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The Vitruvian Basilica is the “holy grail” of Roman architecture. Also a huge enigma that we have finally solved

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If there is one thing that abounds in the presentations of archaeological finds (no matter where, when or who makes them) they are superlatives. Each discovery is the most important, the definitive one, the last missing piece to complete the puzzle. Another thing is that it really is like that. In the province of Pesaro and Urbino (Italy) the authorities they just announced a finding in which the opposite occurs: yes, there are superlatives, but they fall short. In the end, what they have unearthed there is neither more nor less than the “holy grail” of Roman architecture. In a stroke of luck, archaeologists have found the basilica erected 2,000 years ago by Marcus Vitruvius, which concludes a search for more than five centuries. What has happened? That Italy has put an end to a 500 year adventurethe time that archaeologists, architects and historians have been searching for perhaps the “holy grail” of Roman architecture: the legendary Vitruvian Basilica. Scholars placed it in Fanum Fortunae (current city of Fano) and for decades they probed its soil in search of vestiges or at least some indication. In vain. things changed about three years agowhen during the renovation works of the market square they found themselves (shortly half a meter deep) some remains that, we now know, belong to the basilica. “Millimeter correspondence”. What we have found under the cobblestones of Fano are Roman columns. So far nothing exceptional considering that we are talking about an ancient coastal city in the Marche region of Italy. The curious thing is that these vestiges fit closely with the description that Marcus Vitruvius left us of the basilica in his famous treatise. ‘Of Architecture’. The columns, their arrangement, the shape and layout of the nave coincide. The “definitive confirmation”, clarify from the Italian Ministry of Culture, arrived after the discovery of a fifth pillar that confirms both the position and orientation of the property. A planimetric reconstruction based on the description left by Vitruvius finally provided the guide. The coincidence is so precise that the authorities speak of a “millimeter correspondence”. “Imposing structures”. “The columns, around five Roman feet in diameter (147-150 cm) and about 15 meters high, rest on pillars and pilasters that supported an upper floor,” points out the Italian Government, which recalls that in 2022 experts were on the trail after discovering some “imposing masonry structures and marble floors” on Via Vitruvio. The confirmation that the remains belong to the old basilica does not complete the work. In fact, Cultura is already advancing that it will continue researching with the support of community funds. “Everything necessary will be done to recover and promote this exceptional find,” guarantees the regional president, Francesco Acquaroli. “Like Tutankhamun’s tomb”. During the presentation neither Francesco Acquaroli, nor the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, nor certainly the mayor of the town, Luca Serfilippi, spared praise (and superlatives). “The column behind us changes the history of the region. It is a discovery comparable to that of Tutankhamun’s tomb,” celebrated the regional leader. Giuli has used similar effusiveness, for whom the location of the mythical Roman basilica, erected ago two millenniabrand “a before and after” in archaeological history. “History books and not just journalistic chronicles will document this day and everything that will be studied about this exceptional discovery in the coming years. The scientific value is of absolute caliber,” he emphasized the Minister of Culture. “The vestiges discovered clearly demonstrate that Fano was and is the heart of the oldest architectural wisdom of Western civilization.” Is it so relevant? Whether the discovery of the Vitruvian basilica is comparable to that of Tutankhamun’s tomb may perhaps be discussed, of course what is undeniable is that it is one of the great archaeological news of the year (and that at the very least). The reason is not only the value of the building but that of its creator, Marcus Vitruvius (1st century BC), architect, engineer, treatise writer and author of ‘Of Architecture’a fundamental manual to understand Renaissance architecture. In his treatise Vitruvius addresses the three axes that would mark architecture for centuries: firmitas (firmness), utilities (functionality) and venustas (beauty). His work influenced, among others, León Battista Alberti, Andrea Palladio and Leonardo Da Vinci, who was inspired by its proportions to create one of the most iconic (and recognizable) drawings of all time: the ‘Vitruvian Man’. In ‘De Architectura’ the Roman architect does something else: he describes in detail the basilica that has now been found (finally) in Fano, a project in which was directly involved. In fact, the Ministry of Culture remember that it is the “only building attributable with certainty” to the Roman writer. Now we no longer need to imagine it. Images | Office Stampa e Comunicazione MiC In Xataka | We have discovered (again) the secret of Roman concrete. It’s less impressive than it seems

