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The big problem with putting robots everywhere is that they get lost. An engineer from Elche believes she has the solution

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It is no surprise that we see more and more robots in our daily lives: in a restaurant bringing orders to the table, in the field as a seasonal workermaking him courier delivery competition…and that’s not to mention its applications in automation on an industrial scale. Robots don’t need to rest, they don’t have labor rights, and they don’t complain. But they get lost. And that is a real, very common problem for which a research team from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche has found solution. The context. Autonomous robots need to know where they are to function and that does not always happen: when the location reference is lost, either because someone moves it, it is turned off or the environment changes without warning, the robot is unable to recover its position. Something as normal as running out of battery can be a technical drama. This phenomenon is not something isolated, in fact it even has a name in robotics: the “kidnapped robot problem“. Although we see more and more robots everywhere, this incident is a pending issue that has not been resolved in a robust way for decades. Without going any further, because resorting to GPS is something that can fail in settings such as indoors or near tall buildings. As deepens Míriam Máximolead author of the article: “It is a classic problem and very difficult to solve, especially in large environments.” The solution. What the team from the University of Elche has implemented is MCL-DLF, the acronym for Monte Carlo Localization – Deep Local Feature, a system that combines two technologies: on the one hand, a 3D LiDAR that emits laser pulses to draw a three-dimensional map of the environment similar to that of robot vacuum cleaners. On the other hand, an artificial intelligence that learns which elements of the environment are most useful for orientation. Why is it important. Because having a reliable location system is essential for any robotic deployment in real life: autonomous vehicles, delivery and logistics, assistance… its presence may be increasingly common, but it is still tremendously dependent on supervision: knowing where it is is essential for it to operate safely. The implemented method also introduces an important change: it is independent, in that it does not require external infrastructure to function like GPS, so its base is more robust and versatile in the face of different use scenarios in the real world. How it works. Its approach is hierarchical, so it first recognizes large structures and then fine details, similar to how people do. When you arrive at an unknown place, first you keep the essentials: what neighborhood you are in, for example. Then you look for more specific references to refine further. Furthermore, the system does not play everything on one card: it maintains several position hypotheses simultaneously and discards or refines them as the sensor captures more information. Tests carried out for months on the university campus with different lighting conditions, vegetation or simply the weather have shown more consistency than conventional methods. A good start with pending subjects. Beyond its promising results, the most striking thing about this research is its commitment to sensory autonomy: it does not depend on networks of beacons or GPS, but on its own sensors. This makes it a potentially more versatile system. However, it faces the great historical challenge of robot placement: how fragile it is in the face of changing environments. It is true that they have tested it in different conditions, but it has been within the campus: making the leap to more complex and constantly changing environments is their litmus test, in addition to additional validation in extreme conditions. Finally, before an eventual real commercial deployment, we will have to see how it integrates with other navigation systems and its computational cost. In Xataka | Tesla has been building the Optimus for years. China has just presented itself with fifteen companies and factories already set up In Xataka | We already have so many “humanoid” robots that it is difficult to differentiate one from the other. This graph fixes it Cover | Enchanted Tools

China has spent 2025 putting things into orbit. Now they have gone further by launching a reusable space plane

