crucial

A new study reveals its crucial role in memory consolidation

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The nap is an appointment that many people have during the afternoon and that is very difficult to leave aside. For decades, this practice has oscillated between being a purely Mediterranean cultural trait and a productivity “hack” repeated ad nauseum. However, taking a short break during the day is not a luxury for some, but is a top-level brain maintenance mechanism. They have studied it. To prove exactly why napping is so beneficial, a study chose to investigate the effects it has on the brain. Their objective was none other than to check if a short period of sleep could trigger the same ‘brain cleansing’ processes that occur during sleep. And the answer is a resounding yes. Neuronal “saturation”. To understand the impact of the study, you must first understand the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis. This tells us that since we wake up, our brain processes information non-stop and each stimulus and each new piece of information strengthens the connections between our neurons. A classic example may be in a student who is trying to learn an opposition syllabus. The problem is that this continuous increase in synaptic strength consumes a lot of energy and takes up physical and metabolic space. The really important thing here is that there comes a point in the day when the brain is “saturated” since cortical excitability is so high that the ability to consolidate new information plummets. This is when the system literally asks us to “reset” in order to continue processing the information to which we are exposing it. How have they seen it? The experiment involved 20 young adults, and rather than relying on subjective surveys of “how rested they felt,” the team turned to direct physical measurements. They used Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to measure corticospinal excitability and electroencephalograms to monitor brain activity. Once the method was in place, it was decided to evaluate the patients first between 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m., after spending a good amount of time awake, and then after taking a 45-minute nap. The results. They clearly saw with these analyzes that the brain cleaned its neurons and irrelevant connections were weakened, lowering the “background noise” and returning the system to an optimal state to create new connections again. But also, by releasing this charge, the neurons recovered a very high capacity to induce Long Term Enhancement. That is, the brain was once again in optimal conditions to create a lasting memory. The 20 minute rule. A mantra that can be heard is that the optimal nap should be twenty minutes long in order to regain alertness quickly. However, this study indicates that, to achieve a true architectural recalibration of plasticity in the cerebral cortex, entering into a cycle of about 45 minutes allows the memory consolidation mechanisms to act in depth. In this way, taking a break during the day is not at all something ‘lazy’ but rather it is a brain recalibration system that will allow us to increase our productivity when working or studying. In Xataka | In Spain we have glorified the long nap. In scientific studies they have a different opinion on the matter.

Europe has realized that nothing matters in technological sovereignty if it does not spend money on something crucial: defending its submarine cables

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There is a type of technological infrastructure that is invisible, but that has become essential in recent years: submarine cables. Conflicts like those of the Red Sea either the ukrainian war have shown that the seabed is a new battlefield. Damaging submarine cables havoc can be wreaked, and the European Union has just outlined its plan to strengthen the security and resilience of these cables. The goal? Track and stop threats in real time, but also repair underwater cables that enemies have attacked as soon as possible. Plan of action. In recent months, Europe has been weaving a plan to protect its submarine cables. These cables carry most of the world’s Internet traffic (an estimated 99%), but also other essential goods such as energy, vital when we want to tackle offshore energy. Hence the importance and, obviously, why the attacks also focus on them. Only in the first months of 2025 were more than a dozen submarine cables cut which seem few, but it really is something that can wreak havoc. And, therefore, Europe started to define an Action Plan with four main categories of action: Prevention: carry out risk assessments coordinated by countries and prioritize the financing of “smart” cables with redundancy. Detection: improve the monitoring capabilities of sea basins such as the Mediterranean or the Baltic to obtain a situation picture in real time. Response and recovery: strengthening rapid repair capacity and improving EU crisis protocols to act in a coordinated manner when a cable is damaged. Deterrence: use diplomacy and ultimately sanctions to respond to hostile acts. With global partners, promote a pact to encourage “cable diplomacy.” Repair of a cable Quick response. But of course, if deterrence does not work, we must act, and more recently, the European Commission has announced the steps to reinforce that strategy that aims to ensure that a damaged submarine cable causes as few headaches as possible. With an allocation of 40 million euros, the Commission seeks to guarantee a rapid and effective response to disturbances of submarine cables in emergency situations through adaptable modules. These modules, like repair kits, will be strategically positioned in various sea basins so that, in the event of a cable break, the ships repairing the cables will have quick access to these modules. It is one more step in a strategy that already had a first pilot call for 20 million euros a few months ago and whose objective was to finance modules in the Baltic Sea. Booster. Another measure will be the installation of the first two regional cable centers. In the Baltic, a Regional Center will be opened that will be responsible for strengthening surveillance and response mechanisms. The idea is that, with an allocation of 2.5 million euros, the information exchange platform and the capacity to both detect and prevent threats to maritime infrastructure will be improved. Finland will be the coordinator of the center together with Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden. On the other hand, in the Mediterranean, another center will be supported with 3.3 million euros. The task will be to make decisions, exchange information in real time and the same as in the Baltic: anomaly detection and coordinated response to incidents. Italy will be the coordinator together with Greece, Cyprus and Malta. With the first regional cable centers, Europe moves towards enhanced capabilities, strengthening our ability to detect threats, act faster and respond together – Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Next steps. In the end, these two strategies are part of a much larger plan in which they had already been assigned 595 million euros to 74 continental connectivity projects. In February of this year, the Commission also advertisement a package of some 347 million euros exclusively for submarine cable projects (construction, monitoring and repair), which shows that it is a strategic, basic infrastructure that fits in with the technological sovereignty plan that Europe is pursuing after seeing associations with allied countries weakened in recent years. Image | What’s Inside? In Xataka | A third of the world’s population cannot read this: the UN reveals that 2.9 billion people have never accessed the internet

