mission

It has been frozen for 30 years at 8,500 meters. Now a mission wants to finally solve who was the most famous corpse on Everest

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If you like mountains and have ever gone (or fantasize about going) to Everest, surely the name of Green Boots sounds familiar: it is a reminder that climbing the highest mountain in the world is still a risky activity. The body of this mountaineer who died in the middle of the ascent was mummified at the entrance to a cave that you have to pass through when you climb the main ascent route from the Tibetan side. 30 years after his death, The Guardian echoes a leaked document where the rescue operation and repatriation of Green Boots to India is collected. In the rescue process it would also correct a mistake that has lasted three decades: the identity of the corpse would be cleared once and for all. The tragic story of Green Boots. “Green Boots” is the nickname of the mountaineer found in 1996 under a rocky outcropping at 8,500 meters above sea level, just 350 meters from the summit on the northeast route that ascends from the Tibetan side. The nickname has little originality: he was wearing boots of the same brand and model Koflach Arctis Expe phosphor green in color. His boots (and his body) were exposed and since it is in a transit area, it has become a macabre reference point to inform the base when they reach that position. Who really is Green Boots?. As for his identity, for almost 30 years it was assumed without official confirmation that It was Tsewang Paljoran Indian mountaineer who died in a severe snow storm known as the 1996 Everest disasterwhich killed 12 people. That tragedy inspired the book Into Thin Air. However, as reported by The Guardian, the document from the Indian rescue authorities identifies the body as Dorje Morupan Indian guard member of a Indo-Tibetan Border Police expedition who died in that same tragedy. The document ensures that this identification “has been confirmed through a prior verification process within the framework of a prior technical evaluation”, although without detailing what it consisted of. The recovery mission. The rescue bidding document asks companies to bid for the mission, which must have at least six Sherpas who have previous climbing experience. In addition, they must provide evidence of the mission and transport the body to Delhi before October. As explains Alan Arnettean American mountaineer and well-known blogger about Everest, lowering it is going to be “an arduous task” and estimates the operation at about $150,000. The monsoon rains also work against it. According to Sherpa Tshiring Jangbu details to The Guardianfounder of Everest Sherpa Expedition and with experience in this type of operations, with only a third of the oxygen available compared to that at sea level, activity above 8000 meters requires enormous effort and decision making can become more difficult. And that’s not to mention the load: a frozen body with mountain equipment can weigh up to 200 kilos. In addition, limbs frozen at angles impossible for descent sometimes mean they have to resort to amputation. A cemetery called Everest. Precisely because of the difficulty, danger and cost of the rescue operation, approximately 200 bodies still remain there on the slopes of Everest. As New Zealander Guy Cotter, who coordinated a similar rescue operation with his company Adventure Consultants in 1997, explains: “For families, recovering a body from the mountain gives them comfort, as long as it does not put other people at undue risk.” And according to their experience, there have been cases of recovery of bodies in which more people have died. Aware of the risk of their hobby, there are experienced climbers who wish that, if they die while climbing, their remains remain on the mountain, but are moved out of sight. Of course, families do not always think alike. In Xataka | Climbing Everest in person costs 50,000 euros. Uploading it in 4K from the sofa at home is now free In Xataka | There is something worse than Everest turning into a mountain literally full of shit: scam rescues Cover | Pavel Novak and Gemini with Koflach Arctis Expe

a mix between ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Mission Impossible’

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If you like cinema Jackie Chanthere is news that you will like as much as it will disconcert you. The popular Chinese actor returns at 72 years old to one of the sagas that established him as a star: ‘Armor of God’. Because although in the West we knew him more for ‘Conflicts in the Bronx’ in 1995 or, above all, for ‘Rush Hour’ in 1998, the actor was already a legend in Hong Kong martial arts cinema. As they point in Variety, Chan is preparing for ‘Armor of God IV’, the fourth part of an adventure saga that It perfectly condenses the actor’s style: martial arts, adventure and that hallmark of physical humor that launched him to stardom. And if you don’t know these movies, the truth is that the mix is ​​a difficult cocktail to miss when mixing Jackie Chan,’Indiana Joness’ and ‘Mission Impossible‘. And, thinking about it, it could be one of the great inspirations from ‘Uncharted’. Jackie Chan is back (if he ever left) In the cinema we live in constant nostalgia, and this summer could not be a better example. There we have ‘toy story 5‘, a film that has been considered unnecessary (after the also considered unnecessary fourth installment) and Universal has just released the first teaser trailer for ‘Shrek 5’ (with slaps by users). Going back to ‘Armour of God’, the first film from 1986 introduced us to… well, Jackie, the “Asian Falcon” or the “Condor”, depending on the region, a treasure hunter similar to Indiana Jones who travels the world looking for relics and historical objects with an almost mystical value. Out of nowhere, he finds himself involved in the kidnapping of a friend’s girlfriend by a cult and that premise gave rise to a sequel (‘Operation Condor’ from 1991) and a third part that was not very well received (‘Chinese Zodiac’, from 2012, the most similar to a ‘Mission Impossible’). They are less well-known films than those first international blockbusters that made him rise to fame in the West, but you are surely familiar with a video that appears in every compilation of videos of actors doing stunts. Like Tom CruiseChan usually performs his stunts. During the filming of ‘Armour of God’, there was a moment in which he had to jump to a tree branch to escape, but the branch broke and the actor hit his head on a rock. He fractured his skull and, as a gift, he received partial hearing loss in one of his ears. They are entertaining films (like many of the actor’s films, in short), and Variety points out that It will be this July when the filming of ‘Armor of God IV’ beginswith Robert Kun directing and Jackie returning to the role of Asian Hawk, but not repeating behind the cameras (yes, he also directed the previous three). The premiere is expected in the second half of 2027 and we will have to see if, at 72 years old, he continues to swing between the branches of the trees. In Xataka | Nolan has a reputation for being one of the directors who takes the most care of his films. But the IMAX format of ‘The Odyssey’ raises doubts

