Emirates

Emirates just melted down 60 million to create Noah’s Ark. And he has given them to those who want to resurrect the mammoth

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We’ve been really into playing God for a few years now. On the one hand, we have Bryan Johnson, a millionaire who lives to rejuvenate -and to sell you oil-. On the other hand, there is Colossal, a company that is doing more serious and interesting things. How far? Until the of chase resurrect the mammoth. At the moment there are more promises than realities, but they have managed to get the United Arab Emirates to give them a check for 60 million dollars. Aim? Create the modern Noah’s Ark. Colossal. This company dedicated to biotechnology has become popular for its objective not only in bring the mammoth back to lifebut also to the dodoto the moa either to the Tasmanian tiger. It does so from well-preserved DNA samples, to the interest of personalities such as Peter Jackson -director of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and great collector of moa bones– and, evidently, thanks to tremendously generous sums of money. Colossal Biosciences has reached a assessment of more than 10,000 million dollars and, in the latest round, it has been 600 accumulated. Peter Jackson himself collaborated with 25 million for the company to place the moa in its goal list. BioVault. Although there are those who think that What Colossal does is sell the motorcyclethey have achieved some results, like resurrecting the giant wolf. The theory is simple: they take the DNA of the extinct animal, combine it with samples from living relatives and the difficult part comes when they have to filter out the variants to polish the genes and get the animal they want. When they have it ready, they use the belly of a living animal to gestate the extinct creature. UAE does not want them to resurrect anything. At least, that objective has not been made public, but due to Colossal’s activity, they have obtained thousands of DNA samples. And that is what we want to preserve in BioVault. The goal is a capsule in which the DNA of more than 10,000 species is stored, with a special focus at the beginning on the 100 most endangered species today. Which is it? They are in ‘coming soon‘. Museum of the Future. For this, the United Arab Emirates will spend 60 million dollars, and once completed in 2027, this modern Noah’s Ark will be stored in the World Preservation Laboratory, which will be a part of the Museum of the Future from Dubai. Inaugurated in 2022, it is a tremendous building, on par with the pharaonic works built in the Middle East at that time. particular architectural war in which the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are involved. If it is spectacular on the outside, it is even more so on the inside, and precisely its name is due to the fact that it is a museum that does not show antiquity, but rather presents a journey to the future. To 2071, specifically. The museum is outrageous Backup. In the end, this is one of the largest and most important biotech deals. Ben Lamm, co-founder of Colossal, affirms that we are losing species at an alarming rate and the world “urgently needs a network of global BioVaults, a backup plan for life on Earth.” He threw a dart at the financing of other biobanks, ensuring that they are fragmented, underfinanced and do not have a collaborative spirit that allows them to use data in the event of a crisis. In fact, it is estimated that half of the species on Earth will face extinction by 2050, and BioVault will be there to remedy it. The big question is whether it will be worth bringing animals back just because we can when their ecosystems are destroyed. Images | Colossal, روتانا In Xataka | Face transplants always seemed like something out of science fiction. A hospital in Barcelona has made it a reality

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates import millions of tons of sand every year despite living on immense deserts

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The story is striking in itself: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two countries closely associated with the desert, import tons and tons of sand every year. So striking, in fact, that the first intuition is that it is false. But, as soon as you get closer to it, you discover that not only is it true, but it is more interesting than it seems. Because yes, these countries import a lot of sand. In 2023, only the United Arab Emirates bought more than six million tons. And it is surprising, of course, because these are two countries located on enormous deserts. The explanation, however, is simple: the sand they have is not suitable for certain things. At a technical level, what is known as “eolian sand” (that which the wind accumulates in dunes) is very fine, very uniform and very rounded. That makes it a poor sand for making glass, concrete or other industrial products. It is not that it cannot be used, but it requires adjusting the mixtures, controlling the granulometry and impurities (fines), and carefully balancing the manufacturing processes. That is to say, the process ends up becoming so expensive that it is cheaper to import sand that is more suitable for standardized processes. And this, ultimately, should not surprise us. Sand is, today, the second most exploited resource in the world (only after water). The United Nations Environment Program estimates that every year 50,000 million tons of sand and gravel are used. What’s more, the lack of sand is so obvious that there are criminal networks that traffic with her internationally. However, we are not talking about just any sand. There are, as is evident, many types of sand. For what is not interesting today we can distinguish natural sand (HS 250590) and siliceous/quartz sand (HS 250510). The Gulf countries import, above all, the second. Emirates, to give an example, is spent half a million a year in the first and 87 million in the second. That is to say, although they are countries ‘rich’ in sand, they do not have the sand they need. A sand, moreover, with very specific specifications (granulometry, purity, humidity, fines, contaminants, consistency of supply) and that are basic for glass, foundry, filtration or the chemical industry. However, they also import natural sand. And this is interesting because, as they point out in the UNthis only makes clear the significance of the problem of governance and externalities. Despite having usable sand, in many cases it is preferred to buy from other countries (such as Oman) to avoid the negative externalities of draining sand from their coasts and deserts. Something that can alter livelihoods (fishing, agriculture due to salinization, coastal tourism) and increase vulnerability to storms. In the summer of 2019, the couple who became famous was arrested in Sardinia for hiding 40 kilos of sand in his trunk. That was the anecdote, the problem was another: that beyond mass tourism, the tensions on the sand are increasingly greater. It is something that has only grown and is normal. The world is not here to do without one of its most valuable resources. Image | Lars Portjanow In Xataka | We are running out of sand. And there are already traffickers who negotiate with it in India or Morocco

