objective

We have covered the ISS in moss with a single objective. And now the possibility of “terraforming” Mars is closer

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Last year, scientists published the results of a study in which they told how they had covered the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) with moss. Although the study It was published in Decemberit was not a Christmas decorative strategy. They wanted to check if this primitive plant is capable of surviving the inhospitable conditions of space. The results were so positive, they could take humanity one step closer to terraforming Mars. A primitive plant to start a new life. The first plants that appeared on Earth were bryophytes, more specifically mosses. They are very resistant plants, capable of growing directly on rocks. From there, they can photosynthesize if they have the right water and nutrients. It is a process in which they capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and generate oxygen. In addition, they generate organic matter that, upon death, becomes the perfect substrate. so that other more complex plants can grow. That is why the study was carried out to see if moss can survive in space. It was proven yes, so it could be an interesting candidate for terraforming Mars or the Moon. The study. Basically, what was seen in the study is that the mosses exposed on the outside of the ISS were able to survive for 283 days exposed to extremely cold temperatures and very intense ultraviolet radiation. When they were returned to Earth after that period, more than 80% had survived. In fact, planting them made them germinate. Carl Sagan already predicted it (more or less). The dream of terraforming other planets is not something new, although it is true that for a long time it was almost a fantasy. In 1961, for example, Carl Sagan made an interesting proposal to terraform Venus. It is known that this planet neighboring Earth It is covered by a dense layer of clouds. Since clouds here on Earth are usually made of water, the famous astrophysicist proposed planting cyanobacteria inside them. These microorganisms have the ability to carry out photosynthesis, like plants. Therefore, they could consume carbon dioxide and generate oxygen. The problem is that it was later discovered that the clouds of Venus are actually made of sulfuric acid, so their proposal became unattainable. Proposals to terraform Mars. No further proposals have been made to terraform Venus, but there have been proposals to do the same with Mars. It’s also pretty inhospitable, but it has a lot more potential. In fact, last year was published in Nature a study that talked about the possibility of turning the red planet into something similar to Earth with only four steps. The first would be to melt the ice, so that it becomes an immense ocean of liquid water. For this, the temperature would have to be increased by at least 30ºC. heat is needed. The second step, therefore, is to obtain that heat. It was proposed to use solar sails that direct most of the solar radiation to these ice reserves. Aerosols could also be dispersed in the atmosphere that cause a kind of greenhouse effect, further retaining solar radiation inside the planet. A vaulted habitat. Although Mars has its own atmosphere, it would have to be reinforced with something that would allow it to create a biosphere. Therefore, it would be interesting to build vaults into which to introduce the first Martian inhabitants. Life that brings more life to Mars. Finally, it would be necessary to use genetically modified-extremophilic microorganisms. These are microorganisms capable of surviving in extreme conditions. For example, microorganisms that survive in media with high salt concentrations or very high or very low temperatures are Extremophiles. Even so, it would be necessary to genetically modify them to make them even more resistant to extremely low temperature and pressure conditions. These microorganisms would be photosynthetic, so that they generate oxygen and organic matter. Moss comes into play. Following the results of the International Space Station experiment, it is clear that moss could be a good complement to these extremophile microorganisms to terraform Mars. Unfortunately, it is estimated that to have the technologies necessary to meet all the requirements we will have to wait at least 100 years. It’s a long time, but with everything humanity has waited for, it would only be a little longer. For now, as the road safety advertisements say, the important thing is to arrive. There are already space agencies trying to date that first step. Let’s start there. Image | Julius A OBARO (Wikimedia Commons) and Freepik In Xataka | Chernobyl was filled with mushrooms after the nuclear accident. Thanks to them we discovered a “new form of photosynthesis”

More and more Spanish bars refuse to let you pay at the table. Its objective is very simple: greater rotation

