Scientists

In 1959 scientists in the USSR resolved a doubt that many will have been done: Can we tame the fox?

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A few days ago It went viral on social networks the case of a family that reported how, after save a trapped fox On their land, this had become a regular visitor to which they fed and protected. Foxes are wild animals but in many contexts, even in densely populated areas, these mammals cohabit with our species. This implies a certain parallel with our idea about how we domesticate some of the animal species that now live with us, especially animals that live in our homes such as dogs and cats. We can then ask some key questions, such as whether possible Domesticate these animalsor even if we will not have begun to do it with this cohabitation. The brief answer to both questions may be “yes”, but of course, there are important details to take into account. To answer the first question in more detail, we have to go back in time, back in 1959and more specifically to the Soviet Union. But before, a little context. Foxes (Vulpes) They are a genre of canids, which makes them not very distant relatives of dogs and wolves. We distinguish a dozen fox species, among which the common fox or red fox stands out (Vulpes Vulpes), The species that is surely more familiar to us, which inhabits a huge diversity of ecosystems in Eurasia and North America, but can also be found in other regions of the globe. Returning to The USSR of the late 50the great domestication experiment of the fox was devised by Dmitri Belyaev and driven by Lyudmila Trutboth experts in Soviet genetics. These researchers wanted to know if the selective crossing of the most meek specimens of the species could lead to the appearance of the so -called “domestication syndrome”, that is, the tendency to accumulate certain characteristic features: flaccid ears, youth facial features or mottled fur, among others. Thus they could prove that these features could effectively associate with the domestication process, as would have happened in other species. The second hypothesis was to study if these external features were related to genes associated with calm and more “friendly” behaviors towards humans. Generation after generation The team was selecting the most meek specimens to continue with an experiment that survived even the fall of the Soviet Union. An experiment that lasted during more than six decades. But 15 generations were enough to obtain first results. By the 1970s the team had already achieved meek copies, Like Pushinkacapable of living with those responsible for the experiment. The experiment that survived even the fall of the Soviet Union. Belayaev died in the mid -1980s and Trut less than a year ago, In October 2024. The descendants of their foxes They still last. Russian domesticated fox, Siberia fox or domesticated silver fox, are some of the names by which this subspecies of the fox is known, also by its “scientific name” Vulpes Vulpes f. amicus. Are we doing it again? It is possible that Trut foxes are not the only vulpids in undertaking the path of domesticon. In Europe and other places in the world, the populations of foxes are not uncommon that They live in suburban areas and even fully urban. The possibility that that of these populations is a case of self -controlling has also attracted the interest of some scientists. According to narrated a few years ago Author Virginia Morell for the magazine Sciencethis was the case of Kevin Parsons. Intrigued by foxes that was in the streets From the city where he worked, Glasgow, this Canadian decided to go to the collection of foxes of the national museums of Scotland. The institution had a collection of about 1,500 skulls obtained in the 1970s, when the city of London and surrounding areas carried out a hunting campaign to reduce the number of foxes in the environment. The bone remains belonged therefore to animals hunted both in rural and urban environments. Parsons photographed and studied more than a hundred of these skulls, identifying their features in search of clues about domestication syndrome. And found them: the “urban foxes” presented shorter and more wide snouts, and smaller brains than hunted in rural environments. The details about his study were published in 2020 In an article In the magazine PROCESS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. The implications of domesticating a wild animal, of creating new species or subspecies perhaps within a period not too long, are complex, with different ethical and ecological variables to consider. Do this With just being aware of it It is problematic since we cannot even take the precautionary measures necessary to avoid inconveniences. That is why the coexistence between foxes and humans has a dark side, not because of particular cases such as the one we mentioned at the beginning of the article but as a consequence of the urban life modes. There is therefore not much that we can do, but knowing the phenomenon may help avoid the possible negative consequences that it could have. In Xataka | Four years ago someone ran over a dog in Brazil: today we know that it was not a dog or should have existed Image | Brett Jordan

What are constellations and why scientists are still taking advantage of this millenary tradition

