detected

Between Tenerife and Gran Canaria hides an underwater volcano called ‘Enmedio’. The CSIC has just detected activity for the first time

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Under the waters of the Atlantic, about 80 kilometers southwest of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, hides a colossus that we often forget about. Is called ‘Enmedio’, a name that has quite a joke behind it, but which is nothing more than an underwater volcano with a base of 3.5 kilometers and whose summit is 1,625 meters deep. And although it has been there for a long time, now a scientific team has detected for the first time signs of hydrothermal activity in its depths. A decade. It has not happened overnight, since the team of geologists has spent almost ten years collecting multidisciplinary data driven mainly through the VULCANA project. And the results of the measurements made between 2015 and 2024 now have ended up published in the magazine Bulletin of Volcanology. Here, through oceanographic campaigns that combine high-resolution bathymetry, seismic and geochemistry, scientists they have managed to confirm what until now was only a suspicion: the volcano has an active circulatory system. What have they found? What the team has confirmed with all this information is that there is low-temperature hydrothermal activity at this location. In simple terms, we can now see that the volcano is releasing fluids through a series of fractures and a depression that is in your franc. Although this does not mean that it will erupt in the next few hours. In order to make estimates, it was decided to analyze the water in the vicinity of the volcano, and here the instruments recorded thermal anomalies of up to 0.5 ºC above normal. That is, the water around the volcano was hotter and was also loaded with nutrients such as ammonium or iron oxide, which causes biological alterations in the rocks in the area. There is no rash. Logically, when we read ‘volcanic activity’ and ‘Canary Islands’ in the same sentence, it is inevitable to think about volcanic eruptions such as that of Cumbre Vieja in La Palma, and even more so taking into account the recent earthquakes in the area. However, the CSIC has been quite categorical in this regard, pointing out that this detection does not indicate an imminent eruption and has no relationship with the recent seismic swarms recorded in the area around Teide. A paradise. In this way it is an endemic and latent process. In fact, these hydrothermal vents are excellent news for deep ocean biodiversity. To understand it, we can look back to see how the Tagoro volcano ended up fertilizing the post-eruptive marine ecosystem. Now, Enmedio’s fluids act as a chemical engine that influences the composition of the local ocean and feeds communities of microorganisms that thrive in the most extreme conditions of the seafloor. And although the Enmedio volcano is not a new discovery, this first evidence that it “breathes” marks a before and after in volcanic monitoring in Spain. It demonstrates that under water, more than a kilometer and a half deep, the Canary Islands continue to be an incomparable natural laboratory that, thanks to science, we are beginning to understand better than ever. Images | CSIC In Xataka | The last time Mount Fuji erupted was 318 years ago. The Japanese government has turned to AI in case it happens again

The ships of the oil “ghost fleet” turn off their GPS to avoid being detected. Malaysia is going to hunt them with drones

