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The two-finger rule for sunscreen doesn’t fail, but this expert has taken it to the next level

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At this point in the film, we are all clear about the importance of using sunscreen. Well maybe everyone except Marcos Llorente. The point is that, no matter how much we understand that we must protect ourselves from solar radiation, we do not always know how to do it optimally. For example, the amount of sunscreen is an essential point to which we do not always pay enough attention. It is recommended to use 2 milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skinwhich are equivalent to some 9 teaspoons for the entire body of an average adult. The problem is that it is difficult to measure in parts (the face, arms, legs, etc.). Therefore, for the face there is the two-finger rule. We should cover the inner surface of our index and middle fingers with a line of sunscreen to know we are using enough. Many people already do it, but they run into a problem: maybe it’s fine for the beach, but for everyday life it’s too much. Fortunately, there are solutions, as you have explained. in an article for New Scientist the skin cancer expert at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia Rachel Neale. The key is to use two layers If we put two fingers of sunscreen directly on our face we will see that it becomes very loaded with product. If the cream contains physical filterswe may possibly become a whitish ghost. If they are chemicals, it may not look white, but we will notice it heavy. Therefore, Neale’s advice is very simple: Apply sunscreen in two layers. She says that she normally puts on half the recommended amount of sunscreen, spreads it well, and moves on to do another task, like brushing her teeth. Once this task is completed, the first layer should have already been absorbed, so move on to the second. With the two finger rulethe process is very simple. We covered a finger in cream, applied it, waited, and then applied another finger covered in sun cream. What about the amount of sunscreen on the rest of the body? The two-finger rule is very comfortable for the face, because it is the part of the body that we protect ourselves most daily, so we don’t need to go looking for a measuring spoon. On the other hand, if we are going to expose the rest of the body, as happens on the beach or the pool, we could use a dessert spoon to calculate the quantities. At least until we learn to do it by eye. We have seen that they are recommended 9 teaspoons for the whole body. To distribute them, we must use two teaspoons for the torso and back, another two for each leg, one for each arm and another for the face, neck and the head. In that case, don’t forget the back of the neck and ears, as they are areas that we sometimes forget about and that burn frequently, leaving them more exposed to skin cancer. Finally, if the feet are going to be exposed, we should invest an extra teaspoon on them. It is important to insist that these amounts are for an average adult. You may need to use more or less, depending on body size. Be that as it may, the key is to put ourselves a thick layer all over the body and, above all, reapply whenever necessary. It is usually recommended to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or after bathing, sweating, or drying with a towel. In any case, the most intuitive thing is, if you see that your skin is getting too hot and you haven’t finished applying the cream, reapply it just in case. Think that, if you frequently go to the beach or the pool, it is not normal that with a sun cream bottle have for the whole summer. It has happened to all of us, but once you become aware of the appropriate amount of sunscreen you realize that you need several. Images | Magnificent | Isedeh et al In Xataka | Science warns of the dangerous success of anti-suncream hoaxes on TikTok: “Despite being a minority, this content is influential”

Switzerland thought that putting 5,000 solar panels at 2,500 meters above sea level was crazy. He had an unexpected ally: the snow

