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To the big question of whether you can lose weight, science has an answer. And it has everything to do with genetics

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There are multiple reasons to walk, to try to approach that figure (rather symbolic) of the 10,000 daily steps. For many, keeping weight under control is one of the main reasons. In this sense, genetics plays an important role, since some people have greater predisposition to accumulate body mass. We have only a couple of decades learning what are the (diverse) genetic variants that are associated with our ease to increase our weight. Know them, however, the door has opened us To be able to design strategies that bring us closer to our goals When maintaining or reducing our weight, thus minimizing the effort to achieve them. Because each individual is a world and not all bodies react in the same way to certain diets or exercise regimes. This is a breeding ground for failure, since what for a person is a “miraculous” strategy to another can take it to a dead end. A study Published this year made a compilation of the different genetic variants identified to date linked to this ease to lose weight through diets and exercises. The team found 30 genetic markers linked to our body’s response to diets and 24 associated with the exercise. Because LAGENTICS is not an isolated factor: it is not our genes in themselves that make us fat. These are nothing more than a part of a complex system in which they interact with our diet and other life habits. More steps To understand these interactions, A study performed by the American Heart Association analyzed the degree to which walk could reduce the impact of genetics and sedentary life About our body mass index. The analysis, published in 2012, observed that the act of walking could, indeed, counteract our predisposition genetics to gain weight, in front of sedentary habits How to watch television whose effect was the opposite. To carry out the study, the team compiled information on more than 12,000 participants, including information on genetic variants (32 in total) associated with high body mass indices. They estimated that walking at least one hour a day could reduce people’s body mass by about 0.06 kg/m². A more recent study I deepened the matter. The analysis, published this year in the magazine Jama Networkit was raised if people with certain genetic predispositions linked to overweight required specific levels of exercise if they wanted to avoid reaching the limits established in body mass index for obesity. The study It was done With 3,124 adult participants and it was observed that, indeed, people with this genetic predisposition required to walk more in terms of steps given a day than people with less risk associated with their genes. According to the data obtained, people in the high risk of risk should walk about 2,280 more steps That people in the average percentiles, a total of 11,020 steps per day, if they wanted to equate their risk of obesity. Although, as a general rule, controlling our diet is a better tool to lose weight, exercise can help us in our attempts. Exercise is, for example, an ideal tool to avoid recovering the weight we have gained. But exercising is, above all, a way to stay healthy. Active life has very diverse positive impacts on our healthespecially in the field of cardiovascular health. In Xataka | Make cardio or train strength: for science there is no debate about what is the ideal year from 50 Image | Tamar Willoughby *An earlier version of this article was published in August 2024

If the question is which of the great technology is winning the AI career, the answer is: None

