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The European Space Agency has always launched rockets from South America. Norway is very close to changing that

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The Arctic is no longer just that vast ice desert at the end of the world, but it has become a strategic point for many countries that they do not want to waste. And Europe does not want to let him escape, now opting to migrate the launch of part of your rockets from South America to this new location, something that has a great geopolitical strategy behind it. An agreement. The European Space Agency (ESA) and Norway recently signed an agreement to promote the creation of a new research center in the north of our planet: the ESA Arctic Space Center in Tromso. But it is not just another research center, but rather it is Europe’s response to ensure its autonomy in observation, navigation and communications in a region where it is already Russia and China is deploying its own infrastructure. The location. Choosing Tromsø as the city where to locate this new launch zone is not something chosen at random. If we go to a map, we can locate it far above the Arctic Circle, already being a city that has become a vibrant ecosystem of satellite data. Looking back, Tromsø already hosts mission control Arctic Weather Satellite, a satellite launched in 2024 that tried to demonstrate how a polar constellation can save lives through very accurate weather forecasts. But it also has a large number of institutions that make it a true Silicon Valley of the cold, housing the Secretariat of the Arctic Council and the Norwegian Polar Institute. A greater amount of data. The agreement signed between ESA and the Norwegian agency NOSA establishes a working group that will define the details before the end of 2026. This center is defined as an opportunity to monitor the melting of the Arctic, which warming four times faster than the global averagewhich gives us data on what will happen in the rest of the planet. It also entails an important national security reason, since today maritime traffic in the Northeast Passage does not stop increasing, and this means having signs of Galileo It allows you to have better control of everything that happens here. That is why, more than science, we are facing a critical center for civil security, search and rescue. The change of location. Until now, our gateway to space was French Guiana for a reason of basic physics: its proximity to the equator allows us to take advantage of the “impulse” of the Earth’s rotation to launch heavy satellites. However, the center of Tromsø and the new Nordic ports respond to a different need: polar orbit. That is why while from South America it is ideal to launch television satellites that remain “fixed” on the equator, the Arctic is the perfect balcony for satellites that must monitor melting ice or borders. Launching from the Pole, the satellite enters directly onto a North-South path that allows it to scan every corner of the planet as the Earth rotates below. In addition, being on the axis of rotation, rockets do not have to “fight” against the Earth’s lateral spin, which makes observation missions much more efficient and cheaper. Geopolitics. Beyond science, in this case there is a reading of territorial sovereigntysince while China invests in the “Polar Silk Road” and Russia increases its infrastructure in Siberia, Europe needs its own eyes in the north. In this way, while from South America it is ideal to launch television satellites that remain “fixed” on the equator, the Arctic is the perfect balcony for satellites that must monitor melting ice or borders. In this way, the Tromsø–Svalbard axis, added to the new spaceports of Andøya (Norway) and Kiruna (Sweden), consolidates northern Europe as the main gateway to space on the continent. This decision reduces dependence on external infrastructure as occurred in South America and obviously guarantees that all data remains in European territory. What’s next now. Norway, a member of ESA since 1987, brings its network of polar stations and its unique experience in polar orbit operations that are undoubtedly crucial in the current situation. From now on, the working group that has been formed has two years to design the governance and calendar of a center that promises to be “the control tower” of the European future in the Arctic. Images | riya rohewal In Xataka | In January a SpaceX rocket exploded. Today we know the danger that an Iberia plane was in with 450 passengers in the air

