major

We have been observing the snow of the northern hemisphere from space for 40 years. The conclusions of the latest major study are devastating

by

As some older people around us say: winter is already it’s not what it was. As we move forward in the decade, scientific data paints an increasingly clear and disturbing picture of the amount of snow that has accumulated in some parts of our planet. And the images seem to leave no room for doubt, since they suggest that snow coverage in the northern hemisphere is constantly reducing, altering the seasonal cycles that govern our climate. The data. The last job we have had access to was published in January of this same year, and the conclusion they have drawn is quite devastating when pointing out that 24% of the regions of the northern hemisphere show a significant decline in the presence of snow, compared to a mere 9% that has registered an increase in its amount. How it looked. To reach these conclusions, researchers have not limited themselves to looking at the thermometer. They have turned to a gigantic high-resolution database that brings together historical data since 1980 with information on both snow and ice. Mathematical model. But the real advance in this case lies in the use of advanced statistics. And, expanding on previous research from 2023, they have applied a two-state Markov chain model, which in simple terms is a mathematical model that allows analyzing the spatial and temporal probabilities of snow persisting or disappearing in specific grids on Earth over decades. That is why we are facing one of the most rigorous methodologies that currently exist to understand snow trends, eliminating the “noise” of the precipitation that is coming in the coming months. Early spring. But… Where exactly is the snow disappearing? The Markov model reveals that the decline is not uniform, but there is an alarming pattern that directly affects our side of the globe: spring melt is coming forward dramatically in Europe and Central Asia. Right now we are seeing snow melting earlier, shortening winter temperatures and directly altering the water cycle, which is vital for agriculture and ecosystems during the warmer months. The consequences. But it is not something new, since previous works already warned of this loss of snow, which is a decline that not only affects water reserves, but also the ability of the Earth’s surface to reflect solar radiation. Something that is not nonsense, since less snow means more exposed dark land, greater heat absorption and, consequently, an increase in regional temperatures. A consensus. In addition to this study, in 2025, research was also published that analyzed possible biases in climate records. NOAA historicalconfirming that the decline in snow during autumn and winter is a real phenomenon and not an erroneous measurement. But it does not stop there, since the last Arctic bulletin painted a very extreme scenario, since, although there was above-average snowfall until May 2025, the decline during June was so rapid and abrupt that snow coverage was reduced to half of what it was 60 years ago. A mixed and volatile pattern that shows a climate system under stress. Images | Mathieu Odin In Xataka | Under the Canary Islands rests a 1,625 meter volcano: it has now begun to show signs of life after ten years of vigil

Taiwan has almost as many motorcycles as inhabitants and a major challenge: converting them into electric ones

by

Taiwan has two records if we talk about mobility. It is the first country in the world in motorcycles per inhabitant. And it is the first country in the world in number of vehicles per inhabitant, as long as we remove from the equation San Marino, Guernsey (autonomous islands off the coast of Normandy that respond to the United Kingdom), the autonomous state of Jersey and Andorra, all of them spaces where, let’s say, they are used as monetary refuges. According to the data As collected by the statistics group within the United Nations, Taiwan has 999 registered vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. But that data hides another record: almost 600 of those vehicles are motorcycles. This means that Taiwan, with its almost 24 million inhabitants, therefore has another almost 24 million vehicles. And the most recent data says that it also has more than 14 million motorcycles. The data reaches its extreme in Taipei, the capital, where there is a number slightly higher than the national average with 65 motorcycles per 100 inhabitants. Is it a lot? It’s a lot. To give us an idea, in Spain there are around 95 motorcycles (53 of them are mopeds) per 1,000 inhabitants, according to data from the European Union. The country with the most registered motorcycles is Greece, which reaches 251 motorcycles (150 of them are mopeds) per 1,000 inhabitants. A figure that doubles (by far) the Asian country. This congestion of motorcycles represents a problem for the State in environmental matters. And they want to change it by jumping to the electric motorcycle. A most ambitious challenge According to data from the Taiwan Ministry of Transportation and CommunicationsIn 2024, 14.6 million motorcycles will be counted. They are, therefore, a substantial part of the country’s carbon emissions. 55% of those recorded in Taiwan are produced by transportation. With the aim of converting the fully electric vehicle fleet by 2050the country has set various objectives ahead. The most ambitious is to prohibit the sale of non-electric motorcycles from 2040. Previously, the State has launched a campaign for customers to opt for this technology. To do this, they explain in Motorpassionthe State is giving huge sums of money for the purchase of electric vehicles. Any electric vehicle, whether motorcycle, car or truck, is taken into account in its plans to help with the purchase. But it is in the former where the discounts are most juicy because they can reach 3,300 Taiwanese dollars (NT$), about 95 euros in direct exchange, in a country where a motorcycle is around 900 euros. Those looking to change a car do have greater incentives, with discounts of up to NT$16,000 (about 460 euros). Although the state is putting pressure for motorists and drivers to change their vehicles, the results are being somewhat discreet. These subsidies have been active for three years and between 2022 and 2025 they have managed to remove from the market (to reach the maximum aid you have to scrap another combustion vehicle) just over 120,000 vehicles, adding all types of types and sizes. A figure that pales only with motorcycle sales, since each year about 700,000 vehicles of this type are registered on the market. That is, in three years the sum of motorcycles, cars and trucks replaced It barely exceeds total scooter sales by 5% in the same period of time. Getting the motorcycle market to switch to the electric market is key for the country. Not only because still the cheapest way to get aroundalso because it is key when it comes to reduce dependency that the country has from foreign oil. Having mobility that depends largely on renewable energies produced in the country itself is a significant step in its relations with the outside world. Photo | Faye Yu In Xataka | The first commercially ready solid state battery is here. And an electric motorcycle is going to take it