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Where I said ‘Mars’, I say ‘Moon’. For years, Elon Musk and SpaceX have maintained that colonize Mars It was humanity’s next great leap. While others (and NASA itself) considered the Moon still interesting, SpaceX looked down on her. Until recently, whenThe company has taken a step back recognizing that colonizing the Moon is easier than Mars. And of course, on the other side of the world we can have an explanation: China has the Moon in its sights. And they have just done another test with their mysterious reusable ship. The test. Last Saturday, and in the most aseptic way possible, China launched a reusable spacecraft. This was confirmed by the state news media Xinhua through an release Which leaves more questions than answers. Officially, we only know that, from one of its multiple launch bases, the country launched the vehicle on the back of a Long March-2F rocket. Mission? “The experimental spacecraft will carry out technological verification of reusable spacecraft, providing data and technical support for the peaceful use of space.” What technologies? Why do you want to know that, good night. TOP SECRET. This vehicle it’s not new. In fact, this would be the fourth trip since 2020 of an experimental ship whose characteristics are being kept in a state of absolute secrecy. On the first trip, this model would have been orbiting the Earth for two days. In 2022 it was launched again and returned in 2023 after 276 days going around. And in September 2024 there was another launch that returned after 268 days. As we say, the secrecy is total, so we do not know what type of vehicle it is, but there has been speculation that it may be the answer to the X-37B robotic vehicle of the United States Air Force. Neither Reuters nor Xinhua comment that it could be the Shenlong, the Chinese ‘Divine Dragon’ which is the competition of the aforementioned X-37B. Because if we talk about reusable rockets like SpaceX’s Falcon, China also has an answer: the LandSpace. They don’t stop throwing things. Beyond the reusable ship, China has gotten right into the space race. Like Europeis another of the countries that seeks space sovereignty, and one of the toughest tests was carried out at the beginning of December. To test the overload capacity of its systems and analyze whether they can handle several missions at the same time, in early December, China completed four space missions in four days. In total, there were 80 orbital launches in 2025, surpassing the previous record of 68 launches and achieving with this proof of this something only within the reach of the current SpaceX. And it seems that 2026 has started as last year ended. Target: Moon. Among China’s medium-term objectives is to take astronauts to the Moon before 2030. They want to compete against the NASA and its Artemis mission for establish a research base on the satellite while they finalize the building your own space station. The Moon has become that last piece of cheese on the plate, but instead of giving it up, the great powers want to get hold of it. Reason? Its great value to carry out experiments to expand sovereignty on other planets, but also with regard to resources that can be exploited and sent to Earth refers. Image | Baijiahao In Xataka | We have not known for 10 years what the US fighter jets saw in the sky. Until a Chinese copy has appeared

be in favor of putting more taxes

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In addition to being the CEO of NVIDIA (the most valuable company on the planet), Jensen Huang is in the top 10 richest people in the world according to Forbes. He has a net worth of $160.7 billion, a salary of $1.5 million a year (rose 50% last summer) with 49.9 million bonuses and 3% of his company’s shares. There it is nothing. As for properties, he owns a luxurious mansion on Billionaire’s Row in San Francisco and another, considered as your habitual residence due to its proximity to NVIDIA’s headquarters in Santa Clara, in Los Altos Hills. In the first I had David Sacks as a neighbor and in the second the founders of Google. The use of the past tense is not a mistake: they have all moved away to avoid the tax on the rich of 2026. For the CEO of NVIDIA it is not a problem: ““I’m perfectly fine.” with California’s new multibillion-dollar tax. Jensen Huang is not alone. But they are an absolute minority In an interview with Bloomberg TV last Tuesday, Huang said that “We choose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it” and that he had not thought about moving even once and that, despite the fact that his company has offices in several countries: “we work in Silicon Valley because that is where the talent pool is.” This new law, which would go into effect on January 1, 2026 retroactively if it passes the vote in November this year, imposes a flat 5% tax on people with a net worth greater than $1 billion to fund health programs. Considering his Jensen Huang net worth, we are talking about a fiscal bite more than 8 billion dollars. Jensen Huang’s position is rare bird insofar as it goes against the trend of many other technology magnates, who have packed their bags to avoid tax burdens. But NVIDIA CEO is not alone: There are other millionaires who are favorable to paying taxes. Of course, they are a minority. Without going any further, one of the most famous defenders is Warren Buffet, who almost 15 years ago proposed the ‘Buffet rule’ arguing that it is unfair that he pays a lower percentage of taxes than his secretary. Bill Gates has also repeated a few times that taxes are raised on the rich and the tax burden on capital gains and inheritances is increased. Incredible as it may seem, the fervent defender of capitalism Mark Cuban has advocated for paying taxes as “the most patriotic thing to do.” And speaking of patriotism, there is even an organization known as “Patriotic Millionaires” where the Disney heiress or the philanthropist George Soros ask that their taxes be raised. By the way, the current president of the board is Morris Pearl, former CEO of Blackrock. The budding law is the new “well, I’m going to Andorra” As we mentioned in the intro, Larry Page and Sergey Brin have already migrated T-Rex LLC to Delaware, according to Business Insider. After, Page has acquired a residence in Miami following in the footsteps of Jeff Bezos, who we will talk about later. The Guardian collects the intention of Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel or investor David Sacks to move to other states with a more favorable tax policy such as Texas or Florida. For the majority of these businessmen, these types of taxes discourage innovation, cause capital flight or directly, they consider that the government wastes money on these types of social welfare concepts. One of the most critical tycoons with the tax burdens is Elon Musk, who moved his residence from California to Texas due to the tax pressure. For the CEO of SpaceX and Starlink, taxes on millionaires are stupid: instead they should invest in reaching Mars, declared for the public entity PBS. Jeff Bezos is much less controversial than Musk on his social networks, but his recent move to Florida (which lacks a state income tax) after several decades in Washington has been interpreted as a measure to escape taxes. Ken Griffin, founder of the financial company Citadel, has also gone to Miami after criticize the fiscal policies and security of Chicago (Illinois), his previous residence. Reid Hoffman​, founder of LinkedIn, who is a large donor to the Democratic cause, has recently spoken out against this Californian tax alleging which is poorly designed and harmful to innovation. In Xataka | Warren Buffett sold half of his Apple shares. You will now pay taxes equivalent to Spotify’s annual income In Xataka | SpaceX is on track to have more money than NASA. He has achieved this, in part, because he does not pay taxes Cover | NVIDIA