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In the crystal clear waters of Southeast Asia, where the Strait of Malacca meets the South China Sea, a war is being fought that does not appear in conventional military reports. There are no trenches, but there are rusty helmets that turn off their GPS signal to disappear from international radars. This is the kingdom of the “ghost fleet”, an ecosystem of lawless ships that, according to the latest researchhas found its safe harbor in Malaysia, doubling its activity in just twelve months. However, the time for impunity appears to be running out: from the use of artificial intelligence to the deployment of naval drones, technology is beginning to illuminate the darkest corners of the ocean. The black market boom. The situation on the east coast of Malaysia has ceased to be an open secret and has become a global security problem. According to the specialized media Seatrade Maritime“ship-to-ship” (STS) oil transfers have recently doubled, going from just seven weekly operations to peaks of fifteen in just one year. This increase responds to an infrastructure designed to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia, Iran and Venezuela, using Malaysian waters as a gigantic clandestine service station before the crude oil continues on its way, mainly to China. Analyst Charlie Brown, of the organization UANIhas managed to capture a disturbing reality through satellite images and direct photos. In mid-January 2026, some 60 vessels linked to Iranian oil and another 30 with Russian and Venezuelan cargoes were waiting at anchor in Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. These ships not only operate outside the law, but they do so under deplorable technical conditions. Images distributed by UANI show tankers with false names broadbrushed on their hulls and flags of convenience hidden under tarps to deceive authorities. The metamorphosis of the threat. What began as a purely economic strategy to keep Moscow’s revenue flowing has mutated into something far more dangerous for European security. As the chronicles of my colleague Miguel Jorge relate in XatakaRussia has converted part of this fleet into covert hybrid warfare platforms. It’s not just about moving barrels; Now these ships incorporate “technicians” who, under a civilian guise, are usually special forces veterans or mercenaries linked to the Wagner group. These agents wield authority that often exceeds that of the ship’s captain and have been accused of photographing military installations and monitoring underwater cables in EU and NATO waters. An example of this tension was experienced with the oil tanker Boracaywhich after embarking Russian technicians in the Baltic, was intercepted by the French navy off Brittany after suspicious drones were detected flying over critical infrastructure in Copenhagen. The ghost fleet is today, in essence, an extension of the Kremlin’s security apparatus sailing with impunity under the flags of countries like Gabon or Gambia. A new fragmented energy order. From the academic level, the Elcano Royal Institute’s analysis highlights that this phenomenon is the symptom of a “deglobalization” of the gas and oil market. In your reportresearcher Gonzalo Escribano explains that international value chains, previously based on efficiency and transparency, are being replaced by “geoeconometrically armored” circuits. Europe finds itself at a crossroads: although it seeks to disassociate itself from Russian energy, the persistence of these black markets complicates strategic autonomy. This fragmentation has even reached the LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) market. According to Bloombergsanctioned Russian gas transfers have been documented in Malaysian waters, a technically much more complex operation than crude oil. The ship Pearlmanaged by an opaque company based in a Dubai hotel, is the face of this new network that desperately seeks buyers in Asia for the gas that Europe no longer wants. The technological response: AI and drones to the rescue. Faced with a fleet that “turns off” the real world by hacking GPS signals (spoofing) and the shutdown of transponders, the response is being purely technological. The middle CNBC highlights thatof the ships loaded with Iranian crude in 2025, 96% made dark transfers and 77% falsified their location. To combat this “blackout”, Ukraine has shown the way with an innovation that has made conventional fleets obsolete: the use of artificial intelligence in naval drones. The drones Be Baby have multiplied its capabilities thanks to AI, allowing precision attacks from thousands of kilometers away. In a recent operation near the Turkish coast, these drones hit Russian ghost fleet tankers, specifically targeting their rudders and propulsion systems. The objective is not to sink them, which would cause an ecological disaster of catastrophic dimensions, but to render them useless and turn them into an unbearable economic burden for those who operate them. This “precision offensive” is forcing insurers and shipping companies to reconsider the risk of collaborating with Moscow, raising the costs of war for the Kremlin. The dilemma of safety and the environment. The proliferation of elderly ships, without liability insurance and with dubious maintenance, is an environmental time bomb. Lars Barstad, CEO of the operator Frontline, warned in the Financial Times that organizations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) appear to be “sleeping at the wheel”. Barstad notes that it is only a matter of time before a major disaster occurs, as these ships operate outside of any regulatory framework. Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure increases. The US has begun a campaign of aggressive seizures, such as that of the ship Sailor (before Bella 1), which was boarded by the US Coast Guard in North Atlantic waters after a chase from the Caribbean. This “gunboat diplomacy” of the 21st century, analyzed by the Atlantic Councilposes immense legal challenges: once a steel giant full of crude oil is seized, the maintenance and storage costs are astronomical. The end of the shadow. The current geopolitical dashboard report shows that Malaysia, Spain or the waters of the Caribbean are just scenes of a larger battle for visibility. The ghost fleet survives in the shadow of legal ambiguity, but the advance of artificial intelligence and constant satellite monitoring are tightening the fence. As the analysis concludes from my partnerthis is not a frontal … Read more

