planet

The “lost continents” of our planet are leaving their trail in an unthinkable place: the earth’s magnetic field

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Life as we know it depends largely on the stability of the Earth’s magnetic field. But this stability (or the absence of this) depends in turn on factors that we still do not understand. Some of these factors are in the outer space, others instead are thousands of kilometers hidden under our feet. From the bottom up. Huge geological structures located in the land mantle They could be contributing To destabilize the magnetic field that protects the land from radiation and particles from space. These are the “sunk continents”, the large provinces of low speed (LLVP). Sunk continents. This last name is due to the fact that these rock masses located in the deep layers of the land mantle stand out from the rest of its surroundings because the seismic waves move more slowly through them. Through this method we know the existence of two large LLVP, one located under the African tectonic plaque and the other located under the peaceful plaque. We do not know exactly what they are or what is the origin of these rock masses. A hypothesis indicates that could be remains of the impact between the primal earth and a second planet called Theia. The Moon would be one of the results of that impact, another would be that part of The remains of Theia would have been “embedded” on earth, specifically in the mantle, giving rise to these “lost continents.” However, other studies have pointed out that these masses would be formed, at least partially of ocean cortex buried through subductive geological processes, which would make them more close to “lost continents” of the surface of the earth. The new study can be linked to this last hypothesis. Fed by a “fire ring.” The team He modeled the movements Convectives of the land mantle, also creating a reconstruction of the possible movement of the tecton plates on the surface of the Earth in the last 1,000 million years. Thus they found indications that the African dough would contain older and more “mixed” than the peaceful mass, which would contain 50% more oceanic crust, a more “young” cortex and different from the surrounding mantle. This could be explained with the call “Pacific Fire Ring”, A vast network of failures, many of them subductive that little by little they engulf part of the earth’s crust. This “banquet” would have been producing for at least 300 million years and would be serving to feed the Pacific LLVP. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Scientific Reportsof Nature. In diversity is the key. Until now, intuition pointed out that these two underground “continents” had a similar composition. The reason is precisely that the two slow down the passage of seismic waves in a similar way, which leads us to the intuition of thinking that these are very similar in their characteristics. However, the team responsible for the new work indicates that this may not be the case. The reason is that the temperature is more than the material that makes these regions slow the waves that cross them. The balance is complicated. The formations are more or less opposite in the Terrestrial globe, which in principle is great news: since these masses influence the way in which the temperature of the earth’s core is spread in higher layers, which in turn affects the conductive movements inside the nucleus of the planet. Since these movements are those that allow the existence of a magnetic field On Earth, the way in which they occur has a lot of impact on this field. If the LLVPs are different, the way in which the field is generated ceases to be symmetrical as one would expect, which gives rise to the appearance of imbalances. Discussing the different hypotheses. As we pointed out at the beginning, the new study can be linked to the idea that the LLVPs are the result of the sinking of earth cortex pieces and not the remains of a planet of the original solar system. Although the study does not offer conclusive evidence confirming this first hypothesis, It can be seen as a new more test in this address. In Xataka | Julio Verne was right: there are three times more water in the depths of the earth than in all oceans together Image | Oxford University; Panton, Davies, et al. (2025) / NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Nvidia, TSMC and SK Hynix are the most powerful chip companies on the planet. None can allow any of the others to fall

