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2026 has not yet started but it has already managed to produce the first bad news: the light goes up

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There is one month left until 2026 begins and the January slope already has a clear protagonist: light. The electricity bill will start the year with the largest simultaneous review of regulated costs since 2020. The proposals of the Government and the energy regulator point to an increase that will affect all homes, regardless of what they consume. Without anesthesia. The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has put into public hearing its toll proposal for 2026 – the part of the bill that finances the electrical networks – and proposes a global increase of close to 4%. This update has two pillars: Transportation, which are the large electric highways, will increase by 12.1%. Distribution, which are the networks that reach homes and businesses, will increase by 2.5%. With these changes, the total money allocated to maintaining and expanding electrical networks will reach 6,608 million in 2026. In addition, to this increase we must add that of the chargesset by the Government. According to Five Daysthe Ministry for the Ecological Transition proposes increasing them by 10.5% to cover, above all, the cost of regulated renewable energies (Recore), which will grow by 37%. The fixed part is in charge again. The electricity bill is divided into two large blocks: The cost of energy, which depends on what each user consumes. Regulated costs (tolls and charges), which are always paid. This new year, the regulated part once again gains prominence. According to the specialized portal Tarifaluzhorathe combination of tolls and charges will increase between 2.8% and 4.8% for households. It may seem like a moderate increase, but it affects the amount paid even if consumption drops. Furthermore, the CNMC report estimates that domestic customers with PVPC 2.0 TD rate will see a final increase of approximately 0.6% on their bill, thanks in part to the slight expected growth in demand and the greater number of consumers among whom to spread the costs. A small print that worries the sector. As Cinco Días detailsthe Government has prepared its proposal for charges under the hypothesis that consumption will grow by 4.5% in 2026. This figure is not minor: the greater the demand, the more the regulated costs are diluted among users and the lower the impact per receipt. However, the problem is that the CNMC – which sets tolls – does not share that optimism. The regulator foresees an increase of only 2.3%. And here a delicate scenario opens up: if demand does not grow as much as the Government expects, the system will not collect what was expected. The tolls and charges are calculated on the basis that there will be more kilowatts consumed in 2026. If they are not ultimately consumed, there will be a lack of money to cover the regulated costs, which are already on the rise due to the Recore renewables, the expansion of networks and the adjustments from previous years. If we get ashy. The return of the tariff deficit is at stake. In other words, putting ourselves in the worst possible scenario, if revenues prove insufficient, Spain could return to a known scenario: tariff deficit. In other words, when the bill does not cover the costs of the electrical system, a hole is created that is financed as debt and drags on for years. It took Spain more than a decade to absorb the deficit accumulated between 2000 and 2013—more than 28 billion euros—and the sector fears a partial repeat of that cycle. A gap of just two percentage points between the demand forecast by the Government and the realistic estimate of the CNMC can make the difference between a balanced system or a stressed one. And all in a year in which tolls and charges will rise at the same time for the first time since 2020. And why will everything go up at once? Because in 2026 several impact factors coincide: More investment in networks to integrate renewables and electrification. Higher cost of Recore renewables, which must be compensated according to their contracts. The cumulative impact of the electricity blackout of 360 million, that the marketers still carry. Pending adjustments from previous exercises. 2026: a year that starts uphill. The electricity bill will be the first notice of a year marked by the structural increase in the cost of the electrical system and the need to accelerate investments that sustain the energy transition. More robust networks, more renewables and a more complex system imply higher operating costs. And, once again, it will be consumers who notice in January. Image | freepik Xataka | Spain needs to modernize its electrical grid, so the remuneration rate has increased. The effect will be noticeable in the next five years

Mars has just entered the exclusive club of planets with rays. This is discouraging news for NASA.

