key

Millions of users used the legendary Windows XP key “FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8”. Now we know its origin

by

Many users – and I included myself – almost knew by heart the activation key for Windows XP“FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8”. With it it was possible to install a valid and official copy of the operating system that Microsoft launched in October 2001, but until now it was not known where that key had come from. Now we know. what has happened. Dave W. Pullmer is a famous engineer and developer who worked his entire career at Microsoft and who, in addition to being in charge of the task manager or ZIP folders, had another task: working on the first version of the Windows Product Activation (WPA) system. Precisely that allowed him to know from the inside what happened with that activation key, and He told that story on Twitter. It was not stolen, but leaked. As Plummer explains, no one hacked Microsoft or its systems to obtain it, nor did they manage to steal it. There was actually a mistake on the part of the development team, and a “disastrous leak” occurred. There were no social networks, but it didn’t matter. That leak ended up going viral and millions of users found out about the trick almost immediately, something surprising considering that conventional social networks did not yet exist. There was no need: a warez (pirated software) group called “devilsOwn” released the key five weeks before the launch of Windows XP, and the key was published on IRC, online forums, Usenet groups, warez websites and especially P2P applications such as eDonkey or KaZaA. How activation keys were calculated. The WPA system generated a key that was based on each user’s hardware: “the identifiers of the CPU, RAM and other components” were taken into account, and were sent to Microsoft along with that activation key to be validated. If errors or suspicious keys were detected, that installation was labeled as pirated. Master key. But FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 was a valid volume license key that became part of the “white list” that the key validation system had. If that key was used, the servers assumed that it was an enterprise volume license, and that “there is no need to call home.” Thus, when installing Windows XP, users simply had to answer “Yes” when asked if they had an activation key, they entered the famous key and thus avoided checking it. It was like having a master key. You could even update XP. When using this activation key, the operating system started fully functional and without activating small user warning mechanisms such as watermarks or a 30-day countdown. It was even possible to overcome the controls that were applied to receive updates. Although Microsoft detected and banned activation key, new illegitimate patches and “cracks” appeared who managed to make this activation mechanism persist for years. Now you couldn’t use it. As Plummer explains, you could technically still use it on old Windows XP installation disks if you could find one, but Microsoft’s own servers that handled the validation process were disabled years ago. And even if it wasn’t, the key ended up being part of the blacklist of prohibited activation keys, meaning you couldn’t use it to validate a legitimate copy of Windows XP. Image | Internet Archive In Xataka | Nostalgia does not disappear. So much so that there are people developing a new web browser for Windows XP

It is the key to ending superbacteria

by

The antibiotic resistance It is one of the greatest threats facing humanity together. Bacteria that were previously harmless They are becoming ‘superbacteria‘Immune to our most powerful medications. In this counterreloj career, science is looking towards the past to find a solution of the future: bassoonrapy. A new step to face a big public health problem. A known technique. This technique, which Use bacteria annihilate virusit could be our best asset, but a new study reveals that bacteria have an ace under their sleeve: a sophisticated defense mechanism that seems taken from a science fiction film. Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Melbourne They have discovered An unpublished bacterial strategy that have baptized as “excluding and surviving.” This mechanism allows a bacterium infected with a virus (a bacteriophage or phage) quarantine the invaderamputate the infected section and continue living as if nothing. Understanding how they do is the first step to be able to counteract it. Microscopic scale. To understand the importance of this finding, you must first understand how the Passopotherapy. The phages are the natural predators of the bacteria and only seek to infect them to take their control. Literally these phages adhere to the bacterial surface, inject their own genetic material and kidnap cell machinery to create thousands of copies of themselves. Finally, the bacterial cell, full of new viruses, explodes (a process called lysis), releasing the army of phages to infect their neighbors. A process that in the end is exponential and is also used with our own human cells to infect them when we have a virus inside. The biological process. The problem, as in every arms career, is that bacteria do not stay with crossed arms. The new study, focused on bacteria Bacillus subtilishas identified protein Yjbh as the orchestra director of an ingenious defense. Specifically, it has been seen that when a bassoon injected its DNA into the bacteria the bacteria andjbh detects it immediately, it joins it and confines it in a tiny area of ​​the cell, usually near one of the poles. Next, the amazing occurs: Yjbh recruits the cell division machinery to build a wall or septum right next to the infected area. From here the cell is divided asymmetrically, creating a small “mini -free” without a future that contains all the infection and expels it, while the stem cell, now free of the virus, follows its life. The study. Researchers have used various fluorescent dyes to visualize this process in real time, such as the DAPI, which dyes the DNA, and the FM4-64, which marks the cell membranes, allowing to observe the formation of these exclusion compartments. The future. This discovery is a perfect example of the evolutionary arms race between bacteria and viruses. And it is that understanding exactly as it can defend a bacteria can anticipate us to create next -generation treatments that attack this type of machinery. A target. The fact that the YJBH protein is in a wide range of gram-positive bacteria, including notorious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria Monocytogenesshow that we are not facing an anecdote, but before a very widespread defense mechanism. And now that we know him, we can begin to design strategies to overcome it. The idea would be to develop modified or “cocktails” of phages that can evade or inhibit YJBH’s action, making therapy much more effective. Although there are still challenges ahead – as the possible response of the human immune system to the phages – this type of research is fundamental. The era of antibiotics could be coming to an end, and we need urgent alternatives. “We hope that when reactivating phage therapy we can contribute to non -antibiotic treatments for infections,” concludes Ghosal. “After 100 years, it is time to reconsider the benefits of phage therapy.” Images | CDC In Xataka | The AI ​​has opened a chest that had been closed almost 4,000 million years: the salvation of antibiotics

