physics for their contributions to quantum electrodynamics and one of the most admired scientists of the twentieth century, condenses very well The complexity of quantum physics: “If you think you understand it, you don’t really understand quantum physics.” Quantum mechanics study the laws that govern The world of the very smallof the particles, as well as the interactions to which the atomic and subatomic structures are exposed. Most of these rules are radically different from the laws we have become familiar with in the world in which we live. In the macroscopic world. Many physicists have spent the last century trying to understand how known quantum phenomena work, and also striving to identify unknown quantum rules. The problem is that working with the extremely small, with the particles, is very difficult. However, this does not mean that they are not successful. To hunt and capture the elusive transition of super -artedia Physicists Klaus Hepp and Elliott H. LIEB predicted in 1973 a quantum phenomenon known as super -transiant phase transition. For more than half a century the scientific community has worked out without success to find evidence to protect the existence of this mechanism beyond mere theory. But everything changed on April 4. That day a group of researchers from Rice University, in Texas (USA); the University of Shanghai (China); NASA’s National Laboratory (USA) or the National University of Singapore, among other scientific institutions, published an article in Scienceadvances in which he explains the procedure he has used to experimentally observe this quantum phenomenon so elusive. Understanding what is the transition of super -transiant phase and all its implications is not simple, but we can get a rather precise idea about what this mechanism consists of if we observe it as a sudden change in a particle system that causes many of them begin to behave in a coordinated way. When this phenomenon does not occur, atoms interact in a weak way and behave in a disorganized way, but when the super -artary phase transition arises, they synchronize and exhibit the same behavior, giving rise to a new state of matter. When the super -transiant phase transition arises the atoms are synchronized and exhibit the same behavior The most surprising thing is that this new state gives the material unusual properties from a macroscopic point of view. The researchers who have mentioned some lines above have managed to carry out the first direct observation of this mechanism. And they have succeeded by triggering the transition in a glass composed of erbium, iron and oxygen subjected to a temperature of −271.7 degrees Celsius. In addition, they exposed it to a magnetic field of no less than 7 teslas, so it was more than 100,000 times more intense than the magnetic field of the Earth. What they pursued was to induce the transition of super -transiant phase by coupling the spin of the particles. And they succeeded. The spin is an intrinsic property of The elementary particleslike the electric charge, derived from its time of angular rotation. The first experimental evidence that endorsed its existence It arrived in 1922 Thanks to the experiments of German physicists Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach, although scientists did not begin to understand the nature of this very important property of elementary particles until a few years later. The reason why it is not easy to understand precisely what the spin is because it is a quantum phenomenon, so it is not quite correct to describe it as a conventional rotation movement in space. Even so, the description that I have proposed in the previous paragraph is usually used for a didactic purpose because it helps us to intuit without too much effort what we are talking about. In any case, the most interesting thing is that the transition of super -transiant phase opens the door to the next generation of quantum technologies. This is the really important thing. According to physicists involved in this experiment, this mechanism can be used to put quantum sensors endowed with a much higher sensitivity than those currently available. And it can also be used to produce more robust cubits for Quantum computers. Sounds good. I hope your predictions are fulfilled. Image | Generated by Xataka with Dall-e More information | Scienceadvances In Xataka | CERN has achieved something unprecedented: transform smartphones sensors into an antimatter chamber

West believed that mines and conventional artillery were the past. Ukraine has shown that they were wrong

