Change

“Will I notice much of a change when going from a Galaxy S23 Ultra to a S26 Ultra?”

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How often do you change your mobile phone? This is a question that we all ask ourselves on more than one occasion, because if we are going to spend a good amount of money on a new high-end device we like to notice a changean evolutionary leap between the previous mobile phone and the current one. In this direction was one of the questions that a xatakero asked us in our Discord who decided to take advantage The Officeone of the advantages of Xataka Xtraour subscription to access exclusive newsletters, raffles, promotions and other exclusive advantages. In this case, what we offer is a direct line with us to resolve questions like this. The xatakero told us that it came from a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and he wanted to know yes I would notice a lot of change when passing to a Galaxy S26 Ultra of 1 TB. We are going to tell you what our colleague Alex Alcolea, an expert in hardware, image and sound, and who precisely made our Galaxy S26 Ultra review. The question How do you see the purchase of a 1 TB Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra coming from an S23 Ultra? Will I notice much change? Thank you. Our response Photo: Xataka Updating your mobile phone is a notable investment, which is why many of us are interested in measuring the extent to which we are going to notice a radical change. The more time passes between one mobile phone and another, the greater the jump you will notice, but those who use their mobile phone very actively are often tempted to update it sooner. Very good! This is Alex from Xataka… and whoever is with the S26 Ultra. Complicated request because it is already part of a spectacular mobile. My opinion after trying it at the event and at home these days is that you are not going to notice a giant leap, but you are going to have a better mobile phone in practically everything (except for the Bluetooth functions of the S-Pen, which are not in the S26 Ultra). You’ll have more years of updates and both the telephoto and wide angle are better, but if you’re happy with the S23 Ultra, maybe I wouldn’t make the jump just yet. Of course, have you considered other options within the premium segment? I’m thinking about an OPPO Find X9 Pro or an Honor Magic8 Pro. Brutal cameras, very good screens and more battery, which I see is important for you. If you say no because you are happy with Samsung, and if I had an S23 Ultra… I would stay with it. In the end, we are talking about premium ranges and it is much more difficult to notice the change than between an S23 and a non-Ultra S26, for example, or between two mid-ranges from the same years. Do you have more questions like this? The subscribers of Xataka Xtra You can send us your questions and our team will respond personally. And if you are already a subscriber, remember this advantage and that you can ask us whenever you want.

Spain has 15 million pets that cannot set foot on a good part of its beaches. That’s something that’s starting to change.

