centuries

Humanity has been wondering for years how to adapt to climate change. The Mayans already achieved it centuries ago

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Beyond its architecture, urban planning and art, there is an aspect of the Mayan civilization that fascinates archaeologists: its decline. Over time, historians have understood that the decline was not sudden nor did it respond to a single factor, rather there was a sum that included changes in trade routes, wars and, above all, adverse weather, with droughts. severe and prolonged. Now we know something more. Even during the stages of Classic Terminal (800-1000 AD) and Postclassic (1000-1500 AD), while large urban centers succumbed, there were settlements that adapted to climate changes. What has happened? Which a group of archaeologists has just published an article in which they capture their years of research in a Mayan settlement located in ‘Birds of Paradise’, some wetlands located in the north of Belize. The site itself is not new. Scientists identified it long ago a few years with the help of lidara tool that is revolutionizing archaeology. What is new are the conclusions that its analysis has left. He study is published in the magazine PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science) and, among other issues, concludes that the wetland offers valuable information about how the Mayans responded to the social and environmental changes they dealt with during two crucial stages of their history: the Classic Terminal and Postclassic, a period that goes from the 9th to the 16th centuries. What have they found out? As they explain from New York University (NYU), to which the main author of the study belongs, one of the most interesting readings that the site leaves is the extent to which the Mayans adapted to the vagaries of the climate. Basically, researchers have proven that at a time when large urban centers were abandoned, pressured in part by intense droughtsthere were Mayan settlements that managed to survive in the wetlands. As? For its ability to adapt to the environment. And how did they do it? Taking advantage of the means they had at hand. “Wetlands provided resources for hunting and fishing to ancient populations, in addition to serving as refuge in periods of drought and social upheavals,” they explain from NYU. The environment supplied them with something else, equally or even more valuable for their settlements: construction materials. The site in question that they have analyzed in Belize in fact includes eight mounds of earth that could have served as a base for building buildings and a large elevated limestone platform. The experts also rescued wooden posts, animal remains and ceramic artifacts, clues that tell us about how life continued while other nearby urban centers declined. What do the experts say? “Together these findings reveal a highly adaptable community with diverse tools, food and construction materials. It shows us that Mayan communities could change habitats and survive extreme climates,” explains Timothy Beachprofessor at the University of Texas at Austin, who nevertheless recognizes that “we still do not know the size of this wetland population and its functioning.” Now archaeologists aim to go one step further. “Our next moves include expanding the excavations to understand how the Mayans built with unconventional wood, how they ate, and how this settlement fit into a region that was suffering from widespread abandonment.” Why is it important? Because of the historical era we are talking about. In their article, the researchers assure that the Belize site demonstrates the ability of the ancient Mayans to adapt to “the profound challenges” that they had to live through from the 9th century AD. For reference, a team led by the University of Cambridge discovered not long ago that between 871 and 1021 they happened eight persistent droughtsof at least three years, in the Yucatán Peninsula. The worst of all actually lasted more than a decade. The scientists arrived at that conclusion after analyzing a stalagmite from a Yucatan cave. And, beyond how spectacular it may be, the data is interesting because it tells us about the challenges that the Mayans faced during the Terminal Classic (800-1000 AD), when the limestone cities of the south they were abandonedthe dynasties declined and civilization moved north, losing part of its political and economic power in the area. Are there more conclusions? “As the large urban centers of the Mayan regions succumbed to interconnected socio-environmental factors, the communities of the Birds of Paradise complex persisted through that transition by constructing a series of elevated structures of earth, stone and wood with direct access to the abundant resources and connectivity offered by the riparian wetland system,” reads the article published in PNAS. “It provides evidence for persistent populations between the Elevated Interior Region and coastal regions during the Terminal Classic to Postclassic. While nearby highland urban centers were abandoned, this population continued to emphasize wetland agriculture and provides our best evidence for other subsistence strategies, such as fishing and gathering other proteins, reflected in the faunal assemblage,” they add the researchers. What did they dig? That is another of the surprises that the study leaves behind. Archaeologists discovered what NYU describes as “the largest collection of architectural wood” located inland, as well as artifacts that help historians understand everyday life in the wetlands. It may seem like a minor issue, but it is not common to find remains of wood in Mayan sites. On the contrary. Their very nature causes them to degrade in tropical environments. In Belize, experts have discovered “a unique opportunity” which allows them to better understand how the ancient Mayans built, what types of wood they used and how they used each one. Is it so uncommon? The majority of preserved Mayan wooden remains are figurines, spears and boxes that were recovered mainly in caves in Belize at the beginning of the 20th century. Remains have also been found in mountainous and saline areas in the south of the country. The new findings go further. “It challenges long-held beliefs that sites like this could not survive in the American tropics and suggests we might be overlooking similar sites,” admits Lara Sánchez-Morales, professor of anthropology … Read more

