explanation

There is always a disturbing friend who never speaks in the WhatsApp group. Psychology has an explanation

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A notification illuminates the mobile screen: “Someone has created a group.” For some, it is almost a message of horror; For others, an infinite dose of laziness; And for a few, the promise of a new plan that begins to organize. In a matter of minutes, the chat begins to fill with greetings, memes and jokes. Someone remembers the reason for the group and then the chain of questions, photos and proposals opens. Meanwhile, a recognizable figure always appears: that of the silent one, the “merodeter” that reads but never writes. A classic of any group. But what really does that silence mean? Is it disinterest, rejection, shyness … or something more complex? A thunderous silence. With more than 3,000 million monthly active users, According to TechCrunchWhatsApp reigns as the most used messaging application on the planet. And with it came the explosion of groups: a function that was born as a practical way of coordinating plans and that today has become a social phenomenon, as useful as exhausting. Within that ecosystem the so -called “silent” appear. These types of people are characterized by conserving Ancient chats as digital relics “That” Vacation 2017 “that nobody dares to erase – or those who remain even if they never write, because going out means having to give an explanation. A gesture that, As The Guardian remembersit is perceived almost like a public desaira. The rapid dynamic of the groups. The conversations move so fast that, if you are not connected in the first minutes, You can miss 67 messages On a break, a dinner, a drunkenness and even series recommendations. It is easy to get behind. And if it becomes common, the user limits himself to reading or even ignoring, until he becomes a digital “lurker”, How to describe an article The Independent. All this leads to overload. According to a study cited by Time66% of adults in the United States say they feel overwhelmed by the amount of messages, and 42% ensure that following the rhythm of their chats resembles a “part -time work.” Some confess to reserve time on the agenda just to answer messages. Others simply ignore and prioritize: the urgent is answered, the rest is filed in the mental folder of “eternal slopes”. Experts have something to say. Psychology has begun to pay attention to this phenomenon, and the general conclusion is clear: there is no single correct way to participate in WhatsApp groups. From the point of view of psychologist Rebeca Cáceres, director of Tribeca Psychologists, the essential thing is not to pathologize silence. In interviews with Week and The Spanishinsists that each person manages these spaces differently. Silence, in many cases, is not an absence, but a conscious act of self -care: choose not to respond as a way of protecting energy and maintaining coherence with their own values. “Not responding in a group does not mean ‘it ignores me’ or ‘rejects me’. That is what you feel, not what the other expresses,” he recalls. Your approach connects with the Self -determination theory by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan: emotional well -being is sustained on autonomy and the ability to decide how to interact. For her part, psychologist Olga Albaladejo adds other nuances in statements to body and mind. Many people shut up because they fear being misunderstood. The lack of gestures, tone of voice or looks makes WhatsApp a more ambiguous space. “They think too much about how their words will be read, if they will seem frivolous, too serious or little ingenious,” he explains. In more extreme cases, after that silence, social anxiety can hide, which amplifies the fear of being judged in an environment where each message is already written the view of all. But it is not always a problem: there are also introverted people who simply prefer intimate conversations against the noise of the groups. The fomo and the spiral of silence. Professor Sarah Buglass, from the University of Nottingham Trent, It raises another explanation in The Independent. Many “merodiers” remain in groups even if they do not participate moved by the Fomo (Fear of Missing Out). That is, the fear of falling socially relevant information. Being in the group – although in silence – is a way of monitoring the conversation, maintaining the sense of belonging and not being out of future interactions. Along the same lines, the “spiral of silence” by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, cited in Spanish, It shows how people tend to shut up when they feel that their opinion is in a minority or can break the harmony of the group. That silence, over time, is consolidated and ends up becoming a fixed role. The problem is that this behavior is not always interpreted correctly. For those who expect an answer, the lack of interaction can become a mirror of insecurities: feel ignored, little valued or even despised. “The silence, although legitimate, is not neutral,” Cáceres warns in Spanish. That is why he recommends that, if the lack of uncomfortable response, the healthiest is not to insist in public, but to open a private, honest and unjustial conversation. And what happens if you should be? Here we enter the obligations and these work groups, created for professional purposes, which end up becoming hybrid spaces where congratulations, jokes and memes are mixed. This ambiguity generates discomfort in some participants. Cáceres insists on week magazine in which the solution involves establishing clear rules: use schedules, type of allowed messages and the decision to use a personal or corporate number. Only with explicit agreements can we talk about commitments and expectations; Without them, demanding immediate response is meaningless. Resist hyperconnection without losing links. Silence in WhatsApp can also be seen as an act of resistance. The writer Richard Seymour, In The Guardianit relates it to the “right not to say anything” of the philosopher Gilles Deleuze. In a culture that rewards hyperconnection and immediate response, refusing to participate is a way to reaffirm control over time. However, group chats also … Read more

