Science

What the hell is C-RAM, the most “science fiction” system that the US has?

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For some time now, when night comes in the middle of wars or armed conflicts, there are sounds that remain recorded forever. They are not explosions or sirens: it is a mechanical noise that seems to come from another world. In fact, they remember a lot to the metallic roar that Spielberg imagined to announce the arrival of the aliens in War of the Worlds. Only, this time, it’s not cinema. And it’s really happening. The roar that is not forgotten. Occurred two days ago. At night in Baghdad, when the sirens sound and the sky seems calm for a few seconds, there is a sound that cuts through the air like a giant chainsaw. It is not a plane or a conventional explosion: it is the C-RAM going into action. That roar, often described by those who have heard it as an almost unreal metallic roar, is the sound of thousands of projectiles fired in a matter of seconds to destroy rockets, drones or mortars before they fall on a base or an embassy. Just a few days ago it was heard again at the American embassy in Baghdad, when a Katyusha rocket attack activated the defensive system. According to Reuterswas an attack by Iraqi militias aligned with Iran. The sirens sounded, the gun got started and one of the projectiles was destroyed in mid-flight before reaching the diplomatic complex. The result was the same as on many other occasions: no impact inside the venue. But the episode once again reminded us why the sound has become one of the most disturbing in modern warfare. The naval origin. He C-RAM (acronym for Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar) was not originally born to protect cities or embassies, but warships. Its technological heart comes from Phalanx system of the US Navy, developed in the 1970s to shoot down fast-approaching anti-ship missiles. That automatic defense was based on a simple and brutally effective concept: a radar detects the threat, calculates its trajectory and a rotating machine gun automatically opens fire to create a wall of projectiles that destroys the target before it hits. Over time, the Pentagon realized that the same principle could be applied on dry land to protect military bases exposed to attacks with mortars or improvised rockets, a constant threat in conflicts such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Shoot like a storm. The most visible element of the system is its M61 Vulcan cannona gatling gun six-tube capable of firing around 4,500 20-millimeter projectiles per minute. That bestial cadence is precisely the reason its characteristic sound. When the system goes into action, the rotation of the barrels and the continuous firing generate a mechanical roar that is reminiscent of a cross between a chainsaw and a turbine. It is not a simple acoustic effect: the weapon needs to launch a veritable cloud of projectiles to increase the chances of destroying a rocket or mortar in mid-flight. Each shot uses explosive ammunition with programmed self-destruct to prevent projectiles from falling intact on populated areas if they do not reach their target. A technological umbrella. Behind that cannon is actually an entire network of sensors, radars and command systems. The C-RAM is not just a weapon, but an adefensive architecture that combines mortar detection radars, fire control systems and command stations capable of analyzing trajectories in seconds. When a radar detects a rocket or artillery projectile, it calculates its path and determine if it will impact in a protected area. Only then does the system activate the cannon and fire automatically. Within seconds, the weapon tracks the target, corrects its aim and opens fire. This whole process happens so quickly that for those on the ground there is only one sequence: the siren, the metallic roar of the cannon, and an explosion in the sky. The defense of the Green Zone. The system was first deployed years ago in Iraq to protect the called Green Zone of Baghdad, the enclave where the American embassy and much of the Western diplomatic and military infrastructure is located. Since then it has intercepted hundreds of rockets and projectiles launched by insurgent militias. In tests and real operations it has proven to be able to destroy between 70 and 80% of projectiles within its coverage area, making it one of the most effective point defenses in the world. Each unit costs between ten and fifteen million dollars, but its true cost is in the ammunition: each interception can consume tens of thousands of dollars in projectiles. Science fiction of modern warfare. What makes C-RAM so peculiar is not only its effectiveness, but the experience that generates when it comes into action. In a matter of seconds, the sky is filled with tracers that draw lines of fire towards an invisible point while the weapon roars with an almost surreal intensity. To those nearby, the effect is so impressive that many describe it as a scene straight out of a science fiction movie. However, this technological demonstration has a very specific function: to prevent cheap weapons such as improvised rockets or mortars from causing casualties in diplomatic bases and complexes. Announcing the war. Be that as it may, the rocket attack against the embassy American in Baghdad this week has once again recalled the role of this system in current conflicts. Directly framed in the Iran warAlthough one of the rockets was intercepted before falling inside the compound and there were no casualties, the episode confirmed something that American soldiers and diplomats have known for years: when that metallic roar sounds in the night, it means that the defensive shield is working. And also that the war is much closer than it seemed seconds before. Image | United States Air Force In Xataka | Iran’s drones have aimed at the same target as the US. And now that they have pulverized it, they are going to unleash their most dangerous weapon In Xataka | Iran has spent decades excavating its “missile cities.” Satellite images have just … Read more

