fashionable

The science of learning dismantles the mathematical rule of the fashionable study method

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When it comes to studying anything, almost all of us want to have a system that allows us learn quickly and efficient. This is where we can turn to the Internet, where there are numerous pages that promise us almost miraculous systems to pass easily, and one of them is the 2-7-30 method. But… What does science say about this system? What is it about? This method focuses on a system where you have to review the information exactly 2, 7 and 30 days after having addressed it on the first occasion. Something that is quite similar to what we want to achieve with the flashcards. Something that a priori seems quite simple to put into practice, but which can generate quite a bit of fear by leaving a topic shelved for so many days in the last round. It gives good results. But it is the best from the point of view of science, and to understand it, we have to go to the basics of how our memory works. And this method is based on the spacing effectwhich undoubtedly far surpasses the classic ‘binge’ the night before an exam, where you try to get all the data in in a matter of hours. Here, a classic meta-analysis published in 2006 in Psychological Bulletin, analyzed 839 measures in 317 experiments and confirmed that distributing practice over separate intervals dramatically improves retention. But even in the past, other studies suggested that repeating material over time consolidates memory much more efficiently. Recovery practice. There is no point in spacing out the reviews if, when day 2 or day 7 of the method arrives, we limit ourselves to passively rereading the notes. Here different studies have shown that actively trying to remember information produces much more lasting learning than passively re-studying it. In this way, forcing the brain to “rescue” that data strengthens neuronal connections, and science points to the advantage of active remembering over traditional binge-watching methods, such as making conceptual maps. The enemy to beat. The concept of reviewing in increasingly longer windows of time is born from the need to combat our natural decline in retention. This is where a work on the “forgetting curve” by Hermann Ebbinghaus comes into play, which demonstrated that we lose most of the newly learned information within hours or days if we do nothing to retain it. More modern replications of this idea confirm that this initial rapid forgetting is real and useful to contextualize the problem, although researchers depend on different factors and not only the strict passage of time. That is why the idea we should stick with is that every time we review the information, the forgetting curve resets and its slope becomes gentler so that it takes longer to disappear. The myth of exact numbers. Although it has been shown that spacing study days, in reality science does not identify 2, 7 and 30 days as a universally valid pattern for all learning and people, but will depend on many factors. Here, a study published in 2008 showed that the optimal interval between reviews depends on the retention interval we are looking for, but that the spacing changes radically if the objective is to remember something for an exam that is due in a week versus if we want to remember something in a year, as can happen in an opposition. In this way we get the following pattern: If the exam is in 1 week, the reviews should be separated by just 1 or 2 days. If the exam is in 1 year, Reviews should be spaced several weeks or even a month apart. Images | freepik In Xataka | SQ3R technique: the study method that helps you understand the subjects, not just remember them

We thought smoking was no longer fashionable among Gen Z. Until Sabrina Carpenter and Jeremy Allen White arrived