Ships have been damaging the oceans with noise for centuries. Germany is working on silent propellers to solve it

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Every time a boat crosses the seas, it is accompanied by a continuous noise underwater: that of the propellers that propel it. The noise problem of propellers in marine ecosystems is identified academically since 2004, but its reason for being is even older: the first time they analyzed its cause It was in 1893. What there is no solution to that disturbing low-frequency sound that spreads for kilometers, disturbing fish, cetaceans and other marine living beings. And its reason for being is even older: the first time cavitation was analyzed was in 1893. A team from the Kiel University of Applied Sciences has set out to remedy it with its project MinKav. Brief notes on cavitation. To understand the problem, we must first see what happens to the blades of a propeller when they rotate at high speed. With their movement, the blades generate a pressure difference between their faces. Thus, on the back side the pressure drops so much that the water changes state, going from liquid to gas. More specifically, thousands of small vapor bubbles. The problem is when these bubbles leave that low pressure zone: they then implode violently, returning to the liquid state, which causes pressure waves that are transmitted at high speed through the water. If the waves collide with a surface, they can deteriorate it considerably. The phenomenon of cavitation is accompanied by vibration and noise, as if it were gravel falling on a machine. This sound is broadband, with low frequency components capable of traveling long distances. Why is it important. Of all possible aquatic pollution, human-caused acoustics are the least mainstream, but their effects are documented. A couple of concrete examples of the importance of sound for aquatic species: whales They use sound to communicate, orient themselves and huntthe fish for such essential tasks how to detect predators or spawning and crustaceans are sensitive to vibration in the background. To get an idea of ​​the magnitude of the problem, according to the International Chamber of Navigation There are approximately 50,000 merchant ships operating continuously around the planet and they all emit that sound. It is not something specific. And the research team adds a twist: a propeller with less cavitation is not only less noisy, it can also potentially be more efficient (cavitation is wasted mechanical energy). Less noise and fewer emissions. The discovery. The HAW Kiel team has identified when the problem originates: the sound peak does not occur when the bubble forms, but right at the end of the collapse. And its intensity depends directly on the speed at which this collapse occurs. The faster you go, the stronger the blow. Illustration of human, marine animal and environmental sound sources in the marine environment, with proportional sound waves. National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration How are they doing it. The experiments are being carried out at the Naval Hydrodynamics Laboratory of the German university, in a kind of aquarium with a miniature propeller, so that they can reproduce the flow conditions around the propeller. Equipped with underwater microphones and high-speed cameras, they have determined where and when that noise peak occurs. The next step is computer simulations to experiment with designing different propeller geometries to reduce noise without sacrificing performance, efficiency or durability. The most obvious solution, lowering the rpm, is not an option: a commercial boat cannot afford to go slower. Pending subjects. However, MinKav started in January of this year, will last three years and have a budget of 390,000 euros, modest for a problem of global scale. Even if MinKav were to come to fruition, it would have to go from the laboratory to scale-up on a commercial ship. In Xataka | A Spaniard has patented a mast that transforms wind and waves into electricity: his invention challenges diesel in boats In Xataka | A “roomba” to clean rivers: the ship that the Three Gorges Dam has launched in China Cover | Pexels

Cats always land on their feet. And science has been trying to understand an inexplicable phenomenon for centuries.