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NASA’s Perseverance rover has captured a lightning strike on Mars for the first time. Although it may seem strange, it is only the fourth planet in which we have confirmed the presence of this type of electrical activity, after Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. Confirmed. Despite its thin atmosphere, scientists have suspected for decades that the red planet, with its constant whirlwinds and dust storms, must have some type of electrical activity. Now, thanks to the Perseverance rover, we finally have definitive proof. The discovery, published in the journal Natureconfirms that the Martian atmosphere crackles with electricity, although not exactly like the Earthly storms we know. They haven’t seen it, they’ve heard it. As much as we would have liked the Perseverance rover to photograph a blinding flash across the Martian sky, the first evidence of electrical activity on Mars is not visual, but auditory. NASA’s rover’s SuperCam instrument, equipped with a microphone originally designed to listen to the rover’s laser hitting rocks, has captured something unexpected: the sound of electrical discharges. Among dust devils. According to the data analyzed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratorythe rover recorded 55 electrical discharge events over two Martian years. Most associated with dust storms, and 16 of them when the rover was directly crossed by sand devils. “We got some good recordings where you can clearly hear the click,” Ralph Lorenz, Perseverance mission scientist, explains in a statement. But in a specific recording from sol 215 (the 215th Martian day of the mission), you hear not only the electrical crack, but also the swirling wind hitting the rover and grains of sand impacting the microphone. The triboelectric effect. How do these rays form on a planet without rain clouds? Because of the triboelectric effect, exactly the same physical principle that happens when we walk with socks on a carpet and then you touch a doorknob and, ouch, a spark jumps. On Mars, dust devils act like giant generators of static electricity: Hot air rises and begins to rotate, forming a vortex. When rotating, it raises dust and sand. The dust grains rub against each other, transferring electrons and generating charge. It’s not very encouraging. Although on Earth it also occurs in deserts, on Mars this effect is much more likely to result in electrical shocks. The Martian atmosphere is extremely thin, so the amount of charge needed to break air resistance and generate a spark is much smaller. This discovery is not just a meteorological curiosity; has profound implications for the planet’s chemistry and the search for life. Confirmation of these electrical discharges suggests that the Martian atmosphere may become charged enough to activate powerful chemical reactions. These sparks could be creating highly oxidizing compounds, such as perchlorates, which are very aggressive and can destroy the organic molecules (the building blocks of life) that the rover is trying to find. Image | NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona In Xataka | Who or what excavated the ravines on Mars? The answer is even stranger than we always thought

AEMET has just talked about the December long weekend and it is bittersweet news because the “good weather” in December always has a trick

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Yes ‘negative NOA‘, yes ‘storm train‘, but what AEMET says is that, during the bridge (after some persistent rain in the north), what we are going to have is a predominance of sun and higher than normal temperatures. How is it possible? What dark atmospheric dynamics are conspiring to give us good weather on the Constitution Bridge? The rhombus phenomenon. That’s what he called it meteorologist Luismi Pérez on Cadena Ser and the truth is that the explanation is so visual that it can help us understand what is happening. “Rhombus” is a colloquial way of defining an isobaric configuration that diverts the cold to North America and gives stability, little rain and high temperatures to our country. And what does it take for that to happen? Four masses of air are needed to achieve this: a robust anticyclone in Newfoundland and Greenland another anticyclone in the Mediterranean area a storm in the Azores and another in the Scandinavian peninsula In the image above it is still difficult to see, but arranged on the isobar map “they form an approximate figure of a rhombus.” Why it is important. Meteorologically speaking, the rhombus describes a type of atmospheric block very characteristic: a reconfiguration of the polar jet and the trajectory of the storms that takes us away from the coldest scenarios. Yeah the face is the train of stormsthis is the cross: short periods of stability and good temperatures. What we can expect in the coming days. As Pérez explainedthis rhombus “makes” the very cold air accumulated in Greenland slide towards the west; that is, towards North America, instead of falling on Europe. In addition, Spain (being under the influence of the Azores storm and the Mediterranean anticyclone) is assured of westerly and southwesterly winds, which are more temperate and pleasant. What we can expect in the long term. Because in the background there is something more serious: changes in the atmospheric circulation of the Atlantic Ocean. That is to say, the increase in the number of episodes of stability, clear skies and absence of fronts in autumn and winter. Something that can be perceived as “good weather”, but that aggravates the structural drought and complicates water, agricultural and energy planning. Luckily, it looks like it won’t last long. Just enough to let us enjoy the bridge Image | ECMWF In Xataka | The most beautiful, exciting and hopeful thing about November has come out of England and it is a weather forecast

It’s bad news for the rest of the city.