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The human being has from prehistory looking at the night sky to guide himself, either looking for the north to establish our course, or in order to know what is the ideal time for the planting of a crop. We have also often sought in the stars the esoteric and the divine. The stars have helped us to locate in space and time. And to guide ourselves in the tangle of bright dots that populate the night sky we have often resorted to an old “trick”: the constellations. What is a constellation The constellations are Star groups that are close to each other in the celestial vault. Not so in the universe, the stars that share a constellation Thousands of light years can be located on each other, it is only their position related to the field of vision that we have on earth. The constellations were created when our ancestors assigned a form to these groups: whether the shape of a person or deity (as in the constellations of Andromeda, Orion or Virgo), an animal (the major and minor bears, or the constellations of Aries and of Taurus), an object (such as Erídano, the oven or the clock) or other mythological being (such as the hydra or draco). The constellations change depending on the time of the year and the region in which we place ourselves: there are constellations that are only visible in winter, others in summer; Some can only be seen from the southern hemisphere and others from the north. All this due to the relative position of the earth regarding the “backdrop” of the universe and the sun, which blinds our vision of the stars during the day. The constellations are therefore groups of stars in our sky and the way in which their position is distributed. Groups that were probably used Since ancient time as a mnemonic trick to distinguish stars and, with them, identify times of the year or to use as a compass with which to guide us. How many constellations are there? To use constellations as a systematic tool, scientists have developed an “official” constellation list. Thanks to this we can list a specific amount of constellations. How many? 88 in total. And who says it? The institution in charge of designating constellations is the International Astronomical Union (UAI), responsible for the nomenclature of many other elements in space and in the celestial vault. The delimitation of the celestial borders depending on the constellations as we know it today was approved by the UAI almost a century ago, in 1930. It was then that the proposal of the Belgian astronomer was published Eugène Joseph Delporteapproved two years before by the General Assembly of the agency. What is the origin of the constellations These constellations came to us through ancient Greece, but we know that they did not originate there but had a even older originperhaps in the Babylonians or in other civilizations of the surroundings of the “fertile growing”. We also know that this type of cartographies arose In various civilizations Far from each other, from South America to China. These constellations came to us through ancient Greece, but we know that they did not originate there but that they had an even older origin, perhaps in the Babylonians or in other civilizations of the surroundings of the “growing fertile” lifting. We also know that this type of cartographies arose in various civilizations distant from each other, From South America to China. The origin of the “modern constellations” is in two points. The first, the fact that the era of exploration led Europeans to have to orient themselves in the southern hemisphere, where some of the constellations are not visible, but where the reference of these can also be useful. How science uses constellations Although constellations are based on tradition and not on the use of the scientific method to order the stars, science makes use of them in certain contexts. Precisely this need to “cover holes” It is due to the use made by constellations today and is to serve as a reference for the Observation of objects and phenomena astronomical. The celestial vault can be divided into latitudes and lengths, with its degrees, minutes and seconds, in the same way we do with the surface of the globe. This way of dividing the sky can be useful, but it is also not very intuitive if we do not have other references. On Earth we have cities, countries and continents; In the sky, constellations can help us intuitively locate a specific point in the vastness of the night sky. Difference between constellations and galaxies Are not the galaxies of stars also? The constellations resemble galaxies in the fact that both terms refer to groups of stars, but beyond this fact, the differences are non -existent. While constellations represent groups of stars that are in proximity from our perspective, galaxies are formed by groups of stars that are found gravitationally anchored each other. Galaxies are also composed of many other elements linked in the same way, from dust and gas clouds even black holesthrough planets and asteroids. The terminolgia can be confusing by the way we have to name some and other elements. For example, if we talk about Andromeda we can be referring to both a constellation and The homonymous galaxy. This coincidence is precisely because the galaxy was baptized with the name of the celestial region where you have to look to find it: the Andromeda constellation. In Xataka | Star rains, planetary alignments and lunar phases: all the astronomical events that we have in sight Image | Stellarium Web / NASA

Scientists launched a cow at the depths of the China Sea. They discovered eight unexpected visitors to the feast