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It comes with going to a park or taking a walk through any city in the country, but in case there were still any doubts, the Government recently provided definitive proof that Spain is a land of pets. The first official census has counted neither more nor less than 15.2 millionof which 7.6 are dogs. With such figures it is better understood that, as summer approaches, more and more people are asking themselves a question: Can we go to the beach with our four-legged friends? The answer is: it depends. Reviewing the figures. We mentioned it before: in Spain there are many (many) pets. It is something that we intuited thanks to the censuses carried out by feed manufacturers, companies dedicated to the care of pets or the Companion Animal Identification Network (REIAC), but which has been confirmed by the first official study of the State. It details that in Spain there are 15,171,569 pets, of which 7,562,893 are dogs. They represent, respectively, 14.1 and 9.6% more than in 2021. Beyond the raw data, the census confirm that in Spain there are now more pets than people under 30 years of age or who live in the country almost double of dogs than small children. Hence the pet economy this awakening the appetite of more and more companies (from feed manufacturers to insurance companies and venture capital) or that, when planning their summer vacations, they have already many families looking for accommodation (or even destinations) pet friendly. To the beach with the dog. Proof of this enormous interest is that every year the blogs specialized in pets (and also some other generalist) publish maps and online guides to dog-friendly beaches during the bathing season, which usually runs from June to September. Their ‘photograph’ does not always coincide, but usually includes more than a hundred sandy beaches. Some place the total count around 130 beaches. Others raise it to more than 150. That disparity is not surprising because the list can change from one year to the next and not all sandy beaches that accept dogs do so in the same way. Fine spinning. Last year, in fact, RTVE published a map in which he differentiated between three main types of beach, depending on the freedom that the dogs had on each one. The most comfortable for pets would be the ‘complete’ beaches, those to which they can freely access all year round. In second place would be the ‘partial’ sandbanks, which tolerate pets, although with small print. For example, the presence of dogs can be restricted to only a defined stretch or a certain time slot, such as at night, when the number of bathers is reduced on the beaches. Finally there would be what RTVE calls ‘nearby’ beachesstretches of coast close to urban areas in which access is allowed in at least part of the sandy area. Why so much complication? Basically, because the Coastal Lawthe framework standard that regulates the maritime-terrestrial public domain, leaves a wide gap that have been covered by the regional and local administrations. And that challenge has not been faced in the same way everywhere. What’s more, sometimes the topic has generated intense social, political and institutional debates. One of the latest examples has been left by Gijón on account of his new ordinance municipal on animal welfare: in March, during the allegations phase, the Principality he was reluctant to the presence of dogs on the city’s beaches, although later nuanced that the decision depends on the City Council. From the beaches to Change.org. Another interesting case is found in A Coruña, where it has been activated a collection of signatures in Change so that the Consistory allows dogs on the beaches in summer in night timefrom 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. Right now the local ordinance prohibits pets on beaches between June 1 and September 30, with the only exception of the Bens sandy area, which is considered a “dog beach”. Along the Spanish coast there are many more With these characteristics, which are added to other sandy areas where dogs are allowed during the summer, although at night. One figure, two conclusions. let there be between 100 and 150 beaches that can be considered (to a greater or lesser extent) dog-friendly) leaves several conclusions. The first, as recently reported on the Sr.Perro blog, is that the number of sandy areas in which there is a clear regulation that allows enjoyment with dogs is very small. In general, it is estimated that Spain has somewhat more 3,500 beaches. That the proportion is so low is explained, in part, by the requirements that all those sandy areas must comply with opt for the badge of ‘Blue Flag’. The “Guide to Blue Flag criteria” of 2025 states that “the prohibition of domestic animals on the beach must cover the entire area of ​​the candidate beach, including the bathing area.” “Local regulations must prohibit the presence of domestic animals on the beach during bathing season, even outside bathing hours,” the document insistswhich cites WHO studies on “microbiological risks” associated with the presence of excrement on beaches. Gaining weight (little by little). That is the second conclusion that the sandbank map leaves. dog-friendly. Although they remain a minority, some sources they specify that their number has been increasing due to the increase in the pet census and citizen pressure, which sometimes results in campaigns like the one activated this year (also in 2025) in A Coruña. A quick check on Google shows that Sanlucar de Barrameda, Marin, Vila-seca, Cadiz, Punta Umbria either Almeriaamong other populations, have taken steps in recent years (or months) to make it easier for people to enjoy the places of a dip. Image | Nathalie Anfuso (Unsplash) In Xataka | Your cat asks you to cuddle and then bites you. It’s not evil, it’s that you don’t understand its signs

The biggest problem for Spanish olive trees is neither costs nor climate change: it is ‘ghost oil’

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Something smells bad in the olive oil market. We knew it for a long timebut it is now with the collapse of prices at source (almost 46%) that everyone has become nervous. The figures do not add up and the bill will not be paid by the large olive oil groups, but by the small producers. For this reason, on June 15, a COAG representative stood in front of the microphones and reported that 81% of olive oil Tunisian was entering Spain undercover. But how do you put 65,500 tons of oil under the radar? It has not been easy to determine, the truth is. But if the organization is right, the oil ship has more than one leak compromising its future. But it doesn’t have it. Always according to the COAGa good part of that oil comes from Portugal. But the ‘Portuguese way’ does not add up: with the data from the 2024-2025 campaign, Portugal produces between 160,000 and 195,000 tons of its own and imported only 3,406 of Tunisian oil. Those 3,406 tons cannot explain the 131,877 that it re-exports to Spain. Some part yes, but not all of it. And then? The problem seems different. It looks like ours, in fact. Because what COAG does seem to be right about is that a good part of the oil that entered the country did so under a special regime: that of active development. It is a formula of the Customs Code of the European Union that allows the importation of non-EU merchandise without tariffs or VAT as long as it is transformed and exported again. What the producers point out is that a good part of the oil that arrives in Spain to be “perfected” ends up being sold in the country without appearing in the statistics (marked, in fact, as community). The consumer does not notice it substantially in the price, but it is noticeable at the source. And a lot. But there is more. A few years ago, honey became a problem. Nobody really knew what they were eating in Europe. The key to this was to mix it up. Above all, because with completely insufficient regulation, it was enough to put “mix” so that there was nothing more to ask. This was attempted to be resolved with Directive (EU) 2024/1438 (the “Breakfast Guidelines“) which has not come into force in Spain until June 14, 2026. Among many other things, Brussels demands that the package states where what is inside comes from. Easy, clean, effective and… …non-existent for oil. The big problem, as almost always, is traceability. Not that we have problems, but that there is almost no real interest in doing it. As we have said many times, the Spanish agricultural market is a giant with feet of clay and now is the time to think if we want it to be something else. In Xataka | Something strange is happening with the price of olive oil and farmers have just denounced it: there are up to 2.8 billion at stake

