evolution

We had always believed that evolution had been arrested for thousands of years. The redheads were telling us the opposite

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Evolution has been one of the great allies that has made us get to where we are right now, but there is also an idea that haunts the minds of some people when they point out that comforts, agriculture or the best technologies have made this natural selection stagnates in humans. But… Is this true? A myth. The answer is no. And to demonstrate it, a group of researchers has recently published a new article in the magazine Nature, breaking this myth, pointing out that evolution has not only stopped, but that the invention of agriculture made it step on the accelerator. Here the research team has achieved what until recently seemed impossible, namely tracing the footprint of natural selection over the millennia. How it has been done. It’s not easy to look back into such a long past, but here researchers have used a new method baptized as AGESwhere they have ‘only’ had to process 16,000 ancient genomes from Western Eurasia. In this way, the results have shown that there are 479 genetic variants that have experienced great selective pressure, which is why our biological adaptation has accelerated following the advances that have made humanity as it is now. Some examples. That there have been changes in our genetics is phenomenal, but sometimes we want clear examples of why this is the case. One of these points out that when the populations of Eurasia abandoned nomadism to settle, cultivate the land and domesticate animals, their diets, exposure to sunlight and social dynamics changed radically. This translated, for example, into an increase in genetic variants associated with light skin or red hair, the latter being something linked to mutations in the MC1R gene. And its meaning lies in the need to adapt the body to absorb enough vitamin D in climates with little sunlight, although it is also suggested that these genes could share different very relevant adaptation functions. And also aesthetic. Far from how functional it may be to have a greater absorption of vitamin D, the studies also provide curious data about our evolutionary aesthetics by pointing out that natural selection favored the reduction of baldness in these populations. Here the discussion is served, since it can be thought that it is related to sexual selection or even that it is the consequence of other changes in genetics that opened the door to fewer cases of baldness and also rheumatoid arthritis. Images | Johannes Plenio Gabriel Silverio In Xataka | We have just discovered that 20% of our DNA comes from an unknown hominid population: Population B

Stress was designed by evolution to save your life. Modern chronic stress is taking it away from you

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It is easy to hear in this society the phrase “I am very stressed” because we have more and more demands on us in the workplace or staffand the truth is that it is something that is gradually being used as a “crutch” to associate it with mental fatigue or lack of time. However, the reality is that the great effect that stress has on our body is generating very relevant physical problems that can alter us in the long term. Its effect. The immune system is a fundamental part of our body that defends us against microorganisms, but also against cells that do not follow a natural division and that, without this control, can continue ahead. generating cancer. That is why taking care of it is fundamentaland constant stress is one of your worst enemies by reducing your ability to act. There is no need to demonize. To understand the damage, we must first be fair with the stress, since logically there are situations where you have to have stress to be able to stay aliveand without that ‘stress’ our species would literally be extinct a long time ago. And to understand it, if we ‘travel’ thousands of years ago, if a lion chased a human, the body released adrenaline and cortisol, preparing the immune system for possible injuries and enhancing short-term defenses. The problem with modern life is that the “lion” is no longer a specific predator, but the mortgage, work or constant anxiety. But it is a problem. When stress becomes chronic, it becomes a poison for the body, since, according to different articles, the perpetual state of alert overstimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Here the result is a sustained elevation of cortisol that, paradoxically, ends up causing “glucocorticoid resistance,” which are the molecules that are naturally produced to reduce inflammation. The body is then flooded with stress hormones, but your cells stop responding properly to them to curb inflammation. And as we have seen on many occasions, long-term inflammation brings more problems than benefits. The defenses. The immune dysfunction caused by this chronic condition is perfectly documented. An example is in the classic Cohen study which already mapped out the physiological mechanisms that make us more vulnerable to infections, but experimental studies and reviews from 2025 give us an exact cellular x-ray of what we lose. Among the examples that stand out, we have a drastic reduction of NK cells which are our first line of defense against viruses and tumor cells. Furthermore, both T lymphocytes (which are fundamental cells of the immune system) such as B lymphocytes see their response capacity diminished, making them unable to ‘destroy’ microorganisms that enter our body. But if that were not enough, chronic stress ages the immune system before its time. In a loop. Perhaps the most fascinating discovery that science points to is the connection between the immune system and mental health through neuroinflammation. Here, chronic stress is literally wearing down the body by continually adapting, causing the immune system to skyrocket. proteins related to inflammation that can travel to the brain and activate microglia, which is the ‘defense’ system of the nervous system. The result? A neuroinflammatory environment that is directly linked to the development of depression and anxiety disorders. And logically, if we have anxiety, stress will continue to increase, causing more inflammatory proteins to be released that will continue to affect the brain. It’s not forever. Here science points out that the damage caused by stress is not perpetual, but can be reversed at any time through interventions psychological interventions focused on stress reduction, as well as regular physical exercise. This has shown that chronic inflammation can be reduced and normal immune system cell function restored. That is why now rest and mental health should not be seen as a luxury, but rather we must begin to see them as an important biological shield that can greatly extend our lives if we manage to keep it under control. Images | creativeart on Freepik In Xataka | We thought staying up late was just a bad habit: It’s your body complaining about stress, according to an anxiety expert

