discovered

Some geologists studied the sand of one of the beaches of day D in Normandy. They discovered that 4% is still shrapnel

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More than 80 years have passed from “Day D” And yet his memory is still very present on the beaches of Normandy. And not in an ethereal and symbolic way. No. Beyond memory, the landing of allied troops in the French region in June 1944 maintains a palpable footprint in its sand. One that can be touched and seen, although for the latter an electronic microscope is needed. This was checked by a group of geologists who collected a sand sample on the beach of Omaha. When taking her to her laboratory and studying it in detail, they bought, amazed, that 4% were actually remains of shrapnel. A microscopic memory of a historical date. Normandy walk. That is what they did a good day of 1988, the Geology professor Earle McBridefrom the University of Texas in Austin, and its colleague Dane Picard, of the University of Utah. While doing a field study in France decided to take a break and visit the famous Omaha beachone of the main landing points of the day D in Normandy. They did not have much luck with their Norman trip. The day they walked through the sand, around eight kilometers long, it was disappeared, cold and windy; But that did not prevent McBride and Picard to take home a memory that honored his formation: a small sand sample. Some time later they decided to rescue the bag with those grains of Normandy and observe them under the microscope. And the surprise came. What McBride found in that sample of sand collected in Omaha Beach caught his attention. In addition to quartz remains and other materials that it already gave, the geologist observed tiny Metal fragments. When studying them in detail with the microscope he found that they had a rounded shape, they were rough, laminated and an opaque brightness, with some oxide points. Some pieces were around the millimeter. Others did not go from 0.06 mm. The remains of the battle. Thus, reduced to millimetric metal accounts eroded by waves and the passage of time, perhaps they were difficult to identify, but McBride ended up reaching a fascinating conclusion. What I had before them were vestiges of Normandy landing. “They turned out to be a shrapnel of the invasion of World War II. After a more detained exam, he also saw iron and glass accounts that had resulted from the intense heat unleashed by the explosions in the air and the sand,” They detail From the University of Texas in Austin. So curious was his finding that, together with PicardProfessor McBride decided to prepare An article and publish it in the magazine The sedimentary record. Foreseeable. “Of course it is not surprising that the sand of the beach of Omaha be added at the time of battle, but it is that it has survived more than 40 years and without a doubt it is still there today,” They commented Both experts. His sample was from the end of the 80s and The report They published it in 2011; But everything indicates that the situation remains the same today. In 2011 experts They calculated that corrosion would still take a century to destroy shrapnel grains. A well mesurable footprint. If McBride and Picard’s study is surprising, it is because it has done more than verifying that – discussion after day D – through the Normandy beaches, remains of shrapnel are still distributed. So or more curious is that experts have managed to contribute a fairly precise idea what this footprint represents in the sand. After examining the exhibition in detail, the Texas geologist found that metals represent 4% of the sand. The data is illustrative, although McBride and Picard slide that there could be variations depending on where and when the sand is collected. “Due to the possible plasticization of shrapnel and heavy minerals by the waves and currents the day we collected our sample, we do not know to what extent it is representative of the sand of the beach as a whole.” The Omaha was one of the great landing points of day D, but there were other beaches in Normandy to which the allies arrived in the Neptune operationknown as Utah, Sword, Gold and Juno. Date of expiration. Although the accounts discovered by American geologists are a peculiar memory of the day and have survived decades, McBride and Picard have already noticed years ago that they will not last forever. The remains of shrapnel could resist erosion for millennity, but when the grains study the geologists discovered oxide particles, which leads them to be pessimistic about their future. “The waves stir the iron fragments, which in turn eliminates part of the oxide and exposes fresh material, more prone to oxidation, which in turn follows, and so on,” Point out The University of Texas. “The result is that they will become smaller and in the end the storms or hurries will drag them and take out of the beach,” McBride reflected in 2011. His calculations pointed out that 4% of shrapnel identified in Omaha Beach would be reduced to insignificance in a century. They will remain to remember the allied landing, yes, monuments and memory. Image | Person-With-No Name (Flickr) In Xataka | The US landed on an empty island during World War II. In nine days it had more than 300 casualties *An earlier version of this article was published in June 2024

We have just discovered a Mayan city of more than 2,800 years in Guatemala. And rethink the history of the region