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“To pay, at the cashier.” It doesn’t matter if you live in the very center of Madrid, the most touristy area of ​​Barcelona, ​​next to Malagueta, in Vigo or a remote town in Bierzo, it is most likely that at some point in the last few months you have heard that phrase when you ask a waiter to please charge you. To pay for the coffee you just had, you must get up and go to the checkout yourself. Or what is the same, you do not have the option of being charged at the table. It seems like a minor issue, but this decision is not accidental: it responds to a logic that seeks to speed up the rotation in the premises and get the most out of them. “Excuse me, can I have the bill?” In Spain there are some 87,000 restaurants and food stalls, almost 163,400 drinking establishments and 270,200 “food and beverage services”, according to INE datawhich gives a pretty clear idea about how we live in Spain: we like (a lot) to go out for coffees, beers and tapas. Therefore, no matter what region you live in, chances are that in recent months you have sat at a table in a bar or restaurant. And that’s also why you’ve probably noticed that it’s becoming more and more common that when you want to pay and ask for the bill, answer the same: “To pay, at the cashier.” Unraveling the mystery. The question is obvious. Why the hell are they asking us to pay at the cashier? Are we not hindering the passage of other customers like this? Does it have any advantages over the option of paying the bill directly at the table? The mystery was cleared up a few months ago Jairosanbor, a tiktoker that usually publishes on his account videos related to the world of hospitality. And the answer is quite simple: although several factors come into play, everything is limited to a simple question of rotation in the premises. In other words, make a business profitable and get the most out of it. Time and agility. The logic is simple. If the customer receives the bill at their table, pays and the waiter charges them, even having to return to the bar to get change, a process is lengthened that could be simplified if the payment is made at the cashier. It may be a matter of minutes, but over the course of an entire day, a week, a month or a year (even more) that time can translate into higher turnover. More rotation. More clients. Higher income. “A little trick”. “What you get is that the customer gets up without any problem and leaves you the table free so that someone else can automatically sit down. If you had him here waiting for you to bring him the bill, charge him, he leaves and comes, in the end more time is wasted,” comments Jairposanbor in his TikTok video, of just 30 sure. “It’s a little trick for the rotation.” Personnel issue? The “little trick”, as the hotelier defines it, may seem simple, but it has given rise to a good number of articles about the themein the pressand some debate in the comments of the video. There are those who relate it, for example, to the greater or lesser availability of waiters in the establishment. “Another trick: add more staff and if the customer leaves happy that they don’t have to wait, they’ll probably come back,” comment a user. Another adds that charging cash may increase turnover and profitability of the establishment, but it can have a negative effect: it places more workload on the employee behind the bar. Cash vs card. They would come into play more keys. For example, although it is increasingly common for restaurants or cafes to allow payment by card, especially in large chains, in those cases in which the business only accepts cash, the “collection at the counter” rule simplifies the process quite a bit. No picking up cashround trips between the bar and the table to look for change or for the money to ultimately pass through several hands within the business. Useful, not infallible. Of course the tactic can be useful, but it is by no means infallible. First because, as some users also comment on TikTok, there are customers who do not like being sent to the bar to pay for their drinks. Second, because rotation is not 100% guaranteed either. As another remembers tiktokerthe trick fails when there is more than one person at the table, only one gets up to pay and then returns to his seat to continue chatting. A sector in change. César Sánchez-Ballesterospresident of the Tourism and Hospitality Federation of the province of Pontevedra, Feproturprovides some extra keys. Tricks like the one shared by Jairoposanbor seek greater optimization, but that is not the only way that hoteliers follow to achieve it. For years the group has opted for new strategies, such as online reservations, letters with QR codeapps that allow you to make orders and pay… Until reaching extreme examples such as experiments of McDonald’s in the US, with stores where there is hardly any interaction with staff. Of orders, payments… and personnel. “We see more and more examples of optimization,” comments Sánchez-Ballesteros, who remembers in any case that the client always has the last word, as has been made clear in the comments of TikTok: he is the one who decides what compensates him, what practices he considers good, what bothers him or the services he is not willing to give up. Against this backdrop, there is another factor that conditions work in restaurants and bars: the shortage of qualified personnel, which further reinforces the urgency that businesses have when it comes to polishing internal processes. It’s nothing new. For years the hospitality industry has been pointing out on a recurring basis the shortage of professionals, a deficit that becomes especially visible in times of … Read more

