people

In the last 20 years, colorectal cancer has doubled among young people and we didn’t know why. Now we have a track

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In the last 20 years, the incidence of colorectal cancer has doubled in young adults and that has fired all alarms. Above all, because while this type of tumor shoots, we have no idea why. Now, a study headed by Spanish researchers has found a suspect: it is called colibactin and a bacterial toxin produced by some strains of Escherichia coli. The colorectal epidemic. The term is “epidemic”, yes. As Manuel Anse explainedthe alarm jumped in the US in the late 2000s: while colorectal cancer decreased in people over 70, growth rates in children under 50 grew at a rate of 1.5%. In Europe, the data suggests that it has arrived to grow to the rhythm of 8% Between twenty -year -old. It was a huge public health problem. But, above all, it was a mystery. What could be behind all this? The first track. In 2020, a research team from the Netherlands discovered that certain strains of Escherichia coli They produced colibactin and that toxin could produce cancer mutations In the children’s DNA. It was an interesting, promising way; But there were too many conditional in the idea. Those conditionals are those who have tried to eliminate the investigation that It has just been published in Nature. What have they done? They have analyzed the DNA of almost a thousand tumors of this type of 11 different countries (and three continents). Not only that: they have examined varieties, typologies and demographic features. And what they have found is more than interesting. To begin with, there are two genetic brands related to the toxin in question that are 3.3 times more common in tumors of young people (compared to those of people over 70 years old). To continue, “they are especially prevalent in countries with a high incidence of colorectal cancer in young people.” What does this mean? “Mutational firms are a kind of historical record in the genome; they point out that exposure to colibactin in early stages of life promotes colorectal cancer of early appearance,” Ludmil Alexandrov explainedfrom the University of California in San Diego. Everything seems to indicate that the harmful effects of this toxin begin soon (in the first 10 years of life). That is, “if someone acquires one of these driving mutations at 10 years, decades could be advanced in the development of colorectal cancer and suffering from age 40 instead of 60, “explained Alexandrov. It is great news. No, it’s excellent news. Insufficient, preliminary and still precarious: but if we are clear, it is that to contain the epidemic we must understand where it comes from. And, for now, it seems that it comes from the modern world. “In the most industrialized countries there is an increase in cases of infection with this strain of Escherichia coliwhich leads us to think about changes in lifestyle “, Díaz Gay says in the country. How can we use it in our favor? We do not know, but we will discover it. Image | JC Gellidon | National Cancer Institute In Xataka | We have found a cure for more aggressive colon cancer: this is how the drug is referred to

A French people have to deal with an surprising incidence of ALS. The main suspect is a fungus

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ELA (ALS in English) is a disease capable of wreaking havoc in our nervous system. Today It has no cure And what we know about its origin is quite limited. Throughout decades of study, we have been discovering risk factors related to the appearance of this disorder but perhaps the strangest was detected a few years ago in a town in the French Alps. The unique case of Montchavin. A few years ago, a group of researchers discovered that the French people of Montchavin, located near the Alpine border with Italy, has a high incidence of ELA. After investigating the case, the team pointed out as possible culprit To a very concrete element of local gastronomy, the fungus Gyromitra gigasa type of false colmenilla or false morilla. ELA. The Amyotrophic lateral sclerosisknown among other names as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a disease that affects neurons, both in our brain and spinal cord. It is a disease that is progressing until it ends the life of who suffers it. Today we do not know a cure, although there are treatments that relieve Some symptoms and increase the life expectancy of patients. The symptoms of this disease usually appear from the age of 50, although there are earlier cases, and They can start With problems walking, writing or speaking. The disease It generates the loss of muscle strength and coordination capacity, problems that extend to different muscle groups. Unknown cause. Today we have no accurate record of what mechanisms unleash this ailment, although we know Some risk factors correlated with their appearance. What we do know is that about 10% of cases are related to a genetic variant, and that the disease is more common among men than among women. Among the known risk factors are tobacco and exposure to certain environmental toxins. A higher prevalence has also been detected among people who did military service. The incidence of this disease It is between one and 2.6 annual cases per 100,000 inhabitants; with an approximate prevalence of about six cases per 100,000 per 100,000 people. An enigma in the French Alps. A few years ago, the cases of Montchavin unleashed the curiosity of the French neurologist Emmeline Lagrange. The health and its team accounted for 14 cases of ELA diagnosed between 1990 and 2018 linked to residents in this town, including migrants and people who had their second residence in Montchavin. Examining the case, the team did not find genetic factors that could justify the high incidence in the town. Although they found cases of smokers, they also ran into healthy habits in the group. Nor did they find clues of possible pollutants in land, air or water, or radon traces, a pollutant that could also be linked to this disease. From Pacific to France. As the journalist Terence Monmany narrates In an article For the medium Knowablethe team found a thread to throw on the remote island of Guam. On this island located in the archipelago of the Mariana Islands, in the Western Pacific, another team had detected a possible relationship between the consumption of potentially toxic seeds and the prevalence of neurological diseases (including ELA) among the natives. Although science is not settled in the causes of this epidemic, this hypothesis placed the consumption of food in the center of the debate. According to Detaine Monmanythe native chamorros treated these seeds with water to reduce their toxicity before their culinary preparation. This process would not be able to eliminate all toxins, giving rise to subsequent neurological damage. Gyromitra gigas. Something similar could be happening in Montchavin, not with seeds but with a mushroom. As the team observed, the cases could be drawn up to people linked to the collection and consumption of the fungus Gyromitra gigasa type of false morilla. It is a fungus in a toxic principle, but that, as in the case of Guam, can be treated to reduce its toxicity. In spite of this, the team maintains in its work that the incidence of the ELA in the town can be linked to its toxins and DNA lesions caused by these in the long term. The details of that study were published in 2021 In an article In the magazine Journal of the Neurological Sciences. A spurious relationship? In Xataka | I am a journalist, I have ela and I can’t move anything from my body except my eyes … So I write articles with my pupils Image | Henk Monster / Alexey Laa