The key to the new speakers and Amazon screens is in the design

by

At home, the practical usually wins. That’s why speakers and smart screens They have gone into the kitchen, in the living room or in the office: they upload the music while we cook, put a timer when we need it, they call who we want or turn off the lights when we are already on the couch. If we are thinking of starting or updating what we have, the key is not only “better sound”, but how it integrates into our routines and how much the little things of the day simplify us. New York has been the chosen stage to present the next wave of speakers and smart screens Echo de Amazon. We talked about Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11, all with potential improvements, design and voice process. The company insists that this generation feels the basis for the future of Alexa+its assistant with generative, although for the moment in Spain we will have to wait to know when these functions will be available. Echo Dot Max: Two speakers, best sound The Echo Dot Max is the first model of its range to incorporate two speakers and arrives with a clear promise: serious almost three times more powerful than the previous generation. Amazon explains that he completely redesigned the acoustic systemintegrating the speakers directly into the housing to double the air space and get a deeper sound. The result is a compact device, but with an improved volume and sharpness. It is a model combines a WOOFER capable of producing deep serious with three complete range speakers oriented to project sound in all directions. Is compatible with technologies such as Dolby Atmos and space audio, designed to create an immersive experience at home. All this in a spherical design with quality materials and a new visual language that accompanies the classic light ring. One of the outstanding novelties is the possibility of setting up a system of home cinema With several Echo speakers. You can combine up to five units of Echo Studio or Echo Dot Max next to a compatible SITIC Fire TV, and Alexa is responsible for synchronizing them and automatically adjusting them to space. The idea is to offer an enveloping sound without complex facilities or expensive equipment. Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11: screen with best aesthetics The new Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 stand out first for their aesthetics, but especially for the screen. Amazon explains that they have used a high density panel with more than one million pixels, which together with the In-Cell design and the negative liquid crystal, allows to reduce reflexes and optimize visibility in different lighting conditions. They also include a 13 MP camera for calls, with which they seek to improve the sharpness of the image against previous models. In the audio section, the new Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 premiere a renewed architecture. They have frontal stereo speakers and a WOOFER personalized, which according to Amazon translates into a plus enveloping space sound. The drivers are placed under the floating screen and project the audio directly to the user, with the idea of ​​achieving greater clarity and presence compared to previous generations. Next to the screens, Amazon has launched a specific accessory: an adjustable base designed for the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11. Its design is aligned with the color and finish of the devices, and allows the screen angle to vary to improve visibility in different positions. Custom processors In the heart of this new generation are two custom chips: AZ3 and Az3 Pro. The Echo Dot Max incorporates the first, with improvements in the detection of the word of activation and in the clarity of the microphones, which according to Amazon they achieve an almost a precision 50% higher compared to previous models. The Echo Studio and Echo Show 8 and 11 integrate the Az3 Pro, which expands these functions and adds support for more advanced language models and computer vision capabilities. On this hardware, Omnisense is supported, the Amazon sensor platform designed for what the company calls “environmental AI”. It resorts to the 13 MP camera combination in the Echo Show, microphones, ultrasound, Wi -Fi radar, accelerometer and network signals to adapt Alexa’s responses to the context. The idea is that the assistant can anticipate and offer more personalized and proactive interactions. Amazon stresses that this new family Echo is compatible with Alexa+your assistant proposal with generative. The company ensures that the devices are ready to take advantage of these functions, but clarifies that in markets such as Spain there is still no confirmed calendar for its arrival. Price and availability of the new Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 The four new Echo devices can already be reserved and will be available before the end of the year. These are official prices in Spain: Images | Amazon | Xataka In Xataka | Fire TV Stick 4K Select: its greatest jump does not arrive by the image, but by the future Vega Os operating system

