reveals

the study that reveals its birth in an isolated corner of the galaxy

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2025 was the year of 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar visitor that telescopes have been able to capture prowling the Earth. From the beginning it was considered that it could possibly be much older than the other two, Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov. However, there were many unknowns about its origin. Now, thanks to a recently published study by scientists at the University of Michigan, we have much more data on the matter. A visitor from a cold and distant place. According to observations made from the ALMA Observatoryin the Atacama Desert (Chile), 3I/ATLAS formed in a cold and isolated corner of our galaxy, before definitively integrating into its own solar system. The key is in deuterium. The observations that led to this recent study were made between October and December 2025. Several telescopes focused their attention on our interstellar visitor to observe the water on its surface and observed something striking: it had very high levels of deuterium. This is an isotope of hydrogen, somewhat heavier than the most abundant on Earth. In astronomy the deuterium/hydrogen ratio is used to estimate the age of objectssince it has been observed that the more primitive they are, the more deuterium they have. But this proportion also helps to know the temperature at which they were formed. A reaction without turning back. In the cold gas clouds in which stars form, the most abundant molecules They are hydrogen, followed by carbon monoxide (CO). Hydrogen participates in something known as deuteron-proton exchange reactions, where hydrogen protons and deuterium isotopes react with each other, forming something known as deuterated hydrogen. This is the reaction: H3+​+HD⇌H2​D++H2​ CO can compete with this reaction, making it less efficient. However, when it is very cold, the CO freezes into dust grains and cannot react. On the other hand, the deuteration reaction can occur in both directions (hence the two arrows), but if it is cold there is not enough energy to produce it backwards. All the hydrogen with deuterium that is formed accumulates. a lonely star. The fact that 3I/ATLAS occurred in such a cold environment may indicate that it possibly originated around a solitary star. If there had been other stars forming around it, it would be much hotter. Very far away now. Today, that interstellar visitor is near Jupiter, preparing to leave our solar system. It can only be observed with a few instruments. Luckily, he came to our neighborhood long enough to give us a lot of valuable information. Why is it useful information?. We already have a lot of data about 3I/ATLAS. For example, its core measures between 440 meters and 5.6 kilometers. Also that it moves at 220,000 km/h. Now, in addition, we know that it originated in an extremely cold environment, about 11,000 million years ago. This helps us understand the conditions of primitive planetary formation much better. As they always say, to know where we are going, it is very important to understand where we come from. There’s nothing like a visitor from a place far, far away to give us the pieces we need to understand it. Image |NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/M.Weiss In Xataka | A Harvard astronomer has accused NASA of hiding 3I/ATLAS images. has an explanation

