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a widespread error reveals that the coasts are much more exposed

March 9, 2026 by usatoday24

One of the great ‘fears’ we have regarding global warming is the rise in sea level and the risk of floods in coastal locations in much of the world due to the melting of the poles. But now we have bad news: the vast majority of scientific studies on the risk of coastal flooding have started from the wrong premise. And it is not a miscalculation in the thaw or in the CO₂ emissionsbut we have been measuring wrongly where the ‘zero’ is. They have realized. This is what has been revealed by a new study published this month March in Nature that has shaken the foundations of coastal climate projections. Here the research has pointed out that the sea level on the coasts is, on average, about 30 centimeters higher than what the risk models assumed. And in some areas of the planet, the difference exceeds one meter. How is it possible? To understand where the problem is, you have to look at how a flood risk map is created. When researchers calculate which areas will be underwater if sea levels rise, they need a starting point like a baseline, and the problem is that this starting point was very wrong. The problem. To reach this conclusion, the researchers reviewed 385 peer studies published between 2009 and 2025 and discovered a pattern: more than 90% of these investigations used “theoretical geoids” to mark this baseline. The problem is that a geoid is an idealized gravitational model of the Earth that assumes an ocean at perfect rest. However, the real ocean is far from being completely at rest, since there are different factors, such as prevailing winds, ocean currents, water temperature and salinity, that cause water to accumulate more on some coasts than on others. That is why when the researchers compared these theoretical models with the real measurements obtained through satellite altimetry and tide gauges, the discrepancy was evident. They change the world. At a global level, if this correction is adjusted to real factors, the underestimation of coastal sea level is between 24 and 30 centimeters. And although it may seem like a manageable figure, in coastal topography 30 centimeters makes the difference between a dry promenade and a flooded city. The most worrying thing is the geographical inequality of this error, since, while in some areas of the global north the deviation is smaller, in the South the effective sea level becomes one meter or more higher than what had been projected. But there are even exceptional areas where extreme figures of up to 5.5 or 7.6 meters are reached. Greater risk. By applying these new models of the seas, the Wageningen researchers discovered that, given a projected 1 meter rise in sea level, the coastal area at risk of flooding is 37% greater than previously thought, which puts an additional 132 million people in the danger zone. The rhythm does not change. Although this may seem like we are experiencing an increase in the speed of sea level rise, the truth is that everything remains at the same point, and with a speed that remains the same as that at which it had been previously measured. What changes in this case is the starting point, since by starting from a base that was too low we were experiencing a false sense of security. This means that we are now closer to the critical flood thresholds than we thought, so the time margin we thought we had to build dams, relocate populations or adapt infrastructure in megacities in Asia or on Pacific islands has just been drastically reduced. The next step. To solve this historical “blind spot”, the research team has not limited itself to pointing out the error that has been made, but has processed the corrected data using supercomputers and published it openly. The goal here is for governments and climatologists to be able to recalculate their coastal risk maps using the actual sea surface and not a theoretical globe. In Xataka | Someone has created a simulator where you can see if sea level rise is going to reach your house or not. Image | Adam Dillon

If the question is “how did I meet your mother,” this graph reveals how much the answer has changed since 1930

March 1, 2026 by usatoday24

Allow me an indiscreet question if you have a partner: how did you meet? A quick review around me gives me some answers like “class”, also others like “common friends” and in many cases Tinder would come to the fore. Well, and I also know of some cases of Twitter or even forum sharing. I am a millennial and so is the majority of my environment. If I asked this same question to my mother or if I asked it to my grandmother (if she were alive), I might find the same answers, but the proportions would change. However, for 20 years there has been one way of dating that overwhelmingly prevails over the rest, considering “success” as having a partner: internet wins by a landslide. Although like me you can do that quick review of your environment, there is someone who has done it more and better (statistically speaking): a team from Stanford University has repeated this study titled “How the couples meet and stay together” for several years that, although you can read, James Eagle has turned it into a visual resource to analyze how this modus operandi of flirting has changed over time: a very revealing one minute video. This video covers almost a century of dating habits: from 1930 to 2024 and it includes classic options such as friends, family, in a bar, at work, neighbors, at university or school, at church and of course, on the internet. Obviously, in the 1930s and subsequent decades, the Online option was a huge zero. But be careful because in 1981 it started timidly with 0.01%. In the 30s, the best way to flirt was for your cousin to introduce you to your future partner (followed by friends and school): the family as a matchmaker which lasted until 1944, at which time it was superseded by Friendships. As leisure options begin to become popular and women enter the workforce, we see how “at work” or “in a bar” gain ground until they are able to share the podium with your friends back in the 80s. How the democratization of the internet changed dating The 90s is a critical moment: online begins a meteoric rise that consolidates it as the most infallible method to find a partner in 2011, displacing those eternal friendships that have been helping us flirt since time immemorial. As striking as the rise and total consolidation of the internet is the drastic fall of all other options: in the last 10 years we have gone from only friendships holding the type with a 20% share to that in 2024, the year of the end of video, flirting online is consolidated as the quintessential method with more than 60% of the pie. Being introduced to your partner by your colleagues happens in only one in 10 cases, something that makes sense in an increasingly individualistic society, which complicates even making new friends. If you are a single person, it is clear that apps are the place to find dates, according to this study. However, dating apps are no longer as convincing, especially to new generations: this Evenbrite report dating back to 2024 reveals how Gen Z and millennials are starting to get tired of the format. Because although they continue to flirt online, it’s not like before: They prefer to ask for Instagram than to ask for a date by Tinder. Fear of “public failure” is killing traditional flirting. However, the Internet as a dating method remains stronger than ever: because before apps existed, we were already dating in the most unexpected places. Without going any further, in the mythical Terra chat. In Xataka | Tinder has understood something uncomfortable: young people are alone and no longer want to flirt like before In Xataka | The world is experiencing a matchmaking crisis. 5,000 students and an algorithm are experimenting to fix it Cover | James Eagle

