decades

Nuclear energy has generated electricity for decades. China is reinventing it for something else: the industry

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For decades, nuclear power plant cooling towers symbolized one thing: electricity. However, off the coast of Jiangsu province, China has just begun a maneuver that will change the usefulness of fission. It’s no longer just about turning on light bulbs; It is about feeding, with clean steam, the voracious thermal heart of heavy industry. The first concrete of a new era. According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)the first concrete was poured for the nuclear island of Unit 1 of the Xuwei project. This act is not just another procedure, it is the first nuclear project to break ground in the inaugural year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, symbolizing a strategic shift towards diversified energy applications. The project, developed by CNNC Suneng Nuclear Power, is strategically located near the Lianyungang petrochemical hub, an area that requires a staggering 13,000 tons of steam every hour to maintain its operations. The concept of the super boiler. Xuwei’s great innovation lies in its technical architecture. As explained by Global Timesthe project is the first in the world to couple two different generations of reactors to maximize thermal efficiency: The Hualong One (Generation III): Two units of this pressurized water reactor (PWR) provide the base heat to convert demineralized water to saturated steam. The High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR – Generation IV): This unit acts as a “super boiler”. The steam produced by the Hualong One is superheated a second time by the primary steam of the HTGR, reaching the necessary extreme temperatures. for complex chemical processes such as petroleum refining, distillation and cracking petrochemical. This “double coupling” system allows, according to NucNetthat the plant will be useful for applications ranging from refining to desalination and steel production, sectors that have traditionally depended exclusively on fossil fuels. Cleaner than coal. The urgency of this project responds to a critical climate need. The petrochemical industry is one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize due to its constant heat demand. The figures provided by CNNC yvsupported by media such as World News Nuclear They are compelling: once the first phase is operational, the plant will supply 32.5 million tons of industrial steam per year. This will reduce standard coal consumption by 7.26 million tons and avoid the emission of 19.6 million tons of CO2 annually. Advances in cutting-edge technology. To manage the complexity of joining two very different types of reactors, Chinese engineers have turned to Artificial Intelligence and robotics. The design team used hierarchical digital simulations to create the system’s control logic, allowing heat and electricity to be balanced based on grid and industry demand. In the field of construction, progress is not minor. Li Quan, project manager, explained to Global Times that automatic metal active gas (MAG) welding systems with intelligent laser tracking are being used, a technology three times more efficient than manual welding. In addition, they emphasize that the localization rate of equipment (100% Chinese technology) exceeds 95%, promoting a national high-tech supply chain. Towards a global standard? Beyond its borders, China sees Xuwei as an export model. The CNNC has described the project as a “Chinese solution” for the low-carbon transformation of energy-intensive industries around the world. The goal is to demonstrate that heavy industrial development does not have to be tied to coal smokestacks. This move aligns with the 2025 white paper titled “China’s plans and solutions for carbon neutrality”which advocates for safe and orderly development of nuclear energy not only for the electrical gridbut for clean heating and desalination. The European contrast. While China is betting on nuclear energy to power heavy industry, in Europe the approach to waste heat is taking a digital path. Cities like Helsinki are finding an unexpected source of heat: data centers. As we have explained in Xatakacompanies like Telia or Microsoft are recovering up to 90% of the heat generated by their servers to inject it into district heating networks (district heating). A single data center in Finland can heat up to 20,000 homes. Although the scale is different – ​​China seeks heat to make steel and plastics, while Finland seeks shelter for its citizens – the philosophy is identical: in a world in climate crisis, wasting heat is a luxury that no one can afford anymore. Both models demonstrate that the energy transition depends on taking advantage of every calorie produced, whether it comes from a uranium core or an artificial intelligence processor. The end of thermal waste. The start of work in Xuwei marks a turning point. As the CNNC analysis concludesthe project is a “strong and clear beat” towards deep decarbonization. China is trying to show that nuclear power is the missing piece of the puzzle to reconcile mass industrial production with net-zero emissions goals. If Xuwei’s model is successful, the image of the nuclear power plant as an isolated island that only produces electricity will become history. The future of the atom seems to lie, rather, in its ability to become the invisible “heat engine” of modern civilization. Image | CNNC Xataka | In Finland they already know how to deal with excess heat from data centers: convert it into district heating

We have been telling ourselves for decades that we have the Internet thanks to military research. The problem is that it is false