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Like any big city in the world, in Barcelona there are quieter neighborhoodsothers in which cultural and leisure activities live in constant effervescence and, then, far from the madding crowd and prying eyes, they are the wealthiest neighborhoods. At least that’s how it was until not long ago. Now the rich already They don’t want to live isolated in the neighborhoods that were traditionally inhabited and are beginning to abandon historical enclaves of the wealthy classes of Barcelona, to settle in neighborhoods with more economic, leisure and cultural activity. This is bad news for the residents of those neighborhoods. Goodbye to the isolated upper area. Traditionally, neighborhoods in the upper area of ​​Barcelona, ​​such as Pedralbes, Vallvidriera or Bonanova, were the natural habitat of the richest Barcelona residents: large houses with gardens, stately apartments with separate entrances for the staff, lots of privacy and international schools next door. The average income data per person in 2022 for these neighborhoods already revealed that 52% more wealth is concentrated in them than the Barcelona average. But now, that tranquility seems boring to the wealthiest in Barcelonawho prefer the energy of the city. “Hiding in the mountains of Barcelona is no longer so fashionable,” assured to The Vanguard Joan Rubiralta, real estate expert and co-founder of Luxline Real Estate. According to the expert in the luxury real estate market, instead of isolating themselves, the rich of Barcelona now seek to integrate into the cultural and commercial bustle, letting those high areas lose a little of their exclusive shine. Eixample, the top neighborhood now. The Eixample has become in the new favorite place of the best of the Barcelona elite and the ultra-rich attracted for the Mediterranean and cosmopolitan life that Barcelona offers. The reason: it mixes stately apartments and the comfort of being much better connected to the center. “Luxury today is defined more by the quality of the experience than by ostentation,” assured to The Vanguard Sven Odia, executive president of Sotheby’s in Spain. The most sought-after properties in this neighborhood are spacious renovated apartments of between 120 and 140 m2. The modernist style buildings and the high ceilings of their apartments have contributed to the sale price of these apartments exceeds 8,000 euros/m2placing the average at 6,299 euros/m2 for the neighborhood. This represents an increase of 11% in the price in just one year, standing out from the rest of the city which is around 5,000 euros/m2. Offer price m2 in the Eixample of Barcelona in 2025. Source: puntohabitat.es The million euro apartment. As and as they pointed out in Open Metropolisthis growing demand for apartments in Barcelona’s Eixample has made housing that meets the demands of this buyer profile scarce, which has caused a shortage of supply. This makes it difficult to find these days. a luxury three-bedroom apartment in that neighborhood for less than a million euros. In 2026 everything below two million will have been liquidated. It is urgent to activate mechanisms that generate new supply. “We have no product,” warned Albert Milián, managing partner of the Barnes luxury real estate. It begins to spread to other neighborhoods. The new fashion among the rich of living in central neighborhoods, is also spreading to other neighborhoods in the city, putting Diagonal Mar and Poblenou in the spotlight for price increases. These neighborhoods are characterized by having become the technological heart of Barcelona, ​​with large companies and startup incubators, which makes them the preferred destination for international millionaires who took the opportunity to buy apartments already on the horn of the end of the “Golden visa”, which gave them access to residency in Spain in exchange for an investment of more than 500,000 euros. In these neighborhoods, for the same million euros that you would pay in Eixample for a 3-bedroom apartment, you get about 140 m² with all these extras. This situation won’t last long. Rubiralta confirmed that these areas “have experienced a notable increase thanks to their consolidation as the new technological and creative hub of Barcelona, ​​with the arrival of multinationals and international talent.” In Xataka | The list of the richest people in Spain in 2025: many changes in the figures, but not in the protagonists Image | Unsplash (Logan Armstrong)