Spain has 46 million cubic meters of unused biomass. They are a crucial shield against summer fires

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The summer of 2025 left us a scar of ash and a lesson that we continue refusing to learn. European forests are burning with unprecedented ferocity, but the answer is not to accumulate more firefighters in August, but to return to inhabit and manage the forest in January. The Copernicus satellite balance from the last summer campaign It was, simply, terrifying: more than 403,000 hectares burned in Spain and over a million in all of Europe. However, the truly disturbing information was provided by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS): 217 fires were recorded in Spain, less than half of that in 2022 (493). The burned area, however, was dramatically larger. Fire has not become more frequent; He has become a much more ferocious monster. By the end of 2025, the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) confirmed the disaster: Europe had recorded its highest fire emissions on record in 2003, releasing almost 13 megatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. Faced with this scenario, the institutional response remains stuck in the same loop: more seaplanes, more retardation, more summer troops. An emergency strategy that ignores an incontestable reality: the problem does not begin when the spark ignites, but long before, in the silence of the mountains, throughout the year. The diagnosis that no one wants to hear. Every year, Spanish forests add 46 million new cubic meters of plant biomass. Of that amount, according to data from Expobiomassonly around 40% is used. The European average is between 65% and 70%. The rest stays on the ground: branches, bushes, dry leaves, weeds. Year after year. Decade after decade. The result is what foresters have long called “fuel loading.” It is not a literary metaphor, it is pure physics: in the face of a heat wave or a dry storm, this accumulation turns an attempt into an uncontrollable inferno. Galicia, Extremadura and Castilla y León already suffered it firsthand last year. As the Spanish Biomass Association (AVEBIOM) warnsthe origin of this powder magazine is historical. Decades of rural exodus and the abandonment of traditional uses – such as grazing, extensive livestock farming or firewood collection – have left the forests orphaned by the management that, for centuries, kept them safe. Nature didn’t do the dirty work, and we stopped doing it for her. A proposal that reaches the European Parliament. This week, that diagnosis landed in Brussels with its own name. Bioenergy Europe presented in the European Parliament the documentary Fuel the solution, not the fire —in Spanish, “Feed the solution, not the fire”— with a central message: preventing large forest fires involves acting long before the flames arrive. The initiative, supported in Spain by AVEBIOM, shows experiences developed in Greece, Italy and Spain that show how the sustainable use of forest biomass can simultaneously contribute to three objectives: reducing the fuel load on the mountains, generating local renewable energy and boosting rural economies. The proposal is not new in the sector. But that it reaches the European Parliament, at the start of a new high-risk season, gives it a political dimension that it did not have before. The model: from the mountain to the caldera. The idea is, in its structure, simple. When pruning, clearing or forestry treatment is carried out, the remaining plant remains – what was previously abandoned or burned in the forest itself – are collected, crushed and converted into chips or pellets. This material fuels boilers in municipalities, hospitals, sports centers or industries. The mountain is cleaner. The town, hotter. And the energy bill is lower. “Sustainable forest management is part of the response to fires. And bioenergy can help provide an outlet for part of the biomass that needs to be removed from the mountains,” explains Pablo Rodero, head of certifications at AVEBIOM, in statements collected by Energies Renewable. Rodero insists on an important nuance so as not to confuse the discourse: “It is not about ‘cleaning the forest’. It is about managing the territory better, with technical planning and sustainability. When the remains of pruning, clearing or preventive work are transformed into renewable energy, prevention stops being a cost to generate economic activity, employment and energy savings.” The specific actions defended by AVEBIOM range from forestry treatments and the maintenance of firebreaks to the recovery of extensive livestock farming and the promotion of sustainable forestry exploitation. Active management, all year round, that does not depend on the urgency of summer. Real numbers on the ground. Beyond the theory, there is concrete data that illustrates the potential. Veolia Biomass In 2024, it transformed more than 300,000 tons of forest biomass—material accumulated in the mountains—into 700 GWh of clean energy. To get an idea: that is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 200,000 homes. The company already operates in several Spanish provinces: it works in Moros (Zaragoza) and in the Sierra de la Culebra (Zamora) in the elimination of vegetation on 500 and 400 hectares respectively; carries out thinning and thinning in Mayorga (Valladolid), Barcial, Castropepe and La Hiniesta (Zamora) and Cilloruelo (Salamanca); and has restored 200 hectares in Andalusia affected by the fires of the previous year. He CRECEMOS report on Forest Fire Managementpublished in May 2025, adds another dimension to the equation: sustainably mobilizing one million tons of forest biomass per year would avoid the emission of 580,000 tons of CO₂. In regions such as the northwest of the peninsula, where biomass potential is still underutilized, this approach would combine fire risk reduction with economic reactivation of currently depopulated areas. The European lifeline. It is important to put into perspective what is at stake. Bioenergy is neither an experimental technology nor a niche bet: according to the GROW reportrepresents 60% of all renewable energy produced in the European Union. And 96% of this biomass is produced in European territory itself: it is not imported, it does not depend on foreign regimes, it is not exposed to the vagaries of the global gas market. It is, in other words, the most autonomous … Read more