close a factory in Germany

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The history of Volkswagen goes a long way. So much so that Its origins must be sought in Nazi Germany when the State commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to create a Volkswagen. That is, a car for the people. It was 1934 but with all the state machinery working overtime, in 1938 the first stone of the Wolfsburg factory, taking as an example Ford factory in Dearborn, United States. Since then Volkswagen has not stopped growing. With its good moments and also his bad momentsthe truth is that the company has established itself as the second largest producer of cars in the world, only surpassed by Toyota and in a comfortable position compared to Hyundai-Kia, which remains in third position. In these ideas and comings, the company has maintained a recipe: the German industry is not touched. Until now. In the midst of the reconversion of the European automotive industry, Volkswagen seems to have crossed a red line. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? for the first time It was 2018 when in Xataka we went for the first time to the Volkswagen glass plant in Dresden. There, the company had been producing its Volkswagen Phaeton, a luxury sedan that It ended up being a million-dollar hole. and, above all, a resounding sales failure. The company had converted the space into a laboratory to produce the first e-Golfone of the first steps that the company took in the purely electric car market. Its productive volume was almost ridiculous If we compare it with any current plant: 72 cars a day. In 2022, we had the opportunity to return. The factory had changed completely. At least in his spirit. It was still producing electric Golfs… more or less. And that’s where their ID.3Volkswagen’s first big bet that had been born with the spirit of being its first best-seller and position itself as the new electric Golf. Production had already fallen by half, to about 35 cars a day. Now, Volkswagen has shelved the plant. The glass space is converted into a university center. The movement has much more to say in the symbolic field than in the practical one. The 230 workers have three options on the table: dismissal with negotiated compensation, retirement or transfer to another factory. But the closure of the German plant goes much further. For the first time, Volkswagen has to cease production at a plant in Germany. Its production, as we have seen, was very low and the center was intended more for development and innovation than for nourishing the German fleet. However, the move is important because it demonstrates the extent to which the company is struggling. Dresden wasn’t just a car plant, it was status. It was a declaration of intent, the confirmation open to the world that Volkswagen invested in cars that were not profitable in the short term but from which they could extract knowledge in the future. Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen, has indicated that the closure of the factory “it was essential from an economic perspective”. A little over a year ago, Volkswagen already announced that it intended to cut its production in Germany, to the point that it assured that “all factories in Germany are in danger”. They were the first blows of a savings plan of 10,000 million euros three years ahead. The company had decided to bet heavily on the electric car but European demand It does not seem to have been enough until it grew very recently. In Europe, Tesla has swept with force until last year but, above all, customers They didn’t seem interested. in the most affordable Volkswagen electric cars like the ID.3. Not even in the most expensive ones, like the Audi e-tron which ended with the closure of a plant in Brussels. Porsche is already retracing its path of electric car investments. Volkswagen has encountered a perfect storm with three open fronts. In Europe, as we said, the customer is not buying the expected electric cars, which puts the amortization of investments at serious risk. In the United States, the tariffs applied by Donald Trump’s Government have caused losses of 1.5 billion dollars in the last quarter alone, it reported. The New York Times. And in China the client has turned his back to the European product. That has put too much pressure on cash flow, forcing Volkswagen to get rid of space that went far beyond a car plant by renting it out to the local university. The problem is that when financial difficulties force us to think about readjustments in the short term, what suffers are long-term investments (just what was being studied in Dresden), which implies less competitiveness in the future. A wheel from which it is only possible to escape if, once again, it is possible to sell what the public asks for, with sufficient profit margins to reinvest in the future. And so, believe in germanyimplies taking steps back in electrification. Photo | Volkswagen In Xataka | In 2017, the owner of an electric car installed a charger with his neighborhood community against him. The Supreme Court has spoken

The largest collection of malformations in Spain is in Madrid. And they are going to close it

