believes

Fish has been in a deep crisis in Spain for years. Mercadona believes it has the formula for that to change

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He video It is from October 2024, but it could have easily been recorded yesterday, today or even tomorrow. In a piece lasting just under a minute, Jana Quiles, tiktokerrecounts his disastrous time at a fishmonger: “I just wanted a piece of fish for dinner and, because I didn’t know what to order, I ended up buying 25 euros worth of hake.” Your case is interesting because it connects with a phenomenon shared by many other young people on networks and that is reflected in the statistics from the Government: Spanish households buy less and less fish. Mercadona has taken note and has decided to step on the accelerator in a bet that it’s been a while implementing: the move from the fishmonger to the trays. What has happened? That Mercadona wants a “new fish sales model” in its stores. The chain itself announced it in a statement posted on its website, a note that, beyond its corporate tone, stands out for two things. The first, the message. The company advances its intention to complete the transformation of its sections, betting 100% on the packaged product. “We transfer all products to trays, guaranteeing quality and freshness.” The second thing that draws attention is the images. Mercadona’s statement only shows photos of fish already packaged, labeled and arranged in open refrigerators. Not a counter. Not even a stand with fresh goods and fishmongers to consult about the goods or a special cut. Nothing, in short, that can lead to experiences like the one that Jana Quiles lived in her day. @janaquiles This happens to me as a beginner 😂🐟 ♬ original sound – Jana Quiles Is it something new? In a way. Although Mercadona seems determined to complete its “reengineering” of fish, in reality the change comes from behind. Does more than a year There was already talk of the chain’s desire to find a more efficient model for the section, betting on the consumption of clean merchandise arranged on trays. The idea, how it progressed TOB.C. in January 2025: greater offer in packaging, with items ready for consumption, and much less assisted sales, moving away from the model that prevails in traditional markets. From the traditional image of customers browsing the hake, turbot and mussels displayed on ice, with the fishmonger on the other side of the counter, we move to a more functional one in which there is only the customer and the tray. Why this change? Mercadona argues who wants to “adapt” to how we consume in our homes and defends the benefits of the new model: “The key is to reduce as much as possible the time that passes from when the fish comes out of the water until you consume it.” To older claims that the trays allow it to reduce waiting times in stores, offer an “assortment adapted to real consumption” and work with merchandise “clean and ready for consumption.” In short, selling merchandise made almost to measure for a clientele that has lost the habit of buying fish and no longer has the vocabulary and the keys to ordering fresh goods. Again the case by Jana Quiles is paradigmatic. His experience with hake is not something isolated, it connects with an entire generation that has not acquired the habit of going to traditional fishmongers. That’s all? No. To these advantages are added others that Mercadona does not cite and directly affect its production costs, logistics and even the management of spaces in the store. In January the company already made it clear In any case, the change in model would not imply dispensing with employees, they would simply be assigned new roles. “The entire fishmonger’s team continues to be part of Mercadona. Their work adapts to other needs in the store.” Does it only affect fish? No. The focus may now be on fish, but it is only part of a much larger Mercadona strategy that connects with two of its main bets. One is food ready for consumption. For years, the chain has aspired to be more than just the place where you buy products to fill your refrigerator and pantry; It seeks to be directly the space in which you feed yourself. The clearest reflection of this slogan is the section “Ready to eat”but the commitment to trays of fish that are clean, cut, filleted and practically ready to put in the oven goes in that same direction. And the other bet? The ‘Store 9’the new local format that the Valencian chain wants to bet on. Your goal is optimize processes and improve efficiency, but in practice that translates into moving even further away from traditional counters and moving towards already packaged merchandise. Interaction with staff during purchases is reduced to a minimum. No chats with butchers, fishmongers or fruit sellers, like in traditional supermarkets. Speed, efficiency, and functionality prevail, which in turn leads to handling and packaging tasks being removed from public areas. Is this just about Mercadona? Not at all. Roig’s chain has managed to gain a considerable market share in Spain, close to 30% in terms of value, so their decisions affect thousands and thousands of families. However, the changes in fish consumption go further and partly connect with the Quiles video that we mentioned at the beginning of the article. We Spaniards buy less and less fish. The official data of the Government show that per capita consumption of fish (both fresh and frozen) in homes has been plummeting for years. And it doesn’t get better. He latest reportfrom November, shows interannual falls of between 4 and 5.5%. With its latest movements, Mercadona seeks to position itself in the part of the business that performs best. While Fedepesca talks about the closure of thousands of fishmongers Since 2007, there are businesses in the sector more focused on the sale of ready-to-buy merchandise, online orders and home delivery that they keep growing. Fish consumption itself is leaving homes to focus at leisure. Now Mercadona aspires to carve out … Read more