We have spent decades ignoring an organ because we believed it was useless. Now they have seen that it is crucial in our longevity

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In the center of the chest, just behind the breastbone, hides a small gland that has been systematically ignored by medicine when it comes to adult health: the thymus. Textbooks have long taught that this organ is vital in childhood to develop the immune system, but that It subsequently atrophies and turns into fat when we grow. But its role in the long run It’s not as irrelevant as we thought.. A turnaround. The paradigm that we were all taught at school has taken a big turn through a publication in Nature that has shown that the health of the thymus in adulthood not only matters, but is a determining factor in predicting how long we will live, the state of our cardiovascular health and also how we will respond to cancer. How it has been seen. The premise of this interesting study lies in a simple observation about people who did not have a thymus because it had been removed and the increase in mortality from all causes compared to those who have a healthy thymus. From here, a research team wanted to understand the true impact of a “sleeping” organ through different CT scans to calculate the thymic health of different people. The system analyzed the images of numerous people, including data from the National Lung Screening Trialwhich had more than 25,000 patients. By crossing the status of the thymus with the medical history and longevity of each individual, the results were so overwhelming that the researchers themselves they confessed It was the first time they had seen such spectacular results, since no one expected such a small organ to have such a clinical impact. Reduces mortality. This study has intensively analyzed the function of this gland in large groups of adults to discover that maintaining good thymic health is directly associated with lower overall mortality. But surprisingly, the study links having a healthy thymus with a lower incidence of cardiovascular mortality In oncology. This is where the finding takes on a revolutionary clinical dimension, since the data show a clear correlation between a healthy thymus and a lower incidence of lung cancer. But we can go further by pointing out that patients who undergo immunotherapy and have a healthy thymus respond greatly to the treatment, and even have a lower risk of suffering from cancer again. Preventive medicine. With this evidence, “thymic health” is positioned to become a very important parameter in the field of personalized medicine to gain insight into how a patient may accept a treatment. But in addition, monitoring its degradation could allow medicine to anticipate autoimmune diseases in those people who already have a higher risk. Images | kjpargeter in Magnific In Xataka | There are people who are 100 years old, but have an immune system of 30: a new study reveals how they manage to avoid cancer

