engineering

The Canary Islands have been suffering total blackouts for years. Their salvation is a beast of engineering 1,145 meters under the sea

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A month ago, the destabilization of an old generator at the El Palmar thermal power plant in La Gomera caused a dramatic “cascade effect” that left more than 15,000 people without electricity, and without mobile coverage. This incident showed the extreme fragility from living in an isolated electrical system. However, the solution to this historical vulnerability no longer looks to the sky, but to the depths of the Atlantic. To overcome the abrupt volcanic orography and the extreme pressures of the Canary Islands seabed, engineering has had to design an “umbilical cord” unprecedented in the world, marking a before and after in the history of the archipelago. The end of isolation. In an effort to protect supply, Red Eléctrica de España (REE) has officially inaugurated the underwater interconnection between La Gomera and Tenerife. As confirmed by the REE itselfthe magnitude of the project translates into historic figures: an investment of 145 million euros for the cable laying, to which are added another 32 million destined for the two link substations located in Chío (Tenerife) and El Palmar (La Gomera). It is not a capricious work. How they collect local mediathe Canary Islands have suffered nine major “energy zeros” (total blackouts) since 2009. Tenerife and La Gomera have been among the islands hardest hit, so this infrastructure was born as a vital antidote to darkness. More than light. The implementation of this system completely alters the energy paradigm. As indicated ANDldiario.esboth islands cease to be solitary island systems and become a single network. From now on, if the rubber plant fails, Tenerife will inject energy instantly to avoid a blackout, and vice versa. But the scope of the work transcends mere security. As explained in detail in the REE statementcable is the key to decarbonization. La Gomera will now be able to generate much more renewable energy – mainly wind – than its population consumes. This green surplus will not be lost, but will travel along the seabed to Tenerife, drastically reducing the burning of fossil fuels on both shores. The technical challenge: engineering to the limit. Connecting two volcanic islands separated by abyssal trenches is not an easy task. As emphasized The Daythe 36 kilometer length of the cable descends to 1,145 meters below sea level. This extreme depth makes it the deepest tripolar alternating current link on the entire planet, snatching the record that linked Crete and the Peloponnese since 2021. To withstand the weight and crushing pressure of the ocean at these levels, engineering had to reinvent itself. To do this, they had to discard the traditional use of steel and lead, opting instead for an ultralight synthetic material armor and an insulation based on ethylene and propylene rubber. Caring for the environment was also a priority. In order not to destroy coastal biodiversity or alter shallow volcanic beds, from The Confidential detail that it was used the “directed drilling” technique: an underground microtunnel that allows the cable to exit to the sea hundreds of meters from the beach. Likewise, the terrestrial substations use GIS (gas-insulated) technology to occupy the minimum possible space, and their buildings have been camouflaged imitating greenhouses and agricultural terraces to integrate into the landscape. Laying underwater bridges. The milestone of La Gomera and Tenerife is just the beginning. Future planning, as pointed out The Daycontemplates the colossal challenge of joining Fuerteventura with Gran Canaria, an even greater challenge given that the distance between the two exceeds 100 kilometers. Parallel to the electrical revolution, the Canary Islands are experiencing an unprecedented leap in their telecommunications. As these local media detailthere are more projects like BASE 6, promoted by the public company Canalink. This is a new 328 kilometer fiber optic cable with a budget of 19 million euros that will link Tenerife with El Hierro, landing through a drilling on Tamaduste beach. This data highway, with a capacity of 5 terabits per second, seeks to eradicate the digital divide on the most remote island, guaranteeing services such as telemedicine or online education. The invisible network. The Canary Islands not only look inward. As contextualized by OCTSI (Canary Telecommunications Observatory), the archipelago has been functioning for decades as a global strategic node, surrounded by historic fiber rings and international connections such as Telefónica’s PENCAN cables, currently in the process of renovation. However, this strategic position has its geopolitical edges. An extensive report from my colleague for Xataka focuses on network extension from Canalink to Africa. The Canary Islands are financing a cable to the Moroccan city of Tarfaya with European funds. The problem lies in the fact that Morocco intends to extend this infrastructure towards Western Sahara, a movement that clashes head-on with the rulings of the EU Court of Justice and that threatens to place Spain at the center of a complex diplomatic and legal conflict with the Polisario Front. Overcoming geographic isolation. At 1,145 meters under the scrutiny of the waves, where sunlight does not reach and the pressure is unbearable, the heartbeat that unites two islands now runs. The Canary Islands are managing to transform their greatest geographical weakness—fragmentation and isolation—into a true global showcase of technological innovation. Little by little, the old and noisy combustion engines give way to a future that will be inescapably green, and deeply interconnected. Image | OCTSI Xataka | The Canary Islands are going to lay a submarine cable to Morocco. If Morocco decides to extend it, Spain is going to have a big problem

Getting them out of there is an engineering nightmare.

