dreams

Forgetting dreams when waking up seemed like an unimportant anecdote. A Spanish macro-study has linked it to Alzheimer’s

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Today, one of the great challenges that modern neurology has with the Alzheimer’s It is not just treating it, but detecting it before it shows its face, since right now there are several therapeutic options that manage to stop the progression of the disease. That is why our effort is to find biomarkers that warn patients that something is happening, and the last one is related to dreams. Spanish research. Based on the Vallecas project and promoted by the Reina Sofía Foundation or the CEIN Foundationand who has pointed out how not remembering dreams can be a risk marker for Alzheimer’s very premature. But to reach this conclusion, researchers have had to analyze a cohort of 1,049 people cognitively healthy older adults, who have been closely followed for a period of up to 10 years. In the end we are talking about a large amount of information that has intersected with the genetics and lifestyle of all patients, and even with the moment in which the first molecular markers of Alzheimer’s began to appear. The dreams. At first glance it might seem like an anecdotal correlation that what happens with our dreams has some relationship with Alzheimer’s, but the reality is that it has a very solid neurobiological basis. And to understand it we have to go to what is known as the default neural network, which is a set of brain regions that are activated when our mind is at rest, wandering or precisely dreaming. Scientific evidence accumulated in recent years has shown that the default neural network is highly vulnerable to Alzheimer’s pathology and is, in fact, one of the first areas to suffer structural and functional damage. In this way, if this network begins to fail in the earliest phases of the disease, it is logical to think that functions associated with it, such as the consolidation and memory of dreams, will be diminished. They have gone further. One of the most interesting points of this Spanish study is that it was not based solely on patient surveys, which may have reduced reliability. Here the researchers looked for important biomarkers, such as the presence of the APOE ε4 allele, which is a genetic variant that predisposes one to suffer from the sporadic form of the disease. In addition, they also analyzed the tau-217 protein, which today is one of the blood markers that indicates a possible Alzheimer’s disease in the early stages of the disease. And only with a blood sample. That is why these results now gain greater strength when it comes to relating the problem to dreams and Alzheimer’s. A paradigm shift. Don’t be scared if you woke up this morning without remembering what you dreamed, since this is completely normal and depends on many factors such as stress, the sleep phase in which we wake up or even age. Here the researchers only point to a sustained pattern of loss of dream memory in older people who, so far, do not have any obvious cognitive problems. That is why this discovery is purely clinical and preventive, since scanning the entire population is unfeasible due to cost and risks. However, asking a patient in consultation about their sleeping habits and their ability to remember what they dream about is free and non-invasive. But logically this has to be accompanied by an effective screening system to be able to diagnose the disease even before the first serious symptoms appear. Images | Slaapwijsheid.nl Robina Weermeijer In Xataka | Dementia is devastating largely because it arrives without warning: some researchers already predict it seven years in the future

What are “prodromal dreams” and how do they act as alarms?

