life

“My urine spills everywhere.” How a viral phrase has changed the life of the man with the smallest penis in the world

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In 2014, a team of South African surgeons achieved the first penis transplant with history success. That intervention marked a before and after in the reconstructive medicine and recalled the extent to which problems related to this organ can affect much more than a patient’s sexual life. The viral that changed the conversation. “My urine spills everywhere.” That was the descriptive phrase with which Michael Phillips has ended up getting thousands of people to stop seeing his case as a simple Internet curiosity and begin to understand the medical problem behind a micropenis. In fact, what seemed like another statement destined to go viral hid a much deeper reality. less striking: that of the difficulties in doing something as everyday as urinating, a practically impossible sex life and a profound psychological impact. The challenge that went around the world. I counted the weekend Guardian that Phillips rose to fame after publicly challenge anyone to prove that he didn’t have “the smallest penis in the world.” That provocation quickly attracted the attention of media outlets around the world and generated an enormous debate on social networks. However, Phillips always insisted that his goal was not to gain notoriety, far from it, but to make visible an extremely rare medical condition and the consequences it has for those who suffer from it. Behind the size there was a medical problem. Because Phillips’ diagnosis does not respond to a subjective perception, but to a micropenis clinically diagnosed as such. As explainedeven when erect his member barely reaches 0.97 centimeters in length, very much below the medical threshold used to define this condition. That situation, accountaffects such basic aspects as going to the bathroom to urinate or having penetrative sexual relations, two problems that marked a good part of his adult life. The surprise. Be that as it may, the public exhibition has ended up causing an effect that not even he himself expected. After launching a financing campaign collectively to finance an intervention aimed at partially improving their quality of life, donations began to multiply. “I never thought anyone would care to help,” Phillips acknowledged.which ended up raising nearly $13,000 thanks to more than 250 people and confessed to feeling “really grateful and surprised” by the support received. Virality changing destiny. The impact was so great that even a well-known Beverly Hills plastic surgeon publicly offered to operate on him. for free. Finally, Phillips decided to undergo the intervention at a center closer to his home, where he hopes to increase the thickness of his penis to alleviate, at least in part, the functional problems derived from his condition. The procedure will not resolve all your limitations, but it does aim to improve everyday aspects that affect your quality of life. From stigma to vindication. The case has also brought to light the stigma surrounding to the micropenis. Phillips has acknowledged that his diagnosis practically ended his love life and that he even had to prove to a British television program that he really suffered from this condition before being interviewed. He has also endured ridicule and doubts about the veracity of his story, although he has turned that exhibition in a tool to demand that the micropenis stop being treated as a simple reason for jokes or ridicule. It started with morbidity, it ended with health. If you also want, the story of the American Michael Phillips went viral because it revolved around a striking figure and a diagnosis that was almost impossible to verify. However, the story itself ended up moving towards another terrain much more relevant. Curiously, the phrases that they generated more impact They were not those related to size, but those that described how a medical condition could turn such normal actions as going to the bathroom or having an intimate relationship into a daily problem. And it was precisely those confessions that ended up changing his life. Image | YouTube, Wikimedia In Xataka | Science has been measuring whether size matters for years. A study with 3D simulation has the most complete answer In Xataka | Millions of men wake up every morning with an erection. This is excellent news for them.

This is how strength training protects your heart, your brain and your life expectancy

