enemy

that an F-35 not only detects the enemy, but also gets rid of it on its own

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In 1991, during the Gulf War, a good part of the air missions depended on uploaded threat maps before takeoff and analyzes that could take hours to update after each departure. In the following years, the digital revolution allowed the integration of sensors, data links and information fusion systems that forever changed situational awareness in the cockpit. But even the most advanced fighters continue to carry a legacy from the past: they react to what they already know better than to what has just appeared. Until now. From advanced sensor to autonomous hunter. For years, the F-35 has been presented as a platform able to see everything thanks to its fusion of sensors and to your powerful suite of electronic warfare, but was still dependent on pre-loaded threat libraries and updates that could take days or weeks. The appearance of unknown emissions or radars operating in unforeseen modes required identifying the signal, downloading the data after the mission and reprogramming the system before the next flight. That logic, although effective, left a dangerous margin in scenarios saturated with changing air defenses. With Project Overwatchthe United States has taken a decisive step to close that gap and transform the role of the F-35 on the battlefield. AI enters the cabin. Lockheed Martin has tried successfully in flight a model AI integrated into the system of the F-35 combat identification, one capable of resolving ambiguities between emitters and generating an independent identification that appears directly in the viewfinder of the pilot’s helmet. During testing at Nellis, the algorithm not only distinguished dubious signals, but allowed label new emissionsretrain the model in a matter of minutes and load the updated version within the same planning cycle. The information from the classic system and that from the new model coexisted on the screen, reducing latency in decision-making and relieving the pilot of part of the cognitive load in an environment where every second counts. The big problem. It happens that modern air defense systems they no longer broadcast always the same signature. They can alter radar modes, frequencies and patterns to confuse enemy electronic warfare, as seen with variants of the S-300/SA-20 that operated in unforeseen configurations and generated doubts in identification. Until now, the plane pointed out the anomaly, but the in-depth analysis depended on a subsequent human cycle. Plus: in an environment where the proliferation of AI also accelerates the evolution of defenses, that dependency could become a vulnerability. And this is where cognitive electronic warfare appears, which seeks precisely to break that bottleneck and react to unprecedented signals. without waiting to the next mission. The “holy grail” of aerial combat. If you like, Lockheed Martin has achieved the “holy grail” of combat in tests: that an F-35 not only detects the enemy, but also how to get rid of it on your own. The ultimate goal of cognitive electronic warfare is to the system is not limited not only register an unknown threat, but analyze it, determine the best response and adjust its own parameters in near real time, even in the middle of combat. This involves detecting a new release, characterizing it, deciding whether to avoid it, interfere with it, or exploit a weakness, and update the threat library without immediate external intervention. In this scenario, the plane stops being a simple executor with predefined software and becomes a platform that learns and adapts your survival on the go. Towards mid-flight updates. It will be the next step. Previous experience with rapid updates of the Aegis system on US ships and the effort to shorten F-35 reprogramming times from months to days, and eventually hours, point to an architecture where data flows almost in real time between platforms. They count at Lockheed Martin that the ambition is for the improvements derived from a mission to be quickly integrated into other aircraft or even into compatible naval systems, creating a defense ecosystem that evolves in a distributed manner. While the Block 4 package promises a new generation of electronic capabilities, Project Overwatch It already anticipates a deeper transition: that of the fighter that not only sees and shoots first, but also learns before anyone else and survives on its own. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | Europe has asked its military experts how to become independent from the US for the next war. The answer is déjà vu: the F-35 In Xataka | The Netherlands has just activated panic in Spain and the US allies: the F-35 can be “released” like an iPhone

TCL will make Sony’s next TVs in a deal to confront a common enemy: Samsung and LG