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The jungle of Peténnorth of Guatemala, he continues to surprise historians who are dedicated to exploring pre -Columbian history. There, near the border of Mexico, archaeologists have discovered a fascinating “Urban triangle” formed by three old cities that stand out for their architecture and heritage. Among all the most surprising is “the grandparents”, an important Mayan ceremonial center of More than 2,800 years of antiquity that takes its name of two pieces discovered by the experts: sculptures of an elderly couple who were probably used for rituals related to the cult of ancestors. The experts They recognize That the findings open the door to rethink what we know about ceremonies, society and pre -Hispanic politics in northern Guatemala. Beyond Uaxactun. For centuries the Mayan civilization extended in the south of what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, shaping a rich culture that dates back At least 2,000 ACreached its splendor during the 5th century of our era and declined in the post -classic stage, from X to XIII. During that wide period the Maya created great populations, as uaxactúna site located in the Petén region, in Guatemala. For some time, Guatemalan archaeologists have looked, however, beyond Uaxactún, towards the jungles of Petén, in search of old pre -Columbian cities. Hence, in 2009 they would boost the Uaxactún Archaeological Project (Paru), which explores a vast area of ​​around 1,200 square kilometers (km2) around the old Mayan city. Thanks to him and after more than a decade and a half of work, experts have cataloged about 176 deposits, from small archaeological vestiges to broader settlements. “An urban triangle”. That the researchers have found 176 sites does not mean that they have excavated them all. Over the last years they have observed three attention three, Mayan cities that have been studied thanks to the involvement of several Slovak institutions, including the Enoius University. Their conclusions have just been submitted and reveal Something amazing: an “Urban Triangle so far unknown” that lived its splendor in the Middle Preclassic (800-500 BC) and late and is formed by three cities that barely are far five kilometers each other. The discovery is interesting both for archaeological vestiges themselves and for the horizons they open. “The findings allow to rethink the understanding of the ceremonial and socio -political organization of the pre -Hispanic Petén,” They stand out from the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala. The three archaeological sites that have captured the attention of Guatemalan and Slovak experts and make up that new Mayan urban triangle are Petnal, Cambrayal and the grandparents, the most fascinating of all. A new archaeological jewel. Grandparents is a city dating from the Middle Preclassic (800-500 AC), reaches an extension of some 16 km2 and is located about 21 km northwest of Uxactún. In the opinion of the local authorities, it implies “one of the oldest and most important ceremonial centers of the preclassic in Petén.” In fact they expect light to contribute on the origins of Mayan civilization. His name is due to one of the most curious pieces found by archaeologists: human form sculptures that represent an ancestral couple and that experts relate to ancient worship rituals to ancestors. The initial dating places them towards 500 and 300 BC Architecture for stars. The sculptures however are only a small part of the archaeological treasure of the grandparents. In A statementthe Ministry of Culture highlights its “remarkable architectural planning”, with radial pyramids, triadic groups and sculpted monuments with an iconography of the region. “In addition to the sculptures, grandparents houses a type of architectural set known as group E, used as astronomical observatory,” They clarify. “The disposition of its buildings allows you to register with precision solstices and equinoxes.” Experts have known the Eaxactun Group E for years, but they believe that the one located in the grandparents could be even older. That without having the rest of the vestiges discovered. At the foot of the sculptures of the two ancestors, a human burial was located and not far from there remains of several felines, in addition to offerings of vessels, shells, arrow points and a trail from which archaeologists hope to obtain “valuable information” about the old Mayan settlement. Completing the triangle. The grandparents is the main course of the new findings presented by Guatemala, but not the only one. Another of the outstanding deposits is Petnal, a city that was equipped with a pyramid of 33 meters high decorated with preclassic murals. At their highest point, archaeologists have also discovered a well -preserved stay that still retains remains of painting on stucco with reddish, white and black tones, “another extraordinary discovery”, experts celebrate. Because of its characteristics and architecture, however they believe that, unlike grandparents, which probably acted as a “ceremonial center”, Petnal exercised political center. 57 meters of channels. The third city that completes the urban triangle of Petén is Cambrayal, equipped with a network of 57 meters long channels that part of a palace and extends through the facade. Interestingly, archaeologists believe that the channels, stuped, were not used to bring water to the rooms, but to evict waste, just like a primitive drainage system. Another piece discovered in Cambrayal by experts is a sculpture similar to others located on the southern coast. The Ministry of Culture of Guatemala Point out that the three cities share more than proximity and distribute throughout the petén. They all had a more or less similar story: the settlements remained inhabited during much of the preclassic, ended up abandoned and with the passage of the centuries they enjoyed a second golden age after being rediscovered, rebuilt and again populated, already during the stage called late classic. Images | Ministry of Culture of Guatemala In Xataka | 60 years ago we discovered a hidden gold in the jungle of Peru. Now we know that it was really much more

Coffee is more expensive than ever. Some researchers have discovered how to make it the same as rich using less coffee