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We have all been able to have ever a nightmare or a dream so real that it has left us with a very bad body when we wake up. Normally, we attribute this to stress, poor digestion or that movie we watched before going to sleep. However, neuroscience explores whether it is actually associated with a warning that the body gives us. because a disease is approaching that will generate physical symptoms. It is already known. This phenomenon is known as ‘prodromal sleep‘, and although the idea may sound like science fiction or pseudoscience, a recent study published in 2025 has put on the table a neurobiological model that explains how and why this happens. How it works. To understand prodromal dreams, we must look at the REM phase of sleep, which is precisely when the brain is not “off” and is precisely the moment in which dreams appear. But in addition to this, it is doing an intensive internal analysis, processing what is known as interoceptive signals, that is, the information that arrives about the state of our organs and tissues. From this moment on, the McNamara model can be applied, which is based on the theory of “predictive coding” by neuroscientist Karl Friston. What we are looking for here is basically that our brain works like a prediction machinesince it constantly generates hypotheses about how our body should be when compared to a state of health. What happens. Within these hypotheses, it may happen that, if there is a subtle imbalance in the body such as the beginning of an infection, the brain detects an “error” between what it expected to find (which is being healthy) and what is really happening, which is the beginning of an infection. Since during REM sleep we do not have access to conscious logical thinking, the brain here turns to areas such as the amygdala, which manages threatening emotions, the insula that processes interoception, and the medial prefrontal cortex to translate the alert into a visual metaphor. Thus, a respiratory difficulty that we cannot detect, such as early pneumonia, could translate into a recurring dream in which we are drowning, or the prelude to a severe migraine could manifest itself as a dream in which we are chased. And what’s more, we can remember because it has been very marked. The demonstration. The concept is not new, but already in 1967, researcher Kasatkin documented dozens of cases of patients who experienced distressing dreams just before suffering a heart attack. However, modern science has been able to go a little further by finding precisely the mechanism that justifies this type of dreams. One of the most striking cases of investigation is in Parkinson’s diseasesince before the famous tremors appear, many patients develop sleep problems. In this case, those who suffer from a sleep behavior disorder do not have the usual muscle paralysis of the REM phase, which causes them to “act out” very aggressively in their dreams. There are more cases. Other documented examples include patients with chronic migraineswhere it has been reported that up to 40% report nightmares prior to pain, or the curious reports from the first waves of COVID-19, where vivid dreams were the first “symptom” reported in several cohorts of patients. Stop the ‘hype’. Logically, having a horrible nightmare tonight does not mean that we will have a major infection the next day. Here science sets different limits, such as that it is a theoretical model where most of the evidence is based on observational studies. This is why there is a lack of longitudinal studies that allow us to confirm this direct relationship. But despite these limitations, the advances we are seeing with studies focused on polysomnography and advances in wearables and apps Sleep monitoring could, in the not too distant future, help us use our own nights as the most sophisticated early warning system in the world to anticipate certain diseases. Images | Dmitry Ganin In Xataka | We have a problem with typhoid fever: a global superbug has cornered us and only a vaccine can save us

While Silicon Valley dreams of servers in orbit, Russia prepares a nuclear reactor on lunar soil

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Until recently, the space race was about seeing who could get there first. Today, the question is different: who will be able to turn on the light on the Moon? While companies like Google or Nvidia imagine satellites loaded with computers for their Artificial Intelligence, Russia has hit the table with a much more earthly (or lunar) plan: installing a small nuclear power plant on the surface of our satellite. A reactor by 2036. The Russian space corporation, Roscosmos, has signed a state contract with the aerospace company NPO Lavochkin to develop a lunar nuclear power plant. According to Reutersthe deadline marked in the contract is 2036. However, the political times are much more aggressive: Yury Borisov, head of Roscosmos, has placed the real operational window between 2033 and 2035. Although official statements sometimes avoid the word “nuclear” directly, project participants dispel any doubts, the Kurchatov Institute (a leader in nuclear research in Russia) and Rosatom (the state atomic flagship company) are in charge. As the Interfax media points outthe objective is to power the infrastructure of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a joint project with China that seeks to move from “round trip” missions to a permanent human presence. But why what nuclear? A colony on the Moon faces nights that last 14 Earth days. During that time, the frigid temperatures and lack of light make the solar panels useless to keep astronauts alive or power life support systems. Mikhail Kovalchuk, head of the Kurchatov Institute, he explained in an interview with the Russian agency TASS that Russia must “run forward.” According to this medium, the country seeks to consolidate its leadership through the “Atomic Project 2.0”, which includes new generation reactors and closed cycle systems. It’s not just about science; Russia admits that partners like China and India have learned a lot from them and are now direct competitors. Eyes in the sky: preparing the ground. For the Russian reactor to reach the Moon, Moscow is already preparing the logistics. According to another TASS statementRussia plans to launch 52 satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome. Among them, the Aist-2T stands out, capable of creating 3D models of the lunar terrain and monitoring emergency situations. It is the necessary infrastructure so that the “lunar atom” does not suffer the same fate as the failed Luna-25 probe in 2023. The Moscow-Beijing axis: a long-range alliance. This deployment is not a solitary effort. As Interfax detailsRussia and China formalized their ambition in May 2024 with a memorandum of cooperation for the joint construction of this nuclear plant. They are not starting from scratch: both countries presented a roadmap in 2021 that includes five joint missions to deploy modules in lunar orbit and surface. While Russia brings its historical advantage in space nuclear facilities, China provides the scientific capacity and resources for the ILRS Station to be permanently inhabited from 2030. The board of the new Cold War. Washington has not stood idly by in the face of the Russian-Chinese alliance. NASA has received a clear directive from the current administration, in which they state that They need a reactor on the Moon by 2030. “We are in a race with China,” said Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation and who has led this directive. The background of this urgency is not only prestige, but the control of strategic resources. The Moon is the great deposit of Helium-3, an extremely rare isotope that is emerging as the “fuel of the future” for nuclear fusion. The White House’s fear is that if the alliance between Russia and China comes sooner, they will be able to declare “exclusion zones,” blocking access to this isotope and other essential metals for the technology industry. Faced with this threat, the US has increased the power of its nuclear project from the original 40 kW to a minimum power of 100 kW. Infrastructure over prestige. The space race of the 21st century has ceased to be a question of prestige and has become a question of infrastructure. While Big Tech tries to solve its energy limits with promises of servers in orbitRussia and China have opted for the pragmatism of the reactor on solid, but lunar, soil. Image| freepik Xataka | The race to bring data centers to space promises a lot. Physics says otherwise