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Cats are fascinating animals, also for science that, for centuries, has tried to answer the question: How do they always manage to land on their feet? Although studies have been done trying to solve itit is not known with certainty how they achieve it. A recent experiment by Japanese researchers has shed some light on this feline mystery. In a recent study published in The Anatomical Recordthe researchers took a different approach than had been followed until now. The experiment consisted of two parts, on the one hand to thoroughly analyze the flexibility of the cat’s spine and on the other to observe several cats performing this correction in the air. For the first part, they performed mechanical tests on the spinal columns of five cat corpses. In this way they measured the maximum resistance and range of motion of the spine before breaking. What they discovered was that the cats’ spine is very flexible in the upper area, where the thoracic vertebrae are, turning 360 degrees. The lumbar part is more rigid and robust. For the second part, they recorded two live cats being released at a distance of 90cm from the ground. The recordings were analyzed frame by frame and compared with the data obtained from their observations. The difference in spinal flexibility fits with what was observed in the videos: the cat turns its front paws first (your most flexible area), so first look at the ground and then adjust the rest of your body (the least flexible area). The experiment also observed an interesting detail and that is that in most tests the cats turned to the right. Specifically, the first cat turned this way every time, while the second turned to the right six of the eight times it was dropped. In case anyone is worried, the bodies were donated and to record the falls they put a cushion underneath so they wouldn’t get hurt. The falling cat problem It is a problem that arose in 1894, when French scientist Étienne-Jules Marey showed in a video that cats were able to right themselves in the air without external help. Since then there have been different hypotheses that have tried to explain the exact mechanics of this stunt. Falling cat, by Étienne-Jules Marey, 1984. Source: Wikipedia There are two main models to explain this spin in the air. The first is “tuck and turn” which proposes that cats rotate the upper and lower halves of their body executing movements at the same time and in opposite directions. The second is “legs in, legs out.” This model states that cats adjust their fall trajectory by first stretching their hind legs and then collecting them again, making a successive turn with the front and then with the back part of the trunk, so that They adopt the correct position while still in free fall. Another less supported hypothesis is the “tail-propeller” hypothesis, according to which the animal can reverse the direction of rotation of its body by moving its tail in the opposite direction, as if it worked as a propeller. However, tailless cats can also do this movement, so although it may help, it is not essential. The new study supports the “legs in, legs out” model hypothesis, but the researchers caution that the problem still cannot be considered solved and more research will be needed. The plan is to build mathematical and three-dimensional models with more data. In statements to New York TimesGreg Gbur, physicist who is an expert in falling cats (oh really), states that science has tried to simplify into “a single correct way that cats land on their feet, but nature is not concerned with simplicity.” In Xataka | Walking cats on a leash is fashionable. We have asked an expert in feline behavior and she is clear about what she thinks. Main image | Gemini, own edition

We have been reading philosophers from the West and Asia for centuries in search of the secret of happiness. Turns out the Aztecs had it