We have been adoring bananas all our lives for their potassium. Science points to raisins as the true “super snack”

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In recent years it is easy to see on social networks like TikTok or Instagram different ‘specialists’ in sports or nutrition bombarding with different food supplementswith the best ‘super foods’ for good nutrition and more. However, in a corner of the pantries we may have a food that we despise, but that can give us many benefits in our daily diet: raisins. A great ally. A product that may be hated by many people because of its texture, but has been introduced by different nutrition experts as a very interesting option. The reason lies in the dehydration process, since raisins surpass very popular fresh fruits such as strawberries or bananas in nutritional density. The why. When we remove the water from a grape, what is left is a bomb of bioactive nutrients. This is what verified databases like the USDA and FatSecret point to, since a standard serving of 40 grams of raisins provides about 120-129 calories, between 1 and 2 grams of fiber and around 300 mg of potassium. And this is where the odious comparison comes in with the historical king of potassium and the one almost baptized as the treatment for soreness after sports: the banana. On paper, a medium banana has around 350-425 mg of potassium, while raisins, being dehydrated, They can reach 860 mg of potassium per 100 grams. In this way, we are talking about a brutal concentration of minerals that are key for the nervous and muscular system. What does science say? Far from being a simple grandmother’s remedy, the impact of raisins on our health is widely documented in different articles. One of these is an analysis published in 2017 which brought together almost 22,500 adults and revealed large numbers. Specifically, regular raisin consumers had 34% more fiber in their diet, 16% more potassium and on top of that they consumed 17% less added sugars. The results here were a 39% reduction in the rate of obesity and a 54% lower risk of metabolic syndrome. Effect on pressure. Beyond being a food that can be very attractive to gym lovers with the aim of alleviating soreness and also reducing sugar consumption, it can be ideal for our blood pressure. Here science has been able to see that the phenols and polyphenols of raisins have a powerful antioxidant effect, and that is why in patients with diabetes and hypertension, consume three servings a day manages to reduce blood pressure between 5 and 8 mmHg. But it doesn’t stop there, since it can also lower glucose levels after eating something and reduce very important inflammatory markers. At the digestive level, a 14-day trial showed that the fiber in this food acts as a powerful prebiotic, promoting the growth of butyrate-producing bacteria in our intestinal microbiota, which are known for their anti-inflammatory effect. Perfect fuel. Right now in the sports world there are a large number of products that promise to be a great pre-workout with artificial energy gels. In this case they have a moderate glycemic index, which translates into having sustained energy during training without the dreaded “bird”. But science pointed out, after analyzing triathletes, that taking raisins before exercising prevents DNA damage much more effectively than consuming equivalent amounts of pure glucose. Although beyond muscle there are other benefits, such as improvements in spatial memorywhich justify the famous Spanish saying: “For memory, corners of raisins”. Something that also seems like it belongs to older people, but that science has proven. It still has sugar. Clearly, raisins have many benefits, but it doesn’t mean you have to have a free bar of this food. And it should not be considered that way because in its composition it has natural sugars in the order of 24 to 28 grams per 40 gram serving. Although it does not behave in the body the same as white coffee sugar, since thanks to its matrix of fiber and phytochemicals, excessive consumption can cause glycemic spikes. That is why the recommendation that can be made is clear: moderation is the key. Images | Anshu A Jorge Alberto Vega Barrera In Xataka | Food has been filled with contradictory messages: a sports nutritionist helps us understand what’s behind it

