Filling

Galician depopulation is filling the cemeteries with anonymous tombstones. There are those who want to solve it with QR codes

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It is one of the most unknown parishes in Pontevedra, a small town that has been shedding its inhabitants until it is left with barely 700. We are talking about Cerpozones (Cerponzóns), near the town of Alba or Tilve, the northern corner where they have wanted to take a curious step to preserve their own history: place QR codes (quicktime response) on cemetery tombstones. You scan a tombstone in Galicia and a life appears. “Linguistic restitution act“The O Chedeiro Neighborhood Association has been responsible for reformulating the usual text that can be found on the tombstones of the San Vicenzo cemetery. Why? Because they want the most distant generations, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, to be able to discover what story there is behind the names engraved in the marble. Read the past to understand the present. The first QR premiered in the family pantheon of Juan José Esperón-Recareyneighbor, writer and secretary of the association. The scan opens a direct link to the blog ‘O Roque de Cerponzóns’, where the life of this family crossed by emigration, agricultural work, sociability in taverns and the daily history of the parish is documented. In this blog you can discover the life, for example, of Jesús Recarey Lorenzo, tram conductor and conductor who dedicated a life to daily mobility, or Carmen Recarey Cochón, owner of the Rums tavernthe social center of the parish. Cerponzóns has also recently been the headline of several news stories for the documentary ‘A cardboard suitcase‘, as part of an initiative to preserve the memory and discover the history of this parish. The family has already changed the inscriptions on the tombstones from Spanish to Galician and this time they wanted to do something special, inspired by the Association of Officials for Linguistic Normalization of Galicia, which proposes using QRs with information in Galician about the deceased to remember names and experiences. Much better than a DEP When the grave is an interface As ironic as it may seem, this Pontevedra movement rhymes with many other actions carried out on the other side of the world. In Japan, the funeral company Ishi no Koe (literally “The voice of the stones”) has developed marble tombstones with embedded QRs that give access to websites with photos, videos, family testimonies and records of who visits the tomb and how many times said code has been scanned. These high-tech tombstones They are around $10,000. And the same with automated columbariums in china: In cities such as Shanghai, Shenyang or Fujian, cemeteries have been offering QR stickers on tombstones for years that, when scanned, show obituaries, photos, videos and music of the deceased, in the context of Grave Sweeping Day (Qingming) and a growing culture of “virtual mourning rooms“Well, and the candles are so automated that they light themselves at night. In Europe we can also find similar examples of this adaptation to the times. Denmark was one of the pioneers: In 2012, a tombstone company began offering porcelain plaques with QR codes for access to biographies within Roskilde Cemetery. The service cost about 100 euros and was sold as a way to preserve local stories and make the visit to the cemetery more interesting. I remember, in fact, on a visit to Berlin that its three Jewish cemeteries already had similar systems for being able to follow the sentences as if it were karaokeand even some masons were changing or repairing the codes for more robust plates. Although it is easy to consider it an experiment to understand digital grief. In the United Kingdom there are dozens of companies like Digital Gravestones or StoneCode Lite that sell packages of digital memorials. These include a website with photos, biography, timeline, cemetery location on Google Maps, condolence book and QR plate or weather-resistant NFC tag, with classic, minimalist or modern models and hosting from one to five years. There it is nothing. The truth is that an easy-to-read epitaph has an imprint that cannot replace a QR code. However, creatives such as historian Frederick Meza, designer of Memorial QR, consider that this is a more useful and practical form of documentation, archiving, and also to promote necrotourism and historical pedagogy of relevant figures: dignitaries, former mayors, artists and party founders, etc. Too much data for a place of mourning? Songs, poems and digital condolence books, this model also opens a debate: what about privacy? That anyone can scan and access that information may bother certain family members who prefer to preserve and reserve their past. However, the digitization of cemeteries has been unstoppable after the pandemic. In Spain, the cemeteries, with their cypress trees and flower crowns, are extremely quiet places where a certain decibel threshold is rarely violated. It is clear that QR codes are not just a gadget, but a way to expand the tomb from the name-date to the complete story, something very useful for anchoring biographies to local contexts, minority languages ​​or family genealogies that were previously lost in scattered papers. The parish of Cerponzóns has managed to manage its story through its blog, but the friction is still there: who decides what is told and who reads it? Or, more specifically: what happens when a public cemetery becomes an archive accessible to anyone curious, is it safe? It remains to be known how passwords are managed and what will become of technical continuity to verify whether great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren will truly know about their ancestors without entering broken links 50 years from now. Images | Unsplash (Brett Jordan, Waldemar Brandt), Tourism of the Council of Redondela In Xataka | Spain has more pets than children, so Malaga has inaugurated something inevitable: the first cemetery for dogs In Xataka | Burying a loved one is expensive. Some cemeteries are already beginning to offer an alternative: fertilizer for plants

The networks are filling up with maps that promise the end of the heat. One thing is what we would like and another, very different, is what we know