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Hidden in the bowels of the Complutense University of Madrid, half a thousand plastinated animals with congenital anomalies wait patiently for time, lack of funds and laziness to send them to a lost warehouse by the hand of God. More than 25 years of work that are about to be lost. A very very strange place. As Manuel Ansede told in El PaísNieves Martín and Luis Avedillo (two researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the UCM) have been collecting all types of animals with malformations for a quarter of a century. However, the lack of funds and the increasingly demanding requirements requested by the administration mean that the collection is on the verge of closing. The denial of the latest subsidies (of barely 23,000 euros) means that the situation is beginning to be unsustainable. And it is something very useful. Animal and human malformations are highly comparable, making the 500 specimens a very interesting resource for teratology, embryology and fetal medicine. We must not forget that, according to the WHO, Every year around 240,000 neonatal deaths are due to these types of problems and, despite all the progress we have made, we know too little. In fact, that denied grant of 23,000 sought to turn the collection into a reference center for these topics and develop a “malformopedia” that would complete the wonderful work that, for decades, the people of the Spanish Collaborative Study of Genetic Maformations coordinated by the Carlos III Health Institute. Is it really a problem? At the end of the day, without a stable and well-stocked repository, what we are losing is comparative material to study in depth embryological hypotheses and the mechanisms behind birth defects. We lose the ability to go further. Perhaps the best example is public health. By successfully integrating cases of congenital malformations (especially those in pigs) with human surveillance, we could accelerate the identification of signals about environmental or teratogenic exposures (and improve clinical guidelines). It is not an isolated event. And that’s the worst. The Olavide Museum (historical collection of ‘moulages’ – waxes – dermatological) or the long-awaited Cajal Museum (which never quite come true) are clear examples of the problems that Spanish scientific heritage has. While the Vrolik museum in Amsterdam or the Mütter of Philadelphia lead the international conversation in teratology, genetic research and the most recent ethical debates, Spain is unable to find 23,000 euros to adapt the facilities of its reference collection to current regulations. It is still a metaphor for the state of science in the country. Image | Philippe Wagneur

We have just discovered three Earth-like planets orbiting two very close suns

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The iconic scene of Luke Skywalker watching the double sunset on the planet where he was raised, Tatooine, is one of the most indelible images in science fiction. Now, thanks to NASA TESS Space Telescopewe believe there are three planets similar to Tatooine within 72 light years of Earth. A unique system. It’s called TOI-2267 and it challenges what we thought we knew about how planets form. According to research published in Astronomy & Astrophysicsthis binary star system hosts three planets similar in size to Earth. But what makes it extraordinary is not that it can have two-sun sunsets, but rather its compact architecture. Two very close suns. TOI-2267 is formed by two M dwarf stars (M5V and M6V) that orbit very close to each other, at a distance of only 8 astronomical units. To put it in context, in our solar system, Saturn orbits 9.5 astronomical units from the Sun. Until now, theoretical models suggested that such a close binary environment was too chaotic and gravitationally unstable to allow planets to form and maintain stable orbits. TOI-2267 proves us wrong. How it works. The analysis of the system, in which the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia had an important participation, reveals that the three planets cannot be orbiting the same star, since the system would be unstable. The most plausible configuration, and the one that excites scientistsis that two of the planets orbit the main star (TOI-2267A), while the third candidate orbits the companion star (TOI-2267B). This makes TOI-2267 the first known binary system to host planets transiting both of its stars. The next step. After discovering the system with the TESS space telescope and carrying out follow-up observations with the SPECULOOS observatory, from Chile and Tenerife, and the TRAPPIST telescope, the next step will be to use more powerful instruments, such as the James Webb Space Telescope to try to measure the masses, densities and even analyze the possible atmospheres of these worlds. This system not only proves that Tatooine exists, but that the universe is capable of forming planets in the most extreme and unexpected places we can imagine. In Xataka | How the solar system was formed: for the Earth to be born, a star had to die first

We have been talking about microplastics for years without being very clear about how they affect us. Science is close to solving it