Who is Oesía, the Spanish technology company that has become the new major defense contractor

by

Unless you closely follow the defense sector in Spain, surely the name Oesía will not sound too familiar to you. A few days ago, the company it was news because it will be in charge of providing “eyes” to the Pizarro infantry combat vehicles, and it is not the only defense contract it has recently won. What is Oesia?. It is a business group financed 100% with Spanish private capital, chaired by the Catalan businessman Luis Furnells, who in turn is the main shareholder. The company has taken an important turn in the last decade and has gone from offering consulting and digital transformation services to focusing on solutions and services for the defense sector through its different brands: Oesia Networks: is the original arm of the company dedicated to digital consulting and hyperautomation processes. Tecnobit: the jewel in the crown. It is the reference brand in optronics (infrared and night vision), tactical communications and simulation. Cipherbit: Oesía boasts that it is the first cybersecurity and secure communications brand certified by NATO. UAV Navigation: specialized in guidance, navigation and control systems for unmanned vehicles. Inster: focused on satellite communications on the move (SOTM) in land, naval and air environments. Who is Luis Furnells. He is a Catalan businessman and manager who has dedicated himself mainly to the technology sector. He has been in charge of the Oesía Group since 2012 and, since 2014, also of its subsidiary Tecnobit. On your resume We find companies such as BBVA, La Caixa and Telefónica, in which he served as Chief Information Officer. He also founded the consulting firm LUCARit, which was later integrated into Oesía. One of his recent objectives at the head of the group, embodied in the 2023-2025 strategic planwas precisely to consolidate its position as a reference company in the field of defense. And he is achieving it. Why it is important. Oesía, specifically its subsidiary Tecnobit, has been chosen by Santa Bárbara Sistemas to modernize the fleet of Pizarro combat vehicles. Tecnobit has also been selected for produce key components for the PAC 3 missileof Lockheed Martinone of the more advanced missile defense systems. Oesía will manufacture specialized wiring and harnesses, positioning itself as an important player not only in national territory, but in international defense programs. Oesía is not alone. The company is not alone in its entry into the defense sector. As they point out in Digital Economyone of the most important contracts they have signed with their subsidiary Cipherbit, was achieved through an alliance with Epicom, a company dedicated to the design of cryptographic and key solutions in National Security. Oesía owns 30% of Epicomanother 30% Indra and the remaining 40% belongs to the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI). cifras. He Rearmament report from the National Security Observatory includes the contract won as a result of the alliance between Cipherbit and Epicom, which is placed in 11th position with an amount of 167 million euros. Another Oesía contract of more than 25 million euros also appears in the same report. In the case of the contract with Santa Bárbara Sistemas to modernize the Pizarro tanks, we are talking about 264 million euros. According to Economía Digital, the awards to Oesía are of at least 192 million euros, almost what the company invoiced in 2024. Image | Army, Oesía In Xataka | A space war looms over our heads and Europe is the power that invests the least in defense technology

