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the psychological effect of “observing the Earth”

April 10, 2026 by usatoday24

The return trip of the Artemis II astronauts will end today, around 8:07 p.m. EDT (2:07 a.m. CET). The four members of his crew will finally return home. It’s been a little over a week since they were separated from their families. to make history. However, the people who return today are far from those who left that day. That little blue marble. Three of the four Artemis II astronauts had previously traveled to space. Only Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian astronaut, has made his debut as a space traveler with this mission. This means that most of them had already seen the Earth from outside, but not from as great a distance as they have now. They have seen in all its splendor that little blue marble that our planet becomes when the observer moves away from it. Overview effect. Although many of them had already seen the Earth from outside, with each new observation the overview effect intensifies, a concept that refers to the change in perspective on life that many astronauts claim to have experienced after this peculiar experience. The term was first coined in 1987 by space philosopher Frank White and since then many space travelers have claimed to have experienced it. When we see our planet from the outside, borders suddenly disappear. We understand that deep down we are a tiny point in the immensity of the universe and we relativize many problems, while we give more importance to others. A shared atmosphere. One of the Artemis II crew members, Christina Koch, spoke before the trip about this effect. She is the woman who has spent the most days in space, so she knows very well what it’s like to observe the Earth from outside. “What you realize is that every person you meet is held within that green line (the atmosphere) and everything else outside of it is completely inhospitable. You don’t see borders, you don’t see religious lines, you don’t see political boundaries. All you see is the Earth and you see that we are much more alike than different.” Seeing the Earth from space helps put many issues in life into perspective. Does not have a medical description. Although this effect has a certain psychological origin and has attracted the attention of psychologists for decadesit cannot be considered a disorder or anything like that. It is not included in the DSM-V, the manual that includes the diagnostic criteria and descriptions of all mental disorders. In this case there is simply a change of perspective and, in turn, great relaxation. Changes in the brain. There are studies in which the brain waves of people have been analyzed while they undertake a space trip in virtual reality. Using electroencephalography, a decrease in beta and gamma bands has been observed. This effect on brain waves occurs when there is very intense relaxation. In fact, A similar effect has been observed through activities such as meditation. In a way, observing the Earth from outside is a form of meditation. See life differently. After returning to Earth, many astronauts have made drastic changes in their lives because of the Overview Effect. For example, It was the case of Edgar Mitchellone of the astronauts of the Apollo missions. When he returned to Earth, he claimed to have felt the need to embrace a more spiritual lifestyle. Not only in space. The Overview Effect occurs when we see something magnificently amazing that makes us put everything else into perspective. Above all, astronauts experience it when they see the small Earth in the immensity of space. However, similar cases have also been described in front of a majestic landscape in nature. The 10 most intense days of their lives. During the 10 days that the mission lasted of Artemis II, its four crew members have been exposed to the normal inclemencies of a space trip. However, it has been much more extreme than other missions. They have broken the record for distance from Earth that a human being has traveled. If all goes well, they will also break the speed record for a manned spacecraft. On that return home there will be critical points such as trajectory correction, impact with the atmosphere or parachute deployment prior to landing. Very intense experiences, concentrated in one of their shortest missions. For Hansen, this is all new and he may be the one who has experienced the Overview Effect the most. But none of them will be the same person as a few days ago. They have seen what no human has ever seen. Images | POT In Xataka | Artemis II has five different hot sauces on board: the reason is a radical change in what we consider “space food”

the effect of the crisis on the components that we had not yet taken into account, according to analysts