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Who is winning the AI race? At this point we should have it more or less clear. We had it when Microsoft and Intel were profiled as the dominators of the PC world or when Apple and Google triumphed with their smartphones. But with AI something curious happens: Things are very even. Of, done, too much. Of course, in the field of Openai popularity, it is the most prominent with chatgpt. Recently the company presumed to be touching The 700 million active weekly users, a really remarkable figure that leaves its competitors behind. However, that metric is not definitive, especially when we have a great unknown to elucidate: what is the best AI model? It is impossible to know today what is the best model of AI No one can give a clear answer to that question. Neither the companies, which continuously breastfeed with their new versions, nor the benchmarks, which They have become a useful but imperfect tool when evaluating the quality of these models. In Polymarket people believed that the best AI model at the end of August was going to be OpenAi. After leaving GPT-5, the perception changed. That the answer to that question is difficult Polymarket demonstrates itthis unique prediction platform in which users bet on a result and also pay it by voting for one or another conclusion. To the question of “What company does the best model of AI have at the end of August? Everything seemed to smile at Openai, but after the launch of GPT-5, the Batacazo: now the clear favorite is Gemini, the Google model, with OpenAI collapsed to 16% of the votes and even more behind Grok (XAI) with 6.3% of votes and Claude (Anthropic) with a very low (in my opinion) 1.5%. It is not that Polymarket is an especially reliable indicator of this (or anything), but it makes it clear that The public perception of these models can be very different of their real behavior in things like their number of users-here OpenAi tombs their competitors-or their performance performance such as Arc-Agi 2 (where Grok 4 wins everyone, including GPT-5). In the Benchmark of abstract thought ARC-AGI 2, Grok 4 is well above its competitors. Included GPT-5, which exceeds Claude Opus 4. Source: ARC-AGI. And that makes us even clearer what are the two great reasons why it is a real problem to know which model of AI is winning this career. The first, that these tests are often very specific and concrete, and focus on evaluating aspects such as the ability to program or solve mathematical problems of these models. And the second, that The models do not stop improving and to overcome what his rivals had achieved a few days, weeks or months before. We do not stop seeing how new versions of the models are (logically) something better programming, generating text or images or solving certain types of problems, but there is no consensual or definitive form of saying “this model is better.” As we have seen, each user also has their own personal perception (Hello, Polymarket) when using them. Some prefer Claude to program, other chatgpt for generic questions, other Gemini to talk about diverse topics and to learn, for example. And none seems to be the final model “for everything.” In a recent scientific study, researcher Steve Hsu concluded that the path followed by the current generative models will not lead to AGI. Neither now, nor ever. That leads us to a reflection: that this general artificial intelligence (AGI) is far from arriving. These systems, which are supposed to be overcome in all areas, are not even remotely close to doing so, and They continue to make mistakes even when for example GPT-5 seems to have significantly mitigate the problem of hallucinations. Analysts like Gary Marcus They reminded us These days that have been saying the same thing about 30 years: that with this type of climbing techniques We are not going to get to an AGI And that the road has to be another. And that leaves us some interesting ideas. David Sacks – Paypal Cocfounder, founder of Yammer, investor— analyzed The situation of this segment and raised striking conclusions. The five main companies that develop foundational models —Openai, Google, Meta, Anthropic or XAI – still do not master the market, but that is (or it can be) good news. And it is because there is neither a monopoly nor a duopoly of AI. What there is is a fierce competition not only among these five North American companies, but between them and all their Chinese competitors, to which a lot of startups are added that have no resources to work on foundational models – careful – and instead they try to solve another great question: what is the Killer app of the AI. That’s where there are great opportunities for these startups, which can solve success cases in which AI can really be a disruption for an industry. It is for example what emerging companies have done such as cursor or Windsurf, which have opted for the vibe coding boom and are capturing a lot of interest among the developer segment. In fact, every time we see how even the greats of AI presume that their new models program especially well or perhaps are more oriented than ever to solve mathematical problems. GPT-5 precisely use those two arguments to declare themselves better than the competition, and although some benchmarks prove them right, the perception of the users will determine whether they meet expectations or not. But there is also that great debate between the proprietary models (such as GPT-5) and the Open Source models. As Sacks says, the fact that Open Source models They can offer 80-90% of the capacity with a cost of 10-20% of foundational models is sensational for certain users. Specifically, for those who prioritize customization, control and cost savings on the use of foundational models. China goes for all with that philosophy, although curiously it was … Read more

The new largest plane in the world will be a beast to revolutionize wind. The big question is whether it will fly

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In the Albores of the Ukraine WarRussia took control of the airport space of Hostomel. It was where two aviation monsters, Antonov-124 and Antonov-225They were trapped. The result of the attacks? Serious damage to one of the merchandise transport aircraft more used in Europe and Destruction of Antonov-225the largest plane in the world and pride of Ukrainian aviation. His loss has left a void that a startup wants to take advantage of with the Windrunner, the world’s new biggest plane Focused on the transport of wind turbines. The problem is that there are serious doubts that one day he undertakes the flight, but there is already an interested party that has nothing to do with him renewable energy sector: The Pentagon. Drive wind. The company after this ambitious project is Radiaa startup that considers that, in a Decarbonization scenario and with one artificial intelligence so voracious In energy terms, it is necessary to boost the installation of wind turbines throughout the world. The problem is that, to accelerate that installation, the cadence of Warmers installation And the transport of its elements, such as blades, is a problem. The towers can be set up by pieces, but the blades are another song. Radia considers that none of the load aircraft They have the ability to transport large blades, and there their plan with the Windrunner and a winery that will allow three 80 -meter blades, two of 95 meters or just just or barely one 105 meters long. And it will do it directly on an improvised landing floor at the construction of the wind farm. Comparisons are hateful. To put in context what type of plane we are talking about, if the Antonov-225 was a monsterthis Windrunner would be unqualifiable: Winrunner Antonov AN-225 Total length 108 meters 84 meters Wingspan 80 meters 88.4 meters Height 24 meters 18.1 meters Winery length 105 meters 43.3 meters Bodega volume 8,200 m³ 1,300 m³ Comes with a price. The problem is that putting such a plane in the air has a problem: fuel. For the 250 tons that the Antonov-225 could load, the Windrunner will stay in more modest 72.5 tons. Enough for its main mission of transporting shovels that in its largest lengths are around 60 tons. But autonomy can also be the big problem of that plan that allows winding throughout the world. Driven by four engines that will work with Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAFits autonomy will be up to 2,000. It will be its great limitation, since it will relegate it to an almost local use in Europe, America or Asia, with continuous reposses or with the need for shovels to be manufactured to those 2,000 kilometers of its destination. Windrunner on the left, Antonov An-124 in the center, Boeing 747-400 to the right Serious doubts. It is evident that the Windrunner is promising, but experts from the aerospace industry are not so clear that Radia can materialize their vision. The argument that analysts and experts of the aviation industry use is that Radia is a startup that will need a lot of money and have seen projects with better commercial arguments and lower technological risks. Also, and how we read in BBCRadia goes against everything that is usually done in this industry and, after testing a scale model in the wind tunnel, wants to speed up times and reduce costs passing from that model to scale to real -size test aircraft. As? Instead of building traditional prototypeslooking for digital design tools. And this is not like building a car on your own: once built, an overwhelming aircraft certification process begins. Virtually the interior of the Windrunner is a winery. Trust. In the same BBC article, Mark Lundstrom, founder of Radia, confessed that, although there are numerous challenges, the fundamental principles of the development of the Windrunner go through “not doing anything new and developing the minimally viable aircraft for aviation”. That makes them discarded alternatives such as the airships, which should go through new regulations and supply chains, and also that they have opted for a more traditional supply chain. For example, hiring experienced suppliers Like the Italian Leonardo for the fuselage, the American Afore to review the security or The Spanish Aernnova For wings and pylons of engines. It is not yet known who will provide the engines, but from Radia they commented to BBC that they have “selected an existing certified engine and are working to define the integration strategy in the fuselage.” That is, Radia is using already tested technologies and components, which will allow them to “the unit cost is proportional to the weight and size of the aircraft and, therefore, comparable to that of other civil aircraft of wide fuselage,” according to Radia’s spokesman. And it is expected that the 70% of suppliers of Radia are European. The Pentagon has taken his eye. Of course, Radia is not the first visionary Aerospace Company, but if you do not set the objective of building the Windrunner for its main objective of filling the aircraft planet, whoever has recently called at their door I have something interesting to offer. In May of this year, the United States Department of Defense signed an agreement with Radia To analyze if the Windrunner could transport military load. Although the weight it can carry is much lower than that of the missing Antonov-225, its winery is huge and is something that has captured the attention of the Pentagon. From Radia they maintain that its objective remains to serve the wind energy market, but recognize that the unique capabilities of its plane make it interesting for additional applications. Boeing heats engines. Radia aims to have several real -size test units to make a first test flight at the end of this decade. Again, an excessive ambition if we take into account that planes such as the aforementioned AN-225 barely made a few flights a year … and there was only one. And we will see how the pressure of … Read more