Pedro Sánchez has only detected that the social conversation has already moved

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Pedro Sanchez From Dubai, he has promised five measures against digital platforms: criminal liability for managers, prohibition of access to minors under 16 years of age and criminalizing the manipulation of algorithms. The package sounds grandiose, but the most relevant thing is not in the technical details or its parliamentary viability. The panoramic. We are seeing the beginning of the “smoking” of the smartphone even at an institutional level. In society it started a few years ago. Social media is the stated goal, but the gateway is the device. The pattern. We have seen it before. There was a time when smoking on a plane was normal, getting tipsy during pregnancy did not cause social alarm, it was acceptable to travel with four children crammed behind in the car, and sugar was simply an innocent pleasure. In all cases, the change followed a similar sequence: First, scientific studies that point to a course of action. Then, a critical mass of citizens begins to “feel” that there is a problem. Next, governments move toward regulation. Finally, what was normal becomes unacceptable. Where are we. Right now, in phase 2 and approaching phase 3. The evidence on The impact of mobile phones on the attention and performance of minors they are growing. But that doesn’t matter much anymore. What matters is that a growing majority of parents, educators and citizens have come to the conviction that something is wrong. When you ask if children spend too much time on their cell phones, almost no one says no. Between the lines. Politicians do not usually lead these changes in consciousness, they simply detect and amplify them. Sánchez has not invented concern about social networks, he has only smelled that the wind is blowing in that direction and has placed himself in front of the current. This is what governments do when they sense that a cause has more support than detractors: fertile ground to announce something that will generate sympathy. The contrast. Just a decade ago, criticizing social networks placed you in the camp of technophobes, boomers disconnected, those who did not understand progress. Today that position has been almost completely reversed. Defending that a 12-year-old child have unlimited access to TikTok is beginning to be the cause of almost unanimous bad looks. The one that was before mainstream Now he has to explain himself. See a child today (or not so child) spend dinner making scroll to chain videos provokes a different reaction than doing it seven years ago. In another seven years it will surely be even more different. Yes, but. The analogy with tobacco has its limits because the cell phone is not only a vector of addiction, it is also a tool for communication, learning and socialization. Prohibiting access to minors under 16 years of age sounds reasonable until you think about how a 15-year-old teenager today coordinates his or her class work or meets up with friends. The upcoming regulation will have to be somewhat more surgical than that of tobacco, which was simply prohibited in closed spaces. The big question. Or big questions. Will we remember this time as we now remember the photos of doctors smoking in hospitals? Will our children stare in disbelief at images of entire families staring at screens in a restaurant, each absorbed in their own feed? If the pattern repeats itself, probably yes. Whether the measures that Sánchez has just anticipated succeed or not is the least important thing. What matters is that you have correctly read where the conversation is moving. In Xataka | Meta, Google and TikTok have condemned an entire generation to “doomscrolling.” And now they are going to be judged for it Featured image | Xataka

We have detected the gene that acts as a ‘switch’ of chronic pain. It is the principle of the analgesics revolution