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Nvidia dominates the global chips market for artificial intelligence (AI) with a fee that during the last three years has oscillated between 80 and 94%, according to Fourweekmba. Your leadership is supported by A very competitive hardware and a software ecosystem in which CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) It has an essential role. This technology brings together the compiler and development tools used by programmers to develop their software for NVIDIA GPUs. However, the company led by Jensen Huang has a fundamental partner: TSMC. Nvidia designs the chips for AI and this manufacturer of Taiwanese semiconductors, the eldest of the planet with A global quota close to 60%it produces them. Its iron leadership is the result of Its peak technology and its titanic production capacity. TSMC has many important clients, such as AMD, Qualcomm, MediaTak or Broadcom, among many others, but thanks to the AI ​​NVIDIA, it has established itself as Your second best customer Only behind Apple. Presumably TSMC is about to start MANUFACT 2 NM GPU For Nvidia, but this is not the only thing that this chips manufacturer is going to do for one of its best customers. And this Taiwanese company has decided to start An expansion plan for five years of its manufacturing capacity of integrated circuits using its advanced cowos packaging technology (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate). According to Beth Kindigof the I/O Fund consultant, this technology will monopolize between 50 and 60% of the market in 2025 compared to 15% it supported during 2024. The synergy of these companies is indisputable The high demand for GPUs for AI with Blackwell MicroAritectura de Nvidia is largely responsible for the implementation of this plan. The company led by Jensen Huang can respond better to the needs of its customers and will see how its competitiveness is increased in a phase in which Depseek and other Chinese companies represent a challenge. In March 2024 TSMC officially announced which was building two cowos packaging plants in the town of Chiayi, housed in southern Taiwan. However, this is not all. He also shuffled the option to put a plant more specialized in this advanced packaging technology in Japan, presumably on the island of Kyushu, in which this company is currently building two semiconductor production plants of avant -garde. In any case, there is something else. And it is that Chiayi plants will be trained to work, in addition to the packaging cowos, With advanced Info and Soic technologies (System on Integrated Chips). Nvidia and TSMC synergy is indisputable, but this recipe requires a third ingredient: SK Hynix It is evident that TSMC wants to cover your back well and look to the future to prevent its production capacity from being threatened by a bottleneck. An interesting note: currently the Cowos packaging is being used with the AMD Instinct Mi250 chips and with the A100, H100, H200, B100 and B200 NVIDIA GPUs, as well as in its derivatives. The review used in these last two chips, the B100 and B200, is known as Cowos-L. Before the TSMC ends this year, you will be able to process no less than 60,000 wafers per month using its advanced packaging technology. The synergy of Nvidia and TSMC is indisputable, but this recipe requires a third ingredient: SK Hynix. This South Korean manufacturer of memory chips leads the HBM memories market (High Bandwidth Memory) that work side by side with the GPUs for ia with a shocking authority. Your market share Broken 70%so that the remaining 30% are distributed by Samsung and Micron Technology. After them, Chinese manufacturers of Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) and CXMT (Changxin Memory Technologies). At the end of 2024 SK Hynix took advantage of the celebration of an innovation forum organized by TSMC to publicize its mastery of the manufacture of HBM memories. According to SK Hynix itself Its MR-MUF process, which, in broad strokes, is a technology that makes possible a faster punch of the DRAM compared to the TC-NCF process that other companies use, has allowed it to achieve an efficiency 8.8 times higher than that of Samsung and Micron. This simply means that it manufactures its HBM chips much faster than its main competitors. SK Hynix is ​​manufacturing 12 -layer HBM3E memories on a large scale while Samsung and Micron have problems with their production As we can intuit, the speed at which a company that is dedicated to manufacturing semiconductors is capable of producing its integrated circuits deeply condition its competitiveness. It is evident that greater efficiency will allow you supply more guarantees to your customersespecially in an upward market like that of HBM memories. In addition, SK Hynix is ​​manufacturing 12 -layer HBM3e memories on a large scale while Samsung and Micron have problems with their production. In any case, both Samsung and SK Hynix are already working on the development of HBM4 memories with the purpose of catapulting their competitiveness. Here it is precisely where Nvidia appears. SK Hynix announced in October 2024 that he intended to deliver the first HBM4 memory chips to his clients during the second half of 2025. However, Jensen Huang asked him That the delivery advances. Chey Tae-Won confirmed itthe president of SK Group, so it is absolutely reliable information. Why does NVIDIA require so urgently the HBM4 chips? Simply because you need to support your chips for the most capable with the most available energy and energy efficiency memories. And in this field SK Hynix currently has the pan well grabbed by the handle. Image | TSMC In Xataka | South Korea fears US reprisals. To avoid their old lithography equipment, they take dust on a warehouse

In Asturias someone paid 37,000 euros for the most expensive cheese on the planet. Then he fell to the ground