Taking too long to change the timing belt is “a death sentence for the engine”

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At this point, it is clear that a car that has all its maintenance in order will end up giving us fewer unpleasant surprises during its useful life. That does not mean that it is not susceptible to failures, but if it is in our power to anticipate its maintenance, the better. And in this aspect there are certain critical elements of our vehicle in which it is preferable not to take risks. One of them is the timing belt, which is perhaps one of the most ignored or postponed parts in car maintenance, and which It can ruin your engine from one day to the next. if not changed to the proper frequency. What exactly does it do? The timing belt is a toothed rubber band that synchronizes the movement of the crankshaft and camshaft, the two main shafts of the engine. Thanks to it, the pistons and valves move in coordination, since the valves open and close at the exact moment when the pistons rise and fall. If that timing fails even slightly, the engine loses efficiency. If it breaks completely, the disaster can be total. Why is its breakage so dangerous? When the belt fails in motion, the motor stops dead without warning. In most modern vehicles, what happens next is that the pistons, which continue to move by inertia, violently collide against the valves. “It is a catastrophic event that can spell the death knell for the engine. The dull sound, followed by the absolute silence of the engine, is the beginning of a mechanical and financial nightmare,” they count from the specialized workshop C3 Care Car Center. When the tragedy ends, we can find bent valves, damaged pistons and, in more serious cases, a cracked cylinder head or a fractured camshaft. And of course, the price multiplies many times when it comes to repairing all that piphostio. Mileage. Most manufacturers set a change interval in kilometers, which depending on the model ranges between 60,000 and 240,000 km. But it is not the only number we should pay attention to, since the time of use also counts. From Rodi Motor they claim If there is no maximum date set in the owner’s manual, the usual recommendation is to check the belt every five years even if the kilometer limit has not been reached. The reason is that the rubber on the belt ages even if the car is stopped, and a dry or cracked belt can end up becoming a time bomb for our car. It will depend on the type of vehicle and car distribution system, but to have a universal reference, Juan José Ebenezer, mechanical expert and content creator, advises change it every 100,000 kilometers or every five years, whichever comes first. If we are already talking about oil-soaked belts from the Stellantis group, Ebenezer points out that “with 60,000 km you are already late”, and that it is normal to change them after 50,000 km. Normally, the workshops will change the complete kit, which includes the belt, pulleys, tension rollers, the water pump and all the hardware for installation. But if you prefer to make sure, it is best to tell them to change the complete kit. When to get ahead. There are specific situations in which experts recommend reducing the change interval between 15 and 25% compared to what is indicated by the manufacturer. Alejandro Pais, managing partner of Pais Automoción and Spanish champion of Group N in 2013 explains that “driving in an urban environment usually accelerates the deterioration of the timing belt. If this is your case, calculate between 20% and 25% earlier than recommended by the manufacturer.” In the end, it is not the same for a vehicle to be constantly exposed to cold starts, slowdowns and constant gear changes from exclusive use in the city, to taking it out more or less frequently on the highway. So if you can afford to change the timing belt in advance, the better. The climate also wears it out. High temperatures are another enemy for the belt. Precisely from Volkswagen Canarias, the brand’s official network on the islands, warn In areas with intense heat and suspended dust such as haze, they recommend advancing the visual inspection, even for engines whose official interval reaches 210,000 km. The same logic applies in areas of extreme cold or high humidity. The Midas chain of workshops also recommends advance the maintenance of this component in vehicles that regularly circulate in extreme climates. Better not to risk it. A preventive change of the distribution kit in Spain ranges between 300 and 1,000 euros depending on the vehicle and the workshop. The repair of an engine damaged by a broken belt can start at 1,000 euros and easily reach 6,000, according to they count from Rodi Motor. In more serious cases, when the damage affects the pistons, cylinder head or camshaft, it is possible that the failure is so serious that the entire engine has to be replaced, and then the cost ends up being exorbitant. So do your car a favor and take care of it. In Xataka | 2,000 million euros and 3,000 stations: BYD’s plan so that charging your electric car takes the same time as stopping for gas