“Our mission is not to fight for price”

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The television market in Spain had one of its worst years in 2025. According to Haier, Spaniards bought 15% fewer televisions than the previous year, and manufacturers accumulated so much unsold stock that the gap between what they put in stores and what people actually bought touched 30%. A drama. In this context, the Chinese manufacturer, which has been competing in the TV market in Spain for just three years, closed the year with a growth of 15%. And that is why in 2026 there are many eyes and hopes on the television market: with the World Cup as a great sales catalyst, everyone is putting their efforts to recover lost ground. Haier intends to continue growing and its new televisions for 2026 They make it clear that their strategy is based on two pillars: screens of up to 115 inches and MiniLED as their favorite technology. Javier Juristodirector of Haier’s TV business unit in Spain, sums it up in one sentence: “Our mission is not to fight for price.” Haier reads the market backwards Haier wants to convince that its growth is not an anomaly, but the consequence of having read the market well. The company starts from a simple idea: in televisions, it is no longer the winner who pushes the price the most, but rather the one who offers a more attractive proposal in image, sound, size and connectivity. That is why Juristo distances himself from the rest of the Chinese manufacturers and sticks out his chest when pointing out that they are not only number one in China, but also in the United States, where they hit the table with the bought General Electric ten years ago. In Europe they recognize that the market is more complex because each country has its own consumer habits. And they believe that the secret is knowing how to adapt to what the public wants in each region. That is why its expansion is going little by little. In Spain, their TVs arrived in 2023, but it was not until this same 2026 that they decided to go after the TV market of Portugal, Italy, Poland, France and the United Kingdom. This is also why they make it clear that their battle is not the price, but compete in mid-high and premium rangesomething that allows them to position themselves in a less crowded segment and, above all, less dependent on the price war. This is relevant in an environment as challenging as the current one, where the component crisis is going to complicate things even more, with rising prices for almost all consumer electronics. “A busy end of the year is coming,” Juristo confessed. The Haier TVs of 2026, at a glance Haier has organized its 2026 range in a fairly easy to read way: from the entrance TV to the large diagonal without taking too many detours. Let’s briefly review what each of them offers: The K85 It is the entrance door. It is a 4K LED that goes from 32 to 55 inches and, even so, does not give up on catching up with Google TV, Gemini and a new MediaTek processor. It is not intended to dazzle, but it is intended to make it clear that even the most affordable range already has to come connected and with intelligent functions. Part of the €399, although There is already an offer for €329. The S80 It is the one they have designed for the mass public and that is why it is the one that offers the most size options. It covers from 32 to 85 inches and is the widest QLED family in the range, so Haier is playing in the most comfortable field: that of TV for almost everyone. Fine design, Dolby Vision and a huge size fork to attack from the small living room to already quite serious diagonals. The 50-inch model starts at €519, on sale for €429 on its official website. QLED TV 50″ – Haier S80G Series H50S80GUX, QLED 4K HDR10, Google TV, AI Picture Quality, Gaming 120Hz, Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The S85 refines the shot more. It focuses on 50, 55 and 65 inches, right in the most disputed range on the market, and adds voice control with Gemini as the main differential argument. It is not the most spectacular in the range, but it is a way to raise the level without yet entering the most expensive territory. The 50 inch model part of the €559. The S90 It already opens another conversation. It’s still QLED, but it adds KEF sound, a British hi-fi audio brand with a good reputation among fans of this world for its technical approach and experience in speakers. In addition, it offers more muscle for gaming and sizes of 55, 65 and 75 inches. It is the series for those who are beginning to want something more on TV without spending a fortune. The 55-inch model starts at €729, although it already there is an offer for €599. S90 Series – QLED, 55 screen size, Google TV, 4K resolution The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Then there is the block MiniLEDwhere Haier puts a good part of its muscle. The M90 and the M92 They are committed to more brightness, more contrast and a more premium feel, with sizes up to 85 inches and details such as UltraSense AI, its artificial intelligence layer to automatically control settings, KEF sound and Zero Gap design (their term to promise that there is less than 40 millimeters between the wall and the TV). To give you an idea of ​​the prices, the 75-inch M92 model starts at €1,699, in offer for €1399. And above is the M96which directly plays in another league: 100 and 115 inches for those who no longer want a large TV, but a huge TV. And it pays, of course. The 100-inch one starts at €2,849, although there is a promotion … Read more