That CATL is going to employ 2,000 people in Zaragoza is good news. The problem is that they are going to be brought from China

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“There are Chinese manufacturers in Europe that assemble cars with Chinese components and Chinese personnel. It happens in Spain and Hungary, and it is not right.” This is the statement of Stéphane SéjournéVice President of Prosperity and Industrial Strategy of the European Commission, in light of the way some Chinese manufacturers proceed to avoid tariffs on electric car that comes from China. Evidence that Europe is not happy with the “removable” kits from Chinese manufacturers. There are companies that have a magnifying glass on their projects in Spain. CATL, with its 4.1 billion euro plant, is one of them. Now, his vice president has justified why its 2,000 employees will be Chinese. Removable kits. The tariffs came into effect at the end of last year for those electric cars not only from Chinese manufacturers, but that are manufactured in China. The Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai either Europeans would also be included. What Europe seeks with these tariffs is to persuade manufacturers to establish themselves in the EU and create value in the points where they install themselves. Well: shortly after the tariffs began to be applied, the news broke that there were Chinese companies that were assembling their cars in Europe, yes, but they were not manufacturing them here. How did they do it? With removable kits. All work on key parts of the vehicle is done in China, where practically the entire car is assembled and then disassembled and the parts sent to the destination countries. They do it without wheels or steering wheel, but with all the critical parts, which are reassembled in factories in other countries. Europe did not look favorably on this measure and already raised an eyebrow, but more recently, both Séjourné and other European manufacturers –Josep María Recasens, president of Renault Spain– they raised the hare. Recasens directly stated that Chinese manufacturers are making “four plates with wheels.” Figueruelas Plant. There are plants that plan to change their way of acting in the short term, but what some point out is that this harms the area in which these companies are located. SEAT, for example, gives work to 15,000 people in Martorell, generating thousands of indirect jobs around it. And it is common: the manufacturer employs directly, but also generates work in the surrounding areas because logistics, auxiliary industries and local suppliers come into play. Another key point in this controversy is the factory that CATL wants to build in Zaragoza. It will be the result of a joint venture between CATL and Stellantis, with a investment of 4.1 billion euros which will be used to create LFP batteries. It is scheduled to begin production in 2026 and is expected to generate 3,000 direct jobs. The problem is that 2,000 of those workers They will come directly from China. CATL’s position. That would not meet the European Union’s desire to create wealth directly on the land on which they are established, but Meng Xiangfeng, vice president of CATL, has spoken out on the matter. It was during the COP30 climate summit held in Brazil where the manager was forceful: “it is not that we are not willing to hire local workers, it is that we need experienced technicians to build and perfect the production lines and start up the equipment.” According to Meng, they are not seeking to replace local employment, but rather to start the plant in the best possible way by requiring specialized knowledge. “During this process, we will train local workers so that they can gradually take over the operation,” assured. “You can’t come to Europe and build four plates with wheels and seats with little added value. We didn’t do it like that when we went to China, they shouldn’t do it when they come to Europe” – Josep María Recasens Local wealth. It’s no small feat: CATL is one of the leading companies when it comes to powering new energy vehicles and was one of those on the table during the debacle of the European Northvolt. In addition to Figueruelas, the company has another plant on European soil, in Erfurt, Germany. It was CATL’s first outside of China and the executive assured that the procedure at the Spanish plant will be the same as that already applied on German soil and will be applied at the other European plant in Hungary. Like BYD. and technology transfer. Once the plant is at full capacity, it will be possible to assess the extent to which the local wealth sought by the European Commission is created, but in addition to that issue, the issue of technology transfer is up in the air. Companies are jealous of their creations, and it is logical, but the president of Renault has a reason for Europe to force Chinese manufacturers to “teach us.” When Western manufacturers entered China, the country forced them to partner with local companies to produce on its soil. As a result of that knowledge we have cars like the MG4 Electricbut also the new Renault Twingo made in Shanghai and Japanese Mazda 6e developed by Changan in China. And what is sought is for that knowledge to be shared. As we say, we will see what happens, but Figuerelas will be a complicated case because those 2,000 employees who will come from China will practically double the current census of inhabitants of the municipality. Images | Stellantis In Xataka | “It is playing free trade with a totalitarian State”: three experts give their opinion on tariffs on Chinese electric cars

What are the news about Google’s new artificial intelligence model?