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If you have felt an earthquake and you don’t know where it is coming from, the easiest thing is for it to come from Japan. Specifically, from the headquarters of a Sony that has been associated with excellence in image quality for decades and that ends of ceding control of its Bravia brand to the Chinese company TCL. Since the time of Trinitron technology (so currently sought after to play on retro consoles) until Wega and the current Bravia, the Japanese giant had earned a deserved space in the premium range. They did not manufacture their panels (they bought them from Samsung and LG), but they did fine-tune them to offer very purist cinematic experiences. On the other side of the pond, in China, TCL has grown in recent years until it became one of the largest panel manufacturing companies. Now, China and Japan are joining their paths thanks to a joint venture that will take advantage of “the high-quality audio and image technology that Sony has cultivated over the years.” And the accounts are favorable for TCL: while the Chinese will control 51% of the joint-venture, the Japanese will keep 49%. It makes… quite a bit of sense. Movement that sounds more like a win-win than a retreat Although Sony televisions have extremely high-quality panels and modes that are very suitable for both movies and, above all, for video games in conjunction with a PlayStation 5the market has become increasingly complicated. Sony’s brand value and its name make its televisions more expensive than those of the competition, and that competition (led by Samsung or LG), is tighter than ever thanks to its OLED and QD-OLED technology. TCL is not far behind. After a huge investment in plants within China, the company has specialized in manufacturing Gen 10.5 panels. This implies that they have an enormous production capacity, which in practice translates into an ability like few others to flood the market with large-inch televisions at rock-bottom prices. That’s where this joint venture makes perfect sense. In its statement, Sony has confirmed that the company will operate globally and carry out the entire process: development, design, manufacturing, logistics, sales and customer service for both televisions and home audio equipment. We believe this strategic partnership with Sony represents a unique opportunity to combine the strengths of Sony and TCL – Du Juan, President of TCL Electronics That name of ‘Sony’ and ‘Bravia’ is a perfect opportunity for a TCL that will see how it can operate a brand of international prestige. For its part, Sony gains muscle that it did not have until now thanks to the most powerful companies when it comes to producing large-scale panels. Of course, apart from that 51% over Sony’s 49%, and the possibility of using its name, TCL gains something else: penetration in Japan, a protectionist market that prioritizes Japanese brands, especially against arrivals from China. The Japanese company has commented that it will be at the end of 2026 when the binding agreements between the two will be closed in order to begin operations in April 2027. And although this is an interesting operation as a whole, TCL is the clear winner: it gains premium credibility without having to build it from scratch, while Sony dilutes precisely what made its brand valuable. Images | TCL, Xataka In Xataka | The next big chip crisis is beginning. And this time copper and water are responsible.

The soldiers of the Roman Empire crushed Hannibal and Viriatus, but they were unable to defeat a fearsome enemy: diarrhea.

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If there is a civilization to which the Spanish collective imagination dedicates festivities and various events, that is the Roman empire. Nevertheless, they were more than six centuries in the Iberian Peninsula thanks to its magnificent expansion work. In its heyday, Rome It covered three continents: from Great Britain to the Carpathians in Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. To carry out such an extension, his legions had great conflicts in the form of the Punic Wars, the battle of Cannae or the Battle of Pydna. The tough battle for intestinal well-being. As if life on the front was not hard enough, the soldiers guarding the northwest border of the Roman Empire had to confront a tough guerrilla war that is not epic enough to appear in the history books but that also caused casualties: that of intestinal parasites. More specifically, in the north of England, near Hadrian’s Wall. Because a team of researchers from the University of Oxford and Cambridge has discovered After analyzing the sewage system of the Roman fort of Vindolanda three types of intestinal parasites: intestinal worms, whipworm and giardia duodenalis. In fact, it is the first time that the giardia in Roman Britain. The three intestinal parasites, under the microscope. Intestinal worms, the whipworm or whipworm and the protozoan known as giardia lamblia, intestinalis either duodenalis They are three parasites of the digestive system that are spread by poor hygiene or by contact between infected human feces with food, drinks and hands. The intestinal worms They are a helminth that measures between 20 and 30 centimeters in length and lives in the intestine. The most common among humans are pinworms and ascariasis. Its presence in the intestine can cause abdominal pain, fever and diarrhea. The whipworms They are nematodes that are about five centimeters long. An adult whipworm can consume 0.0005 ml of blood per day, so a high presence of this parasite can translate into severe anemia. Likewise, they can cause rectal prolapse, appendicitis and diarrhea if accompanied by a bacterial invasion. A whipworm infection is more common in children and in warm, humid locations, as well as in places with poor sanitary and/or hygiene conditions. The giardia intestinal parasites is a type of microscopic parasite that still causes serious outbreaks of diarrhea today. Symptoms of a giardia infection are abdominal cramps, bloating, upset stomach, and loose stools. According to the Mayo Clinicgiardiasis is one of the most common causes of waterborne illnesses in the United States. The least they had was malnutrition and diarrhea. The three types of parasites, which today are easily diagnosed and treatable for a complete recovery, were not so so in ancient Rome. As explains Study co-author and University of Cambridge archaeologist Marissa Ledger: “Although the Romans were aware of intestinal worms, their doctors could do little to eliminate these infections or help those suffering from diarrhea, so symptoms could persist and worsen. These chronic infections likely weakened soldiers and reduced their ability to serve.” Vindolanda Fort is a true gem for history and archeology professionals. Located between present-day Carlisle and Corbridge, in Northumberland, it was built at the beginning of the 2nd century AD to protect the province from attacks by northern tribes and monitor the imposing Hadrian’s wallwhich extends from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, with forts and towers distributed along its length. In the fort there were infantry, archer and cavalry units from all over the Empire. Beyond the magnificence of the construction, the most interesting thing is the juice that Vindolanda has offered to history lovers because thanks to its water-saturated soil a large number of organic objects have been preserved: thousand wooden slats that served as a kind of logbook, more than 5,000 leather sandals and also fecal remains. Sediments from a 3rd century drain from a latrine in the thermal complex have been the source of this research. The wall watchers They defecated alive. From 50 sediment samples taken along the conduit, about nine meters long, they found everything from Roman beads to ceramics to animal bones. And under the microscope, a whole intestinal fauna. Approximately 28% of the samples had worm or whipworm eggs, and one of them had both. Using the biomolecular technique ELISA they detected the giardia. Likewise, they analyzed a sample from another fort built in 85 AD and abandoned in 92 AD, where they found worms and whipworms. Thus they deduced that the soldiers suffered from dehydration and became ill with outbreaks of giardia in summer, normally associated with contaminated and rapidly expanding water. It could be worse. The high load of intestinal parasites detected in Vindolanda is not an isolated fact, as they are similar to other Roman military enclaves such as Valkenburg (Netherlands), Carnuntum (Austria) or Bearsden (Scotland). And they even had to give thanks, because in urban sites like London and York the parasite diversity was greater, including tapeworms. It wasn’t as pretty as it looks.. While there may be preconceptions and romanticisations about what it was like to be a Roman soldier, Dr Andrew Birley, chief executive of the Vindolanda Charitable Trust is clear “Excavations at Vindolanda continue to uncover new evidence that helps us understand the incredible difficulties faced by those posted to this northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire almost 2,000 years ago, challenging our preconceptions about what life in a Roman fort and frontier town was really like.” In Xataka | The death of one empire is the birth of another: the graph that reviews the history of civilizations from 4,000 years ago In Xataka | We have been calling Christians ‘thieves’ for decades for taking Christmas from the Romans. But the story wasn’t exactly like that. Cover | Photo of 709am in Unsplash