China just gave them a much more ambitious mission

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Every time we ask something of an AI, the scene seems almost invisible: we type a sentence, receive a response, and move on. But behind that apparent lightness there are buildings full of servers, cooling systems running tirelessly, and an electricity demand that does not stop growing. The cloud, no matter how much we call it a cloud, has ground, cables, heat and consumption. And precisely for this reason an idea that not so long ago sounded like a strange experiment is beginning to make sense: removing part of that infrastructure from land and taking it to the sea. China is already taking it to the commercial field. MERICS notes that the country has presented the first commercial underwater data center in Hainan and a module powered by offshore wind energy in Shanghai, two movements that point in the same direction: to see if this architecture can stop being a technical oddity and become a usable piece within its digital deployment. The novelty is not only in submerging servers, but in presenting them as a possible response to three tensions that already weigh on the AI ​​infrastructure: energy, cooling and land. Hainan is the first piece of that leap. Pilot testing of the Hainan underwater data center began in 2023, first with storage services for the island’s free trade port and telecom operators, before expanding to cloud and AI companies. The project does not play in the league of large terrestrial data centers, but it does have sufficient scale to stop being a simple model: each cabin is located 35 meters under water, has 24 racks and can house up to 500 servers. Its value is precisely there: demonstrating that China is trying to turn an experimental idea into real commercial infrastructure. Shanghai as an energy showcase. If Hainan represents the commercial leap, Shanghai adds the piece that makes the story more ambitious: direct integration with offshore wind energy. This project is facing Lingang, where CGTN places an underwater platform already operational and directly connected to a nearby offshore wind farm. The total planned investment is 1.6 billion yuan, about 235 million dollars according to that source, and the installation is based on a pilot phase of 2.3 MW, while the complete project is planned to reach 24 MW. Refrigerate without fighting against the environment. That is the technical promise that explains much of the interest in these underwater data centers. The Chinese state media recalls that terrestrial facilities can dedicate up to 40% of their electricity to cooling, a problem that is especially visible when we talk about increasingly dense racks. Under the sea, the idea changes: take advantage of water as a natural heat sink. In Shanghai, for example, the average sea temperature is around 15 degrees Celsius. The other half of the equation is energy. The Shanghai center is connected by a photoelectric composite cable to a 200 MW offshore wind farm, with more than 50 turbines, and more than 95% of its electricity comes from renewable energy. If the project reaches full scale, it is estimated that it could save 61 million kWh per year and significantly reduce its carbon emissions. There are challenges too. MERICS warns that these data centers pose significant challenges: sealing modules, dealing with seawater corrosion, operating in a high-pressure environment, and assuming that maintenance may require bringing entire modules to the surface. This is no secret. Accessing submerged hardware in the event of a failure is one of the most sensitive points. Microsoft had already tried the path. The best known antecedent is Project Natickan initiative with which Microsoft submerged a data center off the Orkney Islands, in Scotland, and recovered it in 2020 after two years of operation underwater. The test served to demonstrate that the idea could work technically.but it did not end up becoming a commercial line. Reading is not a magic solution. As we can see, China is trying another way of dividing up the pieces of the problem. Hainan shows attempt to bring underwater data centers into commercial arena; Shanghai adds a broader ambition, connecting them with offshore wind energy and directing them towards increasingly demanding loads. Undersea data centers seemed like a technological oddity. Now, at least in China, they are beginning to look like an industrial bet with a much more ambitious mission. Images | Shanghai Hailanyun Technology In Xataka | There is a battle to have the AI ​​model that programs best. And a good, pretty and very cheap rival has appeared in it: Cursor

The joint mission between Europe and China is already in space. The really important thing comes now