China has started a battle against the US and Japan that no one is talking about. And it is crucial to winning the chip war

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In the semiconductor war that the US and China are fighting Companies that specialize in the manufacture of photolithography equipment tend to attract attention, such as ASML; those that design the chips, such as NVIDIA or AMD; and the companies that produce them, such as TSMC or Samsung. However, in this complex network there are other much less known companies that also play an essential role in the integrated circuit industry. One of them is the Japanese company JSR Corporation. This entity is one of the industrial strongholds of Japan. And it is because it supplies its photoresist liquids to most of the semiconductor manufacturers that produce cutting-edge chips, helping to sustain Japan’s leadership in a very important area that usually goes unnoticed: that of the manufacture of advanced materials to produce integrated circuits. For China to have its own advanced photoresist liquids in your path to total independence of its chip industry is crucial, so its plan involves break Japan’s monopoly in no more than five years. China prepares to intimidate Japan The photolithography equipment designed and produced by ASML is responsible, very roughly, for transferring the geometric pattern described by the mask with great precision to the surface of the silicon wafer. In this area we can observe the pattern as the “drawing” that delimits the distribution of the transistors, the connections and the other elements that make up an integrated circuit. Before transferring the geometric pattern to the wafer, it is necessary to pour a liquid capable of absorbing light and preserving the pattern on it. However, before reaching this very important step, it is necessary to subject the wafers to a process known as deposition. It usually involves equipment manufactured by Tokyo Electron or Applied Materials. Its purpose is prepare silicon wafers for the transfer of the geometric pattern by depositing a very thin layer of material on them. Depending on the type of chip being manufactured, it will be necessary to use one material or another. One of the most used deposition techniques is known as oxidation, and consists of taking advantage of the ability of silicon to form a very thin layer of oxide when reacting with water. Its purpose is to protect the transistors and other chip components from external contamination. However, before transferring the geometric pattern to the wafer using lithography equipment, it is necessary to pour a liquid capable of absorbing light and preserving the pattern on it. This is the function of the photoresist fluid. During the last two decades, all companies specialized in the production of photoresist materials have been Japanese. In fact, Japan has since then the monopoly of this marketwhich is currently led by JSR Corporation. For the US, one of its main allies should lead this market not a problembut the possibility of China developing the capacity to produce its own advanced photoresist materials on its path to cutting-edge chip manufacturing is an issue. The Chinese government knows that photoresist production is a critical bottleneck, which is why its latest five-year plan has set out to resolve it. Xuzhou B&C Chemical, which is one of the leading photoresist materials manufacturers in China, anticipates that in at most five years will have the capacity to produce large-scale advanced KrF photoresists (Krypton Fluoride) and ArF (Argon Fluoride). Precisely this last material is commonly used in nodes equipped with deep ultraviolet (UVP) lithography equipment. However, the great challenge facing China is the development of photoresists suitable for the production of integrated circuits in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) nodes. We will see what achievements it achieves over the next five years. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | SCMP In Xataka | Japan takes the lead with nuclear fusion and sets an extremely ambitious date: the 2030s

Crucial was the gateway to the world of the PC for millions of users. AI has just put an end to its story