If the question is whether there are healthy ultraprocesses, science already has an answer

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You enter the supermarket with the idea of eating better. You fill the cart with “high in fiber” bars, whole grains, 0% yogurts and vegetable protein milkshakes. Everything sounds healthy. Everything fits into the diet that you promised to follow on Monday. But according to the most recent science, you may be falling into a very common trap: that of the ultra -processed who disguise themselves as healthy. Healthy ultraprocesses? A new clinical trial, Posted in Nature Medicine magazineled by Samuel Dicken of the University College London, has he managed to answer this doubtful doubt: An ultra -processed with good nutritional profile is equally healthy as a natural food? The answer has been very blunt: no. Although these products meet the recommended values of sugar, salt or fat, their impact on the body is different. Science behind. For eight weeks, 55 adults overweight or obesity followed two different diets: one based on “healthy” ultraprocessed foods, such as frozen lasagers, cereals ready to consume and vegetable milkshakes; and another composed of minimally processed foods, such as homemade spaghetti, natural yogurt and fruits. Both diets complied with the official nutritional guides of the United Kingdom (Eatwell Guide), which allowed to compare the impact of processing, beyond nutrients. The result was revealing. The participants lost twice the weight with the minimally processed food diet and more than double body fat. But that was not all. Spontaneously – and without restrictions or portion control – the participants ate less calories when their diet was based on unproacted foods. According to the epidemiologist Filippa Juul, by Suny Downstate, consulted by The New York TimesThis is explained because minimally processed foods have less caloric density and require more chewing, which favors satiety. “Ultraprocesses have less texture, chew faster and stimulate appetite artificially,” Juul has summarized. If the results are projected to one year, researchers estimate that a diet based on natural foods could mean a loss of up to 13% of body weight in men and 9% in women. In the diet with ultra -processed, that figure would fall to between 4 and 5%. What distinguishes an ultra -processing food? The classification of food according to their degree of processing does not depend solely on their ingredients, but also on how they have been transformed. According to the study descriptionultraprocessed foods include “ingredients that are rarely used in domestic cuisine, such as emulsifiers, sweeteners, artificial flavors or flavor enhancers”, while minimally processed foods retain their natural shape and require a simpler preparation: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, whole cereals, natural yogurt, etc. A “healthy” cereal bar can have added fiber, but it also usually contains syrups, stabilizers and artificial flavors. In contrast, a bowl of oats soaked overnight and mixed with fresh fruit and natural yogurt is a minimally processed food that provides fiber in its natural form and without additives. So what is really healthy? The study does not seek to generate alarm, but it does leave a clear message: it is not enough to look at the label numbers if the product is outrageous. How is done also matters. Nutritionist Brenda Davy, cited by The New York Timessummarizes it thus: “Cooking more at home, using recognizable ingredients and avoiding products with endless component lists remains the best recipe to take care of our health.” Along the same lines, Adrian Brown, co -author of the study, warns in The Guardian that the labels do not always tell the whole story: “The nutritional labeling does not capture the level of processing. Many products that seem healthy do not show warnings, but remain UPF.” The environment: a primary factor. As noted by doctor Chris Van Tulleken, author of the Ultra-Procedure Book People, the current food environment hinders healthy choice. “We cannot continue to blame the individual for a hostile food environment. The ultra -processed are cheaper, they are everywhere and are designed to hook,” has declared in The Guardian. Therefore, the authors of the study advocate public policies: better labels, marketing and tax regulations that favor access to fresh foods. Less tags, more real food. Although the study has limitations (short duration and small sample), its conclusions reinforce an increasingly solid scientific trend: minimally processed foods work better to control weight, reduce cravings and eat less effortlessly. And although it is not necessary to completely eliminate the ultraprocessed – the reality and the routines do not always allow it -, it is possible to recover control from the kitchen. The evidence is clear: it is not just what we eat. It is how what we eat is done. Image | Pexels Xataka | Making rice of more is no longer a mistake: cooling it and reheating it can reduce your calories according to some nutritionists