the two pharaonic African gas pipelines that want to change the energy map

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The invasion of Ukraine in 2022 dynamited the foundations of European energy security. Before the conflict, Russia supplied between 40% and 45% of the European Union’s natural gas imports, injecting more than 155 billion cubic meters annually into the continent. Faced with the urgency of disconnecting from Moscow, Europe was looking for a place to fill its reserves again and the answer was in the south. To understand the magnitude of this shift, just look at what is happening on the ground. According to The Africa Reportunder the scorching sun of southern Algeria, the energy ministers of Algeria, Nigeria and Niger officially inaugurated the works of the gigantic Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP). It is not a project on paper; the pipes are already being welded. As detailed Al-Monitorthe Algerian state company Sonatrach has begun building a critical 1,210 kilometer stretch in the Aoulef region, which will connect Nigerian gas to the immense Hassi R’Mel field, a node that already has direct arteries to Europe. A question of survival. The European Union plans to end its dependence on Russian gas at the end of 2027. The arrival of a new corridor that provides 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year is a strategic lifeline. But for the African continent, the meaning is even deeper. It is about resolving a historical paradox: being a continent rich in energy but with serious deficiencies in local electricity access. According to an investigation published in the Journal of Geo-Energy and Environmentthe rival project, the Africa-Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP), could generate about $75 million annually in transit revenue for West African countries. Furthermore, these projects are designed so that a part of the gas stays in the transit countries, promoting their electrification, their industrial development and reducing the use of polluting biomass. The battle of the megaprojects. However, this energy awakening has unleashed a fierce geopolitical rivalry. As highlighted The Africa ReportAlgeria and Morocco are competing aggressively to become the exclusive “gateway” for Nigerian gas to Europe, spearheading two colossal megaprojects competing for international funding and European favor. On the table are two titans of engineering that promise to change the world map: The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP): Led by Nigeria, Niger and Algeria. Business Insider details that it will measure 4,128 kilometers in length. It will cross the desert and it is estimated that its cost ranges between 13,000 million dollars and the 19.5 billion. With the works already started in Algeria, the Minister of Petroleum of Niger has confirmed that his country will begin to build its section of 720 kilometers at the beginning of 2027. The Africa-Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP / NMGP): The Moroccan alternative is even more pharaonic. With a length of between 5,600 and 7,000 kilometers, it will border the entire Atlantic coast, crossing 13 African countries. Its estimated cost amounts to about 25 billion dollars. How to finance infrastructure of this magnitude? academic research concludes thatAfter analyzing multiple strategies, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model is the most robust and viable path. This model makes it possible to mobilize the gigantic private capital necessary, transfer the risks of construction and operation, and at the same time ensure that local governments maintain fiscal benefits and employment development. The small print. Despite the euphoria, the obstacles are formidable. As you remember Al-Monitorthe trans-Saharan gas pipeline was conceived in the 1970s and has suffered decades of paralysis. Academic analyzes warn that the viability of the project is threatened by historical security risks in the Niger Delta, northern Niger and southern Algeria, coupled with political instability caused by recent coups in the Sahel region. Furthermore, there is an “elephant in the room”: the energy transition. Natural gas is seen as a transition fuel. So that these gas pipelines do not become stranded (obsolete) assets in the long term in the face of European climate policies, experts point out that they must be designed with operational flexibility. This includes “reverse flow” capability to redistribute energy southwards when Europe doesn’t need it, and even adapt infrastructure to transport green hydrogen in a decarbonized future. A new axis of power. The center of gravity of world energy is falling southward. Europe, cornered by geopolitics, desperately needs the stability of new suppliers; Africa, for its part, demands the investment and infrastructure it has historically been denied. The success of these thousands of kilometers of steel tubes, buried under the burning sands of the Sahara or submerged off the Atlantic coast, will decide much more than the temperature of European homes in the coming winters. The true historical challenge is not to demonstrate that the continent can turn on the northern lights, but to dare to invent a model where Africa stops exporting its wealth to import dependence. The ultimate goal is for African energy to belong to and transform, once and for all, its own people. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The first natural gas that does not depend on fossil sources is already a reality in Europe: it is manufactured in Extremadura by combining hydrogen and CO2