The entire global electricity grid, in an impressive interactive map that shows the evolution of the energy transition

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There are few infrastructures as complex and essential to living in the world as we know it as the electrical grid, which in practice for most mortals is reduced to touching a switch or connecting a plug to the socket and it works. Behind the world’s electrical infrastructure there is a huge conglomerate of equipment, careful planning and uses that are changing (among other things, due to the now so famous data centers). It is not the only thing that is being transformed: the energy transition is making it possible for those resources that once supplied the electrical grid to give way to renewable energies. But not all countries in the world have the same density of electrical networks or the same sources, because in fact there are real black holes in this very complete world map of the electrical network. Is called OpenGridWorks and is an interactive map of the entire world’s electrical infrastructure, from a small solar plant to the great lines that cross continents. And we already told you that it attracts attention not only for the beauty of the chromatic compositions, but also for practical purposes: from planning an engineering project to analyzing energy policy. Opengridworks This map is actually a web platform for geospatial visualization of electrical infrastructure. All its data comes from OpenStreetMap, the world’s largest open, collaborative geographic database, maintained by volunteers and experts on an ongoing basis. This guarantees global coverage, constant updating and completely free access. But for network and infrastructure data it uses information from Global Energy Monitor or the United States Energy Information Administration, among others. Its purpose is to show, in a clear and interactive way, where electricity is generated, how it travels through the grid and where consumption is concentrated. It is worth stopping at the layers and all the information it shows because as we warned you before it is very complete, so if you leave all the options activated you will find yourself in a mess. If you move on the map and get closer, you will be able to see information such as: What technology provides the energy in the form of a colored bubble: blue for hydroelectric, red for thermal, yellow for solar, green for wind and purple for nuclear. The size of each bubble represents the installed capacity in MW Transmission lines are drawn thicker the higher their voltage (from 100 kV to 765 kV) and substations appear as nodes where these lines converge. Data centers also appear in the shape of a white diamond as they are points of intensive consumption. On the other hand, easement strips (ROW) appear as shaded areas around lines and facilities. Opengridworks But you will also be able to see additional information when you hover the pointer over any of the points. An example: when touching the Montes de Cierzo wind farm in Tudela, we will see that it is in operation and the energy it provides. What the global electrical map reveals about the energy transition Playing with the zoom and scrolling you quickly discover that there are areas of saturation and others that are a desert of infrastructure. From an engineering point of view, the map allows you to search for the closest interconnection point for a new project or detect nodes whose failure would leave regions without supply. Beyond engineering, it is an energy policy tool: it highlights the electrification gaps in developing countries, shows the real progress of renewables compared to fossil fuels, and allows the resilience of different national networks to be compared. AND abysmal differences are observed. Opengridworks The densest networks They are concentrated in the United States, central Europe and China, while sub-Saharan Africa and central Asia show very poor coverage that reveals an electrical blackout. In South America, the areas with the most infrastructure are on the Atlantic coast, although there are also some timid points on the Pacific coast. However, inside we barely find more than a fade to black. The colors of energy sources also change on the map, still dominated by thermal generation, although in Western Europe and China the advance of solar and wind power is a reality already perfectly visible. This map also reveals curiosities such as that nuclear plants always appear next to rivers or coasts due to cooling needs and hydroelectric plants are concentrated in the large river systems of the world. The data centers are also not placed at random, but are clustered near large transmission nodes to ensure supply. In Xataka | How much electricity each country on the map produces with renewable energy, displayed on a graph In Xataka | The amount of nuclear energy generated by each country, detailed in this interactive map Cover | OpenGrid Works

