great

the great meteorological divergence of Spain this summer

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The current heat wave, the third of the summerhas especially hit the Spanish southeast, although it is also hitting the rest of the south, the east and the center of the peninsula, as well as the Balearic Islands. On the other hand, in the north, where they did suffer the effects of the two previous heat waves, they have been spared this one. In Asturias, for example, mercury It has been rising to about 24-27ºCquite fresh, compared to the more than 40ºC that are suffering in many places in the south and east of the peninsula. That doesn’t mean this summer isn’t being unusually hot in the north, like the rest of the country. However, at least as far as this heat wave is concerned, it is being much more bearable for them. Right now, all of us who live in the red areas of the map are thinking the same thing about Asturians. How lucky! But in reality it is not luck, but meteorology. Why is the north spared from the heat wave? According to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET)the current heat wave is due to “a blocking pattern, made up of a stationary DANA in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsulatogether with the presence of a high at medium levels over North Africa.” All this “is giving rise to the intrusion of a mass of warm, dry air with suspended dust over the southeast of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands”, which little by little has been spreading over a good part of the rest of the Spanish territory. But not so much in the north. What was mentioned by the AEMET, together with “the sunshine typical of this time of year and the generalized subsidence” is what has caused this increase in temperatures. So far so good. But what happens in the north? To begin with, we have seen that it all starts with a DANA in the northwest. The area that is getting rid of the heat. This meteorological phenomenon is due to a low pressure zonewhich rotates counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. This, in the DANA area, causes atmospheric instability marked by showers, storms and cooler temperatures. On the other hand, we have the anticyclone coming from Africa. It is an area of ​​high pressure, whose effect is completely opposite: very warm and dry air. And what happens when the two get together? Broadly speaking, the DANA gyre itself pushes the hot African air towards the southeast, so that the northwest is spared from its arrival. In short, the DANA is like a kind of protective wall, which pushes heat in all opposite directions. Why did the other two heat waves affect the northwest? The first two heat waves of summer They were very similar to this one. We had a blockage caused by a DANA, and hot air coming from Africa. However, there was one big difference: DANA took place to the west, not the northwest. When this occurs, it is rather in the Atlantic Ocean, not directly over the Galicia area. The blockage occurs at sea and the hot air can spread throughout the peninsula. Therefore, in that case there were unusually high temperatures in these parts of Spain that are now being resolved. The areas that are not free The autonomous communities on alert for this third summer heat wave are Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Castilla – La Mancha, Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, the Region of Murcia, Navarra, La Rioja and the Valencian Community, as well as the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Galicia, Cantabria, Asturias and other points in the north, on the other hand, have typical summer temperatures, but they are not suffering from the suffocating heat wave that is raising the mercury to extremely dangerous levels. Even in the west they have been spared this time. Even so, it would be better if they did not store the fans that many were bought for the first time just a month ago. This summer is coming strong. Images | AEMET In Xataka | Sea temperature continues to rise and experts are clear: “It is partly favored by the start of a new El Niño phenomenon”