by

They have been Several occasions in which the conflict after the Russian invasion in Ukraine seemed Go back to the pastat an era where technology did not dominate the battlefield, but the human through it. The effect of what has happened to east of Europe begins to have its echoes on several nations of the old continent. Conventional artillery and mines, for decades considered obsolete, have seen A resurgence That nobody seemed to glimpse, and now everyone wants to rearm. A return to the past. As we said, the conflict in Ukraine has radically reconfigured Western understanding about The modern warrevealing the validity of weapons that for a long time were forgotten as vestiges of the past. Antipersonnel minesheavy artillery and non -guided ammunition have reappeared as key elements In a type of war that NATO and European armies had stopped planning: the large -scale land war. For years, Western powers imagined the conflicts of the 21st century as technological, rapid and surgical clashes, starring reduced units and high precision weapons systems. It happens that the Ukrainian realitywith their stagnant fronts and prolonged fighting For territorial control, those assumptions have denied sharply. The Treaty of Ottawa and Las Mines. In fact, one of the most visible effects of this doctrinal turn has been the decision of several European countries to abandon the Ottawa treaty of 1997, the same that prohibited the use, production and sale of antipersonnel mines. Who is it? Finland was the last In reverting his adhesion, adding to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, who had already announced their departure. These nations, all neighbors of Russia or in their area of ​​geopolitical influence, are actively preparing for undermine its bordersin an attempt to contain a possible Moscow military offensive. The reasons are clearly clear: the Use of mines in Ukraine It has demonstrated its effectiveness not only to stop advances, but to channel enemy troops to areas where they can be faced with greater guarantees of success. It is a territorial defense tactic that resurfaces in a conventional war context, precisely when it was believed to be overcome. Artillery and unburgated ammunition, the resurgence. While the guided missile systems provided by NATO face problems in the face of the Russian capacities of Electronic interferencetraditional artillery, with simple and cheap projectiles, has charged New prominence. These ammunition, not depending on electronic signals, are immune to blockages or technological sabotages. In addition, combined with modern surveillance tools (such as drones that identify real -time objectives), they have become extraordinarily lethal. Ukraine, in fact, has taken advantage of this synergy, adapting old technologies to the new battlefield. The result has been a war that advances very little in terms of territory, but that consumes huge amounts of projectiles and requires a sustained production that Europe was not prepared to assume. Europe and industrial career. On the other sidewalk, the paradigm shift has exposed the fragility of war production capacities in Europe, although that is not quite news when the old continent has already talked about rearming. A report by the Royal United Services Institute criticized European governments for Trust blindly in which the private sector would solve the manufacturing needs of ammunition without having offered them incentives or favorable regulations. This omission has had serious consequences: according to General Christopher CavoliSupreme Comandante Allied with NATO in Europe, Russia is on the way to accumulate projectile reserves three times higher to those of the United States and Europe together. He imbalance is alarmingespecially considering that the Ukrainian conflict does not show short -term resolution signs and that the current levels of ammunition consumption are unsustainable without an industrial restructuring. Russia’s mirror. In this regard and According to CavoliRussia currently produces 250,000 artillery projectiles per month, which leads it to build that arsenal three times greater than the United States and Europe. Not just that. Cavoli’s testimony underlines a crucial point: while Russia is perceived in the West bogged down In a wear war, its defense machinery He has managed to adaptgrow and, in some aspects, strengthen in full conflict. Moscow has been recovering its arsenals on all fronts (from ammunition to armored vehicles and troops), which strongly contrasts with the logistics and production difficulties faced by their adversaries. The estimate of Cavoli points to an annual manufacture of 1,500 tanks by Russia, in front of the 135 produced by the United States. In the last year, Russian troops would have lost Approximately 3,000 tanks9,000 armored vehicles, 13,000 artillery systems and more than 400 air defense systems, but would be completely replaced, keeping their land projection capacity intact. Planning errors. Experts like Paul van Hooft, from the Think Tank Rand Europe, They explained to Insider that this lag is a direct consequence of three decades of strategic planning focused on asymmetric wars. Since the September 11 attacks, NATO designed its military operations thinking of insurgencies, terrorism and irregular forces, where neither heavy artillery nor mines seemed to have practical utility. That vision led, according to the analyst, to the dismantling of traditional arsenals and the abandonment of terrestrial war doctrines, especially in Western Europe. However, the current conflict demands precisely opposite: territorial defense, sustained occupation of broad areas and classical deterrence capacity. The balance between the future and the past. Mark Cancan, from Center for Strategic and International Studies, stressed that prolonged wars, once stabilized the front lines, make weapons such as artillery and mines not only useful, but dominant. While drones, artificial intelligence and other innovations continue to perform An important roledo not replace the volume of fire or logistics resistance that allow sustaining an offensive or defending a position for months. In this regard, Cancan warns against excess confidence in futuristic war visions, many of them promoted by startups technological ones that compete to attract funds from the new defense budgets. Faced with this, the evidence seems to show that, at least for now, the war remains a matter of volume, physical resources and conventional abilities well managed. Ironically, if … Read more