evolution made them hypercompetitive

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Being left-handed is not the most common, but approximately 10.6% of the population world is left-handed. From a purely evolutionary point of view, this has always represented a puzzle for biologists, since, if being right-handed is the norm and facilitates cooperation and the use of standardized tools for everyone, a compelling question arises: why has natural selection not eradicated left-handedness over the millennia? Investigating. The answer to this question seems to be deeply rooted in our competitive nature. At least this is what a study published in mid-Februarywhich gives us more light on this enigma, and confirms that left-handers are much more competitive on a psychological and evolutionary level. In the mind. The research team in this case thoroughly analyzed the relationship between manual lateralitysex and competitiveness. And to do this, they evaluated more than 1,100 online surveys in which the Laterality Quotient was calculated, which measures the preference for using one side of the body, and they crossed it with tests such as the 9-Hole Peg which measures manual dexterity. The results. It was clearly seen that left-handers show significantly higher levels of “hypercompetitiveness.” In addition, they have a lower tendency to avoid competition due to anxiety and, interestingly, the study showed that this thirst for victory is not correlated with greater pure physical skill, but is a deeply psychological trait. What does it mean? The study in this case reinforces a biological theory that was already proposed: the Evolutionarily Stable Strategy. In this case they pointed out that human evolution is a constant tug-of-war between cooperation and competition within a species. If we transfer it to the population level, the right-handed majority guarantees social cooperation and standardization to be able to use the same tools for everyone. However, in a world where everyone competes under the same rules, being “different” grants an invaluable tactical advantage, something known as the ‘fighting hypothesis’. In this way, being a minority of 10%, left-handers enjoy a surprise effect in hand-to-hand combat, since right-handers are not used to defending themselves from attacks coming from the left side. An advantage. Already a study from 2019 with more than 13,800 boxers and MMA fighters confirmed that left-handers, both men and women, won a significant percentage of fights. The same thing happens in soccer, where being left-footed is considered a tactical and technical advantage by offering this surprise factor against the rival, who a shot with the other leg is not expected which he is used to seeing because most footballers are right-handed. In addition, the brain symmetry of left-handers usually facilitates control of both legs. To survive. In this way, science suggests that evolution has not only given left-handers an advantage based on the surprise effect, but has also shaped their psychological profile so that they seek and do not fear those competitive scenarios where they have the chance to win. Left-handedness, therefore, is far from being a simple anomaly or a “flaw” of the evolutionary system, but is a mechanism perfectly balanced by nature. In Xataka | If the question is “who are the best human beings at the Olympics”, the answer is simple: left-handed people