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The ocean is full of surprises. Sometimes, as happened several years ago in Canada, the enigmas appear floating in the form of human feet adrift. However, in others, most, you have to go down to the depths to try to solve the mysteries. That was precisely what a group of researchers proposed. It all started by throwing the body of a cow. A cow at 1,600 meters. In one of the most unusual marine experiments carried out, a group of scientists He threw a dead cow at 1,629 meters deep in a continental slope of the South China Sea, in front of the Chinese island of Hainan, with the aim of simulating the sinking of a whale and studying the Behavior of scavengers of deep water. What they found surprised even the most experienced researchers: Eight sleepy sharks Pacific (Somniosus pacificus) They appeared in the place, marking the first documented observation of this species in the region. The finding not only unexpectedly expands the distribution map of this elusive shark, but also provides valuable information about its behavior patterns, food hierarchies, physiological adaptations and its possible geographical expansion. An unexpected visitor. Although the Pacific Sleeping Shark is a species with a wide distribution in the north of the Pacific Ocean (from Japan to Alaska and to the south to Baj real extension of its habitatits possible displacement due to climate change or even the existence of a stable population and not yet registered in that region. Food label. The recorded images By underwater cameras they not only confirmed their presence, but revealed unusual behavior for large predators: a kind of Shift systemin which sharks aligned to feed the body, giving the place to other individuals who approached from behind. This type of “Food label”rarely observed in predatory species, suggests that the order in food could be determined by the competitive intensity of each individual, instead of a chaotic struggle for resources, which would indicate a more complex level of social organization that was suspected in these animals. New clues. He study He also documented variations in behavior according to body size. The specimens that exceeded 2.7 meters in length were much more aggressive and direct In the attack on the carrion, while the smallest sharks opted for cautious movements, surrounding the body in circles before approaching. The employer suggests that even in an environment where food is scarce and random opportunities, sleepy sharks could have developed a coexistence strategy with hierarchical ranges that minimize direct conflict. One More Thing. Another remarkable finding was a behavior of Ocular retraction observed during feeding. Since this species lacks Iglestop membrane (The protective “third tab” that other vertebrates such as cats or certain reptiles have), researchers believe that this retraction reflects a Evolutionary adaptation To protect the eyes during bites or struggles, which brings a new data on the defensive physiology of these sharks in their natural environment. The unknown. And more, since the recordings also showed other revealing aspects. Namely: several sharks carried visible parasites In his eyes, identified Like copepodsalthough it was not possible to precisely classify the species. This detail reinforces biological parallelism among the sleeping sharks of the Pacific and their best -known relatives, the Greenland sharkswhich also usually host parasites in their visual organs. Apart from sharks, the experiment attracted a surprising variety of abyssal fauna, such as Caracol fish and numerous amphipodsall attracted by the source of decomposition organic matter. These records confirm that the deep areas of the South China Sea not only house a biodiversity still little documented, but could be more productive of what was believed so far, against the idea that tropical depths are biologically poorer than their polar counterparts. The great unknown. In the background, the presence of these sharks raises a crucial issue: is it a recent expansion of its rank due to global warming, or has it always been part of its habitat and simply had never been observed? It is known that the species has occasionally appeared in such remote regions like Palaos or the Solomon Islandswhich suggests that there could be more southern populations than the scientific literature indicates. However, the “frequent appearance” in the southwest of the China Sea, According to the team itself Researcher led by Han Tian, rather suggests a structural lack of data in a little explored region rather than a recent change in the distribution pattern. In that sense, the experiment with the body of Vaca has not only contributed a specific observation, but has opened a way to review key concepts on the marine biogeography of abyssal species. Know the depths. He find It underlines the usefulness of simple experiments, but carefully designed to obtain data on remote environments, inaccessible already often little understood. The idea of simulating a whale sinking with a cow was not only effective, but proved to be a powerful Ecological magnet able to reveal complex biological interactions. In a context where Climate change and Human activity They are altering ecosystems even at great depth, this type of research is crucial to understand the invisible functioning of the deep ocean. The appearance of eight sleeping sharks where no one was waiting for them, behaving with order, measured aggressiveness and sophisticated adaptive mechanisms, is one more proof that marine depths They keep secrets that we are barely beginning to understand. Image | Ocean-Lond-Atmosphere Research (2025) In Xataka | A Canadian coast had been receiving human feet for years. Science has resolved mystery In Xataka | Carnivorous crustaceans, devouring worms and missing bodies: the scientific mystery of the caimanes at the bottom of the sea

Some scientists have rowed 225 kilometers in 45 hours between Taiwan and Japan. It seems absurd but there are good reasons