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We have known for a long time that strength exercise It’s not just for having more muscles. and a more defined body. Today we understand that, to take care of our health, it is important to combine both strength and aerobic exercise. However, it is always good to have more evidence and more reasons to remind us of the importance of lifting weight. That’s why it’s so important a study recently published by scientists at Harvard Universityin which 150,000 people are followed for 30 years. This monitoring has allowed its authors to conclude that, indeed, those who practiced strength exercise regularly were more likely to continue to live older, since this practice protected them from numerous diseases, especially neurological and cardiovascular diseases. The reasons are clear, as is the fact that, in reality, the ideal is to combine this with aerobic exercise. Three studies, 30 years. In reality, this latest study is a review of 3 studies, all of them conducted in the United States. For 30 years, the health status of its participants was followed, while their sports habits were monitored. In those three decades, there were 36,000 participants who died from various causes. It wasn’t always due to not having exercised. After all, there are many factors that influence health. However, it was found that those who did between 90 and 120 minutes of strength exercise per week had a 13% lower risk of dying from any cause than those who did not. The types of diseases most prevented. Although the percentage was calculated with respect to deaths from any cause, neurological and cardiovascular protection stands out in this study. In fact, this practice of strength exercise reduced the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 19% and the risk from neurological disorders, especially dementia, by 27%. For all this, the study concludes that strength exercise has a positive effect on longevity. More is not always better. Another curious fact from this study is that those who did more than 120 minutes of strength exercise per week did not experience extra benefits. Therefore, if there is more time available, you can take advantage of it to do aerobic exercise, since, in reality, the ideal is to combine both types of training. The ideal combination. According to this same study, 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise reduces the risk of death from any cause by between 26% and 43%. But if this is also combined with the strength exercise mentioned above, the risk decreases by 45%. The ideal is to combine the two types of exercise to buy all possible longevity tickets. Two hours a week of strength exercise can be divided into two workouts in the gym. Training can be done full body both days, to train all muscle groups twice, but increasing the density of the upper part one day and the lower part another. As for 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise, it is very achievable. only with go walking to work or to run errands we would already have a good part accomplished. However, it is advisable to add several sessions of a somewhat more vigorous cardio, such as going for a run, swimming or cycling. Cardio, best distributed in several weekly sessions The causes. This is an observational study. That means a correlation has been seen, but not necessarily a causality. Those who strength exercise live longer, but their blood has not been analyzed, for example, for markers that indicate that quality of life. Even so, the authors of the research have their own hypotheses, also described in The Conversation by University of East London Professor John McNamara. To begin with, the muscle is a kind of sponge that, by order of insulin, absorbs a good part of the glucose that accumulates in the blood after eating. Thus, glucose acts as a source of energy for the muscle and does not increase in spikes or accumulate as fat. With all this, metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes or obesity. Clearly, yes there is more musclethe sponge is larger, which is why strength exercise is so important. Furthermore, with respect to cardiovascular diseases, myokines play an essential role. They are proteins that are released when the muscle contracts and that have a positive effect on the blood, reducing chronic inflammation. It is very beneficial against heart diseases; but also, again, for metabolic diseases and even against some types of cancer. On the other hand, it should be noted that this chemical cascade enhanced by strength exercise helps increase blood flow in organs such as the brain or liver and also reduces blood pressure and increases the flexibility of blood vessels. The key to longevity. A fall may be minor in a young person, but in the elderly it can lead to more broken bones, with a slower or incomplete recovery. The person’s health can greatly deteriorate. Therefore, one of the keys to longevity is to strengthen the bones. The musculoskeletal system is very well combined. Strong muscles also often translate into stronger bones. That’s why people live longer when they do strength exercise. Limitations to take into account. People who exercise, whether strength training or aerobic, often maintain other healthy habits as well. Furthermore, the study participants were health workers, so it is expected that they were clear about the measures to take care of their health. Therefore, it would be ideal to have done another similar study, with a greater variety of participants, and taking into account other habits to see the influence they have on the final result. Even so, everything points to a very beneficial routine for anyone. Image | Magnificent In Xataka | The trap of walking for the sake of walking: “Japanese walks” are much more effective than your daily hour-long walk

This is how strength training protects your heart, your brain and your life expectancy

