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A young man has solved a mathematical problem that lasted 60 years in 80 minutes with ChatGPT. That’s the least interesting thing about the story.

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He is 23 years old, his name is Liam Price and he has no advanced mathematical training. Even so, a few days ago he opened the Erdös problem websitepicked one at random and pasted it into ChatGPT. I didn’t know the history of the problem or who had tried it before. What he received back seemed like a good solution, and after consulting with a friend who was studying mathematics, the two realized they might be on to something special. A few hours later Terence Tao, one of the most renowned mathematicians in the world, confirmed that problem #1196 of Erdös, a conjecture about primitive sets of integers that had not been solved since 1966, had a solution. I had found her GPT-5.4 Pro in just 80 minutes. Not like that. This problem analyzed a question about the behavior of a particular mathematical sum on primitive sets, that is, sets of integers where none divides the other, when those numbers become very large. Jared Lichtman, a Stanford mathematician, had spent years on the problem and had made partial progress, but he and those who had tried before were starting from the same starting point that seemed like the right path. A novel idea. GPT-5.4 used another starting point. He stayed in the airmetic terrain and used a special function called von Mangoldt functiona classic tool of number theory known for its connections to prime numbers and Riemann zeta function. No one had thought about that approach to the problem, and as Lichtman explained when talking about the OpenAI model solution, “The LLM took a completely different route.” The achievement is real, but with nuances. Litchman praised the proposed solution by GPT-5.4, but there is one detail that has been omitted in many comments on this event: the raw output of ChatGPT was, in the words of this mathematician, “pretty poor.” This solution made it necessary for several experts to interpret it, detail it and extract from it the underlying idea that allowed the conjecture to be solved. Price didn’t know he had the solution until his friend read it, and he wasn’t sure until Tao confirmed it. The official repository of AI contributions to Erdös problemsmaintained by Tao himself on GitHub, classify the result as a solution generated in human-AI collaboration, not as a solution developed solely by AI. The distinction is important. A previous scandal. A few weeks ago Sebastien Bubeck, a researcher at OpenAI, posted on X that GPT-5 had “solved” several Erdös problems. That publication exceeded 100,000 views, but the mathematical community and also that surrounding the AI ​​industry criticized that statement. Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, called that statement “shameful.” What had actually happened is that the model I had found solutions to already solved problems on the web. Bubeck finished deleting the original tweet and tried to back down, but all this raised doubts about the validity of the application of AI to solve mathematical problems. AI and the mathematical success rate. Terence Tao and Nat Sothanaphan maintain the aforementioned record of all AI contributions to Erdös problems on GitHub. Each of the entries in that list or table is classified with a traffic light: green for complete solution, yellow for partial progress, and red for failure. In the category of completely AI-generated solutions with no known prior literature there are three green, fourteen yellow, and eight red traffic lights. However, the repository itself adds a unique comment: those who try to use AI to solve these problems and fail do not usually report it, so it is likely that AI has been applied “silently” to a large number of these problems without success, and those attempts do not appear in any table. There is a clear bias here because only successes generate headlines. Trying to measure what matters. In February 2026, eleven mathematicians created the initiative “First Proof“. In it they included ten mathematical problems that arose naturally in their research projects. For each one they included encrypted answers uploaded to a verification site, and they gave the AI ​​systems a week to try to solve those problems that had never appeared in any training data set. Preliminary results indicate that today AI models cannot overcome that barrier autonomously, and what happens is that there are still limits to what AI can really contribute in mathematics. But then, is there a revolution or not? Terence Tao offered a clear explanation as to why GPT-5.4 had succeeded where others had failed for 60 years. What had happened was what he described as a collective blockage of the mathematical community, because everyone started from the same origin because it was “the natural one”, the one marked by tradition. The AI ​​didn’t know that was the “correct” way to start, and that ignorance turned out to be an advantage. It’s not that the AI ​​was smarter, it’s that it had no biases about how to approach the problem. Now it remains to be seen if this novel way of trying to solve problems in unorthodox ways works. This will confirm whether what happened with Erdös’s problem number 1196 was an isolated case or whether a 23-year-old boy has managed to change our vision of how to tackle mathematical problems. Image | Universal Pictures In Xataka | There is a mathematically perfect way to cut a ham and cheese sandwich and it has been discussed since 1938.