Amazon is preparing an investment of 10 billion in OpenAI because if you can’t beat your enemy, the best thing is to join him

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Leonidas, had six-pack or not, he died at Thermopylae, but what is curious for our history is exactly what happened afterwards. Xerxes’ Persians had devastated Attica, and faced with the threat that all of Greece would fall, the Spartans—who deeply distrusted the Athenians—agreed to join forces with them. War makes strange allies, they say, and this story is not even close to explaining what is happening with AI. Everyone is joining forces. Then I’ll tell you how it ended with the Spartans and the Athenians. what has happened. OpenAI is negotiating an alliance with Amazon according to which the latter would invest around $10 billion in OpenAI. In The Information They were the first to reveal that negotiation, now confirmed by sources close to the conversations that have been cited on CNBC. What do each other gain?. Thanks to this agreement, Amazon will sell OpenAI its Tranium chips and will also rent more computing capacity in its data centers so that OpenAI can further expand the execution of its AI models and services such as ChatGPT. What OpenAI gains is, once again, economic resources to continue growing. Or what is the same: money to burn on that bonfire that AI has become. A strange agreement. The alliance is surprising, especially considering that Amazon had already put its eggs in another basket. Specifically, Anthropic, OpenAI’s absolute rival in the AI ​​race. It is estimated that Amazon has invested a total of 8 billion dollars at Anthropic, but now there is another reality: that everyone invests in everyone. Anthropic, the best example. The truth is that in recent months we have seen more and more circular financing agreements. Microsoft, which had invested 13 billion dollars, announced last month that would invest $5 billion in Anthropic, and NVIDIA also signed up, doubling that amount: it will invest $10 billion in it. And already, Even Google has teamed up with Anthropic. Long live circular financing. But of course the main protagonist of these agreements is OpenAI, which has been receiving blank checks (or almost) from giants like NVIDIA —100,000 million-, with Broadcom or with amd. We are facing a gigantic house of cards which is in danger of collapsing. But while it doesn’t, players continue adding floors. Or what is the same, money. Win-Win? The agreement is certainly interesting for Amazon, which has been working on its own AI chips since 2015. Trainium are the latest expression of that effort, and the fact that OpenAI is going to use them to train its models—along with those of its competitors, for the record—is good support for that development. In fact, there was perhaps more interesting support recently for those chips: Apple’s. And of course, AWS. In reality, this agreement is a continuation of that (temporary?) love affair between Amazon and OpenAI. The latter, once its ties with Microsoft were released, began to look for new girlfriends in the field of infrastructure, and a little over a month ago announced an agreement with Amazon Web Services worth 38 billion dollars. This is about preservation. All these agreements between big technology companies are not about money, because these circular investments are nothing more than exchanges of kind that compensate each other. What they are about is being stronger and protecting themselves. And if they fall, yes, they will all fall together. Let’s go back to Greece. The alliance between Sparta and Greece crystallized in the naval battle of Salamis (also in 480 BC, shortly after Thermopylae), one of the most important in human history. Sparta reluctantly ceded naval command to Athens, but the strategy worked. That union of forces achieved a decisive victory that saved Greece from being conquered by Persia. Alliances that end as they end. After that battle and that of Plataea a year later, the alliance began to deteriorate and ended up breaking up. Athens and Sparta were enemies again. In fact, 50 years later (430 BC) both would face each other for more than a quarter of a century in the Peloponnesian War. It was totally logical, as it will be that all these alliances end as they should: with each company going about its own thing. Image | OpenAI In Xataka | NVIDIA and OpenAI have just made a masterstroke. One that strengthens them and weakens everyone else