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Plastic no longer only wraps our food or makes up the clothes we wear, but it has silently colonized our body. And microplastics have been found almost everywhere in the body: placenta, blood, lungs, testiclesbreast milk, brain human… But when faced with the big question of What effect does it have on the body?we are already having answers. The measurements. Studies already suggest that we could hold up to five grams of this material in our own brain. The image is shocking: the equivalent of a plastic teaspoon lodged in the deepest part of our being. Microplastics are particles, in this case they are very tiny, that come off from packaging, synthetic clothing, tires, cosmetics and countless everyday objects such as lettuce. But some are so small that they are able to cross the barriers of our lungs and intestines, travel through the bloodstream and deposit in our internal organs. What happens once there is the great unknown that scientists strive to clear up. The studies. Dr. Christian Pacher-Deutsch, from the University of Graz (Austria), recently presented a study in which he exposed human intestinal bacteria to five types of common microplastics. The result was quite clear: bacterial populations were altered, producing chemical changes, in some cases reflecting patterns observed in patients with depression and colorectal cancer. Although the researcher himself was cautious in pointing out that “although it is early to make definitive statements, reducing exposure to microplastics is a sensible precaution.” But the effects don’t stop in the intestine. Dr. Jaime Ross, a neuroscientist at the University of Rhode Island, conducted a revealing experiment: gave a group of mice water contaminated with microplastics to drink. Soon, the mice began behaving strangely, anxiously venturing into open spaces, an atypical behavior that is associated with aging and neurological diseases. Analyzing their brains, Ross found plastic in all organs and a reduction in GFAP, a key protein for brain health. This same pattern of exhaustion is seen in humans with depression and dementia. Caution. In this case, microplastics have been detected in arterial plaques, and an analysis concluded that people whose plaques were loaded with plastic were almost five times more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke or die within three years. The practice. Faced with this avalanche of data, The Guardian wanted to move from theory to practice. The British journalist herself decided to undergo a test from the company Plastictox which, for £144, promises to reveal the amount of microplastics circulating in the blood. The test result indicated a concentration of forty microplastics per milliliters of blood. And although this figure placed her in the 25% of people with the least exposure, the laboratory gave her the total result: about 200,000 plastic particles in the bloodstream. However, other experts urge caution. Professor Stephanie Wright, a researcher at Imperial College London, calls this evidence “very premature.” He points out that although an analysis shows that there are 40 particles per ml, it is unknown if this is good or bad or if it will depend on the type of plastic it is or its origin. We live in real uncertainty. The advice. Although it is impossible to avoid exposure completely, there are a number of tips to avoid consuming this type of microplastics. For example, you can choose not to use plastic kitchen utensils or drink hot liquids from plastic cups. Even with the tap water either bottled we can have the same problem. Outside of food, the material composition of bedding or pajamas should also be reviewed, as they can release these types of particles, making cotton the best. Images | FlyD Chad Montano In Xataka | When Tap Water Tastes Like Hell: The Invisible Chemistry of Drinking Water That Explains Why It Tastes How It Tastes (And Why It’s One of the World’s Greatest Inventions)

The poison of the Cobras is one of the most feared and mortal in the world. AI is very close to neutralizing it forever

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After the mosquitoes and the man himself, snakes usually take third place in The list of more deadly animals for the human being. According to estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), between 81,410 and 137,880 people die every year as a result of the bite of these reptiles. AI can help change this. AI to the rescue. A group of researchers has demonstrated the utility of deep learning tools (Deep Learning) In the design of proteins capable of neutralizing, at least partially, the effect of the venom of some the steps (Elapidae), The snake family that includes the cobras, coral snakes and mambas. Three fingers. The study focuses on the calls “Toxins of the three fingers”(3FTX), called by the form of tridents that have the proteins that make up this family. These compounds are potentially lethal neurotoxins, that is to say they have the ability to attack our nervous tissue and involve a risk to the lives of people who are poisoned. As the team explains, these toxins are responsible for the anti -speakers, the antidotes used to counteract the venom of snakes, are not effective. The reason is that these toxins are capable of “evading” To our immune system, reducing the effectiveness of some treatments. For now, in mice. The team responsible for the development of the new antitoxins put them to the test in mice. The team experienced with different types and doses of poison and different antitoxins, achieving survival rates of between 80% and 100%. The details of the study have been published In an article In the magazine Nature. Lowering costs. The new technique opens a new way to the creation of molecules aimed at counteracting the different toxins that affect people who receive the bite of a poisonous snake, offering new advantages. First, to reduce the time dedicated to the process of searching for new useful compounds in this field. Less time dedicated to research implies a lower cost, but it is not the only factor that would help reduce the “invoice” of antidotes. According to the equipment, the new compounds can be synthesized using microbes, which would avoid traditional production methods. “The antitoxins we have created are easy to discover using only computational methods. They are also cheap to produce and robust in laboratory tests,” stood out in a press release David Baker, study co -author. Better access.Under costs and higher production facilities imply better access to these antidotes, something key if we take into account that it is in developing countries where snake bites more problems cause. “I trust that protein design make treatments against snake bites more accessible to people in developing countries,” Susana Vazquez Torres addswho led the new job. The inheritance of a Nobel. David Baker’s name can be familiar: in 2024 He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “For the computational protein design”, a prize he shared with Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper. Baker’s prize recognized his work in the construction of proteins never observed in nature, all through the combination of amino acid sequences. In Xataka | Some engineers have simulated 500 million years of evolution with an AI. Now we have a fluorescent protein Image | Anil Sharma