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Let’s tell you what they are the main news of Gemini 3the new version of the model artificial intelligence announced by Google. We already have the first data on its main characteristics. As always, the flashes will go to Gemini 3 Pro, which will be the most advanced version. Here, one thing you want to know is that You will notice few of these new developments when you are using Gemini in a conventional way. Most of these changes are aimed at advanced users. Gemini 3 news A step forward in all areas: Google has presented the results of its model in various types of tests, comparing it with the previous version and its direct competition. He is ahead of everyone in everything, from mathematics to understanding what is happening on the screen or creating code. Reason “at the doctoral level”: That is what the test results also indicate, although where it advances the most is in the mathematical results, with a score of 23.4% for the MathArena Apex test compared to 1.0% for GPT 5.1 or 1.6% for Claude Sonnet 4.5. Integrates with Google Search: Gemini 3 is linked to Google’s AI Mode, integrating into the search engine. Generate visual elements: Gemini 3, has the ability to create interactive visual elements, such as calculators, simulations or widgets in real time. Something especially useful when integrated into the search engine. Sometimes it may not respond to you with text, but with an interactive webapp. More direct answers: Google has fine-tuned the way its model responds, offering more concise responses that offer more valuable information and less flattery, clichés and clichés. Improvements in “Deep Thinking”: Another of the most notable improvements is in deep thinking, in addition to advances in code execution, abstract reasoning and visual understanding. Larger context window: This model has a context window of up to one million tokens, being able to analyze large code repositories or very long texts on which you can later work. Better contextual reasoning: Reasoning is improved, especially with long contexts, to avoid hallucinations. Parallel reasoning improvements: Abilities to reason with visual and textual data at the same time are improved, improving accuracy when interpreting tables, diagrams and interfaces. Improvements in its multimodal mode: The analysis of all types of information is improved. For example, you can decipher and even translate handwritten recipes in different languages, and use them to create a cookbook that you can share. You can also analyze sports matches, scrutinize research data and generate code from it. Programming improvements: As we said at the beginning, one of the biggest improvements of this model is in its ability to program. Improved your agent mode: Your ability to use tools and operate a computer through the terminal using agent mode has also been improved. Agents with Gemini can now autonomously plan and improve more complex software tasks. Gemini 3 will begin to be available in the coming daysalthough as we told you at the beginning, it is possible that many of the differences will not be noticed unless you are going to try to take advantage of them in an advanced way. In Xataka Basics | The best prompts to save hours of work and do your tasks with ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or other artificial intelligence