The last case of prehistoric cannibalism found in Atapuerca only has a brutal explanation: violence

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There are few prehistoric cultures that we know practiced cannibalism. Already out of ritual, famine or in a context of violent conflict, the consumption of human flesh should not have to be completely uncommon, and now we have found a new example nearby, in Atapuerca. Canibalism in the Neolithic. A study of bone remains found in the cave of El Mirador, one of the deposits of Atapuerca, Burgos, He has found Canibalism tests among the inhabitants of this Burgos cave. The remains have been dated about 5,700 years ago, during the Neolithic. The remains found would have belonged to 11 individuals of different ages: “Including children, adolescents and adults,” explains the team responsible for the study. These data, they explain, point to a “systematic consumption”, probably linked to violence between groups and not to rituals or ceremonial acts. Ethnography and archeology teach us that even in barely stratified societies there are episodes of violence where enemies are also consumption as a form of extreme elimination ”, stood out in a press release Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, co-author of the study. Incriminatory brands.The remains, in an “exceptional state”, were found in two different sectors of the cave. The taphonomic analysis of the remains (the study of the process that leads to some bone remains to fossilize), allowed to identify in these remains of cutting and fractures that allowed access the marrowas well as cooking tests and footprints left by human teeth during consumption. The team also conducted an isotopic strontium analysis (SR), which studies the relative presence of two isotopes of this element (⁸⁷sr and ⁸⁶sr) that showed that the individuals consumed “were of local origin.” The analysis also showed that its consumption was fast. The radiocarbon analysis, meanwhile, allowed to date the remains, placing them in a time space between 5,700 and 5,570 years before the present. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Scientific Reports. Interpret the incomprehensible. Today cannibalism is abominable, to the point of being taboo in life or death contexts. That is why interpreting these past practices is difficult for those who study them. After analyzing the tests found, the team concluded that the case responded to a confrontation between livestock groups in the area. This conflict I would have concluded With the “elimination of a complete family group”, a elimination made if it can be more tangible with the consumption of the group’s meat. “Canibalism is one of the most complex behaviors of interpreting, due to the difficulty that the consumption of human beings by other human beings implies. To this it is added that, in many cases, we do not have all the necessary evidence to link it with a specific behavioral context. Finally, the prejudices of our society tend to always interpret it as an act of barbarism,” pointed in the press release Palmira Saladié, who led the team responsible for the study. Of the Neolithic at the Bronze Age. This would not be an isolated case in the history of the Cave of El Mirador, not even the most recent. The finding is linked to a previous discovery, another case of cannibalism in the same environment, only that this already in the Bronze Age, between 4,600 and 4,100 years ago. “The recurrence of these practices at different times of recent prehistory in the cave of El Mirador makes this deposit a key site to understand prehistoric human cannibalism and their link with death, as well as with a possible ritual or cultural interpretation of the human body within the worldview of those groups,” Saladié added. In Xataka | Cup -shaped skulls, cannibal practices and other things that were done in Malaga 7,000 years ago Image | IPhes-Cerca

