closer

the holy grail of space propulsion is closer thanks to plasma

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For many years, the aerospace industry has worked on the development of rockets powered by solid fuels. These have many advantages, such as simplicity, long life and high thrust-to-weight ratio. However, they have a huge drawback. Once these fuels start burning, they continue to do so until they are spent. There is no way to stop and restart the reaction, as is normally done in space maneuvers. Despite everything, a group of scientists from the Aerospace Corporation, the University of Southern California and the Naval Postgraduate School has been working in the development of new generation solid fuels, in which there are solutions for each of these drawbacks. At the moment, they only have a proof of concept in the laboratory, but that first experimental development has given very good results. The problem. Solid fuels are blocks of solid propellant that already include within them the oxidizing substance that, with the necessary spark, starts the combustion reaction. The problem with these fuels is that, once they start burning, there is nothing to stop them and restart them. It would be useful to use electricity to dictate when combustion starts and stops, but until now that has not been possible. An ingredient and a mechanism. These scientists have developed their solid fuel with the help of an ionic liquid polymer. Although this is manipulated to form part of a solid matrix, it retains the electrical conductivity properties of the molten salts with which it was manufactured. On the other hand, this new solid fuel undergoes a process known as nanosecond pulsed plasma discharge (NPPD). In this process, very short, very high voltage pulses are generated, lasting less than 100 nanoseconds, giving rise to an ionization process in which we obtain plasma as a product. Then what? NPPD plasma is generated in the gas of the combustion zone. During ionization, electrons and free radicals are generated that, thanks to the ionic conductivity of the propellant, can interact with the flame front and control combustion. This can be stopped or reactivated by activating or interrupting the electrical pulses. Other advantages. Other great advantages of these fuels is that, due to their compact shape, they can be integrated into all types of space platforms, from CubeSats even large ships. The most benefited. Although many agencies and companies could jump on the solid fuel bandwagon if they become viable, the small ones will benefit the most. satellite operatorssince they normally cannot afford a complex liquid propellant-based upper stage in their rockets. Although they are simpler, they also need to maneuver, turning combustion on or off in steps such as orbit insertion. Solid fuel engines are simpler and can be cheaper. If the problems they already have are solved, they will become a real revolution for big and small fish. Image | 中央通訊社 In Xataka | 2023 was the year with the most space launches in history. The vast majority of SpaceX and China

While Europe looks at Ukraine, the US has sounded the alarms for Spain on a closer front: losing two autonomous cities