that the rains become bad news

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A few days ago, Paco Castañares posted a video of the Las Nogaledas Gorge, in the heart of the Jerte Valley. His words serve to give you an idea of ​​what was seen and, above all, what was not seen in it: “the most beautiful and emblematic waterfall, turned into a smelly flood of chapapote, ashes, burned plant remains and heavy metals.” And no, it is not an isolated event. Because, as they said from Forest Education“these rains have not been good at all.” “How come they’re not good?”anyone with could tell me access to embalses.net. 2025 has been a good year for rainfall and, in fact, we have been above 2024 throughout this time. But that ‘advantage’ has not been enough. Right now, we are even a little worse (0.30% less) than last year. As explains César Rodríguez Ballesterosthe water in recent weeks has fallen, especially in the western part of the country. And it is precisely there where our greatest capacity of dammed water is found. On paper, these rains are manna from heaven. But there is a small problem. That 2025 has not been a normal year in terms of fires. 382,000 hectares have been burned. That is, 800% more in 2024. Or it is the same, more than the entire surface burned from 2018 to 2014 all together. If we look in any forestry manual, we can see that rains (especially if they are intense) have two effects when they fall on land devastated by fire: the first is erosion (since there is no vegetation to retain it, the surface layer washes away and moves). The second is water pollution. It is not only the toxic effects of ash and soot that are washed into rivers, lakes and reservoirs. We are talking about the increase in nutrients (nitrates, ammonia, phosphorus) with the risk of eutrophication, increased turbidity and damage to water channeling and treatment systems. And the worst of all is that it could have been avoided. It is not easy, nor simple; It’s true. But there are measures of soil restoration, a barrier system to control erosion and plans to fine-tune water management systems. None (or, at best, very little) of this has been executed. And the result is problems, problems and more problems. We said it above: in these circumstances, the rains have become bad news. An enormous problem, in fact, that is going to put the water supply of the entire west of the country in trouble (and it’s not the first time it happens). But, beyond that, it shows us a clear path: climate change made it 40 times more likely the risk of fires this summer on the Peninsula. And, that means that, even if there are no more, those that exist they become much more dangerous: in 2022 there were 493 fires; in 2023, 371; and this year it seems that we are going to stay below 300. We have to get used to living with the consequences of some fires that we cannot stop. But above all, we have to prepare. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | A spectacular fire tornado, recorded live: how these very rare atmospheric phenomena can form

If anyone believed that AMD was going to put sanity in the financial binge of AI, AMD brings you bad news

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AMD has presented some growth forecasts that have surprised the market: 35% on average annually over the next three to five years, with the AI ​​chip business in data centers growing at an average of 80% in the same period. The company estimates that the total AI chip market will reach $1 trillion by 2030. While AMD has lagged the competition in terms of AI so far, its historic agreement with OpenAIthe specific hardware that is in development and the recent statements by Lisa Suseem to be turning their strategy around. In Xataka Spain wants its own public Hugging Face. The problem is that he is late to a battle that already has winners. An unusual message. AMD has historically been a conservative company in its financial projections. Its CEO, Lisa Su, has been characterized during the years she has been at the helm by a generally prudent and realistic discourse. that now embrace these figures Such optimism represents a notable shift in their communication strategy and signals the extent to which the technology industry is assuming that demand for AI infrastructure will continue to skyrocket. The context of the promises. amd affirms that the largest data center operators are accelerating their investment plans, when just a year ago they predicted a slowdown. According to Su, cited per Bloomberg, these companies see “real value in their businesses” with AI and the pace of infrastructure construction “is not going to stabilize.” The company also claims that its agreements with OpenAI and Oracle could generate tens of billions of dollars in annual sales by 2027. {“videoId”:”x8jpy2b”,”autoplay”:true,”title”:”What’s BEHIND AIs like CHATGPT, DALL-E or MIDJOURNEY? | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE”, “tag”:”Webedia-prod”, “duration”:”1173″} Why it can be dangerous. AMD is buying into the same hyper-optimistic narrative that have sold NVIDIA and OpenAI about the future of AI. The problem is that the entire technology chain is simultaneously betting on a scenario where the demand for AI chips grows exponentially without brakes. If expectations are not met, because AI models do not generate the expected returns or because OpenAI and other startups do not obtain sufficient funding, the correction could be brutal. Bubble symptoms. Investors like Michael Burry They have already started betting against companies in the sector, even accusing the technology giants of inflating their figures by artificially extending the useful life of their chips to reduce depreciation. Softbank, for its part, sold a few days ago a $6 billion stake in NVIDIA, although assures which was not due to concerns about valuation. The indications that the market may be overheated they multiply. In Xataka OpenAI has released GPT-5.1 with two personalities because 800 million users do not want the same AI Between the lines. AMD needed this coup. Although it has doubled its price this year, it is still second to NVIDIA in the AI ​​accelerator market, the most lucrative segment of the sector. Intel, its traditional rival, doesn’t even have a viable product in this market. To achieve its objectives, AMD is committed to its MI400 chips and the Helios systemwhich will arrive in 2026. Several analysts consider these goals “somewhat aggressive” and “aspirational,” according to collects Reuters. What’s coming now. The company promise reach a double-digit share in the data center AI chips market in the coming years. It remains to be seen if her ability to execute, proven during the Lisa Su era, is enough to transform these projections into reality or if, on the contrary, we are facing another symptom of an industry that has lost touch with caution. Cover image | AMD and İsmail Enes Ayhan In Xataka |Companies are turning their workers who know how to use AI into “stars”: the new labor gap (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news If anyone believed that AMD was going to put sanity in the financial binge of AI, AMD brings you bad news was originally published in Xataka by Antonio Vallejo .