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In 1947 the Norwegian explorer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl He had an idea To demonstrate that the former inhabitants of Peru were able to navigate to the coasts of Polynesia in pre -Columbian times: to manufacture a rudimentary raft and cover the journey himself. Sounds crazy, but experience went well and seems to have created school, like He has just demonstrated An anthropologist determined to reveal how humans were managed to travel between the coasts of Taiwan and the islands of southern Japan. Along with the rest of his colleagues he has chosen to follow the footsteps of Heyerdahl, manufacture a cedar canoe with tools from the Paleolithic and then launch to the Pacific waters. When, where … and how. Researchers who are dedicated to studying the first human settlements in East Asia have a rather accurate idea of ​​when and where the first migrations were made, but there is a question that still takes away their dream: how noses they moved? How did they travel through sea, raffling waves, winds and currents, with hardly any resources? How did the first settlers manage to arrive for example do 30,000 yearsTo the island Yonaguniin the archipelago of The Ryūkyūcurrent Japan? After all, Taiwan is more than 100 kilometers and the distance is even higher from the continent. “Simple questions”. That kind of questions are what the anthropologist was asked a few years ago Yousuke Kaifufrom the University of Tokyo. During his investigations in the deposits of the Okinawa Islands he found vestiges that give away that there were already humans in the region 30,000 yearsbut nothing that clarifies how they got there. “There are stone tools and archaeological remains, but they do not answer those questions,” confesses to The Guardian. That there were no evidence did not mean that Kaifu and his colleagues could not raise hypotheses … and demonstrate them. “We started this project with simple questions: ‘How did the Paleolithic peoples arrive at islands as remote as Okinawa?’ ‘How was your trip difficult?’ ‘What tools and strategies did they use?’ ” remember The Japanese anthropologist. “Archaeological evidence, such as vestiges and artifacts, does not offer a complete vision, since the sea, by nature, drags them. So we turn to experimental archeology, in a line similar to The Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947 of the Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl “. In the skin of the ancestors. Like Hayerdahl and his mythical expedition Kon-Tiki, Kaifu and his colleagues assumed the complicated task of putting themselves into the skin of their ancestors of thousands of years ago. How did they travel? How did they guide themselves? What materials did they use for their vessels to draw the currents of the region? First they tested with Juncos balsas and bamboo, but ended up ruling out the idea. With these materials they obtained too slow ships to overcome The Kuroshioone of the strongest sea currents and that conditions navigation in the northwestern Pacific. His next option was to try a canoe made with Japanese cedar, such as those used in the area thousands of years ago. In order for the experiment to be as faithful as possible to reality, the researchers talled a cedar one meter thick with stone axes and then carved it until opening a cavity inside and giving the shape of a canoe of 7.5 meters of length. The result was ‘sugime’, a boat not very different from those used thousands of years ago. In 2019, after waiting for the sea to calm down, a team of five crew (in which scientists and remakes were included) rose on board and tried it. And how did they do it? As the Paleolithic men, without GPS or any other modern navigation device, would have done only by the stars, the sun, waves and instinct. The expedition started from Taiwan Rumbo Yonaguni, in Kyūshū. The island is not visible from the Taiwanese coast (and in fact it was not for much of the journey, when it was hidden from the waves), but the scientists verified that on clear days it is not difficult to contemplate it from the mountains of Taiwan. Hence the populations of 30,000 years ago they met her. The raft left in July 2019 and its crew had to row more than 45 hours and cover a journey of 225 kilometers before reaching its destination. It was not easy, but the team reached Yonaguni to the second night, reinforcing the theory that thousands of years ago the first Okinawa settlers were able to travel in Canoas from neighboring Taiwan. During the syglura, yes, They suffered crampspain and hallucinations and even were forced to Browse water Often to prevent the raft from getting causing. “They achieved something extraordinary”. The experiment was completed in July 2019 thanks to the support of several institutions but has not achieved authentic impact so far, when the University of Tokyo He has revealed The experience. The reason? A few days ago there was a documentary about the trip and two academic articles published in Science Advances. In one the experts report the 45 -hour experiment between Taiwan and the island of Yonaguni. In the other they share virtual recreations hundreds of possible routes to know which could be the “most plausible”. “The general public usually considers the Peoples of the Paleolithic as ‘lower’, mainly due to their ‘primitive’” culture and technology, ” collect the report. “In marked contrast, our experiment has shown that they achieved something extraordinary with the rudimentary technology they had.” The experiment also confirms the growing interest in archaeological reconstructions and tests with boats that copy old models, something that (in addition to the case of Hayerdahl) we have seen in Indonesian research, France either United Arab Emirates. Images | © 2025 Kaifu et al. CC-BY-AR In Xataka | In 1973 a scientist wanted to find out why we fight. So he crossed the ocean in a mini raft full of strangers

In 1950 two scientists wondered if possible a nuclear bomb of 10 gigatons. Its results are hidden locked up