a battery that charges in six minutes

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CATL, literally the largest Chinese battery company in the world, has just presented its new technologies at its Tech Day, and has left us some very interesting gems, including its new ultra-fast charging batteries. And the manufacturer has managed to develop a battery capable of charging the car in just over six minuteswith an autonomy that far exceeds current limits. The Achilles heel of the electric. The biggest psychological barrier for anyone considering buying an electric car remains the same: how long it takes to charge and how far it goes on a charge. CATL has been trying to eliminate this problem at its roots through innovation for years. What it has presented now has possibly been the biggest leap that the company has taken on both fronts at the same time. What you have presented. The company has announced two technologies main. The first is the third generation of its Shenxing battery, made of chemical LFP (lithium-ferrophosphate), which manages to charge from 10% to 98% in 6 minutes and 27 seconds. In just 3 minutes and 44 seconds it reaches 80%. The company claims that even at temperatures of -30°C, the battery can be charged from 20% to 98% in just 9 minutes. The key to these magnificent figures is the world’s lowest internal resistance for ultra-fast charging: 0.25 milliohms, half the industry average. On the other hand, there is the new version of its Qilin condensed battery, aimed at long-haul vehicles, which reaches 1,500 kilometers of autonomy on a single charge, according to affirms the company. That is more or less equivalent to going from Madrid to Paris without recharging, and on paper you would still have autonomy. The previous version reached 1,000 km. How is it compared to BYD. CATL’s main rival in the global electric vehicle battery market is BYD, and there is so much competition between both companies that they are pushing the pace of innovation to an unprecedented level. Just a few days ago we were in Paris at the European presentation of Denza, where BYD showed the capabilities of its Blade Battery 2.0capable of charging from 10% to 97% in 9 minutes. On paper, CATL’s new Shenxing improves that time significantly, achieving practically the same load in just over 6 minutes. In extreme cold conditions, the difference is also in favor of CATL: 9 minutes compared to the 12 minutes needed by the BYD system for similar loads at -30 °C. But hey, regardless of the manufacturer, the truth is that the figures being achieved today are quite spectacular. Together, both companies control more than half of the global electric car battery market. According to data From SNE Research, CATL closed 2025 with 39.2% of the global market, while BYD occupied second place with 16.4%. Other technologies. CATL has also announced relevant developments on other fronts. presented the second generation of its Freevoy hybrid battery, which mixes LFP and NCM chemistry at the powder level for extended range hybrid vehicles (EREV). This battery allows up to 600 km of pure electric range with ultra-fast charging as standard. By the end of this year, in addition, the company has promised to begin mass production of sodium-ion batteries, a technology that reduces dependence on lithium, cobalt and nickel. Charging points. In infrastructure, which is perhaps the part that most interests the consumer, CATL has announced which will build 100,000 battery charging and changing points in China before the end of 2028, in collaboration with several car manufacturers in the country. As usual, in Europe we have to wait. Mass adoption and infrastructure is one of the fundamental steps for the end customer to opt for an electric vehicle. In Spain we have plenty of charging pointsbut according to latest Anfac barometeronly 4% of the available charging points reach 250 kW of power or more, the threshold necessary to access this type of ultra-fast charging. In fact, BYD needs 1,500 kW of power, and they plan to bring about 3,000 points in Europe by 2026. So yes, there is still some way to go in this. Cover image | Zaptec In Xataka | Xiaomi or Xpeng car factories are so advanced that they have become the favorite destination of Chinese schools

Last year, almost no robots finished the Beijing half marathon. This year one has broken the human world record by seven minutes