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The logic of the solar sector tells us that the panels should go down, where it is hot and the roads reach without problem. It shouldn’t be a good idea to put them on top of a mountain, but a project in the Swiss Alps it has surprised us with extraordinary performance. The curious thing is that what drives his performance is exactly what many assumed would make him fail. A solar farm in an unexpected place. The installation is called AlpinSolar and is located on the dam of Lake Muttsee, in the Swiss canton of Glarus, one hour from Zurich. This construction is located at 2,500 meters above sea level and is the highest dam in Europe, as well as the longest in Switzerland. Panels everywhere. Some 5,000 bifacial solar panels, manufactured by the Swiss company Megasol, cover more than a kilometer of the dam wall, facing south to capture sun from morning to night. Being an inclined surface, the snow slides alone without the need for manual cleaning. A complex installation. The dam is inaccessible by land, so every panel, every piece and every tool had to be transport by helicopter. For example, the crane that helped install the panels, and whose components were moved there to then be assembled and ready to operate. Megavarious out of nowhere. The plant, operational from 2022, has an installed power of 2.2 MW and generates about 3.3 million kWh per year, enough to supply between 700 and 750 homes according to various sources. damn fog. The Alpine country generates plenty of electricity in summer, but the same does not happen in winter, which is exactly when it needs it most. That deficit could worsen significantly if Switzerland starts to close its nuclear power plants, and alternatives such as wind energy, have had difficulties developing there. Traditional solar doesn’t help much either: a panel in the valley only generates a quarter of its normal output in winter, in part because fog can sit in low-lying areas for weeks. Better up than down. The curious thing is that the idea of ​​installing the solar farm at high altitude turned the situation around. The plant is above the fog line, and the thin, clean air lets in more sunlight. The cold, far from reducing performance, helps: solar panels work more efficiently when they are not overheated. And the snow acts like a giant mirror, reflecting additional light onto the panels from below (albedo effect), which can boost production. Surprise. AlpinSolar generates about half of its entire annual production during the winter, exactly the season in which the country needed it most. In fact, it produces up to three times more than a similar plant in low altitude areas during the months of February and March. That was enough argument for the Denner supermarket chain to sign an agreement 20-year energy purchase agreement with the project in an alliance with Axpo and IWB, builders and developers of the project. To copy the project. The result has also ended up convincing the Swiss government, which approved a fast-track law dubbed “Solar Express” to facilitate the development of new projects that effectively leave AlpinSolar behind. Among them stands out an alpine park near Sedrun in which up to 4,200 solar projects are planned to be built in lowland and mountain areas of the country. Austria, Italy and other countries are following the experiment closely. That and othersby the way. Image | Axpo In Xataka | The wind industry has been dreaming for years of a turbine that can be assembled without concrete or machinery. France has said ‘hold my tank’“

sea ​​level rises

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The Child it’s already here and official data points to a potentially very strong event. NOAA, which a month ago saw no reason to worry, now gives a 63% probability to what meteorologists call SuperNiño. Meanwhile, NASA has already detected that Peru’s sea level is 15 cm above average. It’s just the beginning: more than 25 degrees are expected in the coming months. And what does all this mean? Nobody knows very well. On the one hand, NOAA itself explains that “even very strong El Niño events do not produce the expected impact everywhere; stronger events only tip the odds further.” As Severine Fournier saysdeputy scientific director of Sentinel-6, “each El Niño is different, but they almost always bring a warm year and large changes in rainfall in parts of the planet.” And it is logical: “El Niño” only means that the absence of strong trade winds that cool the surface of the equatorial Pacific causes the temperature of that area of ​​the ocean to skyrocket. And it is this, through different atmospheric teleconnectionswhich disrupts all the weather systems in the world. But, for that to happen, the effects of the heat of the equatorial Pacific have to interact with a lot of systems and the result is unpredictable. On the other hand, at least on paper, we are on the verge of what may be the largest event ever recorded. Nobody knows if from a certain moment onwards the rules we knew are broken. So… Can we say that we are heading towards a SuperChild? As is evident, the climatic situation that is causing climate change increases the degree of uncertainty of everything. However, the data are very clear: in the last 76 years we have only seen eight cases like the current one (which, starting from a winter in a cold phase – La Niña – have reached summer in a warm phase). None of those cases ended with a decaffeinated El Niño. In each and every one of them, rapid warming was followed by climate ‘curves’. The ground was the 1951 event that remained ‘moderate’ (although there is debate as to whether it was stronger, but we were unable to measure it well for technical reasons). It is true that eight cases is not too many. But, for now, we know that the probability of him being a SuperChild is very high and that the probability of him becoming weak is almost negligible. Image | BenBaso In Xataka | One of the worst news of the year comes from this red box: the projections have just put on the table the worst El Niño in 140 years