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Cocoa and coffee have experienced a Notable price increase This 2025. different Geopolitical factors, climatic and of transport They have caused the price of coffee to reach absurd limits. For some executives of coffee companies, we are immersed in one “unsustainable bubble”And it is logical that, with coffee at the point more expensive for the last 50 yearslet’s ask ourselves how to prepare the best coffee wearing fewer grains. A group of scientists already has the answer: taking advantage of the Fluid dynamics. And they have reached the same conclusion that the baristas have been promulgating for years. The problem. 2024 meant the culmination of an upward trend: the price of coffee had Uploaded almost 170% in the last decade. A Perfect storm I was promoting that the crops were more scarce in the main coffee producing countriestariffs have not helped, transport has also been sometimes interrupted and there are brands that absorbed the impact of the price increase Until they stopped doing it. Filter coffee. This price increase affects both robust variety like Arabicaand a group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania wondered if they could make an excellent coffee wearing less grains. Arnold Mathijssen is an assistant professor at the Faculty of University Arts and Sciences and Comment That, although there are several research on fluid mechanics and many others on particles, they have joined both to see if they can enhance coffee extraction. To do this, they focused on one of the elaborations that allows the most control when making coffee: The filter. Here we can precisely establish the temperature of the water, we control how it affects coffee, the amount of grain, the milliliters of water and, With a good millwe can find the right grain thickness to optimize extraction. The perfect point. The team used high -speed cameras to measure water penetration in coffee and the truth is that it did not use techniques that the baristas did not know, but it is interesting to know how they evaluated the process. Margot Young is co -author of study And he states that, before starting directly with coffee, they used transparent silica gel particles in a glass cone (such as the classic Chemex) to see the path that follows the water. With the high -speed chamber and several sensors, they observed how small avalanches were produced inside the “coffee” bed. Little by little, water with a constant jet, the particles mixed better, improving coffee extraction by increasing contact between liquid and grains. They played with different heights, They discovered That, when the water is poured from too much height, the jet breaks into drops that drag air to the cone and the grains, reducing the efficiency of the extraction. If the coffee is poured very close, the penetration is insufficient and the contact between water and grains is reduced. The jug with the swan neck. It is also in a bull or boiler Adequate teapot. To take advantage of fluid dynamics and maximize contact between the elements, Ernest Park, co -author of the study, comments that it is essential to use a swan’s neck. They are with an elongated and curved ‘pitorro’ that allow consistent and precise jet. “If you use a conventional teapot, it is difficult to control where the flow goes,” says Park, “and if the flow is not constant, it does not penetrate enough.” In real experiments with coffee, measurements confirmed that extraction can be optimized by prolonging the spill time using slow and constant movements to take advantage of that Avalancha dynamics. If it is not done at fair speed and height, coffee will be stronger or softer because it will be above or sub -expire. Beyond coffee. It is curious that they have used measurements and physical theories to, as we say, to reach the same conclusion that the baristas have been proclaiming in books and channels like YouTube: A swan neck, slow circular movements and a medium height when preparing filter coffee is ideal to maximize extraction and be able to make a good coffee with less grains. It is interesting to see that this booklet is the one that any coffee enthusiast can have, controlling temperatures, amounts and extraction times However, the researchers comment that they did not do this for fun. Mathijssen says they had “the tools of other projects and we realized that coffee was an interesting model system to explore deepest physical principles that go beyond the kitchen.” For example, this type of fluid behavior helps to understand how water erodes the rock under waterfalls or in the dams. ” “You can start with something small, such as coffee, and end up discovering mechanisms that are important at industrial scales” – Mathijssen The importance of science. But well, beyond “I came looking for money and found gold”, it must be said that coffee and science are very close. And it is not so much a search on how to prepare the best coffee using less grains, but a way to optimize the elaborations to have the best possible drink. He MIT has a course in which students and researchers seek to prepare the perfect cup controlling all the processes and techniques to achieve it. They combine elements, play with temperatures and pressures and calculate everything millimeter to obtain knowledge that They move to Café Diario thanks to the development of better techniques, more sophisticated tools and industrial processes (such as grinding or roasted) much more precise. Images | For City, Ernest Park, James Hoffmann