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There are expensive cheeses, very expensive cheeses and then there are the cheeses that are sold by the whopping 14,800 euros per kiloas they just checked in Asturias. There, in the town of Arenas, they just proclaimed the most expensive cheese on the planet, a piece of 2.5 kilos with Denomination of Protected Origin of Cabrales that, after the Plant of the judges, has reached neither more nor less than 37,000 euros On a bid. Shortly after the auction was on the ground. Don’t say cheese, di cabrales. Asturias is known for many things. By Your cider, Your houndsits beaches, its mountainous places and also (and rightly) for its cheese. The Cabrales is one of the gastronomic icons of the Principality and to claim it Arenas de Cabrales has celebrated every summer, for decades, A contest which usually arouses interest both inside and outside the region. The appointment is not famous just by giving visibility to Dop Cabrales. The contest arrives accompanied by a bid for the best cheeses in which amounts of infarction are reached, assumable only by privileged pockets. Offer are so high in fact that they have managed to make a place several times in the pages of the Guinness book. It has happened Other editions. And it has happened again in this. A figure: 37,000 euros. The Arenas de Cabrales appointment is divided into several parts. First the jury decides which of the title aspiring cheeses is the best, it has a more attractive aspect and offers better flavor and aroma. Then that same piece goes to auction and businesses interested in taking her to her pantries pujo for her at the crossroads worthy of the Sotheby’s house. In this edition (the 53rd already) the starting price was € 3,000 and participated near a dozen hoteliers from different parts of Asturias (Gijón, Oviedo and Castrillón) and Madrid. The winner was Iván Suárez, owner of El Llagar de Colloto, in Oviedo. It didn’t have it easy. Last year Suarez had already taken home winning cheese by 36,000 eurosa figure that this year exceeded slaughtering. A Madrid cider house matched the figure, another Gijonesa rose the bid to 36,500 and the owner of El Llagar de Colloto ended up setting up the dispute when lifting his palette to offer the whopping of 37,000 for a piece of about 2.5 kg. Himself I calculated which came out at € 14,800/kg. Records at full speed. The truth is that Cabrales accumulates records at more speed than the Guinness organization is capable of digesting them. New Spain remember that this will be the fourth consecutive world plusmarca of Asturian cheese and if you consult The web From the Guinness World Records you will find the curious chance that just two months ago those responsible echoed that the most expensive cheese on the planet is a cabrales auctioned in Asturias for 36,000 euros. It is not a mistake. It is simply the brand that the DOP reached in 2024. It has already been outdated. Does Cabrales cheese have a roof? That is The question That some media have been made in recent days, especially if you take into account the speed with which the offers have grown by the winner of the Arenas contest. The Europa Press agency remember That the winner of this edition already disbursed 14,300 euros in 2018, 20,500 in 2019, 30,000 in 2023 and 36,000 last year, a figure that has been pulverized by the 37,000 of 2025. In the price, however it goes more than the value of the product. The bid is also a huge advertising showcase, both for the Dop Cabrales and for the winning hotelier. Of headlines and anecdotes. “The head of having the most expensive cheese in the world is what leads to this. In the end if the cheese had cost 20,000 euros instead of 37,000 because yes, it would have been the winning cheese of the contest, but we would not have worldwide news, we would not open the news, nor would we have international recognition, which is what we all look for, Suárez confesses to The voice of Asturias. Interestingly this year he has monopolized holders by Another reasonmore anecdotal … and juicy. After winning the bid the Ovetense hotelier rose to collect the piece proud and when he lifted his arms to show the tray the cheese drained and finished falling to the ground. An anecdote that the businessman was taken with humor. The cheese, he explained, will divide it into three parts: For his father, for him and his family and for his clients. In cave already 1,500 meters. Record prices and anecdotes apart, the main protagonist of the contest was the cheese that elaborated the winning piece: Ángel Díaz Herrero, by Tielve. Its representative, Encarna Bada, remembers that the cheese is made with cow’s milk and mature for several months at 1,500 meters of altitude in the Los Mazos cave. “It is the coldest cave, it has little cheese and matures more slowly. It is the caves that give the flavor to the cabrales, because factors such as moisture, temperature and height influence it,” Explain. The task is not simple. Bada acknowledges that going up and down with cheese pieces is arduous work because to the area “They don’t even get cars” To transport them in fact they have to resort to horses. What there is no doubt is that your technique and know how to do work: last year The same cheese managed to win the coveted first position of the contest and, incidentally, settle his name in the Guinness. Images | Wikipedia and Javier Lastras (Flickr) In Xataka | Russia is becoming a teacher in the elaboration of European cheeses. And it is due to the sanctions of the West

The largest nuclear fusion project on the planet has survived the setbacks. This is the date on which Iter should be ready

