Science

We have turned WhatsApp into an “emotional pacifier”. And science warns that it is making us more fragile

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A message sent, a double check blue and, suddenly, silence. In that period of time, which can last minutes or days, the stomach shrinks. The immediate reaction for many is instinctive: unlock the screen of the smartphoneimmersing yourself in social media, sending looping messages seeking solace. We have turned our devices into an “emotional pacifier” to calm the anxiety of “not knowing.” In an era where hyperconnection promises us instant answers, science and psychology issue a clear warning: our inability to tolerate uncertainty is making us increasingly fragile. The brain in the face of chaos. To understand what happens to us, we have to look at our biology. As psychologist Regina López Riego explainsour brain is evolutionarily designed to look for patterns and make sense of everything around us. “This was key to our survival as a species: identifying threats and anticipating dangers,” he says. However, in today’s world, that need for certainty translates into constant suffering. The problem is that we live in a universe governed by entropy. From the team of Nalu Psychology remember thatbased on chaos theory and thermodynamics, systems tend toward disorder. “The future is uncertain and, one way or another, we deal with it as best we can,” they explain. When changes threaten, fear takes center stage, alerting us to possible danger. To mitigate that fear, we resort to a patch: control. However, it is a trap. The brain processes the symptoms of anxiety in the same way that it relates to uncertainty, releasing large amounts of norepinephrine that affect our nervous system. The more we try to tie down the future, the more discomfort we generate. The trap of overthinking. When the mind has no data, it invents it. The psychologist Marta Valle In his blog he explains that overthinking not as a lack of intelligence, but as a failed protection mechanism born of fear of error and low tolerance for uncertainty. It manifests itself in two ways: ruminating on the past or worrying in anticipation about the future. “You think that if you think about it enough, you will avoid a problem,” he details, but the end result is paralysis, insomnia and disconnection from the present. Experts from Harvard Mental Health Services (CAMHS) They have a name for this phenomenon: “toxic time travel.” Dr. Rue Wilson, a psychologist at this institution, describes how we try to feel in control by imagining different outcomes. “We get stuck ruminating, overwhelmed by ‘what ifs,’ and disconnected from the present, which is where we really have the most certainty.” Feed a bigger monster. This loop ends in what psychologist Laura Marín defines as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)where concern is constant and fueled by overestimating the risks. Marín illustrates this with a clear example: two women, Alicia and Brenda, undergo a medical test. While Alicia asks whatever is necessary and continues with her daily life, Brenda compulsively searches for information on the Internet and needs her partner to continually reassure her. It is the so-called “reinsurance search”. Checking emails, postponing decisions or constantly asking for opinions are strategies that give false relief in the short term, but in the long run make us unable to tolerate the slightest doubt. The cell phone as an escape route. The need to escape from uncertainty has found in smartphones your best ally, but at a high cost for mental health. Rigorous research supports this claim. In a couple of published studies in the scientific journal Science Direct (led by Jon D. Elhai and colleagues in 2017), it was demonstrated through systematic reviews that the severity of depression and anxiety are strongly linked to problematic mobile phone use. One of the most revealing findings of Elhai’s research differentiates between “social” use of the phone (messaging, networks) and “process” use (consumption of news, entertainment, scroll passive). The study found that anxiety is much more related to process use than social use. That is, people with anxiety use the non-social functions of their devices as an avoidance mechanism (such as doomscrolling or addictive consumption of news) to avoid facing stress, this “use of process” being the direct bridge to mobile addiction. In fact, Dr. Leigh W. Jerome warns precisely about this habit. In the face of global chaos, doomscrolling It does not prepare us for the future, but “can cause headaches, muscle tension, high blood pressure, and difficulty sleeping.” Leon Garber, mental health counselor, adds a vital reflection on compulsive doubt avoidance: “Avoidance, in and of itself, is not negative (…) but imagine how many missed opportunities for growth or connection, over time, add up to a lost relationship.” Garber points out that even therapy has a limit if the patient is only seeking definitive answers. “We have to learn to live with uncertainty. Fundamentally, we have to learn to live,” he says. The trap of the hyperconnected world. The desire for certainties not only affects the individual, but shapes our society. An analysis published in The Conversation reminds us thatAccording to Maslow’s pyramid, security is a primary need. However, the obsession with eliminating all risks has a dark side. “There are desires that should not be fulfilled and that of radical security is a desire that can never and should never be satisfied,” the article underlines. Trying to control everything, whether through algorithms, surveillance cameras or the transfer of freedoms, strips us of our humanity and leads us to voluntary servitude. Instead of delegating control to technology to avoid panic, experts advocate a “pedagogy of responsibility”, appealing to the values ​​of Kant and Rousseau, where we assume that zero risk does not exist. How to inhabit the void. Since uncertainty is inevitable, the solution is not to find all the answers, but to change our relationship with the questions. According to institutions such as Harvard CAMHS and diverse psychology professionalsthere are four keys to navigate the uncontrollable: Focus on what you control: challenge the illusion of absolute certainty. If you lose your job, you can’t control when you’ll be hired, but you … Read more