The average price of Mb/s in each country in the world, arranged in a graph in which there is a unicorn: United Arab Emirates

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Accessing the Internet is a necessity. In an increasingly connected world and in which we trust practically all aspects of our lives to online applicationshave a good coverage and speed It has become something essential. In fact, a server “blackout” like him recently lived with those from AWS demonstrates to what extent we depend on this connection. However, although the Internet is global, there is a huge digital divide. To the point that there are some who pay a cent per Mbps… and others exceed four euros for the same amount. The graph. With data from We Are Socialthe graph prepared by Visual Capitalist compare the price of megabit per secondor Mbps, in more than 60 countries in 2025. Before commenting on individual cases, because there are very striking ones, it must be said that the estimate is that the average price of Mbps worldwide is around 45 cents. The global average is also around 40 euros, but as we can see in the data, there are countries above and below that completely distort that average. And something important to understand is that the price of Internet responds to infrastructure and population density (it is expensive to bring broadband Internet to remote populations), but also to factors such as competition and tax policies. One question: United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates perfectly exemplifies those last two points. It almost seems incredible, but the price of Mbps in the country exceeds four euros. Data from We Are Social puts it at $4.31 per Mb/s, almost double what is paid in the next most expensive country: Ghana with its $2.58 per Mb/s. On average, an Emirati pays between 100 and 140 dollars just to have Internet, and the big question is what is happening to make that happen. The answer? Politics and competition. In the UAE there are only two companies that provide the service, so this lack of real competition means that they do not have a need to lower the price. Do you want Internet? Well, take it or leave it. Plus, there is the political part. The State forces operators to transfer up to 30% of their profits to the country’s coffers, and it is something that directly affects the price of the final bill for the consumer. The speed not bad (an average of 300 Mbps), but it is evident that the price is prohibitive for many, potentially generating the aforementioned digital divide. The Romanian secret. In it opposite side On the spectrum we have the countries of Eastern Europe, specifically in a country whose flagship company we know well in Spain: Romania and DIGI. The average prices for fiber optics in the country are around 10 euros and the price of Mb/s is just 0.01 dollars. Russia and Poland are not far behind, and what has caused this is precisely the opposite of what is happening in the UAE. After the fall of communism, dozens of private operators They began to deploy decentralized fiber optic networks. Taking advantage of community wiring in cities and building blocks, the “last mile” problem was solved, allowing Internet to be offered to a large number of people with minimal costs. It is estimated that almost 90% of Romanian homes have high-speed Internet and DIGI has exported that “policy” outside its borders, offering the longed for 10 Gbps at the price of 1 Gbps in countries like Spain. Above the dollar. Commenting on each country is a complex process because there are multiple factors that come into play, but I find it almost more interesting to see which countries are whose Mbps exceeds the dollar. In fact, these countries perfectly exemplify everything that comes into play when it comes to offering a cheap connection: Swiss: The average price is just over two dollars per Mbps due to the dominance of a single operator and the country’s salary structure: high salaries and, therefore, high maintenance costs. Kenya: averages about $1.54 per Mbps due to its poor fiber infrastructure that makes the country depend to technologies like starlink or the google balloons. Now, the competition is increasing little by little. Morocco: its $1.16 is explained by uneven infrastructure and just three companies that dominate the market. Australia: At its $1.33 per Mbps, the tremendously dispersed geography comes into play, with rural areas very far from each other. Germany: It is the one that is around a dollar per Mb/s and is not the fastest connection in Europe, far from it. In fact, it is a paradoxical situation as it is a power in Europe while having a worse cost/speed ratio than its neighbors. Reason? A large operator that dominates the sector and an old infrastructure, with many areas in which copper continues to be the trend. The Spanish situation. Within our borders, Spain has a comfortable position. There is enough competition so that prices are affordable, with an average of about 10 cents per Mb/s and 1 Gbps packages that are around 30-40 euros per month, depending on the company. Unlimited data is not uncommon on smartphones either. There are many companies that compete in a controlled and regulated environment, with obligations such as sharing infrastructure, and all of this has caused Spain to be a benchmark in the fiber deploymenteven in rural areas. In Xataka | How to improve your WiFi signal in seven easy steps