How a mummified wolf has solved the mystery of the woolly rhino’s extinction

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14,400 years ago, a barely nine-week-old wolf cub feasted on the Siberian stage. Shortly after gobbling that piece of meat, the puppy died and was buried in the permafrostnear the village of Tumat in northeastern Siberia. Something that at first seems insignificant, has given one of the most important milestones in modern paleogenetics. And this one was in this puppy’s stomach. The study. A team of scientists from the Center for Paleogenetics at Stockholm University has achieved what seemed impossible: Recover the complete high-coverage genome of a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) from the undigested remains in that wolf’s stomach. The results, published in Genome Biology and Evolutionforce us to rewrite the books on how and why this megafauna became extinct, since until now we had a very different idea. A biological miracle. The discovery of this puppy is not something recent, since it was found in 2011, and received the nickname Tumat-1. Being mummified in ice, the reality is that it was in perfect condition, but during the autopsy the researchers found a 3-centimeter piece of tissue with remains of blonde fur. Due to the area in which it was initially found, it was thought that it was a cave lion. But the reality is that genetics has said something very different: it was a woolly rhinoceros. Something that is incredible, since it is the first time in history that the complete genome of an Ice Age animal has been sequenced from the stomach contents of another animal. A great milestone. For science to recover the genetic material of a species in these conditions, the truth is that it is something incredible because of the doors it opens. And DNA is where we can find practically everythingeven the genetic health of the species before its end. Genetic decline. For decades, the dominant theory suggested that woolly rhinos disappeared due to slow genetic erosion. It was believed that, as its population was reduced, inbreeding accumulated harmful mutations that doomed the species due to the many diseases caused by having children between relatives. But this is something that has now been completely debunked. When comparing the genome with samples from 18,000 and 48,500 years ago, the researchers found no decline in diversity. Furthermore, there was no indication that the species was in a state of inbreeding as there was no genetic crossing between close relatives. That is why the effective population remained stable at about 1,600 individuals until just a few centuries before its total disappearance. The culprit. If it was not genetics and inbreeding that condemned the species and not human hunting (because thousands of years passed together without it happening)… what happened? Science now points to Bølling-Allerød Interstadial, a period of abrupt climate warming that occurred about 14,000 years ago. This phenomenon transformed the dry, cold steppe (the rhino paradise) into a landscape of bushy vegetation and, most critically, deep snow. Without being able to live. The woolly rhino, with its short legs and heavy body, was not designed to walk on soft snow or dig for grass under thick layers for food. In this way, it was an environmental trap that caused the animals to not be able to adapt correctly to the new habitat that had been generated around them due to how quickly it happened. Looking to the future. What we learn in the past can also be applied today and tomorrow. And this study does not only speak of the past, since in a context of current climate crisis, the case of the woolly rhinoceros is a warning. It shows that even a species with a stable population and robust genetics can collapse almost instantly if the ecosystem changes abruptly. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Whale vomit: a rare substance that looks like floating garbage, but can cost up to $71,000 per kilo

Almost all phones with optical zoom have the same problem. This Chinese brand believes it has solved it in a curious way