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Each course Lynn Sebastian Purcell, philosophy professor, repeat the same experiment. After reviewing the passage from the ‘Odyssey’ in which Ulysses renounces an eternal life of pleasures with the nymph Calypso to search for his wife and son, the teacher presents a dilemma to his students: How many would do the same as the king of Ithaca? “How many of you would reject immortality and a pleasant existence on the condition that you never see your family and loved ones again?” defiant spear Purcell to the classroom. The answer is always the same: nobody. The ‘Odyssey’ is an epic poem that connects with the Greco-Latin tradition, but in reality that particular passage about Ulysses summarizes well the vital philosophy of a civilization that lived thousands of kilometers from the Ionian Sea: the aztec. Goal: happiness. I don’t know exactly who you are, but it’s quite likely that you, me and the more than 8 billion Of people who share this world, we agree that it is desirable to have a happy life. Logical, right? Happiness is one of those golden nuggets that philosophy has been searching for for centuries. I did it in times of Epicurus and he does it in our days. In fact one of the most famous treatises of Bertrand Russella famous philosopher of the 20th century, is titled with a phrase that is quite a proclamation: “The conquest of happiness”. The lesson of Ulysses. However, it is one thing to aspire to happiness and another to decide how to achieve it or even what exactly happiness is. This is where the passage from the ‘Odyssey’ of the nymph Calypso. If it’s just about seeking happiness, Ulysses already had it, right? If we agree that the goal is to be happy (just like that), isn’t it a good idea to spend an eternal life, free of illness and deprivation, living with a goddess on a distant paradise island? Why does Ulysses decide to return to the sea… and his hardships? “Let it be worth it”. Ulysses’ attitude (like that of Purcell’s students) connects fully with a philosophical ethic that for decades has gone unnoticed in the West: that of the pre-Columbian Aztecs. For them, remember the teacherwhat humanity really seeks is not so much a life full of happiness and pleasures as “an existence that is worthwhile.” That’s the goal. The texts that are preserved and tell us about how the Aztecs saw the world show that for them humanity faced “an existential problem,” In Purcell’s words: a brief, fickle existence, during which it is impossible to control everything just as it is not to skate in a quagmire. “Slippery is the land”. “What they wanted to say is that, despite our best intentions, our life is prone to error, failure in our objectives and, therefore, to ‘fall’, as if we were going to end up in the mud. Furthermore, this earth is a place where joy comes mixed with pain and setbacks,” explains the professor in an article published by the Philosophy Association (APA). In it he remembers that this entire conception of the world can be summarized in a popular saying: “Slippery, slick is the earth”“slippery, slippery is the earth.” Wait, Aztec philosophy? Exact. It has not been easy to survive and in the West we may not have paid enough attention to it, but that does not mean that the pre-Columbian Aztecs created a valuable philosophical corpus, with different currents and treatises. “We have many volumes of his texts recorded in his native language, Nahuatl,” claims Purcell at the BBC. “While few of the pre-colonial hieroglyphic-type books survived the Spanish burnings, our main sources of knowledge derive from the records made by Catholic priests until the early 17th century.” A different vision. Thanks to them we preserve codices with sayings, exhortations, poems, dialogues… different manifestations that essentially tell us about the same thing: how the Aztecs who lived between the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th approached existence. Good example is the ‘Florentine Codex’a bilingual work by friar Bernardino de Sahagún on pre-Columbian knowledge. His legacy is not only interesting because of what he tells us, it is also interesting, Purcell claimsbecause it opens our eyes to “another pre-modern culture with an ethics of virtues”, one different from the legacy of Aristotle or even Confucius. “Place of joy with fatigue”. At this point the question is obvious… If the Aztecs believed that what humans really want are lives “worthwhile”, even more than joyful and pleasant existences, how to achieve it? How to face the passage through this world, “a place of joy with fatigue and pain”, as an Aztec passage says? The key is in a recipe with four ingredients, four “levels” that allow us to enjoy a rooted life, “neltiliztli”. Continuing with the metaphor of existence as a swampy terrain, full of mud, the idea is to take root to gain a foothold. And how to achieve it? To begin by ‘rooting’ in one’s own body. As Purcell explains, the figurines and descriptions we preserve of the Aztecs show us that they liked to exercise their bodies. In fact, they had a regimen of activities aimed at stretching and strengthening the body that is partly reminiscent of yoga. Rooted in the body, it had to be done at another level: the “psyche”, seeking a balance between the heart and the head, desires and judgment. “Only in the middle can you go, only in the middle can you live”, advises one of his works. Social creatures… and of the earth. In an article Published years ago in Aeon, the scholar of Latin American philosophy points out two more levels at which those who want to achieve a rooted life must work, “neltiliztli”, a term that is also used as “truth” and “goodness.” The first level is “rootedness in the community.” We live surrounded by people, in societies in which we play a role that connects us with others and activates the … Read more