Science already knows what is the best “gasoline” to create new neurons: physical exercise

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We have always known that playing sports is good for the heart and also the muscles, but neuroscience is showing us that running shoes are, literally, the best tool to sculpt our brain. This is how I put it on the table the neuroscientist José Luis Trejowhich pointed out that physical exercise acts as a true “gasoline” for neurogenesis in the hippocampus adult to make us more ‘smart’ and also tend less towards depression. Neuron factory. Until a few decades ago, it was believed that you were born with a certain number of neurons and that, from there, they could only be lost. But today we know that this is completely false, since the generation of new neurons has already been demonstrated, and it occurs mainly in a region of the brain that is key to learning, memory and emotions, such as the hippocampus. The exercise. Here the different studies were focused on how this generation of neurons can be enhanced, and moderate aerobic exercise is the main switch to turn on the neuronal factory. How it works. The specific exercise and also extended over time, it raises the BDNF segregationwhich is the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and also the VEGFwhich is vascular endothelial growth factor. Two proteins that act as ‘fertilizer’ in the brain to promote neuronal plasticity and the formation of new blood vessels to nourish all these new cells that appear in the brain. There are results. Studies done in humans themselves measured cerebral blood volume using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and here they could see that there is a real increase in the volume of the hippocampus and there are also improvements in spatial memory and cognition, which is essential from certain ages onwards. And it is no wonder, because there are studies that suggest that constant exercise increases total hippocampal volume, being a first-level strategy against cognitive declineand therefore acts as a shield against Alzheimer’s. Antidepressant. In addition to being a shield against Alzheimer’s, it can also reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression, overcoming the effects of antidepressants in some patients. However, we must have common sense with the ‘dose’ of exercise we do. And a perpetual sedentary lifestyle is toxic, since sitting atrophies all brain capacities, but excess is destructive because extreme intensity training without rest generates a peak of stress in the body that completely cancels out the neurogenic benefits. That is, doing a lot of exercise at maximum capacity can block the creation of new neurons. It is hereditary. But if making new neurons is not enough to join the gym, science suggests that it can be transmitted to children thanks to epigenetics. In 2019, a study published in PNAS demonstrated that paternal exercise increases neurogenesis and mitochondrial activity in offspring, even if the latter are sedentary. But in 2024 went furtherseeing that these neuroplastic effects can be inherited up to two generations later. The dose. In summary, neuroscience suggests that doing 45-60 minutes a day of moderate aerobic activity can bring us great benefits over spending uninterrupted hours in the chair. Without a doubt, memory, mood and hippocampal volume will be truly grateful. Images | Chander R Bhautik Patel In Xataka | Scientists have connected 200,000 human neurons to a chip. And he made them play ‘Doom’

More and more men pee sitting down instead of standing up. Science knows it’s a good idea