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The greatest illusion trick in mobile photography is continuity between cameras. When we zoom from 1x to 5x on a telephoto smartphone, we are not moving lenses like on a camera; the mobile jumps between fixed sensors and fills the gaps with digital cropping and AI. The result is those sudden jumps in color and image in the viewfinder and a loss of quality in the “intermediate zooms” that we make when pinching the screen. Tecno, the star brand of the giant Transsion—the fifth largest manufacturer in the world hot on Xiaomi’s heels in some markets—has taken advantage of its annual event to present two technologies that attack precisely this problem: a zoom that does not “jump” and a periscope that shrinks. Optical continuous zoom. And from an increase, up to nine. The most ambitious proposal is the “Freeform Continuum Telephoto”. On paper, it promises to maintain optical sharpness throughout. It represents an important leap, although it is not the first: Sony tried it with the Xperia 1 IValthough its range was more limited. LG also showed similar concepts a few years ago, but no one had promised to cover the main angle lens to the long telephoto lens in a single module. To achieve this milestone without turning the mobile phone into a brick, the Chinese firm moves away from the traditional design of lenses that move longitudinally. Instead, they turn to physical principle of the “Alvarez Lenses”: a system that employs two lenses with free-form surfaces that move perpendicular to the optical axis. By sliding one over the other from the side, they change the optical power of the set and achieve that zoom effect. This technology is related to recent reports that Samsung was developing cameras with continuous zoom for Chinese manufacturers. A periscope that folds on itself. The second innovation presented by Tecno attacks the volume. We are obsessed with increasingly larger sensorsbut the space inside the mobile is finite. Periscopic telephoto cameras require a lot of space, but Tecno and its “Dual-Mirror Reflect Telephoto” promise to reduce the size of the module by 50% and its height by 10%. Instead of a simple prism that bends light 90 degrees, the system uses coaxial optics that bounce light multiple times inside the lens using reflective mirrors. It is what allows long focal lengths in a shorter physical distance. However, this design has a physical trace– When using a central obstruction, the bokeh is not circular, but rather takes on a donut shape. Tecno sells it as an artistic feature, the truth is that it is a consequence of mirror optics. Battle against the accused. The new thing from Tecno comes at a time when mobile photography It depends a lot on the processing what are you looking for the photo instagrammable above realism. Going for better optics instead of digital cropping and AI rescaling seems to be the right direction to achieve naturalness. However, we must maintain some caution. The challenge of this zoom is not only that it works, but that it is bright. Maintaining a decent aperture throughout that range is no easy task. If the system is too dark, the ISO will shoot up, generating noise that the software will have to remedy: back to processing. For the moment, we must wait to see if these concepts end up in a commercial mobile phone. Images | Techno In Xataka | I am an amateur photographer, and I will tell you which are the best phones to take almost professional photos without leaving you a fortune.

There are those who think that the housing crisis can be solved by building. At the Polytechnic University of Catalonia they believe they are wrong