science points to something that disappears when you roast it

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The world of nutrition and supplements is full of dizzying promises, with products that make miraculous promisesand few have made as much noise in the last decade as green coffee. Often marketed as the definitive panacea for weight loss, this product has flooded herbalists, pharmacies and supermarkets, making it available to anyone who wants to finally achieve weight loss without much effort. However, behind the intense marketing, there is hidden a biochemical reality that goes far beyond advertising slogans and that justifies part of their effect. Although a priori, when we talk about coffee to lose weight, we can go with the idea of ​​the extreme thermogenic effect or the extreme dose of caffeine that activates our metabolism, the reality is different. Here science has a clear answer about its real benefits, pointing to a specific compound that we sacrifice every morning in favor of flavor: chlorogenic acid. What is green coffee? To understand green coffee you do not have to travel to exotic plantations looking for a rare species that produces this product, since green coffee is purely and simply the coffee seed in its natural state, before being subjected to the roasting process which gives it its characteristic black color. Of course, we normally talk about the varieties Arabica coffee either Coffea canephora. If we put ourselves in the ‘normal’ situation, when we roast the coffee beans At temperatures around 200 degrees, Maillard reactions occur. A thermal process that is responsible for generating the characteristic intoxicating aroma, dark color and deep flavor that we can appreciate so much in the morning cup. However, these high temperatures produce a large destruction of bioactive compounds that can help us a lot in our daily lives. That is why logic prevails above all else here: if roasting degrades the healthiest compounds, then we eat it without roasting. And specifically, the element that is most important to us to preserve here is called chlorogenic acid, a powerful antioxidant ester, which is something that we want to preserve above all to reduce the hated oxidative stress that destroys our cells and accelerates aging. In this way, green coffee preserves the three characteristics of this compound intact, becoming an exceptional vehicle for introducing a series of phytochemicals into the body that gives it very interesting properties to achieve the benefits that we will see later. Properties of green coffee As we have said, the chemical composition of green coffee is a gold mine for pharmacognosy. By not being subjected to the thermal stress of roasting, it preserves certain components intact that make it a product with high functional potential. It has a lower amount of caffeine. Contrary to what intuition dictates, green coffee generally contains less than half the caffeine than a cup of conventional black coffee. This means that its stimulating effects on the central nervous system are much milder, which can be very interesting for those who are more sensitive to caffeine. In this way, by not generating such an aggressive alert peak, your consumers rarely need to apply the 90 minute rule after waking up to have your first cup and avoid cortisol shock. Chlorogenic acid. As we have mentioned before, it is the real star of the metabolic function of green coffee, since this compound formed by caffeic acid and quinic acid has led science to classify it into three main classes and that in green coffee it has a maximum concentration. High antioxidant capacity. Various analyzes of beans from different producing regions, including exhaustive studies on Mexican varieties, have confirmed that green coffee has a significantly higher amount of total phenols and a higher antioxidant capacity compared to its roasted counterpart. Presence of trigonelline. An alkaloid that is also better preserved in its raw state and that, according to various tests, collaborates in the regulation of glucose metabolism. What the science says about green coffee Scientific scrutiny on this product has been intense, especially after the proliferation of low-quality studies in the early 2010s, some of which, highly publicized, ended up being retracted by scientific journals due to methodological flaws. Today, the evidence is much more solid, mature and, above all, realistic. The most comprehensive systematic reviews, such as the one led by Tajik in 2017 that analyzed Nearly a hundred studies, both in vivo and in vitro, agree on a clear verdict: the chlorogenic acid present in green coffee is a powerful bioactive agent with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. But logically here science puts a brake on marketing campaigns, since green coffee does not produce a drastic transformation nor does it magically “melt” fat or rejuvenate in a snap, but it does improve different biomarkers of our metabolic health. In this way, we are not talking about something miraculous, but we are talking about something protective. Benefits of green coffee From all the scientific evidence, a compilation can be made of what this green coffee is used for on a daily basis and if it is really proven, since these are the benefits that enter our eyes and that they try to sell us to finally pay for green coffee. weight loss It is one of the most popular benefits that allows many people to take the step to start taking it, but the question we must ask ourselves here is: is green coffee really useful for losing weight? Here a study published in 2023 shed light on this issue by evaluating green coffee extract, providing at least 500 mg of chlorogenic acid daily to patients. The conclusion they drew was simply visual, as these patients had a significant, but modest, reduction of approximately 1.3 kg in the participants’ body weight. Another important piece of information was given to us in 2019. a second study which stated that the supplements had no measurable effect if consumed for less than four weeks. However, in long-term clinical trials using extracts with 70% CGA and less than 1% caffeine, reductions in body weight of up to 6% were documented, … Read more