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It is difficult to imagine that something as impressive as the Internet could be summarized just over 40 years ago in a single page. The map of germ of the internet, ARPANETtook up no more than a DIN A4 sheet of paper and reflected the less than 50 computers that at the beginning of the Internet were connected to each other. But even more curious is the story of how ARPANET was born, which may not be as you have been told. It all happened almost midnight on October 29, 1969, in a small room at the University of California (UCLA), and with a message that only said “it“. The true origin Search the Internet about its history (from the Internet itself), and you will find that the most common thing is to talk about its military origin. Technically it is correct since ARPANET was developed by the ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), an institution that depended on the US Department of Defense. But the reasons were not military even though One of the minds behind some of the ideas that helped create ARPANET, Paul Baran, worked precisely with the motivation that cold war between the US and the USSR would not end with a blockade and destruction of the communications and control structures of the US army in the event of a nuclear attack. You will indeed find many references to this idea, which results in a story that makes for an entertaining movie. hollywood but in reality it was not exactly with that motivation that ARPANET was born. In the 1960s, within ARPA there was the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO), at that time focused on taking full advantage of computers within the administration. Robert Taylor, one of the fathers of the Internet, began his career as director of the IPTO in 1966, and proposed to the then director of ARPA the possibility of connecting computers together to optimize their use. With this structure of networked computers (an idea that he took from the previous works of JCR Lickliderpioneer in 1962 by proposing the possibility of interconnecting equipment with each other) the ARPA could better manage your budget for computers and not distribute efforts uselessly but concentrate them on a few but very powerful computers connected to each other which would allow resources and results to be shared between researchers and centers. “lo”, first message between computers on the network Taylor was not limited to the resource of sharing computers and results between centers as an advantage of his ARPANET. If the idea worked, the agency was ensuring that it could use more computer models of different types without the compatibility or use of terminals to access them being a nightmare, while at the same time allowing the creation of protection against failures, so that with the non-centralized network structure proposed, if one computer failed, the others could continue working. Taylor’s initial proposal consisted of a test network with four nodes that they could expand if the results proved them right. ARPANET was born. The Internet was on the way. If you are passing through California, a recommended visit is in room 3420 Boelter Hall at the University (UCLA). Do not look for it as such because after being forgotten and until its use as a common room, it was recently restored and became part of the Kleinrock Center for Internet Studies (KCIS). Much of the history and documents are concentrated there (there is no waste of original presentation of ARPANET) and equipment that allowed the first node to be established between computers. But it’s actually a fantastic tribute to Leonard Kleinrocka professor who in 1969, right from that small room at the university, sent the first message on ARPANET. It was 10:30 at night on October 29, 1969 when, from the SDS Sigma 7 computer in said room, Professor Kleinrock sent the LOGIN message to the SDS 940 computer at the Stanford Research Institute, the computer with which he was connected in a basic way. The message remained a curious “lo” since there was a transmission failureand it was not until an hour later that the initial transmission could be completed. The first connection had occurred between the first two computers within the ARPANET. Two weeks later there were 4 interconnected teams, and in two years, almost seventy. And no one could stop this revolution. In Xataka | In 1995 ‘Toy Story’ forever changed the way animated films are made. He did it with rudimentary computers In Xataka | In 1969, humans set foot on the Moon for the first time. He did it thanks to a computer less powerful than your cell phone