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Spain has a problem with housing. That is an (almost) objective fact. The CIS says so, which places it as the great concern of the Spanish, but a quick review of the newspaper archive arrives to confirm it. During the last months few topics have generated more political debate or have taken out so many people on the street such as difficulties in accessing a home. What is no longer so clear is how to solve this “crisis” residential area recognized by the Government itself. Should we build more houses? Does Spain suffer from a housing deficit? Do we need more land to build? Usually the answer to those three questions is a strong ‘yes’. Now a new study signed by two professors of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and published in a magazine linked to the Ministry of Housing points out that perhaps we were wrong. What has happened? That two professors from the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB), Blanca Arellano-Ramos and Josep Roca-Cladera, have published a study about the problems that Spain is facing in terms of housing. The report in question is titled ‘Five theses about housing policy in Spain’ and is included in a monograph of CyTETa magazine published by the Ministry of Housing. So far nothing exceptional. The curious thing is that the text questions many of the ideas rooted in the real estate sector, such as that our country suffers from a housing deficit or needs more land to build. While the Bank of Spain (BE) estimates 700,000 homes the mismatch between supply and demand, the study questions whether there really is a ‘hole’ in the market or that prices will go down if we build more. Is there a housing deficit? As already indicated in its title, the article is structured around five theses. And the first addresses precisely that point: Does Spain suffer from a housing deficit? The question is interesting because it is one of the most deeply rooted ideas in the sector. The Bank of Spain itself has calculated that it would be necessary 700,000 houses to meet residential demand. For Arellano-Ramos and Roca-Cladera the reality is quite different. In his opinion, one cannot talk about a deficit without first taking into account the excess of housing accumulated between 2011 and 2021 and the stock of vacant properties. The researchers remember that between 2011 and 2021 the housing stock exceeded the growth in the number of homes by 959,554 units, generating a considerable pocket. In fact, they assure that in 2021 the “accumulated excess” was close to 8.1 million properties, a “‘cushion’ more than enough to absorb temporary housing deficits such as the one produced during the 2021-2024 period,” recalls the UPC in the statement in which he reports the study. What does that mean? That for researchers it is not so obvious that Spain suffers from a shortage of new housing. In their analysis they also remember that a good part of the excess of houses and apartments corresponds to second homes and empty homes. The INE itself estimates that at least in 2021 there were 3.84 million of uninhabited properties, 14.4% of the real estate stock. That percentage far exceeds what most experts consider “desirable” (5%), but at least in the statement The UPC does not address another fundamental aspect: the distribution of these wasted properties, if they are located in stressed markets, such as Madrid, Barcelona or Malaga, or in centers where demand is minimal or even non-existent, in the case of emptied Spain. What if we build more? That is the second question the researchers address. What if we build more homes? Would prices be reduced? Their response is once again skeptical to say the least: increasing buildings will not lead to greater social equity nor will it serve to soften prices. “On the contrary”, slide the UPC note. “According to the authors of the study, the solution is not to build more new homes so that the laws of the market balance prices. In addition to having serious environmental effects, what favors is the real estate bubble like the one that occurred around 2000.” What happens in other neighboring countries? Among other arguments, Arellano-Ramos and Roca-Cladera recall that the rise in prices is not a problem exclusive to the Spanish market, but rather something widespread on the continent. So the question is obvious: if the increase in prices is due to the imbalance between supply and demand, do the majority of EU countries share that same problem? “Is there simultaneously a restriction of supply in relation to demand occurring throughout Europe in relation to demand that explains the increase in residential prices? It does not seem that this is plausible. Therefore it is not reasonable, prima facieturn to the scarce construction of new housing as the main cause of the price of housing”, they reflect the authors before remembering that Spain has invested a higher percentage of GDP in construction than the European average. Do we need more land? The researchers also question whether in Spain the problem of lack of accessibility to housing can be explained by the scarcity of land. And to prove it, they go to the newspaper archive: between the late 90s and the early 2000s, buildable land was made available in the country, which allowed for “massive construction” of residential housing. This boom was not accompanied, however, by a reduction in the price of the square meter. Quite the opposite: residential prices increased, as in other parts of Europe. If Spain saw housing prices rise between 1996 and 2008, it was not because there was no land on which to build or build new homes. “Spain became more urbanized than ever and the result did not represent a reduction in prices, on the contrary,” underlines the UPC in your statementwhich recalls that between 2000 and 2012 Spain was the European country with the greatest “consumption” of land: more than 2,400 square kilometers (km2), almost as … Read more

Google has solved problems in two hours that would take three years on a supercomputer. It’s the quantum advantage we needed