The explanation is Rossby’s waves

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The extreme heat has undoubtedly been the defining feature of last June. However, between warm episode and warm episode, we have seen the passage of troughs that brought us some thermal relief, accompanied, yes, storms and even hails. Right now we are in full of relief, next week, the situation seems uncertain. Cold air, hot air.Meteorologists expect the beginning of the week that is standing out for an abrupt contrast between the north and center and south of the peninsula. The reason is in the presence of two differentiated air masses, a cold to the north and one of warm air to the south. Rossby’s waves. To explain what happens at the atmospheric level, it is convenient to detail before one of the phenomena involved, the not well -known Rossby waves. What exactly are these waves? It’s about Atmospheric waves of planetary scale that mark the alternation of trough and dorsal in middle latitudes, such as ours. These waves move west to this dragged by the meanders of the polar jet. In principle, waves are governed by a kind of balance, what meteorology calls compensatory behaviors: if the pressure decreases in some area, in another it must fall. “Strange dynamics ”. The problem is that we are entering unknown territory. As recently explained the physicist, disseminator and researcher JJ German Through your account in Twitterthis should imply, that as time passes, conditions such as those lived in the month of June should be “compensated” with more or less opposite conditions in the coming weeks. But there is a problem and we are in unknown territory. “As this year we have, indeed, a strange dynamic, just this will not happen: a trough with the opportunity to” sweep “the Iberian Peninsula … and it is only going to touch the north and northeast. The rest almost nor does it find out,” It points to German. That is, everything seems to indicate that after the succession of hot episodes marked by the extreme anticyclonic time, the “calm” of the troughs will not arrive or, at least, it will not arrive with the intensity that you would expect. What can we expect? The story seems to be repeated, more or less. The troughs that are now giving us a breath of heat will last little and next week the heat will return. Although not quite: during the first days of the week a mass of warm air will settle on the center and south of the peninsula while a mass of cold air will remain in the north. Meanwhile, the situation will not be far from what we have seen at other times of transition, in which the heat will coexist with the appearance of storms. The State Meteorology Agency has activated various notices today and tomorrow, both for rains and storms and by maximum temperatures. In some areas of the northwest we can see even areas where notices by maximum temperatures will share space with storms or rainy warnings. From Sunday the expected notices are only because of the high temperatures. In Xataka | A buoy in Mallorca has revealed the weather problem facing Spain: the Mediterranean Sea is in flames Image | ECMWF

We have a new explanation for dark matter. We have found it in superconductivity

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Dark matter remains one of the great mysteries that intrigue astrophysicists around the world. The existence of this matter is assumed by the generally accepted cosmological models, but when determining the nature of the elusive matter we only have more or less founded conjectures and speculation. A new explanation. A group of researchers has proposed a new mathematical model which offers an explanation of the nature and origin of dark matter. The origin of this matter would be in the Big Bangas a consequence of the collision of high -energy and no mass particles, which would have won a great mass after their union. “Dark matter began its life as relativistic particles with hardly any mass, almost like light,” pointed in a press release Robert Caldwell, co -author of the study. “It is totally antithetical about what is usually believed to be dark matter (…). Our theory tries to explain how it was light to become masses.” Perhaps the most important detail in this work is that the theory postulated by this team can be tested thanks to the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The dark matter. The Dark matter It is the proposed explanation to explain a series of anomalies observed in the movement of the great objects of the observable universe as galactic galaxies and clusters. If we analyze their movements and compare them with the models used to describe them, such as the theory of relativity, we encounter that something does not match. Something seems to be pulling the matter. The dark matter would be different from the conventional or barionic in the fact that it would not interact with the rest of known physical particles except in one way: through gravity. That is why it would be so elusive despite the fact that its gravitational influence is still apparent. According to estimates, dark matter represents 85% of the matter of the universe. Return to Big Bang. The new proposed hypothesis Point out that fast particles, similar to photons, were the ones that dominated the universe after the “burst” of the big Bang. However, in that initial “chaos”, these particles would have joined in pairs. As postulate, the spin, one of the properties of the subatomic particles, would have exerted magnet among these particles: as if it were objects with opposite poles, the opposite spins of the particles would have caused the fusion. The hypothesis also proposes that, when these particles are cooling over time, the “imbalance in its spins” would have caused a drastic reduction in its energy, resulting in cold and heavy particles, dark matter. The “inspiration” for this model would have come from an analogous phenomenon seen in electrons, in the Cooper’s pairs, which allows electrical conduction without resistance, superconductivity. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Physical Review Letters. Putting the theory to the test. One of the great strengths of this hypothesis is that it is possible to test it. The key is that, according to the model, this “non -relativistic mass condensate” would decide faster than the standard scenario predicts. Explains the team that this prediction can be tested thanks to the cosmic microwave background, a type of radiation remnant Big Bang. In Xataka | The Euclid European telescope is already historical: its first data revalidates Einstein and put the dark matter on the map Image | A. Schaller (STSCI)