Years ago we discovered that our ancestors’ dreams were not like ours. There are now thousands of people trying to introduce biphasic sleep into their lives.

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It’s two or three in the morning and something clicks in your eyes. You wake up. There are five seconds of disorientation. You try to go back to sleep, but many people can’t. In fact, those early morning awakenings they become a curse. Therefore, when they see on social networks that there are experts who recommend sleeping in two blocks (either in more); What’s more, when they read that biphasic sleep It is ‘normal’ biologically speakingthey think maybe they don’t have a problem. Maybe, just maybe, society has the problem. What is true in all this? How human beings sleep. A few years ago, historian Thomas Ekirch discovered recurring references to “first dreams.” It was not something isolated: he found them in documents that covered not only the Middle Ages but also the modern age. Many centuries of “first dreams” that contrasted with the fact that, in short, he did not know what they were talking about. He decided to investigate it in detail and, with this, he managed compile a series of tests historiographical evidence of the existence of a biphasic dream in these periods: according to their research, the first dream lasted from 9 to 11 at night. Then there would be a period of wakefulness (which is dedicated to the most diverse activities: chatting, praying, visiting neighbors…) and, subsequently, there would be another period of sleeping again until dawn. It’s not just something historical. Seduced by Ekirch’s ideas, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr performed an experiment with 15 subjects who were left without artificial light. He found that under certain restrictions (basically limiting their leisure activities), participants adopted a biphasic pattern. This has triggered the ‘two-phase evangelizers’. And, in fact, it is increasingly common to find people who defend it. The problem is that this ‘natural’ pattern is highly debatable. Yes, in the pre-industrial European era many slept in two phases: but that is not ‘natural’. As Wehr himself discovered, it is, in any case, the natural adaptation to short days (around 10 hours). If we go closer to the equator, where the days are more stable, the anthropological evidence does not find the same patterns. What does this mean? That there are no magical ways. If we review the research on naps, for example, we will see cases in which there is a lower cardiovascular risk and others in which cardiometabolic risk skyrockets. Here we are defenders of the napbut only when it makes sense. The bottom line here is that lack of sleep or poor quality sleep has been linked to immunological problems, metaboliccardiac, psychological and cognitive. Not only that, the scientific literature is full of studies showing an increase in coronary heart diseaseof the diabetes and of the obesity. To make matters worse, social problems they are also on the agenda. The important thing, therefore, is to find a way of sleeping that works for us. And for this we have some tricks. a lot of tricks: turn sleep into a routine (whatever it may be), exercise throughout the day, do not consume substances that affect it, relax and use our physiology to our advantage. However, the central trick is not to overwhelm ourselves. As we said years agothe idea behind all sleep experts is that, we can use certain techniques to help us sleep, but the only way to cultivate restful sleep is to reconcile ourselves to it. Image | Mussi Katz In Xataka | When “dying of sleep” is literal: This is how not sleeping can kill us

