sounds

The buzzword in the world of sports and weight loss is “autophagy.” Sounds good, the only problem is that it’s bullshit

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On December 7, 2016, Yoshinori Ohsumi He stood on the stage of the Medical Classroom of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and began to explainin detail, “the discoveries of the mechanisms of autophagy.” Three days later, in front of a completely packed auditorium, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. Now, dozens of people are dedicated to using these mechanisms to lose weight. Isn’t it a beautiful example of the value of basic science? It would be, in fact, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s all a hoax. Autophagy exists. Of course yes: as I say, the 2016 Nobel Prize went to its discoverer. It is a cellular mechanism that recycles damaged components. We know that when nutrients are lacking or there is stress, the cell wraps parts of itself (damaged proteins, old organelles like mitochondria) in double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes, which fuse with lysosomes to degrade and reuse those components. It is something essential in cellular life. Basic, essential: essential to preserve the functionality of tissues throughout life. This maintains internal well-being, obtains extra energy or materials and contributes to cellular defense. It reaches such a point that a few days ago, the journal Nature Immunology explained in detail how all this is a fundamental piece in longevity. What’s the problem then? Measuring its effect on humans is complex. After all, direct markers They are difficult to grasp outside of biopsies or highly controlled laboratory conditions. Indirect markers abound, yes; but they are not very specific. This makes us know that prolonged fasting activates the mechanisms of autophagy, yes; but we don’t know anything about anything like intermittent fasting or any type of diet doing that. In fact, even when we can see increases in autophagy gene expression, we cannot make the leap to clinical benefits. So… Can it be used, then, to lose weight? Well no. The truth is that selling it as a “trick” to lose weight is going too far: weight is lost due to a caloric deficit, not by “eating yourself.” Ultimately, all the examples given are nothing more than the extrapolation of isolated cellular models. There is no no kind of scientific evidence that endorses any of that. The only thing we know about autophagy at a clinical level is that, well, it sounds good: it sells. And, really, that’s enough. Saving the distance, ‘autophagy’ is the new ‘quantum diet’: something that sounds scientific, that has the endorsement of the community of experts and that means absolutely nothing. A perfect breeding ground for charlatans. Is it a scam then? I wouldn’t say that much. What’s more, we may find out in the next few years that autophagy mechanisms do indeed do things in normal diets. The important thing is that, along the way, all those who want to take advantage do not destroy the credit that Oshumi achieved with his revolutionary work. Image | Marco Vitiello In Xataka | The lies of the nutritional pyramid: from pedagogical tool to corporate battleground

Having many children sounds great as a way to preserve the species. Until you start passing genetic mutations