invest a million in an infrastructure that has been ruined for decades

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The capture of Nicolás Maduro by US forces has left to Donald Trump’s administration as de facto “guardian” of the richest oil sector —and at the same time more punished. In this new geopolitical board, Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz was selected to participate in a key meeting in the East Room of the White House along with other oil giants. According to BloombergRepsol is now seeking urgent licenses to resume the export of crude oil, an activity that was frozen after the trade embargo of March 2025. The slogan so that Repsol can fulfill its strategic plan and take its business to the stock market upstream (exploration and production) on Wall Street, needs its Venezuelan assets to stop being a risk accounting entry and become real barrels. Resuscitate a “broken” industry. During the meeting, Trump has asked the oil companies a joint investment of 100 billion dollars to revive an obsolete industry. But the infrastructure it’s so deteriorated that the state-owned PDVSA has gone so far as to dismantle oil pipelines to sell the metal as scrap. Even so, as RTVE has explainedRepsol has promised to triple its production, going from 45,000 to 135,000 barrels per day within three years. titanic challenge. Venezuelan crude oil is “extra heavy”, thick as tarand arrives at the refineries “dirty”, loaded with salt and metals. Only companies with historical roots such as Repsol (present in the country since 1993) have the know-how to process this “heavy food.” But the problem is not just oil. 90% of what Repsol produces in the La Perla field It’s natural gasa resource that powers 33% of Venezuela’s electricity supply. Without Repsol gas, the country goes out; But for this gas to be profitable and exportable, the company needs to build liquefaction plants that simply do not exist today. “Pragmatism in the face of the Trump environment”. To facilitate the disembarkation, Washington has declared a “national emergency” that allows the US Treasury to shield Venezuelan oil revenues in US accounts. This measure, qualified by Expansion like an unprecedented movementseeks to prevent funds from being confiscated by the thousands of creditors waiting at the door, offering the “total security” that Trump promised executives. While Repsol declares itself “ready to invest strongly,” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods threw a cold bucket of water on the White House itself. According to the Financial TimesWoods affirmed that Venezuela remains “uninvestable” without drastic changes in the legal framework and recalled that its assets were confiscated twice in the past. On the horizon. Repsol walks through a financial minefield. Still carries a property debt of 330 million euros from PDVSA. Furthermore, Financial Times warns that competitors like Chevron have an advantage due to their close personal relationship with Trump and for having maintained constant operations under special licenses during the years of the embargo. Added to this is the warning from analyst Ron Bousso in Reuters: Trump has suggested that companies should “forget” past debts to start on a “level playing field.” For Repsol, this could mean definitively giving up collecting what was lost under Chavismo in exchange for maintaining its future exploitation rights. A final bet. The company must decide whether to bury billions in rebuilding fossil infrastructure in a world clamoring for the energy transition. The “hole” of 1,160 million euros in Spain’s trade deficit with Venezuela It is just the symptom of a dangerous dependency. Venezuela is still the largest gas station in the world, but today it is a facility in ruins. Repsol’s success will no longer depend only on its technical expertise in the Quiriquire or La Perla fields, but on its ability to dance to the rhythm set by Washington in a reconstruction that, according to expertscould take decades to complete. Image | Repsol Xataka | Getting hold of Venezuela’s immense oil reserves seems like a “bargain.” It’s actually an engineering nightmare.

We had been looking for an alternative to cement for decades. We just found it in seashells

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The search for construction elements that move away from classic materials such as steel, concrete or cement makes sense from different fronts ranging from economics to sustainability through technical limitations. Without going any further, we can already see skyscrapers made of wood and some even compete to be the tallest in the world. Yes, wood is proposed as a serious alternative, but you can also give a twist to cement as we know it with a new old acquaintance: the shells on the beach. From waste to concrete ingredient. Seashells that are normally treated as waste can become a kind of substitute for the cement used for concrete, as a published study by the University of East London has concluded. in Construction Materials magazine. In fact, they can act both as a filling material and as a partial substitute for cement. Thus, microstructural analysis revealed that the shells, which are rich in calcium, help refine the porous structure of the concrete and promote the formation of additional binding compounds, that is, it even provides additional benefits in terms of performance. under the microscope. Scallop shells are composed by a range of 95 to 99% calcium carbonate (like limestone, the raw material for cement) presented in two crystalline forms, calcite and aragonite. The other 1-5% is the organic fraction, which serves as cement to bind the calcium crystals. The shells are a sort of biogenic limestone, chemically compatible with cement, which is still a hydraulic binder of limestone and clay. Up to 36% less cement. The process is also quite “simple”: grinding scallop shells to turn them into a fine powder suitable to replace part of the cement mixture. How much? Up to 36% without substantially altering the characteristics of the concrete. Why is it important. The partial replacement of cement with a natural waste material such as shells is an unexpected and novel solution to reduce the environmental impact of cement, currently responsible for approximately 7% of global carbon emissions. This percentage is so high not only because of the fuel required to heat the furnaces, but also because of the chemistry of the process itself. In fact, already has been experimented with ecological mortar. The person responsible for the study, the associate professor of Structural Engineering at the UEL and doctor Ali Abass contributes more context: “Concrete is everywhere and, consequently, its carbon footprint is enormous.” Regarding its applicability beyond the study, Abass is optimistic: “At moderate levels of substitution, concrete performs very well, meaning this solution could be scaled in real-world environments.” In addition, two problems are solved at once: “Millions of tonnes of shell waste are generated around the world every year, and most of it has no useful destination. If we can divert even a fraction into low-emission building materials, the environmental benefits could be significant. It’s a simple idea with real potential to transform part of the sector.” A giant step towards more sustainable construction. In short, the use of shells would allow us to cut significant amounts of CO₂ from one of the most polluting materials in the world and move towards more sustainable construction. In the absence of future industrial trials to support large-scale reliability, its adoption potential is notable, especially at a time of increasing calls for stricter environmental standards and scrutiny over carbon footprint calculations. In Xataka | Bloc is a brick that promises to lower the temperature around it by almost 10 degrees: its technology is that of the botijo In Xataka | In our battle against plastic, we have centrifuged bacteria. And its cellulose is postulated as the ideal substitute Cover | Rodolfo Quiros and Pok Rie