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Society’s habits are constantly changing and this covers various areas, including the most intimate ones. An example of this is the growing habit among men of urinating sitting down instead of standing up. Beyond a simple fad, studies indicate that it can be a good habit for our urinary tract and prostate health. The study. A meta-analysis (a study based on studies) carried out a few years ago found that there were advantages for people with the so-called “low urinary symptoms” (LUTS), sitting could increase urinary flow, reduce the time required to complete the operation and minimize the volume of post-emptying residue of our bladder. In healthy people the difference in the parameters was not significant. Other more recent work analyzed the same parameters to obtain similar results, in which “urodynamics” was better for those who suffered from urinary tract problems such as benign prostatic hyperplasiabut did not find significant differences in the “healthy” group. Don’t forget hygiene. Does that mean that we have to wait until our prostate begins to suffer before changing the habit? Not necessarily. hygiene It is another reason given by defenders of urinary rest. When urinating standing up, the collision between the stream and the water causes (no matter how good our aim is and it is not always) significant splashes. These splashes may not be noticeable due to the small size of the droplets, but they can reach places that we would prefer to keep away from urine, such as toothbrushes. Everything else. And urine is not actually the problem, since it is a relatively aseptic and harmless in sanitary terms. It is the possibility that it “pushes” with it bacteria and viruses related to gastric problems, including the dreaded Escherichia coli. Upward trend. The tendency to sit is increasing and For some it is the effect of the Pandemic. In Japan, for example, successive surveys concluded that the number of men who urinated sitting down rose from 51% in 2015 to 58% at the beginning of 2020 and then shot up to 70% in the second half of that same year. In Europe, this custom is closely associated with Germany, where it is common to find posters in the toilets asking that they be used from the seat. Curious ramifications. But science is not everything, and the issue has become a topic of debate in some places. A few months ago, for example, a German court had to intervene on behalf of a tenant when his tenant requested compensation for damage to the bathroom of the rented home. Nothing less than €3,000 deposit. The dispute had been going on for a long time and the reason was that the owner of the house claimed that, by urinating standing up, the tenant had damaged the marble floor of the bathroom by urinating standing up instead of sitting down. Angry. Of course there are more detractors of this change in habits. In German, the term Sitzpinkleris often used derisively by those who find sitting down to urinate offensive and emasculating. For now the division is not as deep as that of taking off shoes (or not) at home. But the debate promises. In Xataka | We have always thought that “doing more sports” automatically equates to being fitter. It’s more complicated than that In Xataka | Waking up at 3 in the morning is totally normal: sleeping straight through is a modern invention, not an evolution Image | Maximilian Bungart

We have been obsessed with doing more hours of sports for years. Science points out that we were wrong

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For decades, the main message that medicine has conveyed to us is that physical exercise should be a priority and it has been summarized with one word: move. Accumulating hours of activity per week has been the great objective that many have had; However, a new study has come to turn this around, to give great importance to the type of exercise and how varied the training menu we follow is when we go to the gym. More and more complete. As we investigate more, the way we exercise is changing, and now a study published at the end of 2026 has suggested that combining different types of exercises reduces the risk of mortality, regardless of whether we do a lot or a little sport in total. That is why the message we must keep in mind is that, instead of doing many hours of a single exercise, it is worth diversifying a little between different modalities, dedicating a little time to each of them. How they have done it. To reach this conclusion, the research team used data from two large groups of people to bring together more than 100,000 people who were followed for more than thirty years. In this way, with different questionnaires, the team measured the active time that each of the people to be analyzed had, establishing a minimum threshold of 20 minutes of activity per week to estimate that someone was really doing it and that it was significant. The objective was to find a correlation between activity levels, the number of these activities and, above all, how they reached adulthood and even when they died in the event that they had not reached the end of the study. The results. The most striking finding is that the group of people who practiced a greater variety of exercise had 19% less total mortality compared to those who limited themselves to a single repetitive routine. But the most important thing is that this good effect of variety in activity is independent of the total volume of time invested in playing sports. That is, the mere fact that exercise is varied has a protective effect in itself, reducing the risk of dying from cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer and other pathologies by between 13% and 41%. The best sports. The study also broke down the individual impact of each discipline, showing a non-linear dose-response relationship, making the greatest benefits noticeable at the beginning, when we went from doing nothing to doing something. In this way, the best sports according to science are the following: Walking: 17% less risk. Racquet sports (such as tennis): 15% less risk. Rowing and calisthenics: 14% less risk. Weight lifting: 13% less risk. Jogging/Easy Running: 11% less risk. Cycling: 4% less risk. Its limitations. Logically, this note has important limitations, since the data were self-reported by the participants with questionnaires and the population analyzed was not too varied, being mostly white, so we must look to see if these percentages may vary by demographics. However, the consensus is clear, since just as nutritionists have been recommending for years that we eat a “rainbow” of different vegetables instead of gorging on just spinach, sports science is now asking us for an “omnivorous movement diet” in which we combine different types of exercise on a daily basis. Images | Anastase Maragos In Xataka | Neither walking nor running: science suggests that the squat is the true “drug” for healthy aging

Science had always believed that only humans understand geometry. Until we noticed the crows again