bananas prices are in the clouds and the explanation is as simple as it is difficult to solve

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At the beginning of the year, The Nightmare of the Canary Islands banana lasted 24 months. From January 2023 to October 2024, only in three months of the 22 the banana has had a “remunerative” price. The situation was terrible, almost unsustainable. And then, the penultimate week of February arrived. Since then, continuous increases in the price of the Canarian bananas have created a situation that we have not seen for a long time: up to four euros per kilo in the supermarket and 1.5, in origin. The banana is in the clouds. What is happening here? That is, how is it possible that the situation has changed so much in such a short time? And the answer, although it is the product of two different situations, is surprisingly simple. The first is the week cuttingl. As analysts recognize, on the islands, the weekly bananas cutting has been reduced. At the beginning of March (the latest estimates available), The figures were “Below eight million a week and even seven, which means much less embedded fruit.” That, by pure offer-demand, tends to raise prices. The second is banana scarcity. Because yes, the banana (the “banana dollar”) is the main competitor in the peninsular Spain of the Canarian banana. In fact, As Román Delgado explained in the Canary Islands now“Last year, half of the market share of this fruit in Spain has already been clear.” Well, the shortage of Canarian banana has coincided with banana shortage. The result is that, well, prices have shot. Above all, because the demand has remained. So Sergio Cáceres has recognized itManager and director of Marketing and Communication of the Association of Organizations of bananas producers of the Canary Islands (ASPROCAN), the organization that brings together 100% of the Canarian producers. And it is not uncommon: as we have learned with olive oil, The inelasticity of demand It is the main trick of national producers in times of crisis. So … the problem is already solved? The answer is also simple: no. Of none menra. To start because There are not two good months that can ‘cure’ the wounds caused for 24 bad months. Current prices are a good news, but teaching producers accounts requires some commercial stability. And not four euros per kilo. It doesn’t take so much. Just have remunerative prices for a prudential time. Secondly, for something that is closely related to this: the market is terribly volatile. The commercial chaos of recent weeks makes anyone really know what will happen to product flows worldwide. Who can assure that all bananas will not reach Europe in Europe that cannot be sold in the US (for tariffs)? Carpen Diem. Anyway, it would be fool not to celebrate that the islands have left their peculiar silver nightmare. It only remains to expect prices in the supermarket to begin to normalize and the increases do not erode the demand. In the coming years, we will have to make many decisions around the agricultural sector and the better we get to them, the better. Image | Kamila Maciejewska | Doğan alpaslan demi̇r In Xataka | If the question is what to do with the millions of bananas that Canary Islands throw every year, there are already those who are clear: wine

China is improving both its wind turbines that Germany only finds an explanation: spies