Sleeping straight is a modern invention, not an evolution

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Regarding sleep, there are some deeply rooted beliefs such as that falling asleep in less than five minutes is good (spoiler: not at all), that we need to sleep eight hours (we are probably sleeping too much) or that sleeping straight through the night is ideal. There are no two without three and indeed: neither. In fact, if you wake up around three like magic, it’s not strange. After all, getting eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is a modern invention. Sleep science, history and biology all point in the same direction: we have never slept straight through. Understanding and assimilating this can change the way we approach our nights. Why it is important. Because we live in a time in which sleep disorders and the use of sleeping medicines are the order of the day, this reminder has therapeutic value. There are people with insomnia who do not have a disorder, but rather an ancestral biological pattern that clashes with modern life. It is not a problem of the dream, but of our expectations. Be careful, this is not an excuse for not treating pathological insomnia, but it is an excuse to help people reduce their anxiety regarding sleep and taking medication that they may not need. When the night was divided in two. Until about two centuries ago, it was not normal for people to sleep straight through. The pattern was the following: people went to bed shortly after dark, slept for about four hours, and then woke up for a little while to go back to sleep later, until dawn. It is known as biphasic sleep and is widely documented throughout the planet. Virgil already spoke of “the hour in which the first sleep begins for weary mortals” in his Aeneidalthough one of the people who has studied it the most is Roger Ekirch, who dedicated 16 years of research and gathered more than 500 references from documents of all types. Why we lost biphasic sleep. In two words: artificial light. Since the 18th century, when humanity had oil, gas or electric lamps, the night became useful time. And as we already know, light is not harmless to the brain: inhibits melatonin production and alters our circadian rhythms, advancing them. The more light we get before bed, the later we fall asleep and the less likely we are to wake up in the middle of the night. The Industrial Revolution did the rest: the rigidity of schedules ended up concentrating rest in a single block. What human evolution had established throughout our existence, the frenetic life of production and its advances had disrupted it forever. Return to the origins. When science subjects volunteers to conditions that simulate long winter nights, without lights, clocks, and completely dark, people spontaneously return to biphasic sleep with a quiet period of wakefulness. This 2017 study in a Madagascan farming community without electricity corroborated this pattern in real-world conditions. Light not only regulates sleep, it also affects our perception of time. Research from the Environmental Temporal Cognition Lab at Keele University evidence that with low lighting it seems that time passes more slowly, an effect that is magnified in people with a low mood. This explains why for many people winter feels eternal and depressing. And why if you wake up at 3 am time seems longer. What to do when you wake up in the middle of the night. If this nocturnal awakening has a biological basis, the key is in how we respond. The usual treatment through Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Give specific guidelines: if you haven’t slept for more than 20 minutes, get up and do a quiet activity with dim light, such as reading. And go back to bed when you feel drowsy. Also, forget about the clock: looking at the time triggers anxiety. But above and beyond procedures, it is important to understand something: this vigil does not have to be an alarm signal, but rather a sign of something deeply engraved in human nature. Accepting it instead of fighting it is often the shortest path back to sleep. In Xataka | The work ethic has been selling for years that getting up at 05:00 AM is good. Science is clear that absolutely In Xataka | If you fall asleep in less than five minutes, you don’t have a “superpower”: it’s a warning signal from your brain Cover | iam_os

We have been searching for radioactive “monsters” for decades. What we have found is a rapid evolution