a 100 square meter spider web where two enemy species live in peace

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He fear of spiders is one of the most common phobias. So much so that there are video games that allow you to change the design of spiders for that of other animals and there is even research into how. recreate them in less scary ways. With this I want to tell you that, if they give you the creepswhat they have discovered in a cave between Albania and Greece will be the new scene of your nightmares: the biggest spider web in the world, a megacity that has more than 111,000 spiders. And the most curious thing has nothing to do with the size of the structure. In short. A few days ago, in the magazine Subterranean Biologya team of researchers described their great discovery: in the Sulfur Cave between Albania and Greece, they had found a mega city of spiders. Actually, the initial discovery was made by speleologists from the Czech Speleological Society in 2022, but scientists from Transylvania University were the ones who visited and documented the cave in recent years. What draws the most attention is a nightmare scenario: a ‘silk’ structure that covers about 106 square meters and in which a whopping 111,000 spiders live. It is located about 50 meters from the cave entrance, in a very narrow, permanently dark area, and researchers believe there are thousands of individual funnel-shaped spider webs that have come together to create the structure. The colony. For that reason alone, the find is worth mentioning, but the most interesting thing is not the size, but rather the people responsible. If we were talking about a single species, well, it would be impressive due to its dimensions, but what is relevant here is that there are two species that coexist in the megacity: The curious thing is that both are solitary species and have never before been documented to form colonies. Furthermore, under normal conditions, the domestic tegenaria would hunt the Prinerigone vagansmuch smaller, but the researchers realized that both coexisted peacefully. Paradise. The reason? The total darkness may be inhibiting the spiders’ senses, allowing coexistence, but the toxic sulfuric environment may also be playing a role. What they are clear about is that the ecosystem is perfectly oiled: There is no photosynthesis as there is no light, so the microorganisms that are present are sulfur-oxidizing bacteriaconverting inorganic compounds into organic matter that sticks to the walls. There are chironomid larvae that feed on these biofilms. From the larvae, Tanytarsus albisutus emerge, mosquitoes that do not bite and that form dense swarms in an inland stream and of which there are an estimated 2.4 million individuals. By accident, they fall into the webs of the spider megacity and estimate that each spider touches 200 mosquitoes, so they are well fed, they do not need to hunt or leave the structure and they continue to expand the colony. The two species in love and company Implications. One of the researchers, István Urák, has commented that they often think they completely know a species “to the point that we think we understand everything about it, but even then unexpected discoveries can happen.” And he does not say this because the two species coexist, but because they have carried out DNA analyzes that have revealed that the populations of the Sulfur Cave are genetically different from their conspecifics that inhabit the surface. This means one thing: in the evolutionary line, those on the surface have gone one way and those in the cave have gone another, remaining isolated enough to evolve in another way and adapt specifically to the hostile environment they inhabit. These differences mean that microbial diversity is lower in cave spiders and females produce fewer eggs per sac than those on the surface, possibly because since they do not have predators, they do not have to produce as many offspring. a mine. Urák’s team is working on a follow-up study that may shed more light on these spiders, but in addition to the silk megacity, other teams have documented another thirty species of invertebrates that have adapted to this peculiar environment. Among them, another spider: the Metellina merianae who, unlike the other two, prefers to live in solitude. And, regardless of curiosity and even scientific interest, researchers have stressed the importance of protecting this colony. For this reason, the exact location of the cave has not been shared, but the situation is complex because it is located on the border between Albania and Greece and it remains to be seen which country has the power to protect it. In the end, they have been developed in a very specific way and any external element that is introduced can be a contaminant. Beyond the rejection that spiders produce for many of us, this discovery puts on the table that, even in conditions as hostile as a cave without light, with little oxygen and the presence of toxic gaseslife not only makes its way, but “enemy” species can form enormous communities that live in harmony. For the sake of the Prinerigone vagansmay there never be a lack of mosquitoes… Images | Marek Audy, Subterranean Biology In Xataka | We have genetically edited a spider to produce a fluorescent red web. And the implications are promising.