Mining companies believed to have found a treasure in Ciudad Real. Until the Iberian lynx appeared

by

In a video that is has viralized By networks you can see how two lynxes are disputing the territory to headers, a habitual practice between these felines. He Reelrecorded in Ciudad Real, shows how felines are returning to their natural habitat. In a turn of events, these animals have managed to stop attempts to extraction a company: giving them a legal header. The exploitation. The “Neodimio Project” is an initiative of the Quantum mining company that seeks gray monacita in the province of Ciudad Real. From this rare land the neodymium is extracted, used in magnets of electric cars and wind turbines. The mining company has shown interest in exploring areas near Valdepeñas, Santa Cruz de Mudela and Torrenueva, areas to overcome the cat, According to the avant -garde. Maybe there are no lynx … But there are people living in those areas that oppose mining. The “yes to the living land” platform has asked the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, to oppose the Rare Earth’s mining project, According to Cadena Ser. From the organization they have explained that it could have a devastating impact on local biodiversity and endanger the ecological corridors that the lynxs have begun to recover. They do not stop in your search. Quantum’s story with Ciudad Real It has been more than a decade. After the failure of the “Matamulas” project, the company tries to return to the load. But time does not play in its favor: the citizen opposition has grown, water resources are increasingly scarce and the rural economic model (based on wine, oil and tourism) fears are affected. The controversy has also intensified for a complaint of the Seprona, which accuses the company of having done work without permission on a plot of Torrenueva, According to Castilla-La Mancha Media. Legal header The Iberian lynx, in its reintroduction process in the region, has played a decisive role in this conflict. Although rare earth mining is seen as an economic opportunity in the context of the energy transition, efforts to preserve fauna and biodiversity have led to stop these projects. As have explained at the vanguardthe lynx is no longer just a conservation symbol, but an argument of weight in legal reports and protests. Its presence in areas such as the Montiel field has become an obstacle to mining companies that seek to exploit these natural resources. It is not the only place. Although Ciudad Real is emerging as the area with the most potential for rare earths in Spain, it is not the only one. In different areas of the country we can find, as Galicia, Gran Canaria, Almería, Estremaduraamong other places. The fan that has been opened is very wide, but these deposits have in common not only the element, but their extraction seems to be complex. For its part, the European Commission has not included the Quantum project in your list of strategic initiativeswhich means that it does not have the support of Brussels to continue its development. Recovering spaces. The lynx has become a defender of its territory, interfering with projects that threaten their home. The struggle for the future of Ciudad Real is between the protection of biodiversity and the progress of mining, a dispute that reflects the dilemma between the need for natural resources and the conservation of ecosystems. Image | Pexels and Diego Delso Xataka | The rare earth war has arrived in Spain. And it is in Ciudad Real where mining and ecology are confronted

After two catastrophic failures, we believed that Spacex would not risk with the next starship. We were wrong