A study believes that kinesiology is only a placebo

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When you have a muscle problem such as tendonitis or overuse, it is likely that the physiotherapist has placed the famous adhesive strips cotton with very bright colors stuck to the skin. This is known as kinesiotaping or neuromuscular taping, and has been sold as an effective pain relief treatment. Although science has been closing the gap on their true usefulness for years, now pointing to them being irrelevant. A massive study. Just like has collected El País, a recent article published in the BMJ magazine has given the necessary numbers to affirm that placing these strips on muscle injuries is not recommended. And it’s not that they looked at a handful of patients, but that they analyzed 128 published systematic reviews, which is equivalent to a whopping 310 randomized clinical trials with a total of 15,812 participants, covering 29 different musculoskeletal disorders. What has been seen? Proponents of this technique often argue that the tape microscopically lifts the skin, improving blood and lymph flow, which instantly relieves pain. The problem is that new evidence suggests that kinesiotaping offers, at best, a one-point reduction in pain on a scale of 1 to 10. This is negligible in the medical field, since it does not make a big change in the patient’s quality of life. But the few benefits observed, which are slight improvements in mobility or reduction in initial pain, are completely temporary. As has become clear in the patients analyzed, these symptoms disappear in a matter of days or a few weeks. But in the long term whether to wear the strip or not doesn’t exactly matter. What was known before. Obviously, if this is something so widespread that we even see it in elite athletes, something had to have been investigated. Here the researchers point out that in the previous literature there are serious inconsistencies in the methodology that open the door to a high risk of bias. In this way, they suggest that much of the initial improvement reported by patients could be explained by the placebo effect. They warned us. Although this macro study is very recent, it is not the first to burst the bubble of the use of these tapes. If we dive through all the available bibliography, we can find an analysis done in 2021 where it was pointed out that, although the reduction in pain was evident, it only served as a temporary “adjunctive supplement”, not as the solution. The verdict. The conclusion of science is clear: colored strips do not have biomechanical superpowers, and their success has been based on a mix of brilliant marketing, mass adoption by famous athletes and the undeniable power of the placebo effect. Although it is true that initially it is likely to reduce pain. Images | Flickr Edward Muntinga In Xataka | Postural tricks and objects to avoid back pain: what is true and what is myth