the top, the young man and the great rival of the folding iPhone

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Samsung has introduced its new Galaxy Z series: Fold8, Fold8 Ultra and Flip8. It is not a hierarchy from high-end to low-end, but three different ways of understanding a foldable, each one aimed at a specific type of user. Fold8 For those who want a foldable designed above all for consuming content: its screen is adapted to video, reading and networks, with a lighter body than the rest of the range. Fold8 Ultra for those who prioritize productivity and a top camera. It is the thinnest foldable launched by Samsung and its 8-inch screen allows you to work on several applications at the same time. Flip8 for those who prioritize being able to carry their cell phone in their pocket, no matter how small it is, and the lifestyle. Also for those who prefer not to open their phone if it is not necessary: ​​its external screen has been redesigned to be able to do more with it and not have to unfold it. We remind you that the members of Xataka Xtra can access discounts, benefits and exclusive opportunities in the Samsung online storein addition to exclusive raffles, a private Discord server and a growing catalog of discounts and advantages on digital services. You can join the community for only 30 euros per year. In detail. The difference between Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra is not only in range but in screen proportions. And therein lies the key to who each one is for. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8. Image: Samsung. The Fold8 It has a 4:3 interior screen, more square than elongated. Samsung explains that this format imitates the proportions of a magazine or a book: it is comfortable for reading, watching vertical or horizontal video and browsing, but it is not designed to have two or three apps open at the same time. On the outside, its 10:16 screen is the narrowest in the range, ideal for using it folded like a normal mobile phone. At 201 grams it is the lightest Fold, and it has a 50 MP dual camera, enough for everyday use, although it is not the best. It is, in short, a foldable built to consume content comfortably, not to work on it. And it is, coincidentally, the same form factor that has been leaking for months on Apple’s first foldablescheduled for a month and a half. Samsung doesn’t say it like that, but it has come first with a design that so far no one else has released in that exact format. At least in Spain. Because Oppo had its Find Nbut not in our market. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra. Image: Samsung. The Fold8 Ultra reverses that logic. Its interior screen grows to 8 inches, large enough to divide it into several windows and work with two or three applications at the same time, something that the normal Fold8 does not offer with the same comfort due to its more elongated shape. In exchange, it weighs more, 215 grams, and includes a 5,000 mAh battery and an expanded graphite cooling system to withstand long workloads: editing, multitasking, content creation… Its main camera jumps to 200 MP with HDR, designed for those who need the best possible results. It is the same screen size as a Fold8, but with the hardware aimed at producing instead of consuming. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8. Image: Samsung. The Flip8 plays in another league different: It does not compete in interior screen size with either of the two, because its beauty lies in folding up to fit in a pocket. At 6.1 mm thick, it is the thinnest Flip that Samsung has ever launched, and its differentiator is not the main screen but the exterior FlexWindow, now converted into an interface with its own AI: it allows you to respond, consult information or launch actions without opening the mobile. It is the foldable designed for those who use their cell phone in short bursts throughout the day, not in long sessions. Yes, but. The Fold8 is not the flagship. That role is maintained by the Ultra: more battery, better camera, and larger screen. Anyone looking for “the most powerful folding Samsung” should not look at the passport format model, but at the Ultra. Samsung takes a risk here that it does not usually take: launching three folding devices at the same time means that they compete with each other for the same buyer, not only with the rest of the market. And now what. The three models are already in the reservation period in some markets. Samsung has not confirmed prices yet. Each purchase will include six free months of Google AI Prowith 5 TB of storage. In Xataka | David Alonso, VP of Samsung Spain: “93% of all foldables that have been sold in Spain are Samsung” Featured image | Xataka

An ancient necropolis in England has revealed what was Rome’s great weapon in Britain. And it has little to do with his army