Most complete geological map reveals billions of years of impacts and volcanism

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We have been talking for years not about landing, but about colonize Mars (above all, Elon Musk), but with Artemis II making history and the Orion ship just splashed down After the first manned mission to the Moon in more than 50 years, the old moon has returned to the forefront. Four astronauts have just photograph it up close and leave us with our mouths open. But the Moon is much more than a satellite full of craters: each of those craters tells a story of billions of years. At this moment when our satellite has hit us again, we rescue geological cartography most complete overview ever published. It is the unified geological map of the moonprepared in 2020 by the United States Geological Survey combining data from the lunar reconnaissance orbiter missions (LRO) from NASA and Kaguya from the Japanese Space Agency. The good thing is that although you can see a general sample, you can also download it to have a greater level of detail, since it is at a scale of 1:5,000,000 and derived from six digitized geological maps. Visually, this world map draws attention both for the number of craters and for the shades chosen to color it. The choice of color is not casual or ornamental, but rather each color represents a type of terrain with a specific age and origin. So, at a glance you know whether you’re looking at an ancient lava plain, a recent crater, or the original crust from 4 billion years ago. Without the colors, everything would be a gray mass of craters impossible to distinguish. The moon is full of secrets and this map provides information in abundance to discover them. The unified geographic map of the moon Fragment of the unified geological map of the Moon, scale 1:5M. Via: USGS The moon has five geological eras: Pre-Nectarian, Nectaric, Imbrian, Eratosthenic and Copernican, which range from 4,000 million years ago to today. How to differentiate them on the map? Because they go from purple and orange for the oldest to green and pink for the youngest. All that is seen is the fossilized record of its turbulent youth because it has been “geologically dead” for almost 3,000 million years, but it had a turbulent past as evidenced by its orography. The moon offers a striking visual dichotomy between the highlands (in reddish tones and saturated with craters) and the seas, which are the large dark spots. Of course, they don’t have any water. They are actually basaltic lava plains that filled huge impact basins about 3,000-4,000 million years ago. It is, in short, what we see from Earth. The clear, cratered areas constitute the original crust and are much older. The most characteristic thing about the Moon to the naked eye are the craters, which are something like scars that witness the passage of time: the more softened, diffuse and even buried it appears on the map, the older it is. On the contrary, the sharper, brighter and surrounded by bright rays, the younger. “Lightning bolts” are bursts of dust and rock launched after impact and can extend for many kilometers. There is two especially spectacular craters on the map: Tycho and Copernicuswhose rays cross hundreds of kilometers and are geologically very recent. The part of the Moon that we never see from Earth and that arouses so much curiosity in us (there is a project to install a radio telescope there) is its hidden side: there are almost no blue spots there. And while the visible side is rich in lava plains, the hidden side is a highland fortress, much more rugged and with a significantly thicker crust. Map At its south pole is the basin South Pole-Aitkenthe largest known impact scar in the entire Solar System, with 2,500 km in diameter and 8 km deep. Precisely that area where there are shadow craters science hopes to find water frost. This geological imbalance between both sides suggests that the Moon is asymmetric inside, a mystery that is also on the table of the scientific community. In Xataka | The Earth’s seabed has always been a mystery: an amazing 3D map reveals it in unprecedented detail In Xataka | Astronomers have stitched together 10,000 images from the Webb telescope to make the largest map of the universe. Something doesn’t fit Cover | USGS, NASA

The genome of a Siberian Neanderthal reveals how they lived on the edge of the abyss

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The Denisova Cave, nestled in the cold Altai Mountains of Siberia, continues to be one of the greatest treasures for world paleonthropology, since it brings together a large number of samples that enrich our history. One of the latest discoveries points to how they were organized and they lived Neanderthal populations in this remote Asian region. Something they have done from the genome of a Neanderthal man from 110,000 years ago. How it was done. The protagonist of this new research published in PNAS is a bone fragment named D17 that was found in these Asian mountains. But in light of previous studies, this team has managed to greatly refine the precision of sequencing, achieving an astonishing 37-fold coverage. This in genomics means that each “letter” of your DNA has been read 37 times, ensuring that the genome we are looking at is extraordinarily precise and not plagued by the degradation errors typical in such old samples. The result. When comparing the D17 genome With other fossils, scientists were in for a surprise, since this individual was directly related to another Neanderthal from the same cave, known as D5, who lived about 120,000 years ago. Despite being separated by 10,000 years of history, the two shared a close genetic link. This tells us something fundamental about Denisova Cave, as it was not a fixed settlement or permanent Neanderthal “city.” Rather, it acted as a recurring base camp or historical refuge to which closely related groups returned from generation to generation, maintaining an unusual regional genetic stability. Endogamy. Perhaps most important in this study is the evidence about how the population was structured. Here D17’s genome shows the genetic scars of living in a very empty world, as Neanderthal populations were tiny and incredibly dispersed. And it is no wonder because we are talking about groups of 50 individuals. This lack of other nearby groups with which to reproduce forced the Altai Neanderthals to crossing paths between close relatives for millennia. The problem with all this is that, being such small populations, the genetic changes were fixed quickly, separating them evolutionarily from other Neanderthal populations in Europe at an accelerated rate. A crossroads. If we started this article by mentioning the Denisova cave, logically we must also talk about the Denisovans, which is the other extinct human species discovered there. Here the new genomic analysis of D17 also confirms gene flow with this mysterious species. In both the D17 and older D5 genomes, scientists have found undeniable genetic traces of interbreeding with the Denisovans. This depicts the Denisova cave not only as a recurring refuge for isolated Neanderthal lineages, but as a true prehistoric crucible, a crossroads where two human species met, interacted and left a genetic legacy that today, through the most cutting-edge technology, we are managing to decipher. Images | freepik In Xataka | We had always thought of Neanderthals as “scavengers”: more and more studies point to the opposite

the shipwreck from 2,000 years ago that reveals the “luxuries” of the Roman legions in Switzerland