Galapagos tomatoes are ‘evolving in reverse’. And that is spectacular news.

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The Galapagos Islands They are the living laboratory of evolution. It was there that Charles Darwin observed the differences in finches that cemented his famous theory of natural selection and that laid new foundations for the evolution of the human species. Now, almost 200 years later, these islands are back in the news, but for a surprising reason: a species of wild tomato seems to be turning the evolutionary clock. But the most important thing of all is that this involution in vegetation opens the door for us to understand how small changes can give us a wide range of possibilities in human pharmacology. The discovery. A new study published in Nature Communications has discovered that, while evolution followed its “normal” course on the oldest islands of the archipelago, the tomatoes on the younger, more hostile islands have “devolved.” And they are actively recovering a chemical trait that their ancestors lost millions of years ago, something that doesn’t seem too logical. And it is not logical because we all have in mind that changes are always for the better to adapt to a specific environment. But these plants are giving us a completely different perspective than what Darwin saidalthough it has important applications especially in pharmacology. A chemical twist. The study of ‘involution’ focuses on the steroidal alkaloids (SGAs), powerful compounds that plants of the Solanaceae family (such as tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants) use as a natural defense. These compounds have a key characteristic: chirality. This means that a molecule can exist in two forms which are mirror images each other, as if it were our left and right hand, or even a reflection of ourselves in a mirror. The two ways are the following: The modern “tomato type”: mainly produces the 25S isomer. The ancestral “eggplant type”: produces the 25R isomer. In this way, the study is seeing that although years ago it was normal to produce 25R, it was later changed to producing 25S. Now, evolution is taking off again to return to the most ancient. Behind this is an enzyme called GAME8 that has dictated what type of chemical defense each plant produces. In fact, the researchers showed that by modifying just eight amino acids of the tomato GAME8 enzyme, they could stop it from producing its 25S compound and make exclusively the ancestral 25R. It is literally an evolutionary switch. Evolution in ‘reverse’. This is where the plot thickens. The researchers analyzed the Solanum cheesmaniaea wild tomato endemic to the Galapagos. And what they found challenges the idea of ​​linear evolution: On older islands, such as St. Kitts, tomatoes almost exclusively produce the ‘modern’ 25S isomer. On more modern islands like Isabela, tomatoes have changed and accumulate high levels of the ‘ancestral’ 25R isomer. It’s not that these plants were “left behind.” The data suggest that their immediate ancestors produced 25S, but the unique environmental pressures of younger islands have favored mutations in their enzyme. GAME8 that they have made it return to produce the ancestral compound 25R. It is a clear case of reverse evolution. Because. Younger islands are more arid and hostile environments, and science suggests that this ‘ancient’ chemical cocktail could offer better protection against pathogens or herbivores specific to that inhospitable environment, or even help the plant in different soil conditions. The important thing. Beyond being a botanical curiosity, chirality is a fundamental concept in pharmacy. One isomer of a drug may be therapeutic, while its mirror ‘twin’ may be harmless or, in infamous cases such as thalidomide, tragically toxic. Understanding how nature has managed to make a single enzyme (GAME8) change its product from 25S to 25R through a few mutations is a great advance for biotechnology. We could, in theory, use this knowledge to engineer crops with specific alkaloid profiles, creating more resistant plants or, conversely, eliminating anti-nutritional compounds. Images | Airplane CP In Xataka | The skull that changes everything: a million-year-old fossil suggests that ‘Homo sapiens’ did not come from Africa