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We have known for a long time that strength exercise It’s not just for having more muscles. and a more defined body. Today we understand that, to take care of our health, it is important to combine both strength and aerobic exercise. However, it is always good to have more evidence and more reasons to remind us of the importance of lifting weight. That’s why it’s so important a study recently published by scientists at Harvard Universityin which 150,000 people are followed for 30 years. This monitoring has allowed its authors to conclude that, indeed, those who practiced strength exercise regularly were more likely to continue to live older, since this practice protected them from numerous diseases, especially neurological and cardiovascular diseases. The reasons are clear, as is the fact that, in reality, the ideal is to combine this with aerobic exercise. Three studies, 30 years. In reality, this latest study is a review of 3 studies, all of them conducted in the United States. For 30 years, the health status of its participants was followed, while their sports habits were monitored. In those three decades, there were 36,000 participants who died from various causes. It wasn’t always due to not having exercised. After all, there are many factors that influence health. However, it was found that those who did between 90 and 120 minutes of strength exercise per week had a 13% lower risk of dying from any cause than those who did not. The types of diseases most prevented. Although the percentage was calculated with respect to deaths from any cause, neurological and cardiovascular protection stands out in this study. In fact, this practice of strength exercise reduced the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 19% and the risk from neurological disorders, especially dementia, by 27%. For all this, the study concludes that strength exercise has a positive effect on longevity. More is not always better. Another curious fact from this study is that those who did more than 120 minutes of strength exercise per week did not experience extra benefits. Therefore, if there is more time available, you can take advantage of it to do aerobic exercise, since, in reality, the ideal is to combine both types of training. The ideal combination. According to this same study, 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise reduces the risk of death from any cause by between 26% and 43%. But if this is also combined with the strength exercise mentioned above, the risk decreases by 45%. The ideal is to combine the two types of exercise to buy all possible longevity tickets. Two hours a week of strength exercise can be divided into two workouts in the gym. Training can be done full body both days, to train all muscle groups twice, but increasing the density of the upper part one day and the lower part another. As for 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise, it is very achievable. only with go walking to work or to run errands we would already have a good part accomplished. However, it is advisable to add several sessions of a somewhat more vigorous cardio, such as going for a run, swimming or cycling. Cardio, best distributed in several weekly sessions The causes. This is an observational study. That means a correlation has been seen, but not necessarily a causality. Those who strength exercise live longer, but their blood has not been analyzed, for example, for markers that indicate that quality of life. Even so, the authors of the research have their own hypotheses, also described in The Conversation by University of East London Professor John McNamara. To begin with, the muscle is a kind of sponge that, by order of insulin, absorbs a good part of the glucose that accumulates in the blood after eating. Thus, glucose acts as a source of energy for the muscle and does not increase in spikes or accumulate as fat. With all this, metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes or obesity. Clearly, yes there is more musclethe sponge is larger, which is why strength exercise is so important. Furthermore, with respect to cardiovascular diseases, myokines play an essential role. They are proteins that are released when the muscle contracts and that have a positive effect on the blood, reducing chronic inflammation. It is very beneficial against heart diseases; but also, again, for metabolic diseases and even against some types of cancer. On the other hand, it should be noted that this chemical cascade enhanced by strength exercise helps increase blood flow in organs such as the brain or liver and also reduces blood pressure and increases the flexibility of blood vessels. The key to longevity. A fall may be minor in a young person, but in the elderly it can lead to more broken bones, with a slower or incomplete recovery. The person’s health can greatly deteriorate. Therefore, one of the keys to longevity is to strengthen the bones. The musculoskeletal system is very well combined. Strong muscles also often translate into stronger bones. That’s why people live longer when they do strength exercise. Limitations to take into account. People who exercise, whether strength training or aerobic, often maintain other healthy habits as well. Furthermore, the study participants were health workers, so it is expected that they were clear about the measures to take care of their health. Therefore, it would be ideal to have done another similar study, with a greater variety of participants, and taking into account other habits to see the influence they have on the final result. Even so, everything points to a very beneficial routine for anyone. Image | Magnificent In Xataka | The trap of walking for the sake of walking: “Japanese walks” are much more effective than your daily hour-long walk

The IMEC laboratory has found a way to extend the life of silicon

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IMEC just updated your semiconductor journey and the fact that attracts the most attention is a date: 2038. That is the year in which, according to this Belgian research center, the industry will begin the production of class 3 angstrom integrated circuits (0.3 nanometers). This is not the first time we have talked about this milestone; a little over a year ago We analyze in Xataka a slide from IMEC that placed this leap in 2035. The new forecast delays it by three years, but in exchange it gives us something much more valuable: how to get there. And to reach 0.3 nm it is not enough to improve photolithography alone. IMEC states that the contact poly pitchwhich is the minimum distance between transistors that for decades has been the main indicator of technological progress, will no longer be significantly reduced starting with the A10 generation, which is scheduled for 2030 or 2031. From then on, to increase density it will no longer be enough to shrink the transistors; They will have to be stacked. This paradigm shift has its own name: CFET transistors (Complementary FET). This strategy is not new, although until now it was a distant promise. And the interesting thing is that the IMEC itinerary gives it a date, context, and connects directly with everything we have explained in our articles dedicated to IT teams. UVE Hyper-NA photolithography. These machines will be needed to manufacture these chips, although they are still being developed by ASML. Why CFET technology is going to retire GAA transistors The transistors Gate-All-Around (GAA), which the semiconductor industry began to adopt massively in the 2nm generationthey still have a journey. IMEC estimates that this architecture will remain viable until the A10 generation, which will arrive in 2030 or 2031, giving it a useful life of about seven years from its introduction. It is a reasonable period of time if we compare it with previous generations of transistors, but the Belgian research center already makes it clear that it has an expiration date. The underlying problem is geometric. The GAA transistors improved the electrostatic control of the channel by completely surrounding it with the gate, but they still placed the type materials n and p one next to the other, in the horizontal plane. This provision has an obvious physical limit: There will come a time when it will no longer be possible to continue reducing the distance between them without compromising the electrical performance of the chip. This is precisely what will begin to happen when the A10 generation arrives, according to IMEC. Sequential CFET technology will come first, followed by linked CFET structures CFET transistors solve this problem by stacking the type material n directly above type pvertically. IMEC’s ​​itinerary places their arrival as firm candidates for chip production in the A7 generation, which is scheduled for 2033. And, in addition, it explicitly associates them with the need to resort to power delivery systems on the back side of the wafer, which IMEC considers mandatory in this architecture. From there, the itinerary itself anticipates an evolution in two phases: first the sequential CFET technology will arrive, and later the united CFET structures, already in the A3 generation of 2038. The most interesting thing about this approach is that it changes the meaning of the Moore’s Law. IMEC recognizes that the contact poly pitch It will barely move between the A10 and A5 generations. Carry stuck at 42nm for several years. The density gains that we traditionally measured in individual transistor nanometers now depend on the height of the cell and how many layers can be stacked vertically. It is, in a way, a confession: horizontal scaling is exhausted, but the industry has found a third dimension in which it can continue growing. Image | Samsung More information | Tom’s Hardware In Xataka | US adds Netherlands to Pax Silica alliance: ASML host nation enters anti-Chinese bloc