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The half marathon world record is held by Jacob Kiplimo with a time of 57:20 achieved just a month ago in Lisbon. This Sunday a humanoid robot called Lightning ran that distance in 50:26achieving for the first time a milestone that had never been achieved. Robots seemed clumsy and unable to outrun humans, but that is no longer true. And it’s just the beginning. Robots are already faster than humans. In the half marathon held on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Beijing, the absolute dominators were the humanoid robots. Lightning not only broke the human world record by almost seven minutes: he managed to arrive 17 minutes before the first human runner to cross the finish line. The first three classified They were also Lightning models developed by Honor. From disaster to excellence. The first edition of this same event, the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, It was an absolute disaster for humanoid robots. Only a third of those who ran it managed to finish the race, they were controlled remotely and ran at a pace much lower than that of human runners. This year things were very different: more than 100 robots were presented and most finished the test, but also almost half ran autonomously and several managed to surpass even the best human runners in the world. This is Lightning. The winning robot measures 169 centimeters, weighs 45 kg and was specifically designed to adapt to complex terrain and move at high speed. Its legs measure about 95 cm and its proportions are designed to imitate the stride of elite human runners. It has a liquid cooling system which curiously has been adapted from the one found on Honor smartphones. Du Xiaodi, engineer in charge of this project at Honor, explained that “Running faster may not seem significant at first glance, but it allows technological transfer, for example in structural reliability and cooling, and eventually in industrial applications“. Not everything went well. The race, however, also had moments in which the robots failed. One of them collided with a nearby vehicle although he managed to stabilize himself and continue walking. The H1 model from Unitree, the most famous humanoid robot manufacturer in China, collapsed as it approached the finish line and had to be removed from the road. One of the Lightning models hit a barrier after crossing the finish line, and some other robots they had difficulties with the curves and unevenness of the route. The event also served as a test bed for batteries, joints, motors and algorithms that control these machines. Industrial applications. Xiaodi mentioned it but also Liu Xiangquan, professor of robotics at the University of Science and Information in Beijing. According to him, these long-distance races allow the resistance and behavior of these robots to be evaluated, something essential for their application in industrial environments. Here not only speed is evaluated, but also the aforementioned resistance, stability or the capacity for autonomous navigation in uncontrolled environments. But a key component is missing. Although the demonstration and milestone is fascinating, what this field needs most is other things. For example, advance manual dexterityperceive the real environment in unforeseen situations and be able to perform varied tasks and not focus so much on repetitive movements. Industrial robots are already good at that, but here we are looking for much more versatility because at the moment these robots They are not able to fold clothes or put the plates and cutlery in the dishwasher with sufficient speed and dexterity. China continues to set the robotic pace. The Asian country has completely devoted itself to the world of robotics. Dominate this segment and its companies They manufacture 80% of global production. In recent months we have seen spectacular demonstrations such as the one Unitree carried out with a dozen humanoid robots at a martial arts show. Sunday’s half marathon is one more element of that narrative and that message that China is leaving to the world: robots are our thing. And in a year, what? Breaking the world record is very striking, but this event tells another story: that of how in just one year Chinese manufacturers have managed to improve their models in an amazing way. If everything continues to improve at this rate, it is difficult to predict what the robots that run the next marathon will be capable of, but it seems logical to think that at this point the athletic ability of robots will be absolutely amazing. Image | CGTN In Xataka | In China they are not satisfied with creating advanced robots: a company has developed a head that gestures like a human

It took them two minutes to hack the EU app for minors. It’s not as serious as it seems

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In the middle of the week, the EU announced that he already had his tool ready to verify age on the internet. It put on the table a solution to prove identity when accessing online services, and finally unify a control method for minors. In just 48 hours someone has already hacked the application, but there is a trick. what has happened. Paul Moorecybersecurity consultant, shows in X the vulnerabilities of the app that the European Union promised to have ready. Specifically, the app asks us to create a PIN of four to six digits to protect our identity. A pin in theory encrypted and saved in a file. Moore has discovered that, at least in the version of the app that he has been able to test, the encryption PIN can be deleted from the file and the previously configured profile can be entered. In other words, you just need to delete a line of code to access the data. What is the error. The app, despite the fact that the EU indicates that it was already ready, currently does not encrypt this PIN. Nor are the credentials linked to a specific PIN so that, if someone tries to change or delete it, our data cannot be accessed. He also points out that, at least right now, the app trusts too much data to an editable file. If an attacker accesses it, it is quite easy for them to bypass the app’s layers of protection and use someone else’s identity. It ends by showing how the obligation to use biometrics is a boolean variable (true or false), modifiable by changing “false” and “true” in the editable file. Why is there a trick. There is a distance from saying to doing, and the European Union has launched a triple by ensuring that its app “is now ready.” The version to which the consultant has had access is not the final one, it is a demo version in which the security layers have not yet been added. Beyond being minor bugs, they are structural errors that should not even be present in an initial version. The controversy arises when Ursula von der Leyen assures that the app is “technically ready”, presents it at a press conference, and hours later it is learned that it is still in the testing phase. Why is it important. Despite being a pre-production version, the hack helps us get an idea of ​​the app’s operation and interface, as well as the possible limitations it may have at the security level. In fact, it would not be the first time that an app from the EU or the Spanish administration has had serious security incidents. On January 30 of this year, the European Commission detected signs that its mobile device management platform (in which it stores data on its employees) had been compromisedand Radar COVID was born in Spain without complying with the RGPD. What has tipped us off. The initial version of the age verification app shows us a simple interface in which, after entering the PIN, we have three verification methods. Through our ID By passport Using a QR code The app has four sections: welcome, consent, security (PIN) and verification. The app developers will be responsible for integrating this European solution into their apps and, despite Von der Leyen’s fervor, there is still no date for its arrival. In Xataka | Is it time to end anonymity? The arguments for and against the pillar on which the internet has been built