LaLiga has in her hand to prevent people from stopping seeing illegal IPTV. You just have to imitate Netflix

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The nightmare of IPS blocks by LaLiga continues. Not only that: it seems to increase. Soccer is becoming a problem For Internet users in our country, and are (we are) paying fair for sinners. Why is this happening? This is what we try to find out analyzing one of the potential root problems – the cost of seeing football – and stating those prices with what has happened on other streaming platforms. Why what works for Netflix or Spotify does not do so for football? Let’s see it. How much does football cost in Spain and Europe Today in Spain football fans depend on telephone operators to enjoy these broadcasts. If the objective is to be able to access all the First Division Soccer matches of LaLiga and those of competitions such as the Champions League, The options are two: Movistar+ and Orange. They told it a few months ago Our mobile Xataka companionswhich explained what were the disputes available plans, in which fiber, mobile and television are always combined in different versions. In those two cases Prices start from 115 euros per month of Movistar or the 80.95 euros per month of Orange (although without mobile data). O2 and Jazztel also offer some games, but much more limited: each day we have access to a LaLiga EA Sports (First Division) match, a Champions League match (if celebrated day) and three games of LaLiga Hypermotion (Second Division). That exclusivity of Movistar and Orange, however, They could change: Yoigo and Masmoble plan a television service with Orange TV infrastructure and in which 90 channels and all football will be included. At the moment there are no prices or defined availability date for this project. And in Europe? Other European countries have different costs, but it is important here to emphasize that the prices we will talk about are access to football without further ad I would go apart. Thus, we have: France: Dazn has a package to see all the link 1 for 35 euros per month (25 euros/month if you are under 26 years). Canal+ has a plan that also includes European competitions and costs 29.99 euros per month. Germany: In Dazn Unlimited All Bundesliga and Champions League matches for 34.99 euros per month are available. There are some optional platforms such as Sky with similar prices. Italy: DAZN offers all the A series A for 30 euros per month, while they can see the Champions League, it must be combined with Sky Italy, which has a cost of 25 euros per month. The total cost is therefore 55 euros per month. England: Sky Sports has all the rights to convey the matches, and the package costs about 22 pounds per month (26 euros/month). BT Sport broadcasts the Champions League, and the cost in that case is 25 euros per month, so the combined cost is about 51 euros per month. What is also true is that these amounts and these plans vary constantly and both operators and platforms offer constant promotions in order to capture more users. When Netflix taught us the way There was a time when music downloads or films on P2P networks were especially popular. That was cumbersome and illegal, but there were not many more options either. Or none. This was what was seen in Netflix in 2015, when he arrived in Spain. Everything would change with the arrival of Netflix, Spotify and its competitors, who showed that we could have streaming services of fantastic content, accessible, with a great catalog and with a more than reasonable price. Suddenly I was no longer compensated to be looking for other places: The legal alternative was really remarkable. The subscription model settled and became the norm, and thanks to a good balance, content companies realized something striking: the best way to fight illegal content was to offer a good service at an acceptable price. This principle has been corrupted in recent years: Servcios like Netflix have Uploaded prices Notably, they have stopped allowing Share accounts And they have also put ads, Like all its competitors. Users can protest (we protest), but time has proved those responsible for these services, who have not stopped growing and They are in record figures. How have things come out to Netflix? We can see it in two quite representative graphics of the situation. Since 2012, when the service began to be available in the US (arrived in Spain Something later), Netflix was raising prices more and more frequent. With each climb protests, yes, but … Sooner or later most return. Netflix price evolution in the US. These changes have been analogous in the rest of the world, and Spain is no exception. Source: The Verge. In fact, growth in users is apparently unstoppable in Netflix. The plan with advertisements, which we can criticize so much, It has been a resounding success And today more than half of the new subscribers arrive at the service thanks to this plan. Evolution of Netflix subscribers globally from 2011 to 2024. Source: Business of Apps. At present, the platform has More than 300 million subscriberswhen a decade ago The figure was five times lower (62.71, According to Business of Apps). There have been hardly two semester throughout its history in which there had The shared accounts or the plan with ads. That seems to make it clear that despite everything to millions of users They are still compensated by paying those subscriptions And not to go to illegal content distribution services, so if it works for them, what is happening with football in Spain? The Netflix of Sports Today the standard plan with Netflix ads costs 7 euros per month. Not bad, especially considering what football costs. Even considering the cost of the most affordable plans to see all football in Spain (with many asterisks, about 29 euros in Orange), the price both here and in other countries in Europe seems elevated. Seeing football in Spain costs about 30 euros a month with Orange … Read more