Russia, Emirates and Saudi Arabia are dynamiting the poster from within

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In 1973 one of the greatest energy crises of the twentieth century broke out. Yom Kipur war and the oil embargo decreed by Arab countries fired the price of crude oil, which quadrupled in a few months. The consequence was an economic storm: inflation, recession and a deep geopolitical rearrangement that catapulted the OPEC to the center of the world energy board. Five decades have passed, but oil continues to mark the pulse of global tensions. There is no formal embargo, but worldwide conflicts added to a Commercial War promoted by the United States. Despite all this unstable situation, the OPEC+ has chosen to continue producing for the third consecutive month, in an already saturated market and with prices in descent. Disturbing signals. Against all forecast, OPEC+ has decided to increase its production in full price drop. At its last meeting, the poster, with the impulse of Saudi Arabia, has approved to add 411,000 barrels per day from July. The measure has left several of its own members perplexed, According to Bloomberg. The adjustment is equivalent to just 1.2 % of the global demand, but its political and strategic impact is deeper. Very disparate reasons. A possibility like He has pointed out The Economist is that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies would be trying to please Donald Trump. During his recent tour of the region, the former president pressed directly to achieve a decrease in fuel prices. In return, Riad and Abu Dabi expect strategic benefits, such as agreements in technological sectors such as In artificial intelligence chips. However, this is not the only motivation. The United States Plan based on an aggressive fracking expansion To lower oil It has altered the global market balance. In this scenario, Saudi Arabia has opted for a blunt response: flood the market with crude. By increasing the supply and forcing a price drop, it seeks to press schist producers in the United States, whose profitability depends on higher prices. This strategy also allows you to punish OPEC+ members who do not respect the quotas and, at the same time, recover part of the lost market share in the face of American unconfral oil. The background problem. The OPEC+ crisis is not only a matter of strategy or prices, but of internal cohesion. The cardinal regla of the poster on not producing more than agreed is being ignored by several members. According to The Economistthe United Arab Emirates (EAU) have declared to produce 2.9 million barrels per day (MB/D), but according to analysts consulted by the medium they have estimated that they would be producing between 200,000 and 500,000 b/d, well above their real share. The most worrying thing for OPEC+ is that even the “secondary sources” that they use to verify figures seem complicit in maintaining this fiction. Many are consultants that depend on contracts with state companies such as ADNOC (EAU) or Saudi Aramco. Although this comes from before. The first to reveal itself as such It was Kazakhstanwho overproduces up to 300,000 b/d above what was agreed in April. While Iraq has difficulty controlling its total production, which includes fields in Kurdish hands. These three countries are weakening the authority of the poster from within. And there is a surprise more. The only member of the group with geopolitical power comparable to the Saudi, has begun to show opposition. Bloomberg has detailed That at the most recent meeting, Russia supported by Algeria and Oman, asked to freeze production in July to evaluate the effects of previous increases, but his proposal was ignored. Saudi Arabia has imposed its plan without consensus, a clear sign that the era of collegiate leadership is over. Are we facing an implosion? If Saudi Arabia fails to control the Emirates or contain divergences with Russia, the poster runs the risk of becoming irrelevant. The promised fees review for this year has been postponed until 2027, which has unleashed frustration in Abu Dhabi. The Emirates, with a capacity that almost reaches 5 MB/D, need only $ 50 per barrel to balance their accounts, compared to the $ 90 that requires Saudi Arabia. The structural divergence between the two is deep. An analyst with contacts in both governments He has warned For The Economist that is only a matter of time for an open clash between the two giants, which could precipitate an Emirati output of the OPEC+. On the edge of collapse. For 65 years, OPEC has survived wars, pandemics and the fracking boom. But it seems that it has reached its limit in this situation, where the demand for oil could reach its peak in the next decade, and many petroesties are determined to sell what they can before it is too late. If internal cohesion continues to erode, if the quotas are unfulfilled unpaid and if the large producers act unilaterally, the OPEC+ will no longer be a global strategic actor and will become a symbolic alliance. The current “crack” is not just prices. It is an institutional “crack.” And this time, it can be definitive. Image | Pexels Xataka | The oil market faces a triple coup and IEA is clear why: Iran, Opep+ and electric vehicles