Four centuries ago Montaigne already found the vaccine against polarization

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More than as a philosopher, writer, humanist, statesman and father of the modern essayto Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) you are reminded as “the most classic of the modern and the most modern of the classics.” And that’s not just any title. The Frenchman knew how to incarnate like few others the spirit of the Renaissancea turbulent time politically and optimistic intellectually, an era of discoveries in which man vindicated himself as center and measure of the universe. Montaigne not only tuned in to that philosophical torrent. He did it with his own, personal style, which he maintained despite not exactly arousing passions among his contemporaries. He didn’t seem to care much either. “I myself am the subject of my book: there is no reason for you to occupy your leisure in such a frivolous and vain subject,” wrote in the preface of his ‘Essays’anticipating possible indignant readers with a tone halfway between pride and (false?) modesty. Another ESO philosopher? Today the name of Montaigne perhaps sounds extemporaneous, ‘one of so many (so many) philosophers who dusts himself off from time to time to recapture witty phrases’, it could be argued. It’s not like that. Although he wrote his works ago more than four centuriesthe words of the French humanist continue to have rabid validity. His form may sound old, but once you review the background and even the reason for his words, they fit in 2026 like a glove. The teacher remembered it a few years ago. Sarah Bakewell in the wonderful book he dedicated to Montaigne. In the 16th century, the French intellectual promoted an approach that will sound very normal to any reader/writer/network user, but was not so normal in the Europe of four centuries ago: “Write about oneself to create a mirror in which other people could recognize their humanity.” “Unlike most memorialists of his time, he did not write to record his great feats and achievements. Nor did he write an eyewitness account of historical events, although he could have done so,” Bakewell claims. “A member of a generation stripped of the hopeful idealism enjoyed by his father’s contemporaries, he endured public suffering by focusing his attention on his private life.” The other reason for Montaigne’s validity is what led him to write. Or rather, what question did he seek to clarify every time he sat down with pen in hand to write down his torrent of reflections. Although it could deal with different topics, in its “very free” pages, the same question always arises, which is still as relevant today as in 1580: How the hell do we live? How to manage our days to enjoy a full, honest and satisfying life? With such a history it will be better understood that a few days ago he turned to the pages of Montaigne in search of answers to one of the great challenges of our time: polarization“the background noise of our public life and an uncomfortable presence in our private one,” as I defined it in December More in Common, an organization that has dedicated itself to monitoring the tension. It may sound exaggerated, but according to your data 14% of Spaniards Has broken any relationship with family or friends in the last year for no more and no less than that: apparently unresolvable discussions about political issues. In a country where a quarter (25%) of those surveyed claim to have felt “attacked” or very “criticized” for expressing their ideas and 65% admit that we live in a fragmented society, how on earth do we deal with tension? How to calm the debate with almost half of the population immersed in ‘echo chambers’ in which practically everyone around them thinks the same or in a very similar way? Does Montaigne have any advice from 16th century France? The answer is in the most famous work from French, Essays (available by the way on the Cervantes Virtual Library website). Over there, at first From the first chapter of the third book, as a highlighted phrase, Montaigne leaves us an aphorism as resounding as it is appropriate for the problem at hand: “No one is free to say stupid things, the bad thing is to say them with emphasis.” The translations may vary (not all of them are so foul-mouthed), but the bottom line is always the same. Next, the author slips in another Latin phrase inspired by Terence: “This man has said great nonsense with great effort.” What does Montaigne want to tell us? That we can all make mistakes. Even the wisest ones. Even himself, so when it comes to sitting down to confront ideas there are three words that should not be forgotten. Three words that sound like a vaccine in times of tension. Honesty. Moderation. Prudence. “A man of excellent habits can harbor fake opinions; a wicked man to preach the truth, even to him who does not believe in it,” writes the humanist after reminding us that “saying” is something very different from “doing” and it is often useful to analyze separately the preacher and what he preaches. Throughout his ‘Essays’ Montaigne even reminds the reader: “There have never been two identical opinions in the world, nor have there been two identical hairs, nor two identical grains. The most universal quality of those is diversity.” Does that mean that everything is relative or that ideas cannot be discussed? At all. The important thing, Montaigne seems to remember from his desk illuminated by candlelight, is to keep in mind that not even the wisest of the wise is free from making mistakes and saying “stupid things.” And nothing happens because that happens. The important thing is how these ideas are presented (“say them with emphasis”). His work is splashed of similar messages connected with Stoicism, as when he reminds: “True freedom consists in absolute self-control.” A vaccine against tension at a time when public debate is pulling at the seams of society and we seem more willing than ever (remember that 14% … Read more

Two centuries ago the tires on cars and motorcycles were white. It had nothing to do with the design.