We have taken 60 years to discover that a key treatment against diabetes does not work as we thought

by

The drugs may well be the substance that we study the most before getting the market: preclinical and clinical trials; experiments In vitroin animals and in people … everything to make sure the treatment is safe and works. But sometimes the question is another: because works. Because the answer can be so complex that we are late for decades to unravel it at all. Also in the brain. Something like that It has happened with metformina compound used for more than six decades in the treatment of diabetes: a new study has found that This drug It acts in our brain and not only in the liver as we believed before. The discovery opens the door to possible new therapeutic, more effective and precise pathways, in the treatment of diabetes. Rap1. The new study develops around Rap1 proteina protein that is usually found in the brain region known as ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). As the team observed in its analysis, metformin acts in this region “turn off” the rap1 function. Modified mice. To check it, the team administered a high fat diet, with which they emulated the effects of type 2 diabetes, to modified mice so that they did not have the rap1 protein in their VMH. Then they administered several types of drugs against diabetes: metformin, insulin and GLP-1 agonists (peptide similar to glucagon 1). When this protein disappeared, metformin ceased to be effective in reducing blood sugar while the other treatments continued to work. The team performed another test to demonstrate the key role of the brain in the functioning of metformin. For this they inject small amounts of the drug diréctorly into the brains of mice with diabetes. They were able to observe that, in doing their blood sugar levels, they decreased, even with “thousands of times smaller” doses of which they are usually administered orally. Combined action. The new study suggests that the biochemical mechanisms with which metformin acts in our body are more complex than we thought. Until now we knew that the drug acted on the liver and we also had evidence that the intestines also act. Now we not only have evidence that it acts on the brain, but it seems that in this context it responds to smaller doses than is required to act in the other areas of the body. The details of the study have been published In an article In the magazine Science Advances. New treatments. The responsible team keeps the hope that the new discovery will contribute to the development of new treatments against diabetes, drugs that focus on this “path” of the brain. The effects of this drug go beyond the control of diabetes, the team recalls: it has also been linked to slower cerebral aging. Of course, it can also have adverse effects, although uncommon, one of the most serious is lactic acidosis, a serious and potentially deadly disease. In Xataka | This is the great hope of competition to replace Ozempic. Your weapon: banish needles with a pill Image | Sweet Life

Canopo’s decree is one of the greatest mysteries to solve the ancient Egypt. And finally we have a key track to understand it