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On October 30, 1961, a Soviet bomber furrowed the skies of the Arctic towards Novaya Zemlya. Under his fuselage he hung an artifact the size of a bus: an unprecedented nuclear pump. At 11:32, the called TSAR pump He released. A parachute slowed its fall, allowing the plane to move away. Then, a detonation illuminated the sky with a fireball of almost 10 kilometers in diameter and a fungus -shaped cloud that amounted to more than 65 kilometers. The show was surreal: the pump, With 50 megatones explosive (more than 3,300 times that of Hiroshima), became a symbol of the Nuclear madness. But it could be much worse. The awakening of a new era. With the atomic bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki In August 1945, the world changed irreversibly. Those bombs, 16 and 21 kilotons respectively, they marked the beginning of the destructive power without a paragon of Nuclear weapons. However, despite their fearsome capacity, these weapons were only the first step towards a much more sinister technological escalation. What would later transcend the most reckless imagination. The most powerful pump ever detonated would be That Soviet tsar of 50 megatones, although designed to reach 100. However, the most disturbing thing is that this was not the summit. In hidden, the United States had still planned More huge. The “Super” concept. Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were based In fission: A chain reaction in which heavy nuclei are divided releasing energy. But as we said, in parallel to their development, some scientists imagined a second stage: The fusion. This implied union of light nuclei (as deuterium and tritium) to form a heavier one, releasing even more energy. It happens that this reaction required an initial fission explosion to activate, which would give rise to the concept of the Hydrogen pumps. In the 1940s they were just a theoretical speculation … but everything changed very soon. Photograph of a replica of the tarum pump housing Communism comes. After the detonation of the First atomic bomb Soviet in 1949, the United States accelerated its thermonuclear programs. The fear of communism, enhanced by the revolution in China that same year, made the National Security Council recommend quadruply military spending. In that context, the figures of Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam appear, who devised The design that even today supports the H bombs. In 1952, the “Mike” test of Operation IVY demonstrated for the first time the Thermonuclear principle: an explosion of 10.4 megatones (500 times Nagasaki) that left a crater of 1,900 meters wide. Despite such force, that was not enough for Teller. The Soundy germ. Two years later, in 1954, the so -called “Shrimp” bomb during the Castle Bravo test. A powerful explosion was expected, but the result of 15 megatons (1,000 times Hiroshima) even surprised its designers, both by strength and by the devastating level of radiation released. However, Teller’s impetus did not stop there either. I wanted more, Much more. It was then that one of the most delusional and terrifying projects of nuclear history emerged: the Sundial Project. Designed by Teller and his colleagues from the Livermore Radiation Laboratory, the plan proposed a new destruction scale: no already kilotons or megatones, we entered In the gigatons. A couple of brothers. They were designed Two weapons: Gnomon and Sindial. Gnomon would act as “primary”, with a detonation of 1,000 megatons aimed at detonating Soundy, which would reach a power of 10,000 megatons, that is, 10 gigatons. For placing it in perspective, he thinks again The image of the beginning. Well, the figure exceeds 200 times the tsar bomb, and almost does not fit in the conceptual framework of the physics of conventional explosions. The potential apocalypse. The logic behind Sindial overflows any traditional calculation. To such powers, the laws of escalation of destruction They lose any validity: The heat, pressure and energy released would be so monstrous that, a priori, they would open a hole in the atmosphere. In fact, A report Del Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists pointed out that a pump like a sundial, detonated about 45 kilometers of altitude, could cause fires in an area of the size of France. The death toll would be unthinkable, not only because of the immediate explosion but by global radioactive sequels. Hiroshima, with 140,000 victims, would be a sigh against cataclysm that would represent Sindial. It was not science fiction. Although it might seem like a laboratory fantasy, the Sundial Project It was not a joke or an eccentric occurrence. Declassified documents and historical analysis indicate that Livermore’s team worked seriously For years in the development of Gnomon, with concrete plans to test it in the Redwing operation of 1956. That test was canceled, but the mere existence of the plan shows to what extent the fear, scientific ambition and deterrence had pushed the superpowers to border the abyss of the unacceptable. Echoes of Sindial. Suindial never materialized, but his mere conception forced A critical reflection In American politics. The growing destructive power of these weapons overflowed not only military strategy, but also ethics, logistics and land physics itself. While many ruled out their tactical utility for being impracticable (a pump of such dimensions was impossible to launch), its potential as an instrument of symbolic terror was enormous. As with The TSAR pumpits value was more political than operational: a floating threat that showed how far a nation could go if I wanted. Monster in the shadows. Finally, the Soundal project is It was diluting between political restrictions, international treaties and practical sense (without serving as precedent). The Ratification of the treaty Partial prohibition of nuclear trials in 1963 was a brake on atmospheric tests, which in practice made it impossible to continue advancing in the development of extreme performance weapons. The strategy then went on to favor smaller, portable and operational multiple eyelets, leaving behind the vision of total apocalypse that represented Sindial and its cousin Soviet sister. Imagine the unimaginable. What’s doubt, today sundial is just a footer … Read more

Superconductor quantum computers are being sabotaged. Fortunately, several Chinese scientists have found those responsible

