eat

What to do with half a million dogs that can no longer eat

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It happened in January 2024. In a society that changes to the vertiginous rhythm, the youth of South Korea had long been reluctant to a menu that was part of the culture of the nation for centuries: the Dog meat. Then there was a change of legislation, the “Menu with dogs” was prohibited, pursuing the practice With three years in jail. The problem is now numerical: what to do with half a million dogs. Force extinction. I told it in an extensive BBC report. The national prohibition of the consumption of dog meat in South Korea, approved in 2024 and whose implementation will culminate in February 2027, has plunged thousands of farmers in uncertainty and despair. During generations, the breeding of meat dogs was a source of legitimate income and, for some, even honorable. The historical decision of South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat in 2024 marked a point of cultural inflection after centuries of tradition culinary that included dishes such as The Bosintanga soup appreciated for its supposed vigorizing properties. Half a million. Today, however, figures such as Reverend Joo Yeong-Bong (religious leader and president of the Korean Association of Edible Dogs) describe a unsustainable situation: Merchants have disappeared, debts accumulate and the means to subsist fade. Not just that. The Times told That many farmers have hundreds of animals that can no longer sell, dogs whose relocation is complex or directly impossible. The government has offered compensation for Up to 600,000 Wones by dog ​​to those who close their farms before the term, but the measure is perceived as insufficient and poorly structured in front of an industry that still has about 500,000 animals in captivity. An ethical and political storm. The apparent victory of the animalist movement has uncovered a anguishing paradox: Dogs saved from the slaughterhouse could end up being sacrificed anyway due to lack of alternatives. Most of these animals are large, selected for their weight and commercial value, but considered Little suitable for adoption In an urbanized society where the small apartments. Plus: Many belong or are crossed with the Tosa-Inu breedcataloged as dangerous and subject to strict regulation. And if that were not enough, the shelter saturationthe lack of logistics resources and the social stigma that the dogs raised for consumption drag. Although the government ensures that euthanasia is not part of the plan, even leaders of animal welfare associations have admitted that many dogs They will end up being sacrificed. Activists such as Lee Sangkyung, from Humane World for Animals KoreaThey denounce that neither the State nor civil organizations were prepared to absorb the consequences of their own triumph. Partial solutions. Some isolated cases, such as R200 dogs escate In Asan and its shipment to Canada and the United States, they show that international adoption can be an exhaust valve, although limited. He stood out The BBC that testimonies such as former Yang Jong-Tae They reveal an emotional transformation: seeing how rescuers treated dogs with human dignity to him deeply, despite continuing to oppose the veto. For him, as for many in his guild, dog meat is not morally different to that of cow or pork. However, experts like Chun Myung-Sun point out that the consumption of canine meat entails health risks Superiors for not being integrated into the regulated meat system of the country. Although dog meat is still consumed in countries such as China, Vietnam or parts of Africa, in South Korea it has become more and more taboo. In 2024, only 8 % of citizens claimed to have tried it in the last year, compared to 27 % in 2015. From the announcement of the veto, more than 600 of the 1,537 farms They have closed. Ruin and generational emptiness. In addition, cultural progress brings with it a painful social invoice. The Times told that many breeders, especially the elderly, have resigned their future To poverty. Born in times of hunger and war, they say they can survive without income. However, young people in the sector face a much more gloomy reality: indebted, without buyers or clear job exit, and trapped in an activity condemned by law. Cases Like Chan-Wooa 33 -year -old farmer with 600 dogs and all its invested capital, describe the feeling of helplessness when seeing that neither the government nor the animalist organizations have offered them real solutions. Its history illustrates the clash between a moral system in transformation and an informal economy left on the sidelines. What began as a fight for animal compassion now runs the risk of translating A humanitarian disaster unnoticed. The invisible cost. The South Korean government currently invests some 4.3 million dollars Annual in expanding shelters and supporting private facilities, but still lacks a solid plan for the “disposition” of dogs. Animal defenders have relocated thousands since 2015, but warn that they cannot absorb The current volume. The farmers, on the other hand, cry out for an extension of the grace period, although some fear that it is not enough. Joo Yeong-Bong He warned That if a sustainable way is not found to solve the fate of dogs and humans trapped in this forced transition, the consequences in 2027 could be tragic. Thus, while the Fex prohibition From dog in South Korea can represent a moral milestone for the vast majority, it also exposes the ethical, economic and social dilemmas that arise after the approval of the law. Image | Pexels In Xataka | South Korea has eaten dogs for centuries. From now on, this practice will pursue with three years in jail In Xataka | South Korea plans to ban dog meat. So the “farmers” threaten to release two million in Seoul