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In July 2002, a handful of Moroccan soldiers landed on the islet of Perejil and raised a Moroccan flag there. The Spanish response came days later with a military operation so rapid and measured that it ended up becoming one of the diplomatic-military episodes strangest of the recent Mediterranean. What worries Spain. While Europe concentrates much of its military attention in Ukraine and the eastern flank of NATO, a much closer concern is growing in Spain: the south of the Strait. The problem is not just Morocco or the military balance in the Maghreb, but the change in the United States’ attitude toward the region. The appearance in Washington of official documents that describe Ceuta and Melilla like cities “under Spanish administration” in Moroccan territory has generated unprecedented alarm because it breaks a historical diplomatic taboo. For decades, the sovereignty of both cities was considered out of the question for Western allies. Now some American political sectors are beginning to treat her as an open dispute susceptible to future negotiation. US pressure. Spanish concern does not arise solely from a parliamentary report, but from the political context that surrounds it. Republican congressman Mario Diaz-Balartclose to Marco Rubio’s entourage and aligned with positions very favorable to Rabat, has not only publicly defended that Ceuta and Melilla are “in Moroccan territory”, but that the own report encourages the State Department to promote diplomatic talks about their status. All this coincides with the deterioration of the relationship between Donald Trump and the Spanish Government for military spendingNATO and the disagreements over Iran. In certain strategic Spanish sectors, the feeling is beginning to spread that Washington increasingly considers most useful to Morocco as a regional and less essential partner to Spain within its Mediterranean architecture. Morocco and the new balance. The most profound change may be occurring on the other side of the Strait. Morocco has been accelerating for years its military modernization through agreements with the United States, Israel, Türkiye and France, while also promoting its own arms industry. Since 2021, industrial projects linked to drones, weapons and advanced military production have multiplied. At the same time, Rabat has consolidated his diplomatic position in Washington after the American recognition of Western Sahara. For many Spanish analysts, the problem is no longer just migratory pressure or specific border crises, but the emergence of a regional power much more militarily connected to the West and increasingly secure in its strategic position. Spain is left out. The other big concern is that Spain seems have been left out of the new network of military alliances in the Maghreb. Italy has become the main strategic partner of Algeria in the Mediterranean, expanding defense agreements, industrial cooperation and military coordination with one of the most powerful armies in Africa. Morocco, meanwhile, close ties with Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv. Spain has managed to rebuild diplomatic relations with both neighbors, but it hardly has any relevant agreements on defense matters. This vacuum is beginning to be perceived as a serious problem in certain strategic circles, especially when linked reports to the Ministry of Defense they already admit that “South of the Strait of Gibraltar, military pressure is a reality.” Ceuta and Melilla as vulnerable points. That is why the reports of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies raise with increasing clarity the need to a specific plan defense for Ceuta and Melilla. The focus goes far beyond the military and includes logistics, cybersecurity, maritime surveillance, institutional resilience and protection of critical infrastructure. Fear does not necessarily point to an open conventional conflict, but rather to hybrid scenarios constant pressure: migration crises, diplomatic tensions, partial blockades or political attrition campaigns. Autonomous cities thus appear as especially sensitive enclaves due to their logistical dependence and geographical isolation. A brutal return: geography. If you like, all this reflects something broader: the return of geography as a central factor of European politics. For years, Spain observed the Maghreb mainly from a migratory and commercial perspective, while the greatest threats seemed to be far from the western Mediterranean. But the war in Ukraine has accelerated regional rearmament and has reorganized alliances throughout the area. And in the midst of this transformation, Spain begins to discover that one of its potentially most delicate fronts is not in the Baltic or in Eastern Europe, but just in the other side of the strait. Image | US Army In Xataka | The US threatened to take the Rota base to Morocco. Spain has buried it with an unbeatable offer: more territory In Xataka | ANDhe tunnel between Spain and Morocco seemed like a chimera. Now a tunnel boring machine manufacturer says it is viable

The shape of the hands is one of the last evolutionary mysteries of the human being. And we are one step closer to solving it

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Our hands are, without a doubt, one of the wonders of biological engineering, since for a long time, the dominant evolutionary narrative has focused on how our anatomy transformed to allow precision grip and the manufacture of complex tools. However, if we look beyond the fingers and focus on the wrist, the bones tell a much older and more surprising story. New tests. A comprehensive published study in the magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B has put on the table quite important evidence about how our ancestors moved. And the conclusion is that the morphology of our wrist retains an undeniable echo of a common ancestor adapted to walking supported on the knuckles. How they have done it. To reach this conclusion, the researchers have not relied on isolated conjectures, but on a large-scale anatomical analysis. The team analyzed more than 2,037 carpal boneswhich are what form the wrist, belonging to different species of primates, crossing these data with the anatomical analysis of 55 fossils of extinct hominins. What they discovered by mapping all this morphology is that human wrist bones don’t look like those of most primates, but instead share deep structural similarities specifically with African great apes. It’s not a coincidence, since it responds to the biomechanical adaptations necessary to support the weight of the body on the hands when they are closed. That is, although today we use our wrists for complex tasks such as typing, painting or even performing surgery, their architecture was designed for walking on the knuckles. Cautiously. Does this mean that our ancestor walked on his knuckles with absolute certainty? In science, closed statements are dangerous, and the authors of the study themselves are cautious, since they do not present this ancient practice as an irrefutable dogma, but as the most consistent and plausible interpretation according to the anatomical evidence on the table. Its evolution. Our body did not evolve suddenly to its current form, but rather went through different phases at different rates. Here the study shows this phenomenon in our hands, since, while the general structure of the wrist has preserved those primitive evolutionary signals shared with African apes, other parts of the hand changed later. Specifically, adaptations associated with fine, precision manipulation appeared much later in our evolutionary lineage. In Xataka | We had always believed that evolution had been arrested for thousands of years. The redheads were telling us the opposite

Japan has crossed a red line in the Pacific with the US. China just responded with warships closer than ever