“You see the enemy before he sees you”

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Anduril Industries, the military technology company founded by the creator of the Oculus RiftPalmer Luckey, has announced a hardware solution that your company has developed in collaboration with Meta. This is EagleEye, a modular system consisting of a military helmet equipped with mixed reality glasses. The US military is already preparing to test it. The Lord of Mixed Reality. At just 20 years old, Palmer Luckey managed to dust off virtual reality technology and turn it into a mass product with the Oculus Rift. After selling his company to Facebook for $2.4 billion in 2014, he was fired two years later and changed course to found Anduril Industries. End users no longer mattered there, because the total focus was on technology with defense applications and military. Your virtual border wall or their combat drones are two good examples, but this new modular system called EagleEye returns it to its origins and to the world of augmented and mixed reality. The US Army has been looking for something like this for years.. A decade ago the US Army began working on its Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) with the aim of assisting its troops. In 2018 the army reached an agreement with Microsoftwho began to try integrate your Hololens with that orientation, but the project ended up being a failure. It was inconvenient for the soldiers, who could not or would not use it as intended. Anduril takes the baton from IVAS. In April 2025 the army managed to transfer his contract from Microsoft to Anduril, and Luckey and his team got to work on a much more versatile and modular solution. What he proposes is a family of solutions that adapt to each type of scenario: a soldier on a ground mission may need night vision and thermal sensors, but a helicopter pilot will need other things, and a mechanic repairing a tank may only need glasses. of the Meta Ray-Ban Display type that allow teleassistance for these repairs. The EagleEye family of devices precisely allows different formats to be adopted for different use cases: it is modular, or at least that is the intention. You see before they see you. In a spectacular video shared on the official Anduril Industries account on X, the company shows a video of how the glasses would work on a ground mission. As can be seen in the video, the soldier who wears them can choose different types of vision—night, thermal—and has additional information that allows him not only to monitor the position of his companions, but also to detect and even predict the position of enemies. As they indicated in the text of that publication, the idea is “See (the enemy) before being seen.” Shooting at the target with the help of a machine. In one interview at DefenseScoop Luckey explained how all these ideas were already made up and now he’s just trying to put them into practice. One of EagleEye’s options is to offer shooting assistance, and there he explained that in reality all of these ideas had already been invented and he was just putting them into practice: “Has everyone read Starship Troopers? Robert Heinlein literally came up with all of this in the 1940s. They’re not new ideas. He said, ‘Hey, you have a ballistic computer in your mobile infantry rifle, and it tells you where the bullets are going to go based on their motion, relative motion, target, wind, and the Coriolis effect.’ Well, we’re doing all that.” Dizziness, nothing. At that same conference Luckey, who admitted to being arrogant, stated that he was “the world’s best designer of vision solutions, and I’m passionate about it.” According to him, the traditional dizziness problems that virtual reality causes are already solved in their hardware because “I already fought with those problems and solved them.” The army will test them soon. The EagleEye systems will begin to be evaluated by about 100 United States Army personnel in the second quarter of 2026. Luckey assured that they are already manufacturing most of the components that will be integrated into that hardware. According to Luckey, the goal of EagleEye is “to keep the soldier alive and make him more lethal.” Cost: about $25,000. The Army expected to pay between $50,000 and $80,000 for each system when the IVAS program was started. Luckey highlighted that Anduril expects the price of its EagleEye to end up being “half of that,” but in addition, the mass military adoption of these mixed reality helmets and glasses will reduce the cost per unit to a few thousand dollars. “I firmly believe that you’re going to see AR in every soldier’s head before you see it in every end user’s head.” In Xataka | In its obsession with bringing technology to every corner of the country, China has equipped its army with augmented reality

It is called Soratnik and its soldiers carry it on their heads to get ahead of the enemy.