Microsoft has never been so valuable throughout its history. And he has never been so close to the abyss

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The first computer of Satya NadellaCEO of Microsoft, was a VAX manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (Dec) in the late 1970s. That machine excited him in such a way that Nadella was clear about her future: she wanted to devote himself to computer science. More than that: I wanted to devote yourself to computer science and work for DEC. That could not be. The concept of microordoring the company was based on its own architecture, called Virtual Address Extension (hence Vax), but that technology ended up being crushed by which it would succeed at that time: the RISC architecture. The company tried to survive, but ended up being acquired in 1998 by Compaq and, a few years later, disappearing. The lesson that Nadella learned with Dec By the time the debacle started, Nadella had moved. After a brief period in Sun Microsystems, he began working in Microsoft in 1992 and was climbing positions until it ended becoming the company’s CEO in 2014. The funny thing is that now That past with Dec pursues him. This was recently confirmed at a meeting with Microsoft employees in which it confessed something important: “Our sector is full of practical cases of companies that were in their day and that simply disappeared. There is one in particular that persecutes me, called Dec.” In fact, he explained how “some of the people who contributed to Windows NT came from a DEC laboratory that was closed.” The Microsoft CEO thus answered an employee’s question about the moral situation in the company, which according to indicate in The Verge It is in historical minimums. Not in vain Microsoft has just suffered a massive round of layoffs with 9,000 affected employees. The curious thing, Nadella admitted, is that after 51 years in the market some metrics indicate that Microsoft is at its best. This shows Its stock market capitalization is around four billion dollars and places the Redmond company like the second or third —Intercambia positions with Apple, Nvidia remains unstoppable – company of the world in relevance. “But at the same time, when I think of the degree of difficulty that awaits us, to be able to navigate a changing industry, a changing technological sector and a changing economy, we have a very hard job ahead.” And they certainly have it. What happens if the software doesn’t matter when you are the largest company in the software world The main external threat for Microsoft is not that IA improves existing software products. It is to make them irrelevant. Nadella himself admitted it to saying at that meeting with employees that “all the categories we could have loved for 40 years may not matter.” Days later he talked about all this in a post on the official Microsoft blog. He titled it “Recomproming us with our why, ours what and ours“. The implications of paradigm shift are colossal for world software giant: Office and Windows: Traditionally its great sources of income, the productivity suite and its operating system can end up having no place in our world. If an AI agent can end up managing all office tasks, creating documents, analyzing data and coordinating the work without the need for the Office suite or even a traditional operating system interface, the base of the Microsoft business would be eroded. We would no longer use an application to do the job. We would say to an AI to do it, how is it starting to happen. Competitors without ties: The new AI companies are not weighed by the legacy of an office suite or a 40 -year -old operating system. These startups can design lighter, fast and totally native solutions in the AI ​​era. For Nadella it makes no sense “to be in love with what we create in the past.” The situation for Microsoft is certainly disturbing. Despite its multimillionaire investment in OpenAi, The relationship has evolved To turn both companies into uncomfortable allies that are sought their own B plans Like softbank, Nvidia or Oracle. For Microsoft, things have not gone so well: it has injected billions to end depending on the technology of another company that is also becoming direct competitor. He has bazas in his favor as his gigantic Azure infrastructure, but not even that ensures survival. The Microsoft’s pressure to reinvent itself It is huge. He already achieved it after the failure in the segments of Internet search engines, social networks or finally mobile phones, but now the black clouds appear again with the AI ​​boom. The funny thing is that Microsoft was the Big Tech that adopted the AI ​​paradigm shift with the necessary intensity. His bet – especially, by OpenAi – was extraordinary, but for them the threat is not that of a company that ignores the change, but that of one that perhaps made the wrong bets. At the moment it does not have a competitive foundational model, and that co -driver overload has not just set in the market. What will Nadella and your company do to react? You move, Microsoft. In Xataka | The marriage between Openai and Microsoft is broken at times. The problem is that both are still needing