If Spain wants to imitate China and be a “country of engineers”, this map reveals the extent to which it has a problem

February 14, 2026 by usatoday24

An essential requirement for an energy and digital transition to occur in Spain is that there are enough engineers to cover demand. While it is true that there are more and more degrees that have the last name of engineering, the reality is that there are fewer and fewer professionals with the legal capacity to execute the transformation of the state, such as collects the Third Report from the Institute of Graduates in Engineering and Technical Engineers of Spain. In addition, the offer is being concentrated in specific communities. And that is a problem. Why is it important. Enabling engineering is that which grants legal powers for infrastructure and safety, for example what is behind ensuring that a bridge does not fall. With classic branches such as Civil, Mining or Naval Engineering decimated, Spain would lose autonomy and competitiveness by having to resort to imports to sign its essential projects. Jose Antonio Galdón, president of INGITE, deepen on the consequences of this fact: “On the students, who access Degrees with an Engineering denomination without a clear professional exit, and on society, which needs engineers with powers and responsibility to guarantee the safety, quality and sustainability of infrastructures and services.” On the other hand, the lack of complete supply in certain communities forces talent to emigrate, emptying technical capacity to regions that need engineering professionals to develop and establish their industry. Engineers are going to be needed. Two decades ago, those studying engineering represented 24% of the total number of university students and today that weight has fallen to 17%. as detailed by the COIGT. The engineering They are the ones that have lost the most students and also this one concentrates around computer engineering and emerging technological branches. Although the global female quota in engineering is 23%, it is precisely in these branches where it is most concentrated. On the other hand, Engineering such as Mining and Energy, Topography, Civil or Naval continue to decline and in some Autonomous Communities they already have less than 10 graduates. Although there are thousands of graduates each year, it is estimated that in Spain will have a deficit of 200,000 engineers in the next decade to meet demand. More engineering but less enabling. The IGNITE report confirms a phenomenon that has been registering for a long time in previous analyzes: Non-qualifying degrees, that is, those that do not allow the exercise of the regulated profession, have increased massively and now reach 53% of the total. On the other side of the scale, those enabling them are stagnating and even decreasing in some autonomous communities. The decline has been especially serious in places such as Asturias (-28.56%), Castilla y León (-28.79%) or Extremadura (-34.02%). The report makes a special mention: La Rioja. The small upstate community takes the cake with explosive 190% growth in engineering. But in small print: the fault lies with the non-qualifying degrees, which have grown by 431%, going from 433 to 2,289 enrolled. At the opposite extreme is Extremadura, which has the greatest drop in students, with 20.25% less. Engineering students from CCAA in Spain. INGITE Spain at two speeds. According to the reportthe Autonomous Communities that concentrate the largest number of engineering students and graduates are in Andalusia, Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Community of Madrid. In addition to obviously because its population is larger, also because only Andalusia, Madrid and Catalonia have all the branches of engineering, revealing a territorial inequality in access to studies. The gap between public and private. The phenomenon of non-qualifying degrees is especially important in private universities, a type of center that grows out of control in the statealthough unevenly. Thus, while in the Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura there is no this type of center and Galicia opened the first in 2022-2023, in Madrid there are 13 according to data from the Community itself. Since the 2015 – 2016 academic year, the autonomous communities where the number of degrees in private entities has grown the most has been Andalusia (from two to nine), Aragón (from three to nine) and La Rioja (from two to seven). In Xataka | If the question is which countries have the most workers with higher education, the answer is not Spain In Xataka | The university degree with the most job opportunities in 2025 looks into a great abyss: that of a future conditioned by AI Cover | INGITE