We believed that the US was facing a major energy shortage problem for AI. The data says the opposite

by

To win the AI ​​race you need several things, but two are very important. The first, have the best technology and the best chips. The second, having enough energy to power those chips. The US has the first, but everything pointed to it having a major energy bottleneck. That is no longer so clear. China has plenty of energy. The China’s strategic visionwhich once again has been investing in the energy field for decades, is bearing fruit and the country has considerable room for maneuver in terms of energy supply. That is a factor that seems to tip the balance in its favor: Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, already warned that China can win the AI ​​race. According to him, China has more flexible regulation and its companies have government subsidies for the energy their data centers need. But the US has another philosophy. A deep study from the startup Epoch AI—responsible for FrontierMath AI benchmark— serves as a counterpoint to these pessimistic theories. In recent months we have seen how the US seems to have a real problem with the energy needed for AI data centers. China has not stopped increasing its energy generation capacity, but the US has not for a simple reason: until now it did not need it. Source: Epoch AI. However, Epoch AI explains that it is not that the US is not capable of creating more energy capacity: it simply has not needed it until now. While China has prepared for the future—even if that future does not come—the US has maintained a more conservative attitude: as long as there was no demand, it would not make any move. The immediate question, of course, is whether you can move it now or is it too late? And no, it doesn’t seem like it is. Forecast of necessary energy capacity for data centers in the US until 2030 according to different scenarios. In the worst of all of them (pink color), almost 80 GW of capacity will be needed. Source: Epoch AI. The demand is going to be huge. There is a reality: those ambitious plans to create more and more data centers throughout the US —with Project Stargate at the forefront—will cause data centers in the country to need between 30 and 80 GW of energy capacity in 2030. For those responsible for the study, it is perfectly possible that the US “gets its act together” – pun intended – and manages to increase its energy capacity. As? Various options. The US has room for maneuver. In order to supply all that energy that all those data centers will theoretically need, there are several clear alternatives according to the Epoch AI study: Natural gas: is relatively cheap and plants can be built quickly. There are three large companies that can cover this demand: GE Verona, Mitsubishi Heavy and Siemens. The plans of all of them point to a production of more than 200 GW in 2030. Even if they are not met, this supply (without being totally dedicated to AI) would already be an important part of the solution. Solar energy: the other big part of the solution, especially because its costs have fallen drastically and because it is very, very scalable. We have already seen how the US has the capacity to install 1,200 GW solar for IA thanks to its deserts, but at the moment Big Tech does not dare to use them. Once again, estimates point to around 200 GW of installed capacity in 2030, but even if these expectations are not met, this infrastructure will also be a clear part of the solution. Energy flexibility. The report also talks about a dynamic supply philosophy. Most of the time the US power grid is oversized for one simple reason: It is built to be able to supply power at peak peaks—like when everyone turns on the air conditioning—but most of the time there is plenty of power even to give to large AI data centers. This future infrastructure must be created with that same idea: oversized, but flexible. And there are other alternatives. The country is turning to energy solutions that it thought were buried to power data centers. Among them are the fossil plants that were theoretically going to close but that are returning to operation due to the astonishing increase in demand. There is also talk of going to military solutions and even more unusual alternatives, such as energy under volcanoes. Not to mention, of course, the nuclear power plants and the small nuclear reactors (SMR) that are already being used by some of the Big Tech for your data centers. Be careful with your electricity bill. The reality is that in the North American country data centers are growing faster than electrical infrastructure, and these facilities They are draining the country’s electricity. The situation is even causing electricity grid operators to ask be able to shut down data centers in times of high demand. And then there’s the other big side effect: AI data centers they are skyrocketing the electricity bill. When starting up an AI data center, power costs a tenth of what chips cost. Source: Epoch AI. There doesn’t seem to be a problem. Even with all those obstacles, Epoch AI’s conclusion is clear: “we doubt these challenges are significant enough to impede the scaling of AI.” In fact, they remember that what is actually expensive are the chips, not the energy, which represents a tenth of the investment in chips. The report concludes that China having an advantage is not necessarily true, and that the hypothetical US energy bottleneck “is much weaker than many people have indicated.” Image | Andrey Metelev In Xataka | Artificial intelligence has already reached nuclear power plants. And it’s going to change them forever