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For decades, the cigarette starred in some of the most iconic images in popular culture. In the imagination of journalism, that reporter from the last century always reappears leaning over his typewriter, surrounded by wisps of smoke while writing an urgent chronicle. In television fiction, that scene evolved into Carrie Bradshaw typing on her Mac with a half-consumed cigarette butt in her New York apartment. And in the cinema, the cigarette was almost a visual code: from the dark seduction of Humphrey Bogart to the melancholic aura that enveloped so many classic characters. Smoke, more than an accessory, functioned as a symbol of charisma, mystery or vulnerability. All of that seemed to be extinguished with the advance of anti-smoking laws. The terraces they cleared themselves of smokeHollywood moderated its use and audiovisual culture stopped associating the cigarette with glamour. The gesture was relegated to a stale past, linked to the strong smell of bars before the ban. But something unexpected has happened: the cigarette has returned. And it has done so hand in hand with the only sector capable of resurrecting what seemed forgotten: celebrities. The visible return of the cigarette to pop culture. The warning signal came from the mecca of cinema. According to a report from the anti-smoking organization Truth Initiativehalf of the movies that debuted last year included cigarettes, cigars or tobacco. In addition, it detected a 110% increase in representations of tobacco in programs aimed at young people between 15 and 24 years old, and a quadrupling in the most viewed series. The figures confirm the obvious: the cigarette has regained prominence. And, to give a couple of examples, it is being observed in music: Sabrina Carpenter appears in the video clip for Manchild smoking and posed for some photographs wearing a corset made from packets of Marlboro Gold. In cinema, films like Saltburn, Materialists or Oppenheimer They have returned tobacco to an almost omnipresent place. Fashion has not been an exception either, during New York Fashion Week, models they smoked on the catwalk as another accessory. And there is still something else, I couldn’t forget about social networks. The Instagram account @cigfluencerscreated in 2021, publishes images of celebrities smoking and has accumulated more than 80,000 followers. The cigarette as a symbol? The most curious thing about this phenomenon is that it is not mass tobacco consumption that is returning, but rather its aesthetics. That nuance is essential to understand what is happening. The point is that the cigarette returns as part of the revival Y2K and aesthetics indie sleaze and heroin chicthat mix of grunge, decadent glamor and soft rebellion that dominated the 2000s and that today inspires fashion, music and social networks. In this framework, the cigarette functions as a retro accessory, a vintage gesture that provokes more visually than addictively. This aesthetic dimension also operates as a narrative tool. In a report for The New York Times point out that the cigarette re-emerges as a symbolic resource on screen: Dakota Johnson smokes in Materialists to underline the emotional emptiness of his character; Jeremy Allen White, in The Bearuses smoke to intensify his melancholy; Sabrina Carpenter holds a makeshift mouthpiece in an ironic tone. According to the medium, the cigarette does not get in the way of the shot: it fills it with aura, drama and texture. And the fundamental question, does it have attraction for young people? There is a component of minimal rebellion. According to the BBCsmoking functions as a gesture of light transgression within a generation accustomed to self-care, permanent surveillance and implicit norms of well-being. The aesthetics brat popularized by Charli XCX It combines hedonism, irony and a touch of nihilism: a perfect territory for the cigarette to recover its provocative role, more suggestive than dangerous. Hence, the great paradox when observing the real behavior of Generation Z. While they watch celebrities smoke on screen, young people consume less and less substances. Already we have explained in Xataka how they are succeeding coffee raves —alcoholic-free daytime parties, where you dance with a cappuccino in hand—, and Tinder registers a boom in dry datingwith one in four young people preferring alcohol-free dating. In other words, cool aesthetics no longer have anything to do with actual habit. Should we worry? The problem appears when cultural trends intersect with health data. The WHO remember that tobacco It kills more than seven million people a year and that there is no safe level of exposure. EPData confirms that its global consumption has fallen from 32.7% in 2000 to 22.3% in 2020, but institutions like the CDC —cited by Wall Street Journal— warn that repeated exposure to tobacco images increases the likelihood that young people will start smoking. In fact, the BBC collected testimonies from American doctors who already observe cases of young people who, after normalizing vaping, have switched to cigarettes because “it gives more credibility” or is “more aesthetic.” Constant exposure to so-called “digital smoke”, pointed out by the Spanish Association Against Cancercan normalize a habit that seemed on the way to disappearing. However, a study carried out by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) showed that Tinder profiles of smokers receive between 29% and 52.7% less matches. Young people do not want to date someone who smokes, but they do want to consume – from a distance – the aesthetics of cigarettes on screens. The contradiction is clear: in the video clip it adds glamour; In real life, it reduces romantic interest. Fad or cultural turn? Perhaps the cigarette has not completely returned: perhaps its ghost, its iconography, its gesture has returned. Aesthetics are back, not addiction. The smoke, not the habit. But while celebrities hold it up as if it were just another jewel in the photo, health organizations remember that tobacco continues to kill half of those who don’t quit. And although on the screen it is pure aesthetics, in real life it is still a tangible risk. The cigarette, that old protagonist of classic cinema, today experiences its … Read more

OpenAI teamed up with NVIDIA and made circular financing fashionable. Anthropic has returned the ball with a surprise girlfriend: Google