Current people with AR-15 rifles preparing for a social collapse

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People preparing For “the worst” It has long existed. The followers of this movement are call preppersand as the name implies, they are ready for the end of the world not to catch them off guard. The movement has been mutating slightly over time, there are even levels according to the wallet, since millionaires also want keep on your luxuries even in a bunker. The latest: geopolitical drift and natural catastrophes have their own survival team: the “prepared or professional citizens”. The citizen ready. As we said, in an era defined by global uncertainty (wars, pandemics and extreme climatic phenomena) a new figure has emerged in the United States: the so -called “Citizen prepared”a more structured and socially accepted kind of evolution of the traditional prepper. This current, in the marginal past, has become an increasingly visible movement, made up of civilians without paramilitary affiliations that train with the same seriousness as elite units. I told it in a report The New York Times through a scene that served as an example of the movement. In a Florida forest, ten men, including pilots, a nurse and an executive, participated in a class called Full Consender Minutemanwhere they were instructed in military techniques under the guardianship of the veteran of the Christopher Eric Roscher Air Force, who between Christian prayers and shooting practices with an AR-15, prepared them to face What he calls “The worst day of their lives.” This constant alert attitude against a possible social, economic or military crisis is no longer exclusive to conspiracy or bunker survival; Now it includes professionals, parents and common citizens seeking self -defense, tactical efficiency and community. Civil training industry. The rise of “prepared citizen” has generated a growing business and cultural ecosystem. Companies Like Barrel & Hatchet Trade Groupfounded by Roscher and his partner Tyler Burke, offer from combat training to programs on mental resilience against disasters. Your digital presence (through of YouTube, Instagram, podcast And even Online store) amplifies its scope. In parallel, creators such as Ben Spangler, former army and founder of @TacticalforgeThey popularize patrol techniques and ambush in social networks, attracting an audience that does not seek to militarize, but to understand defensive tactics. Its clientele, mostly civil and without experience in combat, consumes manuals of military instruction, buy compromise and topographic maps, and train as a team as part of a self -managed community. Here it is not about undercover militias, but about tactical knowledge networks, organized by affinity and purpose, which reflect a demilitarization of military knowledge and its transfer to the domestic sphere. Diverse expanding movement. Although many of these initiatives are born from fear of an institutional collapse or urban violence, not all are oriented towards armed self -defense in a strict sense. In this regard, there are organizations Like Protect Peacefounded by Danielle L. Campbell after the death of his assistant in a shooting in 2017, which represents a more community version of the prepared citizen. Your approach Combine training With weapons, first aid training and distribution of Naloxone in vulnerable areas, in addition to promoting radio amateur licenses to maintain communications in case of emergencies. Your mission is not to prepare to repel an invasion or resist an oppressive government, but Weave local support networks Given everyday violence. Yes, you want also, far from the apocalyptic narrativeits proposal is pragmatic and social: building community from preparation, not from isolation. Organized cooperation. The Times told In his report that what distinguishes the citizen prepared from the average owner of weapons is not arsenal, but the mentality and the sense of belonging. It is no longer just about having a rifle, but about knowing Use it with disciplinecoordinate in groups, identify risks and plan answers. The medium consisted of examples such as that of Josh EppertVice President of a construction company in Tampa, who joined the training of Barrel & Hatchet during the pandemic, not by paranoia, but by practical conviction: if he has weapons, he wants to dominate them with responsibility. Seen this way, this new profile does not aspire to become a kind of Rambo nor to fight ideological wars, but to face natural disasters or social disturbances with a minimum of competition and, perhaps, temperance. In a country where possession of weapons It has historically been a symbol of individualism, this new wave prioritizes collective learning and shared strategy. A cultural response. For the environment, the boom of the citizen prepared must be understood as a cultural response to the GUARANTEES GROUP institutional in the United States. Faced with the perception of a state unable to protect its citizens (either in front of hurricanes, pandemics, urban violence or geopolitical instability), a kind of organized self -sufficiency logic emerges that converts uncertainty into motivation. Tactical training, medical knowledge, communication practices and the cultivation of community ties are seen as insurance before a volatile future, and what was previously marginal has become more visible. Under that prism, the prepared citizen It no longer seems like a lonely with provisions in the basement, but an active member of a growing network that trains, reflects and acts, although not to unleash chaos, but to survive him. Image | 7th Army Juint Multinational Training Command In Xataka | That the apocalypse caught you in the jacuzzi. Luxury bunkers become fashionable among millionaires In Xataka | The engineer who has built a post-apocalyptic Internet in case our collapse civilization