Aragón has just activated its second major data center project. The bet goes through a challenge that is difficult to ignore

by

Aragón is going through a unique moment: in just a few years it has gone from competing to attract data centers to announce three mega facilities new ones promoted by Forestalia that aim to strengthen their position on the European cloud map. The announcement by the regional government comes in the midst of a race to attract technological investment, but also in a territory where the electrical network works to the limit and every great project depends on decisions that have not yet been made. The result is a scenario as ambitious as it is full of unknowns, which will determine the real impact of this expansion. How these digital complexes work. A data center is, in essence, a technological heart that stores and processes information for millions of users and companies. Every series that is streamed or every operation carried out in the cloud passes through servers that require stable power and constant cooling. That is why the choice of location is so relevant: electrical capacity and operational security are needed. Aragón has been gaining ground on that map and today is seen as a strategic option for new facilities. The project. The Government of Aragon has detailed that the Búfalo Project includes three data centers in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, backed by an investment of 12,048 million euros. The deployment includes DCM Data, DCM Dédalo and DCM Blue, whose works would begin between 2028 and 2029 and will extend for approximately eight years. According to official estimates, the construction will generate about 30,000 temporary jobs. In the operational phase, each facility will add hundreds of workers, with a total that clearly exceeds a thousand stable positions. Aragón on the international board. The accumulated investments in data centers exceed 70,000 million euros and place the community in the same conversation as consolidated European hubs. According to the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, the computing capacity that is being configured rivals that of Dublin and Paris and aspires to approach that of Frankfurt. The regional Executive also states that the data that will be managed will have a European scope, from Germany or France to Italy and the United Kingdom, reinforcing the international dimension of the project. Distributed renewable self-consumption. The Government of Aragon presents self-consumption as a distinctive element of the Búfalo Project, since approximately half of the energy consumption will be associated with wind and photovoltaic parks powered by Forestalia. This volume of generation allows for a renewable supply, although it does not eliminate dependence on the general network, which will provide the rest of the energy. The underlying idea is to combine own generation with existing infrastructure to sustain large-scale facilities. Press to see the message in X The word “self-consumption” may lead one to think that data centers and renewable plants share the same physical space, but this is not the case. Forestalia is setting up parks in various regions of Zaragoza and Teruel, located where the natural resource is most favorable. The data centers, as we say, will be in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, and the connection between both worlds is made entirely through the Red Eléctrica network. It is a distributed scheme that coordinates generation and consumption without a single energy campus. A network to the limit. Aragon produces more electricity than it consumes and exports about 54% of its generation, but that abundance contrasts with a distribution network that functions practically at maximum. A report published in September 2025 sets its occupancy level at 94.3%, well above the national average of 84.3%. This saturation leaves little room to incorporate large consumers such as data centers. The result is a paradox: available energy, but an infrastructure incapable of delivering it to all projects. Projects that have already reached their peak. The bottleneck is not a future hypothesis, but a reality that already affects several operators. According to Heraldothe data centers in the pipeline have requested more than 6,000 MW and only a part has firm access, with cases such as Vantage, which has 90 MW authorized despite aiming for 300. Microsoft also depends on tenders in saturated nodes. The Government itself recognizes that everything will be linked to Red Eléctrica’s planning and the decisions of the central Executive. Water, a debate that is still open? The cooling of data centers has generated concern in Aragon since Amazon asked for late 2024 48% more water for the complexes that already operate in the region. Ecologistas en Acción and the Tu Nube Seca Mi Río platform then warned of the water impact of these facilities in the midst of a structural drought. Azcón maintains that future Forestalia centers will use a closed circuit with “practically imperceptible” consumption and affirms that the debate “is over.” In any case, everything indicates that this matter remains under public scrutiny. To facilitate the path of the Buffalo Project, The Government of Aragon has declared the initiative as of Autonomous General Interest, a figure that allows procedures to be simplified and the different administrations involved better coordinated. This declaration speeds up procedures, but does not resolve the main point of friction: the available electrical capacity. Hence, the regional Executive insists on its willingness to work with the central Government and Red Eléctrica, the only actors that can modify the network planning. Real progress will depend on those decisions. The announcement of the three new data centers, together with the rest of the initiatives in the pipeline, places Aragón at a decisive moment to consolidate its presence on the European cloud map. The investment is notable and so is the promised employment, but much of the result will depend on decisions that are not entirely in the hands of the community. The region has shown intention and movement, although it remains to be seen what the real scope of this bet will be. Images | İsmail Enes Ayhan | Jorge Azcón (X) In Xataka | The European Commission’s pendulum with AI is real: it will sacrifice privacy to … Read more