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Google has taken a notable step into the field of quantum computing with a new algorithm called Quantom Echoes. This algorithm has been able to demonstrate for the first time a “practical and verifiable quantum advantage” that makes its quantum computer make fools of today’s large supercomputers. 13,000 times faster than a supercomputer. The new algorithm, called Quantum Echoes (“Quantum Echoes”), has made it possible to demonstrate that a quantum computer – based on Google’s Willow quantum chip— successfully executes a verifiable algorithm that exceeds the capacity of today’s large supercomputers. Thus, that computer managed to execute that algorithm 13,000 times faster than the best current classical supercomputer when executing similar code. “Quantum verifiability”. Google’s quantum supercomputer solved the problem in just over two hours, when in the second supercomputer most powerful in the world, Frontier, would have taken 3.2 years. But it also did it in a verifiable way: the result can be repeated in the quantum computer itself or in any other of similar caliber. Quantum echoes. The algorithm resembles an advanced echo: you send a signal to the quantum system, perturb a qubit, and then precisely reverse the evolution of the signal to “listen” to the resulting echo. This echo is special because it is amplified by constructive interference, a quantum phenomenon where waves add up to become stronger, which allows this effect to be precisely measured. The algorithm allows modeling the structure of systems in nature, from molecules to black holes. An achievement with a lot of Nobel Prize behind it. The milestone is based on decades of research in this area, including that carried out by the recent Nobel Prize winner, Michel H. Devoretwho is part of the Google team. Together with his colleagues John M. Martinis and John Clark he laid the foundations for this advance at the University of California at Berkeley in the mid-1980s. “Quantum verifiability”. Google’s quantum supercomputer solved the problem in just over two hours, when in the second supercomputer most powerful in the world, Frontier, would have taken 3.2 years. But it also did it in a verifiable way: the result can be repeated in the quantum computer itself or in any other of similar caliber. Quantum echoes. The algorithm resembles an advanced echo: you send a signal to the quantum system, perturb a qubit, and then precisely reverse the evolution of the signal to “listen” to the resulting echo. This echo is special because it is amplified by constructive interference, a quantum phenomenon where waves add up to become stronger, which allows this effect to be precisely measured. The algorithm allows modeling the structure of systems in nature, from molecules to black holes. An achievement with a lot of Nobel Prize behind it. The milestone is based on decades of research in this area, including that carried out by the recent Nobel Prize winner, Michel H. Devoretwho is part of the Google team. Together with his colleagues John M. Martinis and John Clark he laid the foundations for this advance at the University of California at Berkeley in the mid-1980s. Hello qubit. His discovery: the properties of quantum mechanics could also be observed in electrical circuits large enough to be seen with the naked eye. That gave rise to the creation of superconducting qubitswhich are the basic blocks with which Google has created (like other companies) its quantum computers. Devoret joined Google in 2023, thus strengthening the company’s trajectory in its search for the now famous “quantum supremacy”. Promising practical applications. The advance is directed directly to the solution of important problems in fields such as medicine or materials science. Quantum computing remains an experimental technology and faces a key challenge with error correction, but Quantum Echoes demonstrates that “quantum software” is advancing at a pace parallel to hardware. Google applied Quantum Echoes to a proof of concept experiment for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. This technique acts as a “molecular microscope”, a powerful tool that will help design drugs or, for example, establish the molecular structure of new polymers. a marathon. This new milestone demonstrates the progress that this technology has made in recent years, but Google is not alone here. Microsoft or IBM have also made notable advances in recent years, and of course there are numerous startups both in the US like in china who work in this area. In Xataka | Decoherence is the biggest problem with quantum computers. This superconductor wants to end it

science has solved the mystery of plasma rain

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Although it may seem incredible, it rains in the Sun. But it is not a rain of water like the one we know on Earth. It’s a rain of incandescent plasmaa phenomenon that for decades has baffled scientists by not understanding it. Now, a team from the University of Hawaii has solved the mysteryand the answer is completely changing our way of understanding the atmosphere of our ‘reference’ star. The discovery. Published in the prestigious magazine The Astrophysical Journal, not only explains why these spectacular plasma condensationsbut also gives us new tools to predict space weather that affects our technology here on Earth. The mystery. The “solar storm“, or more technically coronal rain, occurs in the corona, the outermost and hottest layer of the Sun. There, masses of denser and relatively “cold” plasma condense and fall back towards the solar surface, creating bright arcs and loops. And although we talk about ‘cold’, the reality is that we are talking about tens of thousands of degreescompared to the millions of degrees in the surrounding plasma. Although for us it would be something unthinkable. The big enigma was speed. Solar models predicted that this cooling and condensation process should take hours, or even days. However, observations showed that rain formed within minutes during solar flares. Something didn’t add up. Now the problem has been located in the models that were used. And they assumed that the chemical composition of the corona was static and uniform, a simplification that has undoubtedly resulted in us calculating the phenomena that occur in our star much worse. The key. The key breakthrough came when the researchers, led by graduate student Luke Fushimi Benavitz, decided to abandon that old assumption. They introduced into their simulations a factor that until now had been overlooked: the abundance of chemical elements varies in space and time without being static. And this is where physics gets very interesting. The mechanism. The first thing that happens in this case is a solar flare that heats the chromosphere (the layer below the corona). This impulsive heating causes a large amount of plasma in the chromosphere to “evaporate” and rise at high speed towards the coronal loops. This ‘new’ plasma will have a composition similar to that of the photosphere, which is the surface we see of the Sun. Once the plasma was already in the coronal loop, rich in materials such as iron or silicon, it is pushed and concentrated at the highest point of the arc, creating a ‘peak’ with these elements. One property of these elements is that they can radiate a lot of energy quickly and this causes the plasma to cool. And this sudden concentration at the apex of the loop acts as an ultra-powerful radiator, causing localized and very rapid cooling. Finally, this sudden cooling causes a pressure drop. As a result, more plasma from the surrounding area is sucked into that area, increasing the density. The most interesting thing is that the higher the density, the cooling becomes even more efficient and a ‘thermal runaway’ occurs. As its name indicates, the temperature will plummet and the plasma will condense, forming rain. The importance. For the first time, this model has done something that had not been achieved before: simulate the formation of rain on the Sun. And understanding it goes far beyond solving an old riddle, but it affects us completely. Most importantly for us, it improves our ability to predict space weather. solar flares They can launch enormous amounts of energy and particles into space which, upon reaching Earth, can damage satellites, disrupt communications and overload electrical networks. More precise models of the Sun’s behavior allow us to better anticipate these events that until now gave us very little preparation time. Rewriting. This discovery forces us to rewrite a fundamental part of solar physics. The idea that the composition of the solar atmosphere is dynamic and not static opens a large field of research ahead to understand exactly how energy moves through the star. Images | Javier Miranda In Xataka | As if nothing were going on, the Sun has just caused a radio blackout with its most powerful eruption of 2025