Some astronomers made a paella at 2,000 meters above sea level in Almería. And they discovered the best cooking point for rice

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If you like cook a paellait is best that you do it on the coast. And not only because of how pleasant the impression of having a rice at the beach bar looking at the sea is. Also because, basically, it will cook better. Astronomers know this well. Calar Alto Observatoryin Almería, who have a curious anecdote with this story. It wasn’t the chef’s fault.. Years ago, the astronomers at the Calar Alto Observatory enjoyed the dishes prepared by a magnificent chef, from a small town in the province of Almería, during their work days. In his municipality he was known precisely for the quality of his rice. However, I had a thorn in my side with the paellas I was trying to prepare at the observatory. Rice never suited him. At least, not as tasty as normally. In Xataka We have spoken about it with Ana Guijarro, one of the astronomers at this observatory. One day she explained to him that he should not martyr himself. The fault was not his, but rather the fact that the facilities They are 2,168 meters above sea level. The physics behind. As we rise meters above sea level, the atmospheric pressure is lower. To understand it, we can visualize it: there is less column of air above our heads, therefore there is also less pressure acting on them. The boiling point of liquids depends on the pressure. If we heat waterthe molecules that make it up will move faster and faster, colliding with each other. When they reach the surface, they may attempt to “escape,” turning into vapor. However, atmospheric pressure pushes them down and prevents this from happening. If the atmospheric pressure decreases, so does the boiling point. That is, the temperature at which the liquid can begin to turn into vapor. At sea level, the boiling temperature of water is 100ºC. However, at 2,168 meters, water boils at approximately 92.6ºC. A cooking class. For rice to cook properly, it is necessary for the starch in its grains to hydrate and gelatinize correctly, and for that to happen, sufficient heat is needed. The problem is that, when a liquid boils, all its energy is invested precisely in that change of state instead of continuing to raise the temperature. The 100ºC at sea level, or 92ºC at higher altitudes, remain stable so that the liquid turns into a gas. Therefore, there is not enough temperature to process the rice grains in the best possible way. And what about Andean rice? In the Andean countries there are many rice-based dishes that are very tasty. The height is even higher than that of the Calar Alto Observatory, but in these places, where they have no choice but to cook at high altitudes, They have a very precious trick: the pressure cooker. Precisely the objective of this utensil is to artificially increase the pressure, so that the boiling point rises and the food can be cooked for longer. It is valid for rice and all types of stews. Even at sea level it is very precious for cooking certain dishes, such as stews. Sometimes physics makes it difficult for us, but there are tricks to deal with it. It’s not just a matter of rice. Ana Guijarro tells us that this does not only happen with rice. “For example, tea or any infusion They don’t taste the same in the mountains, because the water boils at a lower temperature and that affects the extraction of the flavor that these things have.” It is something that can frustrate a chef a lot, but with which people who, like astronomers, usually work many meters above sea level, are more than familiar. Better paella on the beach. In short, the next time you have a paella on the beach, remember that it is the best place you can have it. And everything is much more enjoyable when you know the science behind it. Images | MagnificentJorgechp In Xataka | The paella Taliban have been growing strong for years. More and more evidence points to the contrary.

The good news is that the Ebro reservoirs are at a historic 85% water level. The bad thing is that we are going to spend it in a short time.