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There is always a time in the summer when people start to get tired of the heat. And one notices it because social networks begin to fill with weather maps saying “be careful, here comes the cool weather.” The difference this year is not only that this glut begins in July (we already have two possible thermal reliefs in the running!), but that many of the maps have AI behind them. First, the good news. We are, as it seemsin the middle of the second heat wave of 2026. The combo (a ridge over the peninsula, a DANA to the west and very dry air) is a classic. The result is also: up to 42 degrees in the Guadalquivir valley and peaks close to 44 in the south of Valencia. Tropical nights are for everyone. AEMET dates the end “probably on Wednesday the 8th, without ruling out Thursday the 9th”, with the declines becoming generalized from the southwest. And it warns of something important: there is a “high degree of uncertainty.” Uncertainty, yes; but after five days, less and less. And what about the end of the month? In addition to the nearest ‘relief’, there are other maps floating around. One of them is a pass of the European Center AIFSv2 which suggests that for the second fortnight all of Europe will experience a few days of general cold weather. Obviously, a single exit so far into the future does not say much. However, it is interesting because this model (based on AI) is only a couple of months old and is trying to ‘democratize’ long-term modeling. That doesn’t mean I’ve gotten it yet. The best example happened a couple of days ago. he ECMWF’s own weekly newsletter, July 3gave a warm anomaly in the following three weeks, with a possible third wave in Europe. Two days later, another pass from the same center announced the opposite. And it makes sense, because these are not failures: meteorology is something extremely complex and not all of our calculation capacity is capable of containing it within 15 days. Why should we care about all this? Because summer is looking bad. AEMET and ECMWF give a globally warm july and a summer with the warm tertile almost discounted. It is true that beating 2025 as the hottest summer in the series is unlikely, 20-25%; but it is not necessary to turn our days into a slow agony waiting for autumn. Forecasts taken out of context are going to be the order of the day. So… what can we expect? A respite at the end of the week and little else: although it seems that the omens of persistence of the ridges on the continent are fading, the heat is not going anywhere in the medium term. Image | meteologix In Xataka | While AEMET fears the second great heat wave of the year, meteorologists warn that “we have to prepare for harsher summers”

Facebook Marketplace ads are filling up with sexy AI-generated women and there’s a very specific reason behind it

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What of sell on trading platforms It is not always a simple task. It is quite common for ads to go by for weeks without anyone being interested in them, especially if what we want to sell is something expensive like a car or a motorcycle. Faced with this problem, there are Facebook Marketplace sellers who have found the formula to stand out from the crowd without having to pay to promote their ad. Women generated with AI. They tell it in Business Insider. On Facebook Marketplace in the United States, it is increasingly common to find ads for cars and other items in which one or more beautiful women appear; motorcycles, cars and even tractor parts surrounded by suspiciously perfect women, smiling at the camera as if they were posing for a magazine. In the ‘isThisAI’ subreddit many users discuss these imageswhich as we have already mentioned are generated with AI. The objective behind it is obvious: to capture the attention of potential buyers. The case of the Jeep Wrangler. The report tells the story of Rogelio Llamas, a Californian who is trying to sell his Jeep Wrangler. In the ad, next to the car, there is a woman in a bikini, shorts and cowboy boots, but it is not real, but was added later with AI. The striking thing about her case is that she was not a thin woman, but rather opted for a more voluminous one. He says he got the idea from a trading YouTuber who said that this would generate more curiosity. Lots of clicking, little purchase. The goal is to make your ad stand out from the rest, thus increasing the chances of a sale, or at least that’s the theory. According to this seller, the ad got a lot of views and he even received messages from people asking things like if the girl is included in the car. The reality is that 19 weeks later, the car is still for sale. The pretty girl’s claim. Advertising and sexism have gone hand in hand for decades, especially in certain traditionally masculine items such as carsboats and even We have seen it at technology fairs such as the Mobile World Congress. Fortunately we have been removing that burden, but these “AI stewardesses” serve the same purpose: to be the attraction to attract the attention of the male audience. Of course, not all ads that use AI to stand out are along those lines, there are others that simply seek to shock and exploit the surprise factor, like this one from a sumo wrestler inside a toolbox. We have looked around Facebook Marketplace in Spain and also other platforms such as Wallapop and Milanuncios and we have not found examples of this practice. It seems that, at the moment, it is a trend from the United States, but who knows if we will end up importing it. Image | reddit In Xataka | The protein product craze is taking over supermarkets. And that’s why now we have tuna for males