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2024 was a difficult year for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experctor reactor). This experimental reactor of nuclear fusion It is being built in the French town of Cadarache by an international consortium Led by the European Union. Although it was conceived in 2006 and the project was officially launched in 2007, the beginning of the assembly of this titanic machine did not start until 2020. The initial itinerary Proposed by Eurofusion, which is the institution that is responsible for promoting and supporting the scientific research necessary to bring to fruition the European Nuclear Fusion Plan, established that in 2025 the assembly of this machine would end. However, that same year another crucial milestone would arrive: the first tests with plasma would start. Three years later, in 2028, Iter engineers would begin the low power with hydrogen and helium, and in 2032 the first high -power experiments would arrive with these two gases. Finally, in 2035, Iter would be able to undertake high power tests with deuterium and tritium. And in 2040 this experimental reactor would demonstrate the energy profitability of nuclear fusion. Finally this will not happen like this. In 2022 the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) identified several irregularities of a strictly technical nature in Vacuum Chamber sectorswhich caused the Iter organization to react as it should do so: constituting a working group to address the complementary requests of the ASN and advance with the reactor assembly Tokamak. Iter’s technical challenges are unpublished Assembling a machine as complex as it is it is not easy. The vacuum chamber weighs 8,000 tons, is made of stainless steel and boron and must remain hermetically sealed. Its assembly has forced engineers to deal with extraordinarily strict local tolerances of 0.1%, and, in addition, the camera has a very complicated shape and uses plates with thicknesses up to 60 mm. To solve the assembly the technicians have had to resort to state -of -the -art technologies, such as the Electron Beam Weldingwhich is welding using an electron beam, or The design of AI models specifically conceived to identify defects in the welds of the camera. The Covid-19 Pandemia that raised very crudely during the 2020s and 2021, and, on the other hand, the technical challenges derived from the completely unpublished nature of much of the components that need to be tuning so that Iter arrives in fruition have caused that The main milestones of this project are delayed. Nevertheless, The current updated itinerary proposes several important dates that interest us know. In 2039 Iter will be able to undertake high power tests with deuterium and tritium In 2034 the first experiments will be carried out in the reactor; In 2036 the magnetic system responsible for confinement of plasma to maximum power will be tested; And finally, in 2039 Iter will be able to undertake high power tests with deuterium and tritium. Initially this last milestone was going to arrive in 2035. Whatever it is during the last year the Iter assembly has advanced at a good pace. In the cover image of this article we can see two of the titanic sectors of the vacuum chamber, although, in my opinion, one of The milestones that this project has achieved This year It was consolidated in May. The superconductor magnets placed on the outside of the vacuum chamber of this nuclear fusion reactor have the responsibility of generating the magnetic field necessary to confine plasma inside. They are also responsible for controlling and stabilizing it. These magnets weigh 10,000 tons and are manufactured in an alloy of niobio and tin, or niobio and titanium, which acquires the superconductivity when cools with a supercritical helium until reaching a temperature of -269 ºC. This requirement justifies the need to put a powerful cooling system like the one that has devised Europe for Iter. In the construction of this experimental nuclear fusion reactor, the US, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom, but the cryogenization plant have been commissioned by Fusion for Energy (F4E), the organization of the European Union that coordinates the contribution of Europe to the development of Iter, the French company Air Liquide and technical integrated technicians in the Iter structure. Superconductor magnets acquire superconductivity when they reach a temperature of -269 ºC This extreme refrigeration installation will be responsible for supplying liquid helium to 4.5 Kelvin (-269 ° C) to superconductor magnets and criobombs, and also gaseous helium at 80 Kelvin (-193 ºC) to thermal shields. Creobombs are empty ultraalt devices that are responsible for eliminating gases inside the vacuum chamber. To do it They must work at an extremely low temperature. And, on the other hand, the thermal shields are responsible for protecting some critical elements of the reactor, such as superconductor magnets, the heat that emits the confined plasma inside the vacuum chamber. Iter’s cryogenic plant has an area similar to that of a football field (just over 7,100 m²) and contains several 26 -meter high storage tanks. These figures help us intuit how enormous this critical installation is. As we have just verified, without it the nuclear fusion would be absolutely impossible. This Grigory Kouzmenko statementF4E manager, invites us to tie Iter’s future with a reasonable optimism: “We have entered the most exciting phase of the project, in which all the efforts of previous years finally are specified and we can benefit from the collaboration based on the confidence between all the parties.” Image | Fusion for Energy More information | ITER In Xataka | From today Spain has the key to nuclear fusion: Granada’s particle accelerator is already a reality

China already has one of the most advanced observatories on the planet to hunt the most elusive particle that exists