Only five people in the world have seen this new color. The trick: laser in the retina

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It is estimated that the human being is able to see around ten million different colors, According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. This is what we know as a visible spectrum, that is, those wavelengths to which Our eyes respond. Although there are exceptions, we all see more or less the same, but since last Friday there are five people in the world capable of seeing a color that the rest of mortals cannot see. The key: very precise laser surgery to stimulate concrete retin cells. Context: How do we see? As we said before, our eyes see the visible spectrum, that is, the wavelengths between 380 and 750 nanometers. Below the 380 we have ultraviolet light and above 750 infrared. This is possible thanks to some cells located in our retinas called cones, photoreceptors that react to concrete wavelengths and send signals to our brain, which is responsible for processing everything: Cones S: short wavelengths, that is, the blue. Cones M: Medium wavelengths, that is, the greens. Cones l: long wavelengths, that is, the red ones. S, M, L and all together. The cones do not react only to a concrete and exact wavelength, but their ranges overlap. The M cones will react to the longest blue wavelengths, as well as the S s will react to the shortest green zone lengths. According to Ren NG, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computing Sciences of the University of California, “there is no light in the world capable of activating only Mons M. If they are activated, be sure that one or two more types will be activated too.” The experiment. In the above is the key to the experience whose results were published last Friday in the Science Advance Magazine. What if we manage to stimulate concrete cones alone and exclusively? That was what the researchers from the University of California did: map the retina, look for cones m and excite them with small doses of light, laser. It is a technique baptized as Oz, in honor of ‘The Oz Wizard‘And the Emerald city. This is the closest representation to the “Olo” color that can be made on a screen | Image: Xataka OLO. After undergoing the experiment, the study participants were able to see a new color they called “Olo.” Of the five participants, three of them were co-authors of the study (the aforementioned Ren NG was among them) and two were colleagues from the University of Washington. This “Olo” is defined as “a bluish green with unprecedented saturation.” According to NG, the closest way to represent “Olo” on a screen is with the Hexadecimal #00FFCC, but with saturation that we cannot understand why, literally, our brain has never received that signal. The closest way to represent “OLO” on a screen is with the Hexadecimal #00FFCC How to verify it? To verify that all participants saw an alien and hidden color to the rest of mortals, made chromatic correspondence experiments comparing “Olo” with a bluish green laser that saturated or unraveled by adding white light. Everyone agreed that adding white light to “Olo”, Ergo unleashing it, the color of the laser was achieved, thus confirming that “Olo” is outside the visible spectrum of the human eye. And for what? It is an excellent question. The reality is that, for the moment, it does not have a practical utility beyond demonstrating that the procedure works. In Scientific American They collect the testimony of the principal researcher and his team, which imagines some screens capable of scanning retinas and broadcasting images and videos in impossible colors. However, it may make more sense in other lands. For example, allow the blind people to see certain colors or “simulate”, in quotes, how you see an animal in our own eyes. The problem, of course, is that the Oz effect is temporary, not permanent. Cover image | Amanda Dalbjörn In Xataka | All the colors you see on the web are wrong. And your browser has the fault