We have been obsessed with Japan for decades to understand people who live over 100 years. The key was in Brazil

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For decades, when science was searching for secrets of aginghe always looked in the same places: Japan’s “Blue Zones”Sardinia or the icy and homogeneous populations of northern Europe. However, researchers have pointed out that all this time we have been ignoring a biological gold mine: Brazil. The study. Understanding why there are people who live to be over one hundred years of age is undoubtedly an objective of science to to be able to unlock possible therapies in the future that will extend our lives much longer. Since it is curious that in specific areas such as Japan the population ages far beyond the normal average, being a mystery to science (although the reasons are already gone). The latest research on the matterpublished on January 6 in Genomic Psychiatry, has identified a genetic mix in the South American country that could contain protective variants invisible in more uniform populations. The Brazilian superhumans. The study, led by geneticists Mayana Zats and Mateus Vidigal de Castro, is based on the analysis of a group of more than 160 centenarians and at least 20 supercentenarians, who They are those people who are over 110 years old. Among these people, some quite relevant figures stand out, such as Sister Inah, who reached the age of 116, and several of the oldest men in the world, according to the LongeviQuest Atlas. But what really makes this group of people who have been analyzed by researchers special is not their age, but their biological resilience. Its biological resistance. The researchers’ main thesis is that the intense Brazilian miscegenation, fruit of centuries of interaction between indigenous populationsPortuguese colonizers, enslaved people of African origin and European and Japanese immigrants, has created a unique genomic diversity. By analyzing this genetic “breeding ground”, scientists have identified millions of variants that do not appear in large international biobanks. The hypothesis suggests that this mixture allows protective variants to emerge that are practically invisible in homogeneous populations. It is, in essence, a search for the genes of resilience in an environment of maximum diversity. COVID resistance. Without a doubt, it is one of the most fascinating examples of this history, since before the arrival of vaccines, three supercentenarians of the study they managed to survive the disease. By analyzing their immune response, the researchers found a concentration of cells related to innate defense that was very efficient. In this way, it was seen that individuals not only live longer, but also have a defense system capable of neutralizing threats that are lethal to people decades younger. Something that seems to be related to an increase in biological processes related to autophagy, that is, the ability of some cells to literally clean the body of harmful components. What was already known. This paradigm shift connects with previous works such as those done by researcher Manel Esteller on the epigenetic profile of the Spanish María Branyasthe oldest Spanish person of all time. In this case, what was done was to understand the “biological clock” of longevity in Europe. Now, the Brazilian project expands the map into the unknown. By sequencing entire genomes in this mixed-race population, scientists have discovered some eight billion undescribed variants, many of which could have a functional impact on how we age and how our cells withstand the test of time. Towards the future. The study of Brazilian supercentenarians is not only a matter of biographical curiosity about who holds the age record, but a critical step towards genomic medicine of the future. By understanding how the mixture of ancestors can concentrate protective factors against degenerative or infectious diseases, science is getting closer to discovering whether there is a biological “formula” for longevity that can be translated into therapies for the rest of the population. Brazil, with its genetic mosaic, is demonstrating that the most complex answers to our survival could be written in the genes of those who, against all odds, have seen more than a century of history pass by. Images | Unsplash In Xataka | The change of year has a weapon to slow down your aging: a list of New Year’s resolutions

We have been obsessed with the Mediterranean diet for decades. Turns out the Nordics had a much better solution