To locate the pilot lost in Iran, the US used two tools. One was given by Boeing, the other is science fiction

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The call quantum magnetometry has promised to measure magnetic fields so weak that they border on detectability, using microscopic defects in synthetic diamonds capable of registering imperceptible variations. In the laboratory, these techniques already allow biological signals to be observed at surprising scales, but always in environments controlled and at very short distances. Outside of these ideal conditions, between noise, interference and distance, the great unknown remains the same: how far that sensitivity really goes. The United States claims to have the answer, and it is very difficult to believe. Two tools to find a missing person. Washington has counted that the operation to rescue to the airman shot down in Iran was based on a very specific combination of technologies that, together, made the difference between finding a man or losing him in an immense terrain. On the one hand, the pilot had a standard and well-known system available as Boeing’s CSELa communications device that allows send encrypted signals via satellite and guide rescue teams with relative precision. This type of tool, widely distributed in the armed forces, was key to confirming that he was still alive and limiting his initial position in an extremely hostile environment. The other tool that borders on the implausible. The second element of the rescue is the one that has generated the most interest (and doubts), since different information supported by a exclusive to the New York Post point to the use of a system called “Ghost Murmur” capable of detecting the human heartbeat at long distance using quantum magnetometry combined with artificial intelligence. On paper, the idea is extraordinary in a movie, but apparently also in the real world: identify the electromagnetic signature of a living body in the middle of the desert, isolate it from noise and convert it into an operational coordinate. It happens that the unknowns also begin here, because these types of signals are extremely weak and, until now, they could only be measured at a very short distance in controlled environments, which raises serious doubts about its real range in combat conditions. Between the plausible and the inflated. The context of the rescue itself suggests that, rather than replacing the classic system, this technology would have acted as a complement under very specific conditions: an environment with low electromagnetic interference, few human signatures or signals, and a target forced to briefly expose itself to activate its beacon. That is, not so much an omniscient tool as a very limited capacityuseful in ideal scenarios but difficult to extrapolate to more complex situations. The narrative of “finding someone by their heartbeat from miles away” fits well as a concept or in a Nolan film, but until now it clashed with known physical limitations. The “Venezuelan” precedent. Many skeptical analysts have gone for the jugular of these claims, speaking reverse engineering of another futuristic weapon to achieve the “Ghost Murmur”. Because skepticism does not arise in a vacuum, but in a recent context where technologies wrapped in an almost fantastic halo have already been presented, such as the supposed “discombobulator” mentioned by Trump in the operation against Nicolás Maduro. In that case, experts pointed out that it was probably a mix of capabilities real (electronic warfare, acoustic weapons or directed energy systems) presented as a single almost magical device. The pattern is recognizable: existing technologies reinterpreted or exaggerated in the public narrative. The war is also fought in the technological story. If you also want, as a whole, the rescue reveals something deeper than a simple military operation: the growing importance of technological narrative in modern conflicts. The United States used a tangible tooleffective and proven to locate the pilot, no more no less than a GPSbut he also hinted at another capacity that, real or not in the terms described, projects a image of superiority almost total. And possibly there, between what is technically possible and what is communicated, there is a space where perception matters as much as reality, and where sometimes the border between advanced technology and science fiction becomes deliberately blurred. The rescue movie, of course, has already been practically written. Image | US Air Force In Xataka | The rescue of a fallen US pilot in Iran seems like a science fiction story. And there are elements to think that it is In Xataka | Iran has found a hole in Israel’s shield: turning a missile into an explosive “storm” in full descent

We have been obsessed with measuring deep sleep with a watch for years. Science says what matters is dreaming vividly