by

Egyptologists and especially those scholars dedicated to the study of hieroglyphs and The Ptolemaic dynasty They are in luck. And rightly. A team of archaeologists has located in the site of Tell el-Faran´inin the city of The Husseiniya (Sharqia), an unparalleled treasure in the last century and a half. Not because of the materials with which it is manufactured or its lavishness. No. The key is what he says, how he says it and above all what he does not say. What experts have found is neither more nor less than a famous stone trail Canopo decree. Of course, a very special. What is Canopo’s decree? A Egyptian decree promulgated by the king Ptolemy III Evergetes on a deck of 238 AC, in full Ptolomeics dynasty. The document was written after the high priests met in the city of Canopusto the east of Alexandria, to honor the monarch, his wife Berenice and the little daughter of both, who died by those same dates. It may sound boring, but the decree has been fascinating the Egyptologists. The text exalts the figure of the monarchs (“The benevolent gods”), their donations, campaigns and veneration in the temples. Also of more practical issues, such as the decision to lower taxes those years in which crops did not receive enough water from the Nile, or the creation of a new priestly range and a religious holiday. Another of the ads that it collects is the deification of the deceased daughter of Ptolemy III Evergetes and Berenice, which was called as her mother. Does it say anything else? Yes. Among other issues, the introduction of a new system of leap years which would add an extra day every four years to adjust it to religious rituals. Ptolemy III wanted that additional day to commemorate him and his wife, but the idea He didn’t finish curdling. Today it reminds us how advanced Egyptian astronomy was and how it advanced to Julian calendarintroduced by Julio César in the 46 AC replacing the Roman. Beyond what he says, the decree is valuable for how he says it. The document makes it clear that its content should be expressed in stelae that mixed three different writing systems: Egyptian hieroglyphs, The demotic and The Greek Koiné. The copies should also be distributed among the main temples for the edict to reach every corner of the kingdom. When in the nineteenth century the archaeologist Karl Richard Lepsius He discovered one of those specimens in Tanis, he found a valuable help to decipher the hieroglyphs. So or even more than Rosetta stone. How is the new wake? Of sandstone, 127.5 centimeters high and 83 wide, with a thickness of 48. Its upper part is rounded and, in addition to the registration of the central section, distributed over 30 hieroglyph lines carved in relief, the stone shows some interesting decorations. The design is crowned by a large winged solar disk flanked by two royal cobras that show the white and red crowns of Egypt, symbol of the union of the two lands. In the center, an inscription stands out in which “Di-Ank” can be read, a message that could be translated as “the one that gives life.” Why does the finding matter? Because the copies of Canopo decree do not abound. Or at least we have not found them. As remember The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, the wake found in Tell el-Faran´in will join the other six known and unearthed versions inKom el-hisn, Tanis either Tell enough. Some are complete. Another are just fragments. “This discovery is considered the most significant of its kind in more than 150 years, since since then no new and complete version of the decree has been found,” Underline. Does it differ in something? Yes. And that is one of the reasons why the wake recovered in Tell el-Faran´in has generated so much interest. Although the decree of Ptolemy III made it clear that it should be captured in stelae that combined the three writing systems (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek), the specimen we just found shows only one. This was confirmed by Mohamed Ismail Khaled, of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, who Clarify that the wake is written “entirely in hieroglyphs”, which differentiates it from other previous trilingual versions. What is it for? Beyond the obvious historical, archaeological and patrimonial value of the finding, Tell el-Faran´in wake has a key utility. From the outset, it has served the Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, to breastfeed for the “continuous achievements” of the archaeological missions of the country and the “support” of the government to the excavation campaigns, something that feels especially good in full controversy by the Tourist megaproject of the Sinai. Political issues apart, scholars are relying on squeezing the content of the wake. The authorities expect them to help them expand their knowledge about the real and religious documents of the Ptolemaic era and “enrich” the understanding of that historical period. If something has aroused interest, it is, however, that the stone includes a single writing system, which seems an exception to the norm that includes the decree. “Open new horizons for our understanding of the language and provides additional information about Ptolemaic decrees, as well as about real and religious ceremonial systems,” Add the government. Images | Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egypt government and Wikipedia In Xataka | A 2,000 -year -old cup has revealed an unexpected facet of the Egyptians: psychedelic cocktails