measure exactly the time they eat, according to scientists

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Overweight is no longer an exclusive problem of adults or an isolated issue in childhood. Between improvised lunches and late dinners a serious problem is emerging. To follow the current inertia, a study Posted in The Lancet He has warned that Spain could be placed as the fourth country in the world with the highest prevalence of childhood obesity in 2050. And the answer is not only in what is eaten, but when. Looking beyond the plate. For decades, the nutritional debate focused on calories, Fats, sugars and Tags. But a key question had been out of radar: does the time it is eaten? Here the discipline of the Chrononutrition. This discipline analyzes how food schedules can directly influence our health. More technically, it is about biological watches (adjusted by factors such as light, sleep, physical activity and food) are closely linked to metabolism through the so -called circadian rhythms. Therefore, dinner late, that in Spain it is a usual tonic, it could be taking its toll. Not only does digestion hinder: it can also imbue metabolism, make insulin work worse and, over time, favor overweight, even if the dish seems healthy. Under that premise. A group of researchers from the valuenut project, from the Complutense University of Madrid, It was proposed to respond to that theorybut focusing on the little ones. To do this, they gathered 880 schoolchildren between 8 and 13 years old, from five Spanish provinces: A Coruña, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Seville and Valencia. The goal was not just to know what children ate, but also what time they did. The study focused on three concrete aspects: breakfast, dinner and the “food window”. This little known concept refers to the time between the first meal of the day and the last to know how daily intake is distributed. The criteria? They considered late breakfast that occurs after 8:53 am, and late dinner that is taken from 9:10 p.m. If the difference between the two exceeded 12 hours, there was talk of a prolonged food window. The results. Unlike what They have suggested Some studies in adults, in this case there was no direct relationship between eating late or lengthening too much time between the first and last meal of the day, and neither was a greater risk of obesity in the children analyzed. However, the metabolism did give signals of change, such as the schoolchildren who had breakfast later presented lower levels of glucose and LDL cholesterol (the one known as “bad”), and higher in HDL (the “good”). A fact that revealed the thread that had to be thrown away. There was the pattern. When the late dinners or very prolonged food windows were analyzed, a different pattern emerged: the quality of the diet got worse. Less planned meals, more improvised and with less nutritional value. On the other hand, it was also given that there were children who ate the days for more hours, that is, with a longer window. These showed unavailable values ​​at glucose and cholesterol level and indices to develop cardiovascular diseases in the future. But there is more. And to this equation an additional factor was added: the dream. The study revealed that 60 % of these children also slept less hours, which could further enhance the negative effects on their metabolism. Less rest, more mismatch in food schedules and a lower quality diet: a silent, but potentially harmful cocktail. Synchronizing times. In the light of the results, the researchers launch a clear message: it is not enough to eat well, you also have to eat on time. From the study itself has clarified that the recommendation is to shorten the daily window, that is, that all meals are concentrated in a period of less than 12 hours. Of course, in the case of Spain, where late dinners are deeply rooted to culture, so the challenge is not less. However, if you want to stop childhood obesity, the “when” must occupy a place as relevant as the “what” and “how much”. The research also raises new lines of work: what role does the child’s chronotype play? What happens if this data is combined with sleep quality? What if it is also taught to better plan meals? Understanding how the internal clock works from childhood can be key to preventing this problem from growing with them. Image | Pavel Danilyuk Xataka | Mexico has given an ultimatum to schools: they have six months to throw all the “junk” food of the menus

“Ready to eat” are sweeping supermarkets. It is because we no longer buy products, we buy time