China can slow down Earth’s rotation by filling the Three Gorges

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The Three Gorges Dam It is a marvel of modern engineering. Located in central China, it interrupts the passage of the Yangtze River, the longest in Asia, generating more electricity than any other hydroelectric plant on the planet. It is so large that, according to NASA, filling it can slow down the Earth’s rotation. With a minimal impact, but highlighting the human influence on planetary balances; even the most fundamental ones. The Three Gorges Dam. The Yangtze River is the third longest in the world, behind the Amazon and the Nile. Also called the Blue River, it drains a basin of almost two million square kilometers, feeding 40% of Chinese territory with water. In the middle course of the river there are three natural gorges called Qutang, Wu and Xiling: the Three Gorges. In 2012, almost two decades after the start of construction, China inaugurated the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, built on the Yangtze River in Hubei province to take advantage of the Three Gorges waterfall. How China overshadowed Itaipu. With a power of 22,500 MW, the Three Gorges Dam is the first to generate more energy than the Itaipú hydroelectric plant, shared by Brazil and Paraguay on the Paraná River. In 2020, the Three Gorges Dam broke Itaipú’s 2016 record of 103 TWh after intense monsoon rains. That year, its 32 700 MW turbines produced almost 112 TWh of electricity, more than what entire countries, such as Finland or Chile, consume annually. The megastructure is completed by two smaller 50 MW generators, which provide power to the plant itself, and a boat lift that allows navigation on the river. And it slowed down the Earth’s rotation. With a length of 2,335 meters and a height of 185, this colossal structure is capable of retaining up to 40 cubic kilometers of water, or in other words: 40 billion liters. A gigantic mass that, as NASA warned in 2005 and was evaluated laterif filled, it could have a calculable influence on the rotation of our planet. According to geophysicist Benjamin Fong Chao of NASA’s Goddard Center, filling the Three Gorges Dam would slightly shift the Earth’s axis to slow its rotation, increasing the length of the day by 0.06 microseconds. A slightly longer day. Although it is a small change compared to the melting of the polar caps or large earthquakes, demonstrates the impact that human activities can have on our planet, even on a scale as large as the Earth’s rotation. Take the devastating Indonesian tsunami of 2004. It was caused by an earthquake which, in turn, was due to a compaction of the Earth due to the interaction between the tectonic plates of India and Myanmar. That tsunami had the opposite effect: it moved the North Pole about 2.5 cm to the east, which slightly accelerated the planet’s rotation, reducing the length of a day by 2.68 microseconds. The key: the moment of inertia. The trigger for this effect is a physical magnitude called “moment of inertia” that describes the resistance of a body to changes in its rotation. The moment of inertia is greater or less depending on the amount of mass of the object and how that mass is distributed with respect to its axis of rotation. The classic example is a figure skater who, by crossing his arms close to his body, increases his rotation speed. Similarly, the Earth’s rotation can be modified by changes in its mass distribution. In the example of Indonesia, the movement of tectonic plates caused a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that modified the distribution of masses on the Earth’s surface and, consequently, the planet’s moment of inertia. The Moon has competition. The Earth is not a perfect sphere; Its axis of rotation shifts naturally due to changes in the atmosphere, oceans, and Earth’s crust. Since 1900, this axis has moved about 10 centimeters per year. Traditionally, this displacement was attributed to the retreat of glaciers or the gravitational pull of the Moon. Now we are beginning to understand the hand of man, and the Three Gorges Dam or the melting of the poles, which increases the water level towards the equator, are not the only examples. Another example is wells. Between 1993 and 2010, human geoengineering extracted approximately 2,150 gigatons of groundwater, used for consumption, agriculture, livestock, and industry. This massive extraction raised sea levels by more than six millimeters and, surprisingly, shifted the Earth’s axis of rotation by 80 centimeters east. Question of adjusting the clock? The impact of the wells or the Three Gorges Dam on the Earth’s rotation, although minimal, raises questions about the influence of human activities on our planet. For years, some researchers have advocated introduce a negative leap second in international time if the Earth’s rotation becomes slightly faster. As we saw a few months agothis idea is becoming progressively outdated. A Nature study suggests that the melting of the poles is already offsetting the hypothetical (and tiny) acceleration of the Earth due to human causes. The leap second was going to be introduced in 2026… And for now it has been postponed to 2029. It is possible that it will never be introduced. Short record. The impressive magnitude of the Three Gorges Dam can be put into perspective in two ways. The first is by observing the works that China is undertaking in the future Medog hydroelectric power stationin Tibet, located on the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Its works began in 2025 and, once it is completed, in 2035, it will be the most powerful dam on the planet, three times more than that of the Three Gorges. The second is with a fact: despite its brutal dimensions, the Three Gorges only produce 1% of China’s annual electricity. A testament to the country’s energy voracity. In Xataka | Dujiangyan: the engineers who, more than 2,000 years ago, decided to tame the Min River and, unintentionally, ended up forging China

China is filling up with products from Russia. The problem is that many of these products come from China itself.