Changan lands in Spain but its objective is global

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They arrive in our country in 2026 but Changan’s backpack is loaded with experience. With its first two models flanking the presentation and the presence of the personalities who will direct its operations in our country, this Chinese company gained muscle in Madrid, the first stop in an expansion that they want to be as rapid as it is successful. The cover letter was quickly put on the table: “We want to manufacture five million units in 2030. 3.5 million will be new energy cars (a category that in China includes plug-in hybrids and electric cars)” said Manuel Perez Casado, head of sales in our country and on whose shoulders most of the presentation fell. The goal is ambitious. So much so that if it were achieved it would put the company in the famous five million club. A space reserved for the chosen ones. In the absence of knowing the consolidated data for 2025, it is only certain that two brands have far surpassed the five million units sold: Toyota (which has exceeded 11 million of cars sold) and Volkswagen. Behind, BYD has not achieved break the barrier of five million that has been fighting for two years. That is, right now, selling five million cars means becoming the third best-selling manufacturer in the world. That’s where Changan is pointing. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? Your arrival in Spain Although Changan arrives in Spain in 2026 as a Chinese firm that may be unknown to the general public, it has 45 years of history behind it. During the presentation, much of the speech focused on building trust in the company. As a group, Changan is fighting, right now, to be the fourth conglomerate of China’s largest car manufacturers. Ahead and as the undisputed leader is BYD, which dominates the Asian country and has found in its BYD Seagull (Dolphin Surf in Europe) a car that has swept the low-priced models. It is followed by Chery, the largest exporter in China that sells in our country under the brands of Omoda and Jaecoo and whose cars serve as a basis for Ebro. The third group is Geely, owner of Volvo or Smart, among other companies. Changan has, like Chery, a long tradition in the export of vehicles. It currently actively sells in 115 different countries, has 21 factories and development centers and more than 24,000 employees spread across 31 countries. In Europe they have centers in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom that, they say, will help them tune the cars to European tastes. Changan’s contact with countries outside of what has been happening in China is not new. They have development and research centers related to autonomous driving in the United States and design centers in Japan. Furthermore, they have had and have collaborations with Ford and Mazda. So much so that Japanese electric cars are, in essence, Changan cars. Yes, he Mazda 6e and the future Mazda CX-6e They are electric cars built on the Chinese skeleton that Mazda claims to have tuned for European tastes. For now, we have only been able to touch the first of them and we can confirm that it is a good car but that its driving feel and some details of its interior in terms of ergonomics are not exactly what we expect from this Japanese brand. Their weapons to open a gap Ahead of its collaborating company, Changan arrives in our country with the Deepal S05 and S07. They are practically the same car with some differences in equipment and battery size. The first of them is the smallest and makes an appearance in our country with a 68.8 kWh battery with LFP technology which promises 485 kilometers of electric autonomy. For its part, the Deepal S07 does so with an 80 kWh NCM battery that certifies 475 kilometers of autonomy. Both cars were on display during the presentation and we were able to get into one of them in a lap from which we can draw few real conclusions. We will have to wait for a contact or an in-depth test to have a better perspective of the whole. If we talk about driving feel, we found it to be a car that accelerates sufficiently but lacks a bit of restraint in its suspension, too soft which generates very long supports, and that has a proposal that is too artificial in its direction, at times excessively forceful but without the ability to transmit anything that happens with the wheels, which makes us lose feeling when moving quickly. Yes we can say that both cars are greattaking care of the materials that are reached by hand, prioritizing soft plastics and leaving the hard ones where we usually will not touch. They are very spacious cars that comply with the maxim of many other Chinese cars that we have had in our hands. In general, they are well-resolved vehicles inside, with a lot of interior space for the rear seats and with a trunk that is somewhat fair for its size. And, above all, with very extensive equipment. The Deepal S05 comes with a 15.4-inch screen with 2.5K resolution (compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) that flows very well in the tests that we were able to do when we got on it. Its equipment has all the expected driving assistance systems in level 2 autonomy such as adaptive cruise control. Cameras with what the brand calls 540º vision are also included. That is, we can see what we have under the car. Deepal S05 interior For its part, the Deepal S07 adds a rotating screen that moves left or right to facilitate handling for the driver or passenger. Of course, like its little brother, it lacks any type of physical buttons for the air conditioning functions. Also included as standard is a glass roof and wireless charging for your mobile phone. In this case, the screen is 15.6 inches. The cars have a … Read more

After Venezuela, the United States is already saying loud and clear what its next objective is: Greenland