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The geopolitics of the 21st century has found its new epicenter (again) in a white wasteland of 2.2 million square kilometers. After the recent military operation in Venezuela which culminated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump has reactivated with unprecedented aggressiveness his most persistent ambition: to convert Greenland into American territory. But while the White House sells the island as a “bullion” of strategic resources, experts warn that the reality under the ice is an engineering nightmare that could break not only Washington’s coffers, but Western security architecture itself. The myth of immediate wealth. The central argument of the Trump administration is mineral wealth. The island is estimated to be home to between 36 and 42 million tonnes of rare earth oxides. However, as Anjana Ahuja relates in his column for the Financial Timesthe fascination with these minerals is not new. Already in the 19th century, mineralogist Karl Ludwig Giesecke cataloged treasures such as cryolite, the “white gold” of the industrial era. However, the technical reality is devastating. Anthony Marchese, president of Texas Mineral Resources, explains in Fortune that “if you go to Greenland for its minerals, you’re talking about billions of dollars and an extremely long time.” The problem is not scarcity, but physical accessibility since it does not have infrastructure that connects settlements, the electrical grid cannot support large-scale mining and, in the north of the island, the climate only allows work six months a year. The rest of the time, the machinery must hibernate under extreme conditions. The battle for the underground. Control of rare earths (neodymium, terbium, scandium) is vital for defense technology and the green transition. China controls today about 90% of this market, and the Tanbreez project in southern Greenland is emerging as the great Western alternative. According to industry sourcesthe company plans to start mining in 2027, but processing costs will exceed $1 billion. However, for experts like Javier Blas, energy analyst at Bloombergthis enthusiasm is, to a large extent, a powerpoint optimistic. Blas warns that Greenland’s potential is more part of a collective imagination than an economic reality. “The market has already spoken,” he maintains: if after decades of exploration no major mining company has managed to operate successfullyit is because the concentrations are low and logistics devours any benefit. According to Blas, the island is not a Wonderland of raw materials; It is an economic challenge that has not produced a single barrel of oil despite years of attempts. The China clamp. Here the most controversial factor comes into play: uranium. The Kvanefjeld deposit, one of the largest in the world, is at the center of international arbitration. The Energy Transition Minerals (ETM) company—owned by Chinese capital— claims 11.5 billion dollars to Greenland after the ban on uranium mining for environmental reasons. This legal dispute places the island in a strategic clamp: Washington wants control to expel Beijing, but it is already underground through litigation and business actions. The navigable Arctic. Beyond the mines, the decisive factor It’s climate change. Melting ice is transforming the Arctic into a viable trade corridor. Sailing from Europe to Asia through the north reduces the distance by 40% compared to the Suez Canal. Greenland is not just a reserve of precious stones; It is an unsinkable aircraft carrier at the center of new sea routes. Controlling the island allows the US to apply what some analysts at Fortune They call the “Donroe Doctrine” (a play on words between Trump and the Monroe Doctrine): securing the hemisphere as an exclusive sphere of influence, preempting Russian icebreakers and Chinese logistics investments. The “optical illusion” factor and the human cost. Despite Trump’s promises to “make” Greenlanders rich, local sentiment is one of rejection. Recent polls cited by the New York Timesput the population that opposes being part of the United States at 85%. Although Denmark’s desire for independence is real, Greenlanders do not want to “exchange one master for another.” Additionally, the maintenance cost is astronomical. Denmark subsidizes the island with 600-700 million dollars annually. According to the Financial Times, For the US to replicate the Danish welfare state on the island, the necessary investment would amount to hundreds of billions of dollars. Alexander Gray, a former member of the National Security Council, admits that “the accounts will never add up” but insists that the strategic value is “incalculable.” ANDbetween ambition and reality. The conflict over Greenland summarizes the transition towards a world where geography once again prevails over international law. For Donald Trump, the island is the ultimate trophy: territory, resources and a coup against the established order. For geologists and energy experts, it is a reminder that political will cannot melt ice or build ports where there is nothing. The Arctic is no longer a remote edge of the map, but the new center of gravity. But while the debate continues in the offices of Washington and Copenhagen, the 57,000 inhabitants of the island watch with suspicion as their home becomes the most coveted piece in a global chess game that is just beginning. Image | Pexels and freepik Xataka | If the question is “what is the next country on the US list” the answer has been on the table for months

Getting hold of Venezuela’s immense oil reserves seems like a “bargain.” It’s actually an engineering nightmare.