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It is more than likely that, in some of the American films you have seen inspired by the last century, you have seen cars or motorcycles with a white stripe on their tires Today, some companies still implement them as a nod to the past. What you may not know is that the only reason the wheels weren’t completely black was to… save a few bucks. As explained in Motorpasion, no tire (neither motorcycle nor car) was born as black as they are now. Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the following century, tires were white, light gray or beige. If you search any car from the 19th century You can check it easily. This was because natural rubber is naturally light in color. But of course, rubber cannot become a tire as it leaves the tree; it must be heated with sulfur so that it is able to withstand the heat of the asphalt, withstand weight and friction, and behave as expected in a tire. To achieve this, the rubber was “cooked” using a technique called vulcanization, a process that bleached the material even more and ended up producing clear, non-durable tires. The big change came with the introduction of a very specific material: carbon. With its arrival, tires became more durable and resistant, since this material reinforced the rubber structure. There was only one problem: it was very expensive. For this reason, during the early 20th century, tire manufacturers opted for a mixed solution: the critical part (the tread that directly contacts the ground) was made with rubber and carbon, the rest without it. The result was this: tires with said black stripe and the rest in white. As carbon became cheaper, tires became completely black as we know them now, but some manufacturers (mainly motorcycle manufacturers) maintain white treads to give their tires a retro feel. It is the case of some Mitas tires for Harley-Davidson. Yes indeed, through the forums they comment the price to pay for this hesitated retro: you have to constantly clean the tread if you want it to remain white. Image | Harley-Davidson In Xataka | I was about to buy the best-selling Chinese motorcycle in Spain. Until I read the fine print

Magnetic maps had been marking something strange under Antarctica for centuries. So we’ve started drilling to find it

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For years, magnetic maps of East Antarctica have shown something strange about the region from Princess Elizabeth Land: a large amplitude linear magnetic anomaly under kilometers of ice that runs along the coast parallel to the margin of the continent. It was something that satellites and planes could detect, but no one knew exactly what rock was producing it until now. Discovering it. If the problem is that this anomaly was under a large amount of ice, a team of researchers within the framework of a Russian-Chinese cooperation He has done the most logical thing to find what was happening: start drilling. What they have found after putting a large drill to work is not only a magnetic rock that gave that peculiar pattern, but it is the geological “scar” of an ancient island arc that collided with the continent almost 1,000 years ago, when the supercontinent was forming. Rodinia. A challenge. The study that includes this discovery focuses mainly on the Rayner tectonic province, an area that is geologically critical because it is considered a “mobile belt.” That is, it is a collision zone where ancient blocks of crust were crushed against each other. The problem with Antarctic geology is that almost everything they are interested in is buried, and in this case the team had to cross 541 meters of ice to be able to reach the rock that interested them. What did they find? What they took from the bottom of Antarctica was not common granite as can occur in other areas, but rather the core recovered is a mafic granulite. Something that is very important, since granulites are metamorphic rocks that have suffered infernal temperatures and pressures. After power analyze this rock So interesting, it was seen that this was what was causing the linear anomalies seen from space. And as we say, it is not a very normal stone, since it is rich in ferromagnetic minerals, capable of altering the magnetic field locally. Investigating Rodinia. Once with the sample in hand, the team applied geochemistry techniques and dating to be able to counterbalance these data with everything that was known in previous research. What was seen is that there was a great violent history behind it, since it was known that the rock was originally born as magma about 970 million years ago. From its birth, that rock was pushed into the depths and “cooked.” The data indicate that it was subjected to temperatures between 650 and 790 ºC and pressures equivalent to depths of 15 to 18 kilometers. In this way, the researchers’ conclusion is that this rock was part of a volcanic arc of islands like those of Japan. But the most interesting thing is that this arc was not originally in Antarctica, but was forcibly “stuck” against the ancient continent during a massive collision that gave rise to the formation of Rodinia. The Indian connection. To understand the magnitude of the find, you have to look beyond Antarctica, as geologists have long suspected that the Rayner Province in Antarctica and the Eastern Ghats Province in India They are twins separated at birth. And the new data reinforces this theory, since the conditions of “high temperature” metamorphism found in this drilling are almost identical to those documented in India. This leads us to conclude that 900 million years ago, the east coast of India and this part of Antarctica were joined, forming a huge mountain range created by the collision of tectonic plates. Images | 66 north In Xataka | In the United States there is an incredible river that does what seems impossible: defy the laws of gravity