TSMC wants to build a chip factory in United Arab Emirates. Or convinces the US or your plan will fail

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TSMC is evaluating the possibility of building an integrated avant -garde circuit manufacturing plant in United Arab Emirates. This Taiwanese company, The biggest chips manufacturer on the planethe has embarked on An ambitious expansion plan of its manufacturing infrastructure Beyond Taiwan’s borders to protect yourself from a possible armed conflict between China and its place of origin. It is currently building new semiconductor production plants in USA, Germany, Japan and Taiwanand this possible factory of Arab Emirates would contribute to cement its avant -garde plants network beyond the borders of the island from which it proceeds. However, the conversations that TSMC and the Emirati government are presumably holding They started many months agoin September 2024. TSMC and Arab Emirates win. It is not clear that the US also does At the end of September The Wall Street Journal and Reuterstwo media that have a proven credibility, revealed that several executives of TSMC and Samsung had moved to Arab Emirates to negotiate the possibility of building several manufacturing plants of integrated avant -garde circuits in this country of the Middle East. According to these two sources, the Emirati government is willing to take over the financing of these plants. And it is because Like Saudi ArabiaArab Emirates needs to diversify its economy in forecasting The very likely loss of relevance in the medium term of oil. And technology at the current situation It’s a safe bet. In addition, the growth potential of the semiconductor industry is overwhelming. We just need to look at the hardware market for artificial intelligence (AI) to observe it. In 2031 the Chips Market for IA will invoice more than 263,000 million dollars According to The AMR consultant (Allied Market Research) In 2031 the chips market for AI applications will have a turnover volume of More than 263,000 million dollars. It is a real barbarity, especially if we are in mind that in 2021 its business amounted to just over 11,000 million dollars. It is evident that at the current TSMC situation and Arab Emirates win. However, this project will not come to fruition if this Taiwanese company does not obtain the US approval. A good part of Photolithography teams and wafering processing that TSMC uses in its factories uses American origin technologies. And some of its production processes also They turn to patents held by the US. This agency is what gives the power to the government led by Donald Trump to support or prohibit the construction of one or several manufacturing plants of avant -garde chips not only in Arab Emirates, but also in any other country. Currently the relationship sustained by US administrations and Emirates is good, but this last nation also has a narrow link with China and Iran. If in the future the geopolitical situation causes Arab Emirates if it will move away from the US and approach these last two countries, the presence of one or more factories of avant -garde semiconductors that would not be under the control of the United States would represent a security problem for this last nation. The US government has allowed Nvidia to sell its GPU to its Emirati customers, and also that OpenAi is installed in this eastern country, but right now it seems unlikely that this TSMC project supports. Image | TSMC More information | Bloomberg In Xataka | Saudi Arabia is on the blacklist in the United States with China. You have a plan to get out of it and buy NVIDIA GPU

Emirates has fallen in love with shows with drones. It already moves millions of dollars and aims to have no rival in the sky