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Juan Roig He said it And half Spain was thrown on him: “In the middle of the 21st century there will be no kitchens.” Discussing whether it was a prophecy or a simple interested provocation, eight million Spaniards were already giving him right. Those who were buying prepared dishes, according to someone so little suspicious of having an interest like the EFE agency. Not that Roig is a visionary guru, he was simply reading the data that others wanted to ignore. The numbers speak for themselves: the consumption of dishes “ready to eat” bought in supermarkets (or in that genius of Naming‘Merchants’) It has grown 48% in just two years. Mercadona has this section In 1,260 storesbut Lidl also launched its own rangeAlcampo sells Up to 200 different dishes according to the store and Day has 180 products like this. Even Ikea has climbed to that car: to sell, more than ingredients, solutions. AND We are not talking about junk food or commitment solutionslike those packaged potato tortillas that made Belcebú cry. Now we see paellas, homemade croquettes, lentils, lasagers or potato tortillas themselves that know exactly what we hope they know. The trend goes beyond the supermarket: in the last twenty years the consumption of this type of dishes has multiplied by five. Supermarkets are simply integrating it into their offer and taking advantage of the fact that they are a usual place of passage, not a concrete destination such as the food houses. The nuance that explains this boom is that We are not buying exactly food, we are buying time. It is a symptom of change of our priorities. We are not stopping cooking for lazy, but by exhausted. Maybe also because we have more options what to do with that time recovered. Our parents had three television channels and the bar dominoes; We have platforms of streamingvideo games, Yoga online classes, cheap Ryanair tickets, establishments oriented towards “experiences” and an infinite offer of stimuli competing for our attention. It may simply Let’s be less willing to give up those two hours of kitchen when we know everything we could do with them. If we add the paid work, the domestic, the displacements and the care, the royal days exceed the 60 hours per week, according to the National Survey of Working Conditions of the INE. What we buy with each prepared dish is not just food: it’s a break. Returned time. A truce. And that’s why they succeed. In Xataka | Spain has become a country addicted to something that some years ago enjoyed little prestige: the white brand Outstanding image | Mercadona

Believing that the healthy lasts less is changing how we eat (and how much we waste)

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Today, knowing how much a food really lasts has become almost a mystery. How much does a pepper in the fridge endure? Why does that apple have been in the fruitman for a week and nobody eats it? Have you spoiled or simply believe it? This confusion could be causing something else, an unnecessary increase in food waste. Short. Many foods come with labels such as “consuming preferably before”, “expiration date”, or even “packaged the …”, which has always been interpreted as a deadline for food security. However, According to EFSA (European Food Security Agency), this type of labeling does not mean that food is not safe after that date, but could lose quality, not security. There is a study behind. Between 2018 and 2024, more than 3,500 consumers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea participated in an academic study in eight parts, Published in the Journal of Marketing Research. The objective of research was to understand how the perception of “healthy foods” affects their management and consumption. In one of the experiments, scientists asked participants to classify six products (cereals, snack bars, protein bars, yogurt, cookies and fried potatoes) in two categories: those who considered healthier and those who believed they would expire faster. The majority assumed that the food considered “healthier” were the ones who thought they would spoil before. Jeehye Christine Kim, professor at the University of Virginia and co -author of the study, explained it as follows: “This is due to the lack of knowledge about the deterioration of food. Consumers apply what they know about fresh fruits and vegetables to packaged foods, even when it is not logical to do it.” But there is something else. Research has shown that consumers were more likely to throw healthy food as their expiration date approached than to discard less healthy products in the same situation. However, researchers have given him a name: Heuristic Health. An automatic assumption that leads to think that, if a food is healthy, it must also be more perishable. That belief is born from the real experience with fresh fruits and vegetables – which are spoiled quickly – and is erroneously applied to packaged products such as yogurts or bars. To that is added another factor: the fear of making mistakes. As we do not always know how to identify whether a food is still safe or not, and since the labels do not help, we prefer to discard it “just in case.” But that “just in case” has a cost: more wasted food, many times without need. A search to waste less. Researchers suggest that one of the keys to solve this problem is on labeling. As explained by Brent McFerran, professor at Simon Fraser University and Co -author of the study, to The Wall Street Journalboth the food industry and governments must act, since “many perfectly healthy and safe foods for consumption usually throw themselves in the trash due to ignorance of how long they can be consumed without danger.” For its part, EFSA promotes information campaigns so that consumers learn the difference between expiration labels and preferred consumption, and drives manufacturers to improve the clarity of their containers. Beyond choosing healthy. Eating healthy should not mean throwing more food. But while confusion persists on what a date printed in a container really means, thousands of perfectly edible products will continue to end in the trash every day. Understanding what the labels mean, demanding clarity and rethinking our perceptions can have a real impact, not only on our health, but also on the planet. Because choosing healthy should also include taking care of what is not wasted. Image | Dean Hochman Xataka | A squirrel could cross Spain jumping from supermarket in supermarket: how we have obsessed with the purchase