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When we think about animals and radiation, our minds may imagine a three-eyed fish from The Simpsons or gigantic beasts from science fiction movies. But the reality is that those areas of the planet that have suffered a radioactive disasterpresent a much more complex and often more fascinating reality from an evolutionary point of view. The data. Decades after the accidents Chernobyl in 1986, Fukushima in 2011 and the historic disasters in Mayak, science has begun to collect enough data to understand what occurs when the fauna returns “exclusion zones” that have been abandoned by humans. The most recent studies tell us that there are no monsters, but there are accelerated genetic changes, forced adaptations and physiological scars. The Chernobyl case. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has become an involuntary nature reserve, since, without humans, fauna has proliferated, but genetic studies tell a story of invisible stress. One of the most classic and revealing studies focuses on the barn swallow, Since far from being immune, these birds have acted as bioindicators of the disaster. Research has documented an unusually high frequency of partial albinism in its plumagean external sign of genetic instability. In this case, an increase in the germline mutation rate of between 2 and 10 times has been recorded compared to control areas in Italy or uncontaminated rural Ukraine. As a consequence, between 1991 and 2006, were documented high frequencies of physical abnormalities in adults, suggesting that radiation continues to exert a constant selective pressure. The case of the dogs. In Chernobyl, perhaps the most surprising discovery in recent years comes from the descendants of pets that were abandoned during the evacuation. A genomic analysis A recent study of feral dogs living near the nuclear power plant shows a different genetic structure from dogs living in the city of Chernobyl, just a few kilometers away. In this case, scientists have identified changes in candidate genes such as XRCC4, essential for DNA repair. This suggests a multigenerational selection where the dogs with the best mechanisms to repair cellular damage caused by radiation are those that have managed to survive and reproduce. In this case, a meta-analysis covering 45 studies and 30 species confirms that the effect on mutation rates is large and persistent, being curiously stronger in plants than in animals. The case of Fukushima. If we go to Japan, it is where we find one of the most recent nuclear disasters and it is where we have been allowed to observe the immediate impact and the medium-term adaptation of nature. One of the most notable points is found in a new study published in January of this same year, which tells how thousands of domestic pigs escaped from their abandoned farms and began to mate with wild boars in the forest. Here it is pointed out that this encounter not only produced hybrids between pigs and wild boars, but also has accelerated the biology of these animals. And we are not facing “radioactive mutants” like the three-eyed fish from The Simpsons, but rather something biologically more interesting: a accelerated play machine that has managed to dilute its domestic genes in record time. How it looked. The researchers analyzed the mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited only from the mother, and also the nuclear DNA of 191 wild boars and 10 pigs in the area between 2015 and 2018. The results suggested that, although the hybrids look like wild boars, many hide a secret in their maternal lineage. The key to this is the biological difference between both species, since, although the wild boar has a strict annual breeding season, domestic pigs have a continuous reproductive cycle to breed all year round. From here, it has been seen that hybrids that descend from a mother pig They inherit this rapid reproductive cycle, which has caused a rapid generational rotation, detecting more than five generations of hybrids in just a few years after the disaster. In short, wild boars have seen their reproduction accelerate when a few years ago it was much slower. A genetic paradox. Here comes the most curious part of the study, since if these animals reproduce so much, why don’t we see pigs everywhere in Fukushima? The answer is in the massive backcrossing in the field genetic. And the population of wild boars in the area is immensely higher than that of pigs escaped from farms, so hybrids almost always end up mating with pure wild boars. In this way, if hybrid mothers have many offspring thanks to their domestic “engine” and those offspring are crossed again with wild boars, the result is that the pig’s nuclear DNA, which defines appearance and most traits, is quickly diluted. An evolutionary improvement. With this dilution, the study indicates that, although the mitochondrial DNA reveals the domestic origin of these new wild boars, the nuclear genome and its appearance are almost indistinguishable from that of a wild boar. This is why they are, for all practical purposes, reproductively “improved” wild boars that have erased their visual domestic pig trace. The case of the butterfly. If we continue in Fukushima, we find ourselves another interesting case in the butterfly pale grass blue which was monitored between 2011 and 2013. In this case, a reduction in the size of the butterfly’s wings and a delay in growth was observed, which was combined with the appearance of deformities in the eyes and wings. After the initial spike of anomalies, the population appeared to stabilize, but this suggests a “purge” process: the most sensitive individuals died quickly, leaving a more resilient surviving population, an example of accelerated evolutionary adaptation. The Mayak disaster. Although few people know it, before Chernobyl there was this disaster that received very little media attention and which had protagonist to the Techa River in the Urals (Russia). Here, between 1949 and 1952, waste was dumped, creating a historical laboratory for chronic exposure. Technical reports and dose modeling in aquatic organisms such as fish in the Obi-Techa river system remind us … Read more

On August 1, 1828, an English captain shot himself in Chile. And thanks to that Darwin devised the theory of evolution