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Let’s see if we were going to believe that OpenAI was going to be the only one to look for powerful allies. Nothing of that: Anthropic just did the same and has announced an eye-catching agreement with Google. The AI ​​startup will have access to up to one million Google TPUs in a pact that is worth “tens of billions of dollars.” Less noise, but a lot of nuts. The figures of the agreement are modest if we compare them with those that OpenAI has managed in its circular financing agreements with NVIDIA, amd either Broadcombut here Anthropic seems to take a very different position. Compared to colossal projects like Stargate, Anthropic’s idea is focused on execution. Without making much noise, the company led by Dario Amodei has been gradually conquering the business sector. More than 1 GW of computing capacity. On CNBC indicate that this investment will allow the creation of a data center with a computing capacity greater than 1 GW and have it ready in 2026. It is estimated that a center of these characteristics would cost about 50,000 million dollars, of which about 35,000 million would be dedicated to AI chips. It may not be comparable to Stargate and the idea of ​​investing $500 billion in data centers, but the alliance between Anthropic and Google is significant. More than circular financing. The partnership certainly features elements of circular financing, but it is more of a symbiotic relationship with that cross-investment component. The dynamic is simple and is now completed with that commercial return. The agreement requires Anthropic to buy or rent infrastructure services from Google Cloud. Virtuous circle. With its original investment in Anthropic, Google helped that company grow, which in turn allows Anthropic not only the ability to grow, but the need for enormous computing power… provided by Google. In essence, some of the money Google invests in Anthropic returns to Google Cloud as revenue. The vicious (or virtuous, as they say in the US) circle is complete. Anthropic diversifies. Anthropic’s AI models are trained and used using infrastructure from various manufacturers. Thus, they use both Google TPUs and Amazon Trainium processors and NVIDIA GPUs: each platform is assigned to a specialized workload. In the case of Google’s TPUs, according to Anthropic the focus is “its strong price/performance ratio and its efficiency.” Promising successes, but… Anthropic’s growth is evident, and its annualized revenue rate (ARR) is now estimated to reach $7 billion. Claude Code, its developer assistant, managed to generate 500 million dollars after just two months on the market. But as always, that revenue can’t hide the fact that Anthropic, like other AI startups, you continue to spend much more money than you earn. Amazon is your other great ally. In fact, the company led by Andy Jassy has invested around $8 billion, when official data indicates that Google has invested $3 billion. AWS is still considered the largest infrastructure provider for Anthropic, and its supercomputer Project Rainierbased on the Trainium 2, allows you to have a large computing capacity for every dollar invested, they point out on Amazon. The company’s influence is not only financial: it is structural. Image | Wikimedia | Fortune Brainstorm Tech In Xataka | You thought you had an amazing connection on Tinder, but you were actually chatting with ChatGPT

The digital detox has been fashionable for years. It’s time to start talking like what is: a myth

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Social networks have helped us in many aspects of our life, allowing us for example to strengthen some social relationships, or taking a way to express our creativity. But all this has come with a price to pay. A cost that has noticed our mental health, which has led many to try with a time to “digital detoxification.” The problem is that it may not be too useful strategy. Not so effective. Withdraw a time from social networks It is not an effective “disconnection strategy”according to a meta -analysis carried out by a Belgian team of researchers from the universities of Antwerp and Gante, at least if we are looking to improve Our well -being. The good news: at least we do not have indications that disconnection does us badly. “The findings (…) suggest that temporarily separating ourselves from social networks may not be the approximation (…) optimal to improve individual well -being,” Write the teamwhich also points out in his study the need to continue research on alternative disconnection strategies. Ten studies. The new work is a meta -analysis, that is, a “quantitative study of studies.” The team conducted a systematic search for scientific literature that addressed the relationship between social media abstinence and one or more than three variables: positive and negative affections, and vital satisfaction. They found 10 quantitative works with a total sample of 4,674 participants. The analysis showed no significant effects of refraining from social networks in any of the three variables studied. The team also did not find indications that the duration of the period of “Digital detoxification“It will be relevant. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Scientific Reports. Need to investigate more. The team emphasizes the need to advance in research on this issue. According to the team itself, the study presents one of the usual problems in the meta -analysis, and is the diversity in the methodologies followed by the works included in it. A radical change. Social networks have remarkably changed how we interact with technology, for better and for worse. The problems that this poses have appeared so suddenly that our ability to adapt, to look for solutions with which to repair the possible damage has exceeded in many contexts. In Xataka | How to recover the concentration that social networks and multitars have taken us Image | Xataka with Gemini