Kim Kardashian put him fashionable, an influencer viralized him and science continues to say the same thing: he doesn’t eat placenta

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All the people who have seen Games of Thrones —Ojo, Mini Spoiler – will remember that mythical scene in which Daenerys Targaryen devours a raw heart before a crowd. For this sequence, they used a heart made of solidified jam that The actress recalled Thus: “I knew bleach and raw pasta. I ate about 28 hearts during the days we shot that scene. Luckily, they gave me a spit because I vomited in him very often.” A brutal scene that, today, has claimed life more or less: a influencer Argentino, Lucas Gago, It has gone viral After publishing a video in which he eats – literally – the placenta of his newborn daughter. This act, recorded after home delivery, generated a wave of reactions in social networks: from astonishment to absolute rejection. Although for many it was simply one more provocation on the Internet, the video revived a debate that mixes biology, personal beliefs, celebrities and pseudoscience. From the viral to the origin. Although Gago’s case is extreme, the idea of ​​eating placenta is not new. In recent years, this practice, known as placentophagyHe has gained notoriety, especially since celebrities like Kim Kardashian They counted publicly that had consumed it encapsulated after giving birth, hoping to avoid postpartum depression. Since then, several public figures They have followed that pathpresenting it as a way of reconnecting with the natural or “reuse” what the body produces. An ancestral ritual? Even if that premise is repeated, the story does not support it. An ethnographic investigation that He has studied To 179 contemporary cultures has not found evidence that eating placenta after childbirth was common. Now, in the animal world the situation is different. A study, Posted in Ecology of Food and Nutritionhas observed that many mammals, such as primates, rodents and carnivores, do usually eat the placenta. According to researchers, this practice can help them reduce pain and activate care instincts towards their young. What do experts say? According to Mayo Clinicthere is no conclusive scientific evidence to prove benefits such as increased energy, improvement in breast milk production or prevention of mood disorders. In recent years, more and more people have begun to consume the placenta in capsules, believing that it is beneficial. However, Cleveland Clinic He has warned about the risks that this implies. In a recent article He explained That the placenta can contain bacteria or toxins accumulated during pregnancy, which could cause infections. Dr. Oluwatatosin Goje, an expert in infectious diseases, explained that consuming it, either raw, cooked Or in capsules, you could reintroduce those harmful agents in the body, representing a risk for both the mother and the baby if she is breastfeeding. Other uses of the placenta. In most hospital deliveries, the placenta is considered biological residue and is ruled out according to health protocols. Only in specific cases and under medical authorization, parents can request to keep it, something that is not always allowed or regulated in all countries. However, there are people who decide to keep it, as is the case of artists and filmmakers who have addressed this organ from a symbolic and performative perspective. For example, chef Eddie Lin made the documentary American Afterbirthin which The use of placentas is investigated In artistic, gastronomic and social contexts, proposing a cultural and provocative approach on the subject. The most recent case is that of the influencer Spanish Violet Mangriñán, who decided to plant a tree Using the placenta of her daughter Gala, in a gesture she considered spiritual and ecological. Trend or danger? What began as a striking gesture for social networks ended up awakening a much broader discussion about the limits between the natural, the symbolic and the safe. Although some public figures have contributed to popularize the idea of ​​consuming the placenta for its supposed benefits, science remains without supporting these practices and, on the other hand, alerts on possible risks. In a time where the intimate becomes viral and alternative, it disguises itself as healthy, it should be remembered that not everything we see on the Internet is a good idea to replicate. And that, although the human body is a biological miracle, not everything that comes out of it must go directly to the plate. Image | Unspash and Instagram Xataka | Is it healthy to eat an ice cream each and every day of summer? Science already has an answer