People are fed up with Skincare’s thousand steps so the last Beauty trend is just one thing: exosomes

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A couple of years ago, beauty routines passed through multiple steps that combined tonic, essences, serums, acids and mists, among other things. Today, some extreme trends such as “Morning Sheds” – as viral routines involving masks and adhesive tapes to mold the face – they have shown that perhaps the issue of the Skincare too far. Faced with this exhaustion, social networks They are driving A new approach: do less, but better. And within this more minimalist beauty philosophy, a word begins to resonate: exosomes. More than a new trend. According to The Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine and some specialized publications such as Elleexosomes have become a revolution within the beauty sector. The hashtag #Exosomas on Instagram exceeds 51.5 thousand publications, and in English, #Exosome already accumulates more than 247,000. Also its popularity does not stop growing in Tiktok, where creators like @ROGERWHO has shared His experience: “It hurts, but the change in my face is unique.” But the boom has a name and surname. If something characterizes beauty products is that the boom is born with the Celebrities: Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Sofía Vergara, Jennifer Aniston or Paris Hilton have already tried them. Here in Spain names such as Úrsula Corberó, Blanca Suárez, Jessica Goicoechea or Berta Vázquez have also declared fans. And finally, social networks have made the rest: Videos of the post-treatment “glow”, Real results (not sponsored), and A new narrative focused on taking care of the skin from its base. An aesthetic medicine revolution? Exosomes are small vesicles generated by stem cells (human, animals or vegetables) that act as cell messengers: they transport protein, lipids and genetic material with the mission of regenerating, repairing and improving the skin from within. Such as Glamor Spain has collectedthey function as “natural cellular activators”, capable of improving skin quality, stimulating collagen and elastin, and returning firmness, elasticity and light. Dr. Lidia Maroñas, dermatologist and Clinical Director of Ooneskinmed, has detailed Thus for Hola magazine: “They act as if they spoiled the cell. They are indicated how to behave to improve the skin. In our clinic we use E-50 Primacure exosomes, from salmon cells grown in bioactive media of dermis.” Where to perform the treatment? Although there are already products with exosomes to use at home, clinic treatments remain the most powerful. In medical and aesthetic centers, exosomes are vehicle with advanced apparatus (microneedling, fractional laser, radiofrequency with needles or morpheus 8), which allows them to penetrate in the deepest layers of the dermis and multiply their regenerative action. Besides, According to Elle SpainThey are integrated with other techniques such as LASH, especially useful for treating scripts, stretch marks or sensitized skins. A Hype more or a real change? Unlike other viral products, exosomes not only generate noise in networks, they also have clinical and dermatological support. Since the like They have explained that its use is consolidating within aesthetic medicine as one of the main collagen stimulators, even more promising than classic treatments such as polynucleotides or growth factors. In addition, they have an extra advantage and that they do not depend on the season to prepare or repair the skin against sun damage. In a world obsessed with doing more, we will see how this new beauty routine adapts where it is less, time will say it. Image | Tiktok Xataka |The contestants of ‘The island of temptations’ have made a new face after the program. It is a symptom of something else

50 years ago we discovered people whose blood did not fit into conventional types. We have just discovered why