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Superconductor cubits are extremely fragile. Even so, if we stick to the number of companies that are working on this type of quantum bits it is reasonable to conclude that this is the technology that has greater support and greater investmentso, somehow, is the one that goes in the lead. This strategy is probably the one that will help us to have more cubits, but also It is more prone to make mistakes That ion traps cubits, which are one of the alternatives to superconductors. In addition, these last cubits are characterized by working at a temperature of about 20 millikelvin, which are approximately -273 degrees Celsius, with the purpose of operating with the greater degree of isolation of the possible environment. IBM is one of the companies that have opted to set Quantum computers With superconductor cubits, and plans to make available to its customers in 2029 ‘Starling’, its first large -scale quantum computer equipped with the capacity to amend your own mistakes. However, something happened that can complicate the plans of this and other companies involved in the development of quantum computers. And is that a group of researchers from the Academy of Quantum Information Sciences (China) has discovered that Cosmic rays and Gamma radiation They have the ability to cause errors in superconductor cubits. This discovery is very important because it justifies the need to develop technologies that allow building reliable quantum computers despite the interference of cosmic rays and gamma rays. These scientists have published the result of their research in Nature Communications. Cosmic rays are putting quantum computers in trouble Researchers from the Academy of Quantum Information Sciences of Beijing have carried out this discovery using a 63 -cubits superconductor quantum processor. However, their most ingenious idea led them to install muones detectors within the quantum computer cooling system. This strategy allowed them to realize that gamma rays and cosmic radiation were inducing the appearance of errors in the extremely fragile superconductor cubits, thus weakening their ability to maintain coherence. It is evident that to solve a problem it is essential to identify it and know its origin, so it is good news that these scientists have made this discovery. However, before concluding this article I propose that we review briefly What are these two forms of radiation. Cosmic rays are constituted by high -energy ionized atomic nuclei that move through space at a speed very close to that of light (which is approximately 300,000 km/s). Cosmic rays are constituted by high -energy ionized atomic nuclei that move through space at a speed very close to that of light That they are ionized indicates that they have acquired electric charge because they have been stripped of their electrons, but, curiously, these atomic nuclei are made of the same matter that constitutes us and everything that surrounds us. However, and here comes the first surprise, the atomic nuclei that constitute the cosmic rays are distributed in a different way to the subject that shapes us. Hydrogen and helium are much more abundant in our solar system than in cosmic rays, while other heavier elements, such as lithium, beryllium or boron, are ten thousand times more abundant in cosmic radiation. One of the most important characteristics of cosmic radiation is its essentially perfect isotropy. This parameter reflects that the rays arrive from all directions with the same frequency, which indicates that they must coexist simultaneously numerous sources capable of generating them. And this invites us to ask ourselves one more question: where cosmic radiation comes from. A good part of the cosmic rays we receive proceed from outside our solar system. Of other stars. And travel through space with enormous energy until impacting with the atoms present in the upper layers of the atmosphere of our planet. Finally, Gamma radiationwhich is the most energetic and the most penetrating of all, requires the emission of a high -energy photon, usually known as Rayo Gamma, so the atomic nucleus maintains its original structure. Some of these high -energy photons are able to cross very thick concrete walls and lead plates, so this is the most dangerous radiation form of all. More information | Nature Communications In Xataka | Bitcoin encryption and other cryptocurrencies will fall. And those responsible will be quantum computers

Some scientists have reviewed 99 studies on intermittent fasting. Its results are not very optimistic

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The popularity of intermittent fasting has grown over the last years, partly by a series of scientific studies that endorsed their potential when helping us lose weight. However, sometimes the results of individual studies do not agree with the global image of the matter. Not so effective. A new study has in doubt The ability of intermittent fasting as a superior way of losing weight. The analysis concluded that, although some forms of intermittent fasting could offer a slight advantage, the results obtained with these were not significantly better than those obtained with the simple caloric restriction. The intermittent fasting. The concept intermittent fasting It refers to a series of diets based on a temporary caloric restriction. We cannot speak of a single flash form since this temporary restriction can occur in several ways. Conventional forms of intermittent fasting imply not consuming any food during a specific time window, more or less broad, in certain days, which can be alternate or successive and in different proportions. It can also refer to drastically restricting the calories we consume in certain days of the week. Sometimes a non -intermittent hourly restriction is also included in these diets, that is, a more conventional fast. Review and meta -analysis. Evaluating the effect of these diets is not easy, but over the last decades, various teams of researchers have launched to it, obtaining very diverse results and sometimes even contradictory. Solving this type of discrepancies is what is sought with the tool we call meta -analysis. Metaanalysis start from a systematic review of literature in which the team compiles all studies in the field in a specific time interval. Metaanalysis consists in the statistical evaluation of the results obtained in compiled quantitative studies to obtain an average effect through a broader sample which allows strength to the conclusions. In other words, solve discrepancies. 6,582 participants. In this case the meta -analysis included 99 studies individuals that added in total 6,582 participants. As explained by the team responsible for the new study, among these participants, the average body mass index was 31 and about 90% had some health disease or condition. The results showed that fasting on alternate days (restricting our food consumption to alternate days) was the only option that showed an observable benefit in weight reduction. However, this reduction (1.29 kg on average) did not exceed the 2 kg threshold defined by the study responsible for the study. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine BMJ. 99 studies, and we still need more. Metaanalysis usually serve to settle scientific knowledge in one subject, but at least in this case it is still more to investigate, admits the responsible team. The heterogeneity of dietary strategies, the small size of the samples and the limited evidence are limiting factors indicated by the team. “The evidence today provides some indication that diets based on intermittent fasting have continuous energy restriction benefits for weight loss and cardiomethabolic factors. Explain the team. In Xataka | What if we are doing the bad intermittent fasting? Some experts propose to focus only on carbohydrates Image | Xataka with Gemini / I Yunmai