The plan to find extraterrestrial life in 2040 involves a swarm of spaceships working as a team

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We want to find planets with life beyond the Earthbut let’s be honest: we don’t have the best instruments to achieve it. The space telescopes we have today are not sufficiently capable of taking precise photographs of exoplanets and, in the process, analyzing possible biosignatures in their atmosphere. The James Webb Space Telescope, possibly the most powerful today, has made some progressbut it still falls short. Therefore, a team of scientists from the WM Keck Institute for the Study of Space has proposed a curious solution: send a swarm of telescopes to study the cosmos with a magnifying glass that we have not been able to use until now. The requirements. There are two main problems why exoplanets are so difficult to analyze. The first is that they are very close to their star, which is usually millions to billions of times brighter than they are. The second is that they are very small, so telescopes large enough to take images with adequate resolution are needed. That is precisely the main handicap of James Webb. It lacks size. And the truth is that it would be difficult to make a telescope so large as to achieve the desired resolution. One cannot be, but several small ones can. The proposal of these astronomers It is to launch a swarm of many small ships that concentrate and send light to a kind of mother ship. This is what carries out the optical tricks necessary to block the light from the main star and, in the process, analyze the planet’s thermal signature with more precision. What is this thermal signature? To solve the starlight problem, coronagraphs can be used. These are instruments that block the star’s light, generating something similar to an eclipse. Thus, only the light reflected from the exoplanet can be measured. It will be the mission of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO)a large telescope that NASA will launch in the 2040s as a successor to Hubble, since it works in ultraviolet and visible light. The point is that, rather than the reflected light, it would be ideal to measure the direct light that exoplanets thermally emit. This is done by measuring in the mid-infrared. The James Webb is capable of doing it; but, as we have already seen, it is too small. That’s where the swarm named Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) comes into play. Being a swarm of small ships, it acts like a very large ship. Biosignatures. Something good about measuring in the mid-infrared is that you can also detect emissions derived from substances associated with life, such as ozone, methane, water, carbon dioxide or phosphine. That means LIFE can not only take a more accurate photo of exoplanets. You can also check if they are alive. The name fits like a glove. Fallen soldiers and teamwork. NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Locator Interferometer and ESA’s Darwin mission followed a similar concept to LIFE. However, they have ended up being abandoned after encountering one technical obstacle after another. On the other hand, LIFE engineers hope to be able to advance as technology does, so as not to stop at any time. If all goes well, it is expected to be launched in the 2040s, just like the HWO. The objective is for both to work as a team, since one works in the mid-infrared and the other in the visible and ultraviolet. Even if they analyze the same thing, they do it using different methods, so one will be able to eliminate the other’s false positives. They are the team perfect. Images | Magnific/NASA In Xataka | TRAPPIST-1 was the most promising solar system to search for life. Now our joy is in a well

Spain debuts in the World Cup with a match against Cape Verde. There is a remote town in Galicia where life is like a derby