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Neutrinos are The most elusive particles of nature. They were first described from a theoretical point of view in 1930 by Austrian physicist Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, one of the parents of Quantum physics (We owe, among other contributions, known as exclusion principle). However, its experimental discovery took place two and a half decades later, in 1956. We owe it to American physicists Frederick Reines and Clyde Cowan. There is a forceful reason that explains why these particles are so difficult to detect: They barely interact with ordinary matter. In addition, its mass is very tiny, its electric charge is neutral and are not influenced by strong nuclear interaction or electromagnetic force, although due to gravity and weak nuclear interaction. There is no doubt that they are very special particles. Scientists often illustrate how difficult it is to capture a neutrino explaining that every second trillion of these particles go through both the earth and us without colliding with any other particle. You can also illustrate how elusive that they are using quantum mechanics, which ensures that it would be necessary to manufacture a lead plate with a light year thickness to ensure that half of the neutrinos that go through it collide with the particles of the lead block. The Jiangmen Observatory is ready to hunt neutrinos Despite how elusive neutrinos are, we have several observatories that are able to detect them. One of them is The Japanese Super-Kamiokande. This installation is located in Hida, a city located in the central area of ​​Honshu, the largest island in the Japanese archipelago. It is built in a mine, 1 km deep, and measures 40 meters high and another 40 meters wide, which gives a volume similar to that of a fifteen floors building. However, the authentic protagonist of this article is the Underground Observatory of Neutrinos of Jiangmen, which is housed in the Chinese province of Guangdong. Like the Super-Kamiokande Japanese, Juno, which is how this Chinese observatory is known for its English denomination (Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory), It is a real monster. His heart is a cylindrical pool 44 meters deep that is housed in an underground chamber with granite walls. The neutrin detector consists of a 41.1 meters in diameter stainless steel mesh that supports an acrylic sphere of 35.4 meters in diameter The neutrin detector consists of a 41.1 meters in diameter stainless steel mesh that supports an acrylic sphere of 35.4 meters in diameter. This container is full of a very exotic liquid expressly designed to interact with neutrinos and produce a light of light that can be detected. Juno contains no less than 20,000 tons of this liquid, which allows him to erect himself as the largest neutrin detector on the planet. The composition of this fluid seeks to maximize the amount of light generated by the interaction of each neutrino. Its three fundamental components are linear alkyl benzene, which acts as a solvent; 2,5-difeniloxazole, which is the molecule that is excited when a neutrino interacts with herwhich causes the emission of a flash of light; And, finally, 1.4-bis (2-methylstiril) benzene, which absorbs the ultraviolet light that emits 2.5-difeniloxazole and re-enters it with a longer wavelength that is easier to detect. The flashes of light are collected by 45,000 photomultiplier tubes that cover the inner surface of the sphere. By measuring the intensity, position and duration of these flashes, scientists can reconstruct the trajectory and energy of each neutrino. And all this for what? Wang Yifang explains it to usJuno spokesman: “This observatory will allow scientists to address fundamental questions about the nature of matter and the universe.” Neither more nor less. Image | Generated by Xataka with Google Gemini More information | Digital Diario In Xataka | The future circular collider of CERN will cost 20,000 million euros. Can leave us cheap

The US is dismantling the chips law. His blow will fit the semiconductor industry throughout the planet

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Donald Trump is fulfilling what he anticipated both during the electoral campaign and after returning to the White House. The Chips Law Approved in July 2022 By the government of Joe Biden He has never liked him. Has made it very clear in statements such as this last January: “In the very close future we will impose tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products to return the manufacture of these essential goods to the US (…) went to Taiwan; now we want them to return. We do not want to give them billions of dollars in the ridiculous driver program. They already have billions of dollars.” Three months before, in October 2024, I had already charged ferocity against this program of the previous administration In Joe Rogan’s podcast: “We put millions of dollars on the table so that rich companies came, they borrow the money and build chip companies here. And they will not give us the best companies.” The Department of Commerce has seized 7,400 million destined for chips During the electoral campaign the possibility that Donald Trump dismantled the Chips program if he arrived at the government was on the table. A priori the money that has already been delivered will not be returned to the administration, but a part of the funds remains in the hands of the Department of Commerce, which is currently led by Howard Lutnick. And the dismantling has already begun. As we explained last Friday, the US government plans Reassign at least 2,000 million dollars coming from the heading for research and manufacturing integrated circuits within the Chips Law. If this measure thrives these funds will be used to finance projects dedicated to obtaining and the processing of critical minerals. At the moment China controls extractionthe processing and distribution chain of a good part of this crucial strategic resource for many industries, such as integrated circuits, telecommunications, batteries or electric car, among others. The government plans to reallow at least 2,000 million from the game for the investigation and manufacture of chips However, this is not all. And it is that the US Department of Commerce has seized a fund of 7.4 billion dollars that was managed by the National Center for the advance of semiconductor technology (Natcast), which is a private non -profit organization. This money comes from the Chips program and was intended for the research and development of new technologies for semiconductors. The Department of Commerce has justified this seizure arguing that the creation of Natcast by the Biden Administration was an attempt to “avoid clear legal restrictions that They prohibit government agencies to create corporations“In addition, Secretary Lutnick has declared that this organization was “a bribe fund that did nothing but fill the pockets of loyal to Biden with dollars from US taxpayers.” A priori we might think that this measure only affects the US, but nothing is further from reality. Its impact will be received by the global semiconductor industry. American research has made fundamental contributions to the global integrated circuit industry, so the cut of funds for this item in the Chips Law will be a perceptible effect in this sector. As a button shows: the extreme ultraviolet radiation source (UVE) that they use ASML photolithography equipment It was developed by Cymer in the US. If we stick to Natcast’s role in the current semiconductor research, it is important that we do not overlook that this organization is involved in the construction of the extreme ultraviolet light accelerator (UVE) of Albany (New York). And also in the tuning of an Chips Research and Development Center in Tempe (Arizona). The Commerce Department has not yet confirmed What will you do with the 7.4 billion dollars That he has seized, so the future of New York and Arizona research facilities is uncertain. More information | Reuters | Tom’s hardware In Xataka | The US will not be able to contain the technological development of China. Experts from the chips industry forecast it