April 1, 2026 by usatoday24

The price rise announced by Sony on March 27 (which places the PS5 at 649.99 euros and the PS5 Pro at 899.99 euros from April 2) has opened a debate that goes much further than that of the increase itself. Because industry analysts have started to do the math and believe that even more terrifying figures are coming than what PS5 is going to cost: what PS6 is going to cost. Arms escalation. The PS5 cost 499.99 euros when it hit stores in November 2020. On April 2, 2026 it will cost 649.99 euros. More than 150 euros difference in five years, and it is exactly the same hardware. And it is not the first time that Sony has revised the prices of its current generation upwards: the company already did it in August 2022 and did it again in April 2025then focusing on the Digital Edition of its console. The pattern. What is striking is not only the rise itself, but the pattern: the consoles of this generation They have been getting more expensive for years instead of becoming cheaper, just the opposite of what had happened historically, and which obeys more to common sense in that we are talking about progressively more outdated hardware. However, it is a widespread movement: Microsoft did the same in October 2025 with their Xbox Series. What the analysts say. Three voices from the sector They agree that what happened with PS5 is not an isolated case but a sign of what is to come. Mat Piscatella, senior analyst at Circana, admits that the magnitude of the PS5 rise has exceeded all industry expectations. Serkan Toto, CEO of the consulting firm Kantan Games, goes further: a PS6 model at $999 “is not impossible.” And Joost van Dreunen, a video game professor at the NYU Stern School of Business, believes the market is headed toward a world in which a $1,000 console will be the norm, and gaming will become a luxury expense. The reason: the component crisis. As we know, the cost of hardware has skyrocketed and the price of DRAM and NAND memory has risen 80 to 90 percent since early 2026. Demand for artificial intelligence data centers, which require huge quantities of memory chips, has strained the global supply chain, and consumer electronics makers are absorbing the blow. Added to this are tariff tensions driven by the US administration and logistical disruptions in parts of Asia. Better at once. Toto believes that Sony appears to have decided to apply a single substantial increase now, rather than chaining together several smaller increases over time. This maneuver has an additional advantage: if the market stabilizes later, Sony would have room to lower prices or launch promotions. Furthermore, with Xbox weakened and nintendo In another completely different segment of the market, the Japanese company can set prices with a margin of maneuver that it did not have in other generations. It’s not all pessimism. Not all forecasts point to four digits. The KeplerL2 leak expert calculate that the current cost of manufacturing a PS6 would be around $760. With that figure, a launch price close to $699 would be theoretically viable if Sony accepted that part of the hardware would be paid for out of pocket, as it has historically done with its consoles. The lack of direct competition, however, may push Sony not to contain the price as much as in other generations. In any case, the crisis of components and, above all, a ‘GTA VI‘which will catapult PS5 sales makes it unlikely that we will see the launch before 2028. In Xataka | Playstation 6: all the information we know (or think we know) so far

You thought you went to the library for the silence, but science says that the “co-action effect” is responsible for your concentration.

March 23, 2026 by usatoday24

When teleworking or studying, you can live a very peculiar situation: Sit at your desk at home, open your laptop and suddenly feel the urgent need to tidy up the table, go to the refrigerator or check Instagram. In the end, do everything possible except do the tasks we have to do and be zero productive. But this is something that can change completely if we go to a library or the officewhere you can achieve three hours of absolute concentration. It has its explanation. It is not magic, nor is it coincidence, since the fact of being very more productive in libraries or in spaces of coworking responds to a fascinating combination of human psychology, interior design and social pressure. The psychology. The most powerful psychological factor operating in a library is what experts call social facilitation. This theory postulates that the mere presence of other people performing a task similar to ours improves our performance in routine or mechanized tasks, since we are forced to have to replicate them. Within this phenomenon, the “co-action effect” stands out, which is basically based on the fact that, when we see dozens of people around us immersed in their books or screens, our brain receives a very clear signal: It’s time to work. This behavioral contagion makes it much easier for us to stay focused and not get distracted. It’s a social comparison. Something that I myself have experienced in this sense is that the thought that one has in these situations is that “If everyone is focused, I should be too.” A simple social comparison that heightens our sense of responsibility and eliminates the temptation to procrastinate to spend some time watching TikTok. Decades of study. The neural bases of social facilitation have been the subject of different studies, highlighting a 2007 meta-analysis in different individuals that confirmed that the social context of “working” directly modulates our performance. Of course, science also suggests that this effect is wonderful for assimilating notes or advancing on known tasks, but it can be harmful if we face extremely complex mathematical or logical problems where the pressure of the environment can block us. The design of the space. Beyond psychology, modern libraries not only store books, but have been designed to have good cognitive comfort for those people who visit to work or study. This is something that evidenced in a 2024 study published in Social Sciences Communications which analyzed the environment of university libraries and how it directly influences student engagement. The conclusions drawn here were that environmental variables such as natural lighting, a controlled noise level, ventilation and the ergonomics of furniture favor positive emotional states that prolong our ability to concentrate. In addition, zoned design, such as absolute silence areas versus group work spaces or modern learning commons, allows the user to “customize” their level of isolation, significantly improving study habits, as supported by science itself. The silent pressure. If it crosses our mind to open a package of crispy chips in the reading or study room of a library, it seems like an easy task, but the pressure of the gazes of the rest of the people present makes us give up in three seconds. Libraries operate under a strict code of rules that act as firewalls against stimuli that can distract us. Being a public and academic space, study-oriented behavior is socially rewarded. On the contrary, activities that we would do at home without thinking, such as having the television on in the background, having the cell phone on, watching a video on YouTube or snacking, are perceived here as unacceptable. That is why these ecosystems force us to limit ourselves. The union in society. Finally, it should be noted that there is an identity component, since by feeling part of a temporary community of people who make efforts in the same physical space, our own academic or professional identity is reinforced. Interestingly, this phenomenon has been extrapolated to coworking spaces, and science has shown that working “alone but together” not only increases time structuring and perceived productivity, but also improves mental and physical health. Even moderate social interaction, such as a glance or a brief greeting at the coffee machine, gives us the necessary social support without becoming the constant source of interruptions that a traditional office or our own home is often. In Xataka | The great little gem of productivity is a very simple method: the “two minute” rule