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The world looks at Venezuela, but a good part of Europe, NATO allies and more specifically Denmark have one eye (or both) on another geographical point: Greenland. The capture of Nicolás Maduro opens a very wide range of questions about the future of Venezuela, but it has also fueled the unknowns that for months They surround Greenland, geographically located in North America, although at a political level it depends on Denmark. That Donald Trump wants Greenland to come under Washington’s rule is not new, but his words take on a new meaning after what happened on Saturday. Especially because the Republican leader himself has remembered in the last hours that he does not give up on the island: “we need itdefinitely”. Beyond Venezuela. That Venezuela is the protagonist of the start of 2026, no one doubts it. The operation launched by the US on Saturday and which culminated in the capture of Maduro opens a wide range of unknowns about the future of the South American nation. Especially after Trump himself has slipped that he is determined to keep the country under his tutelage “until there is a reliable transition”, a process for which doesn’t seem to trust in María Corina Machado. What happened in Venezuela has, however, shaken some chords that go far beyond America. The main one is probably related to Greenland. Trump wants the US to control the island, crucial for its geostrategic value and mining resources. That’s nothing new. He has said it on many occasionsbefore even being sworn into office. Saturday’s campaign, however, gives a new veneer to that claim, especially because there are those who already warn that the US has shown that it is willing to ignore international law. Click on the image to go to the tweet. “SOON”. The above would be enough to rock the diplomatic waters around Greenland, but Trump himself (and his entourage) have taken it upon themselves in the last few hours to make it clear that they are not giving up on Greenland. The first message in that direction was sent on Saturday by podcaster ultraconservative Katie Miller, who posted a tweet in which it showed a map of Greenland colored with the US flag and a message as simple as it was resounding: “SOON”, ‘soon’. The tweet, which has more than 28 million views, caused a stir because Miller is not a simple influencer from the republican and MAGA sphere. During the Republican’s first term she played a relevant role in the Department of Homeland Security and today she remains the wife of Stephen Milleran influential figure within Trump’s White House team. Hence, Denmark has given special relevance to his tweet. Just a few hours after Miller published it, the Danish ambassador to the US, Jesper Moller Sorensen, he took it upon himself to respond by the same means (X) to make it clear that Washington and Copenhagen are allies and Greenland is already integrated into NATO. “We expect full respect for the territorial integrity of Denmark.” “We need it”. Miller hasn’t been the only MAGA voice to speak out about Greenland. In case there were still doubts about the White House’s position, Trump himself has also done so. On Sunday, in an interview with TheAtlantic, The Republican made it clear that his aspirations for Greenland remain as strong as a year ago, if not stronger. In fact, far from softening the tone after the multiple frictions With Denmark, Trump has been gradually raising the tone. During the interview The Republican insisted that he will not give up the island and recalled that right now it is “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.” “We need Greenland, without a doubt. We need it for defense,” he emphasizedblunt. Just words? That is the unknown that remains after what happened on Saturday in Venezuela, a powerful military deployment that resulted in the capture of Maduro and that some experts and countries They see it as questionable from a legal point of view, if not directly contrary to international legislation. In the case of Greenland, the US has not only limited itself to sending messages. TO end of december Trump appointed the governor of the state of Louisiana as the US special envoy for Greenland, a decision that caused discomfort in the Danish Executive. The chosen one, Jeff Landry, is not just the governor of Louisiana. He is also a MAGA ally who, having recently assumed his position as special envoy, proclaimed in X that their goal is for “Greenland to be part of the United States.” Click on the image to go to the tweet. “Enough of the insinuations”. Trump and his entourage are not the only ones who have raised their voices to talk about Greenland. On this side of the Atlantic it has also done so (and with increasing forcefulness) Denmark itself through his Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen: “I have to say this to the US: there is no point in talking about the need for the US to take over Greenland. I strongly urge you to stop threats against a close ally.” His voice joins that of Ambassador Moller Sorensen, who remembered in X that Greenland is already part of NATO, so it is integrated into the same defensive alliance as the US. More resounding It has even been the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens Frederik Nielsen: “That’s enough. Enough pressure. Enough insinuations. Enough fantasies of annexation.” A recent survey has revealed that 85% of Greenlanders They do not want their island to integrate into the United States. The new Monroe Doctrine? As remember Financial TimesTrump himself has slipped that the Venezuela operation goes beyond that nation and is framed in a broader concept of “hemispheric defense” that reinforces Washington’s role in the American continent. Against this backdrop, Greenland finds itself in a complex position: it is geographically located in North America, but administratively and politically linked to Denmark. The picture is also completed with its important geostrategic role and mining wealth, which opens a … Read more

The objective is to know how they disappeared

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For decades, paleoanthropologists have grappled with a biological paradox. Neanderthals, a species supposedly adapted to the frigid cold of Europe, had huge, wide noses. A feature that in theory is completely inefficient to be able to warm the frigid air before it reaches the lungs. But due to the lack of fossils, experts could not explain what exactly had happened to this species until now. A reconstruction. In order to understand what was happening here, the experts they have managed to rebuild digitally the inside of the ‘noseAltamura Man‘, the best preserved Neanderthal in the world, without even touching it. And what they have found dismantles much of what we thought we knew about the face of our evolutionary cousins. The objective in the end has been quite clear with this study: to know one more reason why they became extinct from our planet. And all because right now the extinction of this species remains a mystery, although the latest studies suggest that They are more integrated with us than we think. The calcite prisoner. To understand the magnitude of this finding, you must first understand the subject. The ‘Altamura Man’ was discovered in 1993 by a group of spologists in the Lamalunga karst system, southern Italy. And it is not a normal fossil. The skeleton is complete, but it fell into a natural well and became trapped in a chamber where, over the millennia, water and limestone did their work. Today, the Neanderthal is literally embedded in the cave walls, covered in “popcorn” calcite formations that have protected it, but also made it impossible to extract it without destroying it. This mineral “prison” has had an unexpected advantage: it has preserved bone structures so fine and fragile that they normally disappear in the fossil record, such as the nasal turbinates and ethmoid laminae. It is the first time in history that we have a complete Neanderthal nasal cavity. Virtual dissection. Since they couldn’t remove the skull to put it in the laboratory’s scanner, they had to take the laboratory to the cave itself. Something that at first seems like a completely impossible mission. The solution found was endoscopic technology, since using high-resolution medical probes (such as those inserted into the bronchi to explore them) they passed through the ocular and nasal cavities of the fossil. The magic came from combining these images with photogrammetry techniques, since an exact 3D model of the inside of the skull was generated. Central heating. Once we had a pretty good photograph of the inside of this Neanderthal’s nose, it was time to interpret. For years there was a hypothesis in mind that to compensate for having a wide nose in a cold environment, Neanderthals must have unique internal structures. There was talk of vertical projections and medial thickenings that would act as radiators to heat and humidify the air. Two fundamental points so that you could breathe correctly. But the result of the analysis has said different things. First of all, the inside of the nose is strikingly similar to that of a modern human, just in a larger facial “frame.” This means that the supposed exclusive adaptations they had were not present in this fossil, and the airways did not have an ‘alien’ architecture as might be expected. A new extinction. In this way, Neanderthals do not seem to be able to adapt to such cold environments to be able to breathe properly. We as humans have many mechanisms to heat the air before it reaches our lungs to guarantee gas exchange. But this is something that was not found in our ancestors. In this way, if cold air reaches the lung, respiratory difficulty can be found, which at high temperatures can effectively cause the death of a species if we contextualize ourselves in extremely cold environments. Why his face. If the giant nose wasn’t an ultra-specialized “air heating machine,” why did they have it? The study suggests that we should stop looking only at the climate. The very characteristic face that this species had seems to be the result of two specific factors: Genetics of the ancestors. Very high energy demand that required a lot of oxygen and that is why a huge air intake was needed. Altamura Man lived during MIS 6 (about 130,000-170,000 years ago), a cold time, but in southern Italy he enjoyed a more temperate climate. Its nose, “normal” on the inside but enormous on the outside, suggests that the facial evolution of this species was not a straight line directed solely by the thermometer. Images | Aldo Hernandez Paul Pastourmatzis In Xataka | We still don’t know why Sapiens triumphed over Neanderthals. But we have a new hypothesis