by

Starship’s next flight will be one of the most tense in the history of the rocket. Not only because the last two releases will end in paths explosions and with deviated airplanes to avoid the rain of rubble. Also because it will be the first time that Spacex reuse a rocket. Zero-Touch reflight. In addition to a 123 meters high mole, Starship is the first rocket designed to be quickly reusable. Spacex’s idea is that Starship takes off, lands and throws himself again after a few hours, as if it were a commercial plane. The company has partially advanced in this Objective of “Zero-Touch Desflight” or relaunch without intervention. The first stage of the rocket, the 33 -engines Super Heavy propeller, has landed in the arms of the launch tower three times: Booster 12 in flight test 5, Booster 14 in flight test 7 and Booster 15 in flight test 8. It was planned that the second stage of the rocket, the six -engines Starship ship, would make its first landing attempt during flight 9. To do this, the earth would orbit and re -enter the atmosphere until they perch on the arms of the second launch tower; Already finished in Starbase, Texas. However, the last two starship exploded at 8 minutes of takeoff For a defect in a redesign recent. A second -hand super heavy. The expected thing was that Spacex was taken calmly to flight 9 to compensate for the last failures, but the company has just announced a surprising decision. The next launch, scheduled for mid -April (if the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States is approved), will be done reusing the booster 14 of flight 7. This propeller first took off on January 16, 2025 and, after separating from the Starship ship, returned to the launch base to become the second Super Heavy that Spacex has captured with the arms of the Mechazilla tower. Of the 33 Raptor engines that you will wear during your second launch, 29 are already used engines. Another rocket that lands and takes off. The only orbital rocket with demonstrated capacity for propulsive landing is the Falcon 9 of Spacex. Specifically, its first stage, which usually lands in an autonomous barge in the ocean after throwing satellites or spacecraft. A few weeks later, you are ready to reuse (Generally, in Starlink missions). The second rocket to get it could be Starship, also from Spacex. Not in the “Zero-Touch reflight” mode, but after a restoration process and changing some engines, but it is a first step. And in fact, it is a step that nobody else has achieved apart from Spacex. The company that is closest is Blue Origin, who tried unsuccessfully on the opening flight of the New Glenn rocket. In China, Landspace is also achieved with his Zhuque 3 rocket. There will be no second capture. The bad news is that Spacex will not try to capture the Booster 14. The rocket, which has just passed some ignition tests on land, will merit in a controlled way in the Gulf of Mexico to test a more pronounced attack angle during the re -entry, which in the future will allow you to perform other flight profiles. Anyway, all eyes will be put in the Starship 35the third ship of the “Block 2” version. Its two predecessors exploded shortly after separating from the Super Heavy propeller, both for a flight of propellents due to excessive vibrations in the engines area. Starship 33 disintegrated after a fire and Starship 34 lost control after the explosion of an engine. The investigation of flight 8 is still open, so FAA has not yet given its authorization for flight 9. Even so, we should not take long to see it, taking into account that the rocket is almost ready and the renewed political power of Elon Musk It has already allowed accelerating the procedures in the previous releases. Image | Spacex In Xataka | Elon Musk has said that Mars will be part of the United States. It is an unusual affront to the outdoor space treaty

CERN physicists believed that symmetry between quarks up and down is broken. Is much more than they expected

by

The quarks, the elementary particles that constitute the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleus, are fermions. And the electrons, too. There are several typesalthough physicists like to talk about ‘flavors’: up (UP), below (Down), charm (Charm), strange (Strange), Cima (top) and background (Bottom). The most frequent in ordinary matter They are the quarks up and downalthough top is very interesting for a curious reason: it is The heaviest elementary particle that we can find in nature. An interesting note since we move in the field of fermions: supersymmetry is a theoretical model of particle physics that proposes the existence of a hypothetical particle that is matched with each of the fundamental particles we know. PSIANS EXPLAIN THE EXISTING RELATIONSHIP Among the bosonsthat have a spin with whole value, and the fermions, which have a semientero spin. However, it is important that we do not overlook that it is a hypothetical theoretical framework that, therefore, has not yet been observed in nature. Not even experimentally. Physicists still do not understand how quarks and gluons combine The strong nuclear interaction, which is one of the four fundamental forces of nature, is the “glue” that keeps the quarks together to give rise to protons, neutrons and other hadrons. It is also responsible for the cohesion and stabilization of the nucleus of atoms. Until now, particle physicists considered that this force interacts with all quarks, regardless of its flavor, in the same way. This mechanism is known as isospin symmetry and respects, yes, the differences that exist between the masses and the electric charges of the quarks. A kaon is a subatomic particle constituted by a quark and an antiquark, but not by any quark; It is a strange quark According to Isospin symmetry, the collision of heavy ions, which are atoms or molecules that have acquired positive or negative global electric charge due to the loss or gain of electrons, should essentially generate the same amount of kaons with electric charge and neutral kaons because The mass of the quarks up and down is similar. An note before moving forward: a kaon is a subatomic particle that is constituted by a quark and an antiquark, but not by any quark; It is a strange quark. The presence of the latter gives them very peculiar properties, so studying them is very useful to understand the characteristics of the subject a little better. What has surprised CERN physicists is that The Na61/Shine experiment has evidenced that Isospin’s symmetry is not fulfilled. And does not do so because heavy ion collisions generate a very large imbalance between the production of loaded kaons and neutral kaons. In recent years, physicists suspected that a certain degree of imbalance could be given, but what they did not expect is that this difference was so great. This is very important for a reason: current theoretical models have difficulty explaining it. It may seem like a problem, but it is not at all; It is an opportunity. In particle physics when such a discrepancy appears What is happening in your experiments. This particular disparity has the ability to help them better understand how strong nuclear interaction works and how quarks and gluons are combined to give rise to the production of hadrons. Image | Cern More information | Cern In Xataka | “If we get our goal, a revolution in physics will be triggered”: we talk to Santiago Folgueras, a physicist of CERN