CEO Toyota believes his extreme perfectionism is a problem

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Japan is an extremely peculiar country. It is for many reasons in the eyes of a European. One of them is the mixture of humility at work and absolute dedication to the company to achieve a common objective that materializes in designing and producing the best possible products. The contrast is more complicated to understand if possible in the automobile industry. Toyota is considered the mother of what we know today as “toyotism”. A formula to work in a chain with a very limited stock. That is, without a safety net that allows unforeseen events to be handled with a warehouse large enough to support production until the problem is solved. This is achieved, of course, by building a chain that is oiled with the precision of a Swiss watch. But also with the certainty that what goes on the market is the best version of what each worker has in hand. Toyota revolutionized automobile assembly line production by giving the workers themselves the power to stop production if any failure was detected. It is a way of working that can only be carried out when, when developing the parts and design of an entire car, you work with the firmness of philosophy Kaizen. This Japanese word defines the pursuit of perfection through continuous improvement. This allows each modified part in the process of producing a new car to have the support of years of experience behind it. This way of working has been a competitive advantage until now has made Toyota the largest car manufacturer of the world. The company was, in 2025, the world’s largest automobile producer, with more than 11 million units manufactured. Volkswagen is second and remained at 9 million units manufactured. It is the result of production measured to the millimeter and reliability earned by hard work. That philosophy kaizen which Mazda or Toyota boast has allowed the latter to always be at the top of the reliability rankings, a value when it comes to putting millions and millions of units on the market. But this way of working has its drawbacks when you have to make agile decisions. China is the train to follow “If things don’t change, we won’t survive.” The phrase is from Koij Sato, CEO of Toyota, and is especially relevant because, as we pointed out, it comes from the head of the world’s leading brand. The message was sent to 489 suppliers with the aim of making them understand the importance of improving competitiveness against Chinese companies, they state in Automotive News. According to AutoblogToyota’s quality standards have been so strict that parts have been returned with small resin wrinkles that had no impact on a vehicle’s dynamics or reliability. The same thing was happening with thousands of wire harnesses that would have been returned because they showed minor signs of discoloration. Small aesthetic defects that buyers did not even notice because they are hidden inside the vehicle itself. Now Sato has asked its suppliers to be more flexible to save money on production and be more agile. The message launched by the company’s CEO is not coincidental. Months ago, a consulting firm specialized in reverse engineering I already alerted Toyota that their electric cars were designed as combustion vehicles and that penalized them when producing them. The problem is that, according to this company, producing an electric car is so different from a combustion car that it is almost equivalent to two different products even though both have four wheels and a steering wheel. They pointed out, for example, that Toyota used steel bars and reinforcements in the steering column or to hold the dashboard, thinking about reducing vibrations. However, Chinese manufacturers and Tesla choose to increased use of plastics because those vibrations are almost non-existent in an electric car. This allows them to produce cheaper and faster. And get lighter cars. “The average customer doesn’t even see these parts,” explained Shoji Nishihara, purchasing manager for Toyota’s vehicle development department, in statements reported by forumelectriccars. The final goal is complicated. The company aims to improve competitiveness by reducing production times and making the final quality of its products more flexible. A complicated balance if we want to continue being the reference in terms of reliability. For now, Toyota believes that its perfectionism was already bordering on healthy. Photo | toyota In Xataka | The legend of the Toyota Supra, one of the legendary Japanese sports cars: the fusion of illegal racing and the Kaizen philosophy

Iran has made energy a problem again. The United Kingdom believes it has found a solution in solar panels

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There are issues that we believe are resolved until reality reminds us that they are not. Energy is one of them. We have been talking about for years solar panelsof self-consumption and of alternatives to fossil fuelsbut in many cases they remained a rather gradual, almost optional decision. That has changed. The rise in energy prices linked to the conflict in Iran has brought the problem back to the forefront and forced several governments to react. The United Kingdom has decided to act. The specific measure. What the British Government has put on the table is not a generic promise, but a plan to try bring so-called plug-in solar panels to stores in “the coming months.” To make it possible, the Government is working with Amazon, Lidl and the manufacturer EcoFlow. There is also an interesting nuance here: we are talking about an American e-commerce giant and a very recognizable supermarket chain in Europe. What makes them different. At this point, it is worth stopping for a moment on what exactly we are talking about. These plug-in solar panels do not work like a traditional photovoltaic installation, which usually requires construction, permits, and the intervention of a professional. The idea here is much simpler: smaller devices that can be placed on balconies, walls or gardens and connected directly to the home electrical network. According to the British Government, this approach would allow them to be used without the need for an electrician, as long as technical and safety standards are adapted. The context. It is no longer a secret that the conflict in Iran has hit one of the most sensitive points of the global energy system, the Strait of Hormuzthrough which a relevant part of the world’s oil circulates. When that flow is threatened, prices react quickly, and that is just what has happened. In a few days, crude oil and gas have risen sharply and that impact ends up reaching Europe in the form of more expensive fuels and higher bills, which has forced several governments to act. The European mirror. If we leave the United Kingdom, what we see is a map of quite diverse responses to the same problem. Rising energy prices have forced action, but each country is doing it in its own way. Spain has opted for a broad package of aid and tax cuts, valued at around 5,000 million euroswhile Germany has focused on regulating the behavior of gas stations and Portugal has applied fiscal adjustments more specific about fuels. Faced with these measures, more focused on cushioning the immediate blow, the British movement introduces another approach, facilitating access to alternatives such as solar energy to reduce dependence in the medium term. Images | Caspar Rae In Xataka | Europe has a million reasons to fear an increase in the price of electricity. Spain has something else: renewables