China continues to draw up five-year plans in the old communist way. Objective: tech self-sufficiency

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Let’s talk about five-year plans. Alexei Grigorievich Stakhanov She had no idea, but her exaggerated productivity ended up messing her up. In 1927 he began working in the Tsentrálnaya-Írmino mine and realized that he was good at it. In fact, he was much better at it than the others. In August 1935 smashed the record of mine productivity and extracted 102 tons of coal (14 times its quota) in five hours and 45 minutes. Days later he crushed it again and extracted 227 tons. He became a hero to socialist workers—in addition to appearing on the cover of Time magazine—and from that was derived the stakhanovismwhich advocated the increase in labor productivity based on the workers’ own initiative. That didn’t matter to Stalin: the Soviet Union was already completely immersed in its second five-year plan with a clear objective: the frenetic industrialization of the country based, of course, on trying to convert all workers into new Stakhanovs. And from those five-year plans we ended up moving on to others. China signs up for the five-year period That idea of ​​five-year plans ended up being used by China, which began to apply them in 1953 – with the help of the former Soviet Union – and has maintained them until now. In fact, the Asian giant has debated these days what will be your 15th Five Year Plan and the focus is clear: technological self-sufficiency. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China published on Thursday a statement in which he made it clear. Its objective was to “greatly increase” the self-dependence capacityand in that plan there are clear fronts for the medium-term future of the Asian giant: Promote R&D in critical technologies such as semiconductors, robotics, high-performance computing and, of course, artificial intelligence. Build a “modern industrial system“that allows reduce dependency of foreign components, equipment and knowledge. Promote the domestic market as a pillar of growth and reduce exposure to possible impacts of the export model Integrate technological development with national security: self-sufficiency not only makes economic sense, but also geopolitical sense. This five-year plan is clearly a consequence of the times we live in: the trade war with the US that it started years ago has marked the apparent end (at least partial) of globalizationand now both are looking for the same thing: not depend on others. China’s new five-year plan goes precisely in that direction, and has a clear impact both for that country and for the rest of the world. On the one hand, greater state investment in strategic sectors and greater interventionism are proposed (Hello Mr. Trump). On the other hand, this move may reduce Chinese demand for foreign technology, exacerbating technological rivalry with the US but perhaps opening new opportunities for collaboration with other countries. If successful, China’s five-year plan can stabilize growth in the face of potential external threats, but if self-reliance is prioritized too much, international openness and competition could be neglected, which could slow innovation or lead to less efficient companies. Source: Bloomberg And there is another problem: as they point out on BloombergChina is the great world exporterprecisely because their internal consumption is insufficient: they produce much more than they need. The contribution of exports to the country’s GDP is getting biggerbut consumption has stagnated or falls. All the details of the final five-year plan will be published in March, and will intensify the focus on everything related to the technological field. This effort, which began after that first veto of the Trump administration on Huaweiseems to be bearing promising fruits for China, which is becoming in an overwhelming machine of technological innovation. That pace will not slow down. Alexei Grigorievich Stakhanov would probably be proud. Image | Chinese Communist Party In Xataka | Spain has an antidote to mental and emotional exhaustion: the nap