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More than a decade ago It was held next to the Danube Riverin Austria, the first show of drones of which you have registration. It was during a local music festival, with Few flying devices But with a huge technical deployment. Since then, this type of exhibitions has not stopped evolving. Today, drones have become an increasingly popular alternative to fireworks. The United States and China have taken the lead with mass shows, but the United Arab Emirates want to take the proposal a step further. And are willing to strive to achieve it. Emirates wants to lead the future of shows in heaven Talking about Arab Emirates is talking about a country accustomed to megaprojects. From the Burj Khalifa to the artificial island Palm Jumeirahgoing through The future tower with the highest watch in the worldtheir ambitions do not know limits. Behind this deployment there is a clear strategy: diversify the economy and reduce oil dependence. One of the last steps in that direction is to turn Abu Dhabi into a cultural and technological pole. Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed al Nahyan has opted for an unpublished show: The largest exhibition of drones in the world. The objective is to launch more than 10,000 illuminated drones, coordinated in real time to form three -dimensional images. The challenge is not less. Until now, few have managed to operate such a number of drones simultaneously. The record is held by Shenzhenin China, With 10,197 devices in 2024in a sample that beat two Guinness records. The United States has also advanced, With exhibitions of up to 5,000 drones in Texas. Although Abu Dhabi has not yet confirmed the date of the ambitious event, it is known that it will be in charge of Nova Sky Stories (a Colorado firm) with Analog, a Emiratí company specialized in mixed reality and physical intelligence. Arab Emirates was a pioneer in adopting this technology, and the shows began to gain popularity in 2020. Today they are a usual part of great conferences and festivals. According to Rest of Worldan average show in the region costs some $ 112,000 and implies around 400 drones, well above what a traditional fireworks show costs, which is around $ 13,000 and $ 41,000. The global market is also taking off. In 2023 it was valued at 338.9 Millions of dollarswith the Middle East representing 41 million. And, from what we have seen, there is still a generous margin of growth. The AI ​​is already changing the way these shows are designed. Skyvertise, one of the most active companies in Emirates, explains that algorithms allow reducing manual labor time to Automize much of visual planning. The future of air entertainment is changing, and the Emirates want to be in charge. Images | Cyberdrone Drone Show In Xataka | Emirates financed a study to know if it can cause rain in the desert with solar farms. The answer is yes

Emirates financed a study to know if it can cause rain in the desert with solar farms. The answer is yes

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As water It becomes a more precious resource than oila group of scientists has analyzed if solar farms can have an even more beneficial effect than generating energy with sunlight: making it rain in the desert, offering the communities most affected by drought water and renewable energy at the same time . Climate engineering against drought. Given the drama of its waning water resources, the United Arab Emirates government financed a study published by German researchers in Earth System Dynamics. The researchers proposed to create artificial heat islands by installing large black surfaces (ideally, solar panel farms) to enhance precipitation in arid areas. A promising result. The scientists simulated the impact of these surfaces with advanced models and obtained surprising results. A heat island of 20 km² induces an increase in rains 571,616 m³ a day. This could be translated into water supplies for about 31,000 people. Only with an area of ​​20 km². But the interesting thing about study is not its quantitative results, but the possibility of implementing these surfaces taking advantage of existing infrastructure, such as photovoltaic solar panels. This solution would not only address water scarcity but also contribute to renewable energy production. How it works. That a farm of solar panels can induce rain is not a very intuitive concept, but it is something that He has been studying for a while, particularly in the Sahara. These facilities, by absorbing heat with their dark panels, could create ascending currents that, under the right conditions, would trigger rain storms. When these farms exceed a certain size (about 15 km²), the heat absorbed by the panels, in contrast to the most reflective sand, significantly increases the convection currents necessary for cloud formation. Areas where we know is viable. For this process to work, a source of atmospheric humidity is needed. The models showed that the wet winds of great height from the Persian Gulf are enough, to the joy of Emirates. The researchers also identified other areas of the world where it could work, such as Namibia and the Peninsula of Baja California in Mexico. Some limitations. The initiative requires darker surfaces than those commonly produced by solar panel manufacturers. Some panels are even reflective to improve your thermal performance. However, the Construction of increasingly large solar farmsespecially in China, they open the door to try the idea in the real world. It won’t be simple, of course. The implementation of gigantic heat islands raises logistic, but also ecological and social challenges. For example, how would these surfaces affect local biodiversity? What would be the visual and social impact on nearby communities? You need more research and pilot tests to discover it. The case of Emirates. The United Arab Emirates government, which financed the study, is facing the shortage of two ways, mainly: desalination and sowing of clouds. The program of Cloud sowing through airplanes Plan about 300 missions every year, but like desalination, it is an expensive method with limitations. In this context, large solar farm surfaces are a promising alternative. Image | Pixabay In Xataka | The regions of the world most threatened by drought, collected in a great interactive map In Xataka | The biggest problem of Perovskita’s solar panels was its durability. China has just resolved it *An earlier version of this article was published in February 2024

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