We have been dreaming of stopping aging for centuries. The question is if we are finally achieving it: Crossover 1×37

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Myths such as that of the fountain of eternal youth have helped human beings through the ages. let’s dream of not aging and living forever. Reality is still cruel: Although life expectancy has increased, we age without seeming to slow it down. But there are those who argue that there may be. In this episode we have spoken with Dr. José Hernández, longevity expert and founder of a clinic specialized in Age Reversal, to understand what aging really is, why it is considered a disease today, and what technologies could allow us to go back biologically. In this debate we talk about information theory and epigenetic damage, cellular reprogramming, or how there are already large companies —and some billionaires— investing significantly in this. In fact, the most advanced science is accompanied by methods that seem much more effective not so much in slowing down aging but in ensuring that our physical condition is much better when this process affects us: Physical exercise is an absolute pillar of longevityassures this expert. Of course there are other factors that influence – diet and genetics, of course, do – but we are dealing with a question that has opened numerous avenues of research, some of which are promising. Who knows what can happen. On YouTube | Crossover In Xataka | Don’t tell me your age, tell me your grip strength: how simple gestures tell us how well we are aging

For centuries price has been a sign of quality. Generative AI is breaking that rule in dozens of sectors

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For centuries, price has served as a cognitive shortcut. If something costs a lot it is because, for one reason or another, it must be worth a lot. An Armani suit, Bang & Olufsen headphonesa McKinsey report. The number has always served to convey certain information to us before seeing the product. It was compressed reputation. With the arrival of generative AI, that is ending in many sectors. Today a logo can cost 15 euros or 15,000. And be the same logo. A market analysis can come from a consulting firm with offices on three continents or from a guy in pajamas who knows how to wear Deep Research. The report may be indistinguishable. In fact sometimes the second one will be betterbecause the guy in pajamas understands the sector and the consultant assigned the junior who was free. AI is breaking the link between production cost and final result. Something very similar to what Antonio Ortiz, AI popularizer and former final boss of this house, in “Artificial Intelligence and unlinking effort and result“. If anyone can generate in minutes what previously required teams, weeks, and invoices with many zeros, price no longer communicates much about quality. It’s starting to be noise. and this will force a signal migration. From ‘how much’ to ‘who’, to ‘how’ or ‘why’. The questions that will matter are going to be “who signed this?”, “what process followed?”, “what human decisions were behind it?” That is, the process will become the product. It is already beginning to be seen with design studios that They obsessively document any iterationor consultancies that not only sell you the deliverable but also also access to the reasoning of their partners. More and more we are digital artisans who charge for showing how we work and not only for what we deliver. AI has made production almost free, so we are being flooded with digital content of all kinds, so scarcity shifts to criteria. Knowing what to ask for, what to discard, what makes sense and what doesn’t. to good taste. AI can do almost anything, and what it can’t, it will learn next year. Deciding well what to do and what not to do is still expensive. There, for the moment and luckily, there is no shortcut. Featured image | Xataka In Xataka | The AI ​​of 2026 brings an uncomfortable truth: the most useful will be the one that watches us the most

For centuries Germany has boasted the oldest abbey beer in the world. The alcohol crisis has forced it to be sold