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It was in the month of August when Russia demonstrated that its advances were not only about drones, also on helmets. Aware of the technological developments in Ukraine, Moscow presented an unprecedented system of portable electronic warfare designed specifically for each combatant, one more step in the miniaturization of anti-drone defense. Now, that effort has been multiplied with a version 2.0 of the helmet. His name: Soratnik. Tactical thinking. More than a century after the horrors of World War I forced a rediscovery of the importance of the combat helmet, Russia has decided to reinvent it completely. He new “Soratnik”developed by the state consortium Frente del Pueblo, represents the definitive transition from the helmet as a simple physical shield to an intelligent platform integrated into the modern warfare network. This model incorporates a artificial intelligence module capable of collecting data from the soldier himself, from his colleagues equipped with the same technology and from drones deployed on the ground. All this information, processed in real time, offers commanders a dynamic map of the situation on the front and shows the position of allies and enemies in an internal display, transforming the perception of the battlefield into an immersive and synchronized experience. The “smart” helmet. The “Soratnik” is not an isolated project: its development is part of a global competition for the integration of artificial intelligence and augmented reality in the soldier’s equipment. In the West, Meta and Anduril Industries They work on the “Eagle Eye”a helmet equipped with AR screens and connection to the Lattice command and control system, with which they intend to achieve the same information superiority that Moscow seeks. Both projects symbolize a doctrinal change: he soldier connected as node of a network of sensors, cameras and drones that turns war into a continuous flow of data. If the “Soratnik” manages to balance weight, comfort and technological capacity, could mark the beginning of a new generation of personal equipment in which information is as valuable as ballistic protection. From steel to silicon. Paradoxically, combat helmets They have not evolved as much as other pieces of modern weaponry. From the steel models of 1915, such as the Frenchman Adrian either the German Stahlhelmits design has changed little beyond the materials used. a study from Duke University even concluded that those helmets from the Great War offered better protection against shock waves than the currentmore designed to resist projectiles and shrapnel than to mitigate the effect of explosions. For decades, progress was limited to lightening weight and improving ergonomics, but never to redefining its function. An auxiliary brain. From that perspective, “Soratnik” intends to take that leap. By integrating a digital layer over the combatant’s field of vision, the helmet ceases to be a passive barrier and becomes a cognitive extension of the soldier, a system capable of interpreting the environment and anticipating threats. The difficulty will be maintaining the balance between technology and physical reality: a helmet that is too heavy or uncomfortable ends up being useless, no matter how smart it is. Russia and its competitors know this, and their challenge is to ensure that technical progress does not sacrifice basic functionality. From clay to the digital age. If we look back, the history combat helmet modern begins in the trenches of World War I, when injuries from shrapnel and artillery forced armies to recover forgotten protection since the Middle Ages. In 1915, France introduced the Adrian modelfollowed by the German Stahlhelm and the british brodieall made of steel and designed to resist projectile splinters. Those helmets marked the beginning of a new relationship between the soldier and his equipment: they were no longer an ornament, but a survival tool. During the 20th century, its design adapted to the change of wars (from European mud to the jungles of the Pacific, from desert to cities), replacing metal with composite materials and reducing weight. However, despite the advancement of military technology, the helmet remained almost unchanged in its basic purpose: to protect the head, not to think for it. Today, more than a century later, that paradigm appears to be changing. War as a data network. If it achieves that balance, the “Soratnik” could inaugurate a new era in which the helmet stops symbolizing only individual defense to represent the total connection between the combatant and his army. It is no longer about protecting the head, but about turning it into a processing center mobile, a link point between humans and machines. In the evolution of the “brain bucket” The “smart helmet” summarizes a century of war history: from tempered steel to silicon, from the physical blow to the flow of informationfrom survival to control of the environment. A change that redefines not only the soldier’s equipment, but also the very nature of war. Image | VPK In Xataka | Ukraine brought its drones closer to the Russian army. Their surprise is capital: the North Koreans are now Cubans with an irresistible promise In Xataka | Ukraine has divided a treasure into six secret locations. If Russian drones find it, the winter will be especially cold

Chinese astronauts have spent six hours reinforcing tiangong against an increasingly dangerous enemy: space garbage