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We have been classifying blood types for more than a century as a function of two characteristics, the antigens of these and the RH factor. The four types of blood depending on the antigens (0, A, B, AB) and the two depending on the RH (positive or negative) allow us to classify people’s blood into one of eight categories. But as always, there are exceptions and one had intrigued scientists since the 1970s. Until now. A new blood group. A study led by researchers from the University of Bristol a new blood group has describedANWJ (positive or negative). According to the study, the key to this group is in the evil gear, a gene that encodes a homonymous protein that we can find on the surface of the red blood cells. A more complex system than it seems. The antigens surrounding the cell wall of the red blood cells are a pillar of blood transfusions. The presence of antibodies linked to this type of molecules makes some transfusions associated with complications. For example, a person from Group A receives a transfusion of a person from group B, antibodies associated with antigens to attack newly arrived cells. There are two key systems, AOB and RH Factorwhich are key since they are the ones that present the most diversity, and therefore greater is the possibility that a blood transplant can generate incompatibilities. However to date we have found more than a quarantine Of variants that, although they affect a small part of the population, must be considered. 50 years of mystery. The ANWJ antigen was discovered in 1972 but it has not been until now that we have discovered the genetic background behind the existence of Anwj-negative people, that is, people whose cells do not contain this antigen on its surface. This absence affects less than 0.1% of humanity and is generally due to hematological and oncoligic disorders. The evil gear. The team responsible for the discovery investigated the few known cases of ANWJ-negative people who were not as a result of any disorder. They found that this antigen was in the bad protein. They found that the hostj-negative people lacked full copies of the protein badly. “The work was difficult because genetic cases are very scarce. We would not have achieved this without the sequencing of exams, since the gene we identify was not an obvious candidate and it is little that we know of the bad protein in the red blood cells,” explained in a press release Louise Tilley, co -author of the study. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Blood. Less risks in transfusions. Knowing the different blood groups, including those that only include a very small portion of the planet’s inhabitants is important. The more we know about these groups, the greater our ability to Avoid complications associated with blood transfusions. “Now it is possible Nicole Thornton addedalso member of the work responsible for the work. In Xataka | The unequal distribution of blood groups in the world, illustrated in this detailed map Image | Swiftsciencewriting

The house is getting so expensive that in the United Kingdom there are already people opting for a plan B: living in ships

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In the United Kingdom there are hundreds of people who do not live in houses, buildings or urbanizations. Nor do they have neighbors. Not at least in the conventional sense. In a country that has seen how housing It was more expensive until it turns Privatethere are those who choose to reside in river channels and rivers. They do it aboard barges of several meters that, although they are not cheap and carry their own costs, remain much more affordable than The apartments Of the big cities. And there are reasons to think that over the years your number It has been increasing. Living between ducks and fish. Sounds romantic, but that is the lifestyle for which thousands of British who reside aboard barges have opted. And there are some data that suggest that their number has increased over the last years. A few months ago The Economist public An article in which he remembers that the last census of Canals and Rivers Trust (CRT) shows that at least 2022 there were 35,000 vessels With a license to operate in 3,200 km of river routes distributed by England and Wales, a third more than in the last two decades. The case of London. Moreover, in London, where the “navigators” stand out between 25 and 34 years, their number has almost doubled in a matter of a decade. In Your report The Economist It does not specify how many of these barges are used as the main residence, but slides that it is probably a good part. In 2021 The Guardian I was A little further And he pointed out that Canals and Rivers Trust surveys show that, at least at that time, the proportion of people who lived aboard their vessels was 25% at the national level (in 2011 they were somewhat less, 15%), although the percentage would be higher in London. Is there more data? Yes. And although the figures vary depending on the source that is always consulting in the same direction. Although the British who have decided to change conventional apartments and houses for barges continue to represent a minority, in February Sky News placed their number in about 15,000. And growing. According to Boats.com the number would be even superior. Your data They estimate the census of permanent residents in barges docked in the rivers, channels and coasts of the United Kingdom in around 30,000 people. Price issue. The big question is … why? Why change the comforts of an apartment in the center of Bristol, Manchester or London for a boat moored to a channel? Analysts answer those questions with Several keysbut there is one that is usually repeated: the price. A narrow barcaza and in good condition with which to move along the country’s river paths can cost near 50,000 pounds. It is a considerable figure (of course there are much cheaper), but that is far from what an apartment costs on the United Kingdom metropolis. Reviewing figures. According to official data, in January the average price of a home in the country was 268,500 pounds. If we talk about London, that reference is triggered until the 600,000 tires are touched through a house in a room, which makes the British capital one of the most expensive cities on the planet to become a owner, based on The data of Global Property Guide. In 2023 the London mayor spoke directly about “housing crisis” and crossed out “scandal” that there were dozens of houses and unused floors. Is it cheap to live on a ship? Depends. Yes, if you compare the cost of buying a barge with that of acquiring an apartment in London. But that does not mean that changing the streets, urbanizations and blocks through the channels is available to all pockets. First because their owners pay navigation licenses. Second, because a boat has certain expenses rigged. Recently the tenant of a United Kingdom barge confessed To the Sky News chain that spends around 4,500 pounds annually in invoices, including insurance, hubs, coal, fuel and navigation permits. If you want to keep your home in good condition every three or four years you must also get it out of the water and paint the helmet, which costs you approximately 1,200 pounds. Money … And something else. Although money is a key factor, it is not the only one that explains that in the United Kingdom there are thousands of people passing (at least) most of the year aboard boats. At stake they enter otherssuch as the influence of pandemic, the rise of teleworking, the interest in traveling along the British coasts or a simple issue of taste, either as a permanent or temporal vital option. After all, in life aboard a barge, not all are idyllic moments. “I wanted so much a ship that I didn’t care to live without shower, wearing a cube as toilet the first months or running cold,” Elizabeth Earle recallsfreelance writer and illustrator who chose to leave the comforts of an apartment to live in a barge. Now reside in a centenary floating house of about 20 meters. “I have no one to bother me and if I want to leave this place I can do it tomorrow. You are always covered with bruises and soot, and there is a lot of mud, but you also think ‘go, I can make fire’ and load 25 kg of coal.” An option with challenges. Navigation, maintenance or supply are not the only challenges facing the tenants of the barges. Elizabeth does not pay mooring as such, but that has its ‘face B’: when opting for the “Continuous Cruiser” Your floating house must change location from time to time. In a similar situation you can see the rest of British navigators who have no right (or paid) permanent moorings and are forced to move between squares along the same river, or beyond, every 14 days. “We pay a license that does not equals a rent, but rather to the municipal … Read more