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The reality is that waking up feeling like you’ve fallen asleep like a dormouse is one of the greatest pleasures in life, since it makes you start the day in a very different way. Until now, sleep science has told us that to achieve that feeling of rest we had to maximize deep sleepbut now the rarity and the intensity of dreams They are also gaining a starring role here. A new study. A recent published research in the prestigious magazine PLOS Biology by an Italian team has revealed that vivid and immersive dreams are directly related to a greater subjective sense of deep sleep. And most fascinating: this occurs even when the brain’s electrical activity tells us that we are in a phase of light sleep. How they have done it. To reach this conclusion, the researchers did not settle for morning surveys, but rather They took 44 adults healthy people to a sleep laboratory for four consecutive nights. Here they simply had to be connected to a high-density electroencephalogram to monitor their brain activity in real time. The methodology used was quite methodical, since all of them were awakened repeatedly, reaching the figure of 1,900 awakenings in total throughout the entire study. But they were not waking them up at any time, but rather sleep phase N2 which is what belongs to non-REM sleep and is what is considered relatively light sleep, where the biological need to sleep usually decreases as the night progresses. But the important thing is that, after each awakening, the participants had to describe their previous mental experiences and rate, from 1 to 10, how deep they felt their sleep had been just before opening their eyes. The result. By crossing the data from the dream stories with the EEG activity and the subjective perception of the participants, the scientists found a pattern that indicated that when the participants reported vivid, strange dreams, with high emotional intensity or very visually rich, they reported having been immersed in a very deep sleep. In contrast, if the mental activity before waking up was abstract, vague, or the participants had “meta-awareness,” which is thinking about real problems or being aware that they were sleeping, they felt that their sleep had been very superficial. A change. In this way, this sensation of dreamlike depth challenged the electroencephalograms themselves. And the fact is that, although the EEG showed that the participant’s brain activity was dangerously close to wakefulness, if he was immersed in an intense dream plot, his brain interpreted that he was resting peacefully. Memory doesn’t matter. One of the most interesting details of the study points to a situation that can be frustrating: waking up knowing that you had an incredible dream, but unable to remember the entire plot. Here the scientific study demonstrates that narrative memory is not necessary for rest, since the participants continued to rate their sleep as deep and restorative despite not remembering it. In this way, the simple fact that the brain has been “disconnected” from the physical environment and immersed in its own virtual world seems to be enough to preserve the subjective perception of rest. What does it mean? This discovery opens the door to new treatments for sleep disorders, since, in the case of insomnia, the problem could not only be in the clinical architecture of sleep, but in an alteration of dream activity or a lack of mental disconnection from the environment. And this is precisely where science has to begin to investigate. Images | iam_os In Xataka | Waking up at 3 in the morning is totally normal: sleeping straight through is a modern invention, not an evolution

the fatty liver epidemic that escapes routine analysis and that science seeks to stop

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For decades we have relied on annual tests to know if our liver was healthy, since there are several values ​​that tell us if there is any damage that we are not ‘feeling’. The problem is that science advances, and the last major liver study has put on the table that the liver can become ill without symptoms for years, and the main culprit is not alcohol consumption or hepatitis viruses, but a major metabolic disorder. A silent epidemic. Right now, fatty liver disease associated with metabolic dysfunction, known as MASLDhas become one of the main threats to public health globally. And it is no wonder, since its danger lies in its invisibility, since the initial phase and progression towards liver fibrosis can be completely asymptomatic. Although it may seem silly, fibrosis must be taken seriously. In this case, fibrosis occurs when the liver suffers injuries that it cannot repair properly and, instead of generating new tissue, it ends up with different scars that alter its functioning. But it is not that the liver functions at a lower percentage than normal, but rather that this fibrosis can progress to cirrhosis or liver cancer associated with high mortality. The data. Science suggests that we are not facing an isolated problem that should be ignored, since a macro study published this year in Lacent With a total of 7,764 studied, it indicates that the prevalence of this disease is 38.9%. Something that, adjusted to the world population, leaves us with a fibrosis rate of 2.4% globally. In the context of Spain and Europe, the figures are no less alarming. During the recent congress of the Spanish Association for the Study of the Liver (AEEH) in 2026, was alerted that the prevalence of significant fibrosis in our country is around 3.6%. The most worrying thing is that these are people who live their normal lives, without pain or apparent symptoms, while the liver suffers from these scars. A lethal cocktail. Although you may think that alcohol is the only enemy of the liver, the reality is that the lifestyle we have influences it much more than we thought. In this case, type 2 obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia are the main risk factors for this disease. The problem is that alcohol consumption in people who have obesity or diabetes causes the damage not only to add up, but multiplymaking the progression towards fibrosis, cirrhosis or even liver cancer more rapid. Medical checkups. Traditionally, liver health has been assessed by transaminase levels in a simple blood test. But the scientific literature suggests that normal blood tests should not make us breathe easy, since the vast majority of cases of fibrosis are not seen in a routine analysis. This means that a patient with severe fibrosis has perfect transaminases in some cases. What can be done. With all this data, changes must be made in the strategy and some voices point to the need to implement population screening programs directly in primary care centers. To this end, it is proposed to monitor those patients with more risk factors using two very simple tools: The index IBF-4: a simple mathematical formula that uses the patient’s age and three basic parameters from a blood test to identify the risk of fibrosis. Perform an elastography: Ultrasound techniques are here to stay because of how easy they are to do and also because they are accessible, since you can have an ultrasound machine almost in your pocket. All this means that the strategy of an ultrasound per consultation can be a very appropriate strategy. What is clear is that you cannot sit around waiting for the liver to hurt or fail, which is why, given this increase in cases, early diagnostic tools must be implemented to be able to better control a disease that can have devastating consequences. Images |julos stefamerpik In Xataka | Fatty liver advances silently, but science has found unexpected allies: coffee and green tea