We needed more than ever a way of predicting better storms and hurricanes. AI has solved the problem

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Among the areas in which Google Deepmind works, Meteorological prediction It is one of the most precision is obtaining thanks to the refinement of artificial intelligence tools designed for it. And the company has just demonstrated that AI can overcome traditional methods in hurricane prediction. And is that your model Weather Lab managed to forecast more accurately The trajectory and intensity of Hurricane Erinwhich went from tropical storm to Category 5 in less than 24 hours A few days ago. The first real exam. Until now, the meteorological models were a promise. Hurricane Erin became the first real -time fire test for the Google system. During the first three critical prediction, the artificial intelligence model exceeded the official forecast so much of the National Center for American Hurricanes such as several traditional physical models, including the most reliable Europeans and American. How it works. Traditional models are based on complex physical equations that recreate current atmospheric conditions: humidity, pressure, temperature. Google’s approach It is radically different. Its AI has been trained with a massive data set that includes historical weather information of the entire land and a specialized database with details of almost 5,000 cyclones observed during the last 45 years. “They match these long historical data with details about how hurricanes behave and statistically combine them to see patterns that the human eye could not detect,” Explain James Franklin, former head of the Hurricane Specialists Unit of the National Hurricane Center. Why does it matter so much. The precise prediction of hurricanes is vital to know what type of measures are needed to protect themselves from them in case of emergencies. The three to five forecast days are crucial to make decisions about evacuations and preparation measures. In Google’s internal tests With storms of 2023 and 2024, its model managed to predict the final location of the cyclones with about 140 kilometers more precision than the European model (ECMWF), considered the most exact available. Exceptional performance. Franklin stands out The performance of the Google system: “It really surpassed the other guides in terms of intensity. It captured the general form of the change of the life cycle almost exactly. practically without error.” The model not only succeeded in the trajectory, but predicted with surprising precision how Erin’s intensity would evolve throughout his life cycle. Still in development. Despite success, the Google model is not ready for public use. Weather Lab includes a warning that recommends trusting the official forecasts of the National Hurricane Center. However, Franklin It is optimistic About the future: “For next year, you will receive a very serious look and will really play a role in the forecasts that leave the Hurricane Center.” Cover image | Brian McGowan In Xataka | It is no longer necessary to pay to transform our photos into what we want. The latest Google offers it for free for everyone

The “cold stain” of the North Atlantic is one of the greatest enigmas in the oceanic climate. We may have already solved it