The Angrois case reveals that it will not be quick

January 19, 2026 by usatoday24

Because? If there is a question that circulates today in Spain, in the offices of Renfe, Adif and Iryo, the Ministry of Transport, the newsrooms of the media, the unions and of course in the streets and bars, it is this: Why? How is it possible that a practically new train, which it didn’t reach four yearsderailed yesterday afternoon on a track renovated in spring, leaving dozens of victims? All these doubts (and some more) must be answered by a team of experts in railway accidents, a special ‘CSI’ that it won’t be easy. The Government already warns that the investigation will last at least a monthbut previous incidents (including the fateful Angrois accident 2013) show that final conclusions may take much longer to arrive. What has happened? It is (unfortunately) the news of the day, if not of the month. Yesterday afternoon, around a quarter to eight, a train from the Iryo operator that covered the Malaga-Madrid route derailed near Adamuz (Córdoba) with 289 passengers on board, in addition to four crew members and the driver. The incident would have been serious in itself, but fate would have it that part of the convoy (Fracciarssa model) collided with another train that was traveling in the opposite direction just at that moment, a Renfe Alvia that covered the route between Puerta de Atocha and Huelva. The result: 39 deceased (at least) and more than 100 injured. “Very strange”. The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, was quick to express his surprise at the accident. Not only because of the collision, but because of the derailment itself, since both the machinery used by Iryo and the railway infrastructure were modern. “The Iryo train is practically new, I don’t know if it is four years old, and the track is a completely renovated track, in which 700 million have been invested. Specifically on that section, the work to replace switches, detours… was completed in May,” commented. “The accident is tremendously strange, on a straight line. All the experts we have been able to consult are tremendously surprised,” added the owner of Transport. “It is strange, it is very strange, it is difficult to explain at the moment. We hope that the investigation will help us clarify what has happened.” Of course, to know these explanations we will probably have to wait. Minimum one month. Puente already warns that it will take experts at least weeks to collect the data, analyze it and reach conclusions. “We will not have the resolution of the investigation for at least a month,” the minister explained before remembering that the investigations will be carried out, as stipulated by the regulations, by an independent commission that must “shed light and clarify the causes of what happened.” Although each accident has its peculiarities and is not comparable, previous railway incidents have required considerably more time. At least to obtain the reports with the final conclusions. How long? Beyond the investigations that can be opened by other means, Transport has a special body to clarify accidents like yesterday’s: the Railway Accident Investigation Commission (CIAF), an entity activated at the end of 2007 that acts with “full functional independence” and focuses on the technical study of incidents recorded on the General Interest Railway Network. Its objective is to analyze all types of incidents (including events without victims) and write “technical reports” that include recommendations. In your website The CIAF itself details that this document must be made public as soon as possible and even sets a time horizon: “This report will in principle be made public within a maximum period of 12 months from the date of the event.” Right now the commission has six investigations in progress corresponding to incidents that occurred between November 2023 and October 2025. The oldest was a derailment that occurred on November 26, 2023 near the Madrid-Atocha Cercanías station that left 14 injured and in which there were no serious injuries or deaths. The CIAF clarifies that at first it opened a preliminary study, but after its findings it decided to move on to a “formal investigation.” Is that all? Yes. And no. The CIAF is in a way the ‘CSI’ of railway accidents (in 2024 the Congress approved create an authority that investigates railway, maritime and civil aviation accidents), but that does not mean that it will be the only one to analyze what happened. At least in part. The Country advances that Iryo has claimed and an urgent report to the manufacturer who commissioned the last inspection of the train that derailed yesterday in Adamuz. Its a priori objective is not to analyze what happened, but rather the latest railroad examinations. Reviewing the case of Angrois. Although the Government warns that the investigation will last at least a month, studies of other recent accidents have required much longer. Perhaps the clearest and most media example is that of Angrois derailmentwhich occurred on July 24, 2013 in Galicia and left 80 dead. The final diagnosis came in June 2014. And it was not without controversy. In 2016 the European Railway Agency prepared a report (at the request of the EC) in which he warned that the CIAF’s work had not been independent and reproached it for not having overlooked “key elements.” Complex processes. That’s only as far as the CIAF is concerned. The Angrois incident also gave rise to a long judicial investigation that lasted eight years and accumulated thousands and thousands of pages. The victims and their families had to wait years to see the first conviction. In other incidents the CIAF final report has also been delayed more than a yearas occurred with the accident recorded in 2016 near Vigo and which resulted in three fatalities. Images | Álvaro F. Heredia (X) In Xataka | More than 30 years ago, Spain decided to invest heavily in the AVE: today it is winning contracts in Vietnam thanks to it