While all cities are removing their last phone booths, Mexico City is putting them back

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The 21st century is that of smartphonesInternet, networks, 24/7 365 connectivity, virality and immediacy, a scenario in which telephone booths seem like an almost antediluvian vestige. Spain began to retire them a few years agoalthough many had been out of play for some time, vandalized, converted into little more than billboard posts. After all… Who wants a cabin when most of us walk around with a cell phone in our pockets? In Mexico you have the answer. In fact, the country is so convinced that booths make sense that it is installing hundreds and hundreds in its streets. What has happened? That Mexico is doing something (apparently) extemporaneous in the era of smartphonesInternet, social networks and permanent connectivity: the public company CFE Telecomunicaciones is installing hundreds of telephone booths. The diary Expansion talks about 848distributed mainly in the southeast of the country, in states such as Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas. It’s actually nothing surprising. In February 2024 CFE already announced their plans to “roll out” telephone booths throughout the country. But… Why? Because even though in 2026 the smartphones have become masters and lords of our pockets, not everyone has one, nor does they feel comfortable handling them. With the cabins CFE wants precisely that: to close the “generational or digital gap” in the country and “guarantee the connection” of the entire population. Hence, telephone poles are being installed especially in rural areas after reaching agreements with local authorities. “The project adds an alternative to guarantee the connection of the population who, due to the generational or digital divide, may see their communication with their loved ones affected,” claims the company. The idea, precise The Countryis that the phones can be accessed at no cost and the devices also offer an Internet connection and the possibility of making calls outside of Mexico, to the US or Canada. On your website CFE recalls that the project is carried out with “institutional linkage” and agreements with local administrations. And how many cabins are there? That is one of the most curious details of the initiative. And also those who have given the most talk. Expansion assures that CFE Telecomunicaciones has installed at least 848 booths, especially in the southeast, but the same media recalls that throughout Mexico there are still thousands of the old booths that people went to years ago, before cell phones and WhatsApp radically changed our way of communicating. Are they all the same? According to the Federal Telecommunications Institute, in December there were still 580,199 cabinsa considerable number, although they represent 10.6% less than in 2019. The majority are in the hands of Telmex, although the firm BBG Comunicación is also present in the market. This inheritance has not been without controversy, especially due to the state of some booths. Not long ago the Congress of Mexico City proposed withdrawal and dismantling cabins that are disused, abandoned or obsolete. The reason: from being key pieces for communication, they have become annoying obstacles that hinder pedestrian crossing and generate a bad image. It may seem exaggerated, but according to authorities’ calculationsin the country there are thousands of population centers that still have “public telephony” and most of their facilities “no longer function correctly.” Many of the booths are not removed despite being obsolete because prevents it an agreement from the 90s. Do you all agree? Although the country seems determined To find a way to end the digital divide, not everyone considers that the installation of new booths in rural areas will be the solution. This is what Jorge Bravo, for example, from the Mexican Association of the Right to Information warns (Amedi), who warns that the booths are part of an anachronistic connectivity model. “There are no clear criteria for the installation of these cabins. Although I have observed some in good condition, I have never seen people using the service,” he says. Images | Honorable Municipal Council of Silacayoápam (Facebook) and Mateusz D (Unsplash) In Xataka | Americans have been devouring pizza for generations. Now they are changing them for something else: Mexican food