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On August 1, 1828, in Puerto del Hambre, Chile, an English captain shot himself in the head. He died twelve days later, in his cabin, moaning and screaming in pain. His grave is still there, decorated with nautical charts. His ship took two years, HMS Beagleto arrive back at Plymouth and when he did he had a 26-year-old aristocrat named Robert FitzRoy as captain. Along with the Titanic, the Santa María and the Nautilus, the Beagle is one of the best-known ships in the world. For five years it was the home of a very young English naturalist named Charles Darwin who, over the years, would come to state one of the most dangerous ideas ever thought of: the theory of evolution. But the story could have been different (and very different!) because of a simple nose. A captain who did not want to be alone Despite his youth, Captain FitzRoy had several things in his favor: he had commanded a ship for two years, he had completed the expedition successfully and, above all, he was the nephew of George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Granfton. Therefore, it was not surprising that he was entrusted with another of the large number of missions that attempted to carry out hydrographic surveys of the coasts of South America. With the independence of the Latin American republics, this cartographic information was of vital importance for the British army. The only problem was that it was a terribly boring task. Without going any further, Pringle Stokesthe captain I was talking about at the beginning, fell into a very deep depression before committing suicide. That’s why FitzRoy asked for a geologist for the mission. No one disputes that, as they had already verified on the previous mission, bringing someone capable of “knowing the nature of the rocks and soils” of the regions they were visiting could be very useful. But that was only the official reason. FitzRoy didn’t want to be alone. I should have written that ‘only’ in quotes. Evidently a brig of the class Cherokee Like that one, it carried an average of 120 people in its belly. But the aristocracy has always been exquisite for its companies. The captain was looking for a gentleman with scientific interests and a university education who could be excellent company to talk to during the months of the trip. The problem was how to select that gentleman. Luckily, FitzRoy knew how to do it. The mirror of the soul Although physiognomy is as old as human beingsthe idea that people’s personalities could be known through the shape of their faces became popular thanks to Lavater, a Swiss shepherd who lived in the second half of the 18th century. And when I say popular, I say very popular. The great intellectuals of the time accepted the pseudoscientific theses of physiognomy as a proven fact. It didn’t matter who we were talking about: doctors like Charles Bellphilosophers like Herbert Spencer or writers like Balzac; Everyone looked at the drawing of eyebrows, the prominence of a chin or the shape of a nose looking for clues to understand those around them. FriztRoy too. When it became clear that none of his friends wanted to accompany him on the trip, the captain wrote to the Admiralty to find someone who, meeting the requirements, would like to accompany them. They were able to contact the University of Cambridge. After a few unsuccessful attempts, a 22-year-old young man appeared at FitzRoy’s door who, on paper, seemed perfect. But on the paper, understand me, the silhouette of his nose was not there. Oh my goodness, the nose! He was convinced that that nose was not that of a man with the energy and determination necessary for such a trip. FitzRoy did the impossible so that that guy wouldn’t step on the Beagle at any time. But eventually it became clear that he either accepted that nose or he would have to make the journey alone. And thank goodness. That nose collected dozens of samples and collections, took thousands of geological, biological and anthropological notes and, many years later, enunciated the theory of evolution. A nose named Charles Darwin. Physiognomy could change the history of contemporary biology (even if it was call evolutionary thought ‘wallacism’). So that they then say that pseudosciences are not dangerous. Send noses.