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Few products of Mediterranean gastronomy are as iconic as wine or olive oil. In fact, if we take a look at current exports of the Spanish statewe will check that both are still at the top. This is not something new: two millennia ago, the Roman Empire had already converted the Iberian Peninsula into one of its great strategic pantries. One of the most compelling evidence is It is Monte Testaccioa 50-meter-high artificial hill in the center of Rome made from the remains of ceramic amphorae, 80% of which came from Baetica (today, Andalusia) and brought olive oil. It wasn’t just trade: it was logistics on an imperial scale, organized and sustained for centuries. That this network reached very far is something that the archaeological record continues to confirm: one of the latest and most impressive finds is in the depths of the Swiss lake of Neuchâtel. The discovery. In the Swiss lake of Neuchâtel they have found the cargo of “the wreck of the Eagles”, a ship sunk between the years 17 and 50 AD, in the middle of the Roman Empire. From 2024 to the present the Octopus Foundation has recovered approximately 600 pieces: hundreds of almost intact plates, platters, bowls and glasses, two large fragments of amphorae for oil or wine, a wicker basket preserved in the lime of the lake with the crew’s kitchen utensils, metal tools, harness and shooting equipment, four cart wheels, legionary weapons, among other elements. Why is it important. The most interesting thing about this discovery is that the Roman Empire had a primitive globalization insofar as they were able to distribute their lands throughout the length and breadth, which was not small: It covered three continents: from Great Britain to the Carpathians in Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. The Roman soldiers in Switzerland did not only eat local products, but also had access to the flavors of their land. On the other hand, it is worth highlighting the exceptional conservation, something that has been helped by the cold waters and the lack of oxygen at the bottom. Furthermore, the archaeological context is intact, allowing the reconstruction of its organization on board and the combination of evidence of civil tableware, land transport equipment and military weapons. Context. The hypothesis The one on which the research team is working points to the Legio A constant supply was needed to maintain a legion of about 6,000 men. Thus, the cargo would have traveled by cart to the Roman port of Yverdon, south of the lake and from there it would have crossed it to the north. As the cause of the sinking, the team points to a gust of wind when approaching the Thielle channel. That there are swords suggests that it was not a military ship but a merchant ship under armed escort. Be careful, no structural traces of the boat have been found, only its cargo, hence the team does not rule out that the boat did not sink at all or that it did so in another place. The only thing we are clear about that was lost at the bottom of the lake was the cargo. Octopus Foundation Oil or wine? At the moment the Octopus Foundation describe the amphorae only as containers intended for the transport of oil or wine, without further precision, which is why further analysis is pending to clear up doubts. Today olive oil and wine may be associated with more select consumer products, but in ancient Rome they were essential items: liquid gold was used for almost everythingfrom cooking to lighting with lamps through personal hygiene and even for sports, medicine and rituals. And the wine, even if it was diluted with water, formed part of the daily diet of all social classesincluding troops. Octopus Foundation How it is being excavated. The detection of the cargo was aerial, using a drone in winter, when the visibility of the lake is greater. Thanks to 3D photogrammetry they were able to generate maps of the site, which they then divided into grids to determine the exact position of the objects found. They then photographed each piece and recorded it in situ before being extracted individually. The site was kept secret during the year between the two campaigns and was monitored with underwater cameras developed expressly for the project. The urgency to act came from a real threat: the sediments that had protected the cargo for centuries had eroded as a consequence of the hydraulic corrections of the Jura in the 19th and 20th centuries, leaving the pieces exposed to currents, anchoring of recreational boats and looting. What’s coming now. The extracted pieces are being analyzed in the Laténium laboratory with the aim of identifying pottery workshops, determining the content of the amphorae using residual organic chemistry and reconstructing trade routes. Once these doubts have been unraveled, its final destination is a public exhibition at the Neuchâtel archeology museum. In Xataka | The Romans were thirsty for oil and we have just found in Tunisia the second largest press of the Empire In Xataka | The most polarizing and divisive scientific debate of the moment has to do with wine. With one 1,700 years old Cover | Octopus Foundation and Rahime Gül