one million terabytes and 24,000 nvidia chips for a key mission

by

In an increasingly digitized world and where artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we work, investigate and relate, the supercomputing has established itself as the rod of measure technological power. It is a strategic resource that allows us to accelerate advances in science, innovation and defense. Not all super -taders play in the same league. Frontierof the United States Department of Energy, marked a milestone in 2022 by becoming the first to officially overcome the exaescala barrier, with 1,102 Exaflops in the Benchmark HPL. To that achievement they joined later The Captain and Auroraalso on American soil, consolidating its leadership position on paper. In the case of China, the information remains opaque, With very few public data about the status of their projects. Europe, however, just moved. Your first superorous to exaescala is already underway: Jupiter. Installed in the Jülich Supercomputing Centerin Germany, one of the most important advanced research poles of the continent. Jupiter is driven by the platform Nvidia Grace Hopper And Evidan xh3000 Bullsequana architecture is based on a liquid -refrigerated system designed to squeeze efficiency and performance. It is expected to reach up to 90 exaflops in artificial intelligence loads. Their applications will be diverse: from climatic research to neuroscience and quantum simulation, placing Europe in a new calculation capacity league. An inauguration with historical air September 5 The official inauguration ceremony in Jülich took placewith the presence of German authorities, European and leaders of the technology industry. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz presented him as a Pioneer project for Europe. “With Jupiter, Germany now has the fastest supercomputer in Europe and the fastest room in the world. Open completely new possibilities, from the training of AI models to scientific simulations.” In the Top500 list, Jupiter already appears as the fourth Most powerful supercomputer in the world, only behind the Captain, Frontier and Aurora in the United States. The European Union stands outIn addition, what works entirely with renewable energyby hiring green supply on the German network, and that its Rack Jedi leads the Green500 energy efficiency classification. The figures behind Jupiter To understand its magnitude, just review some technical data: 24,000 superchips nvidia gh200 grace hopper 51,000 network connections with infiniband quantum-2 technology Storage capacity close to an exabyte Modular installation with 50 specialized containers Maximum consumption of 17 MW, equivalent to about 11,000 homes A rack called Jedi leads the World Energy Efficiency Classification Why is it relevant to Europe Europe had been behind in the supercomputing career for years, with a landscape dominated by the United States. JUPITER offers researchers, companies and academic centers direct access to a top -level machine without depending on external resources. This means forming their own talent, consolidating experience in the management of these systems and reinforcing technological sovereignty at a time when artificial intelligence and calculation capacity have become strategic issues. Concrete applications The first projects already selected show how far a supercomputer of this category can go: Climate: The ECMWF works with a kilometer scale simulations, capable of representing extreme storms and feeding the Destination Earth project, whose objective is to build digital twins of the planet European: The Trustllm consortium trains language models in multiple European languages ​​for industrial and scientific applications Neuroscience: With the arbor simulator, neurons behavior will be modeled at the subcellular level, key to developing therapies against diseases such as Alzheimer’s Quantum: JUPITER aims to exceed the 50 -QBITS record in simulation, a relevant step towards quantum practical computing Astrophysics: The Max Planck Institute will use it to study cosmic reion, the period in which the first stars and galaxies emerged Particle physics: The University of Wuppertal will increase the resolution of its calculations on the Mon, which could open the door to new discoveries Video models: The University of Munich explores compression and dissemination architectures to advance applications that go from medicine to autonomous driving Multimodal models: The University of Lisbon Scale open and multilingual models, integrating different fields of science and automatic learning Access and future Researchers may request access to the system in calls that will be held twice a year. At the moment, there are already 30 projects underway. The expected useful life is at least six years, which guarantees continuity and stability in a land where technological cycles are increasingly fast. A strategic movement Jupiter is not just a technological achievement. It is a strategic commitment to provide Europe on their own capacity in an area where part of the future of artificial science and intelligence is played. With him, the continent finally has a tool that allows him compete at the highest levelwith energy efficiency and technological independence. Images | Nvidia | Jülich Supercomputing Center In Xataka | Alibaba has just demonstrated that Openai spends 78 million to do the same as them for $ 500,000

‘Operation Triunfo’ is the prime video tool to grow at full speed. The key is in Latin America