Europe is so desperate for housing that there are already people asking for rehabilitating factories like houses

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More than the progress of the economy, unemployment, emigration, politics or corruption. If there is something really We are worried To the Spaniards, something that takes away our dream, is housing. The CIS says it in Your latest barometerbut it is something that is perceived in the street: only a few weeks ago tens of thousands of people mobilized in almost 40 cities to show their discontent anger precisely because of the escalation in the price of houses, with rentals Beating records and the cost of m2 Nailing with the values ​​prior to the real estate bubble. With that backdrop (which It is not exclusive from Spain) There are those Believe That part of the solution to the housing crisis is right before our noses: the thousands of square kilometers of unused industrial areas distributed throughout Europe. “Urban Regeneration”. Proof that housing worries, in Spain (and many other countries), is that every time studies, comparative and statistics are published that either put the thermometer to the sector or venture to propose solutions. Does A few months It was done by the Systemiq company with a report that insists again and again on the potential of the “Urban Regeneration” To alleviate, at least in part, the housing problem of Europe, where prices in cities They have climbed until hinder access to homes. And what does “urban regeneration” understand? “Transforming infra -utilized land and obsolete buildings into compact and dynamic places to live, work and do business,” he explains The study Before stressing that it is “a strategy that could relieve the housing crisis in Europe and at the same time revitalize its cities.” That last nuance is not accidental. The company recalls that it grows above all the interest in housing located in urban environments, which leaves cities in the face of the challenge of finding the ground with which to cover the demand. A fact: 19,000 km2. Systemiq’s study is just that: a study. With their biases, strengths and weaknesses. However, it is interesting to approach an approach that over the last years It has sounded In the sector and even big promotions residential And it is among other things because it provides some illustrative figures. According to the authors of the report, in Europe there are approximately 19,000 square kilometers of “abandoned industrial land” and between 200 and 300 km2 of offices “available for conversion in attractive areas”. All this, the firm recalls, while in Europe you seek precisely new developments. “The demand for housing in dynamic cities is booming, just like that of mixed and alternative spaces, such as coexistence developments or new types of work spaces,” The technicians add of system. Enough for more than 10 years. “The appropriate locations for urban regeneration could satisfy most, if not the totality, the demand for new buildings provided in Europe for the next 10-15 years and would save cities about 20% of the planned infrastructure costs,” The report abounds. Its authors even throw themselves with some calculations and projections in the future, although without specifying how they get to them. In his opinion, “a fraction” of that wide area, around 300 square kilometers of empty offices and commercial premises and between 1,000 and 1,500 km2 of “vacant lots”, to meet the European land demand for a decade or decade and a half view. The key would go to allocate to spaces for housing and commerce. The report It also estimates that during that same period a total considerable investment would be reached that would be around four or six billion. Is it a new proposal? No. The country appointment For example, a 2024 JLL manager report that identifies 20,529 km2 of wasteland in Europe that could be used for that purpose. “His analysis suggests that the re -urbanization of a small part of those lands in the region would create between 713,750 and 1,247,500 new homes,” Comment to the newspaper Laura Nolier, from the Ginkgo firm. A few years ago the organization Habitat for Humanity He also performed A study in which he explored the potential of empty spaces to face the lack of housing. As remember The Archdily Specialized Website, Habitat technicians chose the United Kingdom as a pilot study area. His study ended up locating about 7,000 commercial and businesses in England, Scotland, Wales that were in the hands of local authorities and carried out without use for more than a year. Only empty office spaces could be transformed, according to their calculations, in more than 16,000 residential units. Commercial disuse spaces would give for 3,500. Beyond the theory. Not everything is theory. There are public administrations and promoters who have already opted to give a second life to empty buildings. In recent years, both inside as Out of Spain They have converted into homes office buildings, quarters, temples, Factories of different guys either Wineries that they have ended up reopening like luxury residences. Any initiative has even gone further by raising the transformation of an entire industrial zone into a residential area, as is the case In Vallecas PuenteMadrid. Are all advantages? No. Urban regeneration projects or give a second chance to industrial spaces and offices for homes to also face challenges. Both urban and architectural, normative and bureaucratic. In fact there are projects that directly They stay along the way and others end with a questionable result, such as Terminus Housein Essex, a rehabilitated office building as a block of floors. For frustration of his tenants, he ended up with tiny apartments and away from basic services. Opportunities and challenges. “A change in land use may imply urban impact studies, municipal approval and compliance with specific regulations. Depending on the city, there may be restrictions,” warns in The country Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, of the promoter Corporation Vía Agora. To those challenges are added the licenses, certifications, the need for technical studies, the possibility that the soil is contaminated and, the case, the adaptation of constructions that were originally thought for residential use. Another key … Read more