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Chronic pain is one of the worst convictions of modern medicine. Affects one in five peopleis the main cause of world dependence And to top it off, Current treatments They are insufficient or come with devastating side effects such as Opioid addiction as fentanyl. But now, A great investigation Posted in the prestigious magazine Nature It has opened a door that could change everything. A gene as responsible for chronic pain. An international team of scientists has identified a gene, the SLC45A4as a key actor in the perception of pain by the human. And it is not another gene on the list. They are the necessary instructions to manufacture a protein that acts as a “guardian” of the membrane of Our sensory neuronscontrolling the passage of mysterious molecules called polyamines. When manipulating this protein, researchers have reduced the intensity of certain pain without affecting other sensations such as The touch. The finding not only solves an old biological enigma, but also opens the door to a new generation of analgesics for patients with pains that are not controlled with current therapies. Following the track in the DNA of 130,000 people. Find a small gene Inside the human genome It is not something simple, taking into account the large amount of information that can be found In a sequencing. That is why researchers have resorted to brute force with the processing of a large amount of data. To do this, they analyzed the genetic information and pain questionnaires of more than 132,000 people from the UK Biobankone of the world’s greatest repositories of medical and genetic information. Looking for patterns in all data. Using a Complete genome association study (GWAS), which is like crossing thousands of data to find patterns, researchers discovered that certain variants of the SLC45A4 gene were significantly associated with the intensity of chronic pain that people reported. Something that could also explain the different pain thresholds that each person has. To ensure that it was not a coincidence, they replied the finding in two other gigantic databases such as the Million Veteran Program from the United States and Finngen of Finland. The result in both was similar, so the evidence began to clarify. But once you have the name of the gene, the question is: what exactly does this gene do to modulate pain? The guardian of the polyamines: solving a neuronal enigma. This is where history becomes very interesting. It was known that the SLC45A4 manufactured a conveyor protein, a kind of rotating door on the surface of the cells. But nobody knew what he transported. The investigation revealed that its load is the Polyaminessmall molecules that, despite being crucial for almost everything in the cell (From the reading of the DNA to growth), they had a role that was not known in pain. What was known is that during a pain situation polyamines increased, but the mechanism of action was a mystery. The reason for the mystery is that the effect was different depending on whether they were outside or inside the neuron, but the ‘door’ was not known through which they could enter or leave. Until now. The SLC45A4 protein is that door. Using advanced verification techniques. Before announcing a discovery like this, it is important to be verified with different techniques. In this case the Electronic Creomicroscopy To obtain a 3D map at the atomic level of the protein. In this way, they saw their structure with an amazing detail. But seeing it is not just to have a very beautiful photograph hanging in the office, but it could be understood how it was able to recognize polyamines and even a Modulable domain That the protein itself uses to inhibit itself, as an integrated key in its own lock. And this is something that opens many doors to future research related to chronic pain. Mice with the lowest pain threshold. The fire test came with the experiments in animals. The team created genetically modified mice so that they did not have the SLC45A4 gene. These mice were, in appearance, completely normal. However, when they were subjected to pain proof, the results were amazing. Specifically, mice were subjected to different tests, such as being on a hot plate or receiving a formalin injection, which is a chemical that Causes pain at high doses. Here it is as they showed a much greater resistance to chronic pain. But when they were given a quick puncture (acute pain) the answer was identical to that of normal mice. A pain regulator. And this difference is crucial in the investigation. It means that SLC45A4 is not a switch that when we go out ‘we stop feeling any type of pain, but is a fine regulator for persistent and deaf pain, precisely the type that characterizes chronic pain. Because living completely without pain is not a good idea. The pain in the end is an organism alert system that something is not doing well, for example, that we have appendicitis. If we ‘turn off’ acute pain are many emergency situations that we would literally stop attending until it was too late. And reason is known. The absence of the protein made a specific type of pain receptors, the so -called Polymodal nociceptors C or fibers C (Those that detect chemical or thermal pain), were much less excitable. That is, it was necessary to expose the receiver to a much stronger stimulus so that the neurons ‘trigger’ an action potential that reached the brain and gave the feeling of pain. Literally, the threshold potential was much lower and, therefore, resisted from great magnitude pain. A new hope for millions of people. This discovery is more than a simple scientific curiosity. By identifying this protein as the polyamine transporter in neurons related to nociception, a completely new window for drug design opens. And it is that current analgesics act on receptors or block (such as the case of ibuprofen with COX-2). Now, the drugs designed to modulate the activity of … Read more

We have detected a mysterious and very potent radio signal of a nearby galaxy. And its origin is a complete enigma