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When in 2013 two Russian strategic bombers They flew over without warning airspace near Japan, forced Tokyo to deploy interception fighters in a matter of minutes in one of the most tense responses in its recent history. The episode, almost forgotten outside military circles, made clear the extent to which there are movements in the Pacific that, even if they last just hours, can change the way countries look at each other for years. A crossing of lines. Japan has taken a step that for decades it carefully avoided: integrating for the first time with combat troops in maneuvers led by the United States in the Indo-Pacific, de facto breaking a political and strategic barrier inherited from the postwar. This movement is not symbolic, because involves deploying soldiers, ships, aircraft and missiles in a real conflict simulation scenario, which brings Tokyo closer to a much more active role within the US military apparatus. The decision, furthermore, occurs in a context of growing concern about Taiwan and for him balance of power in the region, which makes this gesture more than just cooperation: it is a clear sign of strategic alignment. China’s response: closer than ever. Beijing’s reaction has been immediate and measured in kilometers: the deployment of warships on routes much closer to Japanese territory than usual, including transit through waters that it rarely used to access the Pacific. Although China insists that these are routine exercises, the pattern reveals a willingness to press and demonstrate operational capacity in sensitive areas, bringing its military presence closer to points that it previously avoided. Not only that. This movement fits in a trend wider than greater naval aggressiveness around Japan, where each maneuver not only tests capabilities, but also political limits. Everything revolves around an island. The background of this escalation is the Taiwan issuewhich acts as the axis of tension between China and Japan since Tokyo left open the possibility of intervening if a conflict breaks out on the island. Beijing has interpreted these statements as a red lineand has since responded with diplomatic protests, economic pressure and military demonstrations. Every Japanese step in or around the strait is seen as a provocation, and every Chinese move seeks to recalibrate that balance without openly crossing the threshold of direct confrontation. Balikatan: from exercise to message. It is another of the crystal clear readings. The Balikatan maneuvers have ceased to be a simple bilateral exercise to become a multinational display of forceone with more than 17,000 troops and the participation of countries such as Australia, France or Canada. The active incorporation of Japan changes its nature, because it introduces a key actor in the so-called “first island chain”, a geographical and military barrier. designed to contain Chinese expansion in the Pacific. The deployment of anti-ship missiles and live-fire exercises, including the destruction of naval targets, reinforces the idea that rehearsing a scenario of high intensity maritime conflict. The battle for the islands. Also we have talked on several occasions in this chain of territories (which goes from Japan to the Philippines passing through Taiwan) that has become the axis of the US strategy to limit Chinese naval projection. Japan, by integrating more deeply into this system, contributes to the creation of a species of distributed “fortress” that seeks to hinder any Chinese advance towards the open Pacific. For Beijing, however, breaking or surrounding that barrier is a strategic prioritywhich explains the increase in its activity beyond that line and its insistence on operating in waters increasingly distant from its coast. An increasingly fragile balance. The result of all this is a scenario where each movement has a double reading: what some present as routine trainingothers interpret it as a climbing sign. Japan has taken a step that redefines its role in regional security, and China has responded by bringing its naval power closer to a distance it previously avoided, creating an action-reaction dynamic that increases the risk of incidents. Thus, in a global context marked by many other conflicts that could divert American attention, the Indo-Pacific is positioned as the great board where the balance of power of the 21st century is played. Image | CCTV In Xataka | Japan has dozens of “forgotten” islands off the coast of China: it is now preparing for the worst scenario In Xataka | Satellite images leave no doubt: China has concentrated thousands of fishing boats off Japan, and its idea is not to fish

We have covered the ISS in moss with a single objective. And now the possibility of “terraforming” Mars is closer