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Finally, despite the postponement last April, SMILE has been launched successfully. The mission that unites China and Europe To study how the solar winds interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere, it departed from the Kurú Space Port, in French Guiana, at 03:52 GMT (05:52, Spanish peninsular time). He has at least 3 years of work ahead of him, but before starting his work he must take some preliminary steps. Journey to final orbit. During the first 25 days of the mission, SMILE You must start your engines 11 times. This will allow it to gradually lengthen its orbit around the Earth’s poles, until reaching 121,000 km above the North Pole and 5,000 km above the South Pole. Once in its final orbit, around June 13, it will be time to tune up all its instruments. The final deployment. Remotely, from Earth, mission engineers will check that all SMILE instruments are working properly. For that, some must change their conformation. Specifically, it will be necessary to deploy the magnetometer arm and open the X-ray camera shutter and the UV camera cover. Each of these points is essential for the proper development of the mission. The first images. Once the experiments have been verified, SMILE will begin its work. The first images will be sent to Earth for analysis three months later. The mission. SMILE will study the interaction of solar activity with the shield that the Earth uses to protect itself from it. Although other missions have carried out similar tasks, it will be the first time that global images of this interaction have been taken, both in X-rays and ultraviolet. This will give us better knowledge than we currently have about solar storms and how they affect our planet. And not only They draw us beautiful auroras in the sky. They can also affect telecommunications, sometimes worryingly. It is important to understand them and know how to predict, as far as possible, the harmful effects they could cause. At least three years. The nominal duration of the mission will be 3 years. This means that it is designed to achieve your main objectives in this time. The economic investment of the European and Chinese space agencies has focused on guaranteeing this duration. However, that does not mean that within three years the ship will be deorbited or that all its instruments will be turned off. If it continues to function properly, its useful life could be greatly extended. The case of Cluster. Cluster it was a mission ESA whose objective was also to measure the Earth’s magnetic environment. In a way, it could be considered a predecessor of SMILE. It was launched in 2000 and remained active until 2024. However, Its nominal duration was initially 2 years. Once the retirement date arrived, it was found that Cluster was completely fit, so it was decided to invest in it for much longer. Maybe something similar will happen with SMILE. For now, we will have to go step by step. To begin with, it must reach its operational orbit. Once there, the magic begins. Or rather: science. Image | THAT In Xataka | The Webb and Hubble telescopes simultaneously observed Jupiter’s auroras. The problem is that they didn’t see the same thing

The mission is to teach them to work in real life

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For a long time, the big conversation about artificial intelligence has revolved around models capable of summarizing, programming or generating images. But when we take that ambition to the physical world, everything changes. A robot does not learn to work just by reading instructions: it needs to observe, repeat, fail and accumulate data on real movements. That is why the next frontier of robotics is not only in manufacturing more agile bodies or more precise hands, but in building the entire system necessary to teach them to act outside the laboratory. This system is beginning to take shape in Fujian, where the province’s first large data collection factory has been launched in a test phase. According to CCTVthe facility is located in Area D of Fuzhou Software Park and has been created by Fujian Jufu Technology. There, almost 30 robots follow the instructions of different operators, described by Chinese sources as “teachers”, to practice tasks such as cleaning tables, sorting fruits and vegetables or disposing of parcel boxes. The mechanics of that “school” are relatively easy to imagine, but very demanding underneath. Operators wear virtual reality devices and operate controls to guide the robot during each exercise. When the operator raises his arm, the machine reproduces the gesture and, for example, grab a paper cup to place it on top of another. The important thing is not only that it completes the action, but that each movement, joint angle and clamp pressure is recorded by cameras and sensors. The school where robots learn with real data One of the least showy parts is also one of the most decisive. The tasks we see in the video, such as cleaning a table or picking up a glass, seem simple because we do them almost without thinking. For a humanoid, on the other hand, each gesture requires a specific sequence of physical decisions. Data collection engineer Jiao Shiwei explained to Fuzhou News that even the smallest movements need to be learned through data, and that each action must be designed according to the characteristics of the robot itself to find the most suitable trajectory. The key word here is “generalization.” That is, the ability to apply what has been learned when the environment is no longer identical to the training environment. Shiwei summed it up with two very basic actions: pick up a glass and clean a table. If the object, surface and stain do not change, the robot has it relatively easy. But in a house, a factory or a service space, almost nothing is repeated the same. Hence, data collection workers introduce variations in glasses, tablecloths and tables to expand the scope for learning. The bottom line is that robots are also entering their own race for data. In other areas of AI, much of the progress was based on digital material already available. In robotics, on the other hand, many of the examples must be generated from scratch, with real machines, real objects and movements repeated over and over again. Xinhua puts the problem in these terms: the bottleneck of humanoids is no longer concentrated only in the hardware, but in how to continue perfecting their “brain” through training in application scenarios. The industrial reading of the project helps to understand why these small tasks can end up becoming infrastructure. Chen Yishi, CEO of Jufu Technology, told Fuzhou News that these types of factories provide support for end-to-end models and implementation in vertical scenarios. The idea is that an AI robot does not function as a traditional machine limited to a fixed sequence, but as a guided system capable of make decisions on the body from real training. The company is also recent. Jufu Technology was founded in September 2025 and presents its activity as a combination of data factory and self-development. Its objective is not limited to accumulating examples of movement, but to create around that base a local ecosystem of algorithmic talent, data and collaboration with the industrial chain. Yishi, for his part, pointed out that its future products aim at industrial manufacturing, safety inspection, research and education, although sources present it as a roadmap, not as an already consolidated deployment. Images | Jufu Technology | Xinhua In Xataka | The ‘Chinese Netflix’ has designed a plan for AI to generate the majority of its content within five years. It sounds risky