The DGT has created a Big Brother against belts and cell phones. Next objective: the continuous line

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Little by little, without making much noise, the DGT has been expanding its horizons. First there were speed cameras. Then came mobile controllers and the use of helicopters. And, over the years, a continuous expansion of cameras to monitor the use of seat belts or mobile phones. And, now, for the continuous lines. By land… and air. In Spain there are currently active, a total of 3,395 devices to control speed or any other type of infraction, according to data collected by Faconauto. These data not only include the DGT controllers, it must be taken into account that the Basque Country and Catalonia have transferred powers and that the municipalities can also have their own devices. According to the DGT itself, which collects this data on its website by compiling the position of all its radars, in Spain there are more than 1,300 points to be monitored between fixed and mobile radars. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that, regarding the latter, the DGT has empty boxes scattered throughout the territory national as an intimidating measure. To these systems we must add the performance of Pegasusthe DGT helicopters that chase speeding from the air. Some teams that, despite being leaders, seem to have become obsolete next to the Catalan teams in this sense. Not just radars. In this aerial surveillance, the DGT does not only live on speed radars. The public entity has more than 200 cameras that monitor the use of the seat belt and the mobile phone. We are talking about teams that can sanction us with 200 euros and four points In the first case and with 200 euros and six points of the driving license if we use the second one. But, in addition, in recent times the DGT has introduced a new type of controllers. With cameras, the agency is able to detect if a driver skips a stop sign or skips a continuous line. Infractions, both, punishable by a fine of 200 euros as they are considered serious infractions. Madrid as a laboratory. Of these last continuous line control cameras, the four registered by the DGT are located in Madrid. The region is the one highlighted by the DGT. All of them are located near the capital. According to the data shown by the DGT itself, we find them in the following locations: Camera type Road kilometer point Sense continuous line A1 15.95 Decreasing continuous line A2 11.8 Decreasing continuous line A42 16.9 Decreasing continuous line A6 20.2 Decreasing And how do they work? The system, explained by the DGTit’s simple. A camera in each lane detects at the beginning of the monitored section which cars are traveling on each side of the continuous line. Thus, they record all the license plates that pass by. At the end of the controlled section, the camera has to record the same car again. In case the second camera does not coincide with the first, the answer is clear: the driver has jumped the solid line. That is, if it appears in the right lane (let’s say camera A) in a first step and when leaving the monitored section it is recorded by the camera in the left lane (let’s say camera B), the driver has skipped the solid line. The same happens in the opposite case. In the event that the license plate is recorded by the same camera (A or B) at the two monitored points, the car will not have moved from its place: Photo | Google Maps and Xataka In Xataka | The 0 and ECO label classification of cars is broken: it is being filled with highly polluting combustion cars

Ryanair will expand the size of the hand suitcase “in the coming weeks.” Its real objective is another

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“It will begin to apply in the coming weeks.” That has been Ryanair’s response, consulted about the company’s new hand luggage policy. The company, signed to the Airlines For Europe Association, accepts the agreement that its members have reached to establish minimal measures in the hand luggage that, in this case, will be more beneficial for passengers. 40 x 30 x 20 cm. Those are the new measures that Ryanair will begin to apply for his hand luggage “in the coming weeks”, as confirmed to Xataka. This new measure slightly expands the Current measures 40 x 25 x 20 cm which are included with the company’s basic ticket. This means that passengers can carry a slightly size bag this summer. In BBC They point out that the change will mean a 20 -liter backpack to a 24 -liter capacity. The maximum allowed limit will continue to be, yes, 10 kg. “In the coming weeks”. As for the implementation of the new measure, the Irish company has not given us a specific date. They point to questions from Xataka That “this change will be implemented in the coming weeks, as the sizes in our airports are adjusted.” That is, it will not be until the airports have updated their containers to measure the size of the hand suitcases they use next to the shipping doors when the new measure will begin to be applied. At the moment, we will have to continue conforming to the “Ryanair backpack”. Why this change? The change comes after the Airlines For Europe (A4E) association, which Ryanair is a member, will sign an agreement so that the minimum of the suitcases admitted as hand luggage is 40 × 30 × 15 cm. This forced the Irish company to increase its width by five centimeters and, at most, reduce the height by five centimeters. Ryanair has decided to apply only the first change. This decision can be read as a message of good will against the European Union that in its institutions is discussed if this should be the minimum size allowed on continental flights. For the moment, The European Union Council has approved The change to these new measures 40 × 30 × 15 cm. But for its application, the European Parliament must also support it and, subsequently, ratify the agreement. However, this last institution He has rejected it And the application of this measure is in the air. So what is the situation? Right now, on the legal level everything remains the same. That is, the European Union forces airlines to admit a handbag to transport the “essential” but there is no specific size on it. This has led to a legal battle in Spain, With confronted resolutions giving the reason to consumers or the airline depending on the court. On the practical level, who travels with Ryanair will now be able to carry a slightly wider backpack once they apply the changes in the luggage. However, the change is minimal and is far from the majority of small “cabin suitcases”. Is it the only one? No, Ryanair is not the only company. Wizz Air, another of the companies sanctioned in Spain, will also apply these new measures of 40 x 30 x 20 cm, As confirmed on their website. Like Ryanair, the company is subscribed to Airlines for Europe (A4E), so it will also apply what is agreed. Photo | Niels Baars and Erik McLean In Xataka | In the war between Spain and Ryanair for hand luggage, the airline has found an unexpected ally: the European Union