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The night in orbit just leaves truce. In low orbit, the Tiangong Space Station It becomes the scene of a constant activity that requires millimeter precision. In the last extravehicular exitChinese astronauts had to face a challenge that does not come from technical failures or scientific experiments, but from a silent enemy that multiplies the risks of each mission: the Space garbage which accumulates in the low terrestrial orbit and threatens to hit the structure of the complex. The schedule of China’s manned flight agency places the start of extravehicular activity on September 25 at 19:45 (Beijing time), with Wang Jie as the first astronaut to leave the Wentian module. It was followed shortly after Chen Zhongrui, in charge of attending the installation of the equipment. Chen Dong, from inside Tiangong, managed communications with the control center and supported his teammates throughout the maneuver. The walk concluded at dawn, at 1:35 of September 26, when the two crew closed the hatch after completing the planned agenda. The maneuver was carried out with support from the robotic arm of the station and the team on land. Sludes against fragments: Tiangong’s strategy to resist in space During the walk, the main objective was to install a protection device against Orbital fragmentsdesigned to reinforce the most exposed areas of the station. The operation also included the review of the state of external equipment and structures, with special attention to the systems that suffer greater wear due to continuous exposure to the spatial environment. According to those responsible for the programthis combination of installation and maintenance seeks to ensure that Tiangong maintains its operational capacity in the middle of an increasingly saturated environment of remains. The increase in spatial garbage in the low orbit is one of the factors that most worries agencies in recent years. Each launch adds fragments that, although small, reach speeds that multiply their damage. For China, reinforcing Tiangong does not respond to a specific incident, but to the need to get ahead of an increasingly complex scenario. China is not the only one that has had to reinforce its station in the face of the threat of orbital fragments. The International Space Station Specific armor systems for years have beenknown as anti-mmod shields, which protect their habitable modules from impacts from Micrometeoritos and space garbage. The difference is in the context: it is an infrastructure with more than two decades of service, which has needed to adapt continuously to an increasingly congested environment. In the ISS, this philosophy materializes in shields in Whipple and Stupfed Whipple layers, with several hundred shields distributed in critical areas. The comparison between Tiangong and the International Space Station helps to understand the scope of its protection systems. The Chinese station completed its construction in 2022 with a T configuration formed by the Tianhe, Wentian and Mengtian modules. The ISS, on the other hand, began to assemble in 1998 and ended its main segment in 2011, with a much broader and more complex structure. This difference in dimensions and seniority explains why its shields follow different logics: ISS combines protections included from its design with reinforcements added over the years, while Tiangong integrates solutions designed from the beginning for a more congested environment. The closure of this extravehicular activity does not imply a break, but the beginning of a new stage for the Shenzhou-20 mission. The three astronauts They will continue with numerous scientific experiments and technological tests, in addition to participating in on -board celebrations linked to the Chinese calendar. The installation of additional shields has a clear objective: to hold over time the crew safety and the integrity of Tiangong, which aspires to consolidate as a stable basis for space research in the midst of a more demanding orbital environment. Images | Xinhua In Xataka | 24 years ago, the earth was symmetrical. Now the northern hemisphere is “unequivocally” darker than the southern hemisphere

Heat was always the enemy of solar energy. A new study says it will be your best ally

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For decades, heat has been considered the Achilles heel of solar energy. When the sun squeezes and the temperature rises, the solar panels They begin to lose efficiency. In sunny places, from Madrid to Sydney, the paradox is known: a lot of sun to achieve a lot of energy, but also a lot of heat that plays against. However, where some see problems, a new study has found a possible solution. An unexpected ally. A study by the University of Laughborough, Posted in The Journal of Chemical Physicsturn this logic. Researchers have tried some photoelectrochimic flow cells (PEC), an emerging technology that captures light and stores it. The most striking thing about this research is that the more heat they receive, the faster they store energy. The team has even identified an “optimal point” around 45 ° C, where performance reaches its maximum before stabilizing. More in depth. But to understand the importance of this finding, it should be remembered why heat is a problem in conventional photovoltaic panels. The increase in temperature causes an increase in internal electrical resistance. This means that electrons lose energy in the form of heat instead of contributing to electric current, which reduces voltage and efficiency. As we have explained in Xatakafor each additional degree above 25 ºC, the plates lose between 0.05 % and 0.34 % yield, which can translate into falls from 10 to 25 % in very hot days. Instead, PEC cells behave totally the other way around: heat energizes liquid electrolyte, accelerating the ion movement. In this way, internal conductivity is improved and reduces losses, achieving a faster and more efficient load. The benefit of heat. The project led by the University of Laughborough by not needing active refrigeration systems, installation and maintenance costs are reduced. For their part, the most benefited regions would be those with abundant sun and high temperatures. As Dr. Bae has highlighted in Interesting Engineering: “This revolutionizes popular belief and gives us a new way of designing solar storage systems that prosper in heat conditions.” Other ways. Beyond the PEC cells, there are also initiatives that seek to take advantage of heat in solar energy. The Australian startup Coolsheet has designed a passive water cooling system that is installed in the rear of the solar panels. This reduces the temperature of the plate and, at the same time, water is heated that can be used in industrial or domestic processes. As we have explained in Xatakaevery 10 ºC less on the plate can translate into an increase of 4 % in electrical efficiency. From enemy to ally. Solar energy crosses an intense innovation phase. From technologies such as PECs, which make heat into an ally, to hybrid solutions such as Coolsheet, which reuse leftover heat, the future seems to get away from the traditional vision that heat is a problem to fight. What is clear is that, As the University of Laughborough concludeswe are one step closer to a scenario in which the sun not only generates electricity, but also enhance the efficiency and reliability of our energy systems. Image | Freepik Xataka | The window that does not seem solar panel, but is: China seeks that each glass facade produces clean energy

When the Nazis occupied an island on the Channel of La Manchas they met an unexpected enemy: an indecipherable language