We knew that Mars has gravity. Now we have just discovered the unexpected effect it has on the Earth’s climate

February 1, 2026 by usatoday24

I don’t need to tell you that the Earth’s climate is not constant and it is not just because of the climate change: If we look at it in perspective, throughout the history of the planet it has gone through glaciations and warm periods. Many of these changes find explanation in the Milankovitch cycles or orbital variations, that is, the slow changes in the Earth’s orbit and the inclination of its axis due to the gravitational attraction of other planets. The surprising influence of Mars. It was known that the giant Jupiter or the nearby Venus are largely to blame, but now we have discovered another secondary actor that has gained importance: Mars, as explained this study collected in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and led by scientist Stephen Kane. What’s surprising about it? That Mars only has 10% of the mass of the Earth, hence there are simplified climate models that downplay its importance. The simulations. The hypothesis is: what would happen to the Earth’s orbit if Mars were much larger or did not exist? Since human research teams do not have millions of years to wait, they used simulations with a solar system model of ten million years each to study gravitational interactions. The only factor they changed in each simulation was the mass of Mars: from zero (Mars does not exist) to being ten times larger than Earth. Mars “weighs” much more than we think. And the results were conclusive: Mars is directly responsible for the “Great Cycle”, a 2.4 million year gravitational beat in which Mars rhythmically stretches and shrinks the Earth’s orbit, acting as a metronome that regulates the amount of solar radiation received and regulates the frequency of ice ages. Without Mars, that cycle would not exist. However, Kane nuance: “It doesn’t mean that without Mars the Earth wouldn’t have ice ages, but it would completely change the frequency with which they occur.” But if Mars were giant, Earth’s climate cycles would also change: they would be shorter and more extreme, going from an ice age to suffocating heat waves. In short, life adaptation would become more complicated. What would not change, according to the study, is the “great Jupiter – Venus cycle”, the 405,000-year gravitational pattern driven by a secular resonance of both planets that acts as the “master clock” of the Earth’s climate as it is the most stable and constant cycle in the planet’s geological history. Why is it important. Knowing better the influence of the planets around us on the climate is good news that helps us better understand our past and be able to glimpse the future with more precision. But it has an impact on the search for habitable exoplanets: it is not enough to find something similar to Earth, but you also have to look at its neighbors and pay attention to the fine print. That is, if it has a “Mars-type” planet nearby but of great mass, its climate has every chance of being too chaotic for life. In Xataka | Mars has just entered the exclusive club of planets with rays. This is discouraging news for NASA. In Xataka | We had been wondering for decades how Mars could have water, cold and life. Today we finally have an answer Cover | Photo of Planet Volumes in Unsplash

One of the most hostile places on the planet is, ironically, our best “air conditioning” against the greenhouse effect