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There is a region of the North Atlantic that for years intrigue to experts in weather and oceanography. They call her The “cold stain” of the Atlantic And it is a small oasis in an ocean whose waters have been tempered over the years. In a matter of weeks, two studies bring us closer to the resolution of this enigma. Two studies. The two new research published in recent weeks, one in the magazine Communications Earth & Environment And the other in Sciences Advances They address the enigmatic stain and give differentiated but complicitary explanations of the oceanographic dynamics behind this cold spot on the surface of the sea. One of the central axes for both studies is The southern overturning circulation of the Atlantic (AMOC)one of the most important sea currents for the climate on both sides of the “puddle.” A cold stain. The cold stain of the Atlantic is a relatively small region of the ocean surface whose average temperature has dropped (about 0.3º Celsius) instead of ascending as has happened with most surface waters. La Mancha is located south of Greenland, not far from the coasts of Newfoundland, near the waters of the Arctic Ocean. AMOC. Both works indicated directly to the AMOC current as the centerpiece of this climate puzzle. But what is exactly AMOC? The southern overturn circulation of the Atlantic is a current connected to the thermhaline circulation that transports water from north to south and from south to north in the Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic the current transports through the surface layers of the ocean the warm waters of tropical latitudes towards high latitudes and the border with the Arctic. Arrival to these latitudes, the water cools and descends to the deepest layers of the ocean, where it is dragged into a current back towards the South Atlantic. This current not only transports water masses of different temperature but also of different salinity: the water of the tropics is warmer more salty than the water in the Arctic environment. A weakened current. He first of the studies He focused on the weakening of this current observed in recent years. In its analysis, the team used direct observations of the current in the last two decades with indirect measures taken throughout the last century in order to “rebuild” the changes in this circulation. They contrasted these data With predictions that different oceanographic models generated under different assumptions. According to its analysis, only a weakened AMOC current could be linked to the data corresponding to compiled observations. “It’s a very robust correlation,” explained in a press release Yuan Li, co -author of the study. “If you look at the observations and compare them with all simulations, only a monoc-debilitated scenario reproduces the cooling in this unique region.” By sea and by air. He Second study He pointed out, however, the weakening of the AMOC current may not be the only relevant factor in the appearance of the Atlantic cold stain. According to this study, the weakening would have been The initial triggerbut the cooling of the stain would have reduced in turn evaporation and moisture in the atmosphere of the region. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, this would have been in turn in the reduction of this effect and therefore a regional cooling. “Reduce the greenhouse effect, so to speak, it will feed back the surface and amplify the existing cold anomaly,” also pointed to a press release Yifei Fan, co -author of this second study. In Xataka | 200,000 abandoned radioactive barrels are sought off the coast of Galicia: we have only found 1,000 Image | NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

For centuries the blue pigment recipe used by the Egyptians had been a mystery. We just solved it