The “Blokecore” is fashionable

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It is not a completely new trend in fashion, but it has made the classic assimilation route by the industry: it is born on the street, visit the most luxurious catwalks in the world … and return to stores, already like perfectly assimilated label For the fashion industry. He Blokecore He has put in vogue football teams and combines sports nostalgia, shoes Vintage and FIFE claim. It is what makes it perfectly common and without plot justification to see one of the protagonists of a fashion series, ‘Hacks’, with a football shirt. And so normal. Uncles things. The term “Bloke” to which the BlokecoreIn fact, it is English slang, especially focused in England, land of the Hooligans par excellence, to communicate between kids from the seventies, and is translated by “uncle”, “colleague” or, of course, “bro”. Applied to fashion? He Blokecore It is an aesthetic for boys (although obviously, it has its female version, which is sometimes called Blokette) Without complications and workers’ extraction: comfortable and accessible clothes, such as football teams, which among other things, injected an identity into the sometimes sacred group (what is more important than loyalty to the local team). Key garments. These are the elements that should not be missing in aesthetics Blokecore and Blokette: Retro Sneakers: Adidas Samba, Gazelle … Oversize football shirt: preferably vintage. Sports pants Windward jackets Fashion as a reaction. The Blokecore is one of the many fashions born in social networks (in this case, around 2021) as a statement of style and acitiud, and as a reaction to the disconnection that the catwalks had of common fashion. That is why he drinks both utilitarian garments (jackets whose function is to protect from the cold, comfortable shoes, shirts that in addition to comfort are a declaration of intentions …) and of the Streetwear. Then, the natural trends of fashion did the rest: for example, the Blokecore It extended through Europe when the fans of the teams traveled throughout the continent To encourage your teams. Miscegenation times The presence on the street caused the Blokecore will assimilate elements of other urban fashion currents and Street Wear. For example, the Blokecore He was very influenced by hip hop and skate, and in the last decade we are wearing a soccer shirt, he is no longer at odds with craypiece or skater vans. The next step? The connection with haute couture. Like a saint two guns. Soon, the great fashion brands They reached collaboration agreements with sports brands that manufactured soccer shirts. Thus marks such as Adidas or Nike have crossed with others of the catwalks, like Gucci, Balenciaga or Prada. These last names were everything that Influencers They needed so that we began to see them Walk with football t -shirts oversize. Comfort gave way luxury and posture. @_rodrigoronado Armando outfits with football t -shirts ⚽️👕 #blokecore #outfit #outfitideas #fashion #FashiTikTok #style ♬ Original sound – Rodrigo Coronado The ingredient that was missing: nostalgia. Evocating past times is the order of the day, especially for luxury brands that value, above all, the sense of belonging in the tribes and in the large waves of fashions prior to current microtende, which last half a week. Nostalgia Not only is a commercial resourcebut also an response to fashion globalization, and “authenticity” of Blokecore It gives a street loan that does not buy money. Experts in the field like Alejandro Mendo They have analyzed the deep impact of nostalgia In the fashion of soccer shirts, both in the designs and in the conception of the garments. Another proof that the shirts are already something that goes out of sport: the presentations of the equipment They no longer use athletes who will wear thembut to fans, to ordinary people. Much of this guilt is in puiblicititarian launches and campaigns that those who were kids in the nineties Now remember with lovelike the Total 90 Nike that fallen the two Ronaldos. The claim of a He was legendary football marketing It makes the rest in memory and nostalgia. Fetishization of football. Behind this phenomenon there is a transformation of garments into something that has lost its primal utility of “to play football.” Brands like Kappa have done a lot for it thanks to a series of historical milestones: for example, in 1979, Kappa became the first technical sponsor of Juventus FC, being being The first time the brand logo appeared on the shirts of an Italian team. They have presented advances as new fabrics (the kombat shirt) that have been used in sports, but at the same time they have turned football into Fashion icon When Britpop’s stars like Oasis began to wear these types of garments. Another Kappa milestone: the Collaboration with Venezia FC: together they developed t -shirts that Honor History and Venetian culturemoving away from generic designs, which allowed winks to the typical Gondoleros or the architect Carlo Scarpa. They became pieces coveted by collectors and design fans, going far beyond the strictly football sector. This collaboration showed that a football shirt can be both a symbol of belonging and a style statement. Not only uncles. The fact that K-pop female stars either Celebrities As Amaia Salamanca, Georgina Rodríguez, Kim Kardashian or Chiara Ferragni have adopted this style leads to a resignification that moves her away from strictly male and footballing environments, although some of the latter remains. Football implies emotional link with colors and logos, which gives a very welcome extra for brands. The Social networks focused on fashion They do the rest. In Xataka | Ibai is going to launch its own football team to start from the lowest. There is actually a very thoughtful strategy