January 3, 2026 by usatoday24

We knew that the Southern Ocean It is, in essence, the thermal lung of the Earth that is essential to regulate the temperature of the entire planet. But what we didn’t know exactly was how it managed to process such an amount of energy. Now, science has revealed that storms play a leading role that may be key to facing the global warming. Its usefulness. To put ourselves in context we must know that the Southern Ocean It has the ability to absorb more than 75% of excess heat that is generated by the emissions of greenhouse gases that humans themselves produce. This is something that makes it a true heat sink, potentially becoming the most important in the entire world. In this way, if we remove this Ocean from the equation of current life, the temperature of the atmosphere today would be much higher. A blind spot. The climate models that we use on a daily basis have it, since when trying to predict how water heats up, the calculations did not quite fit with what was happening in reality. Clearly, some type of element was missing here that we did not fully locate. But this has come to an end, thanks to the team led by Marcel du Plessis and Sebastiaan Swart who They have found the missing piece of the puzzle: ocean mixing driven by summer storms. A phenomenon that literally allows the ocean to ‘swallow’ atmospheric heat. How is it possible? The mechanism that this ocean follows is as violent as it is efficient. During the southern summer, the sun heats the surface layer of the ocean, and if the water remains stagnant, then the heat will remain on the surface stored in the water, making it easier for it to return to the atmosphere or accelerate the melting of ice. The correct thing to do in this case would be to literally bury it in the depths. And this is where storms come in, where the intense winds and extreme waves that are produced act like a giant mixer. In this way, the energy of the storm agitates the water, pushing heat from the surface into much deeper layers. Towards the depth. In this way, storms help the surface of the ocean cool, which gives it the ability to continue absorbing heat from the air in a more efficient way. And where does all this energy go? Well literally, When you go down to the deep sea you are ‘trapped’ there for decadesslowing down immediate atmospheric warming. Although we must keep our eyes on what will happen in the future. How it has been measured. This is a practically obligatory question when we talk about the deep sea, which are truly hostile places for anyone. That is why our best ally has been marine robotics. Instead of relying on satellites that have difficulty seeing through clouds or measuring depth accurately, this technology transferred to underwater gliders and autonomous buoys are capable of measuring temperature and salinity in real time. All this while a storm is passing over them, causing the phenomenon that has now been studied. In this way, this technology has given us the ability to monitor the ocean “from within” during events that are impossible to study on ships. We care (a lot). This discovery can be compared to that of a coin with two sides. On the one hand, we already have confirmation that the Southern Ocean is a very powerful ally in the fight against climate change. But on the other hand, we have a very disturbing question: what will happen if storm patterns change due to climate change itself? If the storms move or lose intensity in this area, we could lose this “sponge” of heat that is slowing climate change. The consequences would be quite clear: a large increase in the temperature of the atmosphere that would be felt throughout the planet. Images | jean wimmerlin Chris LeBoutillier In Xataka | We have known for 25 years that we were going to exceed 1.5 degrees of temperature increase and we have not cared