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The geopolitical board has been blown up with the establishment of the “Donroe Doctrine.” According to energy analyst Javier Blasthis movement seeks to consolidate an energy empire from Alaska to Patagonia to control 40% of world production. Trump has not hesitated, making it clear that his objective is oil, recovering “stolen” assets and executing a lightning reconstruction led by American oil companies. However, Washington’s optimism clashes with technical reality. Analysts consulted by The Wall Street Journal They warn that there will not be an immediate miracle in the wells. In fact, the market has stopped fearing shortages and has begun to discount a future saturation of crude oil that is already pushing prices down. It’s not “black gold”, it’s asphalt. The narrative of easy success collides with geology. Venezuela It has 303,000 million barrels of proven reserves, but the vast majority is located in the Orinoco Belt and is extra-heavy crude oil. Unlike light oil, it is viscous, dense and does not flow naturally; It is more like tar than fuel. Added to the geological complexity is an alarming degradation of quality. A Reuters investigationbased on internal PDVSA documents, reveals that refiners in India (Reliance) and China (CNPC) have canceled orders or demanded drastic discounts because the crude oil arrives “dirty”, with excessive levels of water, salt and metals. These impurities corrode distillation towers and refining equipment, making processing an expensive and risky process. According to the researcher Luisa Palaciosthe country does not even produce the diluents (gasoline) necessary to transport this crude oil through pipelines, which forces it to depend on imports or inefficient mixtures. Low profitability. Despite the magnitude of the reserves, Venezuelan oil is far from being a profitable business. Its current low profitability is based on three critical pillars that any investor must consider. First of all, geology works against us. According to Forbesextracting this heavy crude oil requires massive and constant technical investment in steam injection and “upgrading” plants to transform the bitumen into a marketable product. Without this expensive technology, the resource is simply inaccessible. Added to this are the structural discounts in the market. As Al Jazeera explainsDue to its high density and sulfur content, this crude oil always trades below markers such as Brent or WTI. With a barrel that could fall to 50-60 dollars in 2026, the profit margin for Venezuela would be reduced to a minimum. The bottleneck: logistics. As an analysis in Bloomberg points outthe infrastructure is literally in ruins because loading a supertanker now requires five days, compared to just one day seven years ago. The collapse is such that the state oil company itself has gone so far as to dismantle oil pipelines to sell them for scrap, while key complexes such as Paraguaná are dying due to lack of maintenance. The rescue recipe. Venezuela dreams of the 4 million barrels per day that marked its rise in the 70s, but the financial reality is a bucket of cold water. Francisco Monaldi, director of energy policy at Rice University, calculates that the energy rescue demands 10 billion dollars a year for an entire decade. A goal as ambitious as it is expensive. However, money is not everything when human capital is lacking. CBCNews remember that In 2003, 23,000 skilled professionals were laid off, many of whom ended up in the Canadian tar sands. Without this talent, American cutting-edge technology has no hands to operate it. Furthermore, giants such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips will not move a single drill until legal certainty is guaranteed and settlements are made. billionaire debts of the expropriations of the Chávez era. But why Venezuela if Canada already exists? If crude oil is so “bad” and expensive, why Trump’s interest? The key is a necessary technical symbiosis. Gulf Coast refineries (Texas and Louisiana) They are like “stomachs” Designed for heavy food. Ironically, the oil that the US extracts through fracking is “too good” (too light). To optimize your plants and produce diesel, they need to mix its light crude oil with Venezuela’s heavy crude oil. Rory Johnston and Lino Carrillo they explain thatAlthough Canada’s crude oil is identical to Venezuelan crude, the latter has an unbeatable advantage: it is three days away by ship and has access to deep waters, while Canada suffers from “geographic confinement” due to saturated oil pipelines. Furthermore, by controlling this flow, the US cuts off the supply to “teapot” (independent refiners) of China, which until now bought Venezuelan crude at a discount, thus eliminating a competitive advantage for Beijing. There was a small pulse. Behind Trump’s mobilization, as the New York Times emphasizesChevron has positioned itself as a key player in the entire equation. This desire to go after Venezuelais also explained because it had a single major oil company that has maintained its presence in the country since 1923, surviving nationalizations and crises while competitors such as ExxonMobil left the board. There is a hidden treasure. Beyond oil, Venezuela is a “gas station” that wastes its own product. Luisa Palacios and The Kobeissi Letter The 200 billion cubic feet of natural gas stand out (the largest reserve in the region). Due to pure technical negligence, PDVSA today burns or vents an amount of gas equivalent to the consumption of all of Colombia, losing 1 billion dollars annually in smoke. Added to this is the potential of Mining Bow with critical minerals (nickel, coltan, bauxite) essential for the defense and technology industry. The paradox of the “gas station without hoses.” Trump has taken control of the largest reserve on the planet, but he has found himself with a facility that has no hoses, whose electrical grid is collapsing and whose fuel requires intensive processing so as not to destroy the engines. Although the flow of exports can be redirected quickly from China to the US in a matter of months—benefiting refineries in Texas and Louisiana—the actual reconstruction of the sector is a long-term project. The real battle has not been the capture of Maduro, but the management … Read more