is putting them in front of stores

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There are those who are clear that, not soon, robots will be like current smartphones: we will all have one. There is not enough time for prices to become as democratized as to get to that pointbut if there is a country that has taken the lead when it comes to push humanoid roboticsthat’s China. And the Hobbs W1 is the latest example: a humanoid robot with a human face, and hands capable of doing fine motor work. And they have already put it to work. Hobbs W1. A far cry from Star Wars robots and closer to the uncanny valley. Hobbs W1 still looks like a robot, but the fact that they have given it a face and a body with an absurdly stylized female silhouette is a declaration of intent: they want us to feel “comfortable” with their presence. Very low on the evolutionary scale of robots are those tray holder (or Sardinator) with faces that look like emojis and cat ears: the Hobbs W1 has no legsbut it does have a face, upper joints and a screen. They are tools that are used to give instructions to people. Because Hobbs W1 is already working and those responsible, the Pekingese Noetix Roboticsthey point to a very clear segment: commercial spaces where you can guide clients, answer questions and perform reception tasks. great players. Noetix is ​​one of the many – many – Chinese startups that the country itself is promoting. The strategy of China is to become a robotics power (technological, in general, especially promoted by the ‘Delete A’ plan), and although there are many companies, we can now talk about very prominent names. Hobbs W1 It is estimated that Unitree, UBTECH and AgiBot they control practically the humanoid robot market in China. It is still a small market, but these three companies are looking to position themselves as soon as possible. Its key is the ability to manufacture at scale, but also specialization: Unitree may be the best known name. The most direct comparison would be with Boston Dynamics, since it has its ‘robodog’ – the Unitree Go2 – and its humanoid, the G1. Unitree is already selling units to end customers. In fact, you can buy that Go2 on Amazon. UBTECH has the Walker S1, a robot focused more on professional use. It is the one that directly seeks to replace humans on assembly lines and, in fact, it is already working in one of the plants Geely -manufacturer of electric cars-. AgiBot It is the third in contention. Instead of being specific, it has specialized in being multiplatform and going to volume so that they can do tasks in different sectors. It has humanoid robots from its X series, but also much more specialized ones from the A and G series (although they also give them faces to humanize them. Image: Unitree. Muscle and brain. These companies are closely linked to the development of another of China’s priorities, lto artificial intelligencebut there is a fourth that stands out for its focus. It’s Galbot, and he’s taken a less conventional route. Instead of focusing on promoting their robots as mountebanks or capable of lift heavy weights in factoriesGalbot has developed multimodal AI models with one thing very clear in mind: that they can now care for humans in the real world. When we talk about topics of this type, it is always difficult to know to what extent it is smoke, promises or there is someone with the controls behind the scenes. In the case of Galbot and his G1I can say that, although slow, it works. It already serves a store of just 10 m² in Beijing and you can order drinks perfectly. There is no human nearby and the company plans to expand with more than a hundred automated stores throughout the rest of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. From the laboratory to the store. Therefore, the Hobbs W1 is just one more of those humanoid robots that China has already put to work. And the truth is that it contrasts with what we see in the West. We have been talking about robotics for many years, but the proper names were different. China has arrived later in this racebut it has managed to position itself as the country to beat. And the reason is your approach. While Tesla promises to have “many” Optimus and Boston Dynamics continues to show his Atlas performing jumpsChinese robots are already in stores, but also walking through the subway supplying the 7 Eleven either extinguishing fires with real firefighters. The vast majority of the startups that are starring in the conversation have been created in the last two years and make it clear that the country is very interested in leading the sector. It’s not only to show off. And it may not just be a strategy to demonstrate technological muscle. we come it counting for months: China faces a future with many more elderly and, as a consequence, much less labor. Have a tremendous rate of youth unemploymentbut even so in the medium term the country faces a dramatic demographic contraction. Putting the elderly to work It’s an option –also in Japan-, but at a certain moment, and with a low birth ratehaving only the elderly work is not an option. That’s where the country’s strategy comes into play: leading the conversation in roboticsattract talent and, in addition, develop robots that can fill that job hole that is anticipated in a few years. Stepping on the accelerator. In whatever way and for whatever reason, it is clear that both the country and the startups are in a hurry. HE they estimate 800 humanoid robots sold in 2024 compared to more than 4,000 in 2025. By 2045, the projection is that they will have more than 100 million operational units with a market of 1.4 billion dollars. And the main advantage is that economy of scale, the national push and being able to access key elements in the … Read more

All tech companies are putting AI in all their products. The problem is that nobody wants them