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At the beginning of 2025, a more than notable event occurred in China. Apparently, trade tensions between Beijing and the EU had opened a new scenario for Russian livestock farmers. In other words, if Spain had made a fortune exporting pork to China, an unexpected enemy appeared on the horizon: Russia. It seems that the hype of Moscow goes much further than “its” pig, and in 2026 has been maintained. Russian Chinese stores. Yes, in recent years a situation has been occurring that no one saw coming: the proliferation of stores selling Russian products in cities throughout China, generating great interest among consumers. These establishments, easily recognizable by their signs in Cyrillic, traditional Russian music such as Kalinka and Katyusha, and/or the display of iconic products such as matryoshka dolls, offer a variety of products: from national sausages to chocolates, honey, vodka or durian confectionery. Thus, with slogans such as “hardcore products” and a blue and white aesthetic, the stores seek to evoke the essence of Moscow. However, as we will see, behind this facade many are more Chinese than they look. The figures. The boom has also coincided with an increase in commercial ties between China and Russia, driven by Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, the same ones that have led to Russian ranchers in the Asian nation. Not only that. Bilateral trade reached historic levels in 2022 and 2023and Chinese consumers responded enthusiastically, seeing these products as a way to show solidarity with Russia. According to data from the Qichacha business registry, In January 2025 there were 3,555 companies registered in China engaged in the trade of Russian productswith 696 and 894 new companies registered in 2023 and 2024, respectively. They are not Russian, they are Chinese. Of course, the boom also raised suspicions. In fact, the boom faced increasing scrutiny last year. Many consumers began to question the authenticity of the products offered. Sausages, for example, cannot be legally imported from Russiaand the durian, a tropical fruit, is not typical of Russian regions as far as we know. This led Chinese authorities to investigate some of these stores. For example in Fujian, where a Russian market was pointed out for promoting false health benefits and labeling domestic foods as imported. In Beijing, similar stores closed after several inspections that required proof of the authenticity of their products. In fact, in 2025 the Shanghai authorities announced investigations against seven of the 47 Russian themed stores of the city, accusing them of misleading customers regarding the origin of their products. Some were closedwhile others faced fines and the obligation to clearly label products…made in China. Finally, a Jiemian News investigation revealed that a large part of the food products in the so-called “Russian State Houses” (franchises with no connection to the Russian government) They were locally produced.. Factors of interest. The initial success of these markets and establishments can be attributed to several factors. On the one hand, consumers’ curiosity and desire to explore “exotic” productssomething that has surely played an important role. On the other hand, the geopolitical narrative surely also did its thing: the war in ukraine and tensions with the West caused some Chinese consumers to view consumption of Russian products as a gesture of political support. Furthermore, we must not forget that the increase in bilateral trade was facilitated by the exclusion of Russia from the Swift financial system in 2022forcing the country to become more dependent on the Chinese yuan. This made China Russia’s main trading partner, absorbing products such as oil, gas and food at reduced prices. With an expiration date? The big question. Despite the boom, analysts like Zhang Yi, of iiMedia Research, They believe that the fashion will be temporaryalthough in 2026 they remain patent. The demand for Russian products in the Asian nation is based, a priori, on this novelty and perceived scarcity. Among the causes of the decline are that consumers have lost interest or competition between stores increases, at which time the popularity of these markets will probably decrease. This, added to the increasing doubts about the authenticity of the products Following investigations and regulatory pressure, they could accelerate their decline. Be that as it may, and in the face of growing skepticism, in Shanghai Some stores have changed their names to “Chinese-Russian Mutual Trade Stores” to reflect the true origin of their products. In Beijing, at least one store closed after failing to present documentation proving the authenticity of their imports. Long-term perspectives. Although trade between China and Russia still strongexperts predict that exchange volume could stabilize at $200 billiona figure lower than recent records. In the long term, a change in geopolitical relations, such as the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, could allow Russia to normalize its trade ties with Europe, thereby reducing its dependence on China. Of course, this last scenario now seems very far away. Be that as it may, the rise of markets for Russian products in China reflects how geopolitical dynamics can influence consumer habits, at least in part. Of course, its sustainability is most uncertain due to the combination of regulatory pressures, doubts about the authenticity of the products and the eventual loss of consumer interest. Just in case, to the Russians they will always have the pork. Image | Weibo In Xataka | The biggest change in war is no longer drones: it is that Russia, the US and China are removing the human from the button In Xataka | Russia and China already had an advantage over the US in the Arctic. After Greenland, it has multiplied A version of this topic was published in 2025. We have updated it with information from 2026

The Ebro is filling with brown prawns, an invasive species that we are going to find more and more on our plates.