They promised us that 20 minutes of sparking was equivalent to 4 hours in the gym. Science says it’s more complicated

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Since humans became aware of the existence of electric current, they have tried to apply that power to their own body. As detailed in a report by The Wall Street Journalthis fascination goes back a long way: from the ancient Roman belief in the healing impact of torpedo fish, to the famous vibrating belt machines that promised to sculpt silhouettes in the 1950s. Today, the industry fitness has taken it a step further with whole body muscle electrostimulation (WB-EMS). The concept itself seems straight out of a science fiction movie: users don a wet suit covered in electrodes that delivers simultaneous shocks to major muscle groups for about 20 minutes. The marketing hook is irresistible, as these strength and bodyweight training sessions are sold as the ultimate shortcut to replacing hours of sweat in the gym. On social networks, dozens of influencers They upload videos doing squats and arm lifts while wearing this bionic suit. But, beyond the aesthetics and the promise of a toned body with little effort, what is true in all this? From the clinic to global fashion The technology behind electrostimulation is not a recent invention nor was it born in a trendy gym. Initially, it was used in hospitals and rehabilitation settings for a strictly medical purpose: to relieve pain, prevent muscle atrophy in bedridden patients, and improve circulation. However, in recent years, it has experienced explosive growth as a business model. fitness. The data is there. On the ClassPass platform, the number of centers offering EMS training worldwide increased more than 16% between 2023 and 2025. International franchises such as the French Iron Bodyfit plan to open more than 50 studios in the United States in the next three years, while the Californian company Body20 has gone from 46 to 67 locations nationwide since 2023. All this despite the fact that it is not an economic activity: classes cost between $40 and $100 per session. To understand the phenomenon, you have to understand how the experience works. The wet suit—water is necessary to conduct electricity effectively—sends electrical impulses directly to the muscle. This forces a greater percentage of muscle fibers to contract simultaneously involuntarily. As described by journalist Ellen Gamerman in The Wall Street Journalthe physical sensation is similar to that of receiving a call on a mobile phone in vibrate mode, with the difference that, in this case, “you are the phone.” Combined with core exercises, the level of muscle contraction makes the effort feel as intense as a high-intensity interval (HIIT) class. If you extend one arm without bending it slightly, the current can cause it to lock up completely until the trainer lowers the intensity of the machine. But who is attracted to this technology? Helge Guetzlaff, business development director of the German brand Miha Bodytec, joked in the American newspaper claiming that it attracts “a lot of lazy people.” However, Sabine Padar, owner of the exclusive Body Alchemist NYC studio, points out that she often has to convince her clients that spending more hours in the gym is not the only way to gain muscle. She insists that EMS sessions aren’t necessarily easier than traditional training, they’re just faster. The user profile is varied: from women concerned about losing strength during menopause to fashion professionals, such as Max Auth, a director of the Wolford brand who confesses to spending about $300 a month on these sessions to maintain his figure with a minimal investment of time. The reality bath Faced with marketing claims that “20 minutes are equivalent to 4 hours in the gym”, the scientific community has decided to take action on the matter. Cedric X. Bryant, executive director of the American Council on Exercise, points in WSJ that these claims are hyperbolic and that what one should expect from these workouts is being greatly exaggerated, while acknowledging that they may offer mild to moderate improvements. To shed light on the matter, various studies have analyzed the real impact of WB-EMS on different population groups: In older and sedentary adults: A research published in Clinical Interventions in Aging demonstrated the effectiveness of this technology in sedentary and thin older women, at risk of sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) and abdominal obesity. After subjecting a group of 23 women to 18 minutes of WB-EMS (three sessions every 14 days) for 12 months, the results showed significant and positive differences in appendicular muscle mass and a reduction in abdominal fat mass compared to the control group. The study concluded that, given the good acceptance of the technology, WB-EMS is a valid and less daunting alternative for subjects who do not want or cannot do conventional exercise. In recreational athletes: Another essay published in Frontiers in Physiology analyzed the effects of WB-EMS in male recreational runners. For 6 weeks, participants reduced their running training to a single day per week and added a weekly WB-EMS session. The results indicated that the electrostimulation group improved their maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), their ventilatory thresholds, their running economy and their vertical jump. This suggests that WB-EMS may be an effective stimulus to maintain and even improve performance in periods where resistance training volume is reduced. The definitive comparison (The WB-EMS is not a miracle): To check whether electrostimulation is really superior to classic sweating, the FIT-AGEING project evaluated 89 sedentary middle-aged adults. A rigorous study also published in Frontiers in Physiology divided the subjects into three 12-week programs: traditional concurrent training (recommended by WHO), high intensity interval training (HIIT), and HIIT added to WB-EMS. Finally, all types of exercise induced similar increases in cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength. In fact, the scientists explicitly concluded that the changes observed in the WB-EMS group were not superior to those of the other conventional exercise programs. The suit does not provide any extra decisive advantage compared to sweating the shirt in a traditional way. The silent danger of overexertion Despite the obvious benefits, WB-EMS is not a toy and carries risks if not properly supervised. As he … Read more