We have just discovered that rainfall has wreaked havoc on the Galician octopus

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The octopus is an animal of interest in the Galician coast, after all, this animal is used as the main ingredient of one of the most popular dishes of its gastronomy. However the fishing of this cephalopod So singular drag difficulties when satisfying market demand. After the octopus track. Now a new study in which researchers from the Marine Research Institute of the CSIC and Pescanova Biomarine Center have participated, gives us an important clue about stress in the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris). It is a track that It can help us to protect the fisheries of these animals and even improve the treatment they receive in the incipient aquaculture sector. Supply and demand. The Galician octopus of our tables does not usually have its origin in Galicia. We are not talking about The Galician-Leonese dispute For the origin of the octopus To Feirabut of the fact that the fishing of this cephalopod on the Galician coasts does not represent more than a fraction of the total consumption of the country. According to data from Vigo lighthousethe octopus campaign 2023/24 resulted in catches of 1.5 million kg (a notable decrease compared to the previous year); while according to data from the Food consumption report in Spain Of 2023, the octopus consumption (next to that of squid) of Spanish households was some more than 41 million kg. Only in preserves, almost 385,000 kg of octopus were consumed according to the report. Piscifactory octopus? So where does the octopus come from? One of the origins is on the African coastspecifically in the north of the continent. Despite this, world octopus demand implies a huge pressure not only on Galician heshes, but also globally. In this context, cephalopod fishing progresses towards a new border, that of the aquaculture or fish farming octopus. A border wrapped, yes in the controversy. While it is true that this practice could relieve pressure on the heshadows and protect coveted species such as overfishing octopus, there are many The voices That they have Raised against The latest projects that point in this direction. The reason: the ethical dilemma to raise for consumption animals whose intelligence It is usually equated with that of some of the most intelligent vertebrate animals such as cats or crows. Octopus stress. It is not to be surprised therefore the scientific interest in understanding aspects such as stress in these animals. Interest reflected in studies such as The recently published In the magazine Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. This analysis focused on stress response mechanisms and potential osmoregulation in the common octopus. The responsible team resorted to liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques, which allowed it to contrast that these animals do not produce cortisol, corticosterone or cortisone, three hormones that we usually associate precisely with response to stress and osmoregulation in vertebrate animals. An unexpected effect. He Team details that their findings can explain the mass death of octopus on the Galician coast seen in times of heavy rains. A phenomenon that It also extends To other geographical contexts. As they point out, rapid falls in salinity caused by rains could jeopardize the “physiological stability” of animals, a direct consequence of not having mechanisms for response to external stress factors such as cortisol. Pondering pros and cons. Learning about this fascinating animal not only allows us to satisfy the curiosity that these creatures generate, it can also help us protect them. It can also help those who seek ways to raise these animals in captivity since we can now intuit that the difficulties in responding to stress may be behind the difficulties that this form of aquaculture poses. It can also help us explain the growing difficulty in fishing these animals, a difficulty reflected in the fall in the volume of catches. In Xataka | Do not call it “octopus”, call it “giant tongue that licks everything that touches.” Science is clear Image | Pexels

We have discovered a relationship between olive oil and risk of death by dementia, a point in favor of the Mediterranean diet

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Someone could think that everything is already said, all investigated, on one of the fundamental axes of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil. Nothing is further from reality: research on this food continues and continues to reveal striking aspects of the liquid. And as regards striking relationships, perhaps the palm is taken by the fact that they keep the consumption of this derivative of the olive and dementia. 28%. A study published a few months ago established existence of this relationship. Specifically, the analysis responsible for the analysis observed a 28% reduction in the risk of death associated with dementia between people who consumed at least Seven grams of olive oil per day, compared to those who did not consume this liquid or did it rarely. Until now, some studies They had indicated us an inverse relationship between the Mediterranean diet and the cognitive deterioration associated with age. From there, establishing relationships between different aspects of these variables can help us better understand the link between Mediterranean diet and healthier aging. Changing ingredients. In its analysis, the team also studied the effects of replacing different sources of fat. Through a substitution modeling, they estimated that replacing five grams of margarine or mayonnaise daily with an equivalent amount of olive oil could be related to a decrease in the risk of mortality associated with the dementia of between 8% and 14%. A similar analysis did not detect similar effects when these fats were replaced by other vegetable oils or butter. 92,383 participants. The study was conducted from the macro -conformation Nurses’ Health Study II and Health Professionals Follow-Upwhich allowed to obtain Information about 92,383 participants. These filled surveys on eating habits every four years over a 28 -year period. The team divided these participants depending on their olive oil consumption: those who never consumed olive oil or did it less than once a month; who consumed up to 1.5 grams per day, who consumed between 4.6 and 7 grams per day; and a group for those who consumed more. The team extended its analysis over 18 years of the study and controlled aspects such as the general quality of the diet or the genetic predisposition to suffer from the disease. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Jama Network Open. What is happening? When establishing a causal relationship, it is always convenient to understand what mechanisms are operating behind this relationship between olive oil consumption and death risk associated with dementia. “Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats and contains components with antioxidant activity that can play a protective role for the brain,” He explained to the environment UPI Anne-Julie Tessier, co-author of the study. In Xataka | Extra virgin olive oil is one of the purest products in the world. And it is also full of microplastics Image | Pixabay

In 1963 we discovered a pre -Columbian city hidden in the jungle of Peru. It turns out that we only knew the tip of the iceberg