We believed that creatine was one of the most useful supplements to gain muscle mass. We are no longer so sure

by

Creatine is an old acquaintance of people who exercise in order to increase muscle. Evaluate in our own meat the effectiveness of a supplement is useless, especially because we surely accompany it with a strict exercise regime that will prevent us from distinguishing its net impact. That is why, if we ask ourselves to what extent the creatine works, we need to study it rigorously. Not so effective. And the verdict of the last study that has tested this substance It has not been favorable. In a study that included a 12 -week training program and the consumption of 5 grams daily of creatine supplement were not observed relevant differences between those who took the substance and those who did not. “We have shown that taking five grams of creatine supplement per day does not make any difference in the amount of muscle mass that people earn when performing resistance training,” explained in a press release Mandy Hagstrom, co -author of the study. “The benefits of creatine could have been overestimated in the past due to methodological problems,” the researcher adds Creatine. Creatine, or α-methyl guanido-acetic acidit is a compound that can be found naturally in our body, especially in the muscles and cells of our nervous system; And also in some foods, such as red meat, fish and shellfish. Creatine molecules are formed from three amino acids and Stores phosphocreatinemainly in the muscles. There is used as a source of energy. That is why the creatine supplement is used to obtain better results when exercising and gaining muscle mass. 54 participants. The recommended maintenance dose of this supplement is between three and five grams per day. The 54 study participants, aged between 18 and 50, were divided into two groups, some would begin to take five grams Creatine Monohydrate (CRM) first and a week later they would start a 12 -week resistance program. The second group would also face this exercise program, but without the supplement. The food of both groups was monitored to verify that there were no relevant differences in their diet. Both groups increased their muscle mass, but they did it in a similar way, about two kilos won during the period. The details of the study were Published in an article In the magazine Nutrients. The problem is in the water. Part of the study key is in time: that the experimental group (the one who took the supplement) began this “treatment” before training allowed the team to test (and verify) a hypothesis, that a part of the muscle increase that we associate with creatine is due to a greater water retention. The team observed that, during this first week, indeed, the group (and especially women in this) began to gain muscle mass, a 0.5 kg difference that dissipated after starting training. Hagstrom pointed out, of course, that more studies are still necessary to understand the impact of water retention associated with the consumption of this supplement. Dose question? The study responsible for the study suggests that, in addition to water retention, the chosen dose could also have had effect on the results. The five grams daily represent the upper limit of the recommended daily maintenance dose, but those who consume This supplement They often resort to a “load phase” that implies consumption between 20 and 25 grams of the supplement per day. This possibility was discarded by the equipment since these consumption levels, they explain, can cause gastrointestinal problems and is not necessary to achieve saturation levels. However, they affect the need to carry out additional studies with intermediate doses, for example of 10 grams. They also point out that longer -term studies could help us better understand the impact of creatine supplements on the increase in muscle mass. In Xataka | The 17 best apps to exercise Image | Aleksander Saks / Victor Freitas