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Many users remember the moment when they decided to build or improve their first computer: the search for a fast SSDa RAM kit and the feeling that the PC world was within anyone’s reach. That vision, extended for almost thirty years, is now going through a turning point. The explosion of artificial intelligence has altered the balance of the memory business and has pushed suppliers like Micron to make decisions that would have seemed unthinkable a short time ago. Micron just announced that it will stop selling consumer products under the Crucial brand. The company announced that it will continue to ship memory modules and storage units until the end of its second fiscal quarter, in February 2026, and that it will maintain warranty service for devices already in the hands of users. In parallel, it will continue to operate its business catalog with Micron products for commercial customers. The announcement came accompanied by a precise explanation: the company wants to prioritize attention to segments where demand is growing more quickly. The message of Sumit Sadana, executive vice president of Micron Technology. “AI-driven growth in data centers has driven a surge in demand for memory and storage. Micron has made the difficult decision to exit Crucial’s consumer business to improve supply and support to our largest strategic customers in higher growth segments.” The brand that grew with the home PC. Since its launch in 1996, Crucial was presented as Micron’s branch dedicated to memory and storage upgrades for the home user. Over the years, the brand entered more categories, such as memory cards and external drives. Its constant presence in physical stores and online distributors helped establish it as a household name in the components market. That 29-year trajectory is what is now behind us with Micron’s decision. The pressure of AI on memory. The rise of AI computing has generated unprecedented demand for memory, especially from HBM, used in accelerators from NVIDIA, AMD and other companies. This type of components requires complex manufacturing processes and absorbs a large part of the manufacturers’ capacity, that concentrate resources on meeting business contracts. Fewer options for mounting and expanding PCs. After years of presence in the consumer channel, Crucial leaves a gap that mainly affects the variety of the available catalog. Although there are still alternatives, the departure of a supplier with such a constant presence means fewer options when choosing memory modules or storage units. The price of RAM memory, increasing. Crucical’s farewell occurs at a time when the price of RAM has skyrocketed 300% since September. And, at least according to data from the consultancy TrendForce, everything seems to indicate that the increase in the cost of computer modules is far from over. Images | Micron | Nathan Anderson In Xataka | The war to dethrone NVIDIA has just begun: Amazon and Google are already armed

Drastically reduce the consumption of data centers is crucial for AI. And China has had an idea: to submerge them in the sea

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China is About to submerge a data center In the sea, near Shanghai, as a solution to a problem that we will gradually begin to see more: Great energy consumption of the AI. The installation, which will come into operation in mid -October, is one of the first commercial projects of this type in the world and points to a new way of cooling servers without depending on traditional cooling systems that devour electricity. The background problem. Data centers are the backbone of the Internet and AI, but They generate huge amounts of heat. Keeping them refrigerated by air conditioning or evaporation of water consumes a brutal amount of energy, and with the rise of artificial intelligence, the demand of these facilities has shot. China seeks to reduce the carbon footprint of this critical infrastructure, and its commitment It goes through sinking it underwater. How it works. The yellow capsule that They have built Near Shanghai houses servers that remain cold thanks to the ocean currents, without the need for active cooling systems. According to Yang Ye, vice president of Highlander, the maritime company that develops the project with state companies, “underwater operations have inherent advantages” and can save approximately 90% of the energy for refrigeration. The installation will extract almost all its electricity from nearby marine wind farms, with more than 95% renewable energy. The technical challenges. Putting servers under the sea is not easy. They must be protected from the corrosion of salt water, for which they use a special coating with glass scales on the steel capsule. Also They have installed An elevator that connects the main structure with a section that remains on the water, allowing the access of maintenance equipment. Another challenge is to build the Internet connection between the Submarine and Tierra Firme Center, a more complex process than with conventional facilities. Universities researchers in Florida and Japan They have warned In addition to these centers could be vulnerable to attacks by sound waves driven by water. Environmental doubts. Although the project promises to reduce emissions, questions remain about its ecological impact. The heat emitted by servers could alter the surrounding marine ecosystem, attracting some species and driving others. Andrew Want, marine ecologist from Hull University, Point out That “these are unknown aspects at this time, sufficient research is not yet being carried out.” Highlander says that an independent 2020 evaluation on its test project in Zhuhai indicated that the water remained well below the acceptable temperature thresholds, but Shaolei Ren, an expert from the University of California in Riverside, warns That climbing these centers will also climb the heat emitted. There are few precedents. Microsoft tested this technology off the coast of Scotland in 2018, recovering the capsule in 2020 after declaring that The project had been completed successfully. However, he never marketed it. The Chinese project advances with the support of government subsidies: Highlander received 40 million yuan for A similar project in the province of Hainan in 2022, which is still operational. The installation of Shanghai will serve clients such as China Telecom and a state computing company of AI. What comes now. Experts agree that these underwater centers will probably not replace the traditional ones, but will complement the existing infrastructure in specific niches. According to Rencurrent projects seek to demonstrate “technological viability”, but much remains to be resolved before a massive deployment. What is clear is that, if these types of projects face all technological challenges and manage to greatly reduce the energy consumed of the data centers, it will be a great point in favor for the company that manages to provide its solution in the AI ​​race. Cover image | AFP In Xataka | China was the great pollut the planet: now it is emerging as the first “electrostate” in history