The internet has become obsessed with drinking hot water in the morning. Science is clear about what it does (and what it doesn’t)

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We live in an age obsessed with ice. From the omnipresent iced coffee winter to complex viral drinks like sleepy girl mocktail that flood our social networks. However, in the midst of this liquid sophistication, the most revolutionary gesture for our gastrointestinal and mental health upon waking might be the simplest, most boring and cheapest of all: a glass of hot water. Faced with the inertia of an accelerated modern life full of stimuli, serving ourselves a glass of water at a pleasant temperature is presented as the first self-care gift that we can give to our body after emerging from the inertia of sleep. But what is the truth behind this practice? Is it an internet myth or a truth backed by science? The viralities of social networks. Just enter platforms like TikTok or Instagram to see thousands of influencers documenting how this morning habit deflates them, gives them energy and improves their digestion. As documented New York Timeshot water has become the new wellness superstar on-line. However, what the internet has dubbed a novel “longevity hack” is actually a fundamental pillar thousands of years old. This practice is deeply rooted in Indian Ayurveda (where the morning ritual is known as usha paana) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In these cultures, it is believed that the cold turns off the agni (the digestive fire) and weakens the vital energy or Qiforcing the body to expend extra energy to warm the stomach. Hot water, on the other hand, balances the Yin and the Yangkeeping the body calm. Plain water, tea or infusions? When experts talk about this habit, they literally mean just that: water. Pasu Harisadee, traditional Chinese medicine educator, points out that “simple water is the most neutral base and the most recommended for most.” Of course, additions are allowed. Squeeze a little lemon provides vitamin C; add fresh ginger strengthens defenses and combats nausea; and a touch of honey can soothe the throat. However, the medical portal Verywell Health makes an important distinction versus tea or coffee: although infusions provide fluids, the caffeine present in coffee or certain teas has a slightly diuretic effect. Pure hot water is the undisputed champion of direct hydration. The golden rule and the temperature paradox. This is where medicine draws a non-negotiable red line: be careful not to get burned. Although some portals such as Healthline suggest that hot drinks They can be consumed in a range of up to 71ºC, oncologists and gastroenterologists are much more strict. As a study published in Frontiers in Nutritionconsuming drinks over 60ºC (140ºF) on a regular basis is associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer, in addition to damaging oral tissues and burning taste buds. The ideal temperature should be lukewarm or comfortingly hot, never smoking to the point of burning. As Helen Ruckledge summarizes, nutritionist: “A tip: if you choose hot water, boil it and let it cool instead of drinking it directly from the tap.” The science behind. The core of this debate lies in separating magic from physiology. And in this area, experts have very clear positions: Intestinal hygiene and digestive “awakening”: This is the most supported benefit. Ana Luzón, Nutrition and Dietetics technician, explains in ABC which is about pure “mechanical efficiency”. Our body is at about 37ºC; Introducing ice water suddenly means a little thermal stress. Hot water acts as “intestinal hygiene”, dissolving food remains and mucus. For her part, Dr. Lisa Ganjhu, a gastroenterologist consulted by The New York Timesillustrates it perfectly: during the night, the digestive system is paralyzed. Hot water generates waves of contraction and relaxation in the muscles of the esophagus, stomach and intestines. “It’s basically telling everyone, ‘Okay, get up. We’ve got to get going,’” he says. This natural lubrication is key to combating morning constipation. Achalasia relief: To give it a deeper medical dimension, hot water is particularly useful for people who suffer from achalasia, a rare disorder that makes it difficult for food and liquid to pass into the stomach. Heat helps relax the lower esophageal sphincter, making the swallowing process easier. Relaxation of the nervous system: Holding and drinking a hot cup activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “rest and digest” mode. This calms muscles, reduces tension, and relieves morning anxiety. Besides, a 1978 study already explained, the steam from hot water helps clear nasal congestion and relieves cold symptoms much better than room temperature liquids. Debunking myths: Neither ‘detox’ nor fat-burner. The big question that haunts the reels: Does hot water detoxify? No. Kristen Smith, nutritionistand Diane Lindsay-Adler, dieticiandetail that water does not magically eliminate toxins, the liver and kidneys are responsible for that. Hot water simply helps these organs do their job of filtering properly by keeping them hydrated. It is vital to compare this with dangerous internet methods. The obsession with do “detox” based on liquid diets or juices is a danger. A Northwestern University study showed that eliminating fiber living on juices for just three days is enough to ruin the intestinal microbiome. Hot water, on the other hand, is safe and assists the body without destroying the flora. Does it speed up metabolism and lose weight? Neither. There is no solid scientific evidence that it acts as a fat burner. There is a very brief metabolic cost while the body adjusts the temperature of the liquid, but it will not cause you to lose weight. The temporary weight loss that some notice on the scale is due, purely and simply, to the fact that the hot water has helped them go to the bathroom. The other side of the coin. A good analysis is not complete without its counterpoint. When is it not a good idea to drink hot water? If your goal is pure rehydration (for example, after intense exercise), a 2013 study showed that fresh water (at about 16ºC, similar to that of the tap) is the most effective. Additionally, there is a curious paradox with sweat: drinking hot … Read more