Openai’s hypothetical social network does not want to connect people. Want your data to train your AI

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In Openai they do not conform to being absolute referents in the segment of artificial intelligence. The last rumors point to that They intend to create a social network that would go beyond Chatgpt. The reason, eye, is not to compete with Facebook, Instagram or X. At least, not directly. Social network = data to feed the AIThe movement responds without a doubt to that voracious hunger of new data that the AI ​​models have and that allows them to improve and polish their behavior in different scenarios. A social network would allow Openai to use all those data entered by users to train their models. X already discovered that trend. The Fusion between X and XAI It was already a clear demonstration of that strategy: suddenly I had a perfect system to train its AI, Grok model, with all the posts of X users. And goal, of course, too. Goal takes time doing the same With Facebook and Instagram – although The EU forced her to slightly change your plans – and also collect data when we use ai target at whatsapp, Although you can avoid it. All with the same goal: to have “fresh food” for its artificial intelligence models. A social network to share images. Apparently the prototype that is already developed focuses on Chatgpt’s ability to generate images. It would therefore be a social network more similar to an instagram full of images generated by AI, from which we imagine that users would be generated. Altman already warned. The funny thing is that the rumor occurs weeks after Sam Altman himself, CEO of OpenAi, jokes with that possibility. When the news appeared that Meta was preparing an independent app for goal AI, Altman replied saying “ok, perfect, perhaps we make a social app.” This does not connect people. Perhaps they already had the project and it was not a joke, but although Altman pointed out that that could allow “revenge” of Facebook, the intentions would not be those of competing with Facebook when connecting people – the original purpose of that social network, at least – but that of collecting more and more data for their AI, which is what they have also ended up doing social networks. And the AGI for when. The problem of this theoretical project is that it would be partly a distraction for Openai. It would certainly allow for more data for the training of its AI models, but it is not clear that the scaling is the right path for the ultimate end of OpenAi: get a general artificial intelligence or agi. Too many parallel projects. Altman is famous for generate excessive expectations about the AGI. However, this challenge is tarnished by their last releases, especially in the case of GPT-4.5. The company seems to be somewhat scattered with gigantic projects like Stargatethe development of Your own chips o The mysterious hardware project In collaboration with Jony Ive. Too many apples in the basket? We will see. Image | Xataka with chatgpt In Xataka | Chatgpt is already the most downloaded app in the world. His only problem is that he does not know how to make money with it

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