Is it healthy to eat an ice cream each and every day of summer? Science already has an answer

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In a balanced and varied diet it is not difficult to find a hole for occasional whim, a sweet dessert or a Snack from time to time. Now, finding balance is not always easy, even more so when we often receive news that they point out that foods like ice cream They are healthy, something that seems to contradict our most basic ideas about nutrition. So is this true? How often can I eat ice cream? First, bad news: no, eating ice cream is not especially healthy. As with the consumption of certain alcoholic beverages such as wine, the fact that some study finds positive properties in any of its converters, does not necessarily imply that a food will be healthy. Here it is important to address several issues issues. The first is that there may be other components that cancel the positive effect detected. In the example of wine, its alcohol content tends to counteract the impact of compounds such as polyphenols. A key question to ask ourselves here is if we can obtain the beneficial compounds of a source that does not contain the harmful compounds. It is also relevant to attend to what aspect of health a certain study refers. Analysis can be carried out focused on A specific aspect of healthsuch as the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or cancer. It is therefore important to understand that what can be good for one aspect of our health may not be so much for another. Interpreting the results of a study is important, but sometimes the methodology can also give us important clues when making this interpretation. An example we have In an article for The conversation Written by Duane Melor, expert in Medicine and Nutrition of Birmingham Aston University. Although it is an interesting result, some factors must be taken into account, the first, the fact that ice cream represents a small element of the diet and that sometimes other variables can play a bad pass. Melor In a doctoral thesis published in 2018 and focused on the heart effects of dairy products. The thesis, the expert indicates, included a study in which it was observed that, among the study population (composed of people with type 2 diabetes), those who consumed ice cream no more than twice a week showed a 12% lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, compared to those who did not consume this sweet. Although it is an interesting result, some factors must be taken into account, the first, the fact that ice cream represents a small element of the diet and that sometimes other variables can play a bad pass. “It is important to note that this bond between ice cream and heart disease only becomes apparent when other aspects of people’s health are taken into account, including how healthily they ate,” MELLOR EXPLAIN IN YOUR ARTICLE. “This suggests that eating A generally healthy diet It is possibly more important when reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes, compared to eating ice cream. ” Establishing causal relationships in observational studies such as this is difficult and mellor gives us an example of why. A person with problems prior to the study may decide to stop consuming ice cream to improve their diet. This implies that this person will be seen for the purpose of the study as a person with a worse level of health despite leading a seemingly healthier life. If there is a marked trend, that is, if there are numerous cases like this, the results of the study may present biases. Practice and theory Ice cream are usually high caloric food in sugar and in fat. This, as we point out at the beginning, can fit perfectly into a balanced diet, but it does not mean that a food is healthy. He sugar consumption It has been linked to very different problems that cover from oral health to an increased risk of cancer, also through diabetes. Fats and excess calories can also facilitate the appearance of overweight or obesity. While this is not a health problem in itself, it is a risk factor in the appearance of diseases and disorders, including cardiovascular diseases. There are also studies that point in this direction, some of them cited by Melor in their piece. A study Made by an Italian researchers team and published in 2019 in the magazine Nutrientsdetected that greater ice cream consumption was linked to the appearance Non -alcoholic fatty liver diseasesomething that is not exclusive to this food, but we must also take into account when making our nutritional decisions. We explained before something that we must take into account is whether we can find healthier alternatives. Part of The benefits that can give us ice cream come from milk, thanks to elements Like calcium either The probiotics. That is, non -sugary yogurt (or less sugary), cheese, or milk can give us some of these nutrients, turning them into alternatives that may perhaps fit more into a daily diet. So how much can I eat ice cream? There is no clear response, it depends on factors such as the type of ice cream we are consuming (the nutrients that each type of ice cream provides can vary) and the size of the ration, our diet and countless factors such as our weight or our state of health. If we wanted Consume ice cream every day We should make sure first to have A varied diet (and healthy lifestyle habits), consume reduced amounts and eliminate other added sources. And still nothing guarantees that this cannot lead to other problems such as the aforementioned fatty liver disease. In Xataka | We have been studying chocolate and tea compounds for more than 75 years. Now we know that they help control blood pressure Image | Lukas