Science finally shows that they hunted the largest beasts of their time

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The classic image of neanderthal as a brute hominid with no intelligence and that barely survived by scavenging what other predators left behind, it is increasingly being left behind as we make new discoveries. Precisely, we now know that 125,000 years ago, our evolutionary cousins They were Europe’s apex predators, capable of organizing to take down the most formidable land creature of their time: the straight-tusked elephant. A beast that doubled the size of today’s African elephants and reached 13 tons in weight. The mystery of the spear. To reach this conclusion we have not traveled back in time, but rather we have gone to Leringen in Germany. Here in 1948 archaeologists found a skeleton of the straight-tusked elephant, with a 2.4 meter yew spear stuck between the ribs. A priori it seemed like the definitive proof or, as some anthropologists have called it, the smoking gun of Neanderthal hunting. However, scientific skepticism prevailed: was it a coordinated attack or did a group of opportunistic Neanderthals find an elephant trapped in the mud and finish it off? This is where a great debate has been generated that has now been closed in 2026 with the publication of a new scientific article. What have they done? Here the researchers have basically focused on the skeletal remains of the animal that was found, and the objective was to find the details of the hunting process. What they saw was that the cut marks and damage to the bones did not correspond to a simple opportunistic shot, but to a frontal and tactical attack. In this way, experts point out that the Lehringen spear is no longer an anomaly or a happy coincidence, but rather irrefutable proof of systematic hunting behavior. The context. In addition to what has now been known, in the past researchers demonstrated that the hunt for these titans was not an isolated event, but rather a systematic and recurring practice. The problem that was seen is that shooting down a 13-ton elephant raises the obvious question: what do you do with so much meat before it rots? This is where the classic perception of the Neanderthal falls apart. An elephant of that size provided enough calories to feed 100 people for a month, and processing that amount of meat and fat required three basic points: Groups of people larger than previously believed, which break with the idea of ​​small nomadic bands of 20 individuals. Settle in a specific area when you have plenty of food. Master fire and techniques, such as drying meat so that it can last for a long time. A new image. With all this research, the truth is that the textbooks have to be rewritten, since you can see how Neanderthals had the cognitive ability to plan, the communication necessary to coordinate mass ambushes, and the social structure to process and store tons of food. Images | Wikipedia Generation with AI In Xataka | The great mystery of sex between Neanderthals and Sapiens: genetics suggest that Neanderthal males preferred human women