why drinking a Diet Coke in the middle of 2026 is an impossible mission

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Any consumer who has recently walked through the soft drinks aisle in a supermarket will have come across a particular scenario: the word “light” (or “diet”, depending on the country) is conspicuous by its absence. Instead, a tide of “zero label” cans and bottles dominate the shelves. Everything indicates that the iconic Diet Coke is in the doldrums. However, it is enough to look at social networks to discover a little resistance. Among young people of Generation Z, this drink has not only not disappeared, but has become a true object of desire and a lifeline against work stress. And to make matters worse, in the middle of 2026, opening one of these cans has become almost a miracle due to a geopolitical and logistical crisis that is suffocating the world. What is really happening with the Diet Coke? The rise of “Zero” At the beginning of this decade, the industry left the word “diet” for dead. “No Gen Z person wants to be on a diet these days,” sentenced in 2021 Greg LyonsCEO of PepsiCo, illustrating what seemed like a definitive change in mentality throughout the industry. Corporations assumed that young people associated the term with strict regimes or deprivation, while the designation “zero” offered a much cleaner profile. As a result, The Coca-Cola Company has put all its financial muscle behind its Zero variant. The financial data they confirm it: during the third quarter of 2025, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar experienced an impressive 14% growth. In contrast, the Diet Coke (either Diet Coke) barely expanded 2%, driven almost exclusively by demand in North America. On a technical level, the difference between the two is not a myth. As detailed in the German media RNDthe Diet Coke Original has a slightly different flavor than classic due to its specific blend of artificial sweeteners (aspartame and acesulfame K) and flavorings. The Coca-Cola Zeroon the contrary, was formulated years later with the explicit objective of imitating the brand’s original flavor as closely as possible, attracting an audience that was fleeing the stigma of “regime” products. Welcome to the “Fridge Cigarette” But Internet culture has its own rules, and corporations don’t always dictate trends. Far from dying like a drink for the generation boomerthe Diet Coke experienced a brutal organic resurgence from 2023. It all started with viral trends that invited you to “marinate” the can in the refrigerator for days to enhance its bubbles, and reached its peak when superstars like Dua Lipa showed on TikTok how they mixed the drink with pickle juice and jalapenos. This fervor led to a new concept that has taken the internet by storm: the fridge cigarette (or “refrigerator cigarette”). Young people have adopted the act of opening a can of Diet Coke cold like the modern equivalent of going out for a cigarette. For Generation Z, the metallic sound when opening the ring emulates the spark of a lighter. It’s not about nicotine, but about the ritual: a perfect excuse to get up from your desk, get away from the screen and claim a little break in the midst of modern hyperproductivity. It is an act of self-care disguised as rebellion. The company, of course, was quick to notice. Sue Lynne Cha, vice president of marketing at Coca-Cola, recognized this rebirth among young people, leading the brand to invest heavily in this renewed popularity. They launched campaigns very focused on Generation Z, such as “Love language” and “Know The Signs”, the latter narrated by comedian Kristen Wiig, encouraging workers to take a #DietCokeBreak. To sustain this momentum, the company injected an additional $18 million into advertising in 2024 alone. The “Black Swan” of 2026 Just when the Diet Coke crowned as the status symbol of work breaks, geopolitical reality dealt it a lethal blow. Right now, the world is facing an unprecedented raw materials crisis. The Third Gulf War has blocked the main sea routes of the Middle East, a region that concentrates almost 9% of the global aluminum supply. This bottleneck has generated a deficit of two million tons, skyrocketing prices and forcing European smelters to declare “force majeure” situations. How does this affect the “refrigerator cigarette”? Directly on the waterline. No aluminum, no cans. The shortage is so severe that in regions like India—where Diet Coke sold exclusively in this format—the drink has almost completely disappeared. According to FortuneIndian entrepreneurs have capitalized on this drought by organizing clandestine themed parties where admission is charged and coveted cans are raffled off, turning the Diet Coke in a true luxury item. This desperation is not trivial in a country where, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research, almost 10% of the adult population is diabetic and depends on sugar-free options to indulge. An effervescent mixture Added to this cocktail of logistical scarcity and network fanaticism is the eternal debate about health. Historically, cola drinks have been in the medical spotlight. Specialized portals such as WebMD and Medical News Today They constantly warn about the risks associated with these soft drinks, linking them to insulin resistance, increased visceral fat and even arguing that the dopamine spike they generate in the brain is comparable to that of highly addictive substances. With the version lightthe focus is on its sweeteners. a study published in Cell Metabolism suggests that aspartame could be harmful to cardiovascular health in mice, although the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and other experts have remained skeptical of this methodology, reaffirming that normal doses are safe. And what do new consumers say about this intersection of medical accusations? Which doesn’t matter exactly the same to them. Unlike the millennials Obsessed with wellness, Generation Z embraces this drink with an almost nihilistic attitude, driven in part by a 2000s nostalgia that has resurrected old aesthetic standards. As Andrea Hernandez, founder of the newsletter, explained Snaxshot, to The New York Timesthe mentality is: “Oh, aspartame is terrible for you… I absolutely don’t care.” It is an affordable vice, a small transgression in a world full … Read more