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The Roman Empire was forged with swords, strategy and hordes of legionaries, but the eternal city had an even more effective resource than its military power: its magnetism. Sometimes, before the soldiers, what reached the future conquered territories was the commercial influence of Rome. The clearest example has just been offered to us by Essex, United Kingdom, where archaeologists They have found a necropolis with several copper vessels, amphorae, nails, brooches and even a delicate molded glass bowl, an exclusive piece. The important thing, however, is not so much the ‘what’ as the ‘when’. Experts believe that those pieces that tell us about a connection with Rome are prior to the invasion of Britain in 43 AD, so they reveal a previous cultural, diplomatic and economic contact between both worlds. What has happened? What archaeologists have discovered an ancient necropolis south of the United Kingdom which confirms that, before the Roman invasion of 43 AD launched by Emperor Claudius, the region was already permeable to the influence that came from the other side of the English Channel. It is a key detail because it tells us both about the Iron Age in modern-day England and about Rome’s ability to extend its cultural influence beyond its military power. What have they found? A cemetery near Chelmsford, Essex. When excavating the area, researchers from UCL Institute of Archeology They located the cremated remains of more than a hundred individuals buried there about 2,000 years ago. To be more precise, the tombs appeared in an area surrounded by a ditch and, according to expertsdates for the most part from the 1st AD, so it “marks the transition towards Roman domination in Great Britain.” Why is it important? As they delved deeper, the archaeologists saw two clearly differentiated types of graves: there were the most common ones, which numbered in dozens and basically consisted of urns with the remains of the deceased; and then a handful of burials were identified that, due to their characteristics and decorations, reveal a higher social status. There are only five, but they have been revealing. Revealing why? Because, in addition to cremated remains, funerary trousseau was deposited in the tombs that reveal the social status that the deceased had enjoyed in the East Anglia of the Iron Age. Experts located vessels made of copper, ceramic wine amphorae, horseshoe nails, brooches and even a detailed molded glass bowl, an exceptional piece as it is probably one of the first to arrive in Britain. And is that important? Yes. Because of its origin and (above all) the history it suggests to us. “These exceptional grave goods are likely to reflect diplomatic contacts and economic exchanges between Iron Age peoples in Britain and the Roman Empire, which were already taking place before the Roman conquest of 43 AD,” reflect Angus Forshaw, one of the experts leading the UCL Archeology excavations. In the case of the amphorae, Forshaw believes they may have arrived in Britain filled with wine for local elites. As for the bowl, he believes that it was probably “a very prized personal possession” of the deceased, which is why it ended up in his grave. “The period surrounding the Roman conquest was a time of immense political and cultural change. These burials could have been a way for different Iron Age communities to signal their identity, their power and their supposed loyalty to Rome,” duck Samara King, from Archeology South-East. And now what? There is still a lot of work ahead. The experts of Archeologym South-Eastt are in charge of cleaning and analyzing in detail the different objects extracted from the necropolis. They also examine the Essex site and its dozens of tombs to learn more about the people who were buried there, especially those who occupied the most elaborate tombs. In principle, experts believe that the burials have certain parallels with others located in the area that are reminiscent of cremations discovered in Stansted and Stanway, as well as sites in Hertfodshire. Furthermore, its focus is not only on the graves. Excavations have revealed more Iron Age structures, including three previously unknown settlements with their moats, cultivation and wells spread over 11 hectares. Images | UCL and Wikipedia In Xataka | 90 years ago, archaeologists in Mexico encountered the greatest enigma of pre-Hispanic America: a Roman head

We have been drinking beer on the beach all our lives to cool off. Science warns of great danger to our body

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On any summer afternoon, the beaches and terraces are filled with people seeking refuge from the high temperatures, and the instinct of the vast majority is to order a cold beer. This classic drink in Spain gives a false sensation of immediate coolness and temporary relief, but here the question we must ask ourselves is: is it really useful to drink it to alleviate the sensation of heat? A myth. Given this classic scene, science suggests that it is a bad idea to have a beer to quench thirst, since alcohol causes exactly the opposite by triggering a response that dehydrates us. And this is explained by a fundamental hormone called vasopressin or antidiuretic hormone. As its name indicates, its function is to retain water in the kidneys when the body needs it because it is dehydrated, and alcohol suppresses it almost immediately. And it is something proven, since studies show that ethanol blocks the release of vasopressinpointing out that after ingesting alcohol, an acute drop in this hormone is observed in the bloodstream. This causes the kidneys to stop reabsorbing fluids and begin to expel water at a rapid rate to promote the production of urine and, therefore, the loss of fluids. an experiment key here demonstrated that the subjects studied lost up to 0.9 kg of water weight in just two hours. That is, for every beer you drink to “hydrate” your body expels more liquid than it consumes. And this is a context of heat and high sweating; It is a one-way ticket to a state of dehydration if you do not also drink water. The broken thermostat. The second big problem with drinking alcohol in the sun is thermal. Alcohol is a powerful vasodilator and this means that it widens the blood vessels, bringing more blood to the surface of the skin, which produces that typical facial flushing and sudden feeling of heat when we drink. And although at first the breeze on the skin may make us feel cooler, we are actually compromising our ability to regulate internal temperature. A model published in International Journal of Legal Medicine demonstrated that drinking alcohol before facing a high temperature environment drastically worsens the body’s response. Alcohol literally “hacks” the brain nuclei responsible for thermoregulation, activating abnormal responses of the body to heat. Water is the best. Drinking a cold beer has logically become socially rooted in our society, but when you are thirsty and have been sweating for a long time, it is best to hydrate with water first. And this also confirms that there is no alcohol that is “safe” from a medical point of view. Non-alcoholic beer can be an option since, since it is composed mainly of water and lacks alcohol, it does not have an effect on our antidiuretic hormone. Images | Nicolas Postiglioni In Xataka | Generation Z is reinventing the way they drink alcohol, but there is something that remains untouched: the stigma of teetotalling