Canada now allows Chinese cars to be sold and the US believes they have opened the door to the wolf

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Canada is about to become the gateway of chinese manufacturers of electric cars to North America. BYD, Geely and Chery They have been preparing their landing for months in the country, and from Washington they are watching with great suspicion. What has happened? In January, Mark Carney’s Government closed a trade agreement with China that reduced tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from 100% to 6.1%, in exchange for Beijing lowering tariffs on Canadian agricultural products such as rapeseed or lobsters. The agreement allows the entry of up to 49,000 Chinese electric cars per year, with the possibility of scaling up to 70,000 in five years. March 1, Ottawa opened the application process of import permits. Tensions. This decision comes amid trade tensions with the United States under the Trump administration, which has imposed tariffs on both Canada and China. “We take the world as it is, not as we would like it to be,” counted at that time Carney, with the intention of diversifying its alliances. Who arrives and how. According to the DSMA advisory firm, which is mediating between Chinese manufacturers and Canadian dealers, three brands lead the race: BYD, Geely and Chery. The three are working in parallel on the approval of vehicles, the construction of distribution networks and agreements with local financial partners. Jason Zhao, director of Asian market development at DSMA, estimates that the first cars could arrive at the end of 2026. It would look like this: BYD wants to open 20 dealerships in a year, starting in the Toronto area and then expanding to Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, according to explained to The Globe and Mail Farid Ahmad, CEO of Dealer Solutions Mergers & Acquisitions. The brand is also studying the possibility of building its own production plant in the country, although, according to declared to Bloomberg a few weeks ago its executive vice president Stella Li, “no decision has been made yet.” Geely expects to soon receive certification from Canadian authorities for its vehicles, according to confirmed to Bloomberg Andy An, CEO of Zhejiang Geely Holding. The company already has some presence in North America through Volvo and Polestar, but Zeekr would be its first Chinese brand to reach the Canadian market. Cherry is hiring in Canada and has already registered several of its brands, including Omoda, Jaecoo and Exeed. In statements collected According to Automotive News Canada, the company stated that it is “evaluating avenues for future development, including alliances with local players,” although without confirming dates. The problem of times. Just because there is a trade agreement does not mean that the cars will arrive tomorrow. Stephen Beatty, industry consultant and former executive at Toyota Canada, counted to Automotive News Canada that, if starting from scratch, the homologation process can take “a year or more.” And the brands best positioned to be the first through the door are Tesla (which had already prepared its Shanghai factory to export to Canada in 2023) and Volvo and Polestar, which already operate in the Canadian market under a Chinese umbrella. Washington’s reaction. Jamieson Greer, United States Trade Representative, qualified the agreement “problematic” and warned that Canada might regret it. The issue raises concern in Washington, since if Chinese manufacturers manage to establish themselves in Canada, the US market (the great long-term objective) will be much closer. “The obvious end goal is all of North America,” counted Tu Le, managing director of Sino Auto Insights, in the middle. Between the lines. The United States maintains very high tariffs on Chinese cars and a ban on connectivity technology for Chinese-made vehicles, which has blocked any mass entry into its market. Canada, by opening its door, not only irritates Washington because of the direct commercial impact (about 49,000 cars are barely 3% of the Canadian market), but for what it represents: a precedent and a bridgehead. BYD, in fact, has already publicly ruled out trying to enter the US in the short term. Stella Li, speaking to Bloomberg, described the American market as a “complicated environment” and said that the brand is focused on other markets where it can replicate its successful model in Brazil. And now what. According to DSMA, large dealer groups in Canada they are divided: Half are actively looking to close an agreement with a Chinese brand, the other half are waiting to see how the situation evolves. The medium and small ones, on the other hand, are “all” interested, according to Zhao. Longer term, both DSMA and Sino Auto Insights estimate that between 15 and 20 Chinese manufacturers will end up operating in Canada. Cover image | Tom Carnegie and BYD In Xataka | What happens if you are in a self-driving taxi and someone wants to get into the car and attack you? Waymo’s response is not encouraging