NASA just passed a milestone with the X-59. What comes next aims to change commercial aviation

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Commercial aviation has been pursuing a difficult promise for decades: flying faster than sound without making that progress a problem for those on the ground. The obstacle is not only the speed, but the shock waves that generates a supersonic aircraft and that can be perceived as a sonic boom. He X-59 was born to test an alternative: reaching those speeds with an acoustic signature that NASA hopes will be much more discreet. NASA is not yet talking about commercial routes, but it is about a step designed to address one of the great barriers to this type of flights. The most recent advance came last Friday, when the X-59 exceeded the speed of sound for the first time during a test flight within the Quesst mission. According to NASApilot Jim “Clue” Less took off and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on an 81-minute mission. The plane reached an approximate maximum speed of Mach 1.1, which the agency places in this flight at about 1,150 km/h, at an altitude of about 13,200 meters. It was an important milestone, but still within a testing phase focused on testing its flight qualities. The test of the most discreet supersonic flight enters its decisive phase The important thing, therefore, will not only be what happens inside the plane, but what is heard from below. Quesst is designed to demonstrate a technology capable of softening this phenomenon until it becomes a lighter sound knock. The next part of the plan involves flying over American communities and collecting the reaction of people exposed to that sound. The agency will then share those results with national and international regulators to inform future data-driven noise standards. That is why the first supersonic flight is not an arrival point, but rather the beginning of a more demanding phase. The next step will come in the following days: a first test in “mission conditions”, with a cruising speed of Mach 1.4, which NASA places around 1,490 km/hand an altitude of about 16,800 meters. The data matters because these are the basic conditions that the agency contemplates for future flights over inhabited areas in the United States. Before asking people what they have heard, the aircraft has to demonstrate that it can operate stably in that regime. Behind the X-59 there is not just a striking shape or an isolated commitment to recover supersonic flight. NASA remembers who has been studying this field for more than seven decades, with special attention to the noise associated with these flights and ways to make it more discreet. The Quesst mission combines advanced simulations, wind tunnel testing, schlieren photography and computational fluid dynamics to anticipate how the air around the aircraft behaves. The current phase has to verify something very specific: whether this entire design works in flight with a full-scale supersonic aircraft. The ultimate goal is not for the X-59 to end up transporting passengers, but for its data to help open a door that has been practically closed for decades. The information collected will be shared with national and international regulators to contribute to news noise standards based on data, not just the historical experience of the large noises associated with supersonic flight. The agency also plans to provide design tools and technology for future quieter supersonic aircraft. If the plan works, manufacturers would have more confidence to explore commercial concepts capable of flying fast without disturbing the ground as much. As we can see, the X-59 has crossed an important line, but the Quesst mission still has its most relevant tests ahead. First you will have to get closer to the conditions planned for these test flights over inhabited areas, and then you will come to the verification that really matters for the future of the program: knowing if that sound shock is acceptable. A good part of the value of NASA data will be played there. Images | POT In Xataka | Airbus has just made the most autonomous commercial aircraft in the world fly. Your goal: 22 hours straight without a stopover

We fill the field with solar panels to stop climate change. We have unintentionally saved 122 species of bees