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Last year, scientists published the results of a study in which they told how they had covered the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) with moss. Although the study It was published in Decemberit was not a Christmas decorative strategy. They wanted to check if this primitive plant is capable of surviving the inhospitable conditions of space. The results were so positive, they could take humanity one step closer to terraforming Mars. A primitive plant to start a new life. The first plants that appeared on Earth were bryophytes, more specifically mosses. They are very resistant plants, capable of growing directly on rocks. From there, they can photosynthesize if they have the right water and nutrients. It is a process in which they capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and generate oxygen. In addition, they generate organic matter that, upon death, becomes the perfect substrate. so that other more complex plants can grow. That is why the study was carried out to see if moss can survive in space. It was proven yes, so it could be an interesting candidate for terraforming Mars or the Moon. The study. Basically, what was seen in the study is that the mosses exposed on the outside of the ISS were able to survive for 283 days exposed to extremely cold temperatures and very intense ultraviolet radiation. When they were returned to Earth after that period, more than 80% had survived. In fact, planting them made them germinate. Carl Sagan already predicted it (more or less). The dream of terraforming other planets is not something new, although it is true that for a long time it was almost a fantasy. In 1961, for example, Carl Sagan made an interesting proposal to terraform Venus. It is known that this planet neighboring Earth It is covered by a dense layer of clouds. Since clouds here on Earth are usually made of water, the famous astrophysicist proposed planting cyanobacteria inside them. These microorganisms have the ability to carry out photosynthesis, like plants. Therefore, they could consume carbon dioxide and generate oxygen. The problem is that it was later discovered that the clouds of Venus are actually made of sulfuric acid, so their proposal became unattainable. Proposals to terraform Mars. No further proposals have been made to terraform Venus, but there have been proposals to do the same with Mars. It’s also pretty inhospitable, but it has a lot more potential. In fact, last year was published in Nature a study that talked about the possibility of turning the red planet into something similar to Earth with only four steps. The first would be to melt the ice, so that it becomes an immense ocean of liquid water. For this, the temperature would have to be increased by at least 30ºC. heat is needed. The second step, therefore, is to obtain that heat. It was proposed to use solar sails that direct most of the solar radiation to these ice reserves. Aerosols could also be dispersed in the atmosphere that cause a kind of greenhouse effect, further retaining solar radiation inside the planet. A vaulted habitat. Although Mars has its own atmosphere, it would have to be reinforced with something that would allow it to create a biosphere. Therefore, it would be interesting to build vaults into which to introduce the first Martian inhabitants. Life that brings more life to Mars. Finally, it would be necessary to use genetically modified-extremophilic microorganisms. These are microorganisms capable of surviving in extreme conditions. For example, microorganisms that survive in media with high salt concentrations or very high or very low temperatures are Extremophiles. Even so, it would be necessary to genetically modify them to make them even more resistant to extremely low temperature and pressure conditions. These microorganisms would be photosynthetic, so that they generate oxygen and organic matter. Moss comes into play. Following the results of the International Space Station experiment, it is clear that moss could be a good complement to these extremophile microorganisms to terraform Mars. Unfortunately, it is estimated that to have the technologies necessary to meet all the requirements we will have to wait at least 100 years. It’s a long time, but with everything humanity has waited for, it would only be a little longer. For now, as the road safety advertisements say, the important thing is to arrive. There are already space agencies trying to date that first step. Let’s start there. Image | Julius A OBARO (Wikimedia Commons) and Freepik In Xataka | Chernobyl was filled with mushrooms after the nuclear accident. Thanks to them we discovered a “new form of photosynthesis”

its latest update brings it closer to Adobe and even Notion

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Canva has built its success on being the non-intimidating tool. Easy, cheap and accessible to anyone. With its new update, ‘Canva IA 2.0’, it points in another direction: it adds connectors with Slack, Gmail, Notion or Google Drive; background automations and persistent brand memory. It no longer competes only with Figma or Adobe. Now it even competes with Notion, ClickUp, Microsoft and Google. Why is it important. 250 million monthly users guarantee that the formula has worked. The question is whether adding all this complexity (conversational design, agent orchestration, scheduled tasks…) makes it more powerful or simply more similar to what already exists. canva It seeks to grow and the risk is breaking the balance that has brought it here. Yes, but. All this comes from a press release. The numbers on their own models (up to 30 times cheaper and 7 times faster than the competition, they say) are published by Canva itself. Real access starts today for the first million users. Until there is real-world testing, the headlines deserve some skepticism. In detail. The main news: Conversational design: create from text or voice, without a starting template. Smart orchestration– AI coordinates internal tools to generate entire campaigns from one briefing. Active memory– Learn the team’s style and brand identity and apply it alone. Connectors: Slack, Gmail, Google Drive, Notion, Zoom, HubSpot and Google Calendar. Scheduled tasks: automations that run in the background without intervention. CanvaCode 2.0: Interactive experiences with import of HTML generated by other AIs. AI Spreadsheets: structured tables generated from natural language. Between the lines. The most interesting thing is not technical but strategic: Canva has strengthened its collaboration with Anthropic to integrate its design engine into Claude, and allows importing outputs of Claude either ChatGPT as editable elements within Canva. They clearly want to be at all the points where an idea is born, not just where it is given shape. The other reading. For years, Canva has been edging into Figma’s territory in professional collaborative design. But the connectors and automations in this ad take them away from that path: this is more like Notion or ClickUp than a design tool. It’s not entirely clear whether that’s an evolution or a loss of focus. Time will tell. What’s coming. The experimental version is available today for the first million users who enter from the home page, with progressive rollout in the coming weeks. Featured image | canva In Xataka | Canva’s most ambitious move is not about AI: it’s about locking everyone inside