Science reveals that the weight returns four times faster than with a diet

January 9, 2026 by usatoday24

The era of “miracle” drugs to treat obesity is entering a phase of crude scientific maturity, thanks to the time that has passed since its launch on the market. In this way, despite the years with big headlines pointing to great weight losses with Ozempic, science is now able to provide more answers to the key question What we should ask ourselves: what happens when we stop pricking ourselves? The problem. When a drug is newly released to the market, long term effects It is something that is not known exactly, since patients need to be taking them long enough to see the effects they cause. And above all the effect that exists when the drug is removed from the body. To answer this with Ozempic we have a study led by the University of Oxford which is not minor at all, since it has analyzed more than 9,300 adults in 37 different clinical trials. And the conclusion they have been able to draw is quite clear: patients regain weight when they stop treatment at a rate of 0.4 kg per month. The comparison. At first glance, this figure seems really low, but if we compare it with other methods to lose weight, we see that the magnitude of the problem is not minuscule. The study itself indicates that in behavioral programs, such as a diet and an increase in physical activity, the effect after its withdrawal is an increase of 0.1 kg per month. This way, the rebound effect of slimming drugs It causes you to return to your initial weight in approximately a year and a half, while a change in eating and sports behavior takes around four years. New generation drugs. But this is a simple average between the different medications on the market. This implies that within GLP-1 agonists we can see that the most powerful drugs also have a much greater rebound effect. For example, in the case of Wegovy or Mounjaro, where the initial loss was 14.7kg, the rebound was seen to shoot up to 0.8kg per month. An effect that tells us that the body tries to recover lost ground at twice the speed of previous generation drugs. Cardiovascular health. Beyond the aesthetic, science pointed out that these drugs had the ability to reduce the risk of heart attacks and improve the metabolic health. But it seems these effects are completely temporary. Specifically, the study has seen that approximately a year and a half after stopping the medication, the majority of cardiometabolic markers return to their levels before starting treatment. For example, blood pressure increases, diabetes markers reverse their improvement, and total cholesterol also returns to its risk levels. Why the rebound is so fast. The answer to this could lie in our own biology. Science believes that this effect is due to the fact that by injecting massive doses of GLP-1 agonists (a hormone that is produced in small quantities when we eat) we could be destabilizing our own cell receptors. Or we would even be blocking our body’s natural production of this hormone that gives us satiety. That is why when withdrawing the drugthe system does not have the ability to produce this hormone again in the same way as before (as if it had to turn the system back on) and that is why the body’s satiety system goes deaf. The result? Well, logically, the appetite returns with great intensity, causing the patient to eat much more food, since they are not satiated and in this way the weight increases again. The myth of the magic bullet. There are hardly any miracles in medicine, even though we say that these drugs are. And the reality is that these drugs are not the definitive solution for obesity, since real data indicates that the majority of patients stop treatment after 12 months due to its high cost, the fatigue of injecting or side effects. But in addition, there is no awareness that this treatment is a simple aid to self-regulation, but that logically it must be accompanied by a dietary change and physical activity that must be continued once the treatment is finished. If not, we can be sure that the injections will be of absolutely no use. A paradigm shift. This meta-analysis marks a turning point. Science tells us that GLP-1 is extraordinarily effective, but it is not a cure. If we treat them as a six-month “crash plan”, we are condemning the patient to a more aggressive yo-yo effect than any miracle diet of the past. The solution, according to Qi Sun and the Oxford researchers, is not only in the syringe, but in public policy: taxes on ultra-processed foods, aid in the purchase of fruits and vegetables, and urban planning that encourages exercise. Without a change in environment, the drug is just a temporary truce in a war the body is programmed to win. Images | David Trinks Towfiqu barbhuiya In Xataka | If you want a “miracle” weight loss drug, you no longer turn to Ozempic: the competition is beginning to surpass it

The DGT does not have an “ITV for V-16 beacons”, but the fact that many people believe that it does reveals how confusing everything is being.