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There’s a hum under Minnesota solar panels that engineers didn’t put in the plans. It is a biological, dense, ancient hum. Beneath the photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity, 122 species of native bees have found something that has been disappearing from the fields of half the world for decades: flowers. It’s not a coincidence. It is the result of a management decision that costs money, requires planning and that, according to the latest science, is producing results that no one expected when the first solar panel was installed in a meadow. The bees are disappearing. A study published in Nature Ecology & Evolutionwith data from 681 agricultural fields on three continents and more than 19,500 specimens of 910 species of wild bees, reached an uncomfortable conclusion: pesticides and habitat loss are reducing bee populations in an additive, independent way, without one factor compensating for the other. That is, having more natural habitat around a field does not neutralize the damage from pesticides. And reducing pesticides is not enough if the habitat has disappeared. They are two different problems that require two different solutions. The work, led by Anina Knauer and researchers from Agroscope among other institutions, found that pesticides not only reduce the number of bees: they also reduce their functional and phylogenetic diversity. Communities not only become smaller, they become simpler, less resilient, less able to cope with future shocks. A desert with seasonal flowers. In Iowa, in the heart of the American Corn Belt, 72% of the territory is covered in corn and soybean monocultures. Less than 0.01% of the original prairie remains standing. This is what researchers at Iowa State University publish in BioScience described as “an extreme example of landscape simplification”. Bees literally have very little to go to. And when the soybeans stop flowering at the end of summer, there is nothing. The colonies enter what science calls the feast-famine dynamic: the festival of flowering followed by famine that kills hives before winter. This is the background scenario. An agricultural world that urgently needs more pollinator habitat, free of pesticides or with minimal exposure. And in that desert, solar panels are doing something no one expected. 14 floors. 122 species. And an unexpected star. A team of researchers led by Bethanne Bruninga-Socolar of Western EcoSystems Technology and James McCall of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory asked a very specific question: Of all the plants that can be grown under and around solar panels, which ones actually establish? And how many bees can they hold? The work, published in Environmental Research Communicationstested 101 plant species in eight different seed mixtures at three solar farms in the tallgrass prairie region of Minnesota. After three years of monitoring, 14 species of flowering herbaceous plants had successfully established themselves. With those 14 species as a starting point, the researchers cross-referenced the data with an exhaustive catalog of plant-bee interactions from the same region. The result is that those 14 plants can support 122 unique species of native bees, 24% of all bee diversity in the state of Minnesota, which has 508 documented species. The star of the system is Zizia aureathe golden Alexander, a yellow flowering plant that blooms early in the season. Alone, it supports 67 species of bees. And 36 of those species—30% of the total study—only visited Zizia aurea among all the plants studied. If it is not in the seed mix of the solar park, those 36 species have nothing. Not all flowers are worth the same. The study also documents an important nuance: bumblebees, the group of pollinators with the most species in decline—three of the eleven species of Bombus of the study are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN: B. pensylvanicus, B. terrestrial and B. fervidus—they don’t get along with Zizia aurea. Only one species of bumblebee visited that plant. Bumblebees prefer Monarda fistulosathe wild bergamot, visited by nine of the eleven species of Bombus of the study. The practical lesson: there is no universal mix. The design of what is planted must respond to what is to be conserved. And what if there are pesticides in the surrounding fields? He study by Toth and colleagues in BioSciencewith more than a decade of data on strips of native prairie embedded in corn and soybean fields in Iowa, systematically reviewed chemical contamination in that type of habitat. Pesticides arrive—neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, fungicides—but in concentrations that, for the best studied species, are below the damage thresholds. And most importantly: the concentrations are no higher than in the rest of the surrounding agricultural landscape. They are not an ecological trap; They are an island of resources in a sea of ​​fields that already have pesticides on them anyway. In addition, a diet rich in quality pollen—exactly what these plants provide—makes bees better tolerate chemical exposure. Nutrition acts as a shield. The authors of that work themselves explicitly point out that their conclusions are applicable to “other types of landscape improvements for pollinators such as hedgerows, pollinator gardens, solar installations with pollinator habitat.” It is not a journalistic extrapolation. It’s in the text of the paper. If there are flowers inside there are bumblebees. If field studies answer the “does it work now?” published in Global Change Biology by Hollie Blaydes and colleagues at Lancaster University answers “will it still work in 2050?” The team modeled the 1,042 operational solar farms in Britain under three socio-economic scenarios for mid-century: a sustainability scenario, an intermediate scenario and a fossil development scenario with maximum agricultural intensification. The main finding is compelling: the management of the solar park is the main determining factor of bumblebee density within the park, above land use changes in the surrounding landscape. Solar parks last between 25 and 40 years. That means decades of stable habitat in landscapes that are going to change and possibly get worse for pollinators. And there is an economic angle that is not minor either. Colonies located near diverse native vegetation avoid feast-famine dynamic which in monocultures weakens … Read more

Microscopes had been dependent on human operators for almost a century. China wants to change that with AI