“Why the ‘rebound effect’ has become the surgeon’s best ally against Ozempic

December 31, 2025 by usatoday24

In the last two years, the GLP-1 receptor agonists like for example Ozempic either wegovy have gone from being drugs for diabetes to becoming the cultural and medical phenomenon of the decade for fight obesity. And such was its impact, that it was thought that surgery for obesity had come to an end, but the reality has been very different. The premise. The idea is quite clear: if I can take medication twice a month to lose weight… Why would I go into an operating room? A logical idea, especially given the risks that one always has when entering surgery, no matter how well controlled they are. But this enthusiasm of abandon the scalpel It is slowly being diluted, since according to the latest research, bariatric surgery is still superior to GLP-1 agonists and achieves much better results. The devastating fact. The study that has shaken the board comes from NYU Langone where researchers compared patients undergoing interventions such as gastric bypass with those who had taken Ozempic. The result was quite clear. Those who had undergone surgery managed to lose between 24 and 26% of their body weight, while patients on drugs lost an average between 5 and 6%. A result that does not agree with what was expected by pharmaceutical companies with their clinical trials in hand. But the problem is that the variable adherence to treatment It is once again a big problem in medicine. More data. The University Clinic of Navarra He also wanted to investigate in this field, doing a large study with 20,000 patients, concluding exactly the same thing: bariatric surgery surpasses GLP-1 agonists in total weight loss, reduction in BMI and body composition. The human factor. The great failure of a pharmacological treatment is undoubtedly the humans who are going to take it. And it is quite common in medicine for patients to forget to take a dose of their medication or even abandon treatment halfway through without any type of control. But luckily, the big difference between a pill (or injection) and surgery is that the second cannot be “forgotten.” The studies are clear in this sense: between 60% and 70% of patients They abandon GLP-1 treatment before the first year. Something that causes a great rebound effect which makes a patient return to their original weight, especially if they return to the same eating habits as before starting treatment with Ozempic or others. The difference. The reasons for reaching this point in treatment are varied: from persistent gastrointestinal side effects to the high monthly cost of treatment or the shortage. But the thing is that while stopping pricking yourself causes a rebound effect, bariatric surgery, although invasive, offers much more stable long-term results. Although logically he has many other problems behind him. Beyond the scale. The superiority of surgery is not measured only in waist centimeters. Science points through a systematic review published in JAMA Network Open This 2025 suggests that surgery is associated with lower overall mortality and a more drastic reduction in major cardiovascular events compared to drugs. And although GLP-1 has shown great benefits, the truth is that science indicates that surgery is still better in remission of type 2 diabetes with a minimal risk of mortality. Furthermore, despite the initial cost of the operation, in the long term surgery is cheaper for health systems than chronic drug treatment that costs hundreds of euros per month for life. A combined therapy. Despite all this, we are not in a war of one against the other, but the future points to an integration of both elements. In this way, strategies are already being explored where GLP-1 is used before surgery to reduce surgical risk in patients with extreme obesity, or after surgery as a rescue tool if the patient begins to regain weight years later. Even the WHO has begun to include these drugs in its comprehensive treatment guidelines, but emphasizing that they are one more piece of the puzzle, not a universal substitute. Images | David Trinks In Xataka | We have more and more research on the effects of Ozempic. And the problem is that we have more and more doubts

Spain needs to modernize its electrical grid, so the remuneration rate has increased. The effect will be noticeable in the next five years

November 4, 2025 by usatoday24

Until now we have observed the electricity bill as has increased after the April blackout. But this time the focus is not on the receipt, but on a silent decision that the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has just made and that will determine how much it will cost to keep the light on in the next five years. Piecemeal. The CNMC has sent to the Council of State the circulars that establish how the transport and distribution of electricity is remunerated between 2026 and 2031, the so-called “network business”: the towers, cables and transformation centers that make it possible for energy to reach homes, factories and hospitals. The technical detail is a figure: 6.58%. This new percentage – up from 5.58% – is, according to the regulator, an update that better reflects current financial conditions, after a period of rising interest rates. However, the measure is far from the 7% or 7.5% requested by the large electricity