science gives victory to walking with inclination

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When we have the idea to start lose weighta very clear scene appears in our minds: run and sweat profusely to burn all the fat faster. However, the ‘secret’ may not be in the speed at which we are walking or running, but rather in the inclination on which a training protocol has even been generated to try to achieve the best results. Although the question is: is there evidence to support it? It has been seen a lot. With a look at social networks, surely at some point you have come across the classic video where it points out that we are doing things very wrong to lose fat. And it is not true that if you only run or walk horizontally it is as if you were not doing anything, but it is true that adopting an incline system, whether on the gym treadmill or with the natural slopes around us, is an interesting strategy. Although it does not stop here, since the protocol 12-3-30which is basically walking at a 12% incline, at 3 miles per hour (which is about 5 km/h) for 30 minutes. The metabolic dilemma. To understand why walking uphill can be better than jogging on the flat, you must first differentiate between total caloric expenditure and percentage of substrate used, that is, where the body gets that energy from. Here, a recent study published in 2025 directly compared the 12-3-30 training with regular, free jogging, and the results showed that, although the same energy was expended, walking with an incline oxidized a greater percentage of fat. In concrete figures, the study details that, consuming the same number of calories, the 12-3-30 protocol extracts 40-41% of its calories from the fat that we want to burn, compared to 33-34% which is achieved by running. Although the trap we have is time, since the 12-3-30 system is less efficient because it takes more minutes to burn the same calories than running at high intensity. Speed ​​is not key. Given the reason why this happens, we have to put ourselves at the point of maximum lipid burning, which is called Fat Max and that is achieved at an average intensity of effort. Something that can clash head on with the idea that the harder we try and the more we reach our maximum limit, the more fat we burn. But the reality is that when you run at the maximum possible intensity, the body needs a quick energy source to be able to meet the demands to which we subject it. That is why you start consuming carbohydrates and not fat, meaning that, although running as hard as possible you burn more calories per minute, the proportion of fat that is ‘destroyed’ is much lower. This way, incline walking keeps us right in that aerobic “sweet zone” where the body has enough time to use fat as its primary fuel. What happens. But it’s not just speed, speed plays a pretty important mechanical role. Here a study focused on the metabolism of women showed that walking with only a 6% inclination It significantly increases energy expenditure and fat oxidation compared to the same flat exercise, even when the perception of effort is the same. The reason is in the muscle fibers. The most important thing to keep in mind is that, by tilting the treadmill, we force the body to make an extra effort against gravity, which alters biomechanics. Muscle activation studies cited by specialized journals show that inclination triggers the recruitment of the quadriceps, the gastrocnemius (the gastrocnemius) and the soleus. That is why this greater demand from the large muscle groups comes from our fat reserves. More benefits. In addition to everything we have said, we must also highlight the sustainability factor. It must be kept in mind that running has a high barrier to entry, since it generates great stress on joints such as the knee, ankles and hips due to the flight phase and the continuous impact against the ground. At the other extreme, we have to walk with an incline, which is a low-impact exercise, since it allows us to raise the heart rate to levels of demanding cardiovascular work without subjecting the joints to that aggressive wear. This translates into having better adherence to exercise, since it is easier to maintain a routine of walking with an incline four days a week for months, than to maintain a routine of running without falling into abandonment due to the inconvenience it generates. In Xataka | Walking 10,000 steps is fine, but science warns: the true antidote to aging is one step

We are stuffing ourselves with supplements because of the networks. Science points out that we are almost always wasting money

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A scene that can be quite common (or at least it has happened to me) is opening TikTok and, at some point, between cat videos and recipes that seem very simple, a person appears and explains why. Magnesium will change our lives. Sleeping poorly, having anxiety, muscle pain or even going constipated These are some of the claims that constantly bombard us so that we end up supplementing our diet with some of the products that are available (and that are not cheap). The problem is that it is getting out of hand. A great use. Get out of bed and, before drinking your first coffee, there is already a row of pills that you have to take to start the day: vitamin D, creatinethe ashwagandhamagnesium… A real ‘skincare‘but for the metabolism, which is becoming more and more aggressive. According to 2024 datain the United States 61.72% of adults take some type of dietary supplementation, and the figure has been growing for years. But the worst of all is that, of this high percentage, almost half of the people take it independently, without following the advice of a doctor who has been able to detect the deficiency of a specific vitamin. The problem of networks. A systematic review of 82 studies published in Healthcare in 2025 analyzed the impact of social networks in health behaviors between the years 2010 and 2025. Here he was able to identify health misinformation as one of the five categories that dominated the digital content ecosystem, since these platforms function as tools that dictate what to do to be healthy, even if there is no evidence behind it. What encourages all this is nothing more than a business model that is seeing as its income they don’t stop increasing. And logically here it is not interesting to point out that the vast majority of people can receive these ‘miraculous’ minerals thanks to a varied diet. And everything that is taken in excess can end up being excreted very well. What does science say? In 2022, a study focused on vitamin supplements and minerals to prevent the appearance of cardiovascular diseases or even cancer, the truth is that it was very revealing. The conclusion here was that for beta-carotene, vitamin E supplements or multivitamins there was not enough evidence to say that they were positive for health. But they weren’t very harmful either. If we go further, a published meta-analysis in it Journal of the American College of Cardiology In 2022, it reviewed 884 randomized clinical trials with 883,627 participants on 27 types of micronutrients. The picture is nuanced but clear in general terms: vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E and selenium showed no effect on cardiovascular disease. Beta-carotene, again, increased overall mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and stroke risk. But there are exceptions with omega-3 that did reduce the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular mortality. Magnesium. Without a doubt, the revolution of the moment, since it seems to be used for absolutely everything. In 2020 it already appeared a review on magnesium oral to see if it actually reduced muscle cramps, and the truth is that the conclusion was that it was unlikely to provide clinically significant relief to older adults with night cramps. This does not mean that magnesium is useless in all contexts. It means that if you are a healthy adult who takes magnesium because “a TikTok influencer recommended it to you for cramps” you are wasting your money. But if it is taken because an analysis has confirmed that magnesium levels are below normal, it can be very useful. Vitamin D. A few years ago this was the fashionable supplement for everyone, since it was sold that there was a general deficit among the population. In this case, the experts pointed out that vitamin D should not be supplemented on a general basis in healthy adults under 75 years of age to reduce the risk of disease. There is evidence in favor of supplementation in specific groups such as children and adolescents to prevent diseases such as rickets, people over 75 years of age to reduce mortality, and pregnant women to reduce the risk of preeclampsia and premature birth. In this way, supplementation is useful, but always with medical advice behind it that sees it justified to send a vitamin supplement. When to take them? The honest answer is: in specific and well-defined contexts, with clear clinical indication and as preventive life insurance to avoid all diseases. In some cases it is clear that it must be done, such as folic acid in pregnancies, vitamin B12 in vegan diets or vitamin D in groups with documented deficiencies. But what doesn’t make sense is taking a daily cocktail of eight supplements because we have been sold that it is necessary for our body to ‘start’. But it also has the logic of why we take it, since we have a constant feeling that we need to be more rested, focused and healthier. Here supplements offer us this very easy solution: with a pill. The problem is that our body works with constant balances and no matter how much we throw at it, it will not respond as we can expect. Images | Jellybee MIND FAVOR In Xataka | Magnesium has become the star supplement for sleep. Science is clear about who it really works with (and who it doesn’t)