The United Kingdom has just activated an unprecedented air mission over a lost island in the Atlantic. There is a hantavirus suspect

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In 1961, a nurse had to be urgently evacuated from Tristan da Cunha after a volcanic eruption forced completely vacate to the entire population of the remote island. For weeks, that small territory lost in the middle of the Atlantic remembered something that remains true today: when an emergency occurs there, arriving on time can become an extremely complicated operation even for a country like the United Kingdom. The forgotten island of the Atlantic. While dozens of passengers from the MV Hondius cruise They began to disembark in Tenerife between health checks and repatriation flights for a hantavirus outbreakmuch further south and far from the cameras, the United Kingdom has started an operation completely different on an island that almost no one would know how to locate on a map. Tristan da Cunha, considered the most remote inhabited island on the planet, has suddenly become the scene of a unprecedented air mission for British forces after a british citizen showed symptoms compatible with hantavirus after leaving MV Hondius. With just 221 inhabitants, no airport and almost a week by boat from the nearest major port in South Africa, the island was caught in an extremely delicate situation when oxygen reserves began to run out and the small local medical system found itself unable to face the risk of contagion and isolation alone. An unprecedented military mission. The British response was as extraordinary as the place where he was to be executed. The Royal Air Force mobilized an Airbus A400M Atlas from RAF Brize Norton accompanied by a Voyager tanker plane to carry paratroopers, doctors and tons of medical supplies to the middle of the Atlantic. There was no possible landing strip, so the United Kingdom took a unprecedented decision: drop military doctors by parachute over the island. Six members of the 16 Air Assault Brigade They jumped alongside a doctor and an intensive care nurse in an extremely complex operation marked by strong winds and a minimal margin for error. The jump was made practically over the ocean before to correct the trajectory towards the island, with the real risk of ending up falling directly into the Atlantic if something went wrong. Never before have British forces deployed medical personnel by parachute drop on a humanitarian mission of this type. Medical supplies were dropped on the remote island, which has no landing strip and has a population of just 221. The cruise ship that took the problem to the middle of the ocean. It all began weeks before aboard the MV Hondius, the expedition cruise ship that was sailing through the South Atlantic when it appeared a hantavirus outbreak which would end up leaving several dead and multiple confirmed cases. The case has been of particular concern because the identified variant belonged to the Andean strain, one of the few capable of be transmitted between people. Apparently, the British citizen who ended up isolated in Tristan da Cunha had abandoned ship mid April and began to develop symptoms days later on an island that, as we said, does not have advanced hospital capacity and is normally cared for by just two medical professionals. While some passengers were treated in the Netherlands or South Africa and others were isolated in the United Kingdom After returning from Tenerife, the British health authorities quickly understood that the real problem was no longer on the cruise ship, but in that small isolated community in the middle of the ocean where any worsening could turn into a emergency impossible to manage with conventional means. Geography as a threat. Plus: the operation revealed the extent to which geography continues to condition even to countries with enormous military capabilities. Tristan da Cunha has no airport, no regular air routes and its sea connections are extremely slow and limited. Simply evacuating paratroopers and medics after the mission will require a complex maritime operation carefully planned due to health risk. I was counting a few hours ago BBC that the jump was not made over a large open space either, but rather over a small island buffeted by winds that usually exceed 40 kilometers per hour. The soldiers, in fact, ended up landing at the local golf course while the island’s inhabitants improvised receiving medical equipment and unloading more than three tons of supplies for the hospital. All this to contain a possible contagion in a territory where any logistical failure can take days to correct. The unknown Atlantic. If you will, history also reveals an uncomfortable reality about major modern health and geopolitical crises: almost all the attention tends to be focused on in visible places and connected while huge peripheral spaces remain out of focus until an emergency breaks out. Thus, while the media focus has followed the arrival of the cruise ship to the Canary Islands minute by minute, the hantavirus has ended up activating parachute dropsmilitary doctors and extreme logistical operations on Tristan da Cunha, a place so remote that even a relatively small health emergency forced resources to be mobilized normally associated with war scenarios or major catastrophes. Image | Ministry of Defense In Xataka | It is not so contagious, but it is very lethal: in Argentina the hantavirus went from 17% to 33% in the blink of an eye In Xataka | We believed that hantavirus did not jump between humans. Until someone went to a birthday party in Argentina