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Between the VII and XVI centuries the northeastern Andes of what is today Peru saw a rich civilization that planted the Incas: The Chachapoyasthe “cloud forest people.” There, between 2,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level, its people raised funeral and ceremonial constructions that over the centuries ended up devoured by weeds. One of his greatest legacies is Great Pajaténin the San Martín region. Archaeologists have known him for decades, but when studying it with new techniques, such as Lidar scanthey have been surprised. They knew only a small part of the complex. What they have found is so interesting that the World Monuments Fund (WMF) He already speaks of the greatest archaeological milestone in the region since the 80s. What happened? That Peru has just given a pleasant surprise to historians. Especially those dedicated to the study of pre -Hispanic civilizations. A few days ago the WMF) revealed that a group of researchers have identified and documented more than a hundred archaeological structures in the Great Pajaténone of the most important archaeological deposits of ABISEO RIVER NATIONAL PARKin the Peruvian Amazon. In fact It is also known as “the lost city of the Chachapoya” or “El Dorado del Antisuyo”. Why is it important? For several reasons. The study not only provides information that helps understand the settlement. It also helps us to know better the civilization to which it represents: The Chachapoya (“People of the cloud forest”), a pre -Columbian culture that flourished between The VII and XVI centuries and shone among other issues for its constructions, such as the impressive Kuelap fortressa citadel located at 3,000 meters above sea level in what is now the Luya province; or the Great Pajaténwith its circular stone buildings, decorated terraces, winding paths and platforms. And who were the Chachapoya? An outstanding part of the history of ancient Peru. As Remember the WMFthe civilization flourished between the VII and XVI in the northeastern Andes of what is now Peru, organizing around regional manors. Despite the steep terrain they managed to adapt and demonstrate their ability as architects: they built settlements with characteristic circular, friez and mausoleum constructions. Not just that. They also managed to resist the thrust of the Inca, although they ended up subjected in the fifteenth century. What have they discovered exactly? The Great Pajatén is known For decadesis in an environment cataloged by UNESCO And archaeologists had already been in charge of examining it before. In fact, in the 60s they documented 18 structures and time later, in the 80s, they expanded the list to the 26 elements. Now the experts They have discovered that was just the tip of the iceberg. With the help of new techniques and resources, the expedition led by the WMF has identified more than 100 archaeological structures that give a new dimension to the settlement. So relevant is the finding that the organism speaks of the “first important discovery in the region since the 1980s.” “More than duplicate the number of known archaeological structures”, celebrate. What tells us all about the great Pajatén? A lot. The site It was discovered In 1963 And since then archaeologists consider it “one of the most notable Chachapoya sites that are preserved”, with ceremonial buildings decorated with friezes and stone mosaics that represent human figures. The problem is that experts failed to make an overall image of the Chachapoya complex or its reach. The reason? Much of its architecture was still hidden, covered by the lush vegetation of the Peruvian high jungle. That handicap and the lack of perspective had so far conditioned the image that experts had of the deposit. “Its scale, function and chronology were subject to continuous speculation”, They point out from WMFwhich recalls the “unique and highly fragile ecosystem” that surrounds the settlement, in the Abyseo River Park. To shield it the authorities even restrict tourists’ access. And what conclusions have they taken? At the entrance, researchers have confirmed that the Chachapoya presence in large pajatén can be traced to the fourteenth century. And that at least. There are certain clues that suggest “a significantly earlier occupation.” During their expedition they also detected a nearby network of pre -Hispanic paths that connect the whole with the beach, papayas or slopes, which For the WMF It supports “a broader interpretation of the complex as part of a hierarchical and interconnected territory.” “The team documented an architectural set composed of multiple interconnected sectors. This allows us to understand the great Pajatén in its true magnitude, not as an isolated set, but as part of an articulated network of pre -Hispanic settlements of different periods,” Comment Juan Pablo de la Puente, WMF manager. “This finding radically changes the dimension of the site and raises new questions about the role of Pajatén in the Chachapoya world.” How have you discovered it? If great Pajatén has been known for more than half a century and until now the dense vegetation had prevented archaeologists from deepening their study, the following question is obvious: what has changed? Why have you discovered new constructions now? The answer is simple: experts have resorted to new tools that have allowed them to see through that green mantle without altering the environment or damaging structures. The key is in the Lidar scan aerial and manual, photogrammetry, topographic record and technomorphological analysis. Thanks to them, experts have been able to get up The dense mantle of vegetation to take a look at what is underneath, map everything, study the architectural techniques used in the settlement and how it adapts to its surroundings. “Everything without damaging the delicate landscape or its architectural vestiges”, insist From the International Federation. Have you done anything else? “Thanks to the use of advanced technology, our team was able to collect extraordinary visual and scientific documentation that gives life to the great Pajatén, preserving its delicate environment,” celebrateBénédicte de Montlaur, WMF president. “Although the site remains inaccessible to most people, these tools will allow us to share their meaning.” The … Read more

Hello, I am Jose and I have discovered in 2025 that I can connect five pots at the same time and to the same mobile to put music to the beast