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The perception of geometric regularity in shapes, a variant of elementary geometry, has long been considered an ability that only human beings had. And it is no wonder, since from quite early stages of development and across multiple cultures, our species has demonstrated a natural understanding of spatial rules. But this has changed in a species similar to crows. A radical change. Although this innate quality of humans was quite well established, science has now shown that the crows too They have geometric understanding. A cognitive milestone that rethinks what we thought we knew about animal intelligence and the evolution of pure mathematics. A myth. The scientific bases showed a notable gap between human abilities and those of the rest of the animal kingdom with regard to euclidean geometry. Previous research had already seen that primates lacked the ability to recognize geometric regularity in tests of visual perception of shapes, something fundamental, since they may be the first that come to mind when thinking about this property. And this was crucial to determining that humans have an innate ability to process geometric regularity, since the recurring inability to species like baboons After intensive training he laid these foundations. However, the researchers decided to explore these abilities in birds known for their impressive cognitive and arithmetic skills. Touch screens. To test birds’ spatial intuition, scientists from the University of Tübingen They designed an experiment based on the detection of visual anomalies. In this case, two 10- and 11-year-old male crows were trained using touch screens located inside conditioning chambers. Here the birds could observe an array that displayed six simultaneous shapes on the screen and the task was to detect an “intruder”, that is, to peck at the shape that differed in its visual parameters with respect to the other five base stimuli. The tests. For the final test, five reference quadrilaterals were used, ordered by their level of regularity: the square, the isosceles trapezoid, the rhombus, the right hinge, and a completely irregular shape. From here on, the “intrusive” figures were artificially generated moving the lower right vertex of the original figure at a fixed distance equivalent to 75% of the average distance between the vertices. Results. The most impressive thing seen was the immediacy of understanding the problem, as the crows were able to apply the concept of detecting the intruder immediately upon being exposed to the new sets of quadrilaterals. Both subjects dramatically exceeded the 16.7% chance level during their first trials, demonstrating that they understood the task without hesitating or mindlessly pecking. Furthermore, during the first 60 trials, the first crow achieved 48.3% success and the second crow 56.7%. The most impressive thing. The most revealing data from these tests was precisely that the birds showed significantly better performance with shapes that presented properties of pure Euclidean geometry, such as right angles, parallel lines or symmetry. It is crucial here to highlight that this performance advantage did not require extensive prior training, but rather the regularity effect was present from the very beginning of the testing phase. Because? Faced with the logical question of why crows achieved what other primates failed, the authors of the study recognize certain important methodological differences compared to classic experiments with baboons. In this case, they point out that the crows were subjected to a strict progress criterion during training, needing to maintain 75% correctness over five consecutive sessions. In contrast, baboons only needed to reach a criterion of 80% correct responses only once, without the need for consecutive sessions. And although this difference may make a direct and exact comparison between the species difficult, the main finding is incontestable: crows recognize geometric regularity. Images | Tyler Quiring In Xataka | Punch, the monkey clinging to a stuffed animal and a victim of bullying, has achieved the impossible: uniting the Internet under the same cause

Science has calculated the real impact of reading books on your brain. And it has a very simple recipe: 30 minutes a day