citizen science prepares for the great blackout of 2026

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He solar eclipse on August 12, 2026 will be a great opportunity for enjoyment for the general populationbut also a unique moment for scientists from very diverse disciplines. For just a few minutes, animals change their behavior, the skies become dark, with less light pollution because it’s not time to have the streetlights on, and our own physiology possibly undergoes changes as well. We have already talked of a citizen science project that aims to verify how the solar eclipse affects our heart rate and even our respiratory rate. But it is not the only study in which citizens can contribute their grain of sand. Currently, there are also projects aimed at study light pollution and the behavior of flying animals. Citizen science to study light pollution A solar eclipse is an ideal time to study light pollutionsince it is getting dark in a time zone in which there are no streetlights on yet. It really gets dark and, therefore, the sky can be seen much more clearly. A shame we only have a couple of minutes to enjoy it. Luckily, although two minutes is very little time for enjoyment, it is more than enough to do a small study on light pollution. The project, named EclipseDSMhas been developed by scientists from Catalan, Galician and Navarrese research centers and aims to distribute photometers throughout the entire strip of totality so that citizens themselves are in charge of collecting data with which they can establish the differences between the real night and the night generated by the eclipse. We want to study whether the lights in towns and cities are adequate Anyone who wants can sign up in a form on the website, which indicates the three ways to get photometers. For starters, it can be made at home. On the website you can download some instructions manufacturing with link to all materials. Most of them can be obtained on Aliexpress, with a very low price. In total, the entire photometer could be obtained for 30 euros. The problem, as explained from Sinc Agencyis that there has been a shortage of one of those components. Therefore, there are two other options. The first is to attend one of the workshops that the Eclipse DSM team will carry out in several areas of the strip of totality. There, participants will be able to make their own photometer and take it home. If this is not possible, there is always the option of ordering it directly through the indicated email, although it is important to note that units are limited. With all this, data will be obtained that will be used to study the more efficient ways to illuminate rural and urban environmentsreducing light pollution as much as possible. It’s simple. If the changes in sky illumination are not too great in a specific town, it may be because the luminaires installed there are less polluting than others with which more important changes are reported. Animals once again take center stage during a solar eclipse In 1932, a scientist named William Wheeler did what is possibly the first citizen science study during a solar eclipse. He asked people who lived in the zone of totality of an eclipse that they would observe around them and pay attention to all the changes in nature that caught their attention. With this, he received more than 500 testimonies about animals and plantswhich laid the foundations for many studies that came later. Now, a group of scientists from the Spanish Research Network in Ecoacoustics (REIE) has made a new call to citizens to listen to nature through the ECOECLIPSE project. To participate it is necessary to have a autonomous sound recorder and be able to locate it in an area where it can be reached at least 98% complete during the solar eclipse of August 12, 2026. In this case, the recorders will not be distributed. Participants must already have one. However, it has been reported that an app will be announced later with which you can participate. without the need for this device. What is known at the moment is that the recorders They should be placed two days before the solar eclipse and collected two days after. Although all types of sounds will be recorded, we want to examine above all the activity of birds and batsin order to check how this astronomical phenomenon affects them. If you want to participate in either project, you still have time. Science needs you. Image | Bryan Goff (Unsplash) | Magnificent In Xataka | A third of Spain will be completely dark for a minute or two. The astronomical event of the century is approaching

China closes the helium tap and the US becomes the great beneficiary of the Iran war