by

Although the audience figures did not seem clear until Operation Triunfo 2023 concluded, the program He ended up throwing a very positive balancebecoming the most watched national premiere in the history of prime video in Spain. Therefore, the platform has decided to bet strongly on this new stage, seeking to maximize its scope, and devote itself especially as a cultural reference for generation Z and decisively reaching various Latin American countries. Some figures. Among the things that Prime Video has told is that it reached 3.5 million unique viewers during its 14 weeks of broadcast. A triumph that extended, as Amazon will certainly interest, Beyond the mere audience Of the platform: in its 14 weeks of broadcast, Amazon registered one million visits to the OT thematic store, 720,000 interactions with Alexa and 66 million votes through the app. They are additional business routes that corroborate why OT is so important for the digital store economy. Audience involved. The great triumph of the program (worth the redundancy) has been to earn to very involved spectators with the format: 8.6 million weekly votes and 1.6 million records in the app (the previous record was at 820,000) that add up to those mentioned 66 million; 5,000 million global visualizations and 80,000 publications in Tiktok; a peak of 180,000 users connected simultaneously on YouTube; And more than 27,000 attendees in disc firms, so that everything is not virtual. And in addition, of course, hashtags about the program after in the list of Twitter trends every Monday, on many occasions monopolizing the first ten positions and making the edition of constant conversation during its 14 weeks. For all of Latin America. ‘OT 2025 ‘premieres on September 15 at 10:00 p.m. in Spain with simultaneous live transmission for the first time in its history for six Latin American countries: Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Peru. It is a Amazon response to the growing demand of the fans of the program and, above all, wants to take ‘OT’ beyond Spain, and that Prime Video impacts more globally. Undoubtedly, an ambitious intention but that if it is possible to give an extraordinary dissemination to the program. To increase this impact will bet on social networkswith 15 weekly minutes with which the contestants to generate content in a “Tiktok Corner” within the Academy, with live reactions on Fridays on social networks at 15. Again, as happened last year, social networks will form a primary part of the Amazon strategy. There will also be new weekly programs: ‘OT connection (Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00 p.m.) and’ Face B ‘(Sunday, also at eight in the afternoon). Technological investment To provide viewers A program at the heightAmazon has put on their feet the greatest scenario in the history of Prime Video, with 358 m² of LED screens, 10 cameras, including the Spderm, and more than 750 lighting devices. It is a considerable technological leap and as Amazon has revealed to the press, it is only the spearhead of a very ambitious project, where everything is integrated more organically than in previous stages. For example, the study where ‘connection ot’ is recorded just below the academy, so that there is immediate access to teachers and contestants. And there will be no post -grooves or videosumeros: everything will be part of the gala. Youth is sought. Therefore, expand borders, more programs and support determined to the possibilities of social networks. All with a very clear intention: to appeal to the interests of generation Z, which is able to make a fan phenomenon germinate that is the one that really gives life to this type of programs. In search of the youngest generations of spectators to get the format, which is already 24 years old, it remains fresh. Header | Amazon In Xataka | How Prime Video Use Chenoa and ‘Operation Triunfo’ to destroy the tired audiences of traditional TV

We are running out of a key material to build roads and homes. And the guilt has the war in Ukraine

by

In the middle of the month of May a photo seemed to have sneaked between the “normality” of some remote roads from Teruel. The constant coming and going of loaded trucks up to clay He had the answer to thousands of kilometers, in the epicenter of the war in Ukraine. The shortage of the material because of the conflict had found a solution in southern Europe. But now it is, perhaps, more dangerous. We are running out of TNT. From the boom to the agency. I told it a few hours ago The New York Times. For more than a century, Trinitrotoluene (TNT) was a pillar of the American military and civil industry, with millions of tons produced for The two world wars and the second half of the twentieth century. Cheap and abundant (it cost just 50 cents per pound), it became key input for projectiles, pumps and the construction of roads, infrastructure and homes. The problem? That its production generated highly toxic waste, which led to the closing of the last national plant In the eighties. Since then, Washington became dependent on foreign suppliers, mainly in China, Russia, Poland and Ukraine, which assumed the environmental costs of their manufacture. The impact of war. The Russian invasion in 2022 transformed that scheme. The United States stopped recycling explosives of obsolete arsenals, by deciding allocate your production to kyiv. At the same time, Russia and China They cut Exports to the West, leaving the American industry without access to its usual sources. Thus, the European conflict triggered a World TNT scarcity with direct consequences for arms production and, very important, also for civil sectors such as mining and construction. Effects. The lack of TNT Threat with slowing down Infrastructure projects, from roads and bridges to the supply of cement and basic materials. He underlined the Times that the usual procedure in quarries (where minimal loads of TNT detonate ammonium nitrate mixtures with other compounds) has been affected by the reduction of supplies. The use of drones, 3D scanners and digital calculations allows more precise and safe explosions, capable of moving More than 100,000 tons of rock in a single shot, but without TNT the processes lose efficacy, which raises costs and threatens the availability of raw materials. The United States response. Given the shortage, Congress approved the construction of a new TNT plant in Kentucky, with a Budget of 435 million of dollars. It is planned to start operating in 2028, but, and very important, it will only produce for military use, without supplying the civil sector. No doubt, this reflects a clear priority: ensure the autonomy of the military-industrial complex against external dependence, although leaving without immediate solution the problem of extractive and construction industries. In parallel, the pentagon works in Diversify suppliers and increase the internal production of other explosives and propellant. Alternatives and scenarios. At present, the industry seeks substitutes such as The Petn (Tetranitrate Pentaeritritol), which is already manufactured in three US facilities, although its capacity is limited and it is not clear if it can be climbed quickly. Meanwhile, the country’s army has given signs of having assured Additional TNT sources out of Poland, although Without revealing details. In any case, the situation raises a strategic dilemma: the dependence on obsolete material but irreplaceable in many processes, whose absence threatens both the war capacity and the stability of basic sectors of the economy. TNT’s scarcity exposes, one more timehow a distant war can disrupt critical supply chains and force industrial powers to rethink their energy, technological and military security. Image | Operational Command “West” In Xataka | Ukraine has entered a phase so deranged with the drones that his drones are knocking themselves to themselves In Xataka | Someone has taken a look at Russia’s satellite images and has discovered something: it is running out of tanks