The potato or tomato. We have just answered a more intriguing question than if the egg or chicken was before

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For those who are not experts in gastronomic history, it is difficult to get the idea of what European medieval cuisine would be like. Today these two vegetables are two of the angle stones of the kitchen, we are in Andalusia or Helsinki, but there was a time when Europeans did not even know their existence. But the story of these two foods goes much further back in time, to an anterior era even to the appearance of the human being. The origin of the potato. Now, a genetic study has achieved Show us the degree of kinship Among the plants that give us the potato (Solanum tuberosum) and the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). The study has indicated that the appearance of the potato was due to the natural crossing between the tomato and another plant called Etuberosum. The analysis has placed this crossing in time: it would have happened about nine million years ago. With regard to the place of origin of this plant, the study has not given any surprise since this crossing would have occurred in South America, the first continent where the potato became a key crop. “Our findings show how a hybridization event between species can detonate the evolution of new features, allowing even more species to emerge,” pointed in a press release Sanwen Huang, member of the study responsible for the study. “We have finally resolved the mystery of where the potatoes come from.” Solanum. The name of both plant species already gives us a clue: the close kinship between these plants had not yet escaped the experts who had classified both species in the genus Solanumthe “type” gender of the Solanáceas family (Solanaceae), family that includes other vegetables such as eggplants and peppers, while plants such as Petunia and The Datura. However, there was something that did not fit into this extensive family and that had been intrigued for the experts for some time. It was in the resemblance between the potato plant and a third species of soanácea of the same genre as the previous ones, Solanum ethuberosum. These plants are apparently resemble the potato plant, however They do not produce tubers In their roots, a fact that confused those who studied this family. Surprise in the family. The new genetic analysis explains that the difference between these plants lies in the fact that, despite the fact that the potato plant is more morphologically similar to Etuberosumit is with the tomato plant that the popular tuber is closely related. 506 Genomas. In his study, the team analyzed 450 genomes extracted from cultivated potatoes and 56 genomes of wild potato species. According to the team, this last part was an important challenge due to the difficulty of obtaining samples of the wild variants of these plants. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Cell. More than a family tree. The team also analyzed some key genes for the formation of tubers in these plants, the result of the combination of genetic material from both precursor species. They found, for example, the work of the SP6A gene, which acts as a “switch” that indicates when to start developing these structures and that comes from tomato plants. They also investigated in the IT1 gene, responsible for the growth of these tubers, from the plant side Etuberosum. In Xataka | In Spain of 2024 the tomatoes do not know anything, but in Albacete they live in 2124: welcome to the “Tomafrán” Image | Shalev Cohen / Rodrigo Dos Reis

If the question is whether there is ‘Madridophobia’ in Spain we already have the answer