It also changed engineering forever

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Shortly before 11:00 a.m. on November 7, 1940, an impressive American suspension bridge was minutes away from becoming engineering history. In that mass there was only one dog trapped that no one could save. After a few minutes after 11, the cameras filmed one of the most shocking scenes ever recorded. This was the story of a huge failure. A too light masterpiece. When the Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in July 1940, its fine and elegant silhouette was intended to symbolize a new era of engineering economic and structural efficiency. Leon Moisseiff, one of the most prestigious engineers in the country and architect of the Golden Gate, had designed a stylized colossus that, however, from day one began to show a disturbing behavior: The board vibrated and waved even in moderate breezes. The workers named the structure as “Galloping Gertie”a nickname as colloquial as it was revealing, because it indicated that something deep and still misunderstood was disturbing its stability. First investigations. The University of Washington teams began intensive studies: scale models, wind tunnel tests and emergency solutions such as hydraulic jacks and temporary cables. Nothing managed to stop the oscillations. The bridge, too thin, too light, too faithful to a refined aesthetic, had been pushed to the limit by the design philosophy of the Great Depression, one in which materials were reduced to the essentials and aerodynamic resistance was not yet a mature science. The disaster. On November 7, 1940, with winds of around 65 km/h, Gertie experienced what she researched defined as “an abrupt transition between the usual vertical oscillations and a violent torsional movement that soon became unmanageable.” Motorists and reporters experienced scenes that seemed taken from a fantastic story: sections of the ground that disappeared underfoot, jumps in the void between undulations, and a torsion rhythm that intensified until the structure folded in on itself. At 11:02 in the morning, the center of the bridge fell into the strait. The only victim was Tubby, a dog trapped in an abandoned car. The show, filmed with a chilling sharpnessbecame one of the most influential visual documents of modern engineering. What the hell happened. After the fall, investigations determined that the collapse was due to an unknown phenomenon then in its complexity: the so-called as torsional flutter. When one of the suspensions gave way, the deck adopted an asymmetrical geometry that allowed the wind to feed the bridge’s torsion. The structure was no longer agitated by the atmosphere: it was its own movement that generated the destructive force, not the wind. The “self-excited” oscillation grew without limit until it caused a total fracture. That tragedy buried the classic theory of “deflection,” which held that only vertical movements were relevant in a suspension bridge, and forced the development of new aerodynamic principles and a rigorous standard of wind tunnel testing that has since been applied around the world. Bridge opening day in 1940 Reconstruction and correction. In later years, the United States rewrote the manuals of bridge engineering. A more robust replacement was designed, with a wider skeleton, heavier cables and open grilles to reduce wind action. “Sturdy Gertie,” opened in 1950, corrected the conceptual errors of its predecessor and became the symbol of a lesson learned through catastrophe. Decades later, in 2007, it was added a new section to absorb the growing traffic. And while engineers built a safer bridge on the surface, the underwater world began to claim the remains of the original bridge, which lay scattered more than 60 meters under the waters of Puget Sound. Collapse day Unexpected metamorphosis. In an extraordinary way, what began as an accidental shipwreck ended up becoming one of the artificial reefs more extensive and unique of the Pacific Northwest. In the depths of the strait, twisted beams and ruined metal plates were covered with anemones, sponges, algae and layers of organisms that transformed the tragedy into a hive. underwater life. Wolf eels snaked through the knots in the steel, giant Pacific octopuses found refuge in the folds of the collapsed deck, and schools of fish prowled the rubble. For divers, it was a palmost mythical landscape: a metal forest colonized by marine life, so exuberant that it gave rise to the legend of a gigantic “Octopus King” which, according to the inhabitants of Tacoma, reigned in the shadows under the bridge. The magic of that accidental ecosystem was that nature took a vestige of human engineering and turned it into a sanctuary. Depiction of Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse Threatened legacy. However, as the decades passed, the environment changed disturbingly. Various witnesses who dived in the nineties describe an underwater garden brimming with faunabut today, most of that splendor has disappeared. The overfishingcombined with ecological changes in the Puget Sound, has dramatically reduced the presence of iconic species. Sea creatures and giant octopuses have migrated In less exploited areas, the fish are smaller and in many sections only remains of hooks and gear remain. The least affected points are, paradoxically, those found under the current bridge, where fishing is complicated and marine life resists. Still, for many expertsthe deterioration of the artificial reef is a reminder of the vulnerability of unintentionally created ecosystems and how human intervention (on land or sea) defines which life thrives or disappears. History, memory and protection. Galloping Gertie’s remains were included on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1990s, not only as evidence of a failed engineering landmark but also as a testament to nature’s ability to transform ruins into habitats. Today some defenders aspire to an even higher status: turning the site into a marine reserveprotected against extractive activities and recognized both as ecological heritage and as a fundamental chapter in the history of engineering. An extraordinary failure. If you also want, the history of the Tacoma Narrows is not only that of the bridge collapsebut that of a double transformation: that of engineering knowledgewhich evolved as a result of the disaster, and that of underwater ecosystem that emerged from the … Read more