The agreement with the US seemed to pave the way to Nvidia in China. Now is the Asian giant who begins to close the door

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The agreement with Washington had allowed Nvidia sell again Your H20 chip In China. It was a door that opened after months of restrictions. Now, the Chinese authorities have begun to close it slowly: According to Financial Timesand Reutersthey have summoned Alibaba, Bytedance, Tencent and other companies to explain why they buy H20 instead of using local processors. The gesture is not symbolic, several of them are rethinking their orders, and the new scrutiny comes while Beijing encourages a prioritize domestic alternatives. Nvidia developed the H20 in direct response to the export limitations that the United States imposed at the end of 2023. For a time it was its star product for Chinese clients, until this year it was again blocked by a new Washington decision. In July 2025, the veto rose after an agreement with the Trump administration for Nvidia would transfer 15% of the income of some advanced chip sales in Chinaaccording to Reuters. That turn reopened the door, but also unleashed criticism in the United States for its supposed impact on China’s capabilities. A historical agreement that now faces resistance Authorities such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Mits, people aware of the situation, and the administration of the cyberspace of China, CAC, according to Reuters, have held meetings with companies such as Alibaba, Bytedance, Tencent and Baidu. They have asked them Why don’t they turn to national alternatives and have expressed their disapproval for the use of H20 in government or security areas. They have also raised doubts about the information that Nvidia asks to send to Washington for review. As a result, several companies have begun to reconsider their orders, according to Financial Times, although Reuters points out that it was not ordered to stop shopping. Concerns are not limited to preference for local chips. The Internet regulator asked NVIDIA to clarify whether H20 could involve risks for Chinese user data, including the possibility of “backdoors.” In this sense, Beijing has expressed concern for functions such as remote shutdown or location tracking. Nvidia, as we have seen before, He denies these capacities and argues that H20 is not a military product or for government infrastructure. According to Financial Times, Huawei, Cambricon and other Chinese manufacturers have increased their presence in the market since the H20 was subject to restrictions. Beijing has reinforced the message of technological self -sufficiency and encourage large platforms to opt for local suppliers. Now, it is no secret that the lack of access to advanced manufacturing equipment, Like the latest generation lithography, it is still an obstacle. Despite this, the demand for national chips grows thanks to political support and the need to reduce external dependence. But not everything plays in favor of the local giant Huawei. Great Chinese technology, such as Tencent, Alibaba or Bytedance, continue to prefer Nvidia GPUs For its greatest performance and, above all, by CUDA, the parallel programming platform of NVIDIA that allows the most of its GPU for artificial intelligence and other complex calculations. Replacing it with alternatives such as Cann implies overcoming technical and compatibility barriers. Li Guojie, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, warns that China needs its own tools that exceed Cuda to achieve self -sufficiency. The great Chinese technology, such as Tencent, Alibaba or Bytedance, continue to prefer Nvidia GPUs. Bernstein, collect ftestimates that the market share of Nvidia in China will go from 66% in 2024 to 55% this year. In parallel, Trump has suggested that he could authorize a Limited version of Blackwell -based processorsthe most advanced of the company. In any case, Nvidia generated 17,000 million dollars in sales in China in its last year13% of its total income. In this environment, each regulatory decision weighs as much as the technological road map itself. What in July was presented as an advance for Nvidia has become an uncertain scenario. Beijing’s pressure, added to the impulse to national manufacturers, redefines the company’s possibilities in a market that was strategic for years. According to the aforementioned means, the outcome will mark not only the future of Nvidia in China, but also the way in which both powers manage artificial intelligence when politics, security and trade intersect. Images | Nvidia In Xataka | China’s first avant -garde lithography machine is not the biggest US problem. They will be the other two that are on their way In Xataka | China is an essential market for Nvidia. Little by little it is becoming something else: a nightmare