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Surely this situation is familiar to you: your friends and you organize a party in the house of someone and someone asks not to take the speaker to wear music. And there that is not-so-like with his Bluetooth speakerputs the music and … you only hear in one area. If people are distributed in several areas, there is no music that is worth. I wish there was a technology to connect several speakers to the same wireless emission, it could be thought. Well there is, It is called atacast and I have discovered it in the middle of 2025 when trying the new LG speakers. The problem. Bluetooth is very good when we talk about broadcasting something from the device to device B. For example, music from your mobile to a speaker. So far, all good. The problem comes when we want to broadcast two or more devices and that they reproduce the same. That is almost impossible missionor rather, it was. The solution was announced in 2022when Bluetooth SIG (responsible for the Bluetooth standard) announced that the Bluetooth LE Audio specifications were complete. And with this version there was a novelty called to change the way we understand the wireless sound: aircase. Image: Xataka The solution. Atacast is a standard that allows audio transfer to several devices at the same time. This is based on Bluetooth audio and uses the LC3 codec (Low complexity community codec), and so far the technical words. So far, the Bluetooth connection depended on matching an audio source (the mobile) to a recipient (the speaker). With aircraft, the issuing equipment creates a kind of dissemination signal to which other compatible devices can be connected. The easiest way to see it is to imagine A kind of mesh wifi networkbut Bluetooth. And what is it for? The cases of use of this technology are very wide. We can think of attendance via audio in public transport or museums, emissions One-to-Many In live events or that your partner and you can see the same movie with headphones at home, to say some. Another option is that instead of depending alone and exclusively on the speaker of Non-Sé-Qui also in the next one left with your friends, you can connect several speakers with each other and put music everywhere. And that is precisely what we have tried to do with the new LG Xboom speakers and a couple of devices of a rival brand: JBL. But first, the presentations. LG Xboom The Stage 301 Beast | Image: Xataka The beast. AKA LG Xboom Stage 301, is the flagship of the range and the most expensive (300 euros). It is a large, relatively portable speaker (its eight kilos require some strength), with a power of 150W, integrated light and battery effects. It is heard really well and has the ability to fill a medium -sized garden with music without any problem. It can be used plugged in, but also for around half a day with the integrated battery. In addition, you can connect a microphone to the rear to mount a karaoke. It is a speaker whose sound quality will surprise the one who has the least trained ear. However, it should be noted that it is not a speaker designed to reproduce high fidelity. It is a party speaker ready to listen and give the note outdoors, where it meets its mission. Now, if we talk about sound, one more force of force in the bass and a spark more of sharpness in the acute would have been round. Anyway, what is said, this is very fine and more knowing the most likely use that this speaker will be given. LG XBOOM BOUNCE | Image: Xataka The median. His name is LG Xboom Bunce. Despite being cheaper than the previous one, I must say that it is the one I liked the most. Not only is it more portable, but its sound price/performance ratio seems better to me. Graves are very successful (acute could improve) and offers a very complete experience. The battery holds almost a day. It is not a cheap speaker (200 euros) and is not intended for high fidelity, but compensates with a pleasant sound, resistance to all types of hardships (water, dust, blows) and a very cool design. LG Xboom Grab | Image: Xataka The little one. The most basic model is the Xboom Grab LG, although it is not a cheap speaker (150 euros). The sound is surprisingly clear and the bass have enough stuck, something that surprises in such a format. In middle volumes, the speaker behaves. It is when we upload the volume more of the account when it starts to falter. The battery endures practically all day and water resistance is guaranteed. It is not the one that offers the best sound, but the most portable. However, I continue to stay with the previous one. That button is the key to LG Xboom Speakers | Image: Xataka How to mount the duffel bag with all three. The three speakers have one thing in common: a button to start the Party Link broadcast. The operation is very simple: we connect our mobile by Bluetooth to a speaker, reproduce something, press the party link button on that speaker and then click on which we want to connect. Ready, automatically the second speaker will reproduce the same as the first, and so many times as connecting speakers. That is: connecting the mobile to a single speaker we can create a huge LG speakers network because Party Link admits up to ten speakers. With the three LG speakers we have not appreciated a higher latency of the account. In fact, quite the opposite. Synchronization is really precise and we have not noticed that a speaker goes one more thorn ahead than the other. All these speakers and headphones are understood with each other | Image: Xataka The key: connect other devices. Party Link is a technology that owns LG, but the key … Read more

Inditex has discovered that its giant stores are less and less profitable. The problem is that you can’t close them