January 9, 2026 by usatoday24

You will have read that the DGT has launched an MOT for the V-16 beacons. Well, there is no MOT for V-16 beacons. The DGT has not launched a new procedure. There are also no V-16 beacons that were approved and are no longer so. And although it is very likely that you have read the opposite, you can rest assured if you have purchased one of the beacons that the DGT has now supposedly suspended. Having said all this, it is normal that you are confused and that is why we are going to explain what happened. There is no MOT for beacons and you don’t have to do anything If you have read that the DGT has launched an ITV for beacons, we confirm that you have fallen into a clickbait. And to explain certain terms it is common to use a concept well known to everyone (in this case the ITV) to point out that the V-16 beacons will pass a exam every two years (as happens with cars). It is the same that occurs with the calls “continuous line radars”. They simply do not exist, it is a system that uses other technology but to popularize them among readers they talk about “radars” when in reality they work in another way. In this case something similar happens, with the aggravating factor that it is not entirely true that the V-16 beacons are passing an exam every two years. The latter is nothing more than the renewal of a license to be able to put approved V-16 beacons on the market. My partner Yúbal Fernández gives the answers to all the questions that may arise in this article. To understand the origin of the mess you have to go to the DGT website. There, where all the approved models are listed, another list appeared a few days ago called Brands and models with certificates with expired validity. It includes four models of beacons (three of them from the company Ledel Solutions and the other from the company Ditraimon). They are, in the literal words of the DGT, “brands and models with certificates of completed validity that covered their manufacture, being valid for use by drivers who have acquired them until the end of their useful life.” To clarify all doubts we have contacted the DGT who has explained to us that this is an administrative procedure and not a purely technical one. They have clarified to us that when you receive a certificate to put a V-16 beacon on the market, it is valid for a period of two years. When this ends, there are three possibilities: The manufacturer resubmits the same beacon to the corresponding laboratory. In that case, it is verified that all requirements are still met and the manufacturer can continue selling said beacon. The manufacturer presents the beacon but with a cut in its characteristics. In that case, if it does not meet the minimum requirements, the beacon cannot be sold and the manufacturer loses the certificate. At that moment he enters the new DGT list. The manufacturer has no intention of continuing to sell the beacon and does not appear for the certificate renewal. In that case, you lose the certificate immediately and cannot continue selling that same beacon. Therefore, the so-called “ITV for beacons” is nothing more than an administrative renewal in which it is confirmed that the manufacturer continues to comply with the requirements required to put the beacon on the market. But it only applies if he takes the said exam. That is to say, in that case it does work like the MOT of a car, which only receives approval if we take the “exam” and pass it. Or the renewal of the driving license, which we will lose after its validity if we do not undergo the relevant tests. What can lead a manufacturer to not renew its certificate? Simply put, a company can forget this procedure if it does not want to continue producing this beacon because it is not achieving the expected profitability or has a product that works better in the market. A good example is the company Ledel Solutions, which has not received the renewal of the certificate for three products. However, it has up to 32 different beacons with the approval of the laboratories. Some of these certifications were issued last November or December 2025. AND if you have bought any of these beacons, there is no problem either. The DGT has insisted that if the beacon is in the commercial area we go to, we can rest assured because it will have met the technical requirements if it has been approved by the DGT. That is why it is important to check before paying if the model in question is on the list of Certified brands and models. In any case, remember: we are talking about a purely bureaucratic process in which the driver is not affected in any way. If you bought a V-16 beacon that is part of the new DGT list, you have nothing to worry about and no need to buy a new one. Your connectivity is guaranteed for at least 12 years and no one is going to fine you for carrying a V-16 beacon if the product has the DGT certificate. Photo | Aeca-ITV and Geobeacon In Xataka | Fines for improper use of the V-16 beacon: when you can be fined for using it off the road and when you can’t