Nexperia had the entire European automotive industry in check. We have good news

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The Dutch Government is prepared to suspend the control it exercises over the semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia if China again allows the export of its most critical chips. According to sources Bloomberg, the Chinese government has already lifted the veto, so the move would end a conflict that threatened to paralyze automobile production world. The agreement on the table. According to Bloomberg, Dutch authorities were “prepared to revoke the ministerial order that gave them veto power over key Nexperia corporate decisions” as soon as next week. The condition: that the resumption of shipments of components from China be verified in the coming days and that the financial disputes between Nexperia and its Chinese operations be also resolved. China lifts veto. Just like assures In the middle, China has once again allowed Nexperia to export its semiconductors, paving the way for the Netherlands to suspend its powers over the Chinese-owned company. Chips have already started shipping again from Nexperia’s Chinese operations, officials from several auto companies confirmed to Bloomberg. The first shipments are already underway. Aumovio SE, a components maker that supplies Volkswagen, Stellantis and BMW, has shipped Nexperia semiconductors and components containing them after receiving an export license from China this week, according to declared its CEO Philipp Von Hirschheydt to Bloomberg. The manager added who informed him that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce lifted the export ban on Nexperia this Friday. “It will take some time before all procedures and processes return to normal,” the CEO warned. There is still the possibility of disruption in the next four to six weeks, but “if everything I know today is correct, we are not going to be affected,” he said. How it all started. The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Vincent Karremans, activated a law dating back to the Cold War in September to take temporary control over Nexperiaowned by the Chinese technology group Wingtech. The reason was concern that Wingtech was weakening the company and putting the supply of vital components at risk. The Dutch government flagged some of Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng’s decisions as representing “misuse of financial resources for the personal enrichment of the CEO,” according to account Bloomberg. Wingtech denied these allegations. In response, Beijing imposed restrictions on exports of Nexperia products from China, which accounted for about half of the company’s pre-crisis volumes. Why does it matter? Nexperia makes power control chips used by large manufacturers such as Volkswagen. Until the conflict is resolved, European car manufacturers face production stoppages imminent as their reserves are depleted. Just like account Bloomberg, Honda Motor has already been informed of the resumption of chip shipments by Nexperia in China, so the Japanese carmaker plans to normalize its affected production during the week of November 21, according to its executive vice president, Noriya Kaihara. On the other hand, Bosch, one of the largest component suppliers in the world, also is receiving chips from Nexperia from China, according to sources close to the media. However, the media reports that until this Friday morning there were still production interruptions in several Bosch plants that manufacture automotive electronics. The situation remains tense. Despite positive signs, German supplier ZF Friedrichshafen is preparing for production interruptions, including temporary layoffs, as a precautionary measure. “It is unclear to what extent and at what speed deliveries from China could resume,” declared a company spokesperson told Bloomberg. “The situation remains very tense throughout the industry.” Signs of distension. The Dutch Government declared this Thursday that it expects Nexperia’s Chinese unit to resume chip supplies in the coming days. “Given the constructive nature of our discussions with the Chinese authorities, the Netherlands is confident that chip supplies from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia customers in the coming days,” Karremans said in a statement picked up by Bloomberg. Wingtech shares rose almost 10% in Shanghai after the news. European automakers and their suppliers also gained on the news, as Volkswagen shares rose as much as 2.7% in Frankfurt, while BMW rose as much as 2.5%. Shares of Mercedes-Benz Group and Stellantis also rose, according to the middle. What’s coming now. Resolution of the dispute will depend on effective verification that shipments resume and resolving outstanding financial issues between Nexperia and its operations in China. If these conditions are met, the Dutch Government could revoke his powers of intervention next week, putting an end to a crisis that has put the entire supply chain of the European automotive sector in check. On the other hand, the future of Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng remains uncertain following his suspension as CEO of Nexperia by an Amsterdam court on October 7. Cover image | Arthur Wang and Nexperia In Xataka | The EU wants to connect Madrid with Paris by AVE in 2035. Or in 2042 if you ask France

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