Jensen Huang believes we have reached the “coming of the AI ​​wolf.” It is perfect for feeding a Tamagotchi

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Artificial intelligence has become a football league. There are divisions in which titles are pursued such as having the most powerful AIthe fastest, the most capable at a specific task either the most versatilebut the goal is to become champion of the Champions League, and that is the AGI. Although from the United States they do not stop talk about artificial general intelligence As something that is about to fall, it is a theory that suggests that, at some point, an AI will be achieved that will surpass humans in all areas of knowledge. For the NVIDIA CEO, that moment has already arrived. At the moment it’s… smoke. The AGI has already arrived. It has been in the podcast by Lex Fridman in which Jensen Huangboss of the company that is supporting the AI ​​industry, has pointed out that general artificial intelligence is already here. Fridman posed a question: Could an AI system establish, grow, and operate a $1 billion-plus technology company within five to twenty years?” Huang rephrased the question, stating that current AI systems are already capable of creating a viral web service that briefly generates $1 billion in revenue. That remains to be seen, but it is not the only one that Huang threw into the air. When Fridman asked if AGI is five, ten, fifteen or twenty years away, Huang responded with a resounding “I think it’s now. I think we’ve achieved AGI.” Well no. Friedman said that was going to raise some eyebrows, and it took Huang less time than ChatGPT to agree with you if you tell him something isn’t right to qualify his words. Much of the conversation focused on OpenClaw platform, the open source agentic AI framework that has become the pearl of the industry and where everyone wants to have something to say. In the article of The Verge point out the example of the Tamagotchi and how Huang points out that people can use their AI agents to do all kinds of things like digital influencers or apps to feed a Tamagotchi for you. That would become an “instant success” that can generate billions of dollars, but the possibility that, right now, 100,000 of those agents will build a company like NVIDIA “is zero percent,” he noted. What is AGI? That is, current AI and agents can create “fleeting and viral hits”, but… that is not the question. That is, one thing is agentic AI, which is something that all the major companies in the sector are already pushing and, basically, it is like a shortcut program for AI to do things for us. And a very different one is the AGI. The artificial general intelligence that Huang says we have already achieved is something very different. While the agents drink from the same AI that is nothing more than a language model that is dedicated to putting together words that more or less make sense, but that are calculated by algorithms, percentages and probabilities As long as two words go together, AGI is a “real” artificial intelligence, one that thinks like a human. It is something that, as far as we know, is only in the theoretical framework because its technical complexity is overwhelming. The big difference between an AI and agents and AGI is that, if the first two have language as their core and operate from it, AGI is the human brain whose core is thought. Or so they aspire to create. Is Huang an AI? After seeing some of their recent statements and this interview, the question that arises is why there are certain profiles that are choosing to “reason” exactly the way an AI reasons. These tools They are designed to prove us right.so as not to confront us and so that we spend more time using that AI and not another. That’s why ChatGPT or Gemini are so accommodating in their responses when we try to find a way around them. But, as Mashable points out, giving that more convenient answer is also becoming a trend among “real” intelligences. The wolf is coming. Huang himself already pointed out in 2024 that AGI would be software capable of imitating standard human intelligence, but his examples do not seem to match the idea of ​​what AGI is. The industry seems hell-bent on reaching AGI through language models, but as some point out, It’s a dead end. Yann LeCun is considered one of the godfathers of modern AI. Until recently, he was also the head of AI at Meta and stated that the path to AGI is not language modelsbut the world models. They are models that will learn from the environment, will be able to imagine scenarios and operate like humans. That has nothing to do with current models that would not be possible without plundering the Internet and human-created culture. It is not at all clear what it will be the spark that will allow that general artificial intelligence will be reached, but the American AI Big Tech never tires of saying that AGI is already here. Now it is, really good. Huang just stated it to qualify his words in the following sentence, Sam Altman of OpenAI It has been creating expectation for a long time about the AGI when they are not yet able to do a ChatGPT that doesn’t hallucinate, Zuckerberg has assembled a super team to achieve itAnthropic’s Darío Amodei believes that is at the doors and Elon Musk says that Grok 5 could achieve it. At the moment, a lot of promises, and something that creates an app to power a Tamagotchi doesn’t sound like that great revolution in technology either. Images | NVIDIA In Xataka | Customers demand that a human solve their problem. The surprising thing is that if humans serve them they think they are an AI