destroy a key piece of engineering

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It is a scene that is repeated in homes throughout the country. A persistent headache, a more acute menstrual malaise than normal or muscle pain that does not yield. 400 mg ibuprofenthat usual ally of the first aid kit, does not seem to be enough, and the ‘version’ of 600 mg can only be achieved with a recipe Medical Then arises the idea of ​​leaving a tablet in two and taking 400 mg more than 200 mg that gives 600 mg. But it’s not that good idea. An idea that has had to deny a pharmacist. Through your Tiltok account, @farmaceuticofernandez, responded to a girl’s video which pointed to that an ibuprofen and a half had been taken. Its verdict is quite clear: mathematical logic is not correct. And is that the principle of the active of the medicine andStá mixed with other excipients And this is not equitably distributed in each half of the tablet, so we do not find 200 mg of medicine on each side of the pill. It is in the end a lottery. In addition, it suggests that some of these tablets have a protective film that covers it with the aim of Protect our stomach or to be absorbed in a specific place of our system. If it starts, this protection effect is lost and can generate more problem than benefit. The anatomy of a tablet. The fundamental assumption behind leaving a pill is that the medicine is distributed perfectly uniformly throughout its volume, such as dissolved sugar in coffee. The reality, however, is much more complex and looks more like a cookie with chocolate pepitas. The active substance (Ibuprofen, in this case) are the “Pepitas”, while the rest of the components, called excipients, are the “mass.” When the cookie starts in half, no one can ensure that each piece contains the same amount of chocolate. The science behind each pill. A tablet It is a pharmaceutical engineering work. In addition to the active substance, it contains a variety of excipients that are essential for its function: diluents To give volume, binders To keep it cohesive, disintegrating to dissolve in the body and lubricants such as Magnesium stearate so that the machinery does not stick during the manufacture. The most common manufacturing process, known as Wet granulationit implies mixing the API dust with the excipients and a liquid binder to form small granules. These granules dry and then compress at high pressure to form the final tablet. The ultimate goal is to ensure the uniformity of dosing units. What the box says. With this system, which is guaranteed only that each whole tablet of a lot contains the declared amount of active substance, within a margin of trust. However, this uniformity guarantee applies to tablet as a unit, and the homogeneous distribution of the active substance within each individual tablet is not ensured. And scientifically demonstrated. A study by pharmacy technicians In controlled conditions, 22 different brands of generic medicines fractioned. The results were surprising, since only 32% of the grooved tablets (designed to be games) and a little 27% of the non -grooved tablets met the uniformity criteria of the weight that are acceptable. In this way, if professionals with adequate tools cannot achieve precise division, the probability that a patient will do it at home with a kitchen knife is tiny. The slot is not decorative. If the internal structure of a tablet is a lottery, the presence or absence of a slot on its surface is the signal that indicates whether we can play or not. That small line is not a decorative element or a simple visual guide. It is a legal and scientific statement of the manufacturer that certifies that this tablet It has been designed to be split by that line To have more or less security we take a precise dose. In order for a tablet to carry a slot, the laboratory must demonstrate to the regulatory agencies that the halves meet the same standards of dose and dissolution uniformity as the entire tablet. The prospect is important to read it. This document, which we sometimes hate because once we open it you can no longer bend correctly, it indicates what we can do with the medication. If this report details that a tablet can be divided, it is because it has been demonstrated. For example, in the Paracetamol prospect From 1 gram, “the tablets are grooved, which allows to divide the tablet into equal doses.” But the same does not happen in a 400 mg ibuprofen leaflet of the Cinfa brand that is very common I even had 400 mg ibuprofen at home and I have been able to verify that I did not have any division to leave the pill in two. Something that obviously faces us to be inaccurate. The doctor has the ‘key’ to have 600 mg ibuprofen. The distinction between the 400 mg ibuprofen and the 600 mg is not just a matter of 200 mg more power; It is a regulatory and security border. In Spain, the presentation of 400 mg can be dispensed without a recipe (although often under the pharmaceutical council), while the 600 mg necessarily requires a medical prescription. This decision, taken by the AEMPS, is not arbitrary, but is based on a exhaustive analysis of the balance between benefit and risk. The issue in this case is that after comparing the effect of the 400 mg version with the 600 mg is almost the same. This phenomenon is known as analgesic “roof effect”, where major doses They do not produce additional pain in a significant way in mild cases. But what it does cause is that they increase the Side effects considerably. Something that also corroborates the pharmacist from the beginning. A suggestion effect. The problem we have in this case is the suggestion to which we are exposed. Obviously, a larger amount correlates with a greater analgesic effect according to our own logic. And this … Read more