This robot vacuum cleaner has a self-emptying base, 180 minutes of autonomy and LiDAR navigation. Everything without reaching 85 euros

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Keeping our house clean is almost as necessary as a real pain in the ass. For this reason, any technological help that we can have for this is always welcome and there are few things more useful than a robot vacuum cleaner. Do you want one without costing you a fortune? Well, keep an eye on this iLife A30 Pro: on AliExpress it comes out 84.03 euros if we use the coupon ‘ESA13‘. At this price, it’s hard to find something better. ILIFE A30 Pro Vacuum Cleaner and Mop, Self-Emptying Station for 60 Days, 5000Pa Suction, LiDAR Navigation, 2.4G WiFi/App The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A robot vacuum cleaner that is surprising for its price As we have been telling you since yesterday, the AliExpress Anniversary It’s back with a vengeance this year. There are really powerful offers and this iLife robot vacuum cleaner is a more than perfect example to illustrate them. If we take a look in stores like amazon either Leroy Merlin, The price of this model is around 200 euros. For this reason, this AliExpress offer is a real treat, but even more so if we take a look at what this iLife A30 Pro offers. The first thing is the suction power, which is 5,000 Pa. Translated into practice, it is more than enough to carry away dust, crumbs and even animal hairthe things that most often populate the floors or carpets of our homes. Plus, it also scrubs. It is also worth stopping a little while browsing. It has a LiDAR system that It is not usually present in robot vacuum cleaners in this price rangewhich is already a point in its favor. Thanks to it, you will move well between rooms and overcome the obstacles you encounter, avoiding those uncomfortable headbutts that these types of devices sometimes cause. Beyond all of the above, perhaps one of its greatest assets is its self-emptying base. This will clean the robot’s tank and, as the dirt ends up in a 2.5 liter capacity bag, It’s enough so that we don’t have to do anything for about 6 or 7 weeks. And it has plenty of autonomy, since it offers up to 180 minutes if we use its gentle mode. It is reduced if we use more suction power, of course. This iLife A30 Pro does not seek to be the best robot vacuum cleaner on the market, but it is one of the best options we can buy if we want to spend as little as possible. For less than 90 euros, It is very difficult for us to find something better. And in fact, it is rocking it on AliExpress: it has more than 10,000 sales and an almost perfect average rating. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | iLife In Xataka | Best robot vacuum cleaners in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models In Xataka | Best cordless upright vacuum cleaners. Which one to buy and seven recommended broom vacuum cleaners from 139 euros

Science has calculated the real impact of reading books on your brain. And it has a very simple recipe: 30 minutes a day