more than 2,000 years without hair and a sacred mission in the underworld

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When I did the 1930s Mexican nationalism began to reclaim its pre-Hispanic past and rescue icons of the country. one in particular which stood out for its symbolism: the xoloitzcuintle. His name may not mean much to you, but you’ve probably seen him in photos or movies like ‘Coconut’by Pixar. He xoloas it is commonly known, is a dog breed originally from Mexico that stands out for two great reasons. First, because of his appearance, bald and athletic. Second, because of its history, which dates back to several millennia ago and connects with the Aztecs. For them the xoloitzcuintle was not just a pet, but a symbol associated with death and the last companion of the deceased on their journey to Mictlanthe Mexican underworld. A name that says it all. It seems like a tongue twister, but “xoloitzcuintle” is not only the name of a breed of dog native to Mexico. The word, from nahuatlthe language of the ancient Mexica, is in a way a description. There is who believes which is the combination of ‘Xolotl’the god of fire and death, and ‘itzcuintli’, which means dog. Others consider that the first part of the word is more of a nod to the hairless appearance of the animal, so it would be translated as “strange or wrinkled dog”. In either case, it is a fantastic business card for the ‘xolo’, a breed that has been linked to Mexico for millennia and stands out both for its exterior appearance and for its history and symbolic value. Hence, in the 1930s, the country’s nationalist movement “exalted her as a national symbol,” comment Raúl Valadez Azúa, from the Anthropological Research Institute (IIA) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM. No hair or premolars. Its symbolic value may not be obvious, but as a breed the Xoloitzcuintle is unmistakable. Although there are examples of different sizes and varieties with and without hair, usually their specimens are distinguished by two characteristics: They are hairless and lack premolars. The reason must be sought in their genetic pool. During their first embryonic phase, three layers are formed in the xoloitzcuintle, like remember from the UMAN: the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. The latter, however, is affected by a mutation that affects the teeth and fur. “It cannot be denied that a hairless dog is at a disadvantage. For example, when fighting with other dogs or in the face of climate changes. Despite this, after 2,000 years, it is still here,” reflect Valadez. Its peculiar condition also presents some advantages that have favored its bond with humans. Since it lacks hair, it is easy for us to feel its heat, which in the past caused xolos to be used with therapeutic purposes to relieve rheumatism or muscle pain. Just like huge hot water bottles. “A decision of the gods”. “The people of the region considered that, although the bald dog was a strange animal, its appearance responded to a decision of the gods and that therefore it was not up to them to kill it or decide its fate. Thus, they accepted it like the other dogs and called it xoloitzcuintle,” duck the UNAM expert. The result is fascinating: a characteristic that a priori could have represented a disadvantage compared to other races, ended up becoming a sign of identity that strengthened its symbolic value and the bond with men. An ancient race. If the appearance of the xolo is peculiar, its history is no less so. Experts believe the breed can date back to at least 2,000 years ago (there are those who place it even further back, to 3,500 years ago), emerged in western Mexico and after 500 years it began to disperse following two routes: one took it to South America, the other to Tula, Teotihuacán and Mayan territories. Its link with humans is also very old. Researchers have found remains dating back to 7th century and they seem to associate it, already at that time, with funerary contexts. They even suggest that he was attributed a role as guardian of sacred spaces. The Aztec dog. The remains of bones and ceramic fragments have allowed experts to better understand the role that dogs had in pre-Hispanic Mexico, where they were used for both eminently practical and symbolic purposes. Valadez remember For example, there are testimonies that speak of ritual sacrifices of hairless dogs in times of drought or during mass ceremonies, as well as others that reveal how their scavenging habits ended up associating them with death. “These animals were linked to the underworld because somehow what they ate in the underworld was converted into fecal matter, organic waste that was incorporated into the earth to pass to the underworld and, subsequently, returned to the earth as fertilizer that nourished the plants and, therefore, life,” reflect the expert However, if the xolo stands out for something, if something has earned it the nickname ‘Aztec dog’is the spiritual role that was attributed to it. The last companion. Its role in pre-Hispanic religiosity was so relevant that even today they highlight it the Mexican authorities, who have even designated the October 27 as ‘National Xoloitzcuintle Day’. Mythology claimed that when a person died, their essence undertook a journey to the underworld (Mictlán) that forced them, among other things, to cross the river Chiconahuapan. For that journey, however, he needed the help of the xolo, who would lend him a hand (or not) depending on how he would have behaved in life. Over the last few decades, researchers have found remains of dogs in graves, which has allowed them to confirm the belief that the deceased should be buried accompanied by a dog. Of course, with an important nuance: although at first it was believed that xolos were the favorite breed for that rite, the really relevant factor was the color of the coat. It had to be toasted. Other meanings were attributed to white or black hair that made them invalid for the journey to the afterlife. … Read more