The two largest travel agencies in Spain fight to sell trips to Disney. This is the business of children’s dreams

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Ávoris has lost the exclusivity it maintained in Spain to market trips to the Disney parks. El Corte Inglés Travel obtained authorization in May to distribute these packages through its Smytravel platform, breaking a monopoly that allowed its great rival to consolidate its leadership in the ranking of Spanish travel agencies. Now both giants compete directly for the same pie: the 500 independent agencies integrated into Traveltool and the thousands of Spanish families who ask about the price of a trip to Disney every year. Why is it important. Disney is not just another product: it is the star product of family tourism in Spain (and increasingly even for adults without children). Its parks received 142 million visitors in 2024, almost doubling its closest competitor, and Disneyland Paris is the loose leader. This trip is sold almost exclusively through physical agencies, generates high margins and attracts families who are especially willing to spend a lot of money to make their children’s dreams come true. Whoever controls Disney controls a substantial part of the family travel business. The background. The exclusivity of Ávoris has never pleased its competitors: For years, agencies that wanted to sell Disney had to resort to the group’s tour operators: LePlan and Touring Club. That made Ávoris the inevitable intermediary of a business with guaranteed demand. This privileged situation used to generate recurring complaints in the sector for what they considered unjustified favorable treatment. Yes, but. Ávoris has not sat idly by. It has launched improvements to the LePlan and Touring Club platforms with a new centralized page that offers training, inspirational content and tools to design personalized Disney experiences. The answer comes weeks after Tourmundial (the brand of El Corte Inglés) announce combined packages to Disneyland Paris with accommodation, transportation, tickets and complementary services. Between the lines. This trade war points to something deeper in Spanish society: the touristification of childhood. Going to Disney has become an almost obligatory milestone, a natural extension of the first communion as a rite of passage and as an experience that “must be lived.” Not taking your children to see Mickey and company can generate a feeling of social exclusion, as if the experience were an essential requirement for a complete childhood. So agencies don’t just sell trips, they sell the feeling of tranquility from meeting social expectations and the fulfillment of the child. In Xataka | The incredible story of the couple who lived at Disneyland for 15 years without the visitors realizing it Featured image | Capricorn song

The LowCost airline business is in the accessory. That is why this idea of ​​vertical seats is one of his old dreams