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It’s been a year and a half and it seems like 10 have passed. In May 2024, Microsoft announced the launching Windows Recallan artificial intelligence option that allowed us to remember and recover things we had done on our PC. It seemed like an interesting idea, but soon he was criticized his approach to privacy and security and the company had to delay it and then relaunch it without making too much noise. That was one of those AI features that promised to transform our PC experience, but three years after the launch of ChatGPT, one thing is certain: AI has not meant no revolution. Not at least on the PC, we insist. Microsoft, of course, has not stopped adding more and more AI functions to Windows 11. We have co-pilots and theoretically revolutionary functions to bore, and that obsession with putting AI even in the soup has been demonstrated with the legendary Notepadwhich has gone from being a minimalist app to one that is losing focus. Microsoft’s reasons are legitimate: they have invested a real fortune in AI and they will want to take advantage of it. Surely the intention was good (at least, in part) when it came to offering new ways of working and enjoying our PC. The problem is that good intentions have caused just the opposite of what Microsoft intended. Instead of us wanting to use Windows 11 more and more, is making us want to use it less and less. We have seen it with renewed interest for some Linux distributionsbut also with the appearance of an app that is exclusively dedicated to eradicating Windows 11 any trace of AI functions. AI fatigue The same thing is happening with AI browsers. Comet, Day and Atlas They are two striking proposals for this integration of AI functions, but neither of them seems to have caught on, and Microsoft Edge – which of course has integrated Copilot – has not proposed any change in trend either: the browsers we want to use, at least for the moment, continue to be the traditional ones, without AI. And there is the key. In what We users have not asked for so much AI. That is precisely the great criticism of these industry efforts to boast that their products have AI. Those two magic letters no longer get expectations. What they are starting to get is rejection. Firefox is the latest example. Mozilla has just appointed a new CEO, and in its first public statement it pointed out its intention to transform Firefox into a product in which AI was the central axis. The users of this browser – and I count myself among them – are not at all clear, and the unified response message has been clear: “Firefox does not need AI, but rather listen to its users“. What has happened and is happening with Windows 11 and Firefox shows that we are entering a new stage in which AI no longer excites, but rather fatigues. It’s everywhere: The list is of course much longer, and in many cases there is another added problem: that AI is the excuse to raise prices. Microsoft is here again a notable example with Microsoft 365but we have also seen it in Adobe, which He raised the price to his customers right off the bat because now they could enjoy an AI that they had not asked for. It’s happening everywhere because the promised AI revolution still hasn’t happened. There are, of course, areas in which it has proven to be transformative—programming is the clear case—but in many others that acronym has lost its meaning. The industry’s commitment to making this work is logical: companies have invested hundreds of billions of dollars invested with the idea that this was going to explode… and so far it hasn’t. But they continue to fill everything with AI. And as often happens, that’s the bad thing. It tires you a lot…And if we haven’t asked for it, even more so. In Xataka | Adobe has presented itself as the champion of copyright in the AI ​​era. Now we know that maybe not so much

The big problem with putting solar panels on crops is shade. The University of Jaén has found a solution