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It is well known that a sedentary lifestyle It is one of the great enemies of public healthespecially at advanced ages where muscle loss is a great danger. However, there are sedentary activities that are really beneficial and that we sometimes stop, such as reading books. Its benefit is such that science has shown that immersing yourself in the pages of a good book It not only feeds the intellect, but also lengthens life. The demonstration. One of the most important studies who wanted to focus on the benefits of reading, beyond the cognitive benefits or the richness of vocabulary for everyday life, analyzed a group of 3,635 nationally representative participants in the United States over 12 years. And as a result, they saw that the longer the time spent reading books, lower risk of mortality. The results. To understand the magnitude of the discovery, the researchers followed all the patients until 20% of them died and only 80% remained. There they put the cut and began to draw conclusions. The first is that non-readers reached this point at 85 months, while book readers reached this same threshold at 108 months. This is something that translates into a 23-month survival advantage for those who had the habit of reading books, or in other words, readers reduced the risk of mortality by 20% throughout the 12 years of follow-up. Furthermore, this protection was maintained regardless of a person’s gender, wealth, education, or health status. The format matters. Although you may think that any type of reading is appropriate, even the back of a shampoo, the reality is quite different. In this case, the study explicitly compared the impact of reading books versus reading the newspaper or a magazine. The findings here demonstrated that reading books contributes to a significantly greater survival advantage than that seen with newspapers or magazines. While magazines offer short articles that we often skim, books require a higher level of concentration. Something that is enhanced above all because the authors constantly present themes, characters and topics and that is essential to be able to follow the thread of the story that is being presented to us. Because? Here science is quite clear that the key is in the brain, since the “cognitive score” functioned as a complete mediator of this survival advantage. This means that reading books improves cognition and it is this cognitive improvement that prolongs life. Here reading books activates different specific neural processes that create this advantage. Among the most notable points, we find that active reading of books improves skills such as reasoning, concentration, critical thinking and vocabulary. But it also promotes social perception, empathy and emotional intelligence, which can lead to better health behaviors and stress reduction. Fundamental things when we talk about extending life. It’s backed up. In addition to the original study published in 2016, science has wanted to continue investigating the benefits of reading with a study published in 2024 where the complexity of reading in older adults pointed to less cognitive decline. But it has also been decided to analyze even the cultural level of the citizens, where it has been seen that low literacy increases mortalityonce again making the act of reading books stimulate our brain and protect our cognitive reserve. Although it is not necessary to be reading all day to guarantee having a better brain, studies specifically point out that with about 30 minutes a day It is enough to start reaping these advantages and obtain more years of life in which to continue reading. Images | Blaz Photo In Xataka | The problem is not that we are reading fewer books: it is that the books we read are much simpler and easier

If ads made with AI seem horrible to you and position you against the brand, you are not alone: ​​science supports you