After weeks of concern, the Mediterranean is very close to normal. The heat wave threatens to throw everything into the fret

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Something has changed sharply in the Mediterranean Sea: its temperature. If a few weeks ago the sea that unites Europe, Africa and Asia burning, now the surface temperature of the sea has plummeted to almost normal values, only slightly above what we could expect during these summer dates A few tenth. The latest data on the surface temperature in the Mediterranean Sea have given us good news in the form of stabilization. According to the data Of the coastal observation and prediction system of the Balearic Islands (Socib), as of August 7, the Mediterranean surface is, on average, at 26.03º Celsius. This implies an anomaly was 0.54º Celsius, that is, the sea is more than half a hot than what would correspond at this time. As a contrast, in the middle of June We reported that this anomaly was 2.26º. East to the west. The sea temperature has decreased on average, but has also changed in its distribution. A few weeks ago the focus of the heat was in the Western Mediterranean, while to the east the temperatures were warm but more moderate. Now it happens just the other way around. According to the Socib datathe average west temperature of the Mediterranean is 25.01º, which implies a thermal anomaly of 0.29º. Meanwhile, the eastern side is at 27.06º, 0.81º more than what would be normal in that area and on these dates. A very diverse sea. The data allow us to analyze the change in different regions and, perhaps the area where this change is most palpable, the Northwest Mediterranean. Here, at the beginning of July the thermal anomaly was around four degrees. Now is the most “normal” area of the sea, with a positive anomaly of only 0.17º. Another of the spotlights a few weeks ago was in the surroundings of the Balearic Islands, especially in the waters of the National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago. In these areas, thermal anomaly on June 12 was 3rd and 3.18º respectively. Now, the environment of the Balearic archipelago is only 0.36º above the average, while the waters of the Cabrera archipelago have an anomaly of 0.35º. What happened? June was an extremely warm month in Spain, but it was also hotter than normal in other areas. The absence of section of section and high insolation made the Mediterranean a boiling pot, but the month of July was different. The arrival of a time less torrid in a month of July in which the storms took the prominence in the Mediterranean basin changed this. “Thanks to the dynamics of atmospheric circulation in recent weeks, with the passage of different troughs, the surface waters of the Mediterranean already draw a panorama with a more normal spatial variability,” explained on social networks The physicist, disseminator and researcher at Aemet JJ German. Without throwing the bells on the flight. The descent of temperatures is great news: a Mediterranean too warm increases the risk of storms and copious rainfall like the ones we see in Danas and in episodes of “cold drop”. The question now is to know if this stabilization will be lasting or if we will see a new thermal rebound in marine waters. August has started with a heat wave in Spain with reach beyond the peninsula. June’s thermal rest has ended and we do not know how this change to the waters of the Mediterranean will affect. The issue is relevant due to the environmental and meteorological problems that this overheating would imply. In Xataka | “The Mediterranean already has only three stations”: the European Observatory of the drought confirms that winter is dying Image | Valentin Perret / ECMWF