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The enemies sometimes appear for the most unsuspected places. That is what the German soldiers who occupied the Canal Islandson the Canal de la Mancha. The campaign promised them happy and in fact it extended for several years, but shortly after putting the first foot on the island of Jersey the Nazi officers realized that they would have to deal with an unexpected enemy: a language that they did not understand their interpreters. And that was a luck for the locals. In a place on the Channel of La Mancha … It is found Jerseythe largest of the islands of the Canal, an archipelago located very close to the French coast but is administratively linked to London. In fact they are considered British crown dependenciesautonomous, self -governor territories and that strictly are not part of the United Kingdom, but they are linked to their crown. It is estimated that in 2001 a few resided in the archipelago 150,000 people distributed in Two dancers: Guersey’s and Jersey, where they live more than 100,000. An island, its own language. Jersey not only stands out for his geography, status and history. It also does it at the linguistic level: on the island you speak English, French … and The sweater (Jèrriais), a tongue related to The Normand and, They claim The island authorities, have a rich history of more than a thousand years. His first written record dates in fact the 12th century, with The poet Waceand on the island presume of its literary legacy of the late eighteenth century. The sweater He caught his attention Even from the prestigious French writer Víctor Hugo, who rescued one of his words, Pieuvre (octopus) in your novel ‘The sea workers’of 1866. “A Language of Peasants”. The history of the Jersejés is not exactly simple. Despite his age and the enormous roots he has had on the island, there was a time in which he considered a vulgar and stigmatized language, which has irremediably marked his base of speakers. “In 40 and 50 if you went to school the Jerseyés was prohibited. It was considered a language of peasants, spoken only by poor people. That was the attitude of all teachers, even those who spoke Jerseyes,” He recounts To the BBC François Le Maistre, a almost 90 -year -old man who explains that in his home, as a child, only the island language was used. … And a weapon in front of the Nazis. Interestingly and despite his stigmatization, the sweater played a relevant role during World War II. The Canal Islands hold the sad honor of being the only “British” islands that endured the occupation of German troops during World War II. The Nazis came to Jersey between June and July 1940 (with The battle of England as a backdrop) and remained in the archipelago until May 1945. The authorities evacuated 30,000 people From the Canal Islands before the arrival of the Germans, but even so when Führer’s troops landed in Jersey they met thousands of locals (the archipelago added in total 104,000 residents) With a disturbing peculiarity, especially for the Nazis: they spoke a seemingly unintelligible language, even for the Francophone Germans. Not even the collaborative interpreters understood at all. What devils are they saying? “The articles in Jerseyes published at the beginning of the occupation managed to transmit messages of resistance”, Point out to the BBC Geraint Jennings chain, linguist and expert in the island language. “The texts openly said that it was better to speak Jerseés so that ‘certain people’ could not understand it, that is, the Germans! Of course they soon realized and took drastic measures with censorship, but the sweater continued to be used as a secret language to transmit messages during the rest of the contest.” In the island’s passive resistance strategy, that language related to Normando became a valuable piece. Its complexity, even for the ears of the German soldiers who spoke French or the collaborative performers, made the Jerseés a key tool to exchange information, draw clandestine plans or even, remember The English chain, mock of the Nazis. “Everyone spoke”. “During those years everyone spoke Jerseyes simply because, unfortunately of the Germans, it was not possible for them to understand our language,” remember I maistre. Perhaps it sounds strange, but it is that within the jersey itself different dialect varieties of the language were used: despite the fact that the island is small, a good part of the islanders were related to their own communities, which favored surprising wealth of expressions, words and even accents, distinctive marks of groups of speakers. On other channel islands, such as Guerneey, Sark and Alderney They also had their own languages, some already disappeared. A dream for linguists, a nightmare for German soldiers who walked through Jersey. A tongue in retreat. That does not mean that the sweater was immune to war. His starting point was already delicate. Although in the 30s the mother tongue of most people born on the island remained, it was minorized and stigmatized. To that was added “the great social rupture” that, Jennings lamentscaused the German occupation: families evacuated to England with their children ended up adopting English as the main language, the same that happened to the islanders who enrolled in the Armed Forces and then returned home. This rupture is added that tourism and the island’s financial sector, key pieces in its economy, They contributed to boost English as a communication vehicle. And what is the situation now? Complicated. There are reasons for optimism, but also for concern. In recent years the language has managed to claim, with institutions expressly dedicated to its promotion and greater sensitivity on the part of local institutions. In February 2019 in fact the island authorities They declared it COOFICIAL LANGUAGE IN THE ASSEMBLY WITH ENGLISH AND FRENCH. Who today lands at the island’s airfield is also with a message that welcomes him in the language: “Seyiz Les Beinv’nus à Jerri”. That is the positive part. The refusal … Read more

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