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In March 2025, an energy pulse as powerful as the one that emits our Sun in several days hit the earth. It lasted just a few milliseconds, but its detection, and above all, the location of its origin, mark a before and after modern astronomy. Now a team from Northwestern University has managed to identify the origin of the fast radio gust (FRB) brighter ever registered. Although there are still many questions to answer. What is a fast radius gust. To understand the magnitude of this finding you must first know what we are talking about. The astronomers themselves describe THE FRB LIKE a cosmic lighthouse of immense power that ignites during a fraction of second In a vast and distant universe. These signals are incredibly energy and travel for millions of light years to reach the earth’s telescopes. Detect one of these bursts It is already an achievement. However, the real challenge is Respond to the origin of these bursts of energy. Until now, the frb that were repeated, which gave scientists multiple opportunities to triangulate the position, had been precisely located. Now they have done it with only one signal. A “photo” with unprecedented precision. The protagonist has been baptized as FRB 20250316A which was detected on March 16, 2025. To achieve this, it is where our current technological capacity enters. Thanks to a telescope network called Chime Outriggerastronomers were able to locate this burst of energy with an amazing accuracy of 13 parsecs, which is equivalent to 42 light years. If we move this measure to the universe itself, we could talk that they have been able to point out a specific house in an entire city seen from space. Something that marks preceding, is that the first time it is achieved for a burst that has apparently been a unique event. An origin that was almost empty. The address from where this signal came to a spiral galaxy called NGC 4141. At that time, all the great telescopes of the world, from the MMT in Arizona to him Keck in HawaiiThey turned to observe that little corner of the universe. Everyone tried to look for some explanation to this event, but what they found did not square them at all. And it is that in the exact place of the outbreak of this signal there is nothing. Not a supermagnnetic neutron star (a Magnetar), Neither a nebula, nor any continuous radio source. A very quiet neighborhood. When looking around the point that scientists had located, you could think that there would be something spectacular. But nothing is further from reality. It was seen that the signal could not come from another close place. Specifically, the formation of stars closest to the localized point is 190 Persecs away. In this way, the origin is located in a really quiet region of the universe. There have been no more repetitions of the event. Despite looking intensely for months, the signal has not reappeared. This is key. Many frb are “repeating”, emitting bursts sporadically. If it were, given its closeness and power, we should have detected weaker pulses. Statistical calculations are clear: the probability that it is a known repeater and we have only seen this bright pulse is very small (with a tension of more than 3.7σ, a very high level of certainty in physics). What could cause this signal. This combination of factors puts the main theories about the origin of FRB. The most accepted hypothesis is that they come from young magnetares, neutron stars with incredibly powerful magnetic fields. These objects are usually born in active star formation regions. The fact that FRB 20250316A is displaced from its “cradle” could mean that the Magnetar He is older of the one that is thought (between 200,000 and 3 million years) and has moved away. However, this clashes with the active life that is presupposed to these objects. The study also rules out other scenarios, such as outbreaks gamma rays Recent The “cleaning” of the environment and the lack of any residual glow in radio or X -rays do not fit with the models of cataclysms such as the Fusion of two neutron starsat least not immediately. The beginning of a new era. Beyond the enigma of the origin of this particular signal, this phenomenon marks a before and after in astrology. The capacity of the Chime/FRB system to locate unique events with this precision The field will revolutionize. It will no longer be necessary to wait for a source to be repeated to be able to study it in detail. Now, astronomers will be able to create a large -scale map of the environments of hundreds of FRB, allowing to compare the unique bursts and those that are repeated every so often. Perhaps in this way we discover that, after all, not all FRB are born from the same type of event. We may be facing two (or more) different phenomena that produce the same type of signal. The universe is plagued by mysteries. From how The stars were formed to him How the ‘big bang’ formedthey still have Many intrigues For our scientists. This makes every time there are more fronts in open -open astronomy And also the hardware field for put our best teams pointing to space with the aim of increasing our knowledge. In Xataka | There is a radio signal arriving at Earth since 1988. The pulsar from which an important mystery is hidden

We have detected the greatest fusion of black holes seen to date. It is a problem for our theoretical models

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One of the enigmas that most intrigue astronomers is that of Black holes of intermediate size, those black holes halfway between the holes of stellar mass and the supermassions such as the one that dominates in the center of our galaxy. These are black holes with masses between 100 times that of our sun and those that multiply this star mass by millions. GW231123. A group of Ligo-Virgo-Kagra (LVK) collaboration researchers (LVK) has announced The detection of the greatest clash between two black holes registered to date. The discovery has occurred thanks to the gravitational waves generated by the impact, whose signal has been called GW231123 by those who detected it. November 2023. The name of the signal refers to the date on which it was observed, on November 23, 2023. The study of the detected waves led those responsible for the new study to estimate that the resulting black hole had a dough some 225 times higher than that of our sun. Until now the most massive had been “alone” 140 solar masses. It was in 2021, the GW190521 signal. Estimates indicate that the 2023 signal was the result of the collision between a black hole of 100 solar masses with one of 140 solar masses. That is, only one of the black holes was already as massive as that of the fruit of the largest shock detected so far. From this event not only highlights its magnitude, but also the fact that the speed of rotation of black holes was surprisingly high. A new enigma in heaven. All this planet an important unknown for the team. As they explain, the holes of such mass cannot be formed from the death of a star, at least based on what contemporary physical models say. The only way we know can be formed is through the fusion of smaller black holes. LVK. In 2015, the Ligo experiment made history detecting for the first time the clash of two black holes through the expansion of gravitational waves associated with such a violent event. This pioneering experiment has been company in Europe and Kagra for years (Kamioka gravitational wave detector) In Japan. Together they have already detected more than 300 clashes between black holes. The details of the study They have been presented In the 24th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR24) and 16th Conference Edoardo Amaldi on gravitational waves, a joint conference held this week in Glasgow, Scotland. Not so easy to observe. The detection of GW231123 “pushed the limits of both gravitational wave detection technology and current theoretical models,” says the responsible team. Analyzing these types of events through gravitational waves is not easy, but knowing more about them can help us unravel some key mysteries of the cosmos. “Black holes seem to turn very quickly, almost to the limit of what is allowed by Einstein’s theory of relativity,” explained in a press release Charlie today, co -author of the study. “This makes the signal difficult to model and interpret. It is an excellent case study to push the development of our theoretical tools.” Looking for the midpoint. Theoretical tools that perhaps help us reveal the secrets of the elusive black sized black holes. Today we do not know very well how these holes are formed whose mere existence implies the certainty that we still do not know about our universe. In Xataka | What happens if you fall into a black hole, explained in a simple way in an overwhelming NASA simulation Image | POT