The most self -sufficient countries on the planet at the food level, gathered in a surprising graphic

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Humanity has eaten what it played For thousands of years. With globalizationhe has started eating what he wants and that, together with the population increase, It has consequences. Not being able to meet the demand of some foods, Import is a necessity. But it turns out that there is a unique country in the world, a completely self -sufficient one if we talk about food. Guyana The All-Star of Self-sufficiency. In the upper graph, prepared by Visual Capitalistwe can see the 50 most self -sufficient countries in the world at the food level. It reflects seven food groups: Fruit. Vegetables. Legumes. Starchy foods such as flours or rice. Meat. Fish. Dairy. And the only country that not only complies, but exceeds the production of what its population of each of these groups needs is Guyana. It is a small country of about 815,000 inhabitants located in northern South America that has shot your GDP These last years. Partly, thanks to discovery Of great oil reserves in 2015, but before that boom, their agricultural and mining industry were the ones that pulled the car. Closing the podium. So much that it is, as we say, the only one that produces its own food in all groups, highlighting in one that does not usually highlight: starchy foods. Closing the podium, we must look at Asia. Vietnam and China are two other countries that meet in six of the seven groups. The common strong point is the production of meat and fish (Meritory in the case of China, but At the expense of half -world folders). The weak is that of dairy products. It is common in Asia, with cases as dramatic as Indonesia, Thailand, Tonga, Laos or Philippines, which satisfy 0% of their dairy consumption with the national product. To the tail … On the other side of the balance we have Armenia, Thailand and Greece. The three countries are in the group of those that meet in the production of four categories (where the vast majority of countries are found), but with low percentages in general in almost all groups and a total dependence on dairy and vegetables in the case of Thailand, starchy and, curiously, fish in the case of Greece and legumes and fish in the case of Armenia. Europe and the fruits that come through those who come out. Taking an eye on the panorama of the member countries of the European Union (Greece is an example), we see that some falter, others stand out. And vice versa. The north, for example, does not get along with the Fruit culturesomething that does stand out in the countries of the South. The key in this case is the Single market Agricultural that allows food products to circulate freely between member countries, without regulatory tariffs or barriers. More than 70% of EU’s food products is carried out between member countries, being something that ensures balance and supply even in cases of local productive problems. In Xataka | The size of the submerged economy of all countries in the world, exposed in this developer map

We are running out of beaches on the planet. And we don’t realize because they are filling them at an indecent price