The gradient effect of objective

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Everything is more fun When it is raised as a gameeven more so when the objective of that game is to improve your motivation to achieve your goals. Plan the tasks As if they were Small tests of a game that you must be overcoming throughout the day you will get all your goals and, more importantly, you will without decaying your motivation. Gamification is a concept that is already used to maintain your motivation in sports applications; its use has been investigated in learning systems with dynamics such as the one Duolingo uses in its app; and use it to your supermarket to encourage your faithfulness. The common denominator for all of them: a psychological conditioner called “GRADIENT OF OBJECTIVE EFFECT“ The idea is simple but effective: by structuring tasks in short -term goals, each step about tangibly at the end, that generates in the brain a feeling of triumph and reward. This expectation of reward generates a natural impulse to continue advancing until the next test to complete it, and so on avoiding procrastination. Thanks to this technique, worldly priori tasks or demotivating priori, they can become more fun and attainable. Origin of the gradient effect of objective The gradient target effect has its roots on A study performed in 1934 by psychologist Clark L. Hull, who sought to better understand human behavior patterns. In his investigation, Hull observed the behavior of rats in a maze while looking for food. Interestingly, it was discovered that the closer they were to achieve their goal (food), faster and with greater determination advanced. This increase in effort when approaching the ultimate goal is a condition that also occurs in the human brain and, in fact, has a very widespread use in loyalty marketing (with rewards when accumulating points or stamps with your purchases to obtain gifts), in education, or to maintain motivation in health and sport apps (granting medals and overcoming challenges) The perception of closeness to the goal that our brain perceives can influence behavior and effort level, so the motivation to obtain a reward in dopamine is increased. Ran Kivetz, Oleg Urmininsky and Yuhuang Zheng They studied this behavior And they discovered that customers with a fidelity card that required 10 stamps to receive a free drink, were more likely to complete it if they already had some pre-marked stamps. Interestingly, people who started with two “gift” stamps completed 82% faster than those who began with a completely empty card. This same principle can be applied to your productivity. With one Proper task planningso that a large and challenging task can be divided into simpler and easiest tasks, a workflow aimed at constantly achieving small achievements throughout the day can be encouraged. That will contribute, for example, to mitigate that feeling of having been working throughout the day without having completed any concrete task. In addition, the progressive conclusion of tasks reduces the feeling of fear of failure, redagering the possibility of abandonment of A half task do. Something that your brain hate deeply by another psychological condition called Zeigarnik effect. How to apply the gradient effect of objective to our tasks Understanding this theory allows you to apply it practically to your daily life, especially using gamification tactics for do all kinds of more attractive tasks. Gamification consists of incorporating elements of video games, such as points, levels or rewards, to everyday situations to make them more motivating. For example, the gradient objective effect can be integrated into your day by dividing A big task in smaller steps And visually traceable, so you feel that you are continuously progressing in its conclusion. Another trick to take advantage of the gradient target effect is to incorporate small rewards along the way. Instead of waiting until the end of a project to celebrate it, you can Establish intermediate milestones. Imagine you are working in a long report. You can divide it into sections and, when completing each of them, reward with something you enjoy, such as a little break, a few minutes of relaxing music, etc. An essential element in this process is the visualization of the advance, so it is important to use productivity apps that measure that progress or keep the list of tasks, and Get out of all those little tasks Completed thus marking the progress of your work or your personal tasks. Use in moderation Despite being an excellent way to maintain motivation naturally taking advantage of an innate condition of the brain, it is convenient to use this technique selectively as a support for those projects that are procrastination meat. The abuse of the objective gradient effect conditions the brain to stay in a constant state of expectation that You can take its toll consuming all your energy and deriving in states of exhaustion, both physical and mental. A Excessive motivation By completing objectives, it also causes a “tunnel vision” in the task, in which other alternatives that could be more effective, but are not studied because the goal has been put into finishing them at all costs, not in the best possible way. Therefore, you have to be careful when applying this technique in tasks that require creative solutions or problem solving. Beyond those “contraindications”, take advantage of this condition of your brain will help maintain motivation In those tasks that you hate or that you do not feel like doing. In Xataka | Lack of motivation is a problem for productivity. The trick to avoid it is simple according to science: start In Xataka | “Doing nothing” is a great technique to improve your productivity. Neuroscience is clear Image | Pexels (DS Stories, Ivan Samkov)