The ice age had a solar storm so powerful that its effects can still be detected in trees

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How powerful can it become a solar storm? More than one will have ever asked this question for mere curiosity. And also out of necessity. Answering this question is important in order to prepare in the face of potential storms of great magnitude, but it is complicated: we have a limited sample and the most intensity events are those that happen less frequently. But now we have a new track. The mother of all storms. A recent study has analyzed The remnants of the greatest solar storm of which we have record to date. The storm, about 500 times more powerful than the largest solar storm since the beginning of the space era, would have happened about 14,300 years ago. Although We already had enough previous clues about this eventThe new study facilitates the work of preparing for such events, and can also help us improve our radiocarbon dating techniques. 14,300 years ago. The discovery of this solar storm has been possible thanks to the detection of a radiocarbon peak, the well-known carbon-14, happened towards the year 12,350 AEC, towards the end of the last glacial period. This implies that the storm is not only the most powerful of which we have record, it is also the only solar storm known outside the Holocene, the contemporary geological era (if we exclude the existence debated from the anthropocene). Different storms. The storm analyzed was a solar particle storm. There are different events That we can catalog as solar storms, each with its characteristics, such as radio blackouts, solar radiation storms or geomagnetic storms. Radiation storms, such as the one studied, are produced when large amounts of charged particles from the sun reach the magnetic field of the earth. This field tends to divert the particles towards the poles, making the effect on high latitudes greater. Carbon 14. The team responsible for the new study He turned to a new model Chemist-Climatic, Socol: 14C-EX, for analysis. This is a model designed to rebuild solar storms of particles in climatic conditions of the past glaciations. Thanks to this model, they explain, it was possible to verify that this solar storm was 18% stronger than the event of the year 775 EC, the largest solar storm known until the discovery of this event. “Compared to the largest event in the Modern Era of Satellites (the 2005 particle storm) the old 12,350 AC event was about 500 times more intense, according to our estimates,” explained in a press release Kseniia Golubenko, co -author of the study The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Earth and Planetary Science Letters. More than establishing a record. The study allows us to establish a new framework to the “most pessimistic scenario,” says Golubenko. Knowing what we can face gives us essential tools when preventing this type of event. The study can also help scientists who study something very different: archaeologists. The analysis has been based on carbon-14, a very important isotope when it comes to very diverse organic matter remains, from fabrics to ships. Understanding the peaks of this isotope caused by the impact of loaded particles from the Sun can help us to date back objects created in past times. In Xataka | NASA has calculated how much time we would have to prepare before a devastating solar storm and has got to work to get that time Image | NASA/GSFC/CIL

NOAA detected metals in the atmosphere mainly associated with Spacex. The White House has liquidated its research