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If we go back to 2009, many of us will remember a program known as The Deadliest Warrior (Deadliest Warrior). The premise was to pit two combatants from different eras against each other to see who would win in a duel to the death. Although on the screen we saw the Viking measure his axes against a Samurai, and the Gladiator against an Apache, we never got to see the direct duel between the colossus of the north and the warrior of the Mediterranean. That “fight of the century” was left hanging on television, but in the field of nutrition, the Roman side (the Mediterranean diet) has been the undefeated champion for decades. However, science has decided to simulate that combat in the laboratory in 2025, and this time the Viking’s ax has nipped Mediterranean leadership in the bud. According to the latest studies, the Nordics have a much better solution. A new discovery. Given that we live in the Mediterranean area, it seems impossible to do without olive oil and wheat. But, as nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner explains in National Geographica “cousin to the Mediterranean diet in colder climates” has emerged that is demonstrating surprising results. Originally created in 2004 by a committee of scientists and chefs—under the premise that health is not incompatible with gastronomic pleasure—the “new nordic diet” It does not seek longevity, but rather does so with a focus on local sustainability that the Mediterranean model often ignores outside its borders. The most recent milestone is the study published in Frontiers in Endocrinology. After analyzing a young and middle-aged population, researchers led by Abdelgawwad El-Sehrawy found that those who strictly follow the Baltic Sea dietary pattern have a 42% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If the strictest adherence index is used, protection rises to a staggering 52%. This finding is crucial because it shows that the benefits act as a preventive shield from youth, and not only in old age. A shield against modern diseases. The robustness of this diet is supported by an “artillery” of previous research that already pointed in this direction. As a 2024 study details published in Scientific Reportsthe Nordic diet is one of the best tools to combat non-alcoholic fatty liver, reducing its risk by 58%. Added to this is that the benefits do not remain in the metabolism. According to a 2022 meta-analysis published in Diabetology analyzed data from more than a million people, confirming that those who follow this lifestyle have a 26% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a 22% lower risk of premature death from any cause, and a 14% lower chance of dying from cancer. As Dr. David L. Katz states“all good diets are made up of real foods, mostly plants; the Nordic diet is a masterful variation on that same theme.” What does it mean to eat like a Nordic? Many will surely have thought that it would be something like “eating aranques every day”, but (happily) it is not like that. The mainstay is canola (rapeseed) oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids and more affordable than olive oil, along with: Whole grains: Rye, barley and oats (essential due to their low glycemic index). Forest fruits: Blueberries, raspberries and wild berries. Tubers and cruciferous vegetables: Beets, carrots, cauliflower and cabbage. Fatty fish: Salmon, mackerel and herring. Fermented dairy: Like skyr or kefir. Beyond diet. One of the points to highlight about the diet is that, according to research by British Journal of Nutrition, Women who followed the Nordic diet reached old age with significantly greater physical performance, easily passing walking and strength tests. The Nordic diet has an ‘inevitable’ side effect: weight loss. And it does this by hacking the feeling of hunger. The NORDIET study put to the test to subjects with high cholesterol and the result was a drop in weight and blood pressure without the stress of measuring each gram. But the most compelling data came from the NND trial. in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Participants with abdominal obesity lost an average of 4.7 kg by eating on demand, without quantity restrictions. Compared to the few kilos lost by those who followed a normal diet, the Nordic system appears to be much more efficient. A solution for everyone. What the north teaches us is that health is not the exclusive property of one geography. As dietician Joan Salge Blake points out,the success of this diet lies in its ability to add strength. It’s the mix of fiber, healthy oils and antioxidants that really matters, acting as a balm against inflammation. It is there, in that inflammation that fuels the diseases of our century, where the Nordic diet fights and wins its most important battle.” You don’t have to live in Oslo to benefit. The key, according to experts, is to prioritize whole foods, choose fatty fish (even if they are frozen or canned due to their affordability) and replace white bread with whole rye. The Nordics seem to have found the recipe for a long, strong and sustainable life. In 2025, the fight is over: the Viking knows how to take better care of himself. Image | Unsplash Xataka | Although it may not seem like it, chickens and pigs are not the most farm-raised animals. Prawns are

We have been failing with New Year’s resolutions for decades. Science says it’s because we don’t know how to “cheat”