Aragon wanted his children to eat more fruit at school. So he went to look for her 10,000 kilometers away

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The Aragonese political debate has waited these days with two unexpected protagonists: fruit and schools. Or rather, the fruit that is distributed in schools. Although Aragon has thousands and thousands of hectares full of fruit and vegetable trees and stands out in the production Of cherry, peach and apples, among other fruits, the farmers of the region have raised their voice to complain that in the educational centers of their villages, pieces that arrive from plantations located abroad are being distributed, in some cases thousands of kilometers. The complaint the has launched the union of farmers and ranchers of Aragon (UAGA) and puts the finger in a yaga that already has taken to the collective To the street. What happened? The complaint has been made public UAGA-COAG. In A statement Published yesterday the Agrarian Organization ensures that there are dining rooms of educational centers in Aragon in which fruit arrives from foreign countries is being distributed. Moreover, UAGA goes further and claims to have witnesses confirming that in several schools in the region oranges from Egypt and pears of South Africa have been delivered, cultivated to more than 10,000 kilometers of distance. As a test, the association includes a photograph in which a box of pears is shown that indicates that its origin is South Africa, although there is no reference that reveals that the image was taken in a Aragon school. Click on the image to go to Tweet. “Unfair competition”. In its statement UAGA claims to feel “outraged” by the importation of fruits that it is perfectly possible to find in the Spanish fields and questions that countries from which the merchandise is brought meet the sanitary, environmental and labor standards that the European Union does require that community farmers. “It involves the violation of the demands of the organization and the fruit growers that require the application of ‘mirror clauses’ to imports from third countries “, They emphasize From the collective. UAGA-COAG wields two reasons that, in their opinion, condemn local farmers to suffer “unfair competition” against imports from other countries. The first is the strict regulation imposed by Brussels to European plantations on the use of pesticides, manipulation and conservation of fruit. The second is labor costs. While in Spain they go up every year, in Egypt, complaintthe minimum wage is 176 euros per month and in South Africa it is around 270. Looking at the EU. The complaint of the UAGA has reached enough draft for the Aragon Government to have gone to give explanations. The regional press appointment Sources of the Ministry of Agriculture that clarify that the key is in the financing of the lunch and sowing program to schools: the funds start from the EU, with what they arrive accompanied by their standards. When hiring the fruit supply, a geographical proximity requirement is not applied nor is it requested that the products be of community origin precisely to avoid a “discriminatory competitive advantage” in the process. The regional government argues that its role is that of intermediary. And now what? The Regional Executive emphasize Also that the objective is to “consolidate healthy eating habits” among schoolchildren and that fruit and milk are distributed at times such as lunch and snack, not in dining services. The program is not exactly new, but now it is offered with mixed funds that combine a community contribution and another from Aragon. With the EU money, a lot of 300,000 euros that is managed with the requirements of Brussels is paid. With the one contributed by the Aragon government, another 200,000 is financed that can handle with its own criteria. And the administration already guarantees that, “in line with its defense of the local product,” will give priority to proximity productions. The idea is to distribute cherries, apricot and nectarines, although they can also be replaced by apples or pears if requested by the centers. Beyond schools. The fruit distribution program is important because it reaches hundreds of school points and thousands of children, but the “outrage” of Uaga-Coag is not explained only by the alleged distribution of pears of South Africa and oranges of Egypt instead of fruit grown in the Aragonese countryside. Farmers It has come out To the street On several occasions to claim decent prices, changes in community policy and greater controls to ensure that the merchandise that comes to the country conforms to the community demands with which they work. “These parameters make it possible to import fruit from third countries profitable for certain companies and generate unfair competition at all levels,” the Agrarian Association in Your statement. “To end these practices, UAGA insists on claiming public administrations (regional, state and European) the regulation of markets and the recovery of the principle of community preference.” Images | Federicoeth Photography (Flickr) and Uaga In Xataka | We have a hard time differentiating a banana from a banana. And an illegal network was taking advantage of it in Spain

We do not know if the AI ​​is going to eat your work, but the CEO of some startups are determined to convince you of it