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“The most profitable ad in Pepsi history.” The most voted comment in YouTube of the ad generated with AI by Coca-cola for Christmas 2025 suggests something: a popular rejection of advertising made with AI. Is this true? A new study from the University of Zaragoza on the effect of artificial intelligence on advertising points in that direction. The researchers’ conclusion is that customers avoid services advertised with AI-generated images, especially in companies that offer pleasurable experiences—such as hotel vacations—or that force high-involvement decisions. The reason? Artificially generated images are interpreted as unreliable. Its four authors explain to Xataka that “consumers value real images more because they show a faithful image of the product or service and they distrust companies that use images created with AI because they seem less professional or hide reality.” However, recent studies show that images created with AI can be equally effectiveand easier for companies to obtain, especially when consumers do not know that they are not real, they clarify. What AI gives you, AI takes away Using AI in an advertisement conveys a feeling that “the brand makes little effort, especially in luxury and beauty brands,” explains Lucía Caro Castaño, professor at the Department of Marketing and Communication at the University of Cádiz. After the Christmas controversy, Coca-Cola was forced to share how did you make the announcement to show “all the effort and investment it had required in terms of people.” Caro points to savings in personnel as one of the reasons why content made with AI generates disgust. Coca-Cola has recognized The Wall Street Journal that producing your typical Christmas advertisement has gone from needing a year to a month, recognizing savings in costs and time. However, the creation of spot forced to enormous human work to fine-tune AI-generated images. Coca-Cola is not the only company that has discovered the advertising limitations of AI. Dell share your experience: “We’re very focused on getting the most out of a device’s AI capabilities, but what we’ve learned this year, especially from a consumer perspective, is that they don’t buy based on AI. In fact, I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome,” argued a few months ago Kevin Terwilliger, Chief Product Officer at Dell. There are several reasons for this rejection of advertising AI: the feeling of “already seen”, which penalizes the lack of originality and creative effort; and the perception of “dehumanization” transmitted by excessively robotic content, explains Patricia Coll, doctor in Communication and professor at EAE Business School. Diana Gavilán, professor of Marketing at the Complutense University of Madrid, highlights the benefits of AI in automatable tasks in advertising and digital marketing: “The problematic thing is when it replaces a human. If a robot serves me but you want to convince me that it is like a human, there is a drop in confidence.” According to researchers at the University of Zaragoza, their study shows that real images are particularly effective when it comes to a product or service with high involvementthat is, the consumer wants faithful images when the decision they make is important. Real images are also better than those generated with AI to publicize hedonistic products or services because they allow “a better assessment of what the personal experience will be like.” On the other hand, when the products are utilitarian and low-involvement, images generated with AI are effective. In some sectors it is advisable to use commercial images made with AI, such as schools and social entities to avoid showing real children to protect their privacy, scientists highlight. The professor of Marketing at the University of Alicante, Ana Belén Casado, adds that not all consumers or all brands reject AI: “It depends a lot on the type of product, good, service or idea that is being marketed and the differential value proposition of each brand.” For Gavilán, AI is like the Thermomix: a tool with which you don’t do everything in the kitchen, “but you can use it and it is at your disposal, depending on how you use it, it will be better or worse.” In his opinion, the Coca-Cola ad was “a strategic mistake” for wanting to make the same old ad with AI instead of making a different story with that technology. Brands taking a step back with AI? Before Coca-Cola, the clothing brand H&M had already launched a campaign with real models and “digital twins” generated with AI. Although all images generated by AI are labeled so as not to confuse them with real ones and the models have image rights Regarding his digital copy, Caro highlights that “we do not know exactly what this contract has been like in terms of the rights to his own image that exceed those models, nor will it affect photographers and the rest of the workers who make these campaigns possible.” This innovative campaign was quite small, around a line of denim clothing, and the head of AI at the Swedish multinational, Linda Leopoldleft the company shortly after the campaign. “We don’t know where H&M will continue next, especially with all the controversy generated,” says Caro. Gavilán’s vision is that AI will continue to be implemented and that it will be applied more in areas “where it is very relevant.” Despite his water and energy consumptionthe environmental NGO WWF in Denmark launched a campaign titled “The hidden cost” in April 2025 to denounce the environmental impact of eleven different products. It was made entirely with AI. In Spain the first advertising agency focused on AI, AI::gencyhas worked with brands such as Nissan, Seat, Cushla and Ebro. Other brands have chosen publicly reject the AI. In his campaignWhy don’t we get on the AI ​​bandwagon?” in February 2024, the browser Vivaldi announced that it would not be incorporating AI “for the time being.” The reasons given by the company were copyright and privacy violations, as well as “plausible-sounding lies” generated by AI. At the advertising level, doveUnilever’s personal care brand, has … Read more

Science suggests that it is a great shield against cognitive deterioration

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In our society, the fact that grandparents end up taking care of their grandchildren throughout the day or having to pick them up from school It is something quite normalboosted mainly by the problems of conciliation familiar. This is something that has been the subject of much controversy because, when you reach a certain age, carrying the burden of having a child under your responsibility can take its toll. But now science indicates that it has important benefits. New tests. A study published this year in the magazine Psychology and Aging points out that being involved in caring for grandchildren provides a benefit to cognitive health, although it has different important nuances related to sex and time dedicated. The science behind. This study focused on data from English Longitudinal Study of Aging where More than 1,700 grandparents over 50 years of age have been analyzed. In this case, to ensure maximum precision in the results, the researchers used a matching method, comparing grandparent caregivers with those who did not care for their grandchildren, but who did share demographic and health characteristics. What did they see? With this sample on the table, what was seen is that both grandmothers and grandfathers who are caregivers showed higher levels of verbal fluency compared to the control group. Furthermore, both genders had better episodic memory compared to matched controls. In this way, it can be concluded that grandparents who take care of their grandchildren tend to show better cognitive functioning than those who do not. Quality versus quantity. One of the most revealing conclusions of the study debunks a common myth: the amount of time spent is not the determining factor. In this way, spending more or fewer hours caring for one’s grandson or granddaughter does not predict the effect it may have on brain cognition. But what really affects brain health in this case is the diversity of tasks. What was seen is that grandparents who participated in a greater variety of activities experienced better cognitive outcomes. These activities include, for example, preparing food for your grandchildren, spending time playing with them, helping them with their homework, or picking them up from daycare or school. Gender difference. Although both grandfather and grandmother showed higher initial cognitive levels when caring for their grandchildren, with the passage of time it changed. In the case of both sexes, it was observed that both verbal fluency and episodic memory improved substantially over time. But the difference is precisely in the temporal decline, causing grandmothers who have cared for their grandchildren to have a slower cognitive loss over time than caring grandparents, who maintain the same speed of loss. Because? The researchers here suggest that these differences may be due to how they relate to different genders and how they collaborate on care tasks. In this case, grandmothers tend to become much more deeply involved in the physical and emotional care of children. If we turn to the grandparents, we find that they are involved in leisure activities and often carry out care tasks in the company of the grandmothers. This way, you are not as focused on care. The limit. Logically, Maintaining multiple productive roles, such as family caregiving, can promote a more active lifestyle that positively impacts people’s cognitive functions. However, research warns that adding care responsibilities to the usual activities of these grandparents can be stressful and leave our grandparents feeling overwhelmed and with little autonomy. Images | Vitaly Gariev In Xataka | Your grandmother is an evolutionary advantage: science already knows why they generate an indestructible bond with their grandchildren