companies grouped in Aelec (Iberdrola, Endesa, EDP and Naturgy) and that the small distributors represented by CIDE also claimed. And in the pocket? Good question. These circulars, which will come into force on January 1, 2026 if the Council of State does not introduce changes, define the remuneration criteria for the entire period 2026–2031. In the short term, the increase will not be directly noticeable on the bill, but it will influence the regulated costs that support the electrical system and that we all pay. According to CNMC calculationsthe impact of the change will be between 0.9% and 1.1% of the total annual costs of the system, depending on the level of investment. The purpose of this rate is to guarantee that companies that maintain and expand the electrical network receive a reasonable return on their invested capital. If the percentage is too low, investment is discouraged; If it is too high, the costs of the system and, in the long run, the consumer’s bill increase. The regulator look for a balance point: enough attractiveness for lines to continue being built and reinforced, but without transferring an extra cost to homes. A change in calculation. For the first time, historical data and future forecasts will be combined to estimate the cost of companies’ debt, rather than relying solely on past interest rates. New components are also incorporated: transaction costs (such as commissions for issuing debt), the so-called cost-of-carry (cost of maintaining financial positions) and a correction due to the European Central Bank’s bond purchase programs, which had artificially reduced the profitability of public debt and, therefore, the risk-free rate. According to the organizationthis is a “more realistic” methodology that incorporates recent market volatility. The change will be applied in a phased manner during the six years of the new regulatory period and expands the margin of recognized investment, including not only new infrastructure but also improvements and optimization of existing ones. The goal: keep bills contained while the network is modernized. The “K parameter”. Beyond the technicalities, what is at stake is Spain’s ability to electrify its economy without skyrocketing the bill. The CNMC has set it at 257 euros per connected kilowatt, compared to 232 euros in the previous draft. The companies maintain that the real cost is around 375 euros/kW, so the improvement falls far short. This parameter determines how many industrial projects, data centers or new homes can be connected to the network without the connection being economically unfeasible. According to the employerlimiting remuneration to that level “prevents connecting part of the new consumers” and can put the competitiveness of entire sectors at risk. This has been the response. Aelec expressed its “deep concern” and warned that the new circulars “compromise the electrification and industrial development of the country.” The employers insist that the rate is still below European levels – between 6.8% and 7.5% – and warns that “it discourages investment just when the country needs to deploy more electrical infrastructure.” More than 67 business and social associations have joined his call. In a manifesto cited by Aelec itselfwarn that, if conditions are not reviewed, “the Spanish electricity networks could collapse.” The employers’ association also criticizes that the CNMC has reduced the recognized maintenance costs by 37%, which, in its opinion, may deteriorate the quality of the service and stop the connection of new clients. For its part, the CNMC maintains that its obligation is to protect the consumer and guarantee the sustainability of the system. The organization seeks to “limit the impact of investments on customer bills” and remembers that everything that electricity companies invest in these networks is paid as fixed charges on the electricity bill. The balance, the regulator insistsconsists of remunerating the necessary investments without overloading the end user. A decision with long-term effects. Behind this technical dispute lies a fundamental question: can Spain electrify its economy at the necessary pace without increasing the remuneration of the networks? The Government has launched a plan to increase investment in networks by 62% until 2030, with around 13.6 billion euros to reinforce the national network, as El Economista recalled. However, Five Days points out that the new limitations of the CNMC could stop part of these projects and leave out consumers with higher connection costs. The electricity companies are now preparing allegations before the Council of State, while the regulator defends that its proposal offers stability and predictability for six years, a rarity in a context of financial and energy volatility. An invisible, but transcendental decision. The figure of 6.58% will not say much to the average consumer, but a good part of Spain’s electrical future depends on it. It defines whether there will be enough investment to connect the new factories, electric vehicle chargers or data centers that support digitalization, and also how much each family will pay to keep that network operational. You won’t notice anything on your next bill, but this decision determines how much you’ll pay—and how reliable your grid will be—over the next five years. Between containing prices and … Read more