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There is something much worse than the appearance of algae either Fecal matter On the beaches. Even above of systematic “theft” That is being done on the coasts to continue raising brick, there is a silent reality whose ending is a scenario where, directly, we run out of beaches on the planet. That process is not just happening, we are spending a fortune at all. Global threat. I told this week The Financial Times In an extensive report. Rodanthein the Outer Banks of North Carolina, exemplifies the serious erosion suffered They have collapsed at sea. The problem, aggravated by more intense storms, strong tides and the rise in the level of the sea associated with climate change, is now amplified by a critical factor: the Sand scarcityresource that acts as a natural barrier to floods and temporal, but whose growing demand (especially For construction) it more expensive and limits its availability. The (no) trick. He method More common to stop erosion has been the “beach regeneration”, moving sand From other points, but in Rodanthe the initial cost would exceed 40 million dollarssomething unassumable for the municipality. This leaves as options the planned withdrawal of infrastructure or resistance until the waves dictate the end. Erosion as a structural challenge. Of course, there is a lot more. Cities such as Miami, Barcelona or the Australian Gold Coast face constant sand losses that threaten their beaches, vital for tourism and local economy. In Barcelona, erosion annual 30,000 m³ It is aggravated with each temporary, and although dikes and breakwaters have been added, the setback continues. In the Gold CoastCyclone Alfred in March started so much sand that left stretches of the retaining wall; Restoring the coast will cost three years and 40 million Australian dollars. The dilemma It is global: 10% of the population lives less than 5 km of the coast and urbanization slows the natural flows of sand, aggravating the problem. Rodanthe Steal sand. And yes, even scientists already They have warned On several occasions that sustaining beaches artificially is increasingly difficult and extremely expensive, and that in some cases it would be more sensible to allow the coastline to migrate inland, although socially and politically complex. Gold Coast The dilemma of providing sand. Regeneration It has advantages in front of rigid structures such as retaining walls, which can intensify erosion in adjacent areas. However, it is temporary and its duration depends on local geology, climate and human pressure: some beaches require new contributions every two years, others last a decade. In the United States, where it has been applied for a century, they have been treated almost 600 beachesreaching a maximum of 50 million m³ in 2019. The problem? That the search for proper sand It is complicated: In North Carolina, local reserves are exhausted, in Miami transport is used from inside, and environmental objections, such as marine habitats, delay projects. Plus: Powerful storms can erase millionaire investments. Perspectives and answers. In places with moderate erosion or abundant reserves, such as the Netherlands, regeneration is a State policy: The country invests the 0.3% of your GDP Annual in flood risk management and has 12 million m³ of sand available every year, sufficient to protect entire cities. On the other hand, in areas with severe erosion and overflowing costs, planned withdrawal can be the only viable output, implying controlled expropriations and demolitions. The Times told that in Rodanthe, the National Parks Service acquired and demolished two houses valued in millions to return the land to public use, but There are no funds For more purchases. Many residents, aware of living in the “land of changing sands”, assume that the sea will gain ground and prepare to sell when the water reaches wetlands. Battle against time (and economy). In short, the Sand scarcityits increase and the increase in coastal erosion draw a future in which to keep the current beaches looks like it is unfeasible for many communities. Although Regeneration It remains the preferred option to protect local properties and economies, its physical, financial and environmental limits. rethink strategies. The dilemma between spending more and more to contain the sea or yield terrain to nature will mark the future of much of the inhabited coasts, and the margin of maneuver is narrowed as the climate and the demand for sand accelerate the process. Image | Pxhere, Public Domaine, Petra In Xataka | Xàbia set out to end cao chaos and bathers in his most famous coves. Did not go as expected In Xataka | There is only something more abundant than tourists on Spanish beaches: Asian algae are becoming a huge problem

Industrial espionage is threatening the largest chips manufacturer on the planet: TSMC

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It is no secret: espionage is very present in The semiconductor industry. It is in other sectors and we can be sure that a strategic industry such as integrated circuits It is not at all immune to him. On this occasion “the victim” is the Taiwanese company TSMC, The largest integrated circuit manufacturer of the planet. And, curiously, this plot of industrial espionage does not arrive at any time. And this company is about to start the large -scale manufacture of chips using its most advanced integration technology: The 2 Nm. What we know at the moment is that, According to Reutersthe Taiwanese authorities have arrested three TSMC employees because they have allegedly stole commercial secrets of this company. As we can expect, behind this detention is TSMC itself, as He has revealed The Taiwan Superior Prosecutor’s Office in a statement. According to Nikkei Asiathose responsible for this company have realized that two employees and a former employee have been made with critical information about the photolithography of 2 Nm of TSMC. This information is very valuable. In fact, it could be used by a competitor to optimize its own semiconductor manufacturing processes. The research has not yet determined whether this stolen information has reached another company, but United Daily News ensures that researchers have registered the offices of the Japanese company Tokyo Electron. At the moment this last signature has not confirmed or denied anything. Other industrial espionage frames that have given much to talk Our next protagonist is Asml. This Dutch company is the only one that is currently capable of manufacturing teams of extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE) that are necessary to produce avant -garde chips. At the end of 2023 Peter Wennink, the then general director of ASML, confirmed that a Chinese origin employee had abandoned the company in 2022 after being recruited by Huawei with the purpose of revealing this Chinese company secrets of the Dutch firm that a priori could compromise their business. According to the Dutch medium, Russia has something important in its favor: it has spies inside Asml This event was so serious that those responsible for ASML decided to include it in their 2022 annual report and Wennink was forced to Give explanations In a meeting with investors. According to this executive, the information stolen by the former Chinese employee It was partial. In fact, he described it as “one piece in a puzzle whose box is not in your power.” This Wennink statement rightly reflects The titanic complexity that have the most advanced lithography equipment produced by ASML. At the end of last year this company starred in another plot of espionage. Again as “victim.” The Government led by Vladimir Putin intends to have a prototype of UVE lithography equipment capable of manufacturing 130 Nm chips ready in 2026. And in 2028 another similar one trained to produce integrated 7 nm circuits. A priori it is difficult to believe it, but, according to the Dutch medium USRussia has something important in your favor: it has spies within ASML. Like China. In fact, one of them, a former employee of Russian origin, He has been arrested and is accused of stealing critical commercial secrets. The last plot of industrial espionage that I propose that we review is starring the South Korean company SK Hynix and the Chinese company Huawei. In mid -April 2024 a former employee of Chinese sk Hynix origin It was stopped at a South Korean airport when he was about to enter the country. The accusation that was cernia about it was very serious: it was suspected of having stolen confidential information about semiconductor manufacturing processes Used by SK Hynix to give it to Huawei. This employee decided to print 3,000 pages of technical documents, and that movement gave it away because it aroused suspicion immediately within the company. He faces 18 years in prison. Image | TSMC More information | Reuters | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | South Korea fears US reprisals. To avoid their old lithography equipment, they take dust on a warehouse