Classical music concerts are fashionable again because the important thing is not classical music: they are the candles

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Pure Zeitgeist. In times when live music It can no longer be live music A type of concerts triumphs in which music is an absolutely secondary element, regardless of the really important: The aesthetic experience. They are the concerts in the light of the candles, and although they have become an international phenomenon, they have their origin in Spain. What are Candlelight concerts. His own name (“in the light of the candles”) makes it clear: they are Musical performances in small enclosures or emblematic spaces, illuminated only by the light of hundreds of candles, which generates An intimate and dreamlike atmosphere that wraps musicians and the public. It is a musical experience, almost always with classical music repertoires, which seeks to distance yourself from the great events With thousands of people and great scenarios: here the silences, quiet music and the atmosphere in gloom are essential. Candle fever. Candlelight concerts emerged in 2019 as an initiative of the Spanish Platform for the Promotion and Sale of Tickets Fver. Officiallywith the aim of democratizing access to classical music and bringing it closer to new audiences. But the truth is that in Fever they knew how to understand the need for alternatives in 2019 to increasingly massive live events. The idea was to connect with the atmosphere without electricity that was lived in an original classical music concert, and from its first editions it was raised with affordable prices, so that it was popular and accessible to all types of audiences. Made in Spain. The first Candlelight concert was held in Madrid, a city from which it extended to other European capitals such as Paris and London, and from there to the United States and more than 150 cities around the world. The initial success in Spain promoted the internationalization of the format, which today adds millions of assistants on a global scale. The official figures are 3 million viewers worldwide to date, which has led to the fact that The initial intention is extended to offer classical music concerts exclusively: Pop artists such as Queen, Abba, Coldplay or Bad Bunny were soon given way. The candles are not for everyone. Of course, Not everything is flowers For concerts, much less if the nucleus is a subject as controversial as the “elevation” of classical music through aesthetics, simplification and interpretation of great hits of the genre. Criticism They are abundantand they go from the music quality itself To the fact, something more expected, that the candles are not such, but LED lights. It is something that the organization warns from the beginning: it is not about real candles for a security issue. The reason for Candlelight’s success. It is clear: it makes a corner of the music that has been destined for elites during the last half century (do not remember, in that sense, the supposed and controversial “Democratization of creativity” that propose the IAS?), And does it with an aesthetic that reinforces that “elegant” ingredient of the proposal. But at the same time, we have a relatively affordable price, which popularizes the event. You could say that these concerts give way to the appetite of an audience that has always wanted to listen to classical music more popular without having to learn technicisms. It is normal, therefore, that Candlelight bumpes both immediate commercial success and an excéptic response from experts. It implies, in any case, a clear alternative to festivals and concerts in stadiums, although given the limitations of the proposal, perhaps we do not take too long to see how this flame weakens. Header | CandleLight Concerts

In the mid -twentieth century the nuclear was fashionable. So someone created “atomic” tomatoes and cucumbers