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In search of fulfilling the decarbonization goalswe are filling the field with solar panels. Giants like China can do it combining other activities well, but in the case of smaller countries, things change. Spain is an examplewith a field irrigated by crops that is also being plagued by panels. Now, a research team from the University of Jaén has found the key to continue deploying solar panels without interfering with crops. A panel with minimal shading that does not compromise its energy generation. The agrovoltaics. Different reports have pointed out how the temperature will increase by 1.5 to 3.2 degrees If we continue the same as until now. For this reason, the European Union marked the milestone of 30% of its energy comes from renewables by 2030 to, in 2050, achieve climate neutrality. Wind is important, but what almost all countries are embracing is photovoltaics. The price of the plates has fallen to the ground thanks to the China overproduction and it has begun to be deployed massively. The problem is what we mentioned: it takes up a lot of space, which opens a direct conflict with the farmland. There, agrovoltaics is becoming established as a solution to place panels that do not interfere with the cycle of some crops, and mixes with beekeeping and the livestock. But if we want to continue expanding photovoltaics, panels that provide less shade are needed. Panels and photosynthesis. That is where the solution devised by the University of Jaén comes into play. In a study Published in Science Direct, researchers detail a technology that allows a panel to efficiently generate electricity, while allowing crops to receive enough light to perform their optimal photosynthesis cycle. To do this, the team has taken into account two technical parameters: the average visible transmittance and the average photosynthetic transmittance. In practice, they indicate the amount of light useful to the plants that reaches them after passing through the panel, and they point out that different studies estimate that, for most crops, the minimum value should be around 60%. In that spectrum, plants produce normally. Status of the “transparent” panels“The photovoltaic industry has been working on this for some time. There are two approaches: Non-wavelength selective panels: They are those that absorb a large part of the solar spectrum and achieve transparency by reducing the color of the material or leaving gaps between the cells. With them, transparency is not adequate. Wavelength Selective Panels: They are those that absorb, above all, ultraviolet and near-infrared radiation, but allow a large part of the visible light to pass through. It is what the plants need and, in this case, the transparency of the panels is greater and more suitable for crops. RearCPVbif. In the two groups the industry is testing very different technologies, from polycrystalline silicon to organic cells and color-sensitized panels, but the Spanish team’s approach is somewhat different. The semi-transparent photovoltaic modules They are the STPVs, but what is proposed by the University of Jaén is a system called RearCPVbif, or “Bifacial Rear Concentrator Photovoltaic.” Unlike conventional semi-transparent designs, this technology concentrates and redirects reflected light towards the back of the bifacial cells, generating an increase in electrical production without reducing optical transparency, which is what allows light to reach the plants. It is an STPV, but with rear optical concentrators. In statements to PV-MagazineÁlvaro Varela-Albacete, co-author of the research, points out that STPV technology is being underused and that, with these rear concentrators, there is “a substantial increase” in energy generation without compromising optical transparency. “And how much is the transparency factor? 60%, according to the study, so it would be suitable for most horticultural crops. Next steps. In the study they also mention that they have taken into account that a crucial aspect for agricultural viability is thermal behavior, indicating that, in their tests, the cell temperature was below 70 degrees. This is important so that the panels do not create a “greenhouse” that affects crop patterns. And most importantly: this technology has already attracted attention. Numerous promising studies are published throughout the year, but their application is not always clear. In the case of this ReadCPVbif technology, the co-author of the study, Eduardo Fernández, points out that they are already engaging in conversations with different organizations to accelerate the development of the technology. Now, the route hour includes an evaluation of the benefits for crop growth, with different test campaigns on real crops. In any case, it aims to be a particularly relevant technology in the intensive horticulture that occurs in regions of Spain such as Almería, where apart from the sea of ​​plastic, also the photovoltaic sea is rising. If the two things can be combined, it would be a great step for both sectors. Images | University of Jaen, Σ64 In Xataka | Almería has been Europe’s great “sea of ​​plastic” for years. Now it wants to be another sea: that of solar panels

Google is serious about putting data centers in space. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos rub hands

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While there are municipalities debating whether to let big technology companies install data centers in their domainsGoogle wants a strike further: taking the data centers to space. Google. The company revealed its intentions a few weeks ago and your Suncatcher project wants to install two prototype satellites before 2027. Curiously, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are more than delighted with the idea of ​​their rival. Suncatcher Project. Push the capabilities of the artificial intelligence requires that we train it and, for this, they are necessary huge data centers with spectacular computing power. The problem is that the energy needs of these facilities They are astronomical, becoming resource sinksmaking oil companies set aside their renewable energy plans and even raising the opening of “private” nuclear power plants. Suncatcher couldn’t have a more appropriate name. In space, without the influence of the atmosphere, solar panels They capture the light spectrum in a different way, enough to feed those data centers that seem insatiable, and what Google proposes is to build constellations of dozens or hundreds of satellites that orbit in formation at about 650 kilometers high. Each of them would be armed with Trillium TPU (processors specifically designed for AI calculations) and would be connected to each other via laser optical links. Pichai puts the topic anywhere. Although 2027 is the key date, it is evident that Google is very interested in airing its plans because it is a sign of both technological power and an invitation for interested entities to invest in the process – and a way to continue inflating everything around AI-. And the person who is practicing this speech the most is the company’s CEO himself: Sundar Pichai. Since we learned of Google’s plans, Pichai has spoken of the topic in every interview he has given. It does not tell anything new beyond that hope of having TPUs in space in 2027 and the ambition that in a decade extraterrestrial data centers will be the norm. Musk and Bezos: competition, but allies. And if Google is interested in selling its narrative, those who are also interested are two of its most direct competitors: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Both Musk with several of his companies and Bezos with Amazon Web Services are in the race for data centers and artificial intelligence. They have some of the largest on the planet, but they also have something that the rest of the competitors don’t: ability to launch things into space. Musk with SpaceX and Bezos with Blue Origin have the tools to put satellites into orbit, charging for each kilo they launch into space. And it is there, the more credible it seems that the future of computing is in low Earth orbit, the more economic and political sense they will make. SpaceX as Blue Origin. Both are Google’s competition, but also the option for Google to achieve its objective. And, ultimately, we keep seeing rival companies renting their services from each other. Data center fever in space. The truth is that, at first, it sounds like a crazy plan to build these extraterrestrial data centers, but from the most pragmatic point of view (removing logistics and the money that both development and each launch will cost from the equation), it is a plan that makes sense. In space, a panel can perform up to eight times more than on the Earth’s surface, in addition to generating electricity continuously by not depending on day/night cycles. It is something that would eliminate the need for huge batteries, but also for complex water-based cooling systems. And, as we said, Google is not alone in this. Currently, there is a fever for space data centers with big technology companies in the spotlight: Considerable challenges. Now, Google itself comment It will not be easy to carry out this strategy. On the one hand, the costs. The company claims that prices may fall several thousand dollars per kilo to just $200/kg by mid-2030 if the industry consolidates. They note that, in that case, the price of launching and operating a space data center could be comparable to the energy costs for an equivalent terrestrial data center. Another difficulty will be maintaining a close orbit between the satellites. They would have to be within 100-200 meters of each other for optical links to be viable. And most importantly: radiation tolerance by the TPUs. Google has been experimenting with this for years, but they must test the effects of radiation on sensitive components such as the HBM memory. Surely astronomers They will be delighted with this strategysame as with starlink. Image | THAT In Xataka | We are launching more things into space than ever before. And the next problem is already on the table: how to pollute less