Universal quantum computers promise to change the world. Now they are closer thanks to giant super atoms

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The prototypes of quantum computers currently manufactured by IBM, Honeywell or Google, among other companies, are engineering prodigies. However, they have defectswhich currently greatly limits the range of applications in which it is possible to use them. The most important of all of them is that they make mistakes and they are still not able to correct them effectively. Scientists are working on developing advanced error correction systems, and if they achieve their goal, universal quantum computers capable of dealing with a wide range of problems will arrive. The Achilles heel of current quantum machines is the extreme fragility of their qubits. And they are very sensitive to disturbances from the environment. Their interaction with the space around them can cause quantum information to be lost or altered, preventing them from delivering a correct result. This phenomenon is known as quantum decoherence and it has the ability to degrade the quantum states that need to be protected in order to carry out operations with qubits. Currently, researchers are making an enormous effort to design effective strategies for isolating qubits from the environment. However, efforts are also being made to develop less fragile qubits, and therefore less sensitive to noise. This is the plan that several scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden are working on. And they have developed a completely new quantum system designed to protect quantum information and minimize interference from the environment. Its purpose is, neither more nor less, to pave the way for universal quantum computers or large scale. Less decoherence leads to more robust and higher quality quantum computers Quantum computing experts maintain that quantum computers that will have the ability to correct their own errors can be used to design exotic materials, and probably also to develop new drugs and in industrial optimization problems, among other tasks. These are some of the applications that the qubits implemented with giant superatoms proposed by the Chalmers University of Technology team led by applied quantum physics professor Anton Frisk Kockum could put in our hands. Giant Superatoms explore two ideas long known to quantum physicists: giant atoms and superatoms. Giant Super Atoms explores two ideas long known to quantum physicists: giant atoms and superatoms. Unlike isolated atoms, a giant atom in this context is an artificial qubit designed to interact with its environment using light or sound waves at multiple physically separated points. This peculiarity allows them to protect quantum states more effectively than conventional systems, reduce decoherence and remember past interactions. The problem with using giant atoms in quantum computers is that they have significant limitations when trying to entangle them. Entanglement is essential in quantum computing because it allows multiple qubits to share a single quantum state and act as a coordinated system. To solve this limitation, the Chalmers researchers have combined giant atoms and superatoms. A superatom is made up of several natural atoms that share the same quantum state and behave collectively as a single larger atom. Lei Du, one of Chalmers’ researchers, explains to us what is a giant super atom: “We can observe it as multiple giant atoms working together as a single entity, allowing them to exhibit a non-local interaction between light and matter. This allows quantum information from multiple qubits stored and controlled as a unit and without the need for increasingly complex surrounding circuits.” For the moment, giant superatoms are a theoretical proposal, but Professor Anton Frisk Kockum and his team are going to try to build a quantum system using them. If they succeed, they could have found a new type of qubit that is much more robust, and, therefore, suitable for use in the development of universal quantum computers. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | ScienceDaily In Xataka | We already know what the chips that will arrive until 2039 will be like. The machine that will allow them to be manufactured is close

We have found a time capsule in the form of salt in Chile. And now finding life on Mars is closer