The Japanese Shinkansen was the fastest train in the world until China defeated it. The reason: the “piston effect”

November 1, 2025 by usatoday24

In a very summary way, the piston in a four stroke engine It is responsible for moving the air inside to compress it and facilitate the burning or explosion of the fuel or to push it out of the combustion chamber. That is, it is dedicated to pushing the air up or down. Now imagine a train arriving in a tunnel at more than 300 km/h. Suddenly, the train goes from being outside to moving the air inside the tunnel. To push it to the bottom. Your movement It would be very similar to that of a piston. The train moves in a straight line and around it the tunnel would behave like a combustion chamber. That doesn’t seem like a problem. It doesn’t seem like it if we think that the air is simply pushed to the outlet where it is released without further problem. It’s also not a problem if your high-speed lines run over a bridge more than 100 kilometers long. But if you are a mountainous country and you have made the railway your star medium to move millions of people hundreds of kilometers an hour. Yes, you have a problem. Because the piston effect is pure physics and solving it to gain speed is not being easy. When they were the best In 1964, while Spain began to open up to the world, Abebe Bikila won his second Olympic Marathon in the streets of Tokyo. He did it wearing Puma Osaka shoes.nothing to do with the famous 42,195 meters that he covered barefoot in Rome to win four years before. We do not know if Bikila took that first Shinkansen that linked the cities Tokyo and, precisely, Osaka. The bullet train had begun to operate in Japan that same year, promoted by the Olympic Games in the Japanese capital. Then, the two cities were linked by a train that reached peaks of 210km/hbecoming the first high-speed line in the world. More than 60 years later, Japan is no longer the country with the highest number of high-speed kilometers of the world. Today it is China. It makes sense, taking into account that the country is huge, so if this means of transportation were promoted, sooner or later they would surpass their neighbors. Spain, by the way, also surpassed Japan in this area years ago. But it is very likely that something else has hurt Japan more. China is making the bullet train its flag. Its latest advances with the maglev, which levitates thanks to very powerful magnets to avoid friction with the track, has reached a combined speed of 896 km/h at the intersection of two CR450 trains. The problem for Japan is that China has a lot of money. And if it is necessary to build eight of the 10 longest bridges in the world to solve geographical accidents, they get to work. Japan has to deal with a lot of mountains and a more traditional system: tunnels. And that when you want to make a train pass at very high speed is quite a problem. When a train fully crosses the threshold of a tunnel, what is known as piston effecta problem that prevents increasing the walking speed further. The consequences are as simple as they are serious: loud explosions, breakage of equipment… and the eardrums of passengers. Upon entering the tunnel, the air is compressed and the movement of the train moves it towards the exit. However, some of that air rebounds and generates pressure changes that can be especially painful for passengers, even affecting their middle ear. When moving outside, a pressure wave is created that moves at the speed of sound and when the train leaves the tunnel, a shock wave and a sound explosion are created that, it is calculated, can be heard 400 meters away. It is known as tunnel boom. Japan is now experiencing a problem carried over from the past. Their trains are wider than the European ones but their tunnels are narrower. This was to reduce infrastructure costs but also to run less risk of landslides in the event of an earthquake. At first this was not a problem but when the speed of the trains increased they realized that they could not continue moving. In China, trains also use wide tracks like their neighbors but since they do not preserve inherited structuresthe new tunnels built are wider. This reduces the void effect produced with the entry of the train into the tunnel and, therefore, mitigates the problems for passengers. Furthermore, as less resistance is generated when the train passes, energy expenditure is also reduced. The solution for the Japanese is not simple. On the Tokaido Shinkansen, the first high-speed line (the one that connects Tokyo with Osaka), 13% of total kilometers They run inside tunnels. But the Sanyo Shinkansen line runs through tunnels half of the time. and he Hokkaido Shinkansen which is under construction (this line is only partially open) contemplates the roofing of 80% of the layout. The most effective solution that has been found to the problem is to produce trains with a very long and sharp nose. The aerodynamics tries to imitate the beak of the Kingfisher that can dive into the water generating minimal splashes. Following the same concept, the longer and sharper the nose of the train, the less resistance the train encounters at the entrance and the more gradually the pressure wave is generated. The other solution has been expand the section of the tunnel at its entrance. The “door” is wider and also has side openings that allow part of the air to escape. air moved by the train. This escape route generates a lower pressure wave, allowing the train not to cause unwanted discomfort to passengers and to travel faster. It has even been thought of hermetic trains with controlled pressure. During its tests, Japan continues to search for trains that can reach a top speed of 400 km/h. However, the structures inherited from … Read more

How to see any photo with the 3D space effect of iOS 26 on your iPhone using the new function of the APP photos

September 18, 2025 by usatoday24

Let’s explain How to use the app Photos From your iPhone to see with 3D effect The photos you want. It is one of the functions of iOS 26 with which you can use this effect with your photos On the lock screenbut the APP photos also allows you to use it with anyone at any time. Here, you just have to know that this function is pure amusement, to see the effect and that’s it, you can’t use it for much more. But in the end, it can also help you to see how you are with any photograph you have before using it then as a wallpaper. Use the spatial effect with any photo The first thing you have to do is Open the application Photos On your iPhone. Remember that you should have updated iOS 26, and the condition is that the photo where you want to apply the effect must have some type of protagonist, such as a person, pet or object. Choose a photo and enter it. Once you are inside the photo, you have to click on the hexagon icon that will appear above right. To see it you must have the interface, that is, if you only see the photo click on the screen so that the other elements come out. When you press that button, you will see that for a few seconds some purple colors appear on the screen while the AI analyzes the content of the photo. Then you will see that The indicator of Space sceneand that when you move the mobile screen you can see the 3D effect of the photo. In Xataka Basics | How to obtain information from what appears on your iPhone screen with Apple Intelligence and iOS 26

They have studied the effect of long -term sweeteners on our brain. His conclusion is that he ages faster