a logical evolution in a context where fintech increasingly offers more services

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PayPal has introduced a formal request before the US authorities to establish PayPal Bank, a banking entity that would allow it to expand its financial services beyond digital payments. The idea is that first, the company can offer loans to small businesses and savings accounts with interest to its customers. It would be the first step in a logical evolution in a context in which all fintech companies are committed to offering more and more services. Strategy. PayPal has filed for approval with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions to create a Utah-based industrial lending company. This type of entity can make loans, hold FDIC-insured deposits, and be owned by a non-financial institution. The objective: financial autonomy. According to declared PayPal CEO Alex Chriss, “raising capital remains a significant obstacle for small businesses looking to grow and scale.” The creation of PayPal Bank would reduce its dependence on third parties to provide financing, improving operational efficiency. According to the firm’s account, since 2013, PayPal has facilitated more than $30 billion in loans and capital to more than 420,000 business accounts around the world. A favorable regulatory context. This step by PayPal comes at a time of regulatory opening in this area under the Trump administration. Just like they count From Bloomberg, last week, five cryptocurrency platforms, including Ripple and Circle, received preliminary approval to establish national trust banks. Until a few years ago, approval was perceived as a complicated path. The fintech trend towards banking. PayPal joins a wave of financial technology companies seeking to become regulated banking entities. According to collect the Financial Times, Brazil’s Nubank and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase have all applied for banking licenses this year. As a curiosity, other firms that a priori might have nothing to do with this sector, such as Nissan Motor and Sony Group, have also submitted similar requests. Even “buy now, pay later” platforms like Klarna and Affirm have launched debit cards, competing directly with traditional entities. Between the lines. The fintech sector is maturing, with a special ambition to offer financial services of all kinds. PayPal already has a banking license in Luxembourg, and in fact this makes it considered a banking entity throughout the European Union. The direction it wants to take in the United States would be the first step to consolidate its status as a global financial entity. The company also seeks to connect directly with American credit and debit card networks, eliminating intermediaries in its payment operations. Leading PayPal Bank will be Mara McNeill, former CEO of Toyota Financial Savings Bank. Stock market performance. Despite the announcement, which has driven shares up 1.5% in the extended market, according to CNBCPayPal is going through a difficult year on the stock market. The firm accumulates a drop of 29% in 2025, while the S&P 500 has risen almost 16% in the same period. However, in October the company reported quarterly revenue of $8.42 billion, up 7% year-over-year and above analyst expectations. Cover image | Brett Jordan In Xataka | Elon Musk’s fortune has exceeded $600 billion: SpaceX is not only breaking records in space

The next evolution of tupperware is organic packaging. The reason is very simple: endocrine disruptors

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Plastic has revolutionized food packaging and storage in recent decades, but today its massive use represents one of the biggest environmental and health challenges globally. The main protagonist in this case are microplastics and toxic substances that migrate into our body and are called endocrine disruptors by altering the body’s information exchange system. More and more concern. Endocrine disruptors are increasingly in the mouths of more people and no wonder, since they can be present in many places, such as coffee capsules when subjected to high temperatures. And it is very important to take them into account because these disruptors are nothing more than chemical substances that alter the hormonal system by posing as a hormone or blocking the effect that our body’s natural hormones have. And this is something fatal. The scientific literature suggests that they can have different effects on our health, by having reproductive disorders such as infertility or precocious puberty, neurological problems or even metabolic diseases important or cancer. But the real problem comes when different endocrine disruptors combine, causing the ‘cocktail’ effect that chronically Yes, it can be a big problem for our state of health. We are surrounded. And when faced with something so dangerous, the logical thing is to ask where it is. The question is that we can see it in many different places, such as in ultra-processed food itself, but also in the containers we use daily such as the famous containers. Conventional plastics, manufactured from raw materials derived from petroleum, They usually contain thousands of chemical compounds as different studies point out, many of which are not chemically bonded to the polymer and can leach or migrate to the food, although it has been seen that it is much more common when heat is applied (such as when heating food or pour hot coffee into a bottle). For example, bisphenols and phthalates, known endocrine disruptorshave been detected in numerous products and their impact on health is significant. As if that were not enough, the generation and persistence of micro- and nanoplastics in the environment, and even in our body, represent another emerging health problem. But it does not remain in these containers, but also in plastic products that we use to cook with heat and that also causes this release of different substances that we are going to ingest. The solution. Faced with this important problem, we must look for alternatives, such as glass containers for storage. But for those who want to bet on plastic, science is already focusing its efforts on the development of bioplastics derived from natural sources and not oil. Starch, polylactic acid, PHA or even algae-based materials are some of the options that are being considered right now because they are biodegradable and do not release harmful substances into food. In this case where we are above all immersed is in bioplastics with improved properties, with new compounds that have better mechanical resistance and barriers to gases and humidity, without compromising their biodegradability and without releasing dangerous chemicals such as different scientific studies already point out. Innovations that make a difference. In addition to new materials, technologies such as edible packaging made with polysaccharides and plant proteins are gaining ground, offering a surprising solution: cConsume the container itself with the foodeliminating waste and possible contamination. Ecological coatings and bioconversion methods are also being explored to transform plastic waste into useful products, closing the cycle and reducing the environmental footprint. Regulation. At European level, new directives guide manufacturers towards packaging that is safer and more recyclable, setting strict limits for migratory substances and promoting materials that do not contribute to microplastic pollution. Spain and other countries are already aligning their regulations to encourage change in the industry. The protagonist in this case is the Regulation (EU) 2025/40 which points the way to reducing waste generation and ensuring that new packaging is reusable or recyclable. A legal framework, which came into force in February 2025 and will be fully applicable from August 2026, establishes a set of obligations for companies of all types and sizes that produce, distribute or use packaging in the European Union. What is most interesting in this case is the point that refers to the need to control the dangerous substances in packaging such as perfluoroalkylated substances and heavy metals. What to expect in the future. Seeing the new regulation imposed by the EU on all countries and the advances in science, the immediate future seems to involve a greater presence of biodegradable packaging in supermarkets and also in restaurants. But this is something that not only responds to the legal obligation, but also to the social demand for these products. Images | Cesar Badilla Miranda Kate Trifo In Xataka | If we want to have more children, a researcher is clear about what to do: clean our ejaculations of microplastics