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There are 6,640 hm3 of water in the Ebro basin. The reservoirs are at 85.1% of its total capacity at what is its highest level (for this date) of the decade. And yet, the fact that there is a lot of water is not news. All of Spain is the same (83.3%). The news is that we are going to spend it. A structural problem called ‘Mediterranean’. Every year, the pressure of the Mediterranean summer and the irrigation campaign empty the reservoirs very quickly. AND, as history has shown usthere is never too much water: “each dry period has served to implement emergency measures for agriculture that were not eliminated when the rains returned, they were used to expand irrigation, aggravating the problem in the following drought”, said Ana Tudela and Antonio Delgado. And that, precisely that, is what we are about to see. The complete image. Seeing the figures for the reservoirs can lead us to forget that, just three years ago, 85% of the basin’s surface was in “prolonged drought“and 45% of them declared themselves in shortage emergency. Mequinenza, the largest swamp, reached historic lows. It was a catastrophe not only in water terms, but also in energy terms. Now, however, all that is in the past. And Say’s Law lurks in the dark. What the old French economist Jean-Baptiste Say argued at the end of the 19th century is that “every supply creates its own demand“and, translated into this situation, this means that the fact that there is more water generates all the incentives in the world for there to be more irrigation. As soon as we do it, this becomes clear. After all, not all of the basin’s storage capacity is enough for a full year of agricultural demand. Without the annual rainfall and the melting of snow, we could already consider all its reserves exhausted. March is the key month. The irrigation campaign runs from April to September and that means that March is the key month for planning the year. It is true that the thaw has not yet begun (which this year is going to be very intense), but it helps us estimate what quantities of water are really available. All irrigated agriculture in the valley depends on the water we are able to store during the spring. The question from now on becomes: how do we conserve as much water as possible before we once again enter a situation of risk? And the problem is that we don’t have answers. Especially in a regulatory context in which are not foreseen widespread restrictions on irrigation. Economic, social and institutional incentives tell us that we are not yet prepared, as a country, to address the really important question: we do not have a water problem, we have a consumption problem. There is still room for improvement in management, yes. But that won’t solve the problem: it only postpones it. And that 85% of reservoir water has given us unbeatable weather, we just have to hope that we can take advantage of it. Image | Manuel Torres Garcia In Xataka | The great battle of the Ebro is not between Murcia and Aragón, it is between the headwaters of the rivers, the large cities and the delta

The Tagus reservoirs have reached their maximum level. The response of the authorities has been to empty them immediately

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1,639.67 hm3 of water. That is what the Entrepeñas and Buendía reservoirs store today at the head of the Tagus. This means that they have reached 65.11% of their capacity (compared to 48.52% last year) and, more importantly, that have reached level 1the maximum possible step. Finally, some good news! After years of hardship, the river has reached its “dream level.” Then, we are going to empty it. As? This same week, the Tajo-Segura Transfer Exploitation Commission is going to propose sending 180 hm3 of water to the Segura basin. It will be done in stages over three months. And the truth is that it was something totally predictable: the growth of reserves in the headwaters of the river has reached milestones that we have not seen since the late 90s. In application of the transfer rules that were set in 2013the irrigators of Segura request that the necessary procedures be activated so that they can give them the water that is theirs. What happens is that the political mess is enormous. What is happening with the water of the Tagus? Basically, by virtue of the Tagus Hydrological Plan, approved in 2023the transfer rules had to be updated to adapt them to the current reality. It has been tried; late, but it has been tried. What happens is that the process (due to the enormous political costs it entails) has been stalled for months and months. Right now, he is stopped waiting for pending resolutions in the Supreme Court. This has generated a very complicated situation: the plan that was going to be approved included a progressive reduction of transfers up to 40% in the next five years. The stated intention was recover the Tagus River and look for management formats that do not focus on specific moments (“emptying the pantry just when we have finished filling it”), but on more global measures that do not compromise the management of the basins in the medium term. But since it is not approved, the law is clear: Segura can claim its water and the Exploitation Commission will proceed to send it. The central issue is whether all this is a mirage or not. It is not lost on anyone that this January has not been a normal month (it has been the rainiest in the last 25 years) and, for this reason, each of the parties wants to use ‘this gift from heaven‘ for their own interests: some to regenerate the Tagus (and ensure the economic activity linked to it) and the others to keep the Segura agroindustry alive. That is, we have to choose at the worst possible moment: with the elections just around the corner. Image | Maria LVRZ In Xataka | The water from the Tagus is going to stay in Castilla-La Mancha. So Alicante and Murcia already have a plan B: set up desalination plants