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As we continue to explore how to get to Mars with Artemis II As a critical engineering and logistics bridge in the form of a long-term trial of interplanetary travel, science continues to search for traces of life on the red planet. And it is not easy: although 3.37 billion years ago an ocean covered half the planetMars is today a dry planet devastated by radiation. The question is where to look for that life. The answer, as incredible as it may seem, may be more than 3,500 meters high in the north of Chile, in the Salar de Pajonales, a landscape that is also desolate where there is a range of extreme temperatures ranging between -23 °C and 26 °C, one of the highest solar radiation recorded on Earth, there is hardly any precipitation and winds that exceed 100 km/h. And yet, there is life. There a research team has discovered that plaster constitutes the perfect refuge for life. Spoiler: Gypsum is a common mineral both on Earth like on mars. The discovery. According to this research, gypsum is not only a sedimentary rock, but also a biological repository. Thus, this mineral is capable of harboring both current life in the form of microorganisms that live within the crystals and preserving molecular fossils and microscopic structures. A kind of time capsule that protects organic material from degradation for millions of years. Why is it important. The consequence of this finding in space research is direct: if gypsum is a “magnet” for biological preservation in hyperaridity conditions, the scientific community knows that the abundant sulfate deposits on Mars (such as Gale crater) are a magnificent place to continue searching for traces of extraterrestrial life. If there was life on Mars, gypsum is a likely place to house its traces. Context. The Salar de Pajonales seems like a place from another planet: it is in high mountains where ultraviolet radiation is high, there is extreme aridity and thermal fluctuations reminiscent of the conditions on Mars from billions of years ago, when the red planet began to dry out. In this scenario, life has learned to hide from the unfriendly surface in a lifestyle endolithic to survive. Thus, the mineral functions as a solar shield and moisture reserve. How have they done it. To read what the rocks contain, the Tebes-Cayo team has applied a kind of high-precision molecular and mineral archaeology: With habitability and climate analysis with a meteorological station that recorded data every 20 minutes for 40 years monitoring water activity. Using x-rays, petrography and microfluorescence to create thin sections to distinguish minerals and their distribution without destroying the sample. With microscope, isotopes and DNA sequencing to identify the microorganisms, the trapped corpses and to confirm that the carbon found has a biological and not a geological origin. Yesyes, but. We already know that gypsum is the ideal candidate to search for life on Mars, but that is based on a hypothetical premise: that it ever existed. On the other hand, and although the Salar de Pajonales is reminiscent of the Red Planet, the conditions on Mars are even more extreme than in Chile (there is almost no atmosphere and it is even colder), which may have affected the preservation in a different way. And then there is the practical application: it is one thing to detect these biosignatures in the high mountains of Chile and another to use a robot thousands of kilometers away for the same purpose. In Xataka | Europe has thought of throwing three robots into a volcanic lava tube and now colonizing the Moon or Mars is closer In Xataka | If the question is “how are we going to build houses on Mars” the answer today is “with bricks made of urine” Cover | Luiza Braun and BoliviaIntelligent