In the emptied Galicia there are municipalities taking care of gas stations and shops. THE OBJECTIVE: Don’t run out of services

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The Emptied Spain It is depopulated Spain, but also the one that is emptied from companies and services. Both, the Lack of neighbors And the absence of businesses that cover their most basic needs, are part of the same vicious circle that in the long run the peoples to abandonment. In Galicia They have decided Breaking that loop with a curious movement. To avoid running out of supermarkets or gas stations there are municipalities that are taking care of their management. The objective: that the neighbors should not move kilometers for something as simple as buying the bread. Even at the cost of the City Council itself assume private services. The ghost of depopulation. The depopulation He is one of the great ghosts of the rural of Spain. And Galicia is no exception. A few months ago his Consello de Contas He issued A report in which he warned that in the community (especially in the provinces of Lugo and Ourense) there are almost a hundred towns in ‘danger of extinction’, a status that is explained by a combination of factors: a register below the 5,000 inhabitants, a low population density (less than 20%) and more deaths than births. INE himself calculates that in 2021 there were almost 25,700 Gallegos residing in municipalities that do not pass from the thousand registered. According to his nomenclator, in the community there are also around 1,900 depopulated villagesmany of them in Lugo. Only in 2023 it is estimated that the province lost about 40. Other populations are still alive but with a handful of hundreds of neighbors and having lost much in a short time. To name a case, Murasin the Terra Cha, I had 1,151 neighbors In 2000. In 2024 were 600. A vicious circle. We commented before. The localities of emptied Spain do not remain alone without neighbors. They often do it also without businesses that cover their needs. And one and the other, that of inhabitants and services, feed a vicious circle that ends up accelerating the emptying of the peoples. Although there is experts That they conclude that at general “accessibility to services” in Spain is good, especially if we talk about health and education, they also recognize that differences arise when the provincial scale is lowered. A quick search arrives on Google to find Complaints of populations about the public transport or lack of something as simple as bars and shops. And how to solve it? A question similar to that was asked a while ago in Pol and Ribeira de Piquíntwo localities of the rural of the province of Lugo that together barely go from the 2,000 residents. The first, Pol, has 1,542 registered, 27% less than in 2000. The second, Ribeira de Piquín, had about 500 residents, 80% less than at the beginning of this century. Both municipalities share Another featurein addition to the province and a diminishing census: given the loss of basic businesses their respective municipalities have decided to step forward and guarantee the continuity of private services. A kind of municipalization which aims to prevent your neighbors from having to look for life for issues as basic as buying bread. Their cases have attracted the interest of media such as The voice of Galicia either Eldiario. A “municipal” supermarket. In the case of Pol the Consistory he found the risk that The only supermarket From the town, located in the population of Mosterio, closed. Its owner retired and in the absence of relief or other shopkeepers that would like to transfer it, the panorama was complicated for the neighbors who reside there. “No one was interested in carrying it. It was deserted,” explained in December Its mayor, Lino Rodríguez, Progress. The City Council solution: Buy the super To keep it open. It is not yet known How will it manage, through a foundation, attracting a franchise or with an autonomous, but the goal is clear: to guarantee the continuity of the service. “We acquired the entire block, which has an area of ​​about 800 m2, for a total of 150,000 euros,” Rodríguez added In December. The project went ahead with the support of the Diputación and aspires to go beyond trade: Pol wants to recover an old sausage mark and create social housing at the top. At the end of last year the town had already paid 75,000 euros for the premises, it hoped to pay a similar sum of 2025 and already thought about furniture and facilities to serve customers. “We need to acquire the material goods of the interior, such as refrigerators, freezers and cold cameras. But throughout 2025 we will try to prepare the charcería,” He reported. OBJECTIVE: Refers in the town. In Ribeira de Piquín, the City Council has also moved to preserve a key service, although in this case the focus is on a gas station. At the end of 2024 the Consistory was in process for rent an already built service area but it carries more than a decade closed The idea is reopen it in 2025 and that the neighbors do not have to move to another town to replace or look for fuel. The project is carried out through the Terreo Foundationparticipated by the City Council, and with support of the Diputación de Lugo, which provides funds through an agreement. The rent will be done through a direct award procedure, Precise Progressand once completed the idea of ​​the City Council is to adapt the station to the regulations to register it. In the budget they also reserve funds to hire full -time personnel who can take care of the suppliers and serve users. Is it an isolated case? No. The gas station will not be the only (or first) project that is promoted with the terreo lever. Before it was launched A fish farma livestock exploitation and even a kiwi plantation. “The municipalities as small as we have many difficulties for the private initiative to come and invest. Hence we have no other option … Read more

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