Spain fears a major collapse during the August 2026 eclipse, so it is already starting to design emergency plans

by

Spain has activated the machinery to prepare for one of the most anticipated natural phenomena with the greatest logistical impact: the total eclipse that we will experience next August 12, 2026. A phenomenon that will cross the north of the country and that will make Spain the focus of all lovers of these phenomena that nature gives us, and it is logical, since it is the first total solar eclipse visible from continental Europe since 1999. The challenge of having thousands of people gathered together looking at the sky, and also added to the large number of tourists who will arrive in the country, makes the Government has asked the autonomous communities to prepare security and mobility plans. Something that can be similar, for example, to the organization of a soccer World Cup, but concentrated in a few hours. In order to manage the logistics of this important date, the central government activated an inter-ministerial commission that recently had a second meeting with the regional representatives. The objective is to be able to have a joint response to the massive influx of visitors mainly to the north of Spain. And it is no wonder, since in experience we have in mind the ‘Great American Eclipse‘ of 2024 where thousands of people ended up collapsing parks and roads, even where the eclipse was partial. And we want to avoid as much as possible that this ends up being chaos in Spain. The estimate. We are not talking about a few thousand people interested in these phenomena, but the Government proposes that millions of people can move to follow the strip of totality that will diagonally cross 13 autonomies and at least 27 provinces from Galicia to Aragon, passing through Castilla y León, Cantabria, Navarra and La Rioja. The eclipse will occur just at sunset, with the Sun going completely dark for a few minutes while the Moon blocks its disk, peaking at 20:28. The zone of total darkness will also cross a part of northern Portugal, the extreme west of Iceland and an unpopulated strip of Greenland, but Spain will be the only country where it can be observed with full guarantees and from inhabited places. And in the case of Spain in particular, the truth is that it is something historic, since It will be the first to be seen from the Iberian Peninsula in more than a century. What is requested. The central government wants to anticipate problems that may arise, such as an emergency, which is likely when we talk about a mass of people at a specific point. But in addition to this, contingency plans must also be prepared on roads due to the large number of trips that can occur in a very short period of time. The problem here is that we are in a country that is not centralized in a single administration, and that is why the cooperation of all the autonomous communities is essential. The Ministry of Science emphasize which, in addition to guaranteeing safety and mobility, seeks to promote correct scientific dissemination and avoid risks such as the use of non-approved solar glasses, an aspect highlighted by Cigudosa to prevent damage or fraud in eye protection during observation. The problems. Among those they want to address is undoubtedly the possibility of having accidents on roads, kilometer-long traffic jams and blocked access to cities. This adds to the possible overload of the infrastructures of emptied Spain, since many observation points are located in rural areas or coastal areas with limited resources. This means that it can be very easy for secondary roads to collapse, mobile coverage towers to be saturated, and for there to not be enough fuel or food for all the spectators of this historic event in our country. Although we must also highlight the possibility of a greater number of forest fires due to bad human practices and precisely at a time of maximum risk. Those that are to come. The 2026 eclipse is just the starting signal for a ‘trio of eclipses’ that can be seen from Spain. The specific agenda we have is the following: August 12, 2026: the great northern eclipse, at sunset, which is total. August 2, 2027: Just one year later, another total eclipse will cross the southern tip of Spain. It will be visible from Cádiz, Málaga, Ceuta and Melilla. Unlike the first, this one will be in the morning and will be one of the longest of the century, with a total that will exceed 4 and a half minutes in the Strait. January 26, 2028: an annular eclipse (where the Moon does not completely cover the Sun, leaving a bright circle) will cross the south of the peninsula, visible from areas such as Seville or Granada. In this way, the Government has the task of preparing for three different events in a range of three years that will attract a large number of national and international curious people. In Xataka | Between 2026 and 2028 Spain will become an eclipse paradise. And we have new maps to know where they will look best