Scientists have a new very powerful tool to fight Alzheimer’s and Parkinson: quantum computers

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To solve most of the problems that scientists expect to be able to address in the future with Quantum computers capable of amending their own mistakes, such as optimization, those in the field of cryptography or artificial intelligenceit will be necessary have several million cubits. It can even, that hundreds of millions of cubits. The most advanced quantum processor currently IBM has itand it has just over a thousand cubits, so it is evident that many technological challenges remain that it is necessary to solve. The interesting thing is that there is no single way to go through this path. Organizations that are investigating in the field of quantum computing work in several different cubits technologiesand each of them is in a different degree of development. IBM, Intel and Google are some of the big companies that have opted for superconductor cubits, but also do so smaller ones, such as Atlantic Quantum, IQM, Anyon Systems, Rigetti Computing or Bleximo. In fact, if we stick to the number of companies that are working on this type of quantum bits it is reasonable to conclude that this is the technology that has greater support and greater investment, so, in some way, it is the one that goes in the lead. This strategy is probably what will help us to have more cubits, but it is also more prone to make mistakes than ion traps cubits, which are one of the alternatives to superconductors. In addition, these last cubits are characterized by working at a temperature of about 20 millikelvin, which are approximately -273 degrees Celsius, with the purpose of operating with the greater degree of isolation of the possible environment. Ion traps are given great proteins Ion traps are currently the main alternative to superconductor cubits. This is the technology in which they are working, among other companies, Ionq and Honeywell, and is characterized by using ionized atoms, and, therefore, with a non -neutral global electric charge. This property allows them to be isolated and confined inside an electromagnetic field, although this is only the starting point. From here Ionq acts on the quantum state of its cubits with ion traps cooling them to reduce the level of computational noise and uses lasers just then to operate with them. However, it does not use a single laser; Use one for each ionand also a global laser that acts on all of them simultaneously. Honeywell also uses ionized and laser atoms, but the procedure used to establish the intertwining between two ions and act on them with a laser is different from that used by Ionq. For scientists it is crucial to understand the folding of proteins that triggers Alzheimer’s or Parkinson Parkinson Precisely a team of researchers from this last company and the German emerging company specialized in quantum quantum computing To do something amazing: Solve protein folding problems with up to 12 amino acids. To carry it out they designed a quantum optimization method that seeks to find the optimal configuration of protein folding. Expressed in this way it seems complex, and it is, but the really important thing, and with what is worth it, it is that these quantum computers thanks to the appropriate algorithm are able to help scientists Understand the protein folding mechanism that triggers diseases such as Alzheimer’s or the Parkinson. And understand this phenomenon well is the first step towards the elaboration of effective treatment. This result is very promising, but there is still a lot of work to do so that quantum computers help us in front of these diseases. On the one hand, folding models must evolve to be more reliable and realistic. And, in addition, the classic algorithm that is responsible for refining the results delivered by the quantum algorithm should be more precise. Even so, the work of these researchers is an exceptionally promising starting point. Image | Ionq More information | Arxiv In Xataka | Quantum computers threaten encryption technologies. This is the reason why we do not have to panic

We have a problem with plastic recycling. Japanese scientists have created one who self -destructs in the sea

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In summer, more than once we have been scared thinking that a plastic was, in reality, a jellyfish. Far from that triviality, a major problem is hidden. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)more than eleven million metric tons of plastics end up in the oceans every year. Although a new wave of change is brewing in Japan with plastics that get rid of. Short. A group of researchers from the Riken Center for the science of emerging matter and the University of Tokyo has developed a plastic capable of degrading completely in salt water in a matter of hours, As explained in a press release. The demonstration. The team has shown how a small piece of the new material disappeared in a container with marine water after being agitated for about an hour. Although no marketing plan has yet been detailed, the project leader, Takuzo Aida, He has affirmed Reuters That research has aroused great interest, even from the packaging sector. A deep problem. The urgency of this advance is framed in an increasingly serious environmental crisis. According to UNEPplastic pollution could be tripled by 2040, reaching up to 37 million metric tons annual in the oceans. Therefore, the investigation has not wanted to limit itself in the visible, but also in the microplastics that are infiltrated in all the ecosystems of the planet. Long journey. According to They have explained Scientists, this new material is the result of more than thirty years of research in supramolecular polymers. Unlike traditional plastics, which remain united by very resistant covalent bonds, they use weakest and most reversible links. This allows the material to maintain its resistance, but decompose rapidly under the appropriate conditions. The point. To achieve this, they needed a “passage key” that was in salt. Technically, They have detailed Reuters that the combination of hexametafostato sodium (a food additive) and ions of Guanidinio (employees in fertilizers) formed saline bridges that provided stability to the material. However, by immersing themselves in salt water, these bridges are broken and, within a few hours, there is no trace of the plastic. The resulting material is resistant, colorless, igniphed and not toxic. It can even waterproof with a hydrophobic coating, without losing your ability to break down if your surface is scratched or drilled. Although it has its limitations. As The project manager has indicated to Reuterswhen decomposing, plastic releases nitrogen and phosphorus, elements that can be reused by microorganisms or plants. However, if they accumulate in a uncontrolled way, they could alter coastal ecosystems, favoring phenomena such as algae flowers. To avoid this, the researchers propose a controlled recycling system in seawater treatment plants, which would allow to recover the materials and reuse them in new supramolecular plastics. Biodegradable, but enough? The novelty of Japanese plastic contrasts with the limitations of other called biodegradable plastics. According to the researchersmaterials such as polylactic acid (PL), although they degrade on land under industrial conditions, persist in the ocean, where they fail to break down and end up forming microplastics. Other more recent alternatives, such as certain recyclable plastics developed in Europe, offer greater durability and recyclabilitybut they still face similar challenges: slow degradation in the marine environment and dependence on specific management systems. One step further. That moment could be closer than it seems. Meanwhile, jellyfish will continue to be jellyfish. But at least, the plastic that imitates them could begin to disappear. Image | Unspash Xataka | We thought we had found a safe and sustainable alternative to oil derived. We have to keep looking