Your experience at Xataka goes up a level with exclusive newsletters, raffles, El Consultorio and more

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Xataka was born in 2004 as a blog for technology fans, and boy has it rained since then. Cell phones were not from that time smartphonesMP3 players were the fashionable devices and I don’t think anyone, not even us, imagined everything that was going to come next. But there is something that has not changed since then: the support we have received all these years from all of you, our xatakeros and xatakeras. Today I want to tell you what the next step is for Xataka, something we have been working on for almost more than a year. Today we announce the arrival of Xataka Xtraa new subscription community with which we want to offer a much more direct relationship between the public and the editorial staff, in addition to including some advantages that we think may interest you. But before going on to detail what Xataka Xtra is, I’m going to skip all the style rules and explain to you what it is not: It’s not a paywall. I want to make this clear from the beginning. Xataka Xtra It is, as its name suggests, an “extra.” A way that we propose to support all of us who make this medium. But the usual Xataka experience does not change: everyone will be able to continue enjoying our open content as before. Xtra is an “plus” for those who want to support us and go a little further. And yes, under subscription. We are aware of “subscription fatigue”, ourselves we have talked about her. In an increasingly hostile environment for those of us who create content for the web, initiatives like this allow us to continue doing what we do and, in the process, thank you for your support through different advantages. Our priority has been to design a value experience while keeping the price as low as possible: at Xataka Xtra you can support us for what a coffee costs each month. We want to continue making content made by humans and for humans. Made by us for you. And we want to maintain a closer and more exclusive relationship with our xatakeros and xatakeras, something that on a large scale today is practically impossible but that we do believe we can achieve with the Xtra Community. And now, let’s explain what it includes Xataka Xtra. What advantages does Xataka Xtra include? Three exclusive newsletters: Chip War (weekly, every Monday): The semiconductor industry is the technological, economic and geopolitical battlefield of our time. Every week we analyze what is happening in the race for chips: from the tensions between the United States and China to the decisions of TSMC, Intel, SK Hynix or Samsung that will determine who leads the next decade. Next X (biweekly, every other Thursday): Biweekly analysis of the trends in technology and science that are changing the present and will define the future: AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, space exploration. Context and perspective on where we are going and why it matters. B-sides (weekly, every Saturday): Five curious and fascinating readings each week. Strange, counterintuitive or unexpected stories that we find on the Internet and that deserve your attention. From industrial accidents that changed the world to surprising scientific research or absurdities of late capitalism. Close and direct relationship with the Xataka team: Exclusive community on Discord: access to our Discord server, only for the Xtra Community. The office: We resolve your doubts with preferential treatment and you will have a direct line with the entire team. Available via email or on Discord. Write to us with your query and our team of editors will try to provide the best solution. Monthly video Q&A with the Xataka team: We provide the team that attends, you set the agenda and what you want to talk about. Giveaways and exclusive benefits Raffles and discounts. Just by being Xtra members you will participate in exclusive draws and have special discounts. And pay attention because very interesting products are coming up to be raffled off. Today we announced the first: a 75-inch LG TV. Advantages and offers with our partners. At launch we will have the following: Nextory: Extended free trial for 45 days. NordVPN: 3 months free for 1 and 2 year plans. NordPass: 10% discount for 1 and 2 year plans. Saily: 10% discount on new hires. Other benefits Xataka Xtra badge in the user profile. It will be seen when an Xtra user comments and on their profile. Ad-free option: For those who want to browse without advertising banners, there is also an option. And this is the beginning: we want to take advantage of the creation of this Xtra Community so that you can tell us what things you miss and would love for us to add. We will design the future of Xataka Xtra together. How much does it cost and available versions Xataka Xtra It is available in monthly subscription mode and annual mode. Signing up is easy, with a couple of clicks, and unsubscribing is equally simple: just by clicking the corresponding button in your Xtra area. The available plans are the following: Monthly plan: 4 euros per month (2 euros per month in introductory offer) Annual plan: 30 euros a year (15 euros per year in introductory offer) Annual plan without ads: 60 euros a year (30 euros per year in introductory offer) For all those who sign up with the introductory offer, the 50% discount remains as long as they do not cancel or change their subscription. As you can see, we have included the possibility of contracting a plan that eliminates all banners from the website and makes reading easier. This has been an addition that we have included based on your feedback, since it was one of the most requested features. Thank you, really and this is Xataka Xtraat least for now, since as I mentioned, the idea is that this fluid relationship with the Xtra Community helps us find other interesting ideas that you may like to … Read more