I believed that the LSD would have improved Microsoft designs

by

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs They were great rivals In the field of new technologies, but they also maintained a friendly relationship. Gates confessed in An interview with the British The Independent That Steve Jobs said that Gates should have taken LSD to improve the design of Microsoft products. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates’ personal and professional relationship It was never simple and fluctuated influenced by the enormous competitiveness of both founders and their vision of how technology should be. However, the Technological and Financial Context Of both companies forced both millionaires to maintain the equivalent of a “Roman Pax” in their personal relationships. After all, as Jobs explained in A joint interview In Conference D5 of 2007, They were travel companions In his technological adventure. Jobs’s trick to imagine impossible designs Among the many anecdotes that Microsoft’s founder reveals in his latest autobiographical book ‘Code Source: My beginnings‘, Gates remembers his specific flirting with the Cannabis and the consumption of LSD. “Because my personality is quite optimistic and I am willing to take risks, I tried many things. But something else about my personality is that I like my mind to work and it is very logical. So I stopped consuming marijuana at the beginning of my 20 years simply because it became careless, either during that same day or the next day, “Gates explained The Independent. Ignoring the consumption of marijuana from Gates during his youth, Steve Jobs assured that give free rein to creativity Gates with LSD would have helped improve the design of Microsoft products. “Steve Jobs once said that he would have liked me to take acid because then perhaps he would have had more pleasure in the design of my products,” Gates recalled. Gates’s response was to accept that Jobs had an innate talent For design, but He had other skills to which he had given free rein. “My answer to that was to say: ‘Look, I had the wrong lot.’ It touched the coding lot and this guy touched the marketing design lot, so well for him!”, Gates told Gates to British newspaper. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates: Hallucinogenic technology Steve Jobs confessed to more than one occasion that LSD had consumed in his youth, and attributed part of his creative vision in the design of Apple’s products to these experiences. Under his supervision, Apple managed to resurface his ashes with such iconic designs Like the IMACiPod, iPad and iPhone. On the other hand, Gates was known for his most conservative and analytical approach, which possibly led Jobs to comment on the need for Expand Gates’ perspective regarding design. However, as Gates stood out, Your approach The aesthetics of its products was not, but in its software. Hence Microsoft has become one of the main companies In computing in The cloud and iaand the productivity software with applications like Word has dominated for decades or Excel. “His talents and mine, apart from being a kind of energetic leader and going beyond the limits, did not overlap much. He did not know what a line of code meant, and his ability to think about design and marketing and marketing Things like this … I envy those skills. Gates has always been very interested in the uses of psychotropic substances and the effects on the brain, declaring an absolute fan of the book on psychedelic drugs ”How to change your mind ‘ by Michael Pollan and the possible Therapeutic uses of these substances. “The idea that some of these drugs that affect the mind can help with depression or the TOC seem fascinating. Of course, we have to be careful, and that is very different from recreational use,” said the millionaire. In his biography, the technological tycoon remembers one of those Experiences with hallucinogenic substances of which I did not keep the best of memories: “Part of the trip was stimulating, but I took the drug without realizing that I would continue to feel its effects the next morning, when I arrived at the orthodontist office for dental surgery that I had programmed from A long time ago, “Gates wrote. The millionaire remembered that: “I stared at my mouth open my doctor’s face, while his drill continued working, without being sure if what he was seeing and feeling really was happening.” Gates says he swore that, if he ever took acid again, he would not do it alone, above all, that he would not when he had plans for the next day, especially a visit to the dentist. In Xataka | Bill Gates is clear about what would be 20 years old and start again: a 100% startup dedicated to AI Image | Flickr (Joi Ito)