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When a fisherman from Vinaròs arrives at the fish market with his catch of the day, he finds more and more specimens of a crustacean that should not be there: the brown shrimp. Four years ago there were barely one or two per boat. Today there are days when up to 40 kilos are caught. This invasive species has arrived in the Mediterranean, has reproduced, and has no intention of leaving. The presentations. Its scientific name is Penaeus aztecus and comes from the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the United States. Although for the non-expert eye, the one who finds a plate of prawns on the table on Christmas Day, at first glance there is not much aesthetic difference with the normal one, there is. Thus, it has a uniform brown color that tends to be yellowish, it lacks those bands characteristic of the native, its body is more stylized and its head is pointed, and its antennae have a characteristic reddish tone. BioInvasions Records. Authors from the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC, Barcelona) Chronology of an invasion. The first time They detected the brown shrimp in the Mediterranean It was in Turkish waters in 2009. It possibly arrived as a stowaway in the ballast water of large ships that load water in the Caribbean to stabilize and then release it in Mediterranean ports along with larvae of this invasive species. From there, it has expanded rapidly westward. In 2023 the CSIC confirmed with morphological and genetic analyzes its presence on the Catalan coast and in the area of ​​the Ebro delta. Later, it has been seen in other ports of the Valencian Community and in the Mar Menor (Murcia) in record time. A perfect invasion. But the clearest proof of its expansion is not geographical but biological: the discovery of mature females in the Ebro delta confirms that the species is capable of completing its reproductive cycle in Spanish waters. It is already an established population. The testimony of the fishermen’s brotherhood of the Vinaroz fish market It constitutes a good alarm thermometer, detailing that in just four years they have gone from encountering a unit to capturing 40 kilos and the curve does not stabilize: each campaign surpasses the previous one. The brown shrimp is a thermophilic species. If it has found an ideal new home in the Mediterranean, it is partly because the sea is warming and its waters are already more and more similar to its original habitat. What’s wrong with the shrimp here? At the moment there is no data that shows the collapse of the native shrimp, but there is a reality: it is competing with the brown shrimp for space and food. And there is a mirror in which to look: in the Gulf of Taranto in Italy, the presence of the native shrimp has already reversed. And a reminder: the one with the blue crab. Is it eaten? The “good news” is that brown shrimp is edible and, in fact, gastronomically speaking, it is tasty. However, its market price is noticeably lower: 12-13 euros per kilo compared to more than 40 euros per kilo for native shrimp. But there is an underlying problem: they can give you a hard time and pay for brown shrimp at the price of native shrimp, since it is sold mixed and unlabeled. This is a traceability problem for the consumer. What can be done. Converting the consumption of brown shrimp as a way to control its population is a possibility, either directly or with preparations, although it is imperative to establish regulation in the fish market to differentiate it. In Xataka | The US has such a big problem with Asian carp in its rivers that it has decided something extreme: electrocute them In Xataka | The Iberian Peninsula is being invaded: more than 1,200 exotic species have come to stay Cover | BioInvasions Records and Natural History Sciences

We have been filling the refrigerator with kefir and high-protein yogurts for years. It turns out that the solution was invented in the year 874

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For decades, the Mediterranean basin has held an absolute monopoly on nutritional health. They convinced us that olive oil, wheat and southern ferments were unbeatable. In the dairy aisle, this hegemony translated into the undisputed reign of Greek yogurt, a product that went from being a traditional food to becoming in the supermarket star thanks to its thick texture and high concentration of complete proteins. However, nutrition science has turned its sights toward much colder latitudes. Today, the undisputed protagonist of healthy diets, recommended by both sports nutritionists and metabolic researchers, does not come from Athens, but from Iceland. Is called skyrand although its appearance deceives us, it is rewriting the rules of what we consider a perfect breakfast. At first glance, the skyr It looks like some kind of ultra-creamy Greek yogurt, but it’s not technically a yogurt. Actually, it is about of a fresh, skimmed whipped cheese, made through a double fermentation process. From the Vikings to the supermarket shelf The history of this product begins with the first Viking settlements in Iceland, around the year 874. The Norwegian settlers who arrived on the island encountered an extreme climate and unfriendly lands. In that scenario, the skyr It became a real life insurance: a food ultra-concentrated in nutrients that allowed them to survive the harshest winters when there were hardly any resources. The traditional process starts with skimmed and pasteurized cow’s milk that is heated to 75ºC and cooled to 37ºC. Lactic acid bacteria are added to this base (such as Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus) and, crucially, rennet. After hours of fermentation, the product is carefully strained to eliminate the liquid whey. The result is a dense paste, with hardly any water, that requires three to four times more milk to produce than conventional yogurt. Today, the skyr has conquered supermarket shelves such as Lidl, Mercadona, Aldi or Alcampo. Nutritionist Blanca García-Orea points out that success in the supermarket lies in their clean labels: the best commercial options contain only two ingredients, pasteurized milk and lactic ferments, without added sugars or sweeteners. The clinical fascination with skyr It is based on its macronutrient profile. According to data collected by Healthlinea typical serving provides between 11 and 19 grams of protein, practically double that of a standard natural yogurt, while maintaining an almost non-existent level of fat (between 0% and 0.5%). But how exactly is it different from its direct competitors in the refrigerator? Nutritionist Laura Parada clears up the usual confusion between the skyrhe kefir and the yogurt. While the kefir stands out for a microbiota very diverse that includes yeasts and acetic bacteria, and normal yogurt It is based on lactic fermentation simple that leaves a light texture, the skyr It makes the difference because it is a fresh fermented cheese with a very high protein concentration and very thick texture. Added to this are other physiological advantages. The rigorous casting process of skyr eliminates approximately 90% of its lactose contentwhich allows many people with mild intolerance to consume it without experiencing digestive discomfort. At the micronutrient level, the portal Ingredia Food highlights that A 150-gram serving covers about 15-20% of the recommended daily intake of calcium, essential to protect against osteoporosis, and 19% of vitamin B2 (riboflavin), linked to the reduction of oxidative stress. What happens in your body when you eat it When you eat a tub of skyr, you’re giving your muscles exactly what they ask for. According to the magazine Nutrition & Metabolismits proteins are loaded with leucine and other key amino acids that trigger muscle synthesis. Basically, it’s an excellent tool for shielding lean mass when you’re looking to lose weight or prevent muscle from deteriorating with age. As if that were not enough, it takes away your hunger suddenly. The Aarhus University in Denmark did an experiment in 2024 pitting the classic breakfast of bread and jam against a bowl of skyr with oats. The conclusions of researcher Mette Hansen were resounding, the Nordic mix boosted mental concentration and satiety throughout the morning. Some women in the study were so full that they couldn’t even finish their portion. Science continues to find medical applications. Last year, the International Dairy Journal published a discovery very revealing about him skyr fermented with strains such as L. plantarum. It turns out that these formulations are capable of stopping blood glucose spikes after meals, while helping to reduce cholesterol and acting as a powerful shield against cellular inflammation. Not all the skyr it’s gold However, you have to put a magnifying glass on the shadows of any fashion product. That a container has the word printed skyr It does not make it a safe passage to comprehensive health. Magazines like Men’s Health warn that the industry is already marketing ultra-processed versions, such as ice cream skyrwhich although they provide protein, camouflage glucose syrup, fructose and added sugars in their ingredients. In addition, Healthline remember thatbeing made from cow’s milk, the skyr It is strictly not recommended for people with allergies to casein or whey protein, as it can trigger severe reactions. On the other hand, the debate about fat arises. Although the original version of skyr is applauded for being skimmed, a deep analysis that we did in Xataka We explain the historical demonization of dairy fat. Modern science is rehabilitating natural whole dairy products thanks to the “dairy matrix” (the membrane of the fat globule), which appears to have a cardiovascular protective effect and greater satiating power. This suggests that, although the skyr It is an excellent tool due to its protein density, completely dispensing with dairy fat in our diet based on ancient dogmas could be a mistake. The emergence of skyr in the global diet is not a marketing accident, but the convergence of an ancient tradition with the demands of modern metabolic medicine. Contemporary nutrition has stopped looking for shortcuts in laboratories to fixate on food matrices dense, real and fermented. Although it is not a magical food nor … Read more