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Would you be willing to travel on a practically standing plane? How long? It is, without a doubt, the first two questions that one assists when he attends, not without some stupefaction, to the invention of Aviointeriors, an Italian company that has been in a drawer for years a new seat concept for low -cost airlines. Skyrider. Perhaps because if you put an English name the precariousness and discomfort sounds a little better. Like when we describe the UPCyCling Or we call Coliving To share floor. Anyway, Skyrider It is the name with which Aviointeriors I tried to place their seats in low -cost companies years ago The company specializes in creating all kinds of environments inside a plane, with seats of all kinds and prices. From the most premium to the cheapest, typical of the tourist class. But years ago he tried to reinvent the tourist class with a seat … that perhaps we couldn’t call him a seat. 20%. Those are your accounts. 20% more occupation if travelers, instead of being completely sitting, simply rely on a completely straight back and yield their weight on an inclined lower surface. Something like traveling by bus with your back resting on the glass or body. The objective, of course, is to sell this format at some point in low -cost airlines. The short duration flights in which there are those who would be willing to go … One or two hours standing? Because it seems clear that we can say that these passengers travel “standing. An old dream. In recent days we have seen the proposition of using these seats be “new” in some media. The truth is that it is something we already knew and that Aviointeriors has maintained in its portfolio for more than a decade. In fact, they weren’t even the first to put it on the table. In 2003, Airbus first proposed a system of seats very similar to that of Aviointerior. Travelers barely sat on a cylinder that crossed the width of three seats and maintained a slight support. Something like a stool. In 2014 they gave him the patent. Three years later, the low -cost company Vivacolombia confirmed that he wanted to get on the dream of what we could call APERUUTOBÚS. It was, for his CEO, an attraction for “working class and vacationers with low budget”. Is it safe? The other big doubt that assails us when we see the image of these Skyrider or Airbus’s proposal. And it seems that. In 2019 the Italian company presented the third version of these vertical support with leg hole. The avant -garde He collected his appearance in Hamburg, at one of the most famous aviation fairs in the world. According to the medium, the minimum security measures required but not with the passenger regulations were complied with. According to this, they must have a space of 28 inches (71.12 centimeters) and the proposition of Aviointeriors was 23 inches (58.42 centimeters). Click on the image to go to the original post Better than not. Following the echo he has had in the media in recent days, the company itself He has published a post on Instagram in which they point to an obvious change of strategy. With a text in which it reads Provocative by Design (Designed to provoke, in English), the company talks about the seat in the following terms: “The Skyridider, often confused with a plane seat finished and ready to take be the air trip someday “ The truth is that Aviointeriors puts the focus in 2012 but throughout the decade the concept was evolving. Now, however, they point out in their communication that it is a company “very aware of the current demands of the market, gathering quality, comfort and the unmistakable touch of the Made in Italy in each product that creates. For now, the Skyrider is not part of the official line. “ A yearning. Although clearly Aviointerior is trying to separate itself from this concept that seems to be part of its past, low -cost airlines have shown their interest in several occasions for this type of solutions. We talk about the case of Vivacolombia but Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, has expressed himself in these terms on some occasions. Already in 2012 he pointed out that if this concept of traveling was approved could display them in a week. In one television interviewit pointed out that if the price of these seats were low enough they would fill out the space to travel erect than traditional seats. It’s not just the seat. Although the focus has been put in vertical seats, it is likely that the true intentions of low -cost companies do not point to how many more people can strain on a plane by journey. The real business is what revolves around that seat. The own O’Leary said to want to go to the bathroom Because that allowed him to put more seats but, not to mention it, allowed him to generate a new income route. It is what the Ryanair business model has based: put very cheap seats and charge each extra small at a high price. He has segmented the plane in small areas with different prices, charges for carry a suitcase in the cabin and has proposed a subscription. Photo | Wolfgang Weiser and Aviointeriors In Xataka | Ryanair has spent a year selling so cheap that now his passengers will suffer the consequences: expensive tickets in 2025

Karol G organizes a charity gala to support women to fulfill their dreams

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Karol G wants to help women fulfill their dreams. For this reason, the Colombian singer will perform the first edition of “Con Cora Land”, a charity gala to raise funds to support women in developing their personal projects. Through a statement on his Instagram account, With Cora, the singer’s foundation, she shared the good news. “From love and strength, a space is born to connect with who we are and what we dream of being, our first charity gala: With Cora Land. An event full of purpose, created to transform lives and continue supporting our mission of empowering women and girls through art, sports, technology and education“, indicates the foundation about the first edition of the gala, which will be held on February 22 in Miami. According to the statement, With Cora Land it is a tribute to women and the impact they can make together. “At Con Cora Land we will celebrate the richness of Latin culture while working for a future with more equity and opportunities for the most vulnerable populations,” the foundation tells the foundation. “A space in which international leaders, celebrities and philanthropists will come together to support female empowerment,” she adds. The gala will include live performances by prominent artists, a dinner and an exclusive auction for attendees. Items available for auction include unique pieces of art, Karol G’s personal items, and exclusive experiences. The funds raised will be used to finance “Casa Con Cora”an initiative of the foundation created to empower women in areas such as technology, art and leadership. Karol G is coming to Netflix In December, Netflix announced that Karol G will have her own documentary about her lifewhich is expected to hit the streaming platform this year. The American director Cristina Costantini will be in charge of the documentary which will offer an unprecedented look at the life of the Paisa singer. The documentary will also address her role as a businesswoman and her influence on the music industry. Continue reading: · Karol G breaks record on Billboard’s Latin Airplay list· From Karol G to Bad Bunny: What are albums by Latin artists among the 250 best of the 21st century for Rolling Stone?· Karol G says goodbye to 2024 with a message for her fans: “Keep dreaming”

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