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A team of Chinese researchers has presented in Beijing which they claim is the first transmission electron microscopy system in the world capable of operating completely autonomously. Dubbed “Aeye-1”, the device has demonstrated in tests its ability to replace a human operator in all phases of the process thanks to AI. What exactly is it. A transmission electron microscope (TEM) is a tool that has been essential for decades to observe matter at the atomic scale. It is used to develop new materials, energy technologies, industrial chemistry, and has been a key instrument for evolution in science. For almost a century, these devices have always depended on manual handling by a technician, something that in the end ends up giving subjective results and entails certain difficulties in performing quantitative analyses. Why it is important. Aeye-1 makes the leap from “manual operation” to “AI-led autonomous operation”. According to they count its researchers, the system carries out the entire work chain by itself, from transferring the sample to capturing the images and analyzing the data without the intervention of any person. According to Deng Dehuiprofessor at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the project, the system works “like an ‘intelligent eye’ that visualizes the atomic world.” In detail. The development was carried out by the team of Deng Dehui and Professor Liu Wei, in collaboration with researchers from the Shenyang Institute of Automation. Together they have designed the algorithms that allow the microscope to perceive, analyze and control the process independently. To achieve this, they had to overcome many technical challenges, including the intelligent transfer of samples in high vacuum, the autonomous optical adjustment of the image, the precise localization of objects at the nanometer scale, the capture and analysis of images in real time and the coordination of all subsystems at the same time. The figures. According to Deng, image analysis It is more than 300 times faster than manual. To understand the magnitude, two weeks of Aeye-1 operation are equivalent to one year of work of a conventional microscope. In tests with molecular sieve catalysts, the system analyzed an average of 168 samples per day, captured more than 4,000 images per day and automatically generated professional reports with detailed statistics on particle size, dispersion or crystal structure. Who supports it. The system surpassed last Sunday an evaluation of scientific and technological achievements held in Beijing and organized by the Chinese Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. The evaluation committee unanimously concluded that it is a “highly innovative technology, the first of its kind in the world and an international leader.” And now what. Those responsible for it expect that Aeye-1 will be able to continuously provide large volumes of high-quality structural data in fields such as energy, industrial chemistry, advanced materials and life sciences. The long-term goal is for this new team to drive a paradigm shift in AI-supported scientific research. It really is a process in which automation through AI can be highly beneficial. We will have to wait to find out if it ends up setting a trend in the scientific world. Cover image | China Daily and National Cancer Institute In Xataka | South Korea has just entered the most exclusive club on the planet. And China and North Korea are not exactly calm

How to change the name of your Gmail email and what happens to the old address when you do it

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Let’s tell you how to change Gmail email name from your Google account. With this, if you have an old email with a name that you no longer like or represent you, you can change it without having to create a new accountand maintaining all the data you have about yourself. This is an option that has already begun to be deployed in Spain, although in a phased manner. This means that you may not have it available yet. Another thing you should know is that It is only possible to change your name once every 12 monthsso you better be clear and think carefully about the change you want to make. What happens to your old account after the change The name of your Gmail email It is the one you use not only to receive emails, but also to identify your Google account. And with this, it is the email with which you register for services, the one used in Google Drive, etc. Your Google identity identifier. When you change your Gmail email name, your old email becomes an alternate secondary address. This means that you will keep both email addressesand that you will receive emails on both accounts. This is important so that you don’t suddenly cut ties with whoever may write to your old account. Changing your email does not mean losing the previous oneand you will continue to receive all the emails sent to your old address in the inbox of the new one. Change the email address of your Google account does not affect the data saved in your account. Your photos, messages, files, subscriptions, and more will remain. Some Google and third-party services, such as smart home services, will use the new address if you have them linked directly to your account. In other cases, you will have to change the address. And as we have told you, Google will allow you to change your email address again for an alternative, although You will not be able to create a new one until 12 months have passed since you last created one. How to change the name of your Gmail account To change your Gmail email address, you have to enter myaccount.google.comwhich will take you to your Google account settings page. You can also do it from any Google service, because by clicking on your profile image at the top right, in the menu that opens you can click on Manage your Google accountwhich will take you to the same configuration page. Once inside your Google account settings page, in the menu on the left Click on the section Personal information. Within this section, now click on the option Email. This will take you to a screen where you can manage both your main and recovery emails. Here, click on Email from your Google accountwhich is where you manage your primary Gmail address. You will enter the screen where you can see your Gmail email account. Here, click on Change your Google Account email address. If the option does not appear, you will have to wait for Google to implement it in your account. This will take you to a screen with all the information. In it, at the bottom you will have a box of User namewhere you can write the new address you want to use. Of course, you will have to do tests, because it must be an address that is free. In Xataka Basics | European alternatives to Gmail and Outlook: the best email providers made in Europe