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January starts with a predictable ritual: paying gym membership, fill the fridge with kale or buy paintbrushes for a new hobby. It is the “clean slate effect” that defines Professor Katy Milkman. Human beings do not perceive time linearly, but rather like chapters of a novel. The New Year is the “Black Friday” of new beginnings; a symbolic border that makes us believe that the “me” of last year—the one who didn’t know how to draw a line without looking like a preschooler—has finally died. In fact, 4,000 years ago the Babylonians they already made promises at the Akitu festival to appease their gods. The difference is that they sought to avoid divine wrath and we simply sought to avoid the guilt in the mirror. The autopsy of a failure foretold. Despite our enthusiasm, the statistics are devastating. According to the media Selphonly one in five people manages to stick to their long-term resolutions. Most of us throw in the towel before the month is over, because we always make the same mistake: wanting to be a different person overnight. We want to eat healthy, meditate, travel and be experts in some subject, all at the same time. The problem is that we focus obsessively on the result (losing 10 kilos) and not on the process (enjoying the taste of a new recipe). Added to this is what psychologist Kimberley Wilson describes how the danger of “forbidden words”. Using terms like “always” or “never” puts us in an “all or nothing” trap. If work gets complicated on a Wednesday and you can’t go to paint or eat a pizza, you feel like the entire year is a failure. It’s tunnel vision that ignores that life is, by definition, unpredictable. Furthermore, today we have a new enemy: metrics. As behavioral experts saywe have gone “from enjoyment to performance.” We no longer read for pleasure, but to update the counter. goodreads; We do not run for health, but to not break the streak of Strava. This culture of productivity applied to leisure turns our hobbies into a second working day. If the app says we haven’t complied, guilt appears. The science of “traps”: The method of temptation. What if the key to compliance was not military discipline, but rather being a little “cheatful”? Katy Milkman, behavior change expert, confesses her own trick in an interview with the Washington Post: he “temptation bundling” (temptation pairing). When he was a student, he hated exercising but loved Harry Potter. His solution was to allow himself to listen to the audiobooks of the saga only while he was at the gym. “It made me want to go to work out,” he explains. It’s basically using a guilty pleasure to “bribe” our brain into a healthy habit. This idea is complemented by the “Habit Stacking” (habit stacking). Instead of reaching for willpower you don’t have, “glue” your new purpose to something you already do automatically. Want to learn that paint stroke? Do a five-minute sketch right after your morning coffee. Want to finish that Pinterest scarf? Do ten rows while watching your favorite Netflix series. You don’t add effort, you just take advantage of the architecture of your current routine. Less “goals”, more “values”. From Harvard University, Dr. Aisha Usmani suggests that we see change as “shaping a sculpture”: It is done by removing pieces of stone little by little, not all at once. Cognitive science tells us that if you want to paint, don’t set out to do one canvas a day; Start with one a week. And above all, align your goals with your personal values, not with external pressure. If crochet stresses you, perhaps it does not respond to your value of “creativity”, but rather to an aesthetic imposition. According to Usmani, We must ask ourselves every day: “Is this still important to me?” If the answer is no, adjusting course is not failure, it is being flexible. Self-compassion as a strategy. We cannot forget the weight of the treatment we give to ourselves. As the psychologist Ángel Rull explains in his columnmany resolutions are born from “being fed up with oneself” and not from self-care. If you join the gym because you hate your body, there is a good chance you will quit. If you do it to feel more energetic, the commitment changes. Another interesting note is how we talk about our setbacks. A recent study highlights the difference between saying that we didn’t “have time” and that we didn’t “make time.” While the first sounds like an external excuse, the second implies active control over our agenda: if we didn’t do it today, we can decide to do it tomorrow. According to this research, focusing the cause of failure on external factors and not on our lack of will is the best lifesaver for our confidence. A more human 2026. In short, we are not computers that restart on January 1st. The real change is not about saturating our to-do list, but about transforming initial fatigue into real self-care. If this year you want to start lifting some weights or for your painting stroke to gain firmness, science gives you permission to be a strategist: combine effort with pleasure through temptation bundlingopt for small things—because a page read will always be better than an abandoned book—and accept that perseverance necessarily includes days of hiatus. In the end, perhaps the best resolution for this year is not to become an “optimized” version of ourselves, but to stop treating ourselves as a defective project that must be fixed by decree. The key to success this year lies not in military discipline, but in the ability to begin to see ourselves as someone who is simply trying to live with a little more presence, realistic tools and, above all, a little less guilt. Image | freepik Xataka | Neither board games nor karaoke: ‘Word on Beat’ is the new king of the living room and proof that we prefer rhythmic chaos

We have been believing for decades that wet hair makes us sick in winter. Science knows perfectly well that it is a lie