The National Police has arrested Major Cibernarco in Europe in Barcelona. And he has left a video message for cybercriminals

by

A 30 -year -old German citizen coordinated from Barcelona the largest drug market in the Dark Web European Archetyp Market has been functioning as an online narcotic supermarket for more than five years. Now has been arrested by the National Police. Why is it important. This platform had achieved what few illegal markets achieve: scale, longevity and reputation. It has reached 612,000 registered users and 3,200 active vendors. It had become a key piece of European drug trafficking. The figures: The business volume has reached 250 million euros in transactions. The store has marketed 17,000 lots of narcotics, from heroin and fentanyl to cannabis and synthetic drugs. Payments were made exclusively in Moneroa cryptocurrency specially valued by its anonymity guarantee. In 2018 we count on Xataka How easy we found to access this type of marketswhere in addition to drugs we could find weapons or guns. In detail. The administrator, known as “Roger” and with multiple digital alias, directed a complex structure. The servers were located in the Netherlands. He operated from Catalonia. His profile fit with the new drug trafficker: technologically sophisticated, businessly efficient, mediately active. Message that appears in the domains intervened in this operation. Image: Eurojust. Between bambalins. Operation Deep Sentinel involved 300 agents from six European countries. The German authorities first identified the suspect, but needed international cooperation to dismantle the entire network. Technical complexity required specialists in Dark Web and cryptocurrency analysis. Archetyp had filled the void left by other dismantled markets such as Dream Market and Silk Road. His longevity contrasted with the typical short life of these platforms, usually closed in months by the authorities. In the video of the operation, published by the National Police, you can see the multiple currencies that the detainee was handled at his home: Deepen. The operation included important seizures: high -end vehicles, luxury watches, 7.8 million euros in cryptocurrencies and several computer devices. The authorities confiscated complete digital infrastructure. Security forces have left A notice and a video message in the intervened domainswarning that the anonymity of the Dark Web It is not impregnable. In Xataka | One week on the Deep Web. This is what I found Outstanding image | National Police

Colombia’s archaeologists have been fearing looting for years. Now they add a major threat: Guaqueros influencers

by

The Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH) launched A statement To celebrate a relevant finding for researchers studying the country’s history: 114 archaeological pieces, especially ceramics, discovered in the south of Huilain the Andean region. So far nothing striking. The funny thing is that these treasures were not found anthropologists or archaeologists, but agents of the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office. Nor were they extracted from an ancient indigenous grave, a pre -Hispanic necropolis or A cave unexplored. No. The pieces were in the houses of two Influencers. It is the last example of a problem that worries the authorities and Colombian archaeologists: the rise of Influencers Guaqueros. Network slopes. Huila’s is just one more example of a phenomenon that has called attention of the Colombian press And he has done Jump alarms Among the defenders of the country’s archaeological heritage: the guaquería through the networks. Or otherwise, the people who are dedicated to lounge deposits and presume the process and the results through Tiktok or other platforms. It is concerned about the damage that they can cause to the Colombian heritage during their excavations, rudimentary and without the supervision of professional archaeologists and anthropologists; But worry about the speaker they find on the networks, which allows them to spread their activity and attract the attention of possible buyers or followers willing to point out the location of other deposits. @Laboyanos.com They capture guaqueros “influencers” in Saladoblanco Huila. They seized 144 archaeological pieces. In an operation carried out in the last hours in the rural area of ​​this municipality, the authorities managed to capture two known men in social networks for making Guaqueria and publishing the findings on their social networks. According to the report, 144 archaeological pieces and a replica were seized that the subjects allegedly passed the community and their followers. According to research, men promoted the looting and illicit traffic of archaeological goods through their publications, because in videos and photographs they were seen taking the assets of their original context, which caused the loss of invaluable information about the history of those objects and pre -Hispanic cultures to which they belonged. #Saladoblancohuila #Huilacolombia🇨🇴 #Guaqueros #Guaquerosencolombia #archeology #Laboyanoscom ♬ Original sound – Laboyanos.com Is it a new phenomenon? Yes. And no. The guaquería itself is not something new. The looting of indigenous graves in search of treasures It can go back To the colonial era, although there are those who point out that the boom of the guaquería would arrive much later, between the end of the 19th and early twentieth centuries. During a time of fact the search for treasures in The guacas (The graves of the ancient indigenous people) became a key activity for the economy of places like Quindó. Its history is extensive enough to Your approachlegacy and impact has varied over time. The guaqueros did not always seek their personal enrichment and in a way they played a key role in the history of archeology. “If it had not existed at the beginning of the 20th century, we would not have San Agustín or Teyuna,” I recently recognized to The country Alhena Caicedo, from ICANH. “At first what they did was find where the great deposits were. In the 19th it was the one that allowed, among other things, that archeology appeared.” What is new is that guaqueros use platforms like Tiktok to show their work, share their findings and disseminate an activity whose impact on heritage They already warn archaeologists. Huila’s is a clear example. According to Incahthe Influencers to those who withdrew the 144 pieces “promoted the looting and illicit traffic of archaeological goods through their publications.” “They were recorded by damaging and looting the goods and then making it public.” Is it common? In An article About the phenomenon published in March, Time He speaks of “hundreds” of videos disseminated over the last years, some with millions of reproductions and that show that the problem has spread to regions such as Antioquia, Huila, Caldas or Cundinamarca. Not just that. The newspaper ensures that between 2020 and 2024 the ICANH identified 13 accounts (some with several hundred thousand followers) related to the guaquería. “Irreparable damage”. What means and authorities do so much attention to the subject is explained for a simple reason: the guaqueros presume from the ceramics they find during their campaigns, but often when they are extracted by a valuable source of information for experts. After all, professional archaeologists obtain data from both the vessels themselves and their surroundings. “The problem with guaquería and improper extraction is that people do not know that the value of each piece is not only in itself, but especially in the context in which it is found,” Underline ICANH director. “The looting of archaeological pieces constitutes irreparable damage to the reconstruction and understanding of the past of the different human groups that occupied our territory,” insist From the Colombian Institute. “This practice produces irreversible losses of unique information about archaeological objects and its sites of origin.” With each looting, experts emphasize, stubble on the study of society, economy, religion and culture of indigenous people. “It’s not about our roots”. In videos you can see guaqueros manipulating mud vessels, necklaces or even bones, pieces that can lose part of their historical value if they are extracted rudimentary and without the supervision of professionals. “Data on the history and rituals of the indigenous peoples who inhabited these lands are being lost. It is not only about objects, but of knowledge about our roots,” warns Juan Pablo Ospina, coordinator of the ICANH Archeology Group in an interview in Huila Diario. Beyond the impact it may have for Colombian history, the looting of heritage can lead to legal consequences, such as warns The ICANH, who recalls that Law 397 of 1997 establishes that the pieces with archaeological value are “unattainable, imprescriptible and inalienable.” “Its alteration, undue manipulation, marketing or unauthorized export can generate irreversible effects and carry economic sanctions of up to 500 … Read more