NASA just classified the 2024 incident at its highest level

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When NASA launched the Commercial Crew programdid so with a clear idea: to partner with private companies that would design and operate their own ships under fixed-price contracts. Boeing and SpaceX have been part of this scheme since its origin, with the aim of guaranteeing regular manned access to low orbit. The Starliner manned test flight in June 2024 was to complete the technical validation process of the Boeing capsule before its certification, but anomalies detected during the mission completely altered the initial plan. Now, when officially classifying This test as a “Type A Incident”, NASA places what happened at the highest level of its incident scale and recognizes that the magnitude of the episode goes beyond a simple technical setback. What happened in 2024. On June 5, 2024, the CST-100 Starliner took off heading to the International Space Station on its first crewed flight with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board. The mission was initially planned to last between eight and fourteen days as a comprehensive test of the system. However, during the approach They detected helium leaks and failures in the thrustersand NASA explained that a loss of maneuverability occurred as the crew approached the station, although control was regained before docking. The stay ended up extending up to 93 days and, after reviewing the flight data and performing tests on the ground, The space agency decided that the vehicle would return in September 2024 without the astronautswhich finally returned to Earth in March 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. A devastating report. The independent investigation team, formed in February 2025, examined the technical, organizational and cultural factors that contributed to the problems with the test flight. According to their conclusions, there was a combination of hardware failures, gaps in the qualification processes, leadership errors and cultural dysfunctions that generated risk conditions incompatible with the safety standards of the agency’s manned flight program. NASA has indicated that it accepts this document as the final report and that work to identify the technical root cause continues. What does “Type A mishap” (Type A Incident) mean? NASA uses this category as the highest level within its incident system. Let us remember that this definition includes cases such as damages exceeding 2 million dollars, the loss of control or destruction of a vehicle or the loss of human life. In the case of the Starliner flight, there were no injuries and, according to the agency, the mission regained control before docking, but there was a loss of maneuverability during the approach and associated financial damages. The designation recognizes that there was potential for a major mishap and that the conditions generated cannot be dismissed as a simple technical mismatch. SpaceX Dragon 2 NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was explicit in addressing the cultural dimension of the problem. “It is decision-making and leadership that, if left unchecked, could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight,” he declared at the press conference. The head of the agency maintained that the classification as “Type A mishap” seeks to “make things clear” and ensure that what happened is recorded appropriately for future learning. He also admitted that allowing the program itself to initially investigate itself was “incompatible with NASA’s safety culture,” a practice that, he explained, it has decided to correct. Boeing’s response. In a statement released after the report’s publicationthe company stated that it remains “committed to NASA’s vision of having two commercial crew providers” and thanked the agency for the research. Boeing maintains that in the 18 months since the test flight it has made progress in corrective actions to address the technical challenges detected and has driven cultural changes within the team. Images | POT In Xataka | NASA’s megarocket no longer leaks: Artemis 2 passes its vital test and clears the path to the Moon