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At this point in the film it is very difficult to predict what will happen in the remainder of the term, if the peace agreement between Washington and Tehran will come to fruition or how the war in Ukraine will be settled. What is easy to predict is that this afternoon, starting at 6:00 p.m., a large part of Spain will be glued to the TV to follow La Roja’s World Cup debut against Cape Verde. There is, however, a small town in Galicia where this match will be experienced with special intensity: Burela. There, in fact, it is proposed almost like a derby. In a place in Lugo… It may not be the most famous nor the most populous municipality in Galicia, but Burela is exceptional in many ways. To begin with, it is a relatively young town. Although its history may trace back centuriesuntil the mid-1990s was part of the Cervo town hall. But above all, if something defines Burela, it is its multiculturalism. According to the Galician Institute of Statistics (IGE), almost 20% of its population was born abroad, in countries in America, Asia, the rest of Europe or Africa, which has a large representation with various nationalities. A “Galician-style” Cape Verde. Among this range of homelands there is one that stands out for its weight, history and mark on Burelense society: Cape Verde. The Country precise That in the census of foreigners there are almost 500, but if we take into account their descendants the figure is closer to a thousand people. Not bad for a population that does not reach 10,000 residents. For reference, in 2022 the INE had registered In Spain as a whole, 2,600 people of Cape Verdean nationality, of which almost 600 resided in Galicia. In net terms, it is the second largest community, only surpassed for Madrid. Some media they need that Burela is the municipality in Spain with the highest concentration of population with roots in Cape Verde, at least if we take into account its weight in the local census. This fact is explained by a very simple reason: the flow of Cape Verdean immigrants began there several decades ago. In fact, there are families living in Burela who are already the fourth generation. “They were among the first”. The link between Burela and the African archipelago is best understood by reviewing the story by Manuel Mendes Pereira, athlete and one of the many residents of Burela with family roots in Cape Verde. “My father, originally from Porto Mosquito, on the island of Santiago, came in 1978 to work in the construction of Alumina. He came through a brother of his who was already here. He liked the sea and ended up involved in fishing,” relates to Sport. “My mother arrived later, in 1989. They were one of the first. He always told me that Burela was practically nothing compared to what it is today.” Is it a unique case? No. Villablino, in the Laciana region of León, also maintains a strong bond with emigration of Cape Verdean origin. In the case of the Mariña of Lugo, the connection is explained by the industry and especially the fishing sector. In Villablino, the link, which can be traced back decades and decades agopart of the mining activity. This relationship extends to Bierzo, where in the 90s the Embassy had registered about 3,000 citizens from Cape Verde. Community members are called “capebertians”. And FIFA arrived. The World Cup has served to give new prominence to those ties woven in Burela or Bierzo, in which today they will experience with special intensity the Atlanta match in which will be measured you love selections The event will be special for both of them, who are making their debut in the World Cup and aspire for this tournament to occupy a prominent place in their chronicles. The Red comes as a favorite and dreams of adding a second star to its shield, the African team aspires to leave a mark in his first World Cup. “We are going a bit with a divided heart, but this time perhaps I am going more with Cape Verde,” admits Manuel Mendes. He won’t be the only one. In the Bierzo region there will be fans in a similar situation. Whatever happens, party. Although not even Burela is free of the signs of racism, what the Galician municipality aspires to today is to enjoy a day of party and celebration. Whatever happens, whether there are goals or not, whether one team or the other wins, one thing is certain: in the town of Mariña in Lugo there will be parties, music and dancing. The match will coincide with Cape to Cape Festivalpromoted by the Lugo Provincial Council and the City Council, among other organizers, and which will feature music by DJs and various groups, including Batuko Tabankaa set created ago more than two decades and formed by women of Cape Verdean origin. Images | Municipality of Burela 1, 2 and FIFA In Xataka | For the first time, Curaçao will play in a soccer World Cup. And only one of their players was born in Curaçao