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It is well known that a sedentary lifestyle It is one of the great enemies of public healthespecially at advanced ages where muscle loss is a great danger. However, there are sedentary activities that are really beneficial and that we sometimes stop, such as reading books. Its benefit is such that science has shown that immersing yourself in the pages of a good book It not only feeds the intellect, but also lengthens life. The demonstration. One of the most important studies who wanted to focus on the benefits of reading, beyond the cognitive benefits or the richness of vocabulary for everyday life, analyzed a group of 3,635 nationally representative participants in the United States over 12 years. And as a result, they saw that the longer the time spent reading books, lower risk of mortality. The results. To understand the magnitude of the discovery, the researchers followed all the patients until 20% of them died and only 80% remained. There they put the cut and began to draw conclusions. The first is that non-readers reached this point at 85 months, while book readers reached this same threshold at 108 months. This is something that translates into a 23-month survival advantage for those who had the habit of reading books, or in other words, readers reduced the risk of mortality by 20% throughout the 12 years of follow-up. Furthermore, this protection was maintained regardless of a person’s gender, wealth, education, or health status. The format matters. Although you may think that any type of reading is appropriate, even the back of a shampoo, the reality is quite different. In this case, the study explicitly compared the impact of reading books versus reading the newspaper or a magazine. The findings here demonstrated that reading books contributes to a significantly greater survival advantage than that seen with newspapers or magazines. While magazines offer short articles that we often skim, books require a higher level of concentration. Something that is enhanced above all because the authors constantly present themes, characters and topics and that is essential to be able to follow the thread of the story that is being presented to us. Because? Here science is quite clear that the key is in the brain, since the “cognitive score” functioned as a complete mediator of this survival advantage. This means that reading books improves cognition and it is this cognitive improvement that prolongs life. Here reading books activates different specific neural processes that create this advantage. Among the most notable points, we find that active reading of books improves skills such as reasoning, concentration, critical thinking and vocabulary. But it also promotes social perception, empathy and emotional intelligence, which can lead to better health behaviors and stress reduction. Fundamental things when we talk about extending life. It’s backed up. In addition to the original study published in 2016, science has wanted to continue investigating the benefits of reading with a study published in 2024 where the complexity of reading in older adults pointed to less cognitive decline. But it has also been decided to analyze even the cultural level of the citizens, where it has been seen that low literacy increases mortalityonce again making the act of reading books stimulate our brain and protect our cognitive reserve. Although it is not necessary to be reading all day to guarantee having a better brain, studies specifically point out that with about 30 minutes a day It is enough to start reaping these advantages and obtain more years of life in which to continue reading. Images | Blaz Photo In Xataka | The problem is not that we are reading fewer books: it is that the books we read are much simpler and easier

Science is clear that it is better to ‘suffer’ 10 minutes a day

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For years we have had a daily goal burned into our minds and also on the activity bracelets we have on our wrists: take 10,000 steps a day. A mantra that doctors have repeated, like the intake of two liters of water a daybut little by little it is pivoting to a completely different approach, since it does not depend on how much we move, but on how we do it. A paradigm shift. Expert Rhonda Patrick already pointed out Because as a society we should consider changing the goal of 10,000 steps in our daily lives to give way to a new concept that is revolutionizing preventive medicine, which is VILPA, which is the acronym for ‘Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity’ in English. This refers to doing small bursts of exercise of one or two minutes on a daily basis and which can be done several times a day. Something that is very simple, and although it may seem like it may have a harmless result in patients, the results point to the opposite. Its importance. To see if this works or not, we can go to the data extracted from the large groups of UK Biobank patients already a study published in 2022 which analyzed more than 25,000 people. Here it was seen that only 3 to 4 minutes of VILPA daily with bursts of just 1-2 minutes is associated with a 26-30% reduction in total mortality and specifically from cancer. But if we go further, we also observe a reduction of between 32% and 34% in cardiovascular mortality. However, the most relevant thing is that the benefits increase almost linearly the more minutes of vigorous activity you accumulate. Better than being sedentary. If we look at the most recent studies, such as published by The Lancent This year with more than 135,000 participants, it was confirmed that going from doing nothing to adding just between 1 and 6 minutes of vigorous exercise reduces mortality by 30% in the most sedentary people. The conclusion here is quite clear because we have a great performance investing very little time in the sport. It’s not all at once. One of the big doubts we have is whether those 10 minutes we are talking about have to be done in one go or if it is worth running a little to catch the bus. Here studies suggest that the way you do it does not matter as much as the total dose of exercise. This means that taking small exercise pills throughout the day offers the same benefits as doing them in one continuous session at the gym. This is great news for those who do not have time to go to a gym to train, since climbing the stairs quickly or carrying heavy bags counts, a lot. Rejuvenate the heart. One of the methods we have available to better structure the intensity of training It’s in the ‘Norwegian 4×4’. A protocol developed by different researchers that advocates applying four four-minute intervals of very high intensity along with three minutes of moderate active recovery between each block. With this simple regimen, the heart can be ‘rejuvenated’, causing the left ventricle to reverse its morphological changes and also improving the maximum volume of oxygen in patients with heart failure. That is why we have a much more efficient heart. You have to walk. Obviously, taking 10,000 steps a day is not stupid, and we must continue taking walking as an excellent habit for metabolic and joint health. However, the “10 minutes of intensity” figure supported by VILPA studies reveals an uncomfortable truth: walking at a walking pace does not replace the physiological benefit of being short of breath. As studies in huge cohorts show, introducing just a few minutes where your heart works at its maximum generates a great benefit in health and longevity compared to simple step volume. Images | Ingo Jakubke In Xataka | Neither walking nor running: science suggests that the squat is the true “drug” for healthy aging