A year ago, the blackout caused the Spanish data network to collapse. The CNMC believes it has the solution

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In April 2025 Spain suffered a zero energy of which, precisely now, we are going to begin to pay some of its consequences. I remember quite clearly being cut off, not being able to call or send messages via data connection. However, when I changed locations and arrived at my relatives’ houses, some of them could do it. The fall of telecommunications It was uneven in Spainand the CNMC has published a document with preventive measures in case a similar situation occurs again. What happened. The energy blackout that left Spain plunged into darkness resulted in a large part of the population being cut off from communication. However, some operators They managed to keep their mobile network active for hours. Backup generators, generating sets moved to each area, backup systems… The challenge for operators to maintain coverage in Spanish territory was a titanic challenge, quite dependent on internal logistics, the state of the reserve batteries (some of them run on fuel), and the network infrastructure itself They were variables that influenced such unequal conditions to be experienced. A single network. In its statement, the CNMC proposes that the four giants of the Spanish territory put roaming plans at the service of the population in emergency cases. The experience of other countries shows that it is viable to incorporate roaming plans between operators in case of emergency. In this way, in areas where this was necessary due to the unavailability of service in an operator’s mobile network, the networks could be prepared to quickly enable the basic telecommunications services of the affected users through roaming in the networks of other operators. According to the regulator, this is an “ideal measure to strengthen resilience”, but it is not so easy to apply. Yes, but. What the CNMC proposes is a cross-roaming service between Telefónica, Vodafone and MásOrange, something that requires coordination and agreement between the three giants. The best example is Sweden where, after two years of preparation, any mobile phone can connect to any operator. Go deeper. In addition to this proposal, the CNMC requests the mandatory nature of the alert system HANDLE in those cars with DAB+ radio receivers (the evolution of FM radio). Although DAB+ works via antenna (like AM and FM radio), its signal is digitally encoded. The ASA system allows you to automatically activate a DAB+ radio connected to power, being able to quickly launch alerts. At the moment, there is a distance from proposal to fact. In Xataka | Europe has a million reasons to fear an increase in the price of electricity. Spain has something else: renewables

Jensen Huang believes he has found the perfect new bonus for software engineers. Not Stocks: AI Tokens