an atlas that reveals what we have not seen before

December 6, 2025 by usatoday24

For some time now, thinking about searching for a building inevitably led us to the coverage from Maps/Earth on Google. And the truth is that it works very well showing images (where they exist) and in the quality that exists, which meant that there are very detailed areas and others that are rather poor. That’s why, the new map of the planet’s architecture is more accurate: with consistent 3D data throughout the world, including rural places, countries with poor cartography or regions ignored on other maps. The planet building by building. He GlobalBuildingAtlascreated by a team at the Technical University of Munich (also for download on Github), represents a historic leap in the way of representing the human presence on Earth: a 3D map of the 2.75 billion buildings generated from satellite images since 2019, with a resolution about thirty times greater than any previous database and a coverage that for the first time homogeneously integrates traditionally invisible regions for global cartography, from rural areas of Africa to small isolated centers in Asia or South America. This scale allows us to observe how humanity is physically distributed: heights, volumes, densities, occupation patterns and spatial relationships between buildings, all reconstructed with a precision that turns the map into a three-dimensional x-ray of global urbanism. The crux. Beyond its visual spectacularity, the project pursue a purpose deeper: measure the footprint of urbanization, analyze structural poverty through indicators such as the volume built per capita and correct decades of cartographic biases that concentrated information in rich cities and left large regions without reliable data. To achieve this, the team has counted which applied filtering strategies that homogenize the variable quality of satellite images and built models that capture not only the presence of a building, but its mass, its height and its position relative, an essential set of data to understand how life is organized on the surface of the planet. Visual comparison of existing building height databases in test cities in North America, South America, Europe, Oceania and Asia Analysis instrument. One of the most surprising things about the project is the massive incorporation of rural buildings and countries with limited mapping infrastructure, which opens the door to research that before they were impossible: comparative studies of territorial inequality, fine analyzes on the intensity of urbanization, evaluation of demographic loads or detection of areas where the volume built per person reveals housing deficits, overcrowding or extreme dispersion. The indicator of building volume per capitaincluding in the databaseallows us to directly locate socioeconomic gaps, correlate built densities with income levels and observe patterns that until now could only be inferred with indirect approaches. Building volume per capita and harmonized correlation coefficients for the 27 EU Member States and the EU as a whole A warning map. In fact and how they detail researchers, such a tool not only illuminates the distribution of well-being, but also helps identify where collapse infrastructurewhere public investment is lacking or which regions accumulate historical vulnerabilities invisible to international planning. Organizations such as the German Aerospace Center already have shown interest in using the atlas to evaluate risks in the face of natural or human disasters, taking advantage of its ability to model how settlements, relief and exposure to danger interact at each point on the planet. Zoom in London A new scientific layer. Plus: the value from the GlobalBuildingAtlas It is also climatic. The location, shape and volume of buildings determine energy demand, urban heat generation and emissions associated with human activity. The team details Knowing exactly where the population is concentrated and what its structures are like allows us to improve consumption projections, model mitigation scenarios and adapt public policies to contexts where energy efficiency depends on very specific spatial patterns. The atlas offers the “first truly uniform global basis” to feed climate models that integrate human presence in detail, and makes something that until now it was diffuse: the global geometry of human habitat, a crucial element to anticipate how pressure on ecosystems will evolve and which regions will need urgent interventions in infrastructure, housing or climate resilience. Added to this is its usefulness for planners and governments who, even in countries with limited resources, will be able to use this open data to prioritize investments with reasoned criteria and not with intuitions or fragmentary statistics. Data enables more accurate models for urbanization, infrastructure and disaster management Expose the most remote. Unlike other commercial mapsthis atlas it’s opendownloadable and measurable, and allows the user to explore any point in the world with new fidelity. Areas that appear dark or empty when viewed from a distance reveal, when approachinga handful of isolated homes or small settlements that until now were completely outside of any global representation. This ability to show both megacities and the last inhabited corners turns the tool into a kind of digital mirror of the planet where the human footprint has left an architectural mark, however minuscule. In other words, the user can enter any address, view the position and elevation of a building, modify layers and filters or download the code to work with data without restrictions, something unprecedented in this type of cartography that has traditionally been left in the hands of governments or large technological platforms. Extra ball. If you are wondering how far it is capable of going, its authors assure that even in most remote places (from rural villages in South Korea, to Amazonian valleys or African deserts) the atlas detects and models buildings that previous cartography ignored, offering a new, fairer and more complete image of human space. Redefine “seeing the world.” In short, the initiative of GlobalBuildingAtlas it is not only a technical achievement: It is a new way of interpreting the Earth. By continually showing the physical footprint of humanity, it dismantles the idea that urbanization is limited to large cities and reveals a dense and discontinuous network of occupation that illuminates historical trajectories, structural inequalities and expansion dynamics that were previously submerged in statistics. … Read more