The entire ocean floor of the Earth, in a spectacular 3D interactive map that reveals 50,000 unknown underwater mountains

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Although we are already looking other planets in the universe (especially interesting are the potentially habitable ones), the reality is that the old Earth still has a few hidden secrets left. Without going any further, the seabed continues to delight us with new species at this point in the film. NASA knows this and that is why in December 2022 it launched a satellite into space with a mission: to achieve topography of surface waters and oceans. Hence its name, SWOT. Already the first year managed to map the ocean floor in more detail than in the last 30 years and is now available in full. It is, in short, the most detailed marine gravity map in history. What he has “seen” is not just the ground, but subtle variations in the height of the sea surface. These variations reveal the existence of thousands of underwater mountains, trenches and faults, invisible to conventional satellites. To prepare this map, NASA has used state-of-the-art phase coherence interferometry, which has made it possible to measure the two-dimensional height of sea level with high precision. Historically, sonar has been used to measure the seabed, but we have only managed to map less than 30% (with the Seabed 2030 project) with this technique. On the other hand, standard satellites offered a resolution well below the achieved spatial resolution, close to 8 kilometers. This exhaustive map of the ocean floor goes beyond satisfying geographical curiosity, the impact of this cartography It is evident in: Biodiversity. Underwater mountains are oases of life and knowing where they are is essential. Safety in navigation, allowing the identification of underwater peaks that may constitute a risk for vessels. Climate change. These types of structures are directly related to ocean currents, responsible for transporting heat. If we do not know the relief, we cannot predict how the sea will warm. The map of the seabed with a level of detail never seen before With this vertical gravitational gradient map, NASA has developed a 3D model through which you can move and zoom through all the depths of the seas and oceans of the Earth. Individual abyssal hills measuring 200 – 300 kilometers in length can be seen along with other small seamounts and tectonic structures, previously hidden. In fact, abyssal hills are the most common landform underwater (in the southern Indian Ocean they can be seen, for example). NASA explains that they are formed by normal faults along the axes of the oceanic ridges. From them, plate reconstruction studies are being carried out. Also in the visualization you can see seamounts located west of Central America, which are actually underwater volcanoes formed by magmatic intrusions through the oceanic crust. Their importance is crucial as they modify ocean circulation, influence the distribution of nutrients and constitute key points of biodiversity. The high-resolution mapping reveals some 50,000 previously unknown seamounts approximately one kilometer high. Tap to go to NASA’s 3D model of the seafloor. Via: NASA/JPL The topography of surface waters and oceans from SWOT also shows great clarity in the continental margins, highlighting the high latitude areas, with tectonic structures buried under sediments and ice. Thus, it allows observing submarine canyons that transport sediment from the mainland to the deep sea along the South American continental shelf, as well as ancient mid-ocean ridges hidden under the ice in the Weddell Sea. In Xataka | Astronomers have stitched together 10,000 images from the Webb telescope to make the largest map of the universe. Something doesn’t fit In Xataka | This is the impressive interactive map to see the Earth in 4K live from space and monitor satellites Cover | POT

MG reveals the secrets of MG SolidCore Battery, the first semi-solid batteries for electric cars that will arrive in Europe