September 6, 2025 by usatoday24

Little by little it is already becoming a daily gesture among many people: change sugar for a sweetener to avoid calorie consumption in excess. Whether in the morning coffee, in a yogurt or in a refreshing drink, sweeteners are attractive to respect the sweet taste and ‘be healthy’. However, a new and forceful study Posted in the prestigious medical magazine Neurology He puts this idea in check, suggesting that this substitution could have a long -term hidden cost for our cognitive health. A direct effect to thought. Research, which has established itself as one of the broadest and most prolonged to date on the subject, cooks that people with high consumption of sweeteners such as the aspartamosaccharin or sorbitol They experience a deterioration of their thinking and memory capabilities 62% faster than those people who consume. To put it in perspective, the researchers calculate that this accelerated decline is equivalent to aging 1.6 years suddenly. The details of the study. It is not a PSAJERA survey or a small -scale experiment. Scientists have been based on the Brazilian Longitudinal Health Study data of the adult (Elsa-Brazil), a mass and long-distance research project. They analyzed a cohort of 12,772 public officials with an average age of 52 years, which were followed for eight years, and with analysis at three different moments: 2008-2010, 2012-2014 and 2017-2019. Detailed questionnaires. Using food frequency questionnaires, the team quantified the combined and individual consumption of seven specific sweeteners: artificial ones such as aspartamo, saccharin and acesulfamo K, and sugar alcohols such as erythritol, xylitol and sorbitol, in addition to the tagatose. In parallel, the cognitive performance of patients with a six -test battery that focused on memory, verbal fluidity and global cognition was measured. The results. The consumption of sweeteners, both individually and combined, was associated with accelerated cognitive loss. The ‘suspect’ list includes some of the most common names we find on the labels of ‘Light’ products or ‘zero’: aspartamo, saccharin, acesulfamo k, erythritol, sorbitol and xylitol. Interestingly, the trend was more pronounced and statistically significant in participants under 60 years. This suggests, according to the authors, that median age is a critical window where the products that are chosen consumer may have direct consequences in brain health decades later. The researchers They point that until now the sweeteners without calories often “are seen as a healthy alternative to sugar.” But now it has been seen that great consumption of these has “negative effects on brain health over time.” There are limitations. The researchers themselves suggest that dietary data are based on self -reports, which can be inaccurate, and that, despite statistical adjustments, the “residual confusion” cannot be completely ruled out where other nutritional behaviors that may be interfering are not measured. Correlation is not causality. As expected, this study can generate a great debate, and the industry and the scientific community have called for prudence, remembering that correlation does not imply causality. Gavin Partington, general director of the British refreshing drinks association, and the International Association of sweeteners (ISA) They have pointed out that this is an observational study. That is, it finds a statistical association between two variables (consumption of sweeteners and cognitive impairment), but cannot demonstrate that one is the direct cause of the other. In Spain, experts such as neurologist Guillermo García Ribas, from the Ramón y Cajal hospital, They are cautious. He criticizes that it is difficult to isolate the effect of the sweetener of the rest of the diet. Often, a high consumption of these products goes hand in hand with a diet rich in ultraprocessed foods, which have already been linked in numerous studies to a worse cognitive aging. The defense of researchers. Anticipating this criticism, the Suemoto team offers two solid arguments. First, they observed that the association was also maintained for individual sweeteners, those that a person adds on their own to coffee or yogurt, and not only for the compounds used by the industry in the ultra -processed. Second, and perhaps more important, there is what scientists call “biological plausibility.” Previous studies carried out in animal models (mainly mice) have already shown that artificial sweeteners can trigger neuroinflammation processes and alter the crucial intestine-cerebro axis, mechanisms that could negatively affect brain function. The global context. This study does not arise in a vacuum. It adds to a growing wave of skepticism on the long -term benefits of sweeteners. In fact, in 2023, The World Health Organization (WHO) itself advised the use of these products to control the weight or reduce the risk of chronic diseases, arguing the lack of evidence on its long -term benefits and the existence of possible unwanted effects that had not yet been completed. The underlying problem remains the same: excessive sugar consumption. In countries like Spain, the maximum daily amount recommended by WHO is tripling. The sweeteners emerged as an apparent solution, but studies like this force us to ask ourselves if we are simply changing one problem for another. As Suemoto himself summarizes, his work “adds solid evidence that these compounds may not be harmless, especially when consumed frequently from the median age.” The conclusion is not that we should return to sugar, but that we must examine much more critically with what we are replacing it Images | Towfiqui Barbhuiya In Xataka | 9 questions and answers about Estevia, the fashion sweetener

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