Putting four chickens in the yard seemed like a good idea to have cheap eggs. Bird flu just changed the rules of the game

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From November 13, 2025, there is no poultry farm in the country that can be outdoors. With mass confinement, the Government wants to contain the spread of the H5N1 bird flu. And it makes sense: so far this season, 14 outbreaks have already been recorded in poultry, several in captive birds and dozens in wild birds. The problem is everything that falls under the radar. “What do I do with my chickens?” In Spain, at least from 2024, all chickens must be registered. And yes, that includes ‘self-consumption’ chickens; some animals that, according to the data, they represent only 0.77% of the census (but all experts know there are many more). A report from El País from the spring of this year confirmed that “the figures do not reflect reality and that a large part of self-consumers have birds (especially the ISA Brown species) without census.” This has meant that in a context in which self-consumption does not have inspections (and lives unaware of animal health regulation), the doubts and risks have grown exponentially. As Cristina García Casado explained in InfoLibrethe question most frequently asked by veterinarians across the country is “what do I do with my chickens?” And the answer is very simple: confine them. Because the regulations do not understand sizes: a backyard chicken infected by contact with a wild bird can be just as big a problem as any other type of chicken. Or maybe more. After all, the European authorities they continue to qualify the risk to the general population as low; but they raise it to low-moderate for people in direct contact with infected birds or contaminated environments. Having unmonitored poultry increases the risk to the “civilian” population and if we are realistic we will recognize that they cannot be monitored. The problem has names and surnames: at least when it comes to the flu, all those domestic pens have the same sanitary requirements, but much less infrastructure. The ‘boom’ of homemade eggs. We must remember that this does not happen in a vacuum. The truth is that in recent years we have lived a real ‘boom’ in self-consumption chickens. It is the confluence of the “happy chickens” movements with the response of many citizens to a price that does nothing but go up. According to the National Institute of Statistics, have gone up 15.9% so far this year and, according to the OCUthe growth has been 105% compared to 2021. And, be careful, we are not talking about a luxury product. We are talking about what may be one of the proteins cheaper and more accessible of the world. Faced with this ‘ovoflation’, the accounts are clear: “a hen costs about nine euros, it is easy to raise and maintain with fruit, vegetables and feed, and it lays an egg every 25 hours.” How can there not be a problem? What to do if I have a chicken coop for self-consumption? If we are in that situation (or are thinking about setting up our own domestic corral) there are some things to keep in mind: Whether larger or smaller, the corral must be registered in the REGA (General Registry of Livestock Operations). Implement confinement and biosecurity measures: separate chickens from any contact with wild birds; control inputs and outputs; record all changes in a log book. Improve cleaning conditions, more frequent bed renewal and tightening daily management protocols. Introduce wellness programs to contain the problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle. But, above all, be extremely vigilant. There are many warning signs (apathy, drop in production, high mortality or flu symptoms). Therefore, it is best to be alert. Anything can happen. Image | Finn Mund In Xataka | H5N1 bird flu unleashes a massacre in Antarctica: half of the female seals have already disappeared