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“Don’t go out with wet hair or you’ll catch pneumonia” or “put on your coat or you’ll catch a cold” are very grandmotherly phrases that almost all of us have been told in our childhood and that have been burned into our brains. But the question we can ask ourselves: is this true? The reality is that not directly. The culprit. May we have a cold or flu It doesn’t exactly depend on the cold. The culprit in this case are infectious agents such as viruses, the most common being rhinovirus. The fact that this microscopic germ accesses our body and overcomes our defense barriers causes it to begin to replicate and generate its effect that In the long run it’s really annoying when accompanied by fever, cough and a host of other symptoms. In this way, the equation is quite simple: if there is no exposure to the virus, the external temperature is irrelevant. To understand it, if we put ourselves in the situation of going out to Antarctica with our hair soaked and naked, we would surely die of hypothermia, but we wouldn’t catch a cold unless a penguin sneezed rhinovirus on us. The same thing happens if we are in an environment completely isolated from viruses and at a very low temperature: no infection would occur. The experts. Just as it isExperts from the Mayo Clinic explain and disseminating pharmacistscold alone does not have the ability to spontaneously generate a pathogen. Cold is a physical condition, not a biological agent. And science has been trying to explain this for decades. One of the most cited and relevant studies is the one carried out by the University of Rochester where they separated volunteers into two groups. One of them was exposed to low temperature and cold conditions; the other was kept in a warm and comfortable environment. Subsequently, they were exposed to rhinovirus that causes colds. The result. In this way, it was seen that between the two groups there was no significant difference in the contagion of the virus or in the symptoms they presented. The group subjected to the cold did not have a harsher cold, so the factor in getting sick was solely and exclusively the virus. Getting sick in winter. It is a reality that when winter arrives the rates of people with colds or flu increase greatly, as we are seeing in Spain these days. This makes us think that the relationship really exists, whatever science says. And this is where we give a little point to ‘grandmother’s advice’. Science suggests that rhinoviruses they replicate better at the temperatures we usually have in our noseswhich ranges from 33 to 35 °C. But in addition, the cold temperature also causes our defenses to lower, so it is much easier for the virus to access our body and begin to spread in a much simpler way. And that’s why winter is where we see a higher rate of colds. Other factors. But he is not the only one. The social factor is also a big culprit, because when it is cold the truth is that it is better to be locked up at home with Netflix. But in these cases we would be in an interior space with little ventilation (because it is cold) and very close to other people. In this way, if a person has the virus, the probability of contagion skyrockets in a heated indoor place much more than in an open-air park at 5°C. Another point is the dry environment that exists at this time due to the cold outside and the indoor heating. This causes the nasal mucous membranes to dry out, which is a serious problem for the mucus, which is our first line of defense at the entrance to viruses and bacteria. If the mucosa is dry, its effectiveness decreases and facilitates the entry of pathogens. Wet hair. A special distinction must be made for this myth since today there is no evidence to justify a relationship between wet hair and an increase in viral infections. Going out with wet hair causes a great loss of body heat (since the head has a lot of vascularized surface), which generates notable thermal discomfort. This translates into a feeling of very cold, feeling cold and perhaps accompanied by a headache due to muscle tension derived from the cold, but the humidity on the scalp does not attract germs or facilitate infection. Images | Dmitriy Kievskiy Brittany Colette In Xataka | H5N1 bird flu unleashes a massacre in Antarctica: half of the female seals have already disappeared

Telefónica leaves Wall Street through the back door. Goodbye to almost four decades in the largest market in the world

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Telefónica has started the procedures to delist your shares from the New York Stock Exchangewhere it has been listed since 1987. The securities will stop trading on Wall Street in a matter of days once the documentation is filed with the SEC. The telecom will only maintain its listing in Madrid, in the Spanish continuous market. Why is it important. The movement closes a symbolic chapter that began when Telefónica became the first Spanish company to be listed on the largest market in the world. But the symbolism was left behind: today maintaining that presence involves high administrative costs and regulatory demands that no longer compensate. The trading volume in New York is residual and investor interest is practically non-existent. The context. Telefónica’s stock has fallen more than 90% in the last fifteen years. Its current valuation is on the floor, very far from that giant that in the nineties became the most valuable company in Spain. The dividend, which for years was the main attraction for conservative investors, has been successively cut, the last time this quarter. Buying in Madrid is more direct, cheaper and with the same liquidity as in New York, where securities are hardly traded. Between the lines. This decision fits into the strategic plan presented in November by Marc Murtra, focused on aggressively reducing costs. Telefónica has been lowering its blinds on all fronts: Sold subsidiaries throughout Latin America except Brazil. Reduced the dividend. Presented an ERE which is ending its negotiation phase. And now it is abandoning stock markets where being present no longer adds value. Also will stop trading in Lima. The figure. 4,554 departures are contemplated by the ERE that was agreed this Wednesday with the unions, 26% of the workforce in Spain. Cost savings are the obsession of the new management: 3 billion annually until 2030. Yes, but. Investors who have ADR certificates (American Depositary Receipts) will be able to exchange them for common shares in Spain or hold and trade them in US over-the-counter markets. Telefónica will provide both options, although it is evident that it prefers the first. The background. The exit from Wall Street is not an isolated or recent decision: The telecommunications sector has lost interest from investors, especially in Europe. It is a mature business, highly regulated, with tight margins and little ability to surprise. Telefónica today is a very different company from the one that debuted on Wall Street: smaller, more regional, more European. Its new strategy focuses on four markets (Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Brazil) and on consolidating itself as a reference operator with profitable scale, in addition to increasing its focus on technological solutions. Marking agenda. Wednesday’s day at the Distrito Telefónica offices north of Madrid was hectic. The contrast. When Telefónica went public in New York in 1987, it placed certificates worth $375 million, the largest influx of European capital on Wall Street up to that time. The telecom was then majority owned by the State and its debut was seen as a milestone of internationalization. Today it leaves unnoticed, recognizing that the regulatory burden and administrative costs of the SEC outweigh any benefits. Go deeper. The obligation to report detailed information to the SEC was useful at the time: thanks to it, data such as the price that STC or SEPI paid to enter the capital were known, information that the Spanish CNMV would never have required to reveal. But that level of transparency also has a cost, and Telefónica has decided that it is no longer worth paying for. In Xataka | The Government has had an idea so that the next blackout does not leave us without mobile data: let the operators pay Featured image | Telefónica, Lo Lo