China is filling up with “quadricycles” that do not require a driving license. And they are a problem for road safety

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The two times I have been to China, two things about its automobile fleet have caught my attention: the furor for electric cars in terms of brands, models and dealerships, because you can almost find one on every corner of any central street in the big cities. And on the other side of the coin, I was also struck by the enormous amount of motorbikes (scooter is saying a lot) and cars without licenses parked in any side and circulating any manner. Don’t call it a light quadricycle, rather say laotoule. There they are known as “laotoule”, something like that like the joy of the old man. Because if in Spain the light quadricycles you see are usually driven by older people, in China too. They began to be seen back in the 90s from tuk-tuk modifications three wheels in rural areas, although today they have capacity for up to five people and a very diverse aesthetic. From occasional mobility to a vehicle for everything. Although the older ones are the star group, they are not the only ones: they are vehicles with very clear profiles of occasional use and short and (relatively) simple trajectories. As collects China Dailythese vehicles are the main means of transportation for running errands or picking up elderly grandchildren, but in recent years they have expanded their range to younger people: they offer a closed space and solve the problem of having to travel at a low cost. According to the China Electric Vehicle Associationannual sales of these lightweight non-highway quadricycles increased from 1.1 million in 2017 to 2.1 million in 2023, of which 1.4 million went to seniors. According to an investigation According to Banyuetan, the magazine linked to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, these cars are flooding rural roads and urban peripheries. And its proliferation has aroused the suspicion of the authorities. The legal vacuum of laotoule. Because unlike Spain, where any motor vehicle requires a technical sheet and a license plate, in China they have been marketed as if they were devices for personal mobility, something like a scooter or an electric wheelchair. Thus, the bulk of laotoule are sold without registration or approval or the need to pass your MOT. In fact, they are increasingly sold online. like low cost imitations of luxury cars. There is even a Porsche Cayenne without a license. Because there are brands and models of Chinese electric cars to bore, in a light quadricycle version, too. In fact, There are even Maseratis and Porsche Cayenne modelsor rather, Maserati style and Porsche style, because they are not official from the respective houses. And because the Maserati costs about 3,200 euros in exchange. Is take a look at the Alibaba website and find models for all tastes, such as this Mini. Also There is a version without a license of Xiaomi’s second electric car, the ambitious Xiaomi YU7as you can see below these lines. From afar they hit the mark, up close already such. Under that attractive bodywork they hide electric motors of low or medium power and a top speed of up to 70 km/h. Tap to go to the post. The card-free version of the Xiaomi YU7 The real problem is road safety. Leaving aside industrial property issues, laotoules look like miniature cars but they are not: they lack basic elements that are found in passenger cars, such as steel frames or airbags. The Banyuetan report echoes of a fatal hit by a 59-year-old driver in a laotule in Hebei, northern China. From prohibition to regulation. Some local administrations have already made a move: since January 1, 2024, cities such as Luoyang or Beijing banned circulation on public roads to low-speed three- and four-wheel electric vehicles. However, there is a middle way: China issued a regulation of technical specifications and safety requirements for electric vehicles, finally classifying laoutoule as motor vehicles. From here and as explained by Lu Yong, researcher in the low-speed electric vehicle sector for Sixth Tone: “We must recognize the real demand for low-speed vehicles and strengthen the design at national level, both for industry development and traffic management. Clear and enforceable rules must be quickly introduced for both product and driving standards, as well as for road access.” In Xataka | China has so many electric cars running on its streets that it is going to use them to generate energy for homes In Xataka | China is the only country in the world where car prices are falling. So much so that the Government is taking measures