the problem is different and it is much closer

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Bitcoin It has been presenting itself for years as a decentralized system, resilient by design and less exposed to the single points of failure that affect traditional banking. The idea is powerful and, to a large extent, true. But it has an important nuance that is usually left out of the conversation: to function, Bitcoin continues to rely on a very specific physical infrastructure that connects the world and that also conditions its real resistance. The study that puts figures on resilience. A study by the Cambridge Center for Alternative Financebased on eleven years of network traffic and 68 real cable incidents explains something very interesting. The significant disconnection threshold of the clearnet of Bitcoin is between 72% and 92% of submarine cables in random failure scenarios. However, the same work introduces a decisive nuance: this solidity changes noticeably when the problem is no longer random. Decentralization, but not isolation. Just because Bitcoin does not have a central authority does not mean that it works independently of other infrastructures. Its network is made up of distributed nodes that constantly exchange information, but they do so through providers, routes and physical systems that also support the Internet. The Cambridge study itself highlights this interdependence between layers, where the logical and the material coexist. For this distributed network to work, the nodes need to continuously exchange data, and that occurs over a global infrastructure shared with the rest of the Internet. We are talking about submarine cables, terrestrial links, service providers and routing systems that determine where information circulates. Bitcoin’s resilience, according to the study, depends largely on how all these components are organized and connected. Where everything changes is in targeted attacks. Compared to the resistance shown in random scenarios, the study warns of a much more accessible vulnerability when the attack focuses on large ASNs or key routing infrastructures. Damaging cables indiscriminately is not the same as hitting specific surfaces of the network, and this difference paints a very different scenario from that of massive and indiscriminate failures. Researchers support their conclusions with documented events. One of the most significant is the cable cutting recorded on March 14, 2024 off the Ivory Coastwhich affected multiple countries in the region. On a global scale, the impact on the Bitcoin network was minuscule, although at a regional level the consequences were much more visible. Tor’s role in resilience. The study identifies another element that influences the robustness of the network: the growing use of the protocol Tor. According to their data, in 2025 around 64% of Bitcoin nodes will already operate through this network and, in the four-layer model used by researchers, this evolution not only does not weaken the infrastructure, but rather increases its resilience against cable cuts under the current geography of the relays. So, overall, the study paints a less intuitive scenario than is usually proposed. Bitcoin does not seem particularly exposed to a collapse caused by massive and indiscriminate failures in the global infrastructure, but rather to much more focused disruptions. The key, according to researchers, is not so much in the scale of the damage as in where it occurs, which forces us to rethink how we understand its resilience. Images | Jen Titus | Erling Løken Andersen In Xataka | Seedance 2.0 has used Hollywood intellectual property to go viral. Hollywood has used the courts

15 years later it is closer to expanding it

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The project to extend the C-5 between Móstoles and Navalcarnero had been paralyzed for more than a decade. However, the Ministry of Transport has recently offered news. And now is being studied the possibility of including Boadilla del Monte and Villaviciosa de Odón in an alternative branch. It would be the first time in history that both towns are connected by train. We tell you all the details. A history of half-finished works. Cercanías Madrid line C-5 is the most used of the entire network, with more than 72 million travelers annually, according to the Ministry of Transportation itself. Despite everything, the continuation of the line from Móstoles-El Soto to Navalcarnero It has been abandoned for fifteen years after the suspension of the works and the contractual problems that paralyzed them in 2019. The result was half-built viaducts and an outstanding debt with the affected municipalities. What has changed now. The Ministry of Transportation has put out to tender a new feasibility study to update that project and evaluate route alternatives. The novelty is that the analysis would not be limited only to Móstoles–Navalcarnero, as it would also will contemplate a branch towards Villaviciosa de Odón and Boadilla del Monte. According to assured The Villaviciosa City Council’s inclusion in the tour came after having negotiated it directly with the Ministry. In the statement they conveyed to the Ministry “the importance of Villaviciosa de Odón being part of the technical evaluations related to this railway connection, given its strategic position in the metropolitan southwest and lack of interurban transportation beyond the road connection through regular buses.” The study is currently in the award phase. Connected. Both Boadilla del Monte and Villaviciosa de Odón do not have a direct train connection between them. Both depend on the private car, the intercity bus and, in the case of Boadilla, the Light Metro. They are municipalities that have grown significantly both in population and economic activity, but are still tied to the saturation of the A-5, the M-50 and the M-501. For this reason, a Cercanías line would be really good for these municipalities. In fact, they would connect for the first time with Móstoles and the rest of the network. Expectations vs. reality. The town councils involved have received the news with enthusiasm and describe this step as a “first decisive step”, according to share the Madrid Secreto medium, because it is the first time that the branch appears in official documents. But both the councils and the Ministry itself warn that the road is long: first you have to complete the study, then finalize a project, then seek financing and, finally, execute the works. So there is still a long way to go. What’s for sure? Apart from this hypothetical branch, the great transformation of the C-5 You already have a roadmap and budget. The modernization plan includes 28 actions worth 1,350 million euros to expand platforms, build new lanes, renew signaling and build a new station in Móstoles-El Soto. The objective is to increase the capacity of the line by 60% and reduce the incidents that hundreds of thousands of travelers suffer daily. Cover image | Falk2 (Wikipedia) In Xataka | The southern entrance to the A5 underground is already 80% excavated, and there is a culprit that has speeded up the work: the soil

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