Eric Schmidt warned young university students that AI will change everything. Response from the university students: boo him

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We are living a curious moment in daily technological life. Well, in many ways, really, but obviously artificial intelligence is something that takes up a good part of the conversation and it seems that there are no half measures. Or wild optimism about how good this technology is for humanity (for the few who are striking gold, rather) or criticism and opposition. Because while Big Tech and technology gurus evangelize about the benefits of AIthere are more and more They oppose this technology and the gluttonous infrastructure it needs to function. And nothing represents that duality as well as the loud booing that Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, received when he spoke about AI in his graduation speech at a university. Schmidt’s speech. In large American universities it is common for them to invite personalities to give the graduation speech and, in Arizona, the chosen one was billionaire Eric Schmidt who commanded Google and Alphabet. He took the stage and, in front of 10,000 students, gave a speech that addressed several topics, but focused on the impact of modern technology on society. Last December, Time magazine selected its person of the year for 2025. And this time, they were the architects of artificial intelligence. So today we find ourselves on the verge of another technological transformation. One that will be bigger, faster and more impactful than what came before. It will affect every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship they have. I know how many of you are feeling about this. I can hear them. There is a fear. There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written. That the machines are already coming. That jobs are evaporating. That the climate is being destroyed. That politics is fractured. And that you are inheriting a disaster that you did not create. And I understand that fear. It’s rational. And it is amplified every day by social media platforms with algorithms that have learned with great precision that fear drives clicks and anxiety drives engagement. But I want to tell you something tonight in the clearest way possible. To talk about the future as if it had already been decided is to give up on the only thing that really matters. They are giving up their ability to act. The future doesn’t just arrive. It is built in laboratories, in college dormitories, in startups, in classrooms, in legislatures. And the people who will build it will be you and people like you. The booing of Schmidt. Depending on whether you are on the most optimistic side or the most critical side of the current situation of artificial intelligence, you will imagine the fragments in which the public could react to the speech, but one thing is clear: graduates do not seem to like being reminded of the world they are inheriting, that a technology that is far from perfect is going to impact all aspects of society (already is doing so, in fact) and that, with a certain hypocrisy, the blame is placed on the social media algorithms that serve as speaker of certain currents of thought. Whatever path you choose, AI is going to be part of it – Eric Schmidt Especially from a person who was in positions of responsibility at Google and Alphabet for more than 15 years, and Google works the way it works. In his speech, the former CEO addressed other issues such as that the same tools that connect us are the ones that are isolating us and more that “the question is not whether AI will shape the world: it will. The question is whether you will have been part of artificial intelligence.” The new Industrial Revolution. The video of Schmidt’s booing is not framed in a vacuum and has not been the only one that has gone viral in recent weeks. a few days ago, Gloria Caulfield received the same treatment from graduates at the University of Central Florida. Gloria is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Tavistock and Executive Director of the Lake Nona Institute and hit a nerve when she compared artificial intelligence and the moment we live in with the Industrial Revolution. Glory commented that we live in a time of profound change and, unlike Schmidt, he had to stop a couple of times due to the force of the boos. In fact, he reacted by pointing out that it was evident that there was a division of opinion and that he loved the passion of the students. He commented that, in his day, his generation had the same problems with the birth of the Internet and insecurity about the future, but it did not seem to convince the students. There was also applause, of course. Weird climate. These types of positions by personalities who give speeches about AI, as we say, are not isolated. Someone very active in this sense is Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia and a person extremely involved and interested in the development of AI, who also gave a talk recently at Carnegie Mellon University in which he commented that there is no better time to start working on “the job of your life”, which AI is a positive network for humanity because it provides opportunities that favor young people and that AI “will create many new jobs and new industries.” “AI is not likely to replace you, but someone who uses AI better than you could” – Jensen Huang Another example is that of monumental anger of the graduates of calartsone of the most important universities in the world in the arts segment, when the president of the institution began to praise artificial intelligence. The problem here is that, again, young people are not so convinced that AI is going to change their future… for the better. As they point out in Guardiana recent study suggests that about half of young Americans are more worried than excited about the rise of AI in … Read more

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