Half of all the oil we need passes through two runners, and one is right now the hottest point of the planet

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We can think that overall supply chain It is solid due to the number of transport options. However, commercial networks in huge airplanes, the rail transport that China wants to boost With his new ‘Silk routeor the road transport They remain in the background if we compare it with The reliable old man: the ship. And, when we talk about oil transport worldwide, this is something that is much more evidenced. This graph prepared by Visual Capitalist It reflects it perfectly. The data. Talking about oil is talking about certain countries that brings together the bulk of reserves. However, not always the most oil is the one who produces the most (to tell Venzuela), and world trade in crude passes through a few points between Asia and the Middle East. If these funnels have any problem, the entire world will also have it because the estimated amount that moves every day is an absolute barbarity: Millions of barrels a day in 2023 Strait of Malaca 23.7 Ormuz narrow 20.9 Suez Canal 8.8 Bab el-Mandeb 8.6 Cape of Good Hope 6 Strait of Denmark 4.9 Strait of Türkiye 3.4 Panama Canal 2.1 Malaca is the big funnel. With 23.7 million barrels per day moved in 2023, you have to talk about the first name of the list: the Strait of Malaca. It is a narrow complex due to its depth and wide, but it has become the main oil transport channel in the Middle East to Japan, South Korea and, above all, China. The Asian giant is the main oil importer (Although the batteries are being put to become one of the main producers) and it is estimated that 25% of the maritime transport of crude passes through this corridor. Its location between the Peninsula of Malaysia and Sumatra makes it the shortest and, therefore economic road between the Indian and the Pacific. And is responsible for Singapore is the largest gas station in the ocean. Ormuz, the hot spot. If Malaca’s is vital for the crude that goes to Asia, that of Ormuz It is essential for the one from the great producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Arab Emirates, Kuwait or will go to the rest of the West (although a lot of production also goes to Asia). The Strait has about 167 km long and about 40 wide, but navigation routes are much narrower. Now, its peculiarity is that it has sufficient depth to allow the transit of the great oil tankers and entrepreneurships. The problem is its location. This is the only significant maritime exit (for trade) that the Persian Gulf has and, like Malaca’s, it is a strategic point that Recently it has been in the foreground due to the War between Iran, Israel and the United States actions. Fragile balance. Being the 20% output point of the oil worldwide, and also moving much of the Liquefied natural gas which is consumed in the world, a block would have deep effects on the economy and global energy dependence. The estimate is that about 20 million barrels are moved daily and, if that flow is compromised, prices HE They would shoot at levels similar to the right views after Start of the Ukraine War or in the 70’s oil crisis. In addition, other points such as Suez or Malaca They would receive more ship influxwhich would carry overloads, shipping delays and would not serve to relax the barrel price increase. And the most important thing that lets us see this map is that, although there are several critical points for oil, two of them bring together almost half of the crude oil movement of the entire planet, which implies a balance that the Geopolitical tensions They can destabilize easily. Saudi Arabia and Arab Emirates are promoting the creation of pipelines to diversify the supply routes, and in the aforementioned ‘New Silk route’ are also raised alternatives to reduce the dependence of the narrows in the oil that moves to China. But, for the moment, Malaca and Ormuz are the hottest points of oil worldwide. In Xataka | The world capital of rare earth is being made of gold thanks to them. And it is also poisoning

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