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AI comes for your work. It is the message that does not stop arriving since Chatgpt reached the market. And even before. The impact of artificial intelligence on the world of employment It can be hugebut for the moment They have not been noticed Its effects too much. That, they say more and more frequently the CEOs of technological companies, it will change. First, Shopify. Less than a month ago the CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lütke, He sent a memorandum To its employees with a clear directive: “Using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation for everyone in Shopify.” In fact, he indicated that before expanding a workforce or investing in other tools, project managers should have exhausted all the ways to do that task with AI already available tools. Then Fiverr. The last to adopt a decision and speech of this type is Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr, who in a memo to his employees emphasized the importance of protecting their careers in the face of the growing influence of AI. His message was overwhelming: “This is the unpleasant truth: AI comes for your work. Demons, it also comes for mine. This is a call of attention. It does not matter if you are a programmer, designer, product manager, data scientist, lawyer, customer service representative, seller or financial: the AI ​​comes for you. You must understand that what were previously considered” easy tasks “will no longer exist; what were considered” difficult tasks “will be” difficult tasks ” Easy, and what was considered “impossible tasks” will be the difficult thing. Finally (for the moment), Duolingo. Luis von Ahn, CEO of Duolingo, announced its template A few days ago his intention to be “an Ai-first. Among the measures that the company will take is to “gradually stop hiring freelancers to do the work of which AI can be commissioned.” Of course, Von Ahn apostilled, “Duolingo will continue to be a company that deeply cares about its employees. This does not replace the DUOS (company employees) with AI. It is about eliminating bottlenecks so we can do more with the spectacular duos we have now.” Many said it before, many will say it later. The message is explicit, but of course it is not new. The appearance of Chatgpt caused this type of predictions to become increasingly frequent, and little by little we have seen how the CEOs of large companies have talked about the impact that AI will cause on work. Above all, in the world of programming: Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, was clear a year ago than No one should learn to programand they have also said Mark Garman (CEO of AWS) or Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Mark Zuckerberg joined that prediction a few days ago and assured that in 12-18 months the majority of the code would be written by an AI. And I didn’t talk about the machines autocomplete code, but that they would write it completely. First it will help us, then (perhaps) it will replace us. Many experts believe that AI It will enhance our productivity And it will help us do more And better work than ever. It is what happened with the computer or internet, but with AI there is a clear fear that I end up going beyond and completely doing our work. The possibility is there, although with other technological revolutions, there will be more threatened jobs and others that will be less. Bill Gates, for example, believes that Doctors and human teachers do not have much future And Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, states that the impact of AI on employment “It is a huge, huge problem“. Perhaps 140 years of history point to a surprising future profession. Hairdressers. Between 1871 and 2011 Technology created more jobs than destroyed. The 2015 study published In The Guardian It focused specifically on data from the Census of England and Wales, and that allowed to assess the impact of technology on the world of employment. The most physical works clearly fell into a fee, but while or other professions were created, or professionals were added to which there were already. For example, surprise: the number of hairdressers grew prodigiously throughout those 140 years: just 0.1% of the workforce in 1871, this group went on to represent 0.6% in 2011. But the impact is inevitable. There are more studies and forecasts that occurred before the current “revolution” of AI. In 2018 the World Economic Forum (WEF) He published his report ‘Future of Jobs 2018’. In their conclusions they pointed out that automation would eliminate 75 million jobs by 2025, but would create 133 million new functions. The balance has changed five years later. In your 2023 reportthis agency pointed out that in the next five years it is estimated that 83 million works will be lost and 69 million will be created. The funny thing is that lately workers They seem to be somewhat more optimistic With his future. Image | Fiat Chrysler Automobiles In Xataka | Thousands of employees use AI in their work. More and more do not want their bosses to discover it

We already know where the microplastics get the lettuce that you eat in the salad: from the air