9,000,000 dollars that prevented a major catastrophe in the great recession

by

On October 28, 1929, the Down Jones index collapsed almost 13%. It was one of the most devastating days of Wall Street and the ‘Black Monday‘who marked the Great Depression of 1930. The consequences worldwide were devastating, but it is a cyclical that was repeated in 2008 and that He threatened just a month ago. The financial crisis of 2008 was one of the greatest economic shocks in recent history, and in it there was a history as chanante as representative of the operation of the banks. The 9,000 million dollars check. Collapse. He Origin of the recession was … United States. The banks spent years emitting massively high -risk mortgages (credits to individuals who were not going to be able to pay them) and packaged those operations as opaque products and poorly qualified by valuation agencies (they had more risk than it was said). They were the calls “Toxic assets“That banks and funds from all over the world had bought. It is what caused rampant speculation and an artificial real estate bubble. And all the elements led to the fall of several financial institutions as powerful as Lehman Brothers. The banks stopped lending money, affecting both the entities and companies themselves. There was no money, the stock market fell into chopped jobs and governments had to inject billions to avoid the collapse of the financial system. Aid! Between it was Morgan Stanleyone of the world’s largest investment banks (the US Big Four with Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sach and Merrill Lynch) who needed the same as the rest of the entities: a rescue. The great independent entities sought how to get billions to continue operating, and the state of Morgan Stanley It was critical. After flirting with some banks, including a Chinese controlled by the state, they put their hopes in Mitsubishi UFJ. It is one of Japan’s biggest banks and, after intense negotiations, agreed to inject a stratospheric amount. 9,000 million. It is said soon, but with that figure they would get 21% of Morgan Stanley and an annual dividend of 10%. They would be done with a good piece of the American banking cake and Morgan Stanley could continue to operate, but there was a problem: there was no way that the amount arrived in time to avoid collapse. In fact, everything pointed in one address: if that money did not arrive, the bank would disappear. Time ran against a Morgan Stanley who, in a matter of days, saw how his shares fell from 60 dollars to less than $ 10. Transfer and holidays. We were in 2008 and the methods were the same as today (that does not speak well of traditional banking, precisely). The negotiation between the entities was urgently held a weekend and if you are one of those who make transfers, you already know what that means: banks do not make transfers on the weekend or holidays. Due to Columbus dayIn addition, they were going to be closed until Tuesday and, in addition, a transfer took between two and three days. It may, by then, Morgan Stanley no longer existed. In addition, the entity needed to make the announcement of the fusion as soon as possible to relieve the load a bit and show the investors that there was light at the end of the tunnel. The solution was as archaic as effective: paper and boli. Of joke. In the negotiation, one of the members of the Morgan Stanley team commented a “what a pity that you cannot simply extend a check. account That attendees laughed, but it was a laugh followed by something like “a moment, it can work.” And what if it worked: if Mitsubishi could face extending a check of 9,000 million dollars, nothing prevented Morgan from depositing it at the bank before the markets opened on Tuesday morning. Thus, they could announce the fusion, they would have the money on the account, the investors would be happy and the end of the story. Round. Japanese negotiators called the central, they found that they did have the ability to extend that check and the result was as follows: A role that guaranteed that Morgan Stanley received an injection of 9,000,000 dollars and that caused an increase in the price of shares of $ 9.68 to $ 17.92 when the markets opened on Tuesday. The operation had gone well for both and today, Morgan Stanley has a capitalization of 190,000 million, while Mitsubishi’s investment today exceeds 40,000 million. A round business that, rather than for history itself, is curious for how a piece of paper (the most expensive in history, could be?) It was imposed on the limitations of the Banks computer system. In fact, in the documentary that the firm made About their history a few years ago, they recognize the most important of this matter: they were lucky. Images | Mortan Stanley In Xataka | “A hole we have never seen”: 25% tariff