For some reason, evolution does not stop creating antiques. 12 times different around the world has emerged

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Like the Chavo del Ocho when he did for the umpteenth time the joke to continue criticizing Professor Jirafales once the others had silenced, nature can have somewhat repetitive scripts. The point is that they work. Trend to eat ants and termites. It doesn’t matter if we are in America, Africa or Asia. Again and again, throughout the history of the earth, different mammalian lineages have reached the same evolutionary conclusion, developing a similar body plan to exploit one of the most abundant banquets on the planet. A recent study Posted in Evolution magazine It reveals that the specialization in eating ants and termites (a feature known as Mirmecophage) has emerged independently at least 12 times different since the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Convergent evolution. When we think of an anthill, the iconic elongated snout animal of the Americas comes to mind. But the anthill is not alone. Pangolines and Aardvarks, who inhabit Africa and Asia, are distant relatives who have developed a surprisingly similar tools kit. Adaptations include long and sticky tongues, a reduced or non -existent teeth and powerful front legs armed with claws to dig in insect nests. This phenomenon, in which unrelated species They develop similar features To adapt to similar conditions, it is known as convergent evolution. The same strange design. “The specializations associated with Mirmecophage are among the strangest and most fascinating mammals,” says Laura Wilson, an evolutionary biologist, In Science magazine. “This study illuminates our understanding when, and how many times, these fascinating characteristics evolved and under what conditions.” To reach these conclusions, the also biologist Thomas Vida and his team collected and analyzed data on the diet of almost 4,100 species of mammals, mapping their eating habits in the great evolutionary tree. The resulting model left no doubt: the evolution has taken the path of mirmecophagy over and over again, and has done so in the three large branches of mammals, including marsupials and monretrems, which put eggs. The postdinosaurs world. There are several crustaceans that have evolved towards a body shape similar to that of a crab. This phenomenon has occurred at least five times, but over several hundred million years. Mirmecophagous mammals, on the other hand, have done it 12 times in just 66 million years. “For some reason, things continue to evolve until they become hormigueros,” says the author of the study. Why this rise of ants dining rooms just after the disappearance of dinosaurs? The answer, according to researchers, is in the history of social insects. After the great extinction of the Cretaceous-Paleogen, the ants and the termites experienced a demographic explosion. His presence in the fossil registry shot, and his biomass became an abundant ecological resource. A road without return. The study also reveals another fascinating fact: once a mammalian lineage specializes in eating ants and termites, it seems that there is no turning back. The researchers only found a reversal case: the musarañas elephant of short ears. Their ancestors were probably fed on ants and termites more than 13 million years ago, but today, these southern Africa creatures have a mixed diet that includes other insects and plant matter. This evolutionary dead end is probably due to the stability and abundance of the food source, or the difficulty of recovering the features of a generalist once the body has adapted to such a specific diet. The story, therefore, tells us that while there are ants and termites in abundance, the evolution will continue to threaten more mammals into relentless devouring machines of colonies. Image | Claudio Olivares Medina (CC BY-DC -nd 2.0) In Xataka | “This is not a penguin.”

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