The “ice man” has been frozen for 5,300 years. There is still life inside

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In 1991, two German hikers they found each other with a corpse in the Alps, more specifically in the Ötztal Alps. At first they thought it would be a recent body, but nothing could be further from the truth: Ötzi, who takes his name from the place where he was found, died around 3255 BC. C. at approximately forty-six years of age due to hemorrhage caused by an arrow lodged in his left shoulder. Ötzi withstood the test of time thanks to glacial ice, becoming the oldest known natural human mummy in Europe. For science, the “iceman” has historically been a magnificent biological and archaeological record of the late Neolithic/Copper Age, bridging the gap, like someone who finds a painting in a cave. But a recent study It makes science look at it with different eyes: they have found life in Ötzi because the iceman is also an ecosystem. There is life within Ötzi. The Eurac Research research team has found yeast strains that could have been dormant for millennia, some of which are still metabolically active as they are especially adapted to the cold: Glaciozyma, Goffeauzyma, Mrakia and Phenoliferia. That is, living organisms have survived inside a human body for more than five thousand years. They also found anaerobic intestinal bacteria such as Romboutsia hominis, Clostridium moniliforme and Ruminococcus bromii, which when the Iceman was alive helped him digest elements of his diet at that time. Why is it important. The relevance of this discovery is enormous for both biology and archaeology, with implications that also point to space exploration: Biologically it is a real milestone: it is a before and after in what we know and can expect from microorganisms and their resistance. If microbes survive 5,300 years in alpine ice, they could potentially survive in similar inhospitable environments outside of Earth, such as the Moon’s south pole. And this has direct consequences for the search for extraterrestrial life. From an archaeological point of view, if a mummy contains microbial life inside, we must rethink how similar samples and other archaeological remains are preserved, stored and studied so as not to lose or degrade that valuable information. What the finding says about health before antibiotics. Some gut bacteria found in Ötzi are still present in modern humans, but others have disappeared from modern Western populations. Being able to compare your microbiome with ours allows you to have a photo of what the microbiota was like before antibiotics, ultra-processed foods and industrial agriculture and apply it to medicine. As already science has proventhe loss of this ancestral microbial diversity is associated with diseases such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis. In fact, Ötzi’s microbiome constitutes a good basis for designing more effective probiotics or improving fecal microbiota transplant therapies. How have they done it. Ötzi is available for visits at the South Tyrolean Archeology Museum in Bolzano, Italy, where he is kept in a cold room at -6°C and 99% relative humidity. After more than 30 years of studies, science has paradoxically introduced modern microbes into your body, so was essential use multiple samples and methods to differentiate which microorganisms were already present during Ötzi’s life and which colonized him later. From there, they combined genomic sequencing with laboratory culture and comparison with global databases, which for example allowed them to determine that the Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas bacteria found on the surface were introduced by modern humans, while Staphylococcus belonged to Ötzi’s original microbiome. Yes, but. The main limitation of the study is precisely contamination: handling a mummy exposes it to potential contamination by modern bacteria and fungi, which complicates the faithful reconstruction of its original microbial composition. On the other hand, the fact that a yeast shows activity in the laboratory does not prove that it has been active continuously for 5,300 years, since it could have been reactivated when the experimental conditions changed. To clear up doubts, more independent studies with other glacier mummies are necessary. In Xataka | In the 14th century, the “Little Ice Age” caught Europe completely off guard: this is how they managed to withstand the cold In Xataka | Getting up at 3:52 AM, putting your face in ice, rubbing a banana: the male “morning routine” taken to the extreme Cover | Museum of South Tyrol Archaeology, Eurac Research, Marion Lafogler and Andrea De Giovanni

The Japanese “johatsu”, when life is so unbearable that you erase your trace from the Earth