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The United States Government has just truncated One of the most intriguing research on spatial pollution. A decision that, according to some suspicious voices, is beneficial for the commercial interests of Elon Musk. The latest Trump. In the absence of budgets being approved in Congress, the White House seeks to eliminate the financing of two key research projects on contamination caused by rockets and satellites. The plan is part of the drastic cuts that, along with NASAhas suffered the scientific arm of the National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of the United States: the NOAA. A striking finding. At the end of 2023, US atmospheric researchers discovered a growing accumulation of metals in the stratosphere. A team led by NOAA analyzed the sulfuric acid particles sampled by the NASA WB-57 plane on flights of great altitude over Alaska and the western media. He study He identified more than 20 different elements, including lithium, aluminum, copper and other more exotic metals, such as niobium and hafnium. These materials are not found naturally in the atmosphere. They are linked to the space industry, and therefore, they were associated with the increasingly frequent redeeme of rockets and satellites, which vaporize exorbiting. The scope of the problem is still unknown. It is feared, for example, that an exponential increase can damage the ozone layer, which acts as a shield against ultraviolet rays, further destabilizing the climate. Goodbye to research. NOAA’s efforts to solve these doubts were already underway. On the one hand, a continuity study to take new atmospheric samples. On the other, a workshop in which the private industry participated to explore possible solutions. Both remain without federal financing with the cuts, which will force them to cancel them if the budgets are approved. Although the White House has proposed all kinds of science cuts, the PUBLUEPLOYEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY Organization spokesman said The Guardian That in this case “there is a political motivation”, relating NOAA’s work with the commercial interests of Elon Musk. The Spacex factor. There had never been so many satellite releases because there had never been a rocket capable of landing on their legs. Elon Musk’s aerospace company puts more than 80% of the payload launched to space, in terms of mass. Almost all are satellites of the Starlink constellation, which has become a strategic asset for the United States. Spacex has launched about 8,400 Starlink satellitesof which 1,080 have already reentred. Although Starlink is the largest constellation, other companies have similar plans to launch tens of thousands of satellites to the low terrestrial orbit; Among them, several Chinese startup and the Amazon technological giant, with its satellite internet project Kuiper. In total, the number of satellites in orbit could grow up to 100,000 in the coming years. And with it, the number of atmospheric reentradas. And so every five years. Spacex satellites and the incipient Kuiper constellation orbit the land less than 600 km altitude. Due to the effect of atmospheric braking, they reduce their height and end up burning in the atmosphere five years after its launch. Also the rockets, including the upper stage of Falcon 9, exorbitita to disintegrate in the atmosphere. This is the desirable: that the Space garbage “recycle” in the shortest possible time. But the cadence of launches, headed by Starlink, is producing several resentments per day, that will soon become dozenand then in hundreds. The effect of these daily metal injections in the atmosphere is something that other countries will now have to investigate, at least with public funds. Image | Caribbean Astronomy Society In Xataka | Spacex rockets are opening red holes in the atmosphere. They call them “Spacex Auroras”

Europe detected the oscillations of the blackout in Spain but did not know how to anticipate collapse

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While It is still done Analysis Committee meetings to find out what happened in the blackout of April 28. A new preliminary report of the European Network of Electricity Transportation Networks (ENTSO-E) has thrown An important focus on something that Europe could not see. Short. So far, what was known were the data of the “Black box”where second to second it has been investigated that it began to fail. But a new preliminary report of the Entso-E has confirmed That it is not only about the oscillations that were recorded in Spain: collapse was a “complex sequence of events.” In depth. The point is that the report explained that during the half an hour before the incident, two power and frequency oscillations were observed in the European electricity grid, between 12:03 and 12:07 and between 12:19 and 12:21. And of course, both Red Eléctrica in Spain and RTE in France took measures to mitigate these oscillations. However, at 12:33, the electrical system of the Iberian Peninsula He collapsed completely. The matter has more crumb. At that time, no oscillations and system variables were detected within the normal range of operation. But that did not mean that everything was under control. Europe had detected those oscillations, but when Spain and France intervened, they did not interpret it as a critical risk. This was how in southern Spain, a series of failures in electricity generation caused a loss of 2200 MW. This loss was sufficient to trigger a drop in the frequency of the system, which fell to 48 Hz. In other words, the electrical frequency must be maintained around 50 Hz. If it drops from 48 Hz, the system can enter a critical state. And that was exactly what happened. From that moment on … The blackout was inevitable. The electricity exchanges between Spain and its neighboring countries were at high levels: 1000 MW towards France, 2000mw to Portugal and 800MW to Morocco. But when the system collapsed, these connections were also lost. The transmission lines between France and Spain stopped working at 12:33:21 and automatic protection systems disconnected the entire Iberian network three seconds later. There was a figure that circulates in networks. The president of the Government in his appearance before the media said: “15GW disappeared in 5 seconds”I immediately ran this statement in the networks, but the Entso-E has specified that the loss was 2.2GW. So where did that figure come from? The 15 GW that circulated after the blackout comes from an initial REE estimate based on automatic defense systems. According to the Secretary of Energy of MitecoJoan Groizard, 10 GW were counted in automatic cuts (demand breakdown) and 5 GW in contribution of interconnections that stopped supplying energy. However, the report of the ETSO-E specifies that the loss recorded in southern Spain was 2200 MW (2.2 GW), a significantly lower figure, evidencing that the initial calculation did not reflect the loss of generation itself, but the global impact of the event on the electrical system. And now what? Entso-e has created A panel of experts to continue investigating what happened. These experts, from countries not affected by the blackout, will collect all the available data to rebuild minute by minute what happened on April 28 to prepare a technical report that will be presented to the European Commission throughout the second half of the year. In turn, the Spanish committee will continue working in parallel, analyzing not only technical failures, but also possible cyber attacks or errors in digital systems, according to has detailed The vice president, Sara Aagesen, in an interview for eldiario.es. Forecasts In the same interview, Sara Aagesen He has insisted in that the causes of the blackout are “enormously complex” and that no hypothesis is ruled out. But many unknowns are left: what centrals were disconnected exactly? What triggered the drop of 2200 MW? And why not the alert signals were detected in time? The first “green” blackout He has put Testing the Iberian Electricity and has evidenced the vulnerabilities of a system in full transition to renewables. While the full analysis of the blackout could take months, both system operators and governments They move in a field full of uncertainty. The key now is to rethink the Microredes, Energy storage and Gridorming technologies capable of stabilizing an increasingly volatile network. The road is being configured now and is in the present where you have to continue working. Image | Unspash and Eric Fischer Xataka | The other uncomfortable truth of the blackout: Spain does not yet have enough batteries for its renewable boom