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At this point of 2025, the idea that everything (Absolutely everything) It is full of microplastics. Plants are no exception; nor, of course, the vegetables we consume. The matter is that, for a long time, we have assumed that these compounds entered them through roots, soil and water. It is not exactly like that. No? And where do they come from? Well, a few days ago a Chinese research group published in the magazine ‘Nature’ The first solid evidence that supports the idea that one of the main routes for these microplastics is air. And it is in a lot of environments: Tianjin scientists collected all kinds of leaves, herbs and vegetables of urban and rural environments. In all, they found plastic particles in the foliar fabric. In the most polluted sites, concentrations of up to 10,000 nanograms per gram of dry weight. Above all, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS). And where do they enter? That is something that is yet to be confirmed, but everything seems to sign up for stomata (small openings formed by cells) and cutt it (a membrane covered by insoluble waxes, “Ideal for absorbing microplastics“). Once inside, the compounds move inside the plants using the vascular beam, are distributed by different tissues and accumulate in hair structures called ‘trichomes’, a kind of fitological ‘sinks’. A big problem … The Chinese study demonstrates that accumulated absorption and accumulation of atmospheric microplastics It is generalized. But there are keys that help us better understand the circulation of these compounds: for example, that the outdoor plants had between 10 and 100 times more pet than those grown in greenhouse. And that the efficiency of the absorption of the leaves is extremely low (around 0.05%); That is why this route has been discarded repeatedly. However, given the little evidence we have about how microplastics enter the soil and water, this route begins to take shape. And, we like it or not, right now it is very difficult to control. And, of course, even if we don’t know what they do … In our body, yes that data like these raised many doubts about what happens if we discover that (as we intuit) is a serious problem. Because, in short, Our control capacity It is extremely limited. Image | Killari Hotaru | Kasturi Laxmi Mohit In Xataka | Our problem with microplastics is so huge that they already appear even in human testicles

We have been asking us for years, we will eat in space. Now we know that at least miso

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The space has become in recent years a more and more open place, not only reserved for a handful of trained professionals but also to anyone who can afford one of the nothing cheap passages that can lead one to cross the last border or even put it into orbit. Now, if we want to continue taking more and more people to space, solve The question of food It will be a key step. Miso in space. A group of researchers Miso has managed to ferment In a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), demonstrating that the food fermentation process is possible in environments like this. The experiment is a small step towards improving habitability conditions in space trips. From koji to miso. The miso It is a popular seasoning in Japanese cuisine. It is prepared from fermented soy, barley or rice grains, and salt. Soy fermentation is performed through a Koji fungus culture (Aspergillus oryzae), a fungus also used in the elaboration of the Sake. The team wanted to verify if this fermentation was possible in orbit, since microgravity conditions or cosmic radiation could affect the growth capacity of microbes in food. To check it, they sent a sample to low terrestrial orbit, to the ISS, For 30 days. As a control, they also fermented samples of the same lot on the mainland, at the MIT headquarters (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and at the Technical University of Denmark. Fermantado. The experiment was successful. When the sample came to Earth, the team studied the state of microbial communities, aromatic compounds and sensitive properties. They detected, yes, some changes. “Fermentation (in the ISS) illustrates how a living system on the microbial scale can prosper through the diversity of its microbial community, emphasizing the potential of life to exist in space,” stood out in a press release Maggie Coblentz, who collided the study. Nuts. Trying things in a laboratory is usually a bad idea, but this time the team should also verify the taste of this space miso. They first verified that the orbital recipe contained the same aromatic compounds and amino acid profiles similar to terrestrial miso. Those who tested the space miso explained that the taste was good and similar to that associated with this product. They noticed that, a greater flavor of nuts and more toasted. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine iscience. Expanding the menu. The experiment can be used to improve access to new flavors among people traveling to space. Today the foods that can be consumed in space are limited by factors such as the amount of water that we can lead to the space or product development requirements. The possibility of fermenting products in orbit will expand The limits What we can eat in space (e Even on other planets). And it is not only about the possibility of introducing new flavors: fermentation is a process that humanity has taken advantage of during millennia to preserve food and increase its useful life through transformation. Not so sterile. As Explain COBLENTZalthough we tend to see ISS as an aseptic and sterile environment, the experiment also demonstrates that microbial life is possible in these environments. This also implies bioethical issues about the fact that, if humanity ever becomes an interplanetary species, it will not do it alone but accompanied by both plants and infinity of microorganisms that can settle in these extraterrestrial environments. In Xataka | The food knows very different in space. The reason is more intriguing than it seems: confinement Image | Maggie Coblentz / POT

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