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When we Westerners observe the Japanese people, their habits and cultural solutions that clash with our way of life, we usually come up with an explanation: shame. If Christianity has been based on the management of guilt, the East draws on shame and honor as a motor of action. The literature has made us believe that the code bushido or “path of the hero” that marked the life of the samurai in the 11th to 14th centuries is found buried in many of the behaviors which, seen from thousands of kilometers and 700 years later, seem amazing to us. We have previously talked about karoshithat involuntary suicide of many of its workers due to work pressure out of a feeling of duty towards the company and society. We also know their tendency towards seclusion and detachment, as practiced by otaku or the hikikomoris. Today it is the turn of the johatsu (蒸発), or “evaporated people”, as the Government describes them. It is a solution that many of us have thought about applying at some point, and have even dared to explore certain works popular. Become a johatsu is to lose your identity. Your family, your job, your name. All. You become a ghost for the State, all your trace is erased and you renounce your previous life to embrace a new and marginal one as you can no longer endure the pressure that presses you. According to estimates, 100,000 Japanese a year have become johatsu in the last 40 years. How to collect a report from the Japanese policethe “faded” became a social problem starting in the 70s that had to be regulated. Some cases had already been known since after the Second World War, and following a famous event in the 60s that found a film adaptation in 1967 and a ballad performed by Ken Yabukithe term, the idea, became popular. And what pressure leads these people to leave everything? According to the statistics and testimonies collected, a good part of them succumb to work overwhelm or the shame of having been fired, something that they are unable to communicate to their loved ones. Also in many cases they are members of families who have contracted big debtseither due to gambling addiction or ruinous businesses. There are people who mysteriously, and without any justification, decide to sacrifice themselves socially. An important part of the disappearances, approximately one in five cases, has to do with gender violence: since the State was not committed (nor does he commit) to fight against these abuses (until 2001 the law dictated that the most that could be done was ask husbands to be more respectful with their wives) many women began to leave their families to live in poverty. Because that is the new life that many of its protagonists must face. The neighborhood of Kamagasaki Osaka and San’ya of the outskirts of Japan no longer appear on maps. In fact, their nomenclaturesand, if you ask for their address, many Japanese pretend to be Swedes. It’s not that they don’t know what you’re talking about, but it is an unpleasant reality that is better not to face. Men and women who disappear because of the shame they carry on their shoulders. Families who, in turn, and when they suspect that the member who has disappeared has done so of his own free will, do not report it to the authorities because they feel the same fear of being criticized by society. This is confirmed when it is verified that according to official Government statistics, only 2,000 people disappear a year without leaving a trace or without returning after a few months of his journey. According to the Japan Missing Persons Search Support Association, these figures are strongly under-representative of reality, closer to those 100,000 disappearances annuals that we pointed out at the beginning. Those close to a johatsu They do not usually warn the authorities. But, if they have sufficient funds and a genuine interest in regaining contact with the person, they do request the services of companies or private detectives. Since Japanese laws strongly guarantee the privacy of citizens (they require keeping someone’s whereabouts secret even in front of their families unless criminal complaint), it is easier to go to these agents. In practice, many spouses, children, siblings or parents let it be. They do not want to hear from the person who has left their life again. So, to the particularity of that administrative silence that characterizes Japan, is added that structure that protects the “ghosts“. The existence of these neighborhoods allows them to find a way to survive. “There, the Johatsu They live in tiny hotel rooms, often without Internet or private bathrooms,” as Léna Mauger, journalist and writer for a book focused on the lives of these people. Back in the years of the Japanese miracle, between the 60s and 80s, San’ya was the home of thousands of day laborers in industrial and mechanical jobs. The blue-collar workers who were eclipsed in terms of State recognition by their white-collar compatriots. They were informal, masculinized jobs, without great pay but that in most cases allowed these citizens to survive and sometimes, if the person affected was skilled, save a little money with which to return to society. As masculinized communities that they were, alcoholism, gambling and homelessness began to proliferate. Many never managed to overcome their addictions and harmful behaviors. The mafias began to take sides, owing their people. Today some NGOs enter the district daily to distribute food. Many residents live so precariously that they were considered dead in life. The “ghost” life that is about to fade away As technology advances, the jobs that support its population become scarcer. Added to this are two other problems: for tax purposes, and so that the debts incurred do not become a burden, since 2015 the country has been starting to track more harshly to its members. As real estate pressure increases, less well-regarded neighborhoods begin to gentrify. It is possible … Read more

the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs created a “primordial soup” of new life