Breaking a bad habit is difficult, but not impossible. The key is to make your brain hate it

by

Habits have a very important role in daily life. In fact, as indicated in the book ‘Emotional Intelligence: Good habits‘ Harvard Business Review, approximately half of our daily actions are based on habits that we repeat without just realizing. However, the same mechanism that anchors good habits, also explains why changing a bad habit may seem like a task almost impossible. It is not only willpower, but to understand how our brain works and how habits are anchored in it. Why do we adopt bad habits? We know that leading a sedentary life is not healthy, that navigating Tiktok video video until many in the morning Take takes the next day and that smoking seriously harms our health. However, such and As explained to Harvard Business Review Judson Brewer, neuroscientist and author of the book ‘Undo the anxiety‘, we cannot avoid falling into any of these negative habits, and eliminating them is very uphill. According to Brewer, the environment in which we live is designed to bombard us with stimuli that reinforce those habits, especially negatives. The rewards that our brain receives when performing certain behaviors alter our Reward -based learning systemso a pattern difficult to break is created. “Every time we try to disconnect from an exhausting task (with social networks), we reinforce the reward, to the point that harmful distractions can become habits.” However, although it is not a simple process, research carried out by Brewer demonstrate that it is possible to change the bad habits definitively. Understanding the response mechanism that articulates them gives us the tools to achieve it. Bad habits have their origin in the way our brain learns through an immediate rewards system (yes, as in Animal training). These behavioral patterns arise because they reinforce the feeling of pleasure or relief quickly. This rewards system implies a trigger (hunger sensation), followed by behavior (eating) and a reward (feel satiated). “These three components (trigger, behavior and reward) appear every time we smoke a cigarette or eat a cake,” says the neuroscientist. Detect the origin of bad habit Bad habits are not eliminated, they are only replaced by good habits. Therefore, one of the important steps of the process to get rid of them is to find the trigger that generates the action to seek the reward. “Once you know your triggers, try to identify the behaviors you make when these bad habits occur. Do you look at social networks instead of working? Do you eat sweets during difficult tasks? You should be able to identify the actions to which you resort to feel comfortable or quiet before you can evaluate your reward value.” For this reason, the neuroscientist ensures that knowing the scenario in which activation occurs and what action is carried out to obtain the reward is one of the key points so that it is easier to eliminate bad habits. For example, eating sweets would be the search for reward that is activated by a situation of stress or anxiety, and sugar rush reward. Avoid or learn to manage the stress situation It is the first step to subtract weight from sugar reward. The key: break the reward chain According to studies of the University of Utrecht (Netherlands), self -control alone is not enough to eliminate a habit, since the brain associates that behavior with a reward that temporarily cancels rational thinking. No smoker will tell you that tobacco It is beneficial for healthbut even so smokes. A fundamental step to break with a bad habit is to reduce or eliminate the reward that the brain receives. That implies not only changing the behavior itself, but also the context that activates it and the associated sensations. Modifying those three elements: detonating, behavior and reward, it is basic for the brain to stop finding satisfaction in that behavior and abandons the need to carry it out. Brewer’s investigations have revealed that an effective way to face bad habits is to replace them with behaviors that offer similar, but positive health or well -being rewards. One of the techniques that Brewer has used with his patients full care training to teach the brain that this behavior is not only benefits, but also represents something unpleasant or even harmfulcausing him to hate him and not look for him anymore. The neuroscientist said that, when someone joined his program to quit smoking, the first thing he asked is to pay attention while smokeing: to the smell, the environment, to the sensation when smoking, etc. The objective of this exercise is that patients become aware of the “value of the reward” and if this value, which probably had positive connotations (social acceptance, etc.), still remains. Studies From the University of Bethesda they have shown that if that reward is no longer appreciated as it used to be, it is less likely that the brain will claim it and, with it, it will be easier to get rid of that bad habit. This can be applied to any other habit that the past may have a positive connotation, but has already been diluted. According to Brewer, an important factor is in question what gives you that bad habit before consuming it and analyzing how you feel before, during and after the process from a critical point of view, instead of simply having a reactive behavior of repentance after having obtained the reward. “Your behaviors may not change immediately, but persevere. If you manage to control your mind with our methods, over time you can free yourself from unwanted habits and see how your cravings disappear with peace of mind,” said the neuroscientist. In Xataka | Creating new habits is difficult. The author of “atomic habits” believes that there is something even more complicated: keep them Image | Unspash (Oskar Kadaksoo, Lilartsy)