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Espionage is an art that requires adequate ingenuity, strategy and tools. But if we talked about using wind turbines to obtain information, it would seem science fiction. However, reality exceeds fiction, China has been accused of spying on Germany. Short. A group of German experts has detailed In a report that Chinese manufacturers could be using sensors in wind turbines to collect unauthorized data in Germany. In detail. The report, commissioned by the German Ministry of Defense, suggests that Chinese companies They could use sensors of turbines to extract confidential data or turn off the turbines remotely. In addition, they have recommended suspending wind projects that have a Chinese signature, the first being the Waterkant Marine Park. And what does China say? China’s Chamber of Commerce (CCCEU) has described the report as “technically unlikely and lacking a factual basis.” From the Chinese agency they have assured that companies are complying with European regulations. In addition, they have argued that concerns about security, related to data collection or remote control, are a pretext to block Chinese companies in the European market, which could affect loyal competition and international commercial relations. But can the turbines be used to spy? According to the CCCEU and Chinese experts, wind turbines They are not equipped to spy. The sensors are designed to optimize performance, monitor failures and protect wildlife. In addition, the remote control and management systems of wind farms, such as Waterkant, are managed by German and European companies. From the Chinese part they reinforce the idea that these allegations are unfounded and part of an attempt to protect the local market. But in defense. Marine wind projects have been suspended for military security concerns such as It happened in Sweden. The reason is because a wind farm can affect the arrest and monitoring of missiles due to the dimensions of a wind turbine. However, other countries are using them in their favor as the case of Poland, which has installed radar and sound systems among wind turbines. In addition, a similar strategy is addressing Windeurope together with NATO and the European Defense Agency (EDA) with the creation of a new project: Symbiosis. In it they seek to deploy marine renewable energies in the maritime defense space and create synergies to address them. Other accusations of espionage to China. It is not the first time that the Asian giant is accused in the German country, less than a year ago, three suspects They were arrested for stealing military technology. He was also accused of Early Europe With its secret space plane. It should be added, all the material you are designing to improve your espionage skills as Use Starlink signals to detect spy and drones airplanes, or A camera that identifies faces 100 kilometers. Finally, the Asian country It is developing A espionage agency, the Guoanbu, to become the first world power by 2049. The approach is based on economic and technological intelligence, along with cyberspage capabilities. Forecasts. Right now the US tariff replication has left a vacuum In global trade, which China is taking advantage of exporting its exports. For that reason, China wants to continue investing and working with the European Union. Despite this friction, bilateral shops They have reached The 5,591 billion yuan (771 billion dollars) in 2024, reflecting an interannual increase of 1.6 percent. Image | Pixabay Xataka | Finland has a problem with renewables. You will solve it by building a storage megabattery

While the population of Japan sinks irremediably, Tokyo grows. There is an explanation: Ikkyoku Shūchū

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Much of the world has a short and medium term problem, a problem called demography. The fertility rate from various countries It is poor and birth has plummeted in many of them. Asian countries as South Korea, China either Taiwan They suffer this problem, but we cannot talk about demographic winter without mentioning Japan. While the country struggles to achieve the rate that guarantees the generational relief, they are being seen and wishing so that companies have labor. Giants like McDonald’s have changed its contracting policiesthey are putting to work To robots And, due to the lack of childreneven diaper companies have started Look at the adult diapers sector. And, while dealing with that problem, another has been hitting the door for years: the Excessive centralization of the archipelago in a city: Tokyo. And this excessive centralization has a name: Ikkyoku Shūchū. Japan disassembles Ikkyoku Shūchū It is a Japanese term that refers to centralization of the country. This implies that there is an excessive concentration at a very specific point that is not only given because they are born more babies at that point or receive more immigration, but because other areas of the country are emptied because they move to the city that brings together … everything. In the Japanese case, that city is Tokyo, the great city that, for decades, has accumulated industry, administrative functions, political, tourism and, obviously, population. As they point in The Japan Timeswhile the rest of the country waning, Tokyo grew. This has caused a huge demographic imbalance because, obviously, the area around it lost population, but also other locations throughout the country. And the implications of this are huge. To begin with, an economic disparity is created because Everything is concentrated in the big cityso the gap in economic activities is increasing between the capital and the rest of the country. For the citizen, this translates into money and time, since everything is more expensive, transport services and public services are more saturated and teleworking is not always possible. Ichinono, a town with more dolls than neighbors It is also a problem for the rest of the region, since those municipalities that are running out of population cannot maintain essential services and either attract young people who want to work. In fact, what we have seen is that the way to attract couples to that “emptied Japan” is through incentives for you to form a family And have children. There are others cases successful, but also related to the entire world of promoting family creation. Plans against him Ikkyoku Shūchū This phenomenon is sad, since it ends with the smallest peoples and, precisely, in Japan we saw an example of a town in which there are More dolls than people. Due to the lack of services, there are locations that have gone to work. An example is Ina, what implement A telemedicine service that uses drones to facilitate medicines to the elderly. Another is Kamiyama, a town that lost 70% of its population and is achieving Attract companies thanks to the development of high -speed Internet. From the government they have also put themselves to Identify the needs to mitigate the phenomenon of the Ikkyoku Shūchū and promote Decentralization. In January of this year, El País presented a plan of action which will seek to promote economic and social growth through the redistribution of government functions throughout the country. In addition, there is the call ‘Regional Reform 2.0’ that seeks to promote a stronger economy of the different regions and reduce the excessive population concentration of the capital. The end is, according to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, help all people reach happiness. And it is a continuation of the 2016 Regional Revitalization Act that seeks to encourage the implementation of industry and services away from Tokyo to attract population to those other nuclei. It is a beautiful objective for a future that does not look too well if things continue as until now. The estimate is that, of the 124 million Japanese of 2023, in 2100 There will be 63 million and, in addition, very aging, making the entire social security system impracticable. Image | Timo Volz In Xataka | Demographers have been wondering for centuries when the human population will stop growing. It already has an answer: 2080