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Against any forecast and probably for the past of its owners, a year ago the Puerto Martina bar, a small restaurant in Mera (Galicia), became news International scope. They talked about him in the pressin the news and even The Guardian He dedicated him An article. The reason was not his food or how good the reeds threw. No. If the business went viral it is because he announced his decision to close in August to avoid tourists in the center of the country. “If a bomb falls in Mera they run out of dumb on the plateau,” he ironized. The owners of the bar regretted the “prepotency” of certain tourists and claimed to be “fed up from Madrid”. That episode left by throwing a question that is not new … can you talk about Madridophobia In Spain? A percentage: 68.5%. Recently ZITYa company Carsharinga curious challenge was proposed: studying the Madridophobia. Or rather, find out if it exists as such and in that case what is your reach. With that purpose in mid -June he did an interview with more than 1,100 people, he used some INE data and then prepared a broad report of 31 pages in which it describes some keys. The most interesting? That 68.5% Madrid believe that they are treated differently when they go on vacation to other regions of the country. “Like a plague”. It is not the only conclusion of the study. For example, the authors of the report They have proven that 59.5% of the inhabitants of the capital recognize feeling uncomfortable when talking about the “‘Madrid tourism’ as if it were a plague” and that there are even some who choose to hide their origin when they leave home. They are not a majority, but a third of the Madrid admits that it is a practice that they always do, ever or have passed through their heads. The most curious thing is that most tourists who leave Madrid are considered educated and correct visitors. This looks in fact about 53%. When Zity It went further And he asked the Madrid ones if they had ever felt displaced, another surprise was taken: 50.5% replied that. 43% have perceived that different treatment only in some communities, but the remaining 7.5% ensures that it is a usual feeling. Of course that data has another friendly face: 49.5% of Madrid have never felt rejected or marginalized. How do the rest see them? Zity’s study is just that, a study, with his biases and limitations, but it is interesting because he brings a double approach: he shows us how the Madrid feels when they go on vacation to Galicia, Alicante, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands … and how the local population sees them in those places. According to The studymore than a third of respondents (35.5%) believe that Madrid are the tourists who have the worst attitude when they see in other regions, which makes the capital “the place of origin of tourists with worse behavior.” The data far exceeds 21.3% who considers that the most rude tourists are the Catalans or 13.3% of the Andalusians. Going down to detail. If we look at the answers by communities there are more surprises. If we talk only with Gallegos, 53.6% point to Madrid as visitors with the worst attitude of the country. However, Zity’s study has a revealing ‘face B’ again: although many point to Madrid or Catalans as the worst Veraneantes, one in four respondents believe that tourists who worse are behaving during the holidays are the people of their own region. Yes, there is Madridophobia. Another of the revelations of the report is that, indeed, the Madridophobia It seems to be a real phenomenon that is not limited to the perception of Madrid. This is considered almost half of the interviewees (46.7%), especially the residents of Galicia, the Valencian Community and the Community of Madrid itself, which ensure that it is an undeniable problem. Moreover, 45.8% say they have witnessed some negative situation towards Madrid tourists and more than half (51.1%) have seen critical or satirical tone comments on networks about how the Madrid act in summer. They are overwhelming data that collide with another equally striking: 80% of the population that lives outside Madrid believes that it is not different from the tourists of the capital. “Chulo, arrogant and know -otodo”. The hoteliers of Mera who became viral a year ago because of their “fed up” regretted the “arrogance” and “haughty” of tourists. They are not the only ones who seem to comment like this. When Zity asked his respondents what three adjectives better describe the Madrid tourist found a very little edifying list. The most common qualifiers were “chulo” (37.5%), “arrogant” (36.5%) and “knowing” (29.2%). If we expand the list there are other more positive, such as “cosmopolitan” (22.5%) or “sociable” (20.9%). Many respondents had also heard phrases such as “This in Madrid does not happen” (68.5%), “there is no better water than that of Madrid” (64.2%) or comments on “the arrogance” of the Madrid and that everything seems “small or shabby” (64.2%). However, if there is a coletilla that respondents admit to having often heard are “here are those of Madrid” (70.7%), which gives a clear idea of the image they have in other regions of the country. If we talk about Galicia the most widespread topic is that Madrid “park anywhere”, which in coastal areas has resulted in totally flooded cars When the tide goes up. Images | Roberto Faccenda (Flickr) and Daquella way (Flickr) In Xataka | The hoteliers of Mallorca promised them happy. Until Super’s tourists arrived and shared juices

China is building the largest telescope in the world. The question is why he is doing it in secret