Nox’s key to convert the nighttime train into the alternative to the plane

by

The train is the Interior mobility dorsal spine from many countries, but although in territories such as the European there is a good international connection, Short low-cost flights They have eaten this emblematic transport. Although there are still diurnal trains operators and, above all, Night that connect those countriesbut now one that wants not only to offer an attractive option to tour Europe, but also stand up to the plane. His name is Noxand the bet is the price and private cabins. Wake up at destiny. In June of this year, He was born The German Startup Nox. Its objective is to offer an attractive solution for those who seek An alternative to the plane In a more comfortable, sustainable and, above all, private transport. Its founders are two veterans in the railway sector and consider that The night train It should cease to be that romantized experience to become a fundamental piular in Europe’s international transportation. Cabinas. They look for a change of model, replacing short distance flights with night -train journeys designed for both those who travel for work and for tourists who want to rest and dawn in the destination. The main difference with the plane (beyond airport times), and with other night trains is the system of cabins they propose. All will be private, they will have two meters and there will be Three categories: Individual loft for a single traveler. Double loft with convertible bunk. Double view with second floor bed, seats and panoramic window. The trains will have food, drink and space for bicycles, and also devoted themselves to recycle trains that are discarded every year in all countries, reconvirting them to offer this new cabin experience. Destinations. Those responsible hope to start operations in 2027, although we still have some renders of the project, and want to start with about 30 routes that will later expand up to 100 European cities. By 2035, they want to have large centers such as Barcelona, ​​Paris, Amsterdam, Budapest, Rome or Warsaw, among others, with a connection that will be central to central-city, something with which the plane cannot compete. Among its objectives, the range will be 1,200 kilometers away maximum per route for an optimal 12 -hour travel time. The price controversy. This is a crucial point and the bet is from 79 euros per individual room and from 149 euros for double and per night. It is a very interesting price, but you have to see how realistic it is. According to the German Aerospace Center, low -cost airlines They charged In 2024 an average of 79.33 euros per night tickets for journeys between 500 and 1,500 kilometers. Is aligned with the price with which NOx wants to operate, but in back on track They already calculate that those 79 euros can only be the entrance price and that the average should be exceeding 100 euros. According to the organization’s calculations, a night train with an average occupation of 75% and a maximum of 500 seats, would have a journey of 27,000 euros at the prices that NOX expects, assuming a deficit of about 9,000 euros per route to cover costs. They are not alone. As we say, several night trains operate in Europe, but Nox’s great argument is that of privacy. And apart from the fact that there are several companies offering this transport service, there is a whole movement to enhance the use of night trains. This is the aforementioned Back-on-Track, who seek to enhance this way of traveling as One of the tools that Europe has To reduce, According to themup to 3% their contribution to Climate change If used trains instead of aircraft on short and medium distance trips. In Xataka | Renfe has joined the “Slow Luxury” with a luxury alternative to visit Andalusia: Al-Andalus with tickets at 14,000 euros

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.