96 drones with a science fiction launch

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In recent years, the cost of many drones has dropped to the point that many military models are infinitely cheaper than the missile that tries to shoot them down. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence have allowed relatively simple machines execute tasks that previously required entire human teams. In China they have taken an unprecedented step towards the war of the future. The next step. Yes, Beijing just taught in a video something that goes far beyond the individual drone: a coordinated swarm of up to 96 units which works like a single system intelligent at a devilish speed. This is not about launching devices, but about orchestrating a distributed air force where each drone has a role and all act as a single organism, marking a clear leap towards a dominated war by software, algorithms and autonomy. The demonstration also leaves a clear idea: the future will not be a more advanced drone, but rather many drones working together as if they were one. The “kill chain” converted into a single system. As can be seen, the Atlas system integrates a single sequence the entire combat process, from detection to attack, eliminating traditional intermediate steps along the way. In the test, the swarm identified a target among several similar ones, made decisions autonomously and executed a precise attack in mid-flight, displaying a chain of destruction continuous and automated. There is no doubt, this approach completely transforms war, because it is no longer a question of isolated platforms, but of complete systems capable of to perceive, decide and act without interruptions. Science fiction. The heart of the system is its deployability: we are talking about a vehicle that can launch drones at a rate of one every three secondsquickly generating a critical mass in the air. This technical detail is key, because it allows one to be built in a matter of minutes. dense and coordinated formationone capable of saturating defenses or executing complex attacks. It is, therefore, not just speed, it is the ability to turn a launch into a controlled avalanche of perfectly synchronized units. A swarm that thinks and reorganizes itself. As we said, each drone is equipped with algorithms that allow you to communicateshare information and adapt in real time, avoiding collisions and adjusting your position within the group. Besides, can be reassigned during the mission, changing functions as the combat evolves, which introduces unprecedented flexibility in conflicts. In other words, this kind of “collective brain” turns the swarm into something closer to a distributed intelligence than to a set of independent machines. Algorithmic control. They had something in the PLA that already we had seen beforethat one of the most profound changes has to do with the fact that a single operator can control the entire system, delegating complex tasks such as target recognition, mission assignment or route planning to artificial intelligence. This reduces human burden and accelerates decision times to levels that are difficult to match by traditional systems. War thus goes from depending on operators to depending on previously trained algorithms. Attack and defend in another way. Plus: the system allows combine different types of drones in the same mission, from reconnaissance to electronic warfare and attack, creating staggered waves capable of overcoming defenses or penetrating in depth. That is to say, for either side, progress blurs the line. between front and rear and forces us to completely rethink anti-aircraft defenses, which no longer face just one missile or drone, but dozens of them acting in a coordinated manner. A new and disturbing scenario where the real weapon is no longer the drone itself, but the system that connects them. Image | CCTV In Xataka | Ukraine is close to achieving a milestone that no one has achieved: building the largest drone industry without China’s help In Xataka | 200 drones in the hands of a single soldier: China is advancing very quickly in a type of war that seemed like science fiction

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