A genetic megaestudio reveals to what extent we continue to know little

October 3, 2025 by usatoday24

Epilepsy is a disease of which We have a lot to investigate To be able to better understand everything behind. And little by little we are advancing in them. Specifically, an international team of researchers has put in check the idea that autism is only one type. In a study Published in Nature, it has been revealed that autism diagnosed in the early stages of life has a genetic development profile different from that which is diagnosed late. This finding not only explains part of the Huge diversity Within the spectrum, but it forces us to rethink how we understand, diagnose and investigate. What did we know. Until now, it was known that the age of diagnosis of autism varies greatly. Although it can be detected from 18 months, many receive their diagnosis in late childhood or even adulthood. It was thought that this was mainly due to social factors, clinical or the subtlety of symptoms. However, this new study shows that there is something deeper: a different genetic basis. The discovery. The study, which has been categorized as one of the greatest facts in history, analyzed the genetic and behavior data of more than 45,000 autistic people in Europe and the United States. The results are clear in this case: the polygenic architecture of autism can be divided into two great genetic factors that correlate with the age of diagnosis of this problem. Early diagnosis. This is the first factor and occurs when the genetic profile is associated with an earlier diagnosis and greater difficulties in social and communication skills during the early age of childhood. Interestingly, its genetic correlation with other mental health conditions such as ADHD It is moderate but significant. Late diagnosis. In the event that it is not done in the early stages of life, we are already in another genetic factor different from the first. In this case it is much more difficult to have socio -emotional and behavioral reactions during adolescence. The most striking thing in this case is that it presents a moderate to high genetic correlation with ADHD and other psychiatric pathologies such as depression, anxiety or post -traumatic stress disorder. In this way, as explained Varun Warrierneurologist at the University of Cambridge and main author of the study in statements To El País “the truth is that we did not expect such wide genetic variation between the profiles stratified by age at the time of diagnosis.” The behavior. These genetic profiles correspond to two different development trajectories observed in the participants. Using birth cohorts data, the researchers identified two patterns. The first is the one that arises in early childhood and is categorized by difficulties that appear soon and remain stable or decrease slightly in adolescence. People in this trajectory are more likely to be diagnosed in childhood. In a second point there is the one that arises in late childhood where people present less difficulties of young people, but these increase significantly when they grow until they reach adolescence. Why is it important. Uta Fith, one of the most expert in development disorders of the University College London, summarizes it for the SMC portal: “The article demonstrates that autism is not a unit condition. It makes it clear that children diagnosed early and those diagnosed later constitute two very different subgroups.” Fith goes further and directly attacks misinformation: “It is time to recognize that autism has become a disaster drawer of different conditions. If you talk about an ‘autism epidemic’, a ’cause of autism’ or a ‘treatment for autism’, the immediate question should be: what kind of autism do we speak?”. This discovery right now helps to explain why previous genetic studies on autism and ADHD showed contradictory results. The answer was in the average age of diagnosis of the samples used: at the highest age of diagnosis, the greater the genetic correlation between autism and ADHD. The weight of genetics. According to the investigation, the common genetic variants explain about 11% of the variation in the diagnosis age. It may not seem like a very high figure, but as Warrier clarifies, “it is similar or superior to most other factors that we have evaluated: concurrent language delays, intellectual disability, sex, socio -economic status of parents …”. In fact, individual sociodemographic and clinical factors rarely explain more than 15% of this variance. This does not make the rest of the diseases related to the disease less important. Access to Health, gender bias (Women are usually diagnosed later because they learn to disguise their behaviors), stigma or social camouflage remain crucial to understand when a person receives their diagnosis. In short, this study forces us to change the singular for the plural. Perhaps in the future let’s not talk about autism, but about autisms, each with their own genetic bases, development trajectories and support needs. A crucial step to offer more personalized help and to silence scientific populism that seeks unique and simple causes for a deeply complex condition. A very complex moment. Right now autism is in the mouth of many people, not only because Autism diagnoses is increasingbut also by Donald Trump’s statements that He blames to take Paracetamol In pregnancy as a risk factor of having this disease. Images | Alireza Attari Warren Umoh In Xataka | Bill Gates and the autistic spectrum: a family revelation that sheds light on its personality and success profession

Kojima’s ‘Od’ trailer not only reveals the most scary video game in years. It also brings back to its competitors

September 23, 2025 by usatoday24

As an elephant in a potter has broken into the conversation the trailer of the new video game of Hideo Kojima. Visually overwhelming, it also promises a considerable ration. And yet, that is not the most striking of the trailer, but also functions as a conglomerate of messages between lines directly directed for competitors and former partners. This kojima never gives stitch. What is seen. Some unknown knocks on a door (the ‘Knock’ of the full title of the game: ‘OD: Knock’) and slide inside a house a card in which the fires are requested “(or the candles). Then, in the first person, inside a seemingly empty house, some trembling female hands light with matches the candles of an altar with some sinister candles (a baby head that melts expelling a liquid that looks like blood, while a large number of worms leave a jar close to the altar). Behind the person who is before the altar, someone or something insistently calls for the door of the room. The hands belong to a terrified Sophia Lillis, who feels behind her a threatening presence, who ends up opening the door, entering the room and surrounding her with giant hands. Impressive realism. Animations are, as always happens with Kojima’s kinematics, spectacular. To the point that in a first viewing, until our hands do not appear it is not clear that we are in a digital environment. All thanks to the Metahuman technology that uses Unreal Engine 5. A demonstration of technical muscle that, however, retroaches us a decade ago in time. Vietnam flashbacks. Specifically, from ‘The PT‘, an enigmatic Kojima game for Konami that was born as a new’ Silent Hill ‘and that remained in a mere technical demo, today impossible to find by legal roads, and that many consider that it is one of the most scary video games of all time. In this new ‘OD: Knock’ there are obvious winks to that ‘The PT’ from the same title with acronym, the temporary reference to a decade ago, some of the setting (the house as a framework for fear, without open spaces) and even the participation of a filmmaker in the project (there Guillermo del Toro, here Jordan Pele). It could be said that the output of ‘OD’ now, when ten years are turned out that Kojima left pears with Konami, is a perverse anniversary celebration. Especially now that the Japanese company … takes out the new ‘Silent Hill F’ this week. It seems almost a late revenge, with Kojima monopolizing some of the attention that Konami’s game was going to have this week. For you, screaming. But there is more. This game will be exclusive to Xbox, at least temporarily and there some sneer is detected with the farewell of the video, “For All Players and Screamers”. Winking to the popular PlayStation slogan “for the players” (“For you, players” in Spanish translation)? Of course, if it becomes an absolute exclusive Xbox, it will be a good Microsoft zambombazo, although seeing its recent policy of Turn everything into multiplatformit does not seem likely. But there is the recoven. Ten years of Kojima Productions. The producer of Kohima is celebrating in style her tenth anniversary with a ristra of advertisements and news in the event ‘Beyond the Strand’. It has been seen live hereand in addition to the shocking trailer of OD, we have seen Details about the A24 adaptation of ‘Death Stranding’the animated film ‘Death Stranding Mosquito‘, from which we have seen a teaser, the new stealth game’ Physint ‘, and the announcement of a collaboration with Niantic Spatial also linked to Death Stranding. In Xataka | Kojima locks himself again in his bubble with ‘Death Stranding 2’. The result is a work as strange as necessary