Two videos show how 80 people from a plane have saved life in the last plane crash. There is triple explanation

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After the tragic accident last month Between an American Airlines plane and an United States army helicopter that left 67 dead, on Monday there was a similar scene when it occurred A forced landing of Delta Air Lines’s flight 4819 In Toronto. Two videos showed rawly the scene that the 80 people who went on board and who ended the plane turned. And yet, it did not end in tragedy. How could they be saved? The “miracle.” Delta Air Lines’s flight 4819, operated by Endeavor Air, made a seemingly normal landing at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto until, Suddenly, everything went wrong. As soon as the wheels began to touch the wheel, the plane slipped, hit its right wing, turned on its axis and ended upside down, leaving an absolute chaos scene. But as we said, and despite the violence of the accident, The 80 passengers and crew managed to survivealthough 18 were injured, including an adult and a child in critical condition, although already out of danger. The impact and the fight to escape. They counted at the Washington Post in a report report that the passengers described the impact as “collide with a wall” before the plane turned. When they were face down, many remained suspended by their seat belts, seeing how the fuel slid through the windows and the fire consumed part of the aircraft. Pete Carlson, a paramedic on board, managed to unbutch and drop to the roof of the planenow turned into the ground, before helping others free from their seats. Meanwhile, passengers, in shock, collaborated with each other to get out as quickly as possible. A video recorded by Pete Koukovanother passenger, showed the crew organizing the evacuation with firm and urgent instructions, guiding people through emergency doors in an inverted plane, a rare scenario in aerial accidents. Outside, firefighters sprayed fushes with foam, while black smoke and flames hindered visibility in full snowstorm. How tragedy was avoided. In front of many Other aerial catastrophes More or less recent, experts have been detailing these days how the “miracle” was possible. Actually and as we will see, there is not a single factor, but several that helped that finally there was not a single death. Three were the main factors that we describe. Plane design and safety measures. He Bombardier CRJ900like all modern commercial planes, it is built with standards called “Crashworthiness”which means that its structure, safety belts and seats are designed to maximize survival in case of impact. In this regard, the cabin absorbed much of the strength of the crash without disintegrating, allowing passengers to go alive. According to Graham Braithwaiteexpert in aeronautics at the University of Cranfield, these elements were fundamental for passengers to resist the impact of the overturn without fatal injuries. Professor Michael J. McCormickfrom the Embry-Riddle University, stood out in the post That engineering and aeronautical regulations have advanced so much that accidents that in the past would have been lethal can now result in total survival. Assessment of the crew. Equally important that the design of the aircraft was crew trainingdecisive to organize a rapid and effective evacuation. Despite confusion and chaos, they managed to maintain order and get everyone out of the plane in a matter of minutes, even with the aircraft dump. Here it is important to remember that the regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) require that Any plane with more than 44 passengers can be evacuated in less than 90 seconds. However, in this case, the evacuation was more complex because the plane was overturned, hindering the orientation and exit of the passengers. Immediate response of emergency equipment. The third of the key legs. Toronto airport authorities acted rapidlyensuring the area and preventing the fire from extending to fuel deposits. The first air control reports confirmed the severity of the situation: “The plane is face down and in flames”, which led to a rapid mobilization of rescue equipment. According to the norms of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), rescue teams They must respond in less than two minutes. In this case, firefighters and paramedics arrived at the place in a matter of minutes, stifled the fire and helped evacuate passengers. Causes of the accident. Although the exact cause of the accident has not yet been determined, it is known that landing occurred under wind conditions up to 70 km/hyve accumulated On the track after two recent storms. Thus, the airport firefighters ruled out problems with the track, which suggests that other factors, such as mechanical failure or human error, could have influenced. Be that as it may, in a context where Recent air accidents They have resulted in fatal tragediesthe total survival of flight passengers 4819 is a real testimony of the advance in aeronautical engineering, security protocols and emergency response. Although The images of the airplane burned and overturned They suggest an inevitable disaster, the combination of these factors allowed to avoid the worst. As Carlson underlined In his interview, after leaving the plane I only thought about one thing: “I didn’t care about the cold, I didn’t care how much I had to walk, all we wanted to be out of the plane.” Image | Yyzbrennan In Xataka | The main suspect of the plane crash in South Korea is common in aviation. The problem is that it does not usually end like this In Xataka | We have always thought that the rear seats of the plane are the deadliest in case of accident. We were wrong