A group of Spanish pilots wait in front of Russia for an alarm that will sound 500 times in 2025. They only have 15 minutes to launch their fighters

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A few minutes from Russian airspace, a handful of Spanish pilots live in the most tense routine that exists in peacetime: be ready to take off at any moment from an icy base from the Balticone where the sky is watched as if each blip on the radar could be the start of something bigger. Fifteen minutes. At Šiauliai, a Lithuanian air base that functions as first line of surveillance over the Baltic, the routine can be broken at any second with a siren and a countdown. When the alert goes off (in 2025 alone it did so up to 500 times), the Spanish pilots of the 15th Wing They put on their equipment, get into the vans and run towards the hangars with a single objective: to be in the air in less than fifteen minutes. It is a millimetric mechanic, repeated so many times in training that becomes automaticbecause the mission does not wait for anyone and because in that area an unidentified plane, without a transponder or without communication, can be the beginning of a serious incident. The shadow of an enemy. The function of these quick exits, called “scrambles”is to intercept and escort suspicious aircraft until they leave Allied space or their intentions become clear, and in the Baltic they are almost an everyday language. The route is especially sensitive because it connects Russia with the militarized enclave of Kaliningradand there intersect fighters, surveillance planes and traffic that sometimes fly without a flight plan or without the expected signals. The result is constant tension: some days there are several outings and other weeks everything seems calm, but the feeling is always the same, that the next warning can come when you are resting or half asleep. 15th Wing Fighter Mission since 2004. NATO started this baltic air police in 2004 to protect the space of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and since then the countries have taken turns in rotation four months so that the umbrella is permanent. Over time, the deployment was expanded to other bases in the region, first after the first Russian invasion of Ukraine and later with further expansion, because the Eastern Front ceased to be a theoretical concept. In recent months, furthermore, the incursions became more disturbing due to a new detail: not only manned aircraft appeared, but also drones that crossed borders and forced us to react quickly. Spain and the fighters. The Spanish contingent arrived in December with more than 200 troops and eleven EF-18Ma modernized version of the Hornet that Spain operates and maintains ready to fly day or night. The planes are armed with air-to-air missiles and the pilots train with night vision goggles, because surveillance does not stop when the sun goes down. Behind each exit there is a system that monitors the sky relentlessly, control centers that detect traces on the radar and a decision chain that, when activated, turns the entire base into a fast, silent and perfectly rehearsed choreography. Drones change the script. The big twist is that now the problem is not only the classic military plane that approaches without identifying itself, but the emergence of cheap dronesslow, low and erratic, more difficult to classify and more complicated to stop with means designed for another era. It we have counted. In September last year, a wave of Russian drones penetrated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, and then there were similar episodess that forced the activation of fighter jets in countries like Romania. In parallel, small unidentified drones began to be seen near airports, bases and sensitive facilities throughout Europe, fueling the feeling of vulnerability and suspect that someone is measuring response times and blind spots. Crow, the anti-drone. For this reason, in this deployment the 15th Wing arrived with a historical novelty for them: the Indra Crow systeman anti-drone defense that adds a different layer of protection to the base and its surroundings. Crow combines radars, cameras and sensors to detect small aircraft and, once located, attempts to take them down using signal jamming, that is, electronic warfare from fixed or mobile positions. Its range not only protects planes and runways, it also covers the nearby city, because the real goal is to shield critical infrastructure and reduce the risk of a cheap drone causing disproportionate damage. The cost dilemma. Behind this adaptation is a problem that NATO is being forced to solve at full speed: intercepting cheap drones with weapons designed to shoot down fighters is an unsustainable equation. Firing expensive missiles from a fighter jet to take down a small aircraft may work, but it turns every defense in a waste and opens the door to volume saturation. That is why procedures and tactics are being reviewed, looking for cheaper and more specific systems, and assuming that the fighter will no longer always be the best tool to put out the fire. The strategic signal. The arrival of fighters with anti-drone protection It reflects a Europe that begins to fortify the sky as if war were already knocking at the door, although it has not yet fully crossed. In the Baltic, each rotation is a political and military message: there is presence, there is a response and there is an intention to fill gaps that did not exist before. Thus, what was previously an almost routine escort and identification mission is becoming a comprehensive defense exercise against hybrid threatswhere the enemy can be a large plane, a tiny drone or a provocation designed solely to check if, when the alarm sounds, there is really someone capable of taking off in those fifteen minutes. Image | Pexels, Pavel Vanka In Xataka | There are “invisible” Russian submarines happily sailing through the Baltic and that has led Europe to unprecedented measures In Xataka | A Russian submarine has appeared off the coast of France. And Europe’s reaction has been surprising: have a laugh