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The CEO of Nvidia has been converting the AI tokens at the center of all their public conversations. Jensen Huang’s latest idea links these tokens to the efficiency of engineers and how the best engineers in the world are recruited: in addition to a generous salary, offer them an amount equivalent to half their annual salary in AI tokens as part of the hiring package.​ Huang verbalized his proposal during the inaugural speech of the GTC 2026 conferenceNVIDIA’s largest annual event for developers. In a later interview, the Nvidia CEO detailed that engineers would earn “a few hundred thousand dollars a year as a base salary,” and the intention would be to give them “probably half of that, also, in tokens, so they can multiply your productivity times ten”.​ What Huang proposes already has a name: Tokenmaxxing. In one podcast appearance ‘All-InHuang said he would be on “high alert” if an engineer earning $500,000 didn’t spend at least $250,000 a year on tokens. “If that person said (that he has used tokens worth) $5,000, I would go completely crazy,” Huang stated. When asked if NVIDIA planned to spend $2 billion on tokens for its engineering team, as proposed, Huang responded: “We’re trying.”​ As and how they counted in The New York Timesthat has generated a phenomenon called “Tokenmaxxing“, with which engineers brag about the number of tokens they consume to try to improve the perception of their productivity: the more tokens you consume, the more productive you are. Tokens as bonuses are a trend in Silicon Valley. The CEO of NVIDIA is not the only one who thinks this way, and the use of tokens as an extra work benefit it’s soaking among investors in the sector. Tomasz Tunguz of Theory Ventures stated to Business Insider that “companies are incorporating AI inference as a fourth component of engineer compensation: salary, bonus, stock and tokens.” The interest of whoever sells the chips. The NVIDIA CEO encouraging everyone to spend more on tokens is not disinterested advice. Gergely Orosz, analyst at software engineeringhe pointed it out bluntly in a publication from AND he added an analogy that sums it up accurately: “It’s almost as if the CEO of Apple said, ‘If someone who makes $500,000 a year doesn’t spend at least $50,000 a year on in-app purchases on iOS, I’d be deeply alarmed.’ And yes, you would be, because that would reduce the revenue you generate.” Huang is the head of the company that manufactures the chips for AI on which most of the world’s artificial intelligence runs. Huang himself made it clear to his investors: “Without computing, there is no way to generate tokens. Without tokens, there is no way to grow revenue,” he declared, describing his data centers as “token factories” whose demand will only grow as AI agents proliferate.​ Do not confuse value with price. However, Huang has incurred a bias when arguing his idea: confusing value with price. Orosz formulated it clearly in a message in X : “The advice that engineers should use tools that make them more productive IS correct… except that the cost of tools should NOT be what we focus on. Some of the most useful tools are very cheap. Of course, vendors will focus on selling the most expensive and most profitable tools.” Productivity is not measured in tokens spent, but in results achieved. The right question for companies should not be whether their employees use more AI, but whether increased use of AI is rewarded. with greater productivity. In Xataka | Customers demand that a human solve their problem. The surprising thing is that if humans serve them they think they are an AI Image | NVIDIA, Unsplash (Arif Riyanto)

Oatmeal has been “removed” to being the queen of breakfasts. Science believes it is more beneficial at dinner

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One of the great nutritional dilemmas is undoubtedly at dinner timesince we want to eat something that is quick, satisfying and that does not make us go to bed with a distressing heaviness. And this is where oats can come into play, a food that has been relegated to breakfast territory by associating with cereals, but scientific evidence suggests that we are wasting all your potentialsince we can take it to the last meal of the day. His secret. To understand why oatmeal is ideal for dinner, you have to look at a microscopic level. And the reason is that oats are rich in beta-glucana type of soluble fiber that generates high viscosity in the intestine. In this way, when oats are eaten, this beta-glucan forms a kind of viscous gel in the digestive tract that achieves dramatically delay gastric emptying and glucose absorption. Unlike classic refined grains that cause a sugar spike followed by a crash, which can lead to midnight hunger, oats offer a slow release of energy to stabilize blood levels after a meal. Goodbye to snacking night. If you’ve ever had a light dinner and two hours later you were raiding the refrigerator, oatmeal has the solution here, since several randomized clinical studies support its amazing satiating capacity. one of them was published in 2016 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition and focused on analyzing 48 healthy adults who were given a serving of hydrated oats of just 250 kcal. The results showed that the feeling of fullness was significantly increased and hunger was reduced for up to four hours, compared to classic ready-to-eat cereals. This satiety, mediated by the high molecular weight and viscosity of beta-glucan, caused the subjects to reduce their energy intake by 85 kcal on average at the next meal. A better sleep. Going to bed with sky-high sugar levels is not the best idea, neither for our metabolism nor for the quality of our rest. Again, our great ally here is beta-glucan, since the EFSA endorses that consumption of four grams of beta-glucan per meal significantly reduces glycemic responses without disproportionately raising insulin. This is something that was confirmed by a study in 2021where it was seen that doses of four grams or more of beta-glucans for every 30 grams of available carbohydrates are the key to avoiding the dreaded nocturnal glucose peaks. The impact. To all this, and although there are no studies designed exclusively to measure the impact of oats at dinner, we know that their glycemic index is low, which ensures fairly smooth digestion. This is in addition to the fact that it contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that our body uses to produce melatonin and serotonin, the hormones responsible for regulating and improving the sleep cycle. His presence at dinner. Keep in mind that not all oats are the same. The first thing to keep in mind is that you should avoid ultra-processed foods, avoiding instant oatmeal versions that are loaded with added sugars or artificial flavorings. Furthermore, since at night we look for a complete meal, the best way to prepare it is by combining it with a good source of protein. Images | micheile henderson In Xataka | We have been believing for years that intermittent fasting is the definitive weapon to lose weight. Science has another idea