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In the select club of first level astronomical observatories, all projects They are advertised to hype and saucer decades in advance. China instead is building a gigantic telescope of 14 and a half meters on the Tibetan plateau without having officially announced it. US suspicions. An article of Wall Street Journal He has raised the hare. A telescope of that size would not only rival the most powerful observatories in the West, but, if it was terminated in time, it would temporarily become the largest terrestrial optical telescope in the world. The question that, according to the Journal, resonates in Harvard’s halls and NASA is not whether they are building it, but why they do it stealthily. The clues that arrive from China. Robert Kirshner, Emerrito Professor of Harvard and leader of the thirty -meter telescope, The American project that Spain now wantsit has been one of the main detectives in this plot. The clues, although discreet, are overwhelming: In January, the state company Nanjing Astronomical Instruments published on social networks that it had gained a tender of 22 million dollars to build the dome of a telescope with a mirror of 14.5 meters In April, some students who visited a scientific institute mentioned in another publication that the researchers had shown them the configuration of the mirrors for a telescope of that same size An outstanding Chinese astronomer declared state media that one of its objectives was to finish “the 14.5 meter telescope” before its retirement Beijing has adopted a low profile. The anomalous thing about this case is that Chinese institutions also do not celebrate their technological sovereignty with the usual triumphalism in this type of project. China, which does not hesitate to celebrate other space milestones, here has opted for a low profile. A clear trace of tenders. Technical documents are scattered, but paint a clear image of an advanced development project. The main test is the tender of its most visible component: the dome. A public announcement of the Chinese Academy of Sciences He was looking for offers for the “Project to Acquisition of the Dome of the Optical/Infrared Telescope of 14.5 m”, with a deadline set for November 2024. On the other hand, a memorandum of China National Astronomical Observatory It justifies the purchase of infrared detectors, describing the project as “a great astronomical telescope to achieve the top of science and technology.” In parallel, published job offers For “the general purpose of the general major caliber in construction in our country.” I even looked for personnel for the system engineering file managementan unequivocal sign that the design phase had given way to the construction. Why not announce it then? Matt Mountain, president of the Aura organization, which manages the Observatorios Hubble and James Webb for NASA, raises two hypotheses. The first is military: A telescope capable of obtaining crisp images of a galaxy to millions of light years can also observe with an unprecedented resolution The spy satellites of other nations in space. The domain of heaven is not only scientific, but also strategic, as We have been seeing in the Earth’s orbit For years. The second hypothesis is a long -term play for technological leadership. Mountain describes it brilliantly: “Astronomy is the entrance drug for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.” Investing in inspiring projects such as a giant telescope is the best way to encourage a whole generation of young people to study Stem races, ensuring that China can overcome the United States in the coming decades. The biggest telescope for a while. To understand the magnitude of this project, you have to put it in context. The Hubble space telescope mirror measures 2.4 meters; The Webb, 6.5 meters. The four largest optical telescopes on Earth are around 10 meters in diameter. If China completes its 14.5 meter telescope soon, it would dwarf all existing observatories until the new generation They will see the light. Precisely these days the thirty -meter telescope (TMT) has been on everyone’s mouth (TMT) that the United States was going to build in Hawaii. After becoming one of the victims of Trump’s science cuts, the Government of Spain has offered 400 million euros To be built on the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands. Although its final location is yet to be decided. Image | Universidad de Pekín In Xataka | For the first time we have pointed to heaven with a 3,200 megapixel camera. In just 10 hours he has done several years

The age verification to see porn starts in the United Kingdom. The question is how

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There was a time when the user only had to click on the “I am older than 18 years” button to access any porn page without problems. It is a measure whose effectiveness could easily put into question and that, from today, is the thing of the past, At least in the United Kingdom. Because from today, July 25, all websites that house pornographic content will have to implement “strict age controls.” And no, the United Kingdom does not seem willing to walk with little girls. Eh, kid, how old are you? According to exposes OFCOM (the Regulatory Agency for the United Kingdom Communications Services), “Until now it has been too easy for children to see harmful content”, including pornography. According to the agency, 8% of children between eight and 14 access this type of websites at least once a month, although more striking it turns out that 3% of children between eight and nine years old do. To stop this situation, the United Kingdom approved in 2023 the Online Safety Acta set of laws that “imposes a series of new obligations on social media companies and search services, making them more responsible for the safety of their users on their platforms.” Among them, indeed, age verification. Pornhub age verification systems, XVIDEOS, XNXX and Stripchat | Image: Xataka As? Ofcom ensures that their function is not to prevent adults from accessing legal pornography, but preventing minors from doing so. To do this, platforms and apps will have to have an age verification process that is “technically precise, solid, reliable and fair.” What methods exactly? Ofcom proposes seven: Estimation of the facial age: The user shows his face in a photo or video and is analyzed to estimate age. Banking verification: The verification service accesses the bank information and confirms whether the owner of the account is of legal age Digital Identity Services: In the European Union it would be, for example, Eid. Credit card verification: since only of legal age can have a credit card. Estimation based on the age of an email: The user provides an email and the technology analyzes the online services in which it has been used, as banks or public service providers, to estimate age. Age verification through the network operator: The verification system proves that there are no age filters applied to the mobile phone. Comparison of identity documents with photography: A photo of an official document and a normal photo are uploaded and compared to verify the age. Needless to say, companies will not only have to implement these systems, but to take action on the matter in the event that users try to skip them. One of the reasonable doubts can be the use of a VPN To access from another country. Using VPNS is not illegal and, therefore, remains in the hands of parents or guardians control the use that minors can make of them. It is undoubtedly the weak point of the system. The sanctions. In the event that a platform does not implement the required measures, ofcom can impose sanctions of up to 18 million pounds or 10% of total revenues worldwide, which is greater. Moreover, in certain cases, ofcom can ask a court to impose sanctions through third parties AKA request that a telecommunications operator block or restrict access to the web. The challenge is on social platforms, which will also have to implement the necessary measures to avoid access to harmful content Harmful content. Avoid access to porn, yes, but also to the harmful content such as related to eating disorders, suicide or self -inflicted damage. That content is not on the porn websites, but It can be found on much more mundane platforms such as WhatsApp, Discord, Reddit, Instagram, Tiktok, X, Facebook or YouTube. These platforms will also have to implement the corresponding measures, which is a capital challenge whose tour is still to be seen. Among the platforms that have already taken measures are Pornhubother minor pornographic sites, Bluesky, Discord, Grindr, Reddit and X. Ofcom is aware that social networks are an important gateway to porn and He thinks that “algorithms must be controlled and configured for children, so that the most harmful material is blocked.” This is what, from now on, you will see all British users by accessing Pornhub | Image: Xataka Therefore, from the agency they have launched a review program on Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snapchat, Tiktok and YouTube. Through this program, ofcom analyzes “if they have effective means to know who their children’s users are; how to identify their content moderation tools the types of harmful content for children; the effectiveness with which they have configured their algorithms to block the most harmful content in the feeds of children; and how they have prevented children from being contacted by unknown adults.” A global trend. Attempts to limit access to porn by minors are not new. They have centuries among usin fact, but in recent years they have intensified. The clearest example has it on our own borders with the Beta Digital Portfolio (better known as “pajorto”) and with the European proposal Framed in eidas2. Cover image | Xataka In Xataka | France is the most radical country against technology among children. And now it plans something extreme: prohibit social networks