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Without the light effects that precede a big announcement but with the security of someone who knows they have something good on their hands. MG met us in Frankfurt, met us on the outskirts of the city and put it before our eyes. The car and its tools. The weapons to continue gaining ground in a battle that seems long. Because with a quick presentation and a talk with its managers, the Chinese company revealed the two great advances with which it intends to continue gaining ground in the European automobile market: a new hybrid system and, above all, its semi-solid state batteries that will arrive with the new MG4 Urban EVa kind of evolution of the current MG4 Electric with which it will coexist in the market. In 2025, MG was the brand with Chinese capital that achieved the best results in Europe. Also in our country, where it reached 45,163 registered units. The formula for success has been based on the launch of vehicles for the access range. Cars at low prices, very spacious and equipped. But, above all, very competitive if we compare them with the competition. The strategy is paying off. Both in vehicles with combustion engines, where the brand does not have to pay tariffs, and with the MG4 Electric, which became among the best sellers in many European countries. The recipe at that time was simple: attractive price, good interior space and versions with a lot of power. Now, MG seeks to take a qualitative leap. Continue convincing and gaining ground in those who are undecided. But, above all, they bring technology that is currently not available to any other brand. Some semi-solid batteries to capture the market Our gazes, therefore, were pointed at the stage where the brand representatives were passing, but what was truly important was behind us. There, behind a curtain, the new MG4 EV Urban, a compact electric car that wants to position itself as the most advanced electric car of the moment. At least if we pay attention to its battery. At 4.44 meters long, the new MG electric car is a canonical compactor, of those that continue to triumph in the European market. To test it we will have to wait a few months but we were able to sit in it for the first time and see first-hand that we are facing a qualitative leap in quality in the interior. The car does not represent an aesthetic revolution on the outside and, of course, is less striking than the current MG4 Electric. But packaging does win. Inside, materials have improved and the perception of quality has risen. The screens are accompanied by physical buttons to control the climate and volume with wheels and controls that offer good touch. The sound of the speakers surprised me with their good quality (yes, I have to say that I don’t have the best ear among the staff). Xataka). And it has interesting details such as the controls that we already saw in the MGS6 EV on the steering wheel or a slightly rough mobile phone wireless charging surface so that the phone does not move. The new MG4 We will talk about all this in greater detail when we can get our hands on it to taste it in motion. Until then we will delve into the technology with which they want to hit the table with batteries that they already mass-produce. They are called “MG SolidCore Battery”. Because the MG4 EV Urban will be the first electric car in Europe to use semi-solid state batteries. With the promise that the car will not face a superlative extra cost. On the contrary, they told us that it will move in figures similar to the current ones. At the moment, the MG bestseller is around 38,000 euros but with the brand’s aid and discounts it is currently below 28,000 euros. What are these semi-solid batteries? It is the first step before jumping to solid batteries, the great promise of the electric car. They are energy accumulators that improve each and every one of the current aspects of LFP or NCM batteries, the most common on the market. Currently, these batteries use electrolytes that use liquid electrolytes to move lithium ions between the electrodes and thus generate electricity. With each discharge, lithium ions travel from the anode to the cathode through the liquid electrolyte. There the electricity is produced that is used by the motors. With recharging, the electrolyte takes the opposite path. Solid state batteries promise to forget about this liquid. This will allow, if the technique advances sufficiently, to have batteries with very ambitious ranges (more than 1,000 kilometers are targeted), in a reduced size and with more powerful charging and discharging capacity. And maintaining their security. The semi-solid state battery is the intermediate step. MG claims that the electrolyte liquid takes up around 20% of a conventional battery right now. With its new batteries, that liquid barely reaches 5%. Solidifying that space allows them to increase the nominal voltage of the battery and therefore also improve energy density. MG points out that these new batteries reach a density of 400 Wh/kg. Part of the secret is that the mobility of lithium ions increases their possibilities, they go from moving in a one-dimensional (LFP) or two-dimensional (NCM) to three-dimensional movement using the solid electrolyte. What does this translate into? The batteries of the new MG4 Urban EV will be smaller but will be able to travel the same number of kilometers as the current model. Although no specific figures have been confirmed, the leap forward should be qualitative because It is an evolution that feeds on itself.. If the battery is denser, it can be smaller to travel the same number of kilometers. At the same time, the weight of this accumulator is lower and the car is more efficient, resulting in better consumption data and, therefore, autonomy. But it also has other types of advantages such as less … Read more

a widespread error reveals that the coasts are much more exposed

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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

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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

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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

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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

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