We believed that the price of coffee could not rise much more. The diplomatic “war” between Colombia and the US thinks otherwise

by

Of the tens of thousands of words that make up the English lexicon, Donald Trump has one that he especially likes and for which he has declared his love in some or other interview: tariff (tariff). This weekend he reminded the Colombian president of this in a quite practical way, threatening to impose 25% rates (or even 50%) if he did not give in to the aggressive immigration policy which is promoted from the White House. Everything indicates that it will remain that way, a threat, but it serves to warm up a market that has been facing strong shocks for months. turbulence: the one with coffee. Yes 2025 It looked complicated For lovers of morning espressos, your outlook has just become more complicated. What has happened? That Trump has shown that, indeed, he feels a special weakness for the word “tariff.” Over the last few weeks it has announced more or less clearly that it will apply taxes on imports of China, Mexico, Canada, Europe, Denmark and even Spainalthough it is still not entirely clear whether the latter was said deliberately or as a result of a geographical ‘slip’. Curiously, it has been another country that has been on the verge of suffering tariff fury from the republican: Colombia. Screenshot of Trump’s announcement on Truth Social. Why’s that? For something that actually has little to do with the international market, trade balances and tax policy. The trigger has been migration. And a political fight between Washington and Bogotá. Basically, yesterday the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, refused to allow two planes from the US loaded with deported Colombians to land in his country. What’s more, he threatened not to welcome them until Trump adopts protocols that guarantee treatment. “with dignity and respect” for immigrants. The response of the Republican, who has managed to return to the White House after an electoral campaign that largely pivoted on a hardening of immigration policy, it did not take long to wait: through its platform Truth Social advertisement a 25% rate for the import of Colombian merchandise that would rise to 50% in a matter of days. Petro responded after a few hours with the same currencyordering a sudden increase (25%) in the tariffs that Bogotá applies to US goods. How did the crash end? In dispatches and without reaching customs. At least for now. Despite its initial reaction, the Petro Executive ended up giving in to Washington’s demands and agreed to receive the planes with deportees. Enough so that Trump has not yet signed the economic sanctions, which have already been drafted and will be activated if his southern neighbor “does not comply” with the agreement. “The Government of Colombia has accepted all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returning from the US,” they boast from the White House, which reminds that Bogotá will also receive them “without limitations or delay.” Click on the image to go to the tweet. What does it have to do with coffee? Simple. The announcement of Trump’s tariffs and the fight between the White House and the Nariño Palace did more than shake up American diplomacy. He also put on guard various sectors Colombians who have important interests in the United States, such as oil, floriculture (which is preparing for the millionaire campaign Valentine’s Day) and coffee. Of all of them, the one more expectation generatesdue to the state of its market and price driftis the latter. At the end of the day, Colombia is not just any country on the international coffee map. And the United States is not just another market for Colombian producers either. This double condition means that everything that affects the relationship between the two, including of course the threats of 25% tariffs or even 50%, interest (and quite a bit) to the market. But… What does the data say? To begin with, Colombia is one of the main coffee powers on the planet. The own tables The US Department of Agriculture places it as the third largest producer, only behind Brazil and Vietnam. Other observatories leave the same drawing, like Statista. A 2024 reportThe USDA office, linked to the US Government, estimated that during the 2024/2025 campaign, Colombian coffee exports would total around 12 million GBE bags. Colombia matters on the global coffee map. And its relationship with the United States is also important, something that is better understood with the help of a couple of figures. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2022 Colombia exported 15.6 billion dollars to the US, of which almost 1.8 billion corresponded to coffee. This data makes it the second largest exported commodity in terms of value, only behind crude oil. The footprint of Colombia in the flow of coffee that reaches the US is also considerable. Click on the image to go to the tweet. But the rate would affect the US, right? The US tariff policy is that, the US tariff policy, and as warned The New York Times Yesterday, basically imposing 25% taxes on Colombian goods would mean that Americans would have to dig deeper into their pockets to buy flowers and coffee. However, if we talk about grain, what happens on the other side of the Atlantic interests us. And the reason is very simple: shocks like the one on Sunday put even more tension on a market that is already go through turbulence. “If the US imposes a 25% tariff on all Colombian exports, the already red-hot coffee market will heat up even more. Colombia is the third largest coffee producer in the world (and a key source of rabi beans). premium)”, I was reflecting yesterday in X Javier Blas, Bloomberg columnist. In the same tweet he included a column written by himself a few days ago in which he warned of the complex panorama facing the coffee market. And what situation is that? In Xataka we have talked already several times her. And it is summed up … Read more