has detected the transformation of lead into gold

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Isaac Newton has gone down in history One of the most talented physicists and mathematicians that have existed. In fact, for many scholars it is The most relevant scientist who has existedand it is a very respectable statement if we ponder their contributions to science and the modest means that were available to the end of the 17th century. However, Newton did not dedicate his life only to physics, mathematics or theology; He also consecrated to the study of alchemy. The Royal Spanish Academy defines it in its first meaning as “the set of speculation and experiences, generally of a esoteric nature, related to the transmutations of the subject, which influenced the origin of chemistry.” The second meaning is also a bit disturbing: “wonderful and incredible transmutation.” Alchemy as Isaac Newton and other explorers saw it, for identifying them in some way, does not have a scientific support. However, serious science has identified mechanisms that explain under what circumstances a chemical element can be transformed into another. Newton would have loved to participate in this CERN experiment The stars are The authentic chemical elements factories of the universe. Inside the reactions of nuclear fusion They trigger the production of the chemical elements that we can find in the periodic table until reaching iron. From the latter it is not possible Extremely energy cosmic events. As it is, nature has taught us that there are mechanisms capable of carrying out the transmutation with which the ancient alchemists dreamed. In fact, Radioactivity It is one of these phenomena. We can define it as the process of natural origin that explains how an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy in the attempt to achieve a more stable state. And to achieve this emits radiation. A stable atom is “comfortable” with its current structure and does not need to do anything, but an unstable precise detach from a part of its energy to achieve a state of less energy and greater stability. On the way to a completely stable configuration, it will continue to detach itself from a part of its energy and will be transformed into other chemical elements. Despite its mass each lead core travels inside the LHC to 99,99993% of the light of light Since nuclear physics arose at one time halfway between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century scientists have achieved transform some chemical elements into others In his laboratories. CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) has done it recently. And he has succeeded causing the frontal collision of lead nuclei in its main particle accelerator, the LHC (large hadron collider). When these nuclei collide with a very high energy there is a plasma of quarks and gluones, which is nothing other than a state of extremely dense and hot matter. Each lead core has a considerable mass because it contains a large number of nucleons: 82 protons and 126 neutrons If we stick to the isotope of this most abundant and stable chemical element. Despite their mass each of them travels inside the LHC to 99,99993% of the speed of light, which triggers the production of a photon pulse. Under these conditions, the most interesting thing is that a process known as electromagnetic dissociation takes place. It consists of when a photon interacts with a lead core has the ability to trigger oscillations of its internal structure that can cause the expulsion of a small amount of neutrons and protons. A golden core contains 79 protons, so the expulsion of 3 protons from a lead core causes it to become gold. The physicists of the Alice of CERN experiment have observed, in addition to the conversion of lead to gold, Talium and Mercury production in these experimentation conditions. It is exciting that the human being has been able to design and build the machines that are necessary to carry out an experiment like this. Image | Cern More information | Physical Review c In Xataka | CERN has achieved something unprecedented: transform smartphones sensors into an antimatter chamber

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