A study reveals that the best of the four -day work week is not what it achieves: it is what eliminates

July 23, 2025 by usatoday24

There are discrepant voices among those who argue that it is impossible to reduce working hours Without bringing the economy to bankruptcy of the country, while others argue that applying the work week to four days without reducing salary is demonstrating to be beneficial Not only for employees but also for companies. International investigation published in the magazine Nature Human Behaviour It reveals that the reduction from working hours to a four -day work week model produces Clear improvements in well -beingphysical and mental health, and labor satisfaction of workers, without the change having any effect About productivity. A two -year study. The study ‘The reduction of working time through a 4 -day work week improves the well -being of workers‘, conducted by researchers from the University of Boston and Dublin, was carried out between 2022 and 2024. 2,896 employees of 141 companies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States participated. The researchers divided participants into three groups according to the amount of weekly reduction hours: one with a reduction of eight hours or more (32 hours per week), another with reductions of five to seven hours and another with reductions from one to four hours in their weekly day. In addition, they formed a control group of 285 workers from 12 companies that were initially interested in reducing the day, but Finally they did not apply it. According to the authors of the study, these countries were chosen “partly by linguistic convenience, but also because their neoliberal labor systems are known and the stress levels among employees are high.” Before starting, some tips. As indicated in the study, on average, companies reduced the weekly work hours of 39.12 to 34.48 hours, which is equivalent to 80% of the usual schedule, but maintaining 100% of the salary. 30.8% of employees managed to reduce his day In eight hours or more per week, while 24.3% maintained the same amount of hours. As already demonstrated in the pilot tests of the four -day week, it is impossible to reduce the working day Without applying some changes in the way of working in companies. Therefore, the researchers had mentoring of the non -profit organization 4 Day Week Global, which has supervised the tests of the work week of tests such as the one that It was carried out In Valencia. However, as investigations point out, their role was limited to consulting to advise companies, but did not participate directly in the study of the study or in the interpretation of the data. The results soon arrived. Such and as indicated in Popular Sciencethe biggest surprise was that there was no surprise. The studies of the study coincide largely with the results obtained from the analysis of the different four -day work week pilot programs that have been carried out around the world. The more visible results indicate that the feeling of work exhaustion (Burnout) decreased by 16% in those who participated in the four -day work week, while in the control group it increased its exhaustion by 1.4%. General fatigue was reduced by 14%, and improvement in physical and mental health resulted in better self -perception by employees. In addition, sleep problems also descended 16%, showing the direct connection among less work hours and better capacity for rest. Better results are more reduced. The group of employees that reduced their working hours in eight hours or more recorded the highest percentages of improvement, including a reduction in exhaustion, increased job satisfaction and improvements in mental and physical health. For their part, groups with a minor day reduction Between one and four hours and between five and seven hours, they also experienced similar benefits, although in these cases the improvement percentages were lower. Improve because they are committed. Although the results confirm the positive effects of the four -day work week for the health and productivity of the workers, the researchers warn about some conditions. All participating companies were predisposed to apply the reduction of working hours, which can influence the positive motivation of the results. In addition, the information comes mainly from employee self -reports, so future research should include more varied methods and broader samples to consolidate these conclusions, at least to the same extent as this study consolidated the Results obtained by other researchers that have been collecting the data in the different pilot projects around the world. However, its authors consider that “despite their limitations, this study has important implications to understand the future of work, in which probably 4 -day work week will be a key component.” In Xataka | Not everything is 38.5 hours a week: the formulas for a waiter or temporary to benefit from the reduction of day Image | Unspash (INNN agency)

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