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The US has become the main supplier of helium to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and its market share will likely continue to grow. This is the conclusion of the analysis of customs data that has been done Nikkei Asiawhich places Washington as the great beneficiary of a crisis that combines the war of USA and Israel against Iran and the export restrictions imposed by Beijing. Be that as it may, it is not a minor trend. Helium is an irreplaceable gas during the chip manufacturing process because it is necessary for cooling wafers and in plasma etching or photolithography. In this context Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are three of semiconductor ecosystems most important on the planet, with TSMC, Samsung and SK hynix at the helm, all of them redirecting part of their supply towards the United States. The trigger has been twofold. On the one hand, the crisis in the Middle East has cast doubt on the Asian supply chain amid fears that a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz further complicate access to helium and liquefied natural gas. And on this already unstable ground, China has decided to tighten the screws as much as possible. China has turned off the tap at a very delicate moment The Chinese Government announced on July 10 a temporary veto with immediate effect to helium exportsrelying on its Foreign Trade Law and without giving further explanations. The Ministry of Commerce and the Chinese Customs Administration frame this measure in the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, which threatens to cause new bottlenecks in a gas essential for manufacturing integrated circuits. China only produces domestically around 15% or less of the helium it consumes However, at this juncture we are interested in specifying China’s real weight in this market. This country only produces internally around 15% or less of the helium it consumes, so depends on imports from Qatarwhich generates approximately a third of the world’s supply. For this reason, its dependence on the outside borders on critical levels, with estimates that range between 80% and 90%. A quick note before moving forward: Helium is irreplaceable in semiconductor manufacturing because it cannot be synthesized industrially. It is extracted from natural gas deposits with unusually high concentrations of this element, and is used in wafer cooling, plasma etching, chemical and atomic layer deposition, lithography support, and leak detection. Japan and South Korea, exposed in a very different way The exposure of each country to this scenario varies significantly. In 2025, Japan was already obtaining around 60% of its helium imports from the US and 37% from Qatar, which has allowed it to pivot relatively quickly. South Korea, on the other hand, depended on Qatar for 64.7% of its importsa fact that has forced Samsung and SK hynix to move urgently and accept higher prices in new long-term contracts with Linde and Air Products. Helium now joins the rare earths, gallium, germanium and graphite as another chapter in the geopolitical struggle The manufacturing of memory chips is very demanding with the consumption of this gas due to the repeated high-temperature etching and deposition processes required by advanced 3D stacking. Many semiconductor industry analysts expect that American industrial supplierssuch as Air Products, Linde or ExxonMobil, are the big beneficiaries of the tightening of global supply. Be that as it may, helium now joins the rare earths, gallium, germanium and graphite as another chapter in the geopolitical struggle for the resources that support the semiconductor industry. Image | Yuri Shkoda More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | Yttrium is another of the many “rare” metals that only China exports. The US just found out the hard way

The argument of job creation has been the great asset to build data centers. It would be nice if it were true

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data centers they consume a lot of electricitymaking raise the electricity bill, they pollute the air and sometimes water too. There are more and more arguments against them, while the arguments in favor for those who live near one of these mastodons are basically reduced to one: they generate many jobs. Sure? What is happening. The United States concentrates a third of all data centers in the world. They count in Futurism that there are states competing to attract big technology companies, offering resources and tax exemptions in exchange for them generating jobs and helping to develop their communities. However, it is increasingly clear that the creation of stable and lasting employment is an unfulfilled promise. Billions for a handful of jobs. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, there are two projects underway for two data centers from QTS and Google respectively. As reflected in the Cedar Rapids Economic Development Centerto encourage the construction of these infrastructures, the city has offered them a 70% exemption from property taxes for 20 years, in addition to returning 75% of electricity rates (a municipal surcharge that is applied to the bill). Google and QTS are going to spend 1.3 billion on their data centers, but it is estimated that they will save more than 580 million on taxes and municipal fees. And you will say how many jobs are they going to create? Under the contract, they are only required to create 61 permanent jobs. Why is it important. Data centers have become the engine of the American economy, but one thing is the wild investment of big tech to build them and the impact on local employment is quite another. They are enormous infrastructures, which cost a lot of money, but once launched they operate practically on autopilot. The tasks that really need human intervention are very few compared to their magnitude. In Aragon too. This situation is not exclusive to the United States, the same thing is also happening in Aragon. We recently learned the employment figures that Amazon will generate in Villanueva del Gállegowhere they are building six data centers. The company had spoken of up to 29,900 full-time positions linked to the project, but they were counting indirect and induced employment, such as suppliers and associated services. The reality is that between six data centers, they are going to hire only 180 permanent people who will work in shifts so that they can operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Once again, the narrative of mass employment is leaking everywhere. Employment yes, but temporary. To build data centers of that magnitude, many companies from different sectors must move, which indirectly does generate a lot of employment. In the case of Cedar Rapids, the city boasts that the projects will create “thousands of construction and trades jobs,” the problem is what will happen to all of them when the data center comes online. According to a recent report by Turner & Townsend echoed in Futurism, the urgency to build new data centers has caused prices to rise in other projects such as housing construction, in addition to monopolizing specialized labor in construction areas. Image | Xataka with Magnific In Xataka | While most oppose AI data centers, there is one group enthusiastic about them: merchandise thieves