China gives the green light to the first level 3 autonomous cars. Their goal: to be leaders in 2035

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China has given the green light to its first two passenger vehicles with capacity level 3 autonomous driving (L3). This will allow drivers to let go of the steering wheel in certain circumstances. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced this Monday that Changan Automobile and BAIC have received authorization to manufacture electric cars with this technology, although with geographical and speed limitations. What level 3 really means. Most current driving assistance systems in smart cars are classified as L2 or L2+, which force the driver to keep their hands on the wheel at all times. Level 3, considered “hands-off” according to the criteria of the international organization SAE, allows the vehicle to assume all dynamic driving tasks under specific conditions. However, the driver must remain alert and prepared to intervene when necessary. To put ourselves in context, level 5 would represent total autonomy, without the need for human intervention under any circumstances. The restrictions of the approved models. The model from Changan, a state-owned manufacturer based in Chongqing, will be able to navigate autonomously through urban streets and traffic at a maximum speed of 50 km/h when its assistance system is activated. For its part, the BAIC model under its Arcfox brand (the Alpha S sedan) is authorized to travel on highways and expressways at up to 80 km/h. Both vehicles, which are pure electric, will only be able to operate in specific areas: the Changan Deepal SL03 will be able to do so in certain sections of Chongqing, while the Arcfox Alpha S in specific sections of highways in Beijing that connect with the airports. Why China is accelerating now. The country is treating autonomous driving as another strategic objective, just as it did when promoting its electric vehicle industry, which is so popular abroad. The authorities have set the goal of making the country a leader in the sector by 2035. According to Zhang Yongweigeneral secretary of China EV100, two out of every three new cars sold in China this year will have Level 2 or higher autonomous driving capability. “The approvals show that the authorities are willing to deregulate the market,” says Phate Zhang, founder of CnEVPost, who anticipates that “officials are likely to take a phased approach to distributing more manufacturing licenses to other manufacturers.” The industry was already prepared. According to SCMP, several premium manufacturers have been with models ready to comply with level 3 regulations for months. Geely’s Zeekr and Seres, backed by Huawei Technologies, have designed and developed intelligent vehicles considered semi-autonomous that would comply with L3 rules, according to previous announcements. Andrew Fan, CFO of Hesai Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of lidar sensors, declared reported last month that “preparations were well underway in the Chinese auto industry for the next generation of autonomous driving capabilities, even before Beijing cleared the regulatory path.” The cost of the advanced lidar sensors needed for Level 3 ranges from $500 to $1,000 per unit, with demand rising as major Chinese manufacturers accelerate development of autonomous vehicles. Where is China compared to the West. Mercedes-Benz seems to have the advantage in this area: its Level 3 Drive Pilot system was approved by German authorities at the beginning of the year to operate at speeds of up to 95 km/h on the motorway network, marking the fastest certified system for conditional autonomous driving in a production vehicle, according to the company. Tesla continues to update its Full Self Driving system, which operates at an advanced level 2. Meanwhile, manufacturers like BMW and BYD also have models in testing for Level 3 driver assistance in Chinese cities like Beijing. What’s coming now. The MIIT has confirmed which will work with other authorities to supervise these vehicles while promoting the development of this technology in China. The two manufacturers will use the models to carry out pilot programs in assigned locations. Although the ministry has not specified when they will hit the market, technically manufacturers can begin assembling the models once they receive the green light. In addition to these two state-owned manufacturers, several robotaxis companies such as Baidu’s Apollo Go, Pony AI and WeRide They are already leading the deployment of driverless vehicles worldwide, operating at level 4, which does not require a human driver. Cover image | Wikipedia In Xataka | For the first time in 88 years, Volkswagen has crossed a red line: closing a factory in Germany

The elite of the open models spoke in Chinese. Mistral has just placed Europe at a level that not even the US managed to reach