The “sweet spot” of exercise according to science is 30 minutes

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For many years the goal of taking 10,000 steps per day has been the universal health mantrarepeating itself in medical consultations or being predefined in smart watches that monitor physical activity. But this mantra is evolving thanks to the latest evidence we know, since it is not just about how many steps you take, but how they occur. A sweet spot. For this science has identified the ideal when doing physical activity: 30 minutes of brisk walking (walk at a brisk pace) at a constant speed of 5 km/h. This habit is not only more efficient than taking random walks, but Delivers metabolic benefits previously only attributed to high-intensity gym workouts. An important threshold. The fact of having to exceed a speed of 5 km/h It is crucial when walking with the purpose of improving cardiovascular health. And for a walk to be considered “moderate intensity exercise”, it is not enough to move. Science in this case considers that there is a critical threshold that we must keep in mind when recommending doing the exercise: 100 steps per minute. That is what translates into this approximate speed of 5 km/h. And it is not something random, since it has been seen that at this speed there is a significant reduction in the glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) related to diabetes and systolic blood pressure (known as ‘high’). The secret is continuity. One of the most powerful findings from the studies It is precisely in the amount of time we invest in sport. And there is a big difference between continuous 30-minute sessions, in which we only walk, versus accumulated sessions, where we walk for five minutes and then stop continuing. In this case, the continuous 30-minute session is what has been found to be best for reducing insulin sensitivity, improving resistance, hip circumference, and also exercise adherence. And although it is good to move 5 minutes every hour to avoid a sedentary lifestyle, the reality is that it is best to dedicate only half an hour a day continuously. A shield against aging. For the middle-aged population, walking is literally life insurance. Different studies suggest that walking at 5 km/h for 30 minutes a day, for five days a week, helps reduce the risk of stroke (due to lowering blood pressure). But in addition to this, it also combats anxiety and stress, which is undoubtedly one of the big problems we have in today’s society with the stress hormone triggered and doing a lot of damage to our body. With all this, the increase in life expectancy is quite substantial compared to more sedentary people. Without forgetting strength exercises. Although walking is essential, we must not forget our muscles either. It is very important when you reach middle age do not neglect the development and maintenance of muscle, since there are many studies that suggest that it delays biological aging and even offers cognitive benefits such as protection against neurodegenerative diseases. In this way, in order to reach old age in optimal conditions, we must not forget to be mobile to reduce metabolic syndrome, but also to be attentive to our muscles. Images | Martin Dalsgaard In Xataka | The 11 best apps for exercising at home

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