It’s one of the best sci-fi movies of the 90s, great company for the heat, and it’s on Prime Video

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In 1994 no studio wanted to finance a film about an alien portal with two actors without much success at the box office. Almost 32 years later it is a franchise that includes a series with hundreds of episodes (which, by the way, has already been confirmed not to return, reinforcing the cult status of the film and original series), and a perfect plan for hot summer nights. We talk, of course, about ‘Stargate. Gate to the stars‘, which you can recover in Prime Video. According to producer Dean Devlin, all the Hollywood studios rejected the proposal, claiming that science fiction was no longer of interest to the public. Finally, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer agreed to distribute it to fill a gap in its release schedule, and the small but ambitious production company Carolco Pictures financed the filming, which would end up costing $55 million. In it we will see how an Egyptologist (James Spader) deciphers the hieroglyphs engraved on a ring found in Egypt in 1928 and discovers that it is a portal capable of opening a wormhole to another planet and will begin a journey joined by an army colonel (Kurt Russell). An interesting proposal that, despite the initial cold critical reception, has ended up gaining cult status for its eminently blockbuster (Roland Emmerich would go on to ‘Independence Day’, so he was becoming an expert in the blockbuster genre.) ‘Stargate’ grossed $16.6 million in its premiere, the best opening for the month of October until then, and ended up accumulating $196.5 million worldwide. The commercial success, however, was not enough to ensure a film sequel. Carolco went bankrupt in 1995 because of ‘The Island of Severed Heads’, and the rights ended up in the hands of MGM, which opted to develop a television series, Stargate SG-1, which would last ten seasons and would later give rise to ‘Stargate Atlantis’ and ‘Stargate Universe’. An epic of decades that we can now recover by claiming its taste for adventure in its purest form. In Xataka | One of the best horror and action films of recent years comes to Netflix. Four Oscars certify it

Renfe thought of France as its great business for the future. Already looking at Portugal thanks to a 19th century decision

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“Portugal is a great opportunity for Renfe.” These are the words that summarize the company’s intentions for the medium-term future, according to Expansion. The newspaper assures that the Ministry of Transportation aspires to turn the neighboring country into the company’s new big business. And the secret is in its track width. “A great opportunity”. “Portugal represents a great opportunity for Renfe. With the 15 units of the Series 106, it will have 30 high-speed trains of variable gauge to which the 13 compositions of the new Series 107 will have to be added in the coming months. In total, 43 trains that are also intended to be approved for circulation in Portuguese territory.” These are the words with which, according to Expansionthe Ministry of Transport defends the change in strategy outside the Spanish borders. The company has been looking for a place in France for some time but This country is putting up all possible barriers to hinder its expansion through French territory. The alternative now passes through Portugal and the gauges have a lot to do with it. The Avrils. At the beginning of July, Talgo and Renfe reached an agreement regarding their Avril trains. These trains have been a headache for Renfe because Talgo has delivered them late, they have presented numerous breakdowns and incidents and they even had to be removed from Madrid-Barcelona because they cracked. The great theoretical advantage is that they are trains that, with the necessary equipment, can jump between the Iberian and international gaugethe European standard for high speed. This allows them to be the only trains that operate the Madrid-Galicia without the need to transfer between trains. This gives it a strategic advantage over Ouigo and Iryo in the face of the upcoming liberalization of these routes. In the agreement, Renfe and Talgo decided that the Avril trains that operate with international gauge were going to be adapted to be able to make this track jump. The cost exceeds 130 million euros but it will allow Renfe to move its trains throughout the national territory… or the entire Iberian Peninsula. A strategic change. With the announcement of this agreement, from the Ministry of Transport they indicated that “Renfe “It will be the only operator with the capacity to provide international high-speed rail services with Portugal, which gives it a clear competitive advantage to lead the Iberian train market.” The phrase is not coincidental. The initial intention was to dedicate some of the trains received from Talgo to France, but the company is encountering so many problems in homologating them that it has shifted its projection to Portugal. And the Portuguese country seems to be a perfect market for the company taking into account its track widths. And the connection between Madrid and Lisbon, which should be completed in 2030 but reach minimum travel time in 2034it has to be built under instructions from the European Union using international gauge. However, the Lisbon-Porto line is being built with Iberian gauge, which limits the Madrid-Lisbon-Porto connection to a single train. The Iberian exceptionality. The situation is complex. The Portuguese railway, like the Spanish one, grew around the Iberian gauge. This isolated both countries from the rest of the continent in this sector but the European Union is working so that the exceptionality is, in part, eliminated. That is why in the agreement reached in October 2025 there is the obligation to bring the international width to Madrid-Lisbon. However, nothing has been said of the high-speed line that Portugal is building between Lisbon and Porto. This line is supported by Iberian gauge and will reach the Spanish border with said gauge. This makes it very difficult for new companies to enter.as we have seen in Galicia. But Renfe has the ace up the Avrils’ sleeve. And since these trains can jump between gauges, Portugal opens up as a very attractive market to expand operations, with trains that can cover Madrid-Oporto passing through Lisbon. Something that no other company in the world can do right now.. Photo | Annie Spratt and Nelson Silva In Xataka | Spain aspires to its most ambitious railway challenge: Madrid-Barcelona in less than two hours. And you have already taken the first step