If the question is what China is giving Russia in the Ukraine War, we have news: a complete army

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At the beginning of July Bloomberg he took Some documents They showed how a little known firm based in Khabarovsk, at the eastern end of Russia, had emerged as one of the main drone manufacturers of the country. I did it thanks to a dense cooperation network Covering with Chinese companies. Now, Ukraine’s intelligence has shown something much bigger: Beijing is giving Moscow a 100% Made in China complete army. A new generation. The Ukraine Defense Intelligence Directorate (Gur) He has revealed The existence of a new type of Russian decoy drone manufactured entirely With Chinese componentsa disturbing milestone that shows the growing implication of Beijing in the Kremlin war machine. Although for years it is has documented the use of foreign pieces (including Chinese) in Russian arsenalthis would be the first time that an unmanned aerial system used in the Ukrainian front is completely built with technology from a single country: China. Chinese shahed. The drone, of the delta and reduced size, reminds superficially to the Shahed-136 Iranianbut it works mainly as a decoy to saturate Ukrainian aerial defenses, although it can also incorporate an explosive load of up to 15 kilos. The existence of this platform confirms that Russia has not only perfected its saturation tactics With drones, but has also consolidated new technological supply chains that avoid international sanctions. All the components and blocks of the drone are of Chinese origin Commercial components. Of the two drones recovered by the Gur, one of them contained exclusively Chinese pieceswhile the other included two still unidentified components. According to The investigationalmost half of the pieces of the first came from a single company: Cuav Technology Co., a Chinese firm based in Guangdong that It specializes in open source created systems. The components were flight controllers with autopilot functions, navigation modules, antennae and air speed sensors. The most notable is that this company, which in 2022 had publicly announced restrictions on the sale of products both to Russia and Ukraine to avoid its military use, has ended up starring in The technical nucleus of a new Russian weapon. The paradox. The contradiction is even more striking to know that Russia had previously presented a supposedly native vertical take -off drone that turned out to be a direct adaptation of a Cuav acquired product acquired Through Aliexpress. The fundamental difference with the new lure does not lies in the origin of its parts, but that it is now a Russian endogenous production based completely on Chinese technology, not a simple direct purchase. Some of the Chinese components found in a new Russian decoy drone AI and tactical expansion. Chinese involvement is not limited to passive electronics. Ukraine has documented The use of artificial intelligence in Russian drones as the V2Uwhich uses algorithms to Identify and select Objectives autonomously. This drone used a Chinese Leetop A203 minicomputer and a central processor with Jetson Orin de Nvidia module, which reveals a combination of Western and Chinese hardwareused by Russia to incorporate AI capacities in its operations. In addition, Beijing has contributed to the development of fiber optic drones long journey, allowing Russia to extend the scope of these platforms up to 50 kilometers. This technology offers immunity against electronic interference and signal blockages, in addition to overcoming geographical obstacles that limit control via radio frequency. Thus, Beijin has endowed Kremlin with key tools to maintain Your tactical advantageespecially in an increasingly conditioned conflict for The electronic war and the saturation of enemy sensor. Foreign pieces war. We had gone counting In the previous months. Actually, the drone lure manufactured in China is only one more piece within the vast Russian war gear assembled with foreign components. The Gur has recovered multiple Russian arms systems (such as Shahed-136 drones, cruise missiles S-8000 flagcommand vehicles with Radar 9S932-1attack helicopters KA-52 and missiles KH-101) that They contained pieces Native of the United StatesIran, Taiwan, Switzerland, Japan or South Korea. In all cases, the parties escaped the export controls and ended Integrated in armament deployed on Ukraine. Even complete systems have been detected, Like a laser of Chinese origin designed for Brink Ukrainian droneswhose presence in Russia was confirmed after circulating videos on social networks. This transfer, identical to systems already provided By China to Iranreinforces the hypothesis of an active and sustained collaboration between both authoritarian regimes in the development of sophisticated weapons. China and implications. Although Beijing claims to maintain a neutral position before the war in Ukraine, its behavior seems the opposite. Filtered statements This month in CNN they revealed that Foreign Minister Wang Yi confessed to a meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Head of Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, which Beijing “cannot accept a Russian defeat” because it would allow the United States to focus their attention on containing China. In private, admitted that a prolonged war could benefit Beijing by distracting Washington from their strategic interests in Asia. This geopolitical calculation does not seem trivial: it reflects that for China, Ukraine is not a secondary issue, but A key piece on the global power board. His strategy seems to focus on keeping Russia sufficiently strong to erode Western influence, without compromising enough to become target of direct sanctions. The axis and the transformation of the conflict. Plus: unlike North Korea support (focused on Artillery, missiles and troops), the Chinese contribution It aims to silently mold the technological architecture of the conflict. The supply of microelectronics, complete platforms, AI tools and critical components has allowed Russia reconfigure your economy In war code and adapt your military industry to resist in the long term. A pattern that suggests that the flow of Chinese technology will not only continue, but will probably intensify, extending, perhaps, throughout the Russian arsenal. With Moscow Diplomatically isolated and financially pressedthe convenience alliance with Beijing is emerging as one of the most decisive variables in the future of war. Image | Gur In Xataka | It is not that the war is asymmetric, is that Russia is attacking with … Read more