US and China governments threaten their survival in a crucial market

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China is a very important market for Nvidia. During the last fiscal year, which expired on January 26, 2025, this Asian country represented approximately 13% of total income of the company led by Jensen Huang with a figure of some 17,000 million dollars. In Chinese practice it is the third best client of this company only behind the US and Taiwan, but The steps that the Trump administration is taking They threaten their survival in this market. In the middle of last April the US Department of Commerce imposed new restrictions to the export to China of the GPU for artificial intelligence (AI) H20what in practice caused this chip to stop arriving at the Chinese clients of this company. After weeks of negotiations, and even several “face to face” between Donald Trump and Jensen Huang, Nvidia has made the Department of Commerce allow her to re -give her Chinese clients her H20 chip. However, this permission has not left for free: hereinafter will deliver to the US government 15% of income which will obtain in China for the sale of this and other GPU. AMD has run this same luck, so there is no doubt that this Trump administration strategy establishes an unpublished precedent by forcing some US companies to deliver to the State a percentage of their sales income in another country. Nvidia has been dealing with Sale prohibitions in China Of most of his chips for AI, and has now been forced to fit this new blow. The US government ensures that he is protecting his interests and the security of the nation, but along the way he is also promoting that China develop their own technology at a vertigo speed. It is a full -fledged form of Autoboicot. The loss of confidence of the Chinese government has fired Nvidia alarms The future of Nvidia in China is largely in the hands of the administration of the cyberspace of China, known as CAC for its English denomination (Cyberspace Administration of China). This institution is the main Internet regulatory body in China and is thoroughly investigating NVIDIA H20 GPU Because it suspects that this chip could incorporate a back door of difficult location by Chinese experts. If so, the possibility of China to use this GPU could be possible. David reber Jr., Nvidia Security Director, published last week An article in the blog of this company entitled “There are no rear doors in the Nvidia chips. There are no deactivation switches. There are no spy software” in an obvious attempt to defend the company’s reputation and appease the growing distrust to which he faces in China. There is a lot at stake. If the final resolution of the CAC turns out to be unfavorable with all probability NVIDIA will lose a good part of the income currently obtained in this country. If the final resolution of the CAC turns out to be unfavorable with all probability NVIDIA will lose a good part of the income obtained in China However, this is not all. Whatever the CAC verdict is a fact that the Chinese government He is urging Chinese companies that are dedicated to the development of large models of AI to use in their servers integrated circuits of Chinese origin. In this scenario their best bazas are now Huawei and Moore Threads. The first of these companies has lists its own GPU for iathe chips ascend AI, for more than five years. During this period of time it has been refining them and increasing their abilities with the purpose of matching or even overcoming the performance of the chips A100 and H100 of Nvidia. His most ambitious proposal right now is the chip Ascend 910dwhich seeks to overcome the performance of the H100 GPU. However, this Chinese company has also recently presented its chip Ascend 920a solution that is clearly destined to occupy in the Chinese market The H20 GPU space. This proposal will enter large -scale production during the second half of 2025 using 6 NM integration technology that have presumably developed elbow with Huawei elbow and SMIC. On the other hand, Moore Threads He has developed several GPU for AI applications that, on paper, rivaize some of the advanced solutions that have placed in the Nvidia, AMD or Huawei market. The MTT S4000 and MTT S3000 cards are its most interesting proposals right now, although, curiously, in its porpholio the MTT S80 card, a proposal for games and content creation that, according to Moore Threads itself, has a 14.4 TFLOPS calculation capacity also appears in Floating Coma operations of simple precision. It doesn’t impress, but it’s not bad at all. Image | Gage Skidmore | Wikipedia In Xataka | Ten Chinese companies in Chips and IA have allied with a common goal: to put an end to the domain of Nvidia

China is matching the West in a lot of technologies, but has already overcome something more crucial: research