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Germany is the birthplace of Oktoberfest, the lagerthe saint Hildegard of Bingen and hundreds and hundreds of artisanal wineries dedicated to beer. The refreshing amber liquid is not at its best there, however. As the young lose interest for the drink and consumption falls per national beer capita, Germany finds itself with news like the one that has shaken the sector at the beginning of 2026: the oldest monastic brewery in the world, a 976-year-old icon, just sold suffocated by the economic context. It seems like a simple sale, but it says a lot about the industry. What has happened? That Germany is preparing for one of those business transactions that, due to their enormous symbolic value, transcend the pages of the salmon press to tell us about the cultural and social changes of a country. The Bavarian brewer Schneider Weisse has just reached an agreement to acquire the Bischofshof and Weltenburger brands, linked to Bischofshof GmbH & Co. Said like this, it could seem like a simple commercial procedure, material for the German BORME, but the agreement implies that Schneider Weisse takes charge of the brewery of the Weltenburg Abbey and that is something out of the ordinary. The reason? The brewing history of the monastery dates back to 1050, which is why it is considered the abbey brewery. oldestalthough if we talk about beer in general there is another previous one in Weihenstephan (Freising), brewed since 1040. What have they agreed? The truth is that not too many details have emerged. For example, the companies have not wanted to disclose how much the operation will cost. What yes have slipped is that the agreement will become effective in January 2027 and that Scheneider Weisse will continue to operate the Weltenburg Abbey Brewery. Not only that. He will also take over the logistics part of the Bischofshof, which includes 21 employees. Part of the business, located in Regensburg, will close at the end of this year and the idea is that in the medium term the production of the different brands will be concentrated in the headquarters that Schneider Weisse already has in Kelheim and the Weltenburg Abbey. Are they important companies? At least they are companies with a reputation. Although Weltenburg Abbey beer stands out on the world stage for its long history, which can date back to 1050, in reality the three names involved in the agreement have a long tradition. The Bischofshof brewery was founded mid 17th century in Regensburg and has been in charge of the production of Weltenburg since 1973. As for the house Schneider Weissebased in Kelheim, was also launched more than a century and a half ago, in 1872. “Our goal is to create a portfolio of traditional brands. We combine our brewing tradition of more than 150 years with the almost 380 years of history of the Bischofshof brand and the brewing tradition of the oldest monastic brewery in the world, dating back to 1050,” celebrates Georg SchneiderCEO of Schneider Weisse. “This creates a range of beers steeped in history and tradition, a unique offering from a single global supplier.” Why is it important? Weltenburg is relevant enough for any operation that affects him to generate interest, but if this operation has raised expectations (even beyond Germany) is because of its context. The companies acknowledge that the maneuver attempts to adapt to “the continued weakness” of the German beer market. “The reality is that, on our own and despite all our efforts and the measures adopted in recent months, it was no longer economically viable to continue operating the brands,” recognizes Till Hedrichthe general director of the firm Bischofshof and Weltenburger. “The evolution of the market has marked us too much.” Hedrich has also defended that the operation with Schneider, a firm based in Kelheim (Bavaria) is the most advantageous for the secular Abadian winery. “The looming threat of a total closure or dismantling by an investor with no connection to the region or its history can be avoided with the ‘Bavarian solution’ being implemented with Schneider Weisse.” Has the market changed that much? It seems so. From the collective itself is spoken of a “drastic drop in sales” of German breweries in the country. The BR24 program remember that in the last ten years alone, the German beer industry has lost almost 14 million hectoliters, almost 14% of its sales. And although the complete picture is somewhat more complex (the latest data from the Bavarian sector they are not bad), the overall trend is far from ideal for the industry in its own home. If at the beginning of the 80s the per capita consumption In the country it was around 145.9 liters of beer, right now it is below 90. Is there more data? Yes. Two years ago the Berlin journalist Nicholas Potter I slipped an interesting one in Guardian. “The decline can be seen at the Oktoberfest itself. In 2019, 6.3 million visitors drank 7.3 million liters. Last year attendance was about 7.2 million people, a record number, but they consumed only 6.5 million liters.” As a backdrop, the fall in consumption, the increase of the production of non-alcoholic beer and the loss of interest of members of generation Z for beer or wine. In April the Deursche Welle channel contributed another brushstroke that completes the picture. It is not only that the consumption of German beer has fallen in the country itself, it is that sales abroad have not evolved as the industry would like. According to Destatis data, 1,450 million liters of German beer were exported in 2024, significantly below the 1,540 in 2014. Images | Bernt Rostad (Flickr) 1 and 2 and Frank Mago (Flickr) In Xataka | If the alcohol sector thought it had a problem with Gen Z, it is because it did not see its stock: 22,000 million in bottles that no one wants

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