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Barclays has put his finger on the sore of the Inditex business model. His analysts question whether the megatiendas of the textile giant can continue to generate the productivity improvements that have promoted their growth during the last decade, according to Five days. The origin of the doubts is in its weak growth of the start of the fiscal year, which has slowed that until now it was a strong and almost uninterrupted growth. What has happened. Between 2019 and 2024, Inditex has increased its sales by 37% despite reducing the number of stores by 29%. The average size of its establishments grew 23% to 836 square meters, but sales growth is deflated: 11% in March 2024 to 4% in March this year. Why is it important. The figures show an uncomfortable paradox: While online sales grow with higher margins and minor costs … … physical megatiendas devour resources and generate decreasing profitability. However, closing those megatiendas, in emblematic or high visibility locations, with very high costs that eat a good part of the margin, could be counterproductive. The context. The Inditex megatiendas They are not just stores: they are Showrooms strategic Its real function goes beyond maximizing sales per square meter, they also serve to legitimize online prices. A jacket of 80 euros on the Zara website seems reasonable because the customer can touch it, try it and validate its quality in a store, especially in a 1,000 square meters in the center of Madrid or Barcelona. And because of the fact that this brand is there, conquering that space. In detail. The model works like this: Megatiendas create the perception of premium brand that justifies online prices. It is not something that has invented Inditex or exclusive to fashion stores. McKinsey already talked about this phenomenon Before pandemic. Without that physical presence, Zara would lose some reputational credibility in the face of much cheaper purely digital competitors such as Shein. Physical spaces act as confidence anchors that allow to collect higher prices on the digital channel. Yes, but. The equation is complicated when the profitability of these Showrooms It deteriorates. Barclays estimates that the growth of sales per square meter will decelerate 8% historical annual to 3% in the next four years. Maintaining very expensive spaces that do not generate proportional direct benefits is a bit more difficult to sustain in the long term. Turning point. Inditex will possibly redefine your megatiendas without loading your strategic value. Closed would save costs but destroy a part of the credibility that supports online prices. Keep them as the margins are erodes. The departure is to reinvent them as brand theaters that justify their cost through their impact on the digital business. It is something very similar to what happens with telecos stores, especially Flagship: They maintain strategic establishments in central and privileged locations for a more reputational and Awareness (Brand recognition, perception, prestige) that by pure profitability. Outstanding image | Inditex In Xataka | Wallapop taught us to sell what was used. Decathlon has learned to earn money with it

Steve Jobs discovered that meetings were a huge problem. Larry Page confirmed that solving it was not easy

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He excess meetings At work it has been a obstacle to productivity For decades. Although today it is A very debated topicalready in 1986 Steve Jobs He identified him as one of the great enemies of efficiency in technology companies. Decades later, Larry Page, co -founder of Google, also faced this problem by assuming CEO in Eric Schmidt replacement. At that time he realized the challenge of solving that problem without causing others Even worse. Jobs and Page attempts to change the meetings culture They showed that, although the solutions seem simple, putting them into practice is much more complicated than it seems. Steve Jobs and the problem of meetings In 1986, Steve Jobs realized that frequent and unproductive meetings were negatively affecting the creativity and efficiency of the equipment, as recognized in the letters collected in the book ‘Make submission Wonderful‘. Jobs noted that, instead of helping to advance, many of the meetings in Next They became a waste of timebraking innovation and quick decision making. Jobs promoted the idea of ​​minimizing meetings (and even prohibit them on Thursdays) and only call them when they were really necessary. According to Jobs, The key I was to keep small and focused teams, avoiding large groups where most attendees did not contribute anything relevant. This philosophy later helped Apple maintain its agility and response capacity, in addition to inspiring the CEO of another great technological: Google. Larry Page and the challenge of changing Google In 2011, Larry Page took the command of Google as CEO, at a time when the company already had 30,000 employees and increasingly ambitious challenges. Such and As I counted Jacob Votko, former employee of Google who lived in the first person those changes, Page realized that the excess meetings was affecting the company’s capacity To innovate quickly. The former employee had an anecdote in the Larry Page had criticized large companies as Yahoo! Because it took weeks to update their main page, while in Google they did it in hours. However, now that Google had grown up, Page wondered if in a startup someone would be making jokes about the slow decision of Google. To combat this problem, Larry Page He sent an email To the entire company with new Rules for meetings: Every meeting must have a “decision maker.” You can discuss issues, but once determined, each one executes them as if the decision were their own. Each meeting must have a clear purpose, structure and agenda. If you have nothing to contribute, don’t go All must be punctual, and pay full attention to the meeting (not other background tasks) Celebrate meetings in groups of less than 10 people and broadly spread the notes Establish a maximum duration of 50 minutes instead of an hour and respect those time limits The difficulties of applying new rules Although Page’s instructions were clear, Votko said that the implementation of these measures was not simple. Many employees continued to extend meetings until they were impossible for them to continue because others needed the room. In fact, some teams even tried to take advantage of the 10 -minute holes between meetings to carry out rapid meetings in which they did not even sat, generating friction with users who extended their meetings beyond the regulatory 50 minutes. According to published Business InsiderLarry Page established that no decision should wait for a meeting, and if it required a meeting, it should be summoned urgently. That generated some confusion and organizational chaos since it was interpreted as that these meetings had preference over others, demonstrating that changing such entrenched habits requires much more than simple rules. To reinforce these changes, Larry Page divided Google into seven large groups of product, each with a clear person responsible. The goal was that each of them will act like a startup internal In this way, decision -making would be expedited and unnecessary bureaucracy and unnecessary meetings would be avoided. More than a decade later, great technological ones try again apply the same recipes To prevent someone, in some startup, not get rid of his slowness When making decisions. In Xataka | Working in Google was a dream for many. Paradise in the technology offices is now fading Image | AppleFlickr (Niall Kennedy), Unspash (Rodeo Project Management Software)