A European Startup and Microsoft have allied to overcome a major challenge: simulate brain reasoning

by

Simulate the human brain It is one of the great scientific challenges of our time. It is not just a matter of calculation power: for years, laboratories around the world have invested millions in trying to replicate their operation, but even with advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputing, the goal is still far away. Why is it so difficult? Because the brain is not only an information processor, but an ultra -efficient system of just 1.4 kg with more than 86,000 million interconnected neurons. Imitating their cognitive, emotional and linguistic abilities remains a border that we have not yet crossed, although some believe we are close. INAIT simulation technology and Microsoft’s computational power Inait, a Swiss startup founded in 2018 under the premise that “the only proven form of intelligence is in the brain”, has closed an alliance with Microsoft to develop models of the capable of simulating The reasoning of mammals. Their objective is to apply them in sectors such as finance, risk management and personalized advice. In theory, everything fits perfectly. Inait says having a simulation technology based on decades of research financed by the Swiss government, and Microsoft puts on the table the infrastructure and the business model necessary to transform this commitment into products ready to reach millions of customers worldwide. But the idea is not to develop human brains simulations with all its faculties overnight. Inait is training Digital models of different sizesdesigned to address specific challenges. For example, for advanced trading or the development of industrial machines capable of adapting to complex and dynamic environments. Digital visualization of a region of the Neocortex and the thalamus, including its network of blood vessels. Here the advantage is clear: take advantage of one of the most amazing faculties of the brain, which is its ability to face completely new scenarios and adapt quickly and continuously using previous knowledge. Even when it comes to sensory, emotional or social stimuli never before experienced. According to Financial TimesAdir Ron, director of AI and Cloud of Microsoft for emerging companies, highlighted the approach of the Swiss startup: “Inait is a pioneer in a new AI paradigm: it goes beyond traditional models based on data towards digital brains capable of a True cognition” For his part, Henry Markram, co -founder of INAIT, said that AI models based on brain simulations could not only learn much faster than current deep reinforcement systems, but also have significantly lower energy consumption. This would mean a key advantage in terms of efficiency and sustainability. Now we only have to wait to see if this vision translates into tangible advances or if, like so many other technological promises, You can’t advance enough. The possibility of building AI models that imitate the learning and adaptability of the human brain is a monumental challenge, but also an extremely interesting goal. Images | Milad Fakurian In Xataka | We already know at what speed our brain processes: just 10 bits per second In Xataka | Figure creates a system to make large -scale humanoid robots. And of course, there will be robots manufacturing robots

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.