For decades, the “00000” has fascinated Christmas Lottery players. The reason: the King’s Number

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All the Lottery numbers They have the same chance of winning the Christmas prize, but not all of them generate the same interest or are surrounded by the same halo of fascination. Perhaps one of the most enigmatic is the “00000”. And it is because the doubts it raisesquestions that resurface every December just like the nougats in the supermarkets, the perfume ads on TV or the LED lights in Vigo. Does it really exist? Can it be purchased? And above all… Is it true that it is the number that gives Lotteries and Betting from the State to the Royal House? There are those who are so sure of the latter that they even refer to “00000” as “The King’s Number”although (spoiler) it is not actually founded. Is 00000 played? Yeah. In the Christmas raffle they play 100,000 numbers different. From 00000 to 99,999. Both included. In fact, a quick search arrives to confirm that the first issue on the list has been sold this year in half a dozen of branches in Cádiz, Las Palmas, La Rioja, Valencia and Murcia. After all, there is nothing written about tastes (and superstitions): there are those who see 00000 as an ‘ugly’ number, a combination to avoid with little chance of receiving the jackpot, and those who bet their 20 euros on it as the winning horse. Have you ever played? No. Not at least if we’re talking about El Gordo or millionaire prizes, although that doesn’t make 00000 a special number either. Although the National Lottery traces its origins to 1812 (when the biggest prize amounted to 8,000 pesos) and the Christmas draw began to become popular 133 years agoin reality there are not so many numbers graced with El Gordo. That doesn’t mean that 00000 hasn’t made more than one person’s day (or Christmas). In 2014 he achieved a stones of 120 euros. It may not seem like a big deal, but that year the same administration in Logroño had sold 160 lucky tickets, leaving money in the pockets of its clients. 19,200 euros. In 1828 luck also happened to him. That year the lucky number was 00523. To many the figure may not be attractive because it is too ‘low’, but the truth is that the drums do not understand low or high numbers. Lotteries remember that Gordo touched figures between 0 and 10,000 61 times, 70 times to bills from 10,001 to 30,000 and 64 times to combinations ranging from 30,001 to 66,000. The King’s Number? One of the most famous myths about 00000 is that, precisely because it is the first in the numerical sequence, State Lotteries and Betting reserves a special destiny for it: a gift for the Royal House. You don’t have to look hard to find articles that remember a story that in reality is nothing more than that: a story, pure urban legend. “No. It is a baseless rumor. Institutionally, no tenth is given away,” they clarified already in 2011 from Lotteries to the newspaper ABC. It is not the only occasion in which he has had to deny the hoax. “No tenth with the number 00000 is given to the king for the Christmas draw,” insist to RTVE. The best proof is that the tenths of 00000 can be found in various administrations in the country and in 2014 the media even they interviewed to one of the winners with the 120 euro stone. Curiously, she decided to play that number and not another because she was convinced that it was the one they used in Zarzuela. Curious, commented… Feared? 00000 not only generates expectation for its history and myths. There is another detail that arouses the curiosity of Christmas Lottery lovers. In case he wins the first prize, if chance showers him with millions of euros… How the hell would it be sung? Would we hear the children of San Ildefonso hum “zero thousand zero hundred zero zero”? Would you opt for a simpler formula? theEconomist assures that 00000 would simply be sung as “zero”, without further flourishes. Although another thing (of course) is that their nerves play tricks on them on the 22nd. Images | SELAE 1 and 2 and Royal House In Xataka | ChatGPT You have the same chance of hitting the Lottery Jackpot as a witch reading the guts of a crow

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