Inheriting shoes seems like a great idea to save. Biomechanics and podiatrists are very clear that it is a mistake

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In many families it is quite common to see how the older brother or sister grows and leaves some sneakers or boots that look practically new without being able to use them. Here the logic indicates that they can pass it on to the younger brother so that they can take advantage of the money that has been spent and not throw away something that a priori is completely functional. However, what on paper seems like an impeccable financial decision collides head-on with children’s biomechanics and podiatric health. A custom mold. The key to the problem is not in the exterior appearance of the shoe, but in its interior and in the sole. As explained Podiatrist Rebeca Prieto Riaño in a recent article in eldiario.es, an already worn shoe tends to be “molded” to the gait pattern of the first child. Here you have to understand that each person has a unique way of walking and distributing weight. With continued use, the shoe suffers from specific wear zones that end up acting like small invisible wedges, and when a second child puts on that shoe, their foot is forced to adapt to a shape and inclinations that are not their own. It’s a problem. This can significantly alter your stride, favoring everything from biomechanical problems to tendon and muscle injuries, as well as classic blisters or chafing due to inadequate support. It is a recommendation. Although there are no clinical trials today, direct evidence comes, above all, from clinical guidelines and the consensus of specialists like the document Children’s Footwear Advice of the Suffolk Podiatry Paediatrics. But we do have different biomechanical studies that show that footwear modifies the parameters of children’s gait, including speed, step length, ankle and knee ranges of motion, and impact pattern. The biomechanics. Specifically, we see it in a meta-analysis published in 2011 that already concluded that shoes irremediably affect children’s gait. Added to this are more recent experimental works, such as a study published in Gait & Posture in 2023, which demonstrate how asymmetric shoe heights induce reactive changes in gait kinematics and muscle activation. It goes further. In addition to the mechanics of gait, there is a dermatological factor to take into account, since pediatric podiatry guides advise against second-hand footwear due to the risk of infections. Sharing closed shoes that have accumulated sweat and humidity greatly facilitates the transmission of skin pathogens, especially dermatophytes, which are the fungi that cause athlete’s foot. The cotton test. Does this mean we should automatically throw away any shoe our oldest child outgrows? Not necessarily, since experts in children’s orthopedics and podiatry establish footwear that has had residual use as an exception. For example, shoes for a wedding that were worn one afternoon, or wellies that the child wore three times before his foot grew, can be inherited. The essential condition is that there are no signs of adaptation to the previous step. In Xataka | Walking almost barefoot is the new wellness trend: this is how barefoot has arrived everywhere

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