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The human being has from the dawn of agriculture trying to improve their crops. Before the arrival of advanced laboratory techniques such as CRISPR or the tools that the transgenics gave them, our species tested with a retahíla of various strategies to obtain larger fruits and vegetablestastier or more resistant. Some more successful than others. Some that bordered the demential. To the latter group belongs to the atomic horticulture, Atomic Gardening. The name of the technique speaks for itself. Atomic horticulture started from the idea of ​​bombarding radiation plantations. The objective of atomic horticulture, or at least the nominal objective of this, was to force mutations that improve the properties of food that were extracted from them. For this, the orchards were arranged in concentric circles, in whose center the radioactive material was located (Generally cobalt-60) capable of emitting gamma rays. The disposition implied that the successive circles received radiation dose that could vary significantly. The closest plants ended up burned by radiation and many nearby developed lethal problems such as tumors. The rest of the plants would receive more moderate doses that would introduce small mutations in their DNA. These mutations could be harmful or beneficial: the technique could Accelerate the natural process Of genetic modification, the selection, natural or human, would make the rest. The origin of this practice is found in the first years of the nuclear era, in the 1950s. Behind this initiative could find an association called The Atomic Gardening Societydedicated to promoting this striking practice. In An article Posted in 1962 the magazine Naturethis agrarian society was defined as “a scientific, educational and non -profit body, which carries out research in plants reproduction using radiative and chemically treated seeds and plants.” The different members of the association could exchange through this different seeds and the organization also served to record the different genetic variations introduced into the plants. The Atomic Gardening Society He also published his own magazine in which members could share their experiences and knowledge. We pointed out before the objective of this practice was to improve the qualities of plants and their fruits, make the most productive and resistant crops and their most nutritious or tasty crops. However behind this practice there was something else: marketing. The 50s was the era of initiative Atoms for peacein whose bosom the atomic gardens were born. This initiative intended to show that the energy responsible for devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki could also be used for economic improvement, in this case, agricultural improvement. Atomic horticulture in Spain Atomic horticulture was not an exclusive idea of ​​great nuclear powers such as the United States or the Soviet Union but also various countries from Europe to Japan developed their own gardens. Spain also had Your own atomic garden. The so -called Atomic Jarín of Alcalá is what remains of the Spanish tante in this nuclear agriculture, the then called El Encín Gamma Radiation Field. The origin of this experiment, which did not use Cobalt-60 but Cesio-137is in 1959, when Spain began to leave its isolationist period and could receive this radioactive isotope from US nuclear power plants for the exotic objective of building its own atomic garden not far from the capital. Today atomic horticulture is history. As we pointed at the beginning, today we had less quirky techniques to introduce mutations into plants. The transgenic foods, despite all the controversy they generate, have been accompanying us for decades. In fact, the development of the “scissors” of CRISPR genetic edition has given a new push to the genetic edition of organisms. This tool allows a control never seen before, notably facilitating The work of those looking for Improve the quality, quantity or resistance of crops. Atomic horticulture is history, but their results still endure. They do it in the form of variants of fruits, vegetables and even ornamental plants whose origin is in one of the most unique agricultural practices in the history of humanity. In Xataka | A perfect storm looms over Spanish olive oil: heat, pests and a problem of productive capacity Image | Google Maps / Catalan

We believed that the nasal strips had died in the 90. It turns out that they were just waiting for Instagram to get them fashionable

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The small adhesive bands that stick in the nose are again very common on slopes, gyms and popular races after decades of oblivion. Why is it important. From Carlos Alcaraz Even weekend runners, the phenomenon of nostrils has exploded in the last year. It is no accident: It reflects both the obsessive search for marginal advantages in sport … … as our complex relationship with Gadgets –electronic or not– that promise instant improvements. The context. The nasal strips were born in the 80s as an antironquid remedy. They jumped to sport in the mid -90s when Jerry Rice wore them in the Super Bowl (today keep entering money by promoting them) and Ronaldo popularized them in football. They promised to “increase the nasal air flow by 31%” and became the sports avant -garde symbol of the time. And they went down in cascade, reaching the semi -professional and also to the amateur who simply wanted to leverage them to increase their performance. The fall. By 2000, science began to disassemble them. A study by the University of Buffalo with 13 athletes He concluded that they did not improve performance in intense exercises. The reason is simple: when the effort goes up, we breathe through the mouth, not by the nose. The strips became irrelevant. The return. Carlos Alcaraz took them A month ago in the Masters of Romeand in addition to black color: even more evident than the classic shiver. Several Barça players uploaded a photo on a planeall with the strips set, to “improve rest.” And new companies such as Gudslip or histrips have “reversed” them with somewhat more comfortable designs and marketing aimed at athletes of all levels. Also with Machacona advertising on Instagram. Yes, but. A 2021 review which analyzed 19 studies did not find significant differences in Vo2max –A key metric–, heart rate or performance. The strips reduce nasal resistance, but only help in light efforts or when there is congestion. In intense exercise, they are useless. For elite athletes, any 1% improvement can be decisive. Alcaraz uses them strategically when it is congested. Amateurs, less accustomed to extreme suffering, can perceive greater subjective benefit in respiratory comfort. In fact, who writes these lines tested them and the highest air entry is noticed. But not the remarkable improvement in performance. And we must not lose sight of the mental factor: in sport, there is very often a psychological component in certain practices. The use of strips can give mental confidence, reduce pre-compensation stress and be part of the ritual that reassures the athlete, which makes him feel control. What is happening. There are five great forces promoting this boom: Greater conscience that once on nasal breathing in sport. Products that have improved: grip, comfort and even appearance. Virality in social networks. Examples in elite sport. And low risk profile. On the latter: the strips of certain brands usually cost between and one euro the unit. They are a performance experiment that comes out cheap. Deepen. The strips do work during sleep. They reduce snoring and improve rest. For athletes with rhinitis or exercise induced asthma, they can be useful. In healthy people doing intense sports, its effect is mainly placebo. Abel Antón, who won World Cups with and without them, summarizes it in a phrase pronounced a Relief Two years ago: “Believing that something is doing well makes us work much better.” Outstanding image | Pneuma Nasal Tape In Xataka | I have run, swim and worked with the Aqua Suunto. Under water I understood what these bone driving headphones propose