measure exactly the time they eat, according to scientists

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Overweight is no longer an exclusive problem of adults or an isolated issue in childhood. Between improvised lunches and late dinners a serious problem is emerging. To follow the current inertia, a study Posted in The Lancet He has warned that Spain could be placed as the fourth country in the world with the highest prevalence of childhood obesity in 2050. And the answer is not only in what is eaten, but when. Looking beyond the plate. For decades, the nutritional debate focused on calories, Fats, sugars and Tags. But a key question had been out of radar: does the time it is eaten? Here the discipline of the Chrononutrition. This discipline analyzes how food schedules can directly influence our health. More technically, it is about biological watches (adjusted by factors such as light, sleep, physical activity and food) are closely linked to metabolism through the so -called circadian rhythms. Therefore, dinner late, that in Spain it is a usual tonic, it could be taking its toll. Not only does digestion hinder: it can also imbue metabolism, make insulin work worse and, over time, favor overweight, even if the dish seems healthy. Under that premise. A group of researchers from the valuenut project, from the Complutense University of Madrid, It was proposed to respond to that theorybut focusing on the little ones. To do this, they gathered 880 schoolchildren between 8 and 13 years old, from five Spanish provinces: A Coruña, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Seville and Valencia. The goal was not just to know what children ate, but also what time they did. The study focused on three concrete aspects: breakfast, dinner and the “food window”. This little known concept refers to the time between the first meal of the day and the last to know how daily intake is distributed. The criteria? They considered late breakfast that occurs after 8:53 am, and late dinner that is taken from 9:10 p.m. If the difference between the two exceeded 12 hours, there was talk of a prolonged food window. The results. Unlike what They have suggested Some studies in adults, in this case there was no direct relationship between eating late or lengthening too much time between the first and last meal of the day, and neither was a greater risk of obesity in the children analyzed. However, the metabolism did give signals of change, such as the schoolchildren who had breakfast later presented lower levels of glucose and LDL cholesterol (the one known as “bad”), and higher in HDL (the “good”). A fact that revealed the thread that had to be thrown away. There was the pattern. When the late dinners or very prolonged food windows were analyzed, a different pattern emerged: the quality of the diet got worse. Less planned meals, more improvised and with less nutritional value. On the other hand, it was also given that there were children who ate the days for more hours, that is, with a longer window. These showed unavailable values ​​at glucose and cholesterol level and indices to develop cardiovascular diseases in the future. But there is more. And to this equation an additional factor was added: the dream. The study revealed that 60 % of these children also slept less hours, which could further enhance the negative effects on their metabolism. Less rest, more mismatch in food schedules and a lower quality diet: a silent, but potentially harmful cocktail. Synchronizing times. In the light of the results, the researchers launch a clear message: it is not enough to eat well, you also have to eat on time. From the study itself has clarified that the recommendation is to shorten the daily window, that is, that all meals are concentrated in a period of less than 12 hours. Of course, in the case of Spain, where late dinners are deeply rooted to culture, so the challenge is not less. However, if you want to stop childhood obesity, the “when” must occupy a place as relevant as the “what” and “how much”. The research also raises new lines of work: what role does the child’s chronotype play? What happens if this data is combined with sleep quality? What if it is also taught to better plan meals? Understanding how the internal clock works from childhood can be key to preventing this problem from growing with them. Image | Pavel Danilyuk Xataka | Mexico has given an ultimatum to schools: they have six months to throw all the “junk” food of the menus

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