We believed that what we learned from the coronavirus would help us better resist other epidemics. The flu shows us that

by

Five years have passed since the beginning of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, the Covid-19 virus. In those first months, some wondered what lessons we could learn of past epidemics, such as the “Spanish flu” of 1919 that we could apply to the new epidemic. The question now is another, the opposite, we could say: what can we learn from the pandemic that will help us with epidemics such as the seasonal flu. And above all, why It seems that we have not learned these lessons still. Although the fight against Covid brought with it extreme measures such as confinement, measures that are neither necessary nor implementable in epidemics like the one we see every winter associated with any of the flu viruses, it is possible to look back to find measures that we can put into practice, especially if we present symptoms associated with the flu or a cold. Perhaps the first lesson that Covid taught us regarding the flu is that it is possible to stop the transmission of this virus: the winter between 2020 and 2021 was the winter without flu: the measures to keep the spread of the coronavirus at bay made the incidence of the flu would fade away. This had another impact: the disappearance of a strain of the virus, the one called B/Yamagata. The extinction of this influenza B lineage It is still shrouded in a certain mystery, but what we do know is that since 2020 there has been no news about this strain. But the pandemic too he left us lessons that we can apply, if not in our daily winter life, at least when we notice the appearance of symptoms that we associate with flu or colds (similar but not identical), such as general malaise, runny nose, irritation of the respiratory tract or fever . The pandemic encouraged the study of the transmission of respiratory viruses, of how aerosols containing these pathogens travel through the air. Some of this knowledge can be useful to experts, being extrapolated to other similar viruses, such as the coronaviruses that cause some of the typical colds of these dates and the flu itself. Keeping distance is one of the advice that health authorities give to those who present these symptoms, something that can undoubtedly remind us of social distancing of the pandemic. The transmission of respiratory viruses is usually similar, and in these cases, keeping a certain distance from the other person can be helpful in preventing contagion. Another recommendation that we can find in the guides is to properly ventilate the spaces. Whether in our home, offices or on public transport, adequate ventilation can also hold the key to avoiding new infections. Of course, masks provide a physical barrier to the spread of the virus. Although health authorities recommend resting and avoiding going outside when we suffer from diseases such as the flu, masks can be of great help in cases where that option is not available. Another useful lesson is in testing. Rapid Coronavirus tests were of great help in keeping the spread of the virus at bay and some tests soon incorporated the possibility of looking for the presence of other pathogens, such as the flu. During the pandemic we became familiar with this type of rapid tests, now a lot cheaper and more affordable that five years ago. However, its current use may not be as widespread as might be expected in the context of seasonal influenza epidemics. Similarly, the pandemic enabled new advances in vaccine development, but also laid the foundation for more efficient vaccination campaigns. Also what has been learned by scientists and authorities may be of help when dealing with annual flu outbreaks. Forgetting what was learned And why do we forget these lessons? Forget it’s part of our natureit may even make sense in many contexts, including Covid. Forgetting can make work easier of our brain, but it is also important for our mental health. The process of forgetting is very visual: we associate the Covid era with images such as masks or empty streets. The memory of masks (or forgetting them) may be especially relevant precisely because it is an element that can make it difficult to spread the flu and other diseases of the respiratory system. The lessons not only can they be valid when considering strategies to deal with seasonal flu. In recent years we have witnessed various bird flu outbreakswith the active outbreak in the United States among the most worrying. The virus has reached numerous people and, although so far no infections have been detected among humans, a few weeks ago the first person died as a result of the outbreak. The ramifications of this outbreak have been significant. The outbreak has not only affected wild and poultry birds, it has also affected cattle and cases have even been detected in the country’s pigs. In recent weeks we saw that the virus was circulating again among poultry in Europe, so the possibility of this zoonosis continuing to spread is not negligible. In Xataka | Thousands of people have survived without suffering from Covid. Now they are helping us learn more about the disease Image | Anna Shvets / CDC

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

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

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

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