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Approximately 66 million years ago, a huge asteroid, 10 kilometers wide, fell on the Yucatan Peninsulain Mexico, causing such a violent impact that it wiped out three quarters of the plants and animals that then populated the Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs. This has been well known for a long time. However, now something else has just been discovered. And the impact occurred in the perfect place for the proliferation of a hydrothermal system that laid the conditions for the proliferation of underground life for 8 million years. It wiped out the dinosaurs and a large number of animals, but it left us with ideal conditions for many new microorganisms to thrive. Said in a colloquial and extremely summarized way: the chickens that come in are the ones that come out. 4 times longer than established. An international team of scientists has carried out a study that combines data from rock samples extracted from the crater left by the asteroid and computer models of the geological behavior of the impact. Thus, it has been concluded that, when this occurred, immense heat was generated, which melted the rocks that in turn met the also hot water of the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, a porous material filled with pockets of water was formed, very conducive to the proliferation of microbial life. In fact, these types of studies had been carried out previously. However, both computational and chemical analysis methods were less advanced, so the duration of the resulting hydrothermal system was underestimated. Initially it was thought that it could have lasted about 2 million years, but this study points to 4 times more. The key is in the feldspar. In 2016 took place Expedition 364, in which a team of scientists traveled to the Chicxulub crater200 kilometers in diameter, to study the trail left by that asteroid 66 million years ago. They took several rock samples, including a feldspar very rich in potassium. The formation of this type of feldspar rock is common in hydrothermal systems such as the one formed by the asteroid impact. Therefore, this rock was chosen to carry out the appropriate analyses. Over time, thanks to a technique known as argon-argon dating, it has been possible to see that this rock was forming in the crater from 66 million years ago, as expected, until 58 million years ago. Therefore, it was 8 million years of hydrothermal system. Techniques advance. These impacts are extremely rare, but it is even rarer for them to result in such long-lasting hydrothermal systems. There is no known one so extensive caused by an impact, in fact. Therefore, thanks to advances in computer modeling techniques, it has been analyzed which conditions at the impact site favored this phenomenon. Combining data from Expedition 364 drilling with geological data extracted from previous modeling, it was concluded that there were three key factors: the high permeability of the rock, the sustained heat of the impact and the natural geothermal conditions of the site. Very interesting applications. Understanding this is very useful for two reasons. On the one hand, because it gives us information about the formation of life on the early Earth. And, on the other hand, because it also helps us understand how this would originate on other planets, where these types of collisions are much more common. Searching for life in space is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We all agree that it is necessary to narrow the search area. Initially it was thought that it should mostly be searched for planets that are within their habitable zone. That is, at a suitable distance from its star so that there can be liquid water. But today we know that there are other factors, like the absence of nearby black holeswhich may be relevant. Now, we also know which craters are the perfect places to start looking. All thanks to the asteroid that so long ago wiped out the dinosaurs. Image | Magnificent In Xataka | Now you can find out which dinosaurs were your neighbors thanks to this fun interactive map

Nissan has been giving a second life to its car batteries for years. In Melilla they use them as an anti-blackout system

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Nissan has once again focused its attention on one of its most unique Spanish projects. And it is that in a recent press releasethe company recovered the case of Melilla as an example of how it is promoting the “second life” of its electric car batteries. The installation It has been operating in the city for several years now.but the project remains one of Nissan’s central arguments to defend that a battery that is no longer useful to power a car still has a lot to contribute to the electrical grid. What exactly is it about? The project is called Second Life and was born from an alliance between Nissan, the energy group Enel (through its Spanish subsidiary Endesa) and the Italian company Loccioni, specialized in measurement and control systems. The idea is to take advantage of Nissan LEAF batteries that have finished their time in the car to set up a stationary energy storage system. According to advertisement When the company itself made the project public, the installation combines 48 used LEAF batteries with 30 new ones, for a total of 78 units. Why Melilla and not another city. Melilla is an unusual case within the electrical system in Spain, since it is isolated, is not connected to the national distribution network and depends entirely on a single thermal power plant operated by Endesa. In other words, if that plant falls, the entire city is left without electricity. And precisely that point makes the city the ideal setting to test backup systems like Nissan’s. How it works in practice. The battery pack acts as an emergency generator. It has a power of 4 MW and a capacity of up to 1.7 MWh of stored energy. If the plant is disconnected, the system can inject electricity into the Melilla grid for about 15 minutes. It may not seem like much, but it is the margin that is considered sufficient to reactivate the plant and restore the supply without the population noticing a prolonged outage. Come on, it serves as a cushion to avoid blackouts and keep the network stable (although it is not shockproof. such problematic blackouts like April 2025). An interesting technical detail. The system does not disassemble the batteries cell by cell. According to explains The company, when each pack is removed from a vehicle, is placed directly into the storage system just as it was mounted in the car. It is a way to reuse the assembly without a complex dismantling process, something that makes reuse cheaper and simpler. Strategy. The brand frames Second Life within its concept of the “4Rs”: reuse, remanufacture, resell and recycle. It is a circular economy logic, since a battery that loses performance in a car still retains a good part of its capacity, sufficient for uses where it is not required as much, such as fixed energy storage. Soufiane Elkhomri, Director of Nissan Energy Services for the AMIEO region, counted Furthermore, the collaboration with Enel allowed them to create “a model for the second life of a battery, which can be applied to many other use cases.” A first step. Melilla is just one piece in a broader commitment than Nissan replicate in other placessuch as the LEAF batteries that support the Fiumicino airport in Rome or some of its facilities in Japan. The idea is interesting, especially in terms of reusing a component as critical as a car battery. It remains to be seen, in any case, to what extent this type of solution becomes widespread as millions of electric vehicle batteries reach the end of their first life in the coming years. Cover image | Christelle Hayek and Giovanni Della Checa In Xataka | A ‘shitty plan’ to save the countryside: Europe turns to manure to tackle the fertilizer crisis

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