If the question is how much money you can donate to a child without declaring it to the Treasury, the law makes it clear: none

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An increasingly widespread trend among millionaires is the Do not leave inheritance To your children. Bill Gates either Warren Buffett There are good examples of this new trend that seeks to convey the heritage of parents to children in alternative ways. However, it is not necessary to go to fortunes so bulky to meet cases of parents who want to convey part of their heritage to their children when they are still young. Patrimonial donations and movable property. According to him Article 618 of the Civil Code“Donation is an act of liberality by which a person has one thing for free in favor of another, that accepts it.” Thus, as defined by the regulations on the Inheritance and Donations Tax, Donating money, goods or any other form of patrimony to children will be considered as a donation by the Tax Agency. That implies that the donation must meet a series of characteristics and pay similar taxes to those that would be paid in case of inheritance without any limit value. Namely: Plusvalía tax, IRPF and Inheritance Tax and Donations. When donating money seems simpler, but Hacienda Vigila. If, as in most cases, the donation consists of an amount of money not very high, temptation is simply giving it to it. But how much money can you give a child without declaring it as a donation? The law does not establish any type of limit that forces donations to declare, so, technically, it would be donation to even give it a euro. However, such and as indicated From lawyers and inheritances, it is not common for the Treasury to pursue the small deliveries of money or gifts of little value. Nevertheless… Finance can request bank information by detecting certain movements due to the regulations of Prevention of capital laundering and terrorism financingso keep it in mind: Income of more than 3,000 euros in cash to review that its origin is justified profits. Income in 500 euros tickets. They are the most monitored tickets by the Treasury because they are used for criminal activities. Entering a large amount of cash in these tickets will sow many suspicions. Recurring income. The entry of a fixed, periodic amount and from the same origin, indicate some type of commercial transaction and the Treasury will show interest in their nature. The small amounts sent to the same account in a short period of time have the same effect Transfers Entities notify the credits of more than 6,000 euros, and transactions of 10,000 euros or more. Whether they are bank transfers and cash movements. How do they pay children’s money to children? Donations, like inheritances, are taxed by the Donation and Succession Tax. Each autonomous community manages this tax under its criteria, so taxation will depend on the Autonomous Community in which the donor has resided in the last five years. Madrid, Basque Country, Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Galicia, Extremadura, La Rioja and Navarra are exempt from this tax or bonus it to 99.9% for spouses, parents and children. Andalusia bonuses 99% and other communities apply exemptions of up to 400,000 euros. If the donation exceeds that limit, it must be taxed by it. It is not a donation, but I “preside”. If what is intended with donation is to help financially in a complicated stage, there is an alternative to donation: formalize a loan without interest. This assumption is not subject to taxes or expenses and it is only necessary to formalize a private loan contract and the donor will have to submit the settlement of the property transmissions tax at zero cost. However, in that document the deadlines and the way in which the money will be returned, which can be extended both in time as desired, will be specified, which makes it especially interesting for the donation of large sums of money. What if the donation is not declared? If you choose not to declare the donation and hacienda, it detects that money has been received without justifying its origin, it will be interpreted as an unjustified assets. In that case, such and as indicated the OCU, a Taxation of the IRPF to the marginal type that can reach up to 56% of the donated amount, plus the corresponding sanction. In Xataka | Why Millionaires like Zuckerberg and Gates decide not to leave their children with their children? Image | Unspash (Alexander Gray) *An earlier version of this article was published in July 2024

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