There are people trying to kill migraine with surgery. Neurologists are putting their hands on their heads

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Migraine is a relatively common neurological disorder among our population that can have dire consequences for those who suffer from it. as it can become disabling for several days in a row. This means that patients’ search for treatments has become desperate to avoid having to being locked in a dark room for several days without being able to go to worksince there is no cure. The problem is that the treatments that are proposed are sometimes not the best. Among these measures we have, for example, the famous piercing in the ear that promises control headaches or even botox therapy. But the reality is that now an operation is emerging that continues to raise doubts. What does it consist of? When suffering from disabling pain, the main thing for many patients is to eradicate it, and the reality is that they do not care how to do it. That is why trigger point decompression surgery, popularly known as “migraine surgery,” is beginning to become popular in the United States. And while in the United States it is gaining more and more ground, the Spanish Society of Neurology has raised the alarm due to its proliferation in private clinics by offering great results against this disease. His story. The story of this surgery does not begin in a neuroscience laboratory, as happens with other techniques that are put into clinical practice. To understand this technique we have to go back to the beginning of this century with the surgeon Bahman Guyuron who noticed something strange: many patients on whom he performed the lifting from the front, that is, the frontal stretch, they reported that after the operation their migraines had disappeared. From there, the theory of extracranial trigger points was developed. The hypothesis is that migraine is not just a brain event, but can be triggered by compression of peripheral nerves in the face and neck due to muscles or blood vessels. Surgery in this case basically consists of releasing these nerves through decompression or cauterization. of four specific areas of the skull: In the forehead region. At the temples. On the back of the head. In the nose area. The discussion. It is not logically conflict-free. On the one hand, there are American surgeons who They assure that between 70% and 95% of patients improve or eliminate their symptoms. However, when we turn to rigorous scientific literature, the numbers become considerably nuanced. The magazine Frontiers in Neurology, who analyzed the data of 627 patientsrevealed a very clear reality. Only 38% of patients undergoing this operation recorded a remission of headaches after 6-12 months. And this is a very controversial figure, since private clinics promise figures that are not what independent studies point out. The study explicitly warns that more elaborate and transparent tests are neededsince the risk of bias in patient selection is high. That is, those patients who are giving the best results are chosen, giving a success value that is not totally real as it does not follow the quality standards expected in a study. In Spain. Our country has gone up in arms against these types of surgeries that seem like a miracle, and the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) He does not see the physiological basis behind it that explains its effect. The first thing they see is that the studies are too small (which leaves the results obvious), but they also point out that migraine is a disease of the central nervous system and that “decompressing the nerves” outside the skull lacks biological plausibility. Specifically, the conclusion reached in the SEN is the following: There is no scientific evidence that currently supports that surgery has a therapeutic role for migraine. Therefore, any migraine patient is not recommended to undergo surgery for this disease. Migraine has been studied in depth, and there is no solid evidence that these nerves are compressed in migraineurs. And they go further by pointing out that “migraine has no cure, but there are many scientifically based therapeutic developments and more are to come.” Placebo effect. To understand it, we must know that surgery is an intervention that is imposed on anyone, and the simple fact of going through an operating room generates in a patient the feeling or expectation that they will be cured. That is why this is about measuring in the control groups, which are those patients who enter the operating room, but who do not receive nerve decompression (although they think they do). In these cases it has been seen that patients point out that their migraines have improved, when this is not the case. All motivated also because measuring the intensity of pain in a patient is not easy at all, as it is tremendously subjective, since each person perceives it in a specific way. Your application. In Spain, the technique moves in limbo. It is not financed by social security nor endorsed by the Network of Health Technology Assessment Agencies (RedETS), but it is offered on the private market with prices ranging between $5,000 and $15,000. But the recommendation of specialists in this case is that “any patient with migraine is not recommended to undergo surgery for this disease.” The only exception they make is that you are going to participate in a clinical trial. Images | Adrian Swancar Akram Huseyn In Xataka | Splitting an ibuprofen in half to take 600 mg instead of 400 is a bad idea: it destroys a key piece of its engineering

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