Texas has the same problem of sinkholes and potholes as Spain but believes it has the solution: plastic roads

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It is barely one kilometer but the promise is enormous: converting the roads into a huge plastic recycling plant. Testing began at the University of Texas at Arlington (United States) promulgated by Sahadat Hossaincivil engineer and director of the Solid Waste Institute for Sustainability at the University of Texas, but they have already taken the leap to the road. Hossain tells the story in The Conversationwhere he explains that the project was born from his obsession with recycling plastic. The engineer points out that he grew up in a low-income neighborhood of Bangladesh and that there he observed that people who lived closer to the landfills suffered more health problems than those who lived a little further away. His childhood experience has focused much of his research, focusing on the impact of materials on the environment and possible solutions for recycling them. Among the most complicated to recycle and, without a doubt, the most used: plastic. Now, under their research, in the United States they have launched a project to use plastics used in the construction of roads. And the results are being successful. Harder and more resistant In Texas they have a problem: it’s hot. Very hot, in fact. When building a road, taking the climate into account is essential. ANDIn warmer places, harder bitumens are needed. because they tolerate heat better. The problem is that asphalt also becomes more fragile and breaks more easily. The problems are even more pronounced if a wave of bad weather with a lot of water hits a fragile pavement, as has happened in Spain. A solution could go through make the asphalt a little more elastic but this has an intrinsic problem. And if the asphalt is more elastic, it also resists heat less well and in the harshest months it can soften and melt, as has happened to the United Kingdom in recent years. But this is, always, if we use traditional methods. What Sahadat Hossain’s team is testing is injecting plastics into the bitumen that binds the mixture of stones and sand that makes up the asphalt. At the moment, they are trying to inject plastics that make up between 8 and 10% of the bitumen mixture that binds the rest of the materials. It may not seem like a lot but, according to Hossain, at a test site near Dallas they used 4.5 tons of plastics that came from single-use plastic bags or bottles that were discarded to build a mile. It is a not insignificant amount if we think that we are talking about building about 1,600 meters of road while giving a new use to a material that produces about 400 million tons a year and of which barely 10% is recycled. To be useful, the process requires shred plastic until you get a very fine material that can melt with the bitumen and thus not leave elements in the air. And the result is being good. The first tests were done in university parking lot but they have already been scaling the project to roads with intense road traffic. According to their experience, the asphalt continues to resist heat (with good performance on days that exceeded 100º Fahrenheit, almost 38ºC) and is more flexible than with the traditional system, which reduces the risk of cracks and fractures. Point at The Conversationthat one of these tests has also been carried out in Bangladesh, where a heat wave caused more cracks and fractures in traditional roads while this road with plastics suffered much less wear. It is, therefore, good news when it comes to extend the useful life of the pavement and save money on maintenance. The good news is that the project is monitoring all the results with high traffic volume roads (also the adverse ones such as the possible emission of microplastics when vehicles pass by). And this test is by no means the first. In Rotterdam there was already talk of building these roads with recycled plastics a decade ago. However, its fatigue is much lower. The advantage here is that its performance can be studied under constant and high-tonnage traffic. Photo | The University of Texas at Arlington In Xataka | Until 2020, Spain had the most praised roads in Europe. Now it has something else: a hole of 13,000 million euros

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