The “pop” Catholicism of Hakuna and Llamados is filling pavilions with thousands of young people. The problem: they seem evangelical

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Two Catholic events in Madrid in just 48 hours, making a couple of undeniable circumstances very clear. First, the Catholic faith has taken root among the youngest people speaking in their same language: with mega concerts and massive events. Second, behind this apparent en bloc following lie different trends that threaten to break up the crowded world of Spanish faith, overflowing with interests that pull in opposite directions. The events. On Monday, January 13, the Movistar Arena welcomed 6,000 people in ‘Llamados’, a prayer meeting organized by the Parish of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (Algete) and Alpha España (Spanish branch of Alpha International, a method of evangelization born in the 70s within Anglicanism and that explores faith in an informal environment). The next day, the Vistalegre Palace gathered 12,000 attendees at the Hakuna Group Music concertthe Catholic group fashionable in Spain. The debate. What has ignited the debate is the group’s presence in ‘Llamados’ hillsong as opening act This Australian evangelical group, a Protestant icon, is a clear example of some “evangelical ways” that radically depart from historical Catholic practices and discourses. Contemporary music with rock instruments, giant screens, an abundance of emotional personal testimonies, moments of worship with raised hands… and all in spaces more associated with concerts than with traditional liturgical celebrations. His actions are controversial among the most traditional sectors of Catholicismbut the discussion now reaches Spain. The context. Hakuna Group Musicthe Catholic youth movement founded in 2013 by Father José Pedro Manglano has become the emblem of this new trend of transforming faith into a mega-conceit. Their song ‘Huracán’ surpassed two million views on social networks after the September 2022 concert in Vistalegre, which brought together 8,000 people, figures within the reach of successful traditional pop groups. The precedent. This Spanish phenomenon has its clearest precedent in the United States. In July 2024, more than 50,000 Catholics gathered at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congressan event that marked a turning point and where catholic bishops sang ‘How Great Is Our God’, the characteristic hymn of Elevation Churchone of the most influential evangelical megachurches in the world. For many faithful, this phenomenon represents “a new ecumenical liturgical movement“which is not based on the harsher and more inaccessible Catholic tradition, but on shared music and common experience. And the truth is that this drift towards pop is normal: after all, traditional sacred music is not designed for crowds of tens of thousands of people. In other words, it does not have choruses or lololós. The CWM. The music that plays in ‘Llamados’ and in Hakuna’s concerts falls within a specific genre: Contemporary Worship Music (CWM), born in American Pentecostal and charismatic churches since the 1960s. It is now a global industry that moves millions of dollars. Among its characteristics are lyrics focused on direct praise to God and written in the first person, simple and repetitive melodic structures designed to be chanted, and instrumentation typical of pop-rock bands. The goal: an immediate emotional experience. The criticisms. Some critics draw parallels of this movement with the prosperity gospel or prosperity theology, an evangelical current that teaches that God rewards faith with material success and health. Magazines like the Jesuit La Civiltà Cattolicaapproved by the Vatican, warned in 2022 that elements of this theology had penetrated Catholic communities, especially through the charismatic movement, transforming the traditional understanding of redemptive suffering. That is to say, the loss of the traditional penitential component of Catholicism, to which the Latin faction is so closely related, is perceived. In Spain, the Church has welcomed with open arms the avalanche of young faithful brought by these concerts and events. But there are dissident voices: the Catholic School of Apologetics speaks of ‘12 Reasons why it is not good to listen to Protestant music‘, and warns about the “tyranny of feeling” that prioritizes “feeling” over “believing”, as these songs often enunciate. At Catholic.net they talk that this type of music can inject Protestant beliefs into the Catholic faith, and there are numerous isolated voices that warn of the danger of these mass events. All with Calls. However, the advancement of phenomena like Llamados is important. Organizers have explicitly positioned it as a model of mass evangelization ahead of the Jubilee of Redemption in 2033, which will commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Christ. With the religious practice in free fallevents like these are one of the few phenomena capable of massively mobilizing young people towards explicitly Christian experiences. But is it a renewal or just a youth fever, in line with the cycles of action and reaction (now that more conservative winds are blowing) that we have always experienced? In Xataka | A blessing that drives likes and sales: “x-ray of chic Catholicism”