Europe has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world. The explanation lies in the DNA of the steppe shepherds

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First there were hunter-gatherers about 45,000 years ago. The first modern humans arrived in a Europe where the Neanderthals still reigned. Then there were the farmers of the Middle East about 11,000 years ago and finally, about 5,000 years ago they were the nomadic pastoralists of the steppes of Central Asia. That is, according to research published in the journal Naturethe common genetic heritage of Europeans. A heritage that explains why, in an incredible historical twist, multiple sclerosis affects us more. A DNA mutating in the middle of the great steppe. While agriculture gained weight in the world, the great Eurasian steppe continued doing its thing. The culture yamnaa group of pastoral towns that arose in the enormous plains south of the Urals and east of the Black Sea, generations and generations passed living with livestock. Variant. It was there that it emerged (and was selected) a small genetic variant that strengthened natural immunity against zoonoses; that is, against livestock infections that could easily jump to the human communities that raised them. 5,000 years later, this genetic variant is behind the fact that Europeans have a higher risk of suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. The deep origins of current diseases. The study led by the Universities of Cambridge and Copenhagen (but with the participation of many more) analyze in detail from the DNA of almost 5,000 individuals spread throughout history. Some studied remains date back to about 34,000 years ago. The reconstruction. Reconstructing humanity’s immense genetic tree, researchers found numerous keys to understanding why there are specific geographic areas or ethnic groups that suffer from some diseases more than others. They realized that southern Europeanswith a greater genetic legacy from the agricultural people of the Middle East, have a greater predisposition to develop bipolar disorders; that people from the East had a higher genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s or diabetes; and those from the northwest had a heightened risk of sclerosis. A medical enigma. For years, scientists have tried to understand why Europe has, with about 143 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest incidence rates of sclerosis in the world. As I said in the previous paragraph, as you go south and east those differences fade, but (even so) the greater risk of developing this disease It is a European ‘differential fact’. Understanding better. The most interesting thing about all this is that the idea that the answer lies in the genetic history of its inhabitants It is not only a historical curiosity. On the contrary, thinking about this from an evolutionary point of view allows us to understand the disease in a new way. In Xataka | Where genes, do what you see: the surprising genetic differences (and similarities) within the Iberian Peninsula Image | Charlotte Venema *An earlier version of this article was published in January 2024