The US prepares to bomb the border of Mexico with sterile flies. It will not use genetic engineering, but 1950 technology

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The United States wants to stop the Cochliomyia hominivorax, A fly that when it is in the larval phase causes a parasitic disease that mainly affects cattle (although it can also affect humans). A few days ago we talked about the plan to end her: launch millions of sterile flies to stop their expansion. The funny thing is that they are not going to do it using Genomic editionbut for this they will use a technology ago. X -rays and planes. The objective of this initiative is to stop the expansion of this plague and for this what they are going to do is sterilize millions of flies. As? With A technology that has been using since the 70s To combat this plague: X -rays. After raising the larvae and that they transform into pupae, they are placed inside a metal cylinder that is introduced into a gamma irradiation chamber with a dose of between 40 and 65 gray, enough to reach 95% sterility without compromising their survival. The container (left) that is introduced into the irradiation chamber (right). Fountain Once sterilized, you have to reach the affected areas, in this case the southern Texas and Mexico. To ensure that they arrive in the appropriate phase, the pupae remain at 10 degrees so that their metamorphosis to adults slows down. They are released from airplanes and, when the temperature rises, sterile males emerge. Why not transgenic flies? Sterilization of insects by radiation has decades of proven efficacy. Genetic modification is potentially cheaper and efficientbut it is still in an experimental phase and is not ready for mass production. There is also the issue of regulation, more complicated in this case because it requires approvals from two countries: the United States and Mexico. The current legal framework under which sterile insects are released does not contemplate genetic modification and achieve approval I could take years and cost millions of dollars. The threat. The one known as “Cattle Barrenter” is a devastating species, especially for cattle. The females deposit their eggs in wounds and mucous animals and, when hatching, the larvae begin to feed on the meat, causing injuries that become mortal. According to the head of the American Association of Veterinary Medicine, They can kill a 450 kilos cow in two weeks. This pest affects mainly to countries in South America, but It is not the first time that the United States has to deal with it; In 1966 they already eradicated it and in 2017 there was a small outbreak in the Florida Keys. There is a hurry. Although the reduction of transgenic technique costs sounds attractive, the reality is that there is no time to lose. The boreride worm has reappeared in southern Mexico and, although it has not been detected near the border, from the United States They don’t want to take risks. In addition to the release of sterile flies, other measures will also take controls in the transfer of animals, collaborate with Mexico to improve surveillance and provide traps to catch larvae. Image | PSUBRATY in Pixabay In Xataka | Every week, millions of flies are released on the Valencia Community and, although it does not seem like it, it is a sensational idea

China has converted salmon breeding into a high seas into an engineering feat. This latest generation ship shows it