In the exciting world of the supernovas this newly discovered has something unique: its form is perfect

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Identifying a Supernova is an event that astronomers usually celebrate with enthusiasm. And it is not for less if we consider that it is One of the most violent events with which we can run into the cosmos. Knowing them better is very important because it can help us understand more precisely what the latest stages of The life of mass starsand also the mechanisms that explain how the material caused by stellar synthesis can lead to new star systems. The mathematical tools handled by astrophysics current nuclear fusion that take place in the nucleus of mass stars. During the stage known as the main sequence, stars obtain their energy from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei. As this chemical element is consumed, the star begins to produce helium nuclei, and, of course, its composition begins to evolve. During this process a huge amount of energy is released and the star is forced to continuously readjust to maintain hydrostatic balance, a phenomenon that is the result of the coexistence of two opposite forces capable of compensating. One of them is the gravitational contraction, which compresses the subject of the star, pressing it without rest. And the other is the radiation and gase pressure, which is the fruit of the ignition of the nuclear oven and tries to expand the star. ‘Teleios’ is the perfect supernova If the star is massive enough will begin to consume its helium reserves and produce new carbon nuclei, while maintaining the hydrostatic balance we have talked about. And if the star has enough mass will not stop in carbon production. When this element is exhausted in the nucleus, it will be readjusted, compressing and increasing once again its temperature to stop the gravitational collapse. From this moment the carbon nuclei will enter into ignition through nuclear fusion processes and the production of even heavier chemical elements will begin. While in the star’s core is being carried out Carbon fusionin the immediately superior layer the ignition of the helium is maintained. And above this, of hydrogen. The iron core suddenly contracts under the enormous pressure that all layers of material that it has above the material exerted on it During star nucleosynthesis, stars acquire a layer -shaped structure similar to that of an onion. In the nucleus lies the heaviest element, and from there we are ascending by layers finding more and lighter elements. If the star has accumulated sufficient mass there will come a time when the nucleus will be essentially constituted by iron, and from this chemical element it is not possible to obtain more energy through nuclear fusion processes. At that time the radiation and gase pressure is not enough to counteract gravitational contraction, so Iron core suddenly contracts under the enormous pressure that all layers of material that it has above. The star has lost the hydrostatic balance. At this moment all this matter loses the support that the nucleus exercised, which is now much more compact, and falls on it with enormous speed. When all that star material touches the surface of the nucleus there is a rebound effect that causes it to be fired with a huge energy towards the stellar medium, being disseminated. A supernova has just been produced. Some of them are so energetic that for a few seconds they emit more light than the entire galaxy that contains them. This was probably what happened to ‘Teleios’, the remnant of a supernova recently discovered by an astronomer team from the University of Sidney (Australia). The remnant is nothing more than the material that is spread in a region of space after the production of a supernova In the field of Supernovas, the remainder is nothing more than the material that is scattered in a region of space after the production of a supernova. It usually acquires the shape of an expanding bubble in which it is possible to identify an external and brilliant region in which the shock wave and a diffuse interior section occurs constituted by dense and cold dust and dust. The image we publish on the cover of this article recreates a supernova in the most reliable way possible, and in it we can clearly observe the two regions in which we have just inquired. Astronomers from the University of Sidney have identified the remnant ‘Teleios’ using the Australian Askap telescope (Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder), and have realized something very interesting: its geometry is almost perfectly circular. It is very unusual that the material left after the production of a supernova acquires such a perfect geometry. Although these astrophysics shuffle several scenarios that could explain this morphology, in Your scientific article They propose to carry out more observations to determine why ‘Teleios’ is so different from other remnants. The identification of the conditions that have given rise to this cosmic object can help cosmologists to understand better What happens during the production of a Supernova and what parameters delimit the evolution of the remnant that will remain in space long after this great explosion occurs. In fact, these Australian astrophysicists have estimated that ‘Teleios’ is at a distance between 7,170 and 25,100 light years. Image | Generated by Xataka with Dall-e More information | Arxiv In Xataka | The CERN detector took 20 years to be built. It is one of the most complex machines created by the human being

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