Airbus is about to close a new massive order in China, according to SCMP. The moment cannot be worse for Boeing

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Airbus prepares to reinforce its presence in one of the most strategic markets on the planet: China. South China Morning Post says that the European manufacturer is at the gates of signing a new agreement with the Chinese authorities that would include Between 100 and 200 new airplanes. The firm could arrive this month, but what really attracts attention is not the magnitude of the order, but the moment in which it occurs. The operation would coincide with the summit between the European and China Union on July 24 and 25, As Politico has advanced. A high -level diplomatic encounter that seeks to reduce commercial tensions, redefine relationships between Brussels and Beijing, and manage an increasingly tense climate in their links with Washington. That Airbus manages to close a contract of this size just in that context is something that does not go unnoticed. A new order in Chinese heavens? China has not closed great agreements with Boeing for years. The last relevant request dates back to 2017and since then the American manufacturer has been losing ground in one of the most dynamic markets in commercial aviation. The reason is not only commercial: the cooling of relations between Washington and Beijing, The tariff war And regulatory doubts seem to be tilting the balance to the European side. As the Hongkonese medium points out, Airbus has gained weight as the main supplier. Time also plays in favor of Airbus. Many Chinese airlines are dealing with aged fleets, mostly composed of Boeing aircraft acquired more than a decade ago. In cases such as Shandong Airlines or China United Airlines, the bulk of the devices exceeds ten years of service. As the airplanes accumulate flight hours, in general, their maintenance becomes more expensive, their operational efficiency decreases and increases inactivity periods. At first glance, it may seem that an airline can compensate for the situation by combining manufacturers. However, operate A mixed fleet It implies logistics complexity and high costs. An Airinsight analysis concluded that the expenses derived from managing two types of fleet – parties, training, documentation, crew ratio – are amortized in just 12–15 months and then favor significant savings in the useful life of the fleet. Operating a mixed fleet implies logistics complexity and high costs The standardization – arrest by a single supplier such as Airbus or Boeing – reduces operational costs, simplifies the training of personnel and speeds up the management of spare parts. In contrast, changing manufacturer forces to reorganize supply chains, train pilots and technicians in new models and adapt maintenance infrastructure. The latter implies from updating the hangars and workshops to the physical requirements of the new plane, to acquire specific tools. For many airlines, that entrance barrier seems to explain why they continue to depend on boeing fleets even when Airbus gains ground. China is also betting on developing its own alternative. The three large state airlines – Air China, China Eastern and China Southern – have already committed the purchase of more than 100 units of the Comac C919the passenger plane developed by the Chinese aeronautical industry. Political support is evident, but so are its limits: Production is still reducedinternational certifications are in the initial phase and the technical support network does not have maturity or the Airbus or Boeing scale. For now, C919 is a medium -term promise, but not an immediate solution to meet the enormous demand of the domestic market. Nevertheless, Boeing is not totally out of the game. In April 2025, several 737 Max prepared for Chinese airlines They returned to the United States After Beijing ordered to suspend deliveries, as part of their response to new tariffs against US products. Although this measure points to a protective impulse of the national industry and the geopolitical strategy, Boeing could still regain land if commercial tension is reduced and access to the Chinese market is resumed. But, for now, Airbus is emerging as a favorite. Airbus knows well the potential of the Chinese market. According to their own forecaststhe country will need more than 9,500 new commercial airplanes in the next 20 years. Boeing handles a similar figure: Around 8,830 to 9,740 units, depending on the economic and regulatory scenario. In any case, we are talking about a gigantic demand. And at this time, with the orders to Boeing frozen and Comac still consolidating, Airbus has a clear advantage. If the new contract is confirmed, it will not be an isolated case: it will be the reflection of a trend that can mark the distribution of power in commercial aviation during the next decades. Images | FASYAH HALIM | Takashi Miyazaki In Xataka | The C919 Comac In Xataka | The United Kingdom was waiting for an invincible hunt. Today, the F-35 flies little and cannot shoot its own weapons

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