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Half of the fish we eat is no longer fishing in an open sea. Is raised in controlled facilitiesmany times away from the coast. It is the aquaculturean industry in full expansion that today produces more Fish for human consumption that traditional fishing, According to FAO data. Spain leads this activity in the European Union, with more than 5,000 centers in operation and a diversity of species that goes from rainbow trout to the Galician mussel. And yet, the most ambitious development of this industry does not seem to be on land or close to the coast. The state agency CGTN says that China has just bounced the First intelligent aquaculture ship in the world. A floating structure that sails, breeds and processes salmon without returning to port. A floating mega -structure that reproduces the complete cycle of a fish farm The Suhai-1 is the first smart and self-sufficient aquaculture ship in the world. Its construction marks, according to its developers, the beginning of a new stage in the salmon breeding in the open sea. It measures almost 250 meters long, displaces 132,000 tons and has 15 breeding compartments capable of hosting a volume of water equivalent to 33 Olympic swimming pools. Everything is automated: From food to oxygen control, through the simulation of natural light and waste management. The project has been built by the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding company. But the most surprising thing is your ability to navigate. Unlike traditional sea farms, many of them anchored to coastal areas or fixed structures on the high seas, this ship can move to areas with optimal conditions for salmon growth, such as the mass of cold water of the yellow sea (Yellow Sea). Sinas details that Suhai-1 does not need to be anchored in a fixed place. Can navigate to a maximum speed of 18 km/h and move hundreds of kilometers if the conditions of the environment require it. In case of storm, red tide or any other phenomenon, the ship can quickly move to safer areas. It also has an autonomy of 20,000 nautical miles and can operate self -sufficiently for 90 days. Interior of the Suhai-1 His first mission, in fact, will be heading towards the cold waters of the Yellow Sea, where temperatures They range between 10 and 18 degrees: The ideal range for salmon growth. The objective is clear: keep fish in their optimal surroundings since they are fry until they reach maturity. Once ready, it will not be necessary to take them to the ground for transformation: the ship itself has processing systems that allow you to file, package and preserve the fish on board, ready to be landed and distributed. According to the operating company, the product can reach Chinese markets in less than 24 hours after capture. To guarantee a controlled environment, the Suhai-1 integrates intelligent systems that They regulate five key factors: Water, oxygen, food, lighting and waste management. Everything is monitored in real time and coordinated from a centralized control center on board. Interior of the Suhai-1 The automated feeding system is responsible for storing, transporting, opening and distributing the feed (food), guided by algorithmic decisions that adjust the amount according to the growth of the fish. The constant water renewal is carried out by means of a circuit that exchanges the fluid inside with fresh marine water, adapting the pressure and flow rate. In addition, the ship has environmental sensors, underwater surveillance cameras, filtering systems and a Industrial Processing Plant capable of operating in two modalities: rapid cooling and freezing. In optimal conditions, fish can reach port and be marketed in a matter of hours. Suhai-1 is not born only as a technological flavor, but in response to increasing domestic demand. China has become in the salmon market that grows faster in the world. Only in 2024, consumption reached 1,760 million dollars, with an increase of 21% compared to the previous year. However, national production is not yet to meet that demand. Fish farms on land or fixed networks produce less than 50,000 tons per yearwhile imports remain high. Suhai-1 aspires to reduce that dependence. According to CGTN, their drivers plan to release the first fry this fall and bring the first harvest to the market around the dragon boat festival next year. China has been betting on the scale and engineering for years as a way of projecting power. There they are The three throats damits high -speed trains network –The most extensive in the world– o The trains that compete for being the fastest on the planet. Projects that respond to the same logic: overcome limits in technology, transport or energy. Suhai-1 fits that line. In Europe, aquaculture has centuries of history. The Romans already raised fish in artificial ponds. Spain adopted these practices early and consolidated an aquaculture culture that is still alive: from the Galician bats for the mussel to the southern estuaries for the lubina or the gold. Images | Jiangsu LianShen Marine Technology | Caroline Attwood In Xataka | “Lobster plague”: in the crusade of European cities against cruise ships, Cannes is now the spearhead

We have centuries contaminating the seas with mercury. We did not expect the solution to be genetic engineering

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There is something that have volcanic eruptions, oil combustion, waste incineration, chemical substances or gold extraction: they release mercury in the environment. A mercury that ends up deposited in the waters, transformed into methylmercury for millions of microorganisms, stored in fish and, finally, served in our houses at lunchtime. We have a problem with methylmercury. That is obvious. The problem is that it is very difficult to solve. And that is not forcing ideas in another place. What exactly is methylmercury? Mercury is already a global concern due to its persistence in the environment, its ability to bioaccumulation in ecosystems and their important adverse effects on human health. But methylmercury, the most frequent organic form in the marine environment takes the palm. None of this would be a problem if it were not because, in addition, methylmercury is the form “more toxic and the most easily absorbable For living organisms, since it is highly liposoluble and has a great capacity to fix proteins and also shows a high degree of bioaccumulation. “ Is it dangerous? Well yes. High doses of this compound They are very toxic to the central nervous system and especially “for the brain in development of the fetus and in early childhood.” It can cause “mild behavioral problems, language disorders, memory losses, vision and auditory, learning difficulties and development delays.” And we do nothing to avoid it? Yes, we have tried several approaches. In 2013, governments around the world adopted the Minamata Agreement to try to control the “anthropogenic liberations of mercury and other compounds” derivatives. In fact, in the last decade the European Food Security Authority (and its national equivalents) They have been establishing increasingly strict criteria for food with risk of exposure to these compounds. The problem is that it is not easy to control that release and, for now, we cannot do much more than reduce risks. A solution … original. Now, some Australian scientists say they have discovered a new effective way to clean the methylmercury. The Macquarie University Research Team and the Australian Csiro has managed genetically fruit flies and zebra fish to transform methylmercury into a much less harmful gas that is dispersed in the air. The team has modified the DNA of these two animals to insert variants of bacteria genes that make them create two enzymes that can convert the methylmercury into elementary mercury. In general terms, we could say that they inactivate it. It does not become harmless, but its toxicity and bioaccumulation falls very significantly. Oh really? “It still seems to me that we can use synthetic biology to convert the most harmful form of mercury and evaporate it,” Kate Tepper explainedsynthetic biologist and main author of the article. And, indeed, almost science fiction sounds. It must be said that, obviously, we talk about an investigation in the early development phases and much remains to be checked. However, it is a very interesting result. Very dangerous and very loaded with ethical issues, but very interesting for the development of the genetic engineering of the future. Another thing is that we dare to get so far. Image | John Cameron In Xataka | This researcher has been poisoning a lake with mercury for 15 years to see what happens to the fish living inside: now, he finally has an answer