The creative death of Marvel’s MCU left a huge hole. One that in my case is filling WWE on Netflix

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Twice a week I like to live a cathartic experience, and it is something that I strictly adhere to since the beginning of 2025. WWE and Netflix they started a million-dollar collaboration (a decade at a rate of 500 million dollars a year) so that their star shows could be seen around the world. Gone are those weekend mornings in Four with La Bomba Batista, Rey Mysterio or Randy Orton who starred in the childhood of an entire generation, but thanks to the platform of streaming, nostalgia hits harder than ever by allowing us to experience nothing less than the farewell tour of the greatest of all time: John Cena. But beyond the trip to childhood, my religious weekly ‘Raw’ and ‘Smackdown’ have helped me realize that with a ring and a handful of wrestlers they are scratching the same part of the brain as I expected the MCU to activate during these last years. The interrelation of the character arcsinvincible enemies, unexpected turns of a hero and alliances on the horn is something that Marvel has lost since ‘Avengers Endgame’ and that I find almost every week in wrestling. All that is needed is a suspension of credulity that is generated by the cathartic nature of the slaps (choreographed, not fake) and by how dedicated the public is to an event that also has the added bonus of being held live. Perhaps it sounds ridiculous for those who have not known about this world for 20 years, or for those who have barely entered it, but once you are part of the wheel, it is difficult not to get hooked by multiple aspects: combats measured to the millimeter with a physical preparation from another planet, soap opera stories between the stars where the distance between reality and fiction is separated by a bad fall or a word out of the script, or demonstrations of aura with entrances like those of Penta either Roman Reigns. But everything has its dark side and, as often happens, being a woman places me (even more frequently) in a dilemma. 7 TRICKS to get the MOST out of NETFLIX Triple H is not spared either The eternal “separating work and author” that does not prevent the bitter taste in the mouth produced by wanting to see the new Woody Allen or Roman Polanski movie or refusing to continue reading to JK Rowling. And the WWE is an almost inexhaustible source of controversies that makes it very difficult to draw the line and be able to simply enjoy a high-quality show and wrestlers who give their all in vibrant fights. The WWE has suffered under the previous management of Vince McMahon and their continuous scandalsbut with the arrival in 2022 of Paul Levesque (known as Triple H for wrestling lovers, and also McMahon’s son-in-law) as the new content director, they wanted to sell a new post-Vince era, establishing a gender equality policy on the roster and moving away from wrestlers with whom racial stereotypes were promoted. Since the replacement took place, there is no doubt that the female presence has increased in WWE, and continues to do so year after year; In its annual report we can see that of its superstars a 40% are womenin front of the 35% from previous year. And not only does it increase in number, but in quality; offering us stories and combats that are often infinitely superior to those perpetrated by male stars on the roster. Names like Rhea Ripley either Becky Lynch They are the female reference and those who lead the way for new recruits. The combination of global streaming thanks to Netflix and the growing number of female talentshas been the key factor that has managed to boost the increase of this audience. And, already in the documentary ‘WWE: Unreal’, the creative director that high percentage stood out: “WWE women have become an integral part of what we do. 40% of our audience is female. So, when you start down the road to ‘WrestleMania,’ you try to approach it with them the same way you do with the guys, you approach the narrative in the same way. “However, at the same time, this reality is continually clouded by putting its stars against the ropes beyond the ring itself. And the figure of Triple H is not exempt from controversy either. It is not only that he has visited the oval office alongside Trump this summer to join the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, reminding us once again of the US president’s relationship with the world of WWE and, inevitably, being a reminder of what political side the company joins. Not in vain, when the worst of the pandemic forced bodies to pile up in refrigerated trucks, even in New York, the WWE was one of the first sports practices to resume thanks to an exemption from Republican Florida. But the bulk of the excesses during his mandate are directed at the female public. Wrestlers and female audience against the ropes The WWE, through a agreement with Saudi Arabia which began in 2018 with the celebration of one of its events in the Middle Eastern country, was added to the list of sports that participate in the sportswashing strategic to whiten the image of the regime. This agreement, reprehensible for all that it implies on a political and social level, becomes even more flagrant and uncomfortable if we highlight what it means directly for the women of the company. In those first three events since 2018, the participation of the women’s section was totally prohibitedneither could they compete nor, of course, were female audiences allowed. It seems that, therefore, with that agreement of 100 million dollars annually Triple H easily forgets about that high percentage of female spectators that he brags about. It was not until 2019 when the Saudi authorities, in a display of modernity, allowed female wrestlers to compete, as long as they wore wrestling clothing that completely covered their bodies. … Read more

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