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Over the last year, the elite of open models for assisted programming, at least in benchmarks as SWE-Bench Verifiedhas spoken with a Chinese accent. Names like DeepSeek, Kimi either qwen They had settled into the top positions in testing and were setting the pace in complex software engineering tasks, while Europe was still searching for its position. The arrival of Devstral 2 alters that distribution. It does not displace those who were already at the top, but it places Mistral at the same level of demand and turns a European company into a real contender in a field that until now seemed reserved for others. League change: the technical leap that had been brewing for some time. During recent months, the open models developed in Europe and the United States had shown constant evolution, although still without the performance necessary to compete in the most demanding tests. The progress was evident, but there was a lack of a project capable of consolidating it at a higher level and demonstrating that this path could give results comparable to those of the sector. Devstral 2 in data: performance, size and licenses. The new Mistral model reaches 123B parameters in a dense architecture and offers an expanded context of 256K tokens, accompanied by a modified MIT license that facilitates its adoption in open environments. Its compact version, Devstral Small 2, reduces the model to 24B licensed parameters Apache 2.0. In the SWE-Bench Verified figures published by the companyDevstral 2 obtains 72.2%, a mark that places it in the most competitive section of the open models evaluated and that confirms its presence among the most advanced alternatives in the segment. It is reflected by a panorama concentrated in the upper part of the benchmark. Among the open models, DeepSeek V3.2 leads the group with 73.1%, followed by Kimi K2 Thinking with 71.3% and for proposals such as Qwen 3 Coder Plus and Minimax M2, which are around 69 points. At lower levels GLM 4.6, GPT-OSS-120B, CWM and DeepSWE appear, with more moderate results. In the closed commercial environment (proprietary models), the graph incorporates higher scores: Gemini 3 Pro reaches 76.2%, GPT 5.1 Codex Max rises to 77.9% and Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 77.2%, all of them above the best brands registered for open models. What SWE-Bench Verified Really Measures and Why It Matters. SWE-Bench Verified is a test designed to evaluate whether a model can solve real programming tasks, not synthetic exercises. Each case presents a bug in an open source repository and requires a patch to pass the previously failed tests. The evaluation seeks to measure whether the system understands the structure of the project, identifies the cause of the problem and proposes a coherent solution. It is a useful and demanding metric, although limited to Python repositories and a specific set of situations that do not cover the full breadth of software work. From co-pilots to agents who act on the project. The arrival of Devstral 2 coincides with a broader change in the way of working with programming tools. It is no longer just about receiving suggestions in the editor, but about having agents capable of exploring an entire repository, interpreting its structure and proposing changes consistent with its real state. In this context, Vibe CLI appears, a tool that allows Devstral to analyze files, modify parts of the code and execute actions directly from the terminal, bringing these capabilities closer to the daily workflow of developers. Cost and deployment: what each type of user can do with Devstral. The model will be available for free for an initial period and will then cost $0.40 per million tokens for input and $2.00 per million for output, while the Small 2 version will be priced lower. Its deployment also makes a difference: Devstral 2 requires at least four H100-class GPUs, aimed at data centers, while Devstral Small 2 is intended to run on a single GPU and, according to Mistral documentation, the Devstral Small family can also run in CPU-only configurations, without a dedicated GPU. This variety allows both companies and individual developers to find a suitable entry point. The appearance of Devstral 2 introduces an unexpected element in a space where Chinese companies set the pace and where not even the United States, despite its leadership in artificial intelligence, had an open model in this high performance range in SWE-Bench Verified. Mistral does not displace those who were already at the top, but it does broaden the conversation and shows that Europe can compete in a field where it did not appear until now. It is a movement that does not alter the general hierarchy, although it does open a new margin for the evolution of assisted programming tools. Images | Xataka with Gemini 3 In Xataka | OpenAI and Google deny that they are going to put ads in ChatGPT and Gemini. The reality is that accounts do not come only with subscriptions

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