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Two years ago, in spring 2023, Springer Nature Editorial announced an expected Sorpasso. China had surpassed the United States in the Nature Indexan index created to measure the contribution to the scientific production of countries and institutions. It has been time for that and everything indicates that Chinese science, far from loosening the passage, has increased its distance from its main competitor. Solo leader. The last review of Nature Index Research Leadersthe “classification” based on the index prepared by the editorial responsible for the magazine Natureis A new test of the consolidation of Chinese institutions as a key piece in the global scientific research model. According to those responsible for the index, China achieved in 2024 an index of 32,122, a 17% increase Regarding the previous year, consolidating a first position that he achieved two years ago. From the company that elaborates the index it is also highlighted that the Asian country has eight institutions among the 10 most outstanding worldwide. Evaluating global science. After China and the United States, two European countries occupy the Third and fourth positionrespectively, Germany and the United Kingdom. Asian countries are also consolidated in the national “top 10”, with four countries represented (in addition to China, Japan, South Korea and India), matching the four Europeans in these head positions. The Chinese Academicia opens the List of institutions most outstanding scientists, followed by Harvard University and by the University of Science and Technology of China. The first Spanish institution that we can find in this ranking It is the Higher Council for Scientific Research, the CSIC. Nature Index. But what exactly is this index? He Nature Index It is an index Based on the contributions of scientists attached to various research institutions (whether public, private or companies). These contributions are measured through articles published in a sample of various high -impact scientific journals. Beyond Covid. In 2023 We pointed out That the leadership of Chinese science owed the work done by Chinese institutions in the fight against COVID, for example in the identification and sequencing of the virus some of its variants. However, we also pointed out that this advance also responded to a trend that had already been occurring since before the pandemic. After five years of the pandemic, the data seems to confirm the weight of this ascending trend beyond the situation of the pandemic. An ascent that is exclusive to this Asian giant but is also shared by other countries of the continent, such as South Korea and India, which saw increase in several percentage points (4.1% and 2% respectively) its contribution. This promotion of fact allowed South Korea to overcome Canada, standing in seventh position in this global classification of countries with the highest contribution to science. Tenth place. And what about Spain? The index of Nature Place Spain In thirteenth place in the global, sixth classification among the countries of Europe. Spanish science would be between Italian and Dutch, exactly the same as two years ago. The index in Spanish institutions. We pointed out at the beginning that the CSIC led the Spanish contribution to world science. The contribution of this public institution occupies a leading first place since its index (218) bends to the index of the second institution in the ranking National, the University of Barcelona (86), which is in position 245 in the ranking global. The third position at the national level is held by Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST). In Xataka | European science becomes serious: Eurofusion and CERN will work together in nuclear fusion and new collider Image | Julia Koblitz

In its darkest time Intel is receiving a crucial economic support from its best client: China

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China is the largest market in which Intel is present. During the fiscal year of 2024 29% of its turnover Proceeded from this Asian countrycompared to 24% of the US. And is that of the 53,100 million dollars that This company entered last year nothing less than 15,400 million arrived from China. These figures reflect very clearly how important the country led by Xi Jinping for Intel is. And also how sensitive it is to the geopolitical context. In fact, SANCTIONS TO CHINA That the US government has deployed during the last two years have prevented this veteran company from selling its most advanced chips to its Chinese clients. Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom or Qualcomm has happened to them, but Intel is at a very delicate moment. Of the economic crisis facing We have spoken in depth In other articles. And, in addition, it can be aggravated by the commercial war that the US and China is currently. Mature chips are helping Intel to survive in China The company founded by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce in 1968 does not design and manufactures only PC microprocessors, GPU for games and games artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum processors. An important part of the Intel business is supported by the commercialization of relatively old integrated circuits that come from their mature lithography nodes. They are not at all avant -garde semiconductors, but they are still necessary. At the current situation of tension between the US and China for this last country, these mature integrated circuits are crucial At the current tension situation between the US and China for this last country, these mature integrated circuits are crucial. Chinese chip designers and manufacturers are capable of supply your own market with The mature chips you need Appliances manufacturers, telecommunications or cars equipment, among other industries. However, many users, research centers and universities in China continue to use software for X86 and X86-64 processors, so at the moment they cannot do without the CPUs designed to execute it. Intel is currently benefiting from this need. And is that, according to ReutersChina is promoting in a very important way the demand for its oldest microprocessors for personal computers and servers. It is evident that in current circumstances this demand represents a very valuable fresh air breath for Intel, although a predictable future exchange of tariffs between the US and China in the field of integrated circuits could greatly degrade this business segment. We will see what happens, but there is no doubt about one thing: China continues to be very important for Intel. Image | Intel More information | Reuters In Xataka | Intel has confirmed that the 20A node will be skipped to reduce expenses. The 18A node will enter production in 2025

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