China has placed the largest engineering work projected at 36,000 km from the Earth: its space solar station

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We are still far from build a dyson spherebut China seems willing to materialize The first great Solar Energy Station in orbit With the Earth, a simpler version of the concept that, even so, NASA scientists discarded in the 70-80 for being economically unfeasible. Times have changed and the world is in full energy transition to renewable sources. China, who has no shame when copying advances from other nations, provided they serve their purposes, work at the same time in Your own Starship: A totally reusable giant rocket called CZ-9. Uniting points, the Chinese Engineering Academy (CAE) wants to take advantage of the future rocket To install a huge solar plant in space, 36,000 km on the earth. 10 years ago, when China announced that it would investigate the space solar energy stations, everyone seemed to be a theoretical study or one more concept proof, such as those that continue to develop Today in NASAthe Jaxa Japanese agency and The European Space Agency (THAT). However, Chinese officials have put An ambitious roadmap on the table that has caught the rest of the countries totally off guard. The first prototype of the Chinese space center, 500 kW of power, is expected by 2030. A fully operational version of 20 MW would be ready in 2035 (while the station in its final form, of 2 GW, is scheduled for 2050. It is not a small thing for a technology that has never been implemented, much less on a large scale. It will presumably require hundreds of launches and the assembly of thousands of solar panels in geostation orbit, 36,000 km altitude, where the profitability of launching tons and tons of load will depend on the fact that the CZ-9 rocket be fully reusable, as the Chinese promise. Long Lehao, a rocket scientist in the fall, did not lack symiles to justify this huge media deployment. “It is a project as important as transferring the prey of the three throats to a geostationary orbit He said during a conference in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Of course, they will have to put small demonstrators in orbit of what will end up being the Space Solar Station. China has already tested From hot air balloonsand is building a receiving station in Chongqing. By 2026, the Chinese Space Technology Academy (CASC) plans to display its first 10 kW solar panels in space with the aim of demonstrating wireless energy transmission. He hopes to transmit up to 1 kW by laser and up to 4 kW by microwave, both to the receptor station on Earth and a nearby satellite, which suggests a future in which satellite constellations could be combined with the solar station. How will the solar station that China plans to install in space Little is known at the technical level of what the first farm of solar panels will be deploy in geostationary orbitsince no project has been officially selected. But Eureka List three concepts, out of different Chinese laboratories, which have enough ballots: In 2014, the Chinese Space Technology Academy (CASC) proposed a 11.8 km long station with a circular transmission antenna of 1 km in diameter; In 2021, the concept was updated with a modular design, easier to assemble, but with the disadvantage of a rectangular beam That same year, the Xidian University published a study on a spherical station with a diameter of 8 to 10 km and a system that would take advantage of semi -reflective panels to concentrate light on internal photovoltaic cells In 2016, the Shenyang Aerospace University proposed a similar concept that, instead of a spherical design, has a cylindrical design that refracts sunlight towards internal photovoltaic panels, a design that simplifies the monitoring of the sun What these concepts have in common is that they rotate like sunflowers to always point towards the sun, so their huge solar panels capture an inexhaustible flow of solar energy that then transmit to the earth. How do they transmit it? Concentrating a laser or microwave beam towards large antennas in receiving stations on Earth, where it becomes electricity to store in batteries or pour into the electricity grid. The wireless transfer takes advantage of a physical phenomenon known as interference or overlap of waves. It is usually explained by visualizing a pond in which you submerge both hands to form waves that spread at the same time. There are areas where waves are stronger because they advance together (they add up to the phase) and others in which they are canceled (they are out of phase). When waves work together, energy is not lost, but is concentrated in a specific direction. If there are several sources operating in a coordinated manner (all issuing at the same time, in the same phase) the energy can be directed in one direction. But if each source works a little earlier or a little after the others, the direction of the beam can be controlled. As a magnifying glass that concentrates the light at one point, it is possible to adjust the synchronization of these sources to focus energy in an area smaller than the original (such as the antenna on the surface of the earth). This correction can be carried out on the Nanoseconds of Electronics scale, which allows the energy direction to be handled very quickly or assigned to different locations (different antennas). In geostationary orbit, solar panels can be operated all the time and with conversion efficiencies superior to those that the panels achieve on this side of the atmosphere, hence the advantage of a photovoltaic station in space. However, the complexity of its deployment and doubts about the safety and efficiency of wireless transmission make all this technology still without being tested since studying in the 70s and 80s. China aspires to lead the new space solar energy career, as leading the earth’s photovoltaic energy, but will not be alone. Japan became 2015 In the first country that managed to transmit 1,8 kW in microwave wirelessly. … Read more

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