Kim Kardashian put him fashionable, an influencer viralized him and science continues to say the same thing: he doesn’t eat placenta

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All the people who have seen Games of Thrones —Ojo, Mini Spoiler – will remember that mythical scene in which Daenerys Targaryen devours a raw heart before a crowd. For this sequence, they used a heart made of solidified jam that The actress recalled Thus: “I knew bleach and raw pasta. I ate about 28 hearts during the days we shot that scene. Luckily, they gave me a spit because I vomited in him very often.” A brutal scene that, today, has claimed life more or less: a influencer Argentino, Lucas Gago, It has gone viral After publishing a video in which he eats – literally – the placenta of his newborn daughter. This act, recorded after home delivery, generated a wave of reactions in social networks: from astonishment to absolute rejection. Although for many it was simply one more provocation on the Internet, the video revived a debate that mixes biology, personal beliefs, celebrities and pseudoscience. From the viral to the origin. Although Gago’s case is extreme, the idea of ​​eating placenta is not new. In recent years, this practice, known as placentophagyHe has gained notoriety, especially since celebrities like Kim Kardashian They counted publicly that had consumed it encapsulated after giving birth, hoping to avoid postpartum depression. Since then, several public figures They have followed that pathpresenting it as a way of reconnecting with the natural or “reuse” what the body produces. An ancestral ritual? Even if that premise is repeated, the story does not support it. An ethnographic investigation that He has studied To 179 contemporary cultures has not found evidence that eating placenta after childbirth was common. Now, in the animal world the situation is different. A study, Posted in Ecology of Food and Nutritionhas observed that many mammals, such as primates, rodents and carnivores, do usually eat the placenta. According to researchers, this practice can help them reduce pain and activate care instincts towards their young. What do experts say? According to Mayo Clinicthere is no conclusive scientific evidence to prove benefits such as increased energy, improvement in breast milk production or prevention of mood disorders. In recent years, more and more people have begun to consume the placenta in capsules, believing that it is beneficial. However, Cleveland Clinic He has warned about the risks that this implies. In a recent article He explained That the placenta can contain bacteria or toxins accumulated during pregnancy, which could cause infections. Dr. Oluwatatosin Goje, an expert in infectious diseases, explained that consuming it, either raw, cooked Or in capsules, you could reintroduce those harmful agents in the body, representing a risk for both the mother and the baby if she is breastfeeding. Other uses of the placenta. In most hospital deliveries, the placenta is considered biological residue and is ruled out according to health protocols. Only in specific cases and under medical authorization, parents can request to keep it, something that is not always allowed or regulated in all countries. However, there are people who decide to keep it, as is the case of artists and filmmakers who have addressed this organ from a symbolic and performative perspective. For example, chef Eddie Lin made the documentary American Afterbirthin which The use of placentas is investigated In artistic, gastronomic and social contexts, proposing a cultural and provocative approach on the subject. The most recent case is that of the influencer Spanish Violet Mangriñán, who decided to plant a tree Using the placenta of her daughter Gala, in a gesture she considered spiritual and ecological. Trend or danger? What began as a striking gesture for social networks ended up awakening a much broader discussion about the limits between the natural, the symbolic and the safe. Although some public figures have contributed to popularize the idea of ​​consuming the placenta for its supposed benefits, science remains without supporting these practices and, on the other hand, alerts on possible risks. In a time where the intimate becomes viral and alternative, it disguises itself as healthy, it should be remembered that not everything we see on the Internet is a good idea to replicate. And that, although the human body is a biological miracle, not everything that comes out of it must go directly to the plate. Image | Unspash and Instagram Xataka | Is it healthy to eat an ice cream each and every day of summer? Science already has an answer