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Not all Treasures They are made up of jewels, gold and precious stones. For a long time a group of researchers from Washington State University It is behind of a treasure equally fascinating but much more elusive: the Egyptian bluethe synthetic pigment older which is recorded and that once used the artists of the ancient Egyptian to decorate from alabaster bowls to coffins, ceramics and murals. Despite their enormous popularity and that the Romans continued to use it, their recipe was lost over the centuries. Until now. What is Egyptian blue? One of those mysteries that has been intrigued by archaeologists in half the world. Egyptian blue is basically a dye that stands out for two reasons. The first, because it is the synthetic pigment older known to date. It was used thousands of years ago. The second is its bluish tone, which allowed artists to use it as a much more expensive mineral substitute, such as turquoise or lapislázuli. With everything and although we talk about “Egyptian blue” in general, the pigment was very heterogeneous. Depending on where it would have been manufactured, how it would have worked with the material or quality of its components, the tone could vary between gray, a more or less deep blue and a green off. A factor that influenced the process for example was how quickly cooled the mixture. How old is it? Quite. We know that Egyptian blue was already used 5,000 years ago. And that at least. In fact The oldest sample Known is a small alabaster bowl made in the 3250 AC The pigment was used in ceramics, sculptures, murals, sarcophagi, pieces that we still keep today and show its bluish hue. It was also applied to different surfaces, such as wood, stone or cardboard, a material similar to Paper Maché. Did you only use the Egyptians? No. His color liked the artisans so much that the Romans ended up incorporating it into their palette after the conquest of the ancient Egyptian and came to be used during the Renaissance. The Smithsoninan Institute remember that a few years ago it was discovered that at the beginning of the 16th century Rafael used Egyptian blue in the fresco ‘Galatea triumph’a work elaborated for the Villa Farnesina, located in the neighborhood of Constévere, Rome. Although Rafael’s intention could be to imitate the old Roman technique, the Washington State University (WSU) Precise that during the Renaissance the pigment formula had practically fallen into oblivion. That is what a team of researchers has now wanted to solve led by the American institution and who has worked side by side with the Carnegie Museum of natural history and the Institute of Conservation of the Smithsoninan Museum. And how have they done it? Based on trial and error. And try again and again until you give in the nail. The team He thoroughly examined Pigment samples and elaborated 12 recipes in which he experienced with different raw materials and elaboration times. The results have been reflected in An article Posted in NPJ Heritage Science in which he details how he worked with mixtures of silicon, copper, calcium and sodium carbonate dioxide. The main ingredient is the cuprov. To complete the process, the mixed mixture warmed 1,000º Celsius For different times, between one and 11 hours, in an attempt to replicate the temperature with which the ovens of the time work. The resulting samples were also cooled at different speeds to then study their pigments through microscopy and analysis techniques. The results were compared to real pieces of ancient Egypt. Is it so complicated? Beyond the materials used or the techniques with which they were mixed, the great challenge for archaeologists has been to replicate the exact tones that Egyptian artisans worked. “One of the things we observed was that with small variations in the process very different results were obtained,” John McColy commentsone of the authors of the study and director of the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering of the WSU. “There were people who made the pigment, he transported it and then used it elsewhere.” During their study the researchers in fact discovered that to obtain the most bluish hue, only half of the components that generate the blue color were needed. “It doesn’t matter what the rest contains and that surprised us”, Add McCloy. “You can see that each particle contains a lot of elements. It is not uniform, much less.” To such an extent that the WSU acknowledges that one of the conclusions reached by the experts is that the pigment is surprisingly diverse. Did you achieve your goal? That seems. In A statement Run a few days ago the WSU says that after trying different formulas and examining the results in detail, its team has managed to “recreate” the famous Egyptian blue. The feat is not only the result of curiosity or advance to better understand the art of the ancient Egyptian. WSU herself recalls that in part the renewed interest in the Egyptian pigment responds to more pragmatic reasons. “In recent years, interest in this pigment has resurfaced due to its optical, magnetic and biological properties, with potential new technological applications,” Point out The institution. “The pigment emits light in the nearby infrared of the electromagnetic spectrum, invisible to the human being, which means that it could be used for purposes such as traces and create anti falsifications.” Images | Washington State University, Matt Unger, Joshua Franzos and Carnegie Museum of Natural History In Xataka | A 2,000 -year -old cup has revealed an unexpected facet of the Egyptians: psychedelic cocktails

Energy and space. China has solved them by sinking them into the sea

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China has opened in Shanghai The first commercial submarine database fed entirely by marine wind energy. It is an important evolutionary leap after two years of experience with its pilot installation in Hainan. Why is it important. The digital infrastructure is facing Two crisis worldwide: The excessive energy consumption of data centers. The shortage of urban land to expand them. This underwater installation solves both problems of a stroke, because it reduces energy expenditure to 40% while releasing space on the mainland. The context. China already tested the commercial viability of Submarine centers in Hainan Since December 2022, where an installation operates 30 meters deep without registering a single server breakdown in these two and a half years. Microsoft experienced with PROJECT NATICK In Scotland in 2015, but it was Hainan who marked the first real commercial deployment of the world. Shanghai now represents the “version 2.0” of this technology. In figures: Investment reaches 1.6 billion yuan (222.7 million dollars) to create an underwater cluster of 24 megawatts. The natural water cooling system reduces cooling consumption of 40-50% to less than 10% of total consumption. More than 90% of energy will come from marine wind farms. What has happened. Yesterday, Tuesday, June 10, The tripartite agreement was signed Among the authorities of Shanghai and the company Hicloud Technology. The first phase, 2.3 MW, will begin operating in September as a national model project. The second phase will scale up to 24 MW with an energy efficiency (PU) of less than 1.15. And now what. The installation anchors an industrial ecosystem that will support AI, 5G, Internet of industrial things and electronic commerce platforms outside China. The country thus consolidates its leadership in submarine digital infrastructure while other countries remain focused on expanding land centers to use. Outstanding image | Hicloud In Xataka | Saudi Arabia wants to become a new power in data centers. Nothing is clear that I can do it

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