It’s about whether a company can change its mission

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Elon Musk and Sam Altman They have stood before a court in Oakland to settle the future of OpenAIwith a lawsuit claiming more than $130 billion and calling for the removal of Sam Altman as CEO. The hearing started this Tuesday with opening statements that have revealed the real dimension of the case: it is not just a fight between two billionaires, but a very basic question that still does not have a clear answer. Why is it important. The underlying question is not whether Musk, as it is colloquially said, ‘was messed up’. It is whether an organization founded as an NGO can pivot towards profit after having attracted donations, talent and credibility under another model. If the answer is ‘no’ (or if it can at least be judicially challenged), there are a few technology companies in a similar situation: Mozilla, Anthropic or Wikipedia / Wikimedia Foundation live in similar realities. The precedent that this trial sets may be a blow to other groups. The context: OpenAI was born in 2015 with a mission: to develop AI for the benefit of humanity, as a wise man said“non-profit”. Musk contributed about $38 million in his first years. In 2019, the company launched a for-profit subsidiary to raise capital at scale. In 2023, it signed a 10 billion agreement with Microsoft that, according to the accusation, was the point of no return: from then on, OpenAI no longer operated for humanity but for its shareholders. Today, the lucrative subsidiary is valued at $852 billion and could go public before the end of 2026, although There are some cracks in that plan.. Between the lines. Musk’s legal thesis depends on proving that there was fraud at the time of the donation, not simply that he doesn’t like where the company has gone. According to Sam Brunson, professor of nonprofit law at Loyola University in Chicago, cited by Fortunethe general principle of law is that whoever donates to an organization has given that money and has no recourse if they later do not like its decisions. The only way out is to prove that there was fraud, that they lied to you at the time of donating. And that proof is very difficult to obtain. What comes closest to that proof are the private notes of Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI. In September 2017, Brockman wrote that this was “the only opportunity to get out from under Elon” and that accepting his conditions would destroy his decision-making capacity and his economic side. After a meeting in November of that year in which Musk was assured that OpenAI would remain an NGO, Brockman noted that if they converted the company to a for-profit entity three months later, “it would have been a lie.” The judge who sent the case to trial cited these notes directly in his January ruling. Yes, but. The fact that there are compromising notes does not mean that Musk’s legal theory is solid. The original NGO still exists. Its technology was licensed to the for-profit subsidiary, but the nonprofit foundation maintains nominal control of the company and retains the economic appreciation of that subsidiary. NGOs can generate profits, they simply cannot distribute them among shareholders. If OpenAI did not make an explicit and documented promise to never create a for-profit subsidiary, the fraud argument has very little meaning. Most of the experts consulted by the Anglo-Saxon press these days believe that Musk has little chance of winning in the responsibility phase. Marking agenda. On Sunday, less than 48 hours before the trial began, OpenAI published its new framework of five principles for AGI: democratization, empowerment, universal prosperity, resilience and adaptability. The 2018 document mentioned AGI twelve times. The new one, only two. He timing It is no coincidence: Altman publishes a manifesto that portrays him as the guardian responsible for the development of AI just when a court is going to judge whether he betrayed the company’s original mission or not. The big question. The trial will last, in principle, about three weeks. But the question it raises goes beyond the verdict: can a company that started as a non-profit organization (attracting donations, talent and legitimacy under that banner) freely pivot towards profit without anyone having the right to complain? If the answer ends up being ‘yes’, without much nuance, there will be something wrong. Not because Musk is right about everything, but because the underlying argument makes sense: if you benefit from tax favors and an altruistic reputation to boot, then you can’t pivot just like that without distorting competition. The question does not have an easy answer. That a jury in Oakland is answering it says a lot about how much the law lacks to keep up with the speed with which the technology industry moves. In Xataka | OpenAI is already worth $852 billion: never has a company been so valuable while burning so much money Featured image | Xataka

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