The economy’s big fear was a simultaneous global drought. Science has found our lifesaver

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We have been observing for years how climatic extremes They hit different parts of the globe, with the experience in Spain still very marked. But with him increase in temperatures To the extreme, one of the biggest fears of climatologists and economists is the synchrony of global droughts. That is, a scenario in which the main food-producing regions dry out at the same time. The good news is that science indicates that the Earth (at the moment) is not drying out. A problem. Logically, if the main countries in the world where wheat, rice, corn or soybeans are produced had a drought simultaneously, we would have a huge problem of product supplywhich for many is a real nightmare. But here the researchers have reached a conclusion: synchronized global droughts are severely limited and barely affect between 1.8% and 6.5% of the global land surface at the same time. Without a doubt, a great respite for economists who saw the end of the world as we know it and who has been published in Nature. But the most impressive thing is that all this is thanks to the oceans. What we knew. Until now, we knew that major climate events such as The Child wave North Atlantic Oscillationcould alter rainfall patterns thousands of miles away through what scientists call “teleconnections.” And it is something that the research team itself pointed out in the past: there are interconnected drought nodes at different latitudes, most in North America, South America, Africa and Australia. That is, when there is drought in one place, it can move to another. But, if these nodes are connected… Why doesn’t the entire planet dry out at once when there is an anomaly like El Niño? The answer is in the oceanic variability. An ally. In this case, the oceans act as an immense regulatory mechanism and that is why the authors literally speak of a phenomenon called ‘geographic trapping’. In this way, the dynamics of the oceans force the scale of these hydrological extremes to remain confined to certain areas, preventing drought from spreading across all continents simultaneously between the different nodes. It matters more that it doesn’t rain. Another of the findings that may be surprising derives from a common myth about extreme droughts. In this case we usually automatically associate the worst droughts with the suffocating heat wavesbut, nevertheless, the data from the last 120 years are clear in pointing out that the lack of precipitation dominates over high temperatures when determining the severity of a drought. That is to say, it is important that it does not rain or that it is extremely hot. Specifically, the lack of rain is responsible for two-thirds of the impact of the severity of these events, relegating temperature to a secondary role, although not negligible in a world that is moving towards warming of up to three degrees Celsius. It’s good news. That the planet has mechanisms to avoid a total global drought is excellent news for global food security and international markets, by ensuring supply for supermarkets. But scientists point out that we should not let our guard down. It must be kept in mind that, although 6.5% of land affected simultaneously, the maximum possibility that we have mentioned before, seems small on a planetary scale, if that percentage coincides exactly with the great “breadbaskets of the world”, the economic and humanitarian disaster can be equally devastating. In this way, the regions identified as “hubs” host a large part of global agricultural production, and the study warns of a growing systemic vulnerability in these areas. Images | edcharlie In Xataka | The drought is turning water into a very scarce and valuable commodity in Spain. And there are already organized groups of thieves

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