Mobile phones have been stagnant for five years when it comes to innovation. There is an explanation

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Mobile phones have not innovated for years. Or, at least, not too much. There was a time when jumping from one generation to another was a box of surprises. New designs, completely new features, and crazy innovations to surprise the public iteration after iteration. For a few years now, the meme of Smithers and the doll with the new hat has become more true than ever. The new phone will be the same as last year, with a little more power, a slightly better camera and AI features that we may never use. All this has a reason for being. The times of innovating are (almost) over. There was a time when manufacturers were not afraid to break the mold to create different devices. Samsung did it with the curved screen of the Galaxy Round, LG had a G Flex 2 self-healing, and Xiaomi dared with pop-up cameras from the body with the 9T Pro. There was a time when manufacturers dared to innovate. A few years ago, jumping from one generation to the next meant a significant leap. Going from a Galaxy S2 to an S4 was a brutal change. The same thing happened between LG G3 and the G5. It is true that the brands were taking some blind steps, completely changing the phone from one generation to another: there was not much consistency, but there were significant changes. Apple, which has always moved at its own pace, was one of the few that continued to maintain designs and advance specifications discreetly, without disruptive changes between generations. On Android, every year was an adventure. Being groundbreaking doesn’t work. The most innovative ones have not fared too well. LG ended up closing its mobile divisionNokia stopped inventing and started selling traditional, simple mobile phones under the HMD umbrella, and major manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei began to make iterations that were increasingly similar to each other. No matter how many critical voices are heard against continuity, continuity works. Or so the data says. If we look at the list of best-selling devices in the world We found that, year after year, the iPhone and Galaxy (both mid-range and high-end) are the ones that repeat the podium year after year. Those phones that precisely “innovate” the least are the ones that sell the most. A path to refinement. The image you see above is a good example: it is even difficult to distinguish last year’s model from the new model. Manufacturers have changed the philosophy: if something works, don’t touch it. For approximately four years now, improvements between generations have been slight. Changes in the camera, small refinements in the design, updated processor, and some technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth or USB that change protocols. The great innovations of these years have been camera buttons, longer telephoto lenses and the arrival of AI (which, no matter how much it is sold as a gimmick, plays a very secondary role in daily use). And it’s not a negative thing.. Smartphones are at a point of maximum maturity. So much so that it is difficult to think about how to improve them. Screens: we have as much resolution as practically that of a television. Very high peak brightnessand calibrations worthy of studio monitors. The big leaps will involve the implementation of matte screens and better drivers so that these panels are increasingly more efficient. Batteries: 2025 has been the key year for the implementation of carbon-silicon, bringing with it more capacity in a smaller size. 6,000 and 7,000mAh batteries are a realityguaranteeing two days of full use in many cases. There is still a way to go, but the great leap has already been made. Microprocessors: today mobile phones they are so powerful That, in many cases, this is a problem. We have not reached peak power, but we are at a point where a phone is capable of playing triple A games as if it were a console. Cameras: It is one of the points where there is the most room for improvement, but this does not happen through the hardware, but through the software. Formats: Manufacturers want to break with traditional formats, and that is why they are betting on form factors such as folding ones. These grow slowly, but they represent just 1% of total sales. Again, innovation does not sweep. We are far from the real peak. We have been thinking for years that we are approaching the peak smartphoneto that point of no return where it will be practically impossible to improve what we already have. We are right in our approach: progress is becoming less and less and, to appreciate it, it is necessary to be more and more thorough. Despite this, progress is present and, although they are minor changes, they are there. Your 2025 mobile has a processor that allows it to run the applications with the best performance. The quality of its microphones is getting better and better, its fast charging system is very far from those 2/3 hours necessary to charge your old phone and, in short, if we look back 3 or 4 years, the advances are still present, for small as they seem. Image | Xataka In Xataka | The best quality-price mobile phones (2025). Their analyzes and videos are here

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