Spanish is more fashionable than ever in China. We know it because they are even translating reggaeton songs to the Chinese

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Spain is a very popular country in China. Good proof of this are the 647,801 Chinese tourists who visited our country in 2024. Which represents an increase of 66.7% compared to 2023, according to published data by The reason. That euphoria for Spain also has its reflection in the increase in the interest of the Chinese to learn Spanish. One of the most obvious tests of that enthusiasm we have found in the most unexpected place: Notease Cloud Music, a streaming music platform similar to Spotify in which the number of translations to Chinese have been fired from the letters of the lyrics of the lyrics of the letters of the letters of the Reggaeton songs in Spanish. Spanish in Chinese classrooms. Spanish is living an unprecedented boom in China. According to the report “The Spanish: A Living Language” of 2024 prepared by the Cervantes Institute, there are currently about 54,283 Spanish students in the teaching centers of the Asian country. Of these, approximately 8,874 are learning Spanish at primary, secondary and professional training levels, while 34,823 are learning it at the university. The most striking thing is that 10,586 are learning it in academies and by other media and that is where the use of other alternative learning channels of the language such as the lyrics of the songs comes into play. Songs to learn Spanish. According to An elaborate study by the Department of Translation and Language Sciences of the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona, ​​Latin music, and especially reggaetonhas become a powerful tool for teaching and learning Spanish in China. The lyrics of the reggaeton songs are bringing students closer to colloquial and cultural expressions of the Spanish -speaking world that They have no representation In the academic field. According to the study of which has echoed Phys.orgnon -professional and users translators have shared in the Chinese music streaming application Note was Cloud Music Translations in Chinese of songs originally sung in Spanish. Some of those letters have achieved millions of visualizations, becoming referents for those who learn Spanish for free. A letter from Bad Bunny translated into Chinese China goes perreo. According to the data collected by the study of the Pompeu Fabra University, the reggaeton songs They are the most popular Among Chinese students seeking to learn Spanish in an alternative way, being the preferred genre for their catchy rhythm and colloquial language. However, the translation of the letters of Reggaeton raises unique challenges due to explicit content and the presence of colloquial expressions without direct equivalent in Chinese. To save these cultural and linguistic differences, translators use strategies such as domestication, the use of euphemisms and the creative adaptation of phrases to go unnoticed to censorship of algorithms In China. In China nobody “leaves you planted”. Colloquial expressions That we usually use in Spanish, such as “left” or “fuck”, have no direct translation to the Chinese, so translators have lay new linguistic bridges using their own expressions with a similar meaning. The researchers detected that, for example, to translate the expression “leave planted”, the Chinese translators used the Chinese expression “release pigeons (放鸽子). Traditionally, the pigeons have been considered messengers and, in the Chinese imaginary, release a dove that does not return is associated with a broken promise, approaching in a symbolic way the Chinese the meaning of the expression to the local public. Sexual references, so common in Latin genres, have also had their creative translation, and have changed “fuck” or “do” the original letters for expressions such as “possess” or “exchange pleasure.” In addition, to avoid censorship, asterisks are interspersed between the Hanzi (Chinese characters) to mislead the censorship algorithms (性*感/火*辣) when words “uploads” or anglicisms such as Hot, sexy either Horny. In Xataka | One in three employees uses AI at work: your position is not in danger because most use it as a translator Image | Wikimedia Commons (Glenn Francis), Unspash (Ondřej Matouš)

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