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Men do not have a limit marked by nature in which a ‘stop’ is applied when it comes to having more offspring (such as if women have), although little by little it is becoming more complicated. But even if there is no such limit choosing to become parents at an older ageis not the most recommended due to the great risks it has, as pointed out a published study in Nature magazine recently. Risk age. The idea that the age of the mother It is a crucial factor for the baby’s health is deeply rooted in the collective consciousness and has been seen to Older age is associated with diseases such as Down syndrome. However, science has been accumulating evidence for years that the father’s age also plays a fundamental role. We already knew that about 80% of new genetic mutations (those not inherited from either parent) come from the paternal germline. What we didn’t know was the magnitude of the mechanism that accelerates it. Selfish sperm. The team of researchers from Wellcome Sanger Institute in the United Kingdomled by Raheleh Rahbari and Matthew Neville, has put a name and surname to the problem: selfish selection of spermatogonia. In simple terms, this means that certain genetic mutations not only alter a gene, but give a competitive advantage to the stem cells that produce sperm (spermatogonia). These mutated cells replicate faster and more efficiently than their healthy counterparts, so they will predominate ahead of the gametes that are suitable. As a result, as the years go by, the percentage of sperm carrying these “selfish” mutations increases exponentially, not linearly, and this results in a man in his early thirties having 1 sperm in every 50 with a disease-causing mutation. But when you reach the age of 70, this figure shoots up to 1 sperm in every 20. How it has been seen. To reach this conclusion, scientists needed highly precise technology, since right now standard sequencing methods have an error rate that can make it difficult to see a specific mutation. This is where a technique called duplex sequencing (NanoSeq). Its operation is very simple, since instead of reading a single strand of DNA, this method reads both strands of the double helix. If a mutation is detected on both strands in exactly the same place, it is virtually impossible for it to be a machine error. It is a real mutation. Thanks to this precision, they were able to analyze more than 35,000 mutations in the sperm of 81 men between 24 and 75 years old. In this case, the results identified more than 40 key genes where these selfish mutations tend to occur. Most are associated with serious neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism itself or even increasing the probability of suffering from cancer throughout the offspring’s life. Genetic sanctuary. Interestingly, the study revealed a surprising fact when comparing the mutations in the sperm with those in the blood cells of the same men. In the blood, the impact of lifestyle was evident: men who smoked, drank alcohol excessively or were obese had a much higher mutation burden. However, no correlation with these factors was found in sperm. The mutations accumulated at a rate eight times slower and seemed immune to the individual’s habits. This suggests that the testicles function as a biological “sanctuary,” a protected niche that the body strives to keep safe from harmful environmental factors. Family planning. Logically, when making the decision to reproduce this changes many things, since to avoid this accumulation of mutations it would be interesting to do it the younger the better. Both in the case of men and women. But the reality we have in our society is that family conciliation has not yet been achieved, and this means that becoming mothers and fathers has to be delayed. In this way, the study points to the possibility of including sperm freezing at an earlier age if considering having children or considering genetic screening techniques for elderly parents. Although all this has a cost behind it. In Xataka | Someone thinks they know why fertility is plummeting around the world: men and women are doing “better” separately

A future where we all wear smart glasses sounds good, until they are taken by the person who is going to shave the crotch

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You meet in a beauty salon to make Brazilian hair removal and receive a very kind girl. Everything is going well until, in the middle of the work, you realize that it wears a goal, smart glasses capable of recording video. It is what happened to an influencer and his experience opens a new debate about privacy. What happened. The protagonist is Aniesta Navarro, a New York influencer who went to a beauty hall to be made by Brazilian hair removal (for whom he does not know, it consists of the elimination of the hair from the pubic area). Navarro told his experience in Tiktok and The video It already has more than seven million visualizations. In him he tells that the girl who attended her wore target glasses. When asked, the girl assured her that she used them as her graduated glasses and that at that time they were not loaded. The answer. The finish lines have a LED that lights up when they record and was off, but Navarro could not stop thinking if I would be recording, making the experience very uncomfortable. Days later he published Another video In Tiktok where he told that he had sent an email to the company and answered him with a generic message that did not give him too much confidence. As the story went viral, in response to the Washington Posta company spokeswoman insisted that the glasses were turned off. In addition, another Meta spokesman confirmed that manipulating the recording LED goes against service standards. Glasses for all. Mark Zuckerberg says that by 2030 the smartphone will have passed to the background because We will do almost everything through glasses. Although for now it is an emerging product may be right: the market is growing very fast and The success of the Ray-Ban Meta It is promising. What he does not say is what will mean from the point of view of privacy and if we are prepared as a society so that anyone who crosses wearing a camera in the eyes. Cameras everywhere. There are already, but we talk about glasses with a tiny camera that goes unnoticed. Yes, there is a LED that turns on when you record and cannot be deactivated, but there are already those who have found a way to hide it. Even if the LED works, many people do not realize that they are being recorded, as counted This journalist in The Times. It probably has to do with the fact that they are still a new product and is not normalized, but there are those who find it Intrusive and even sinister. More incidents. The Brazilian hair removal has not been the only incident with smart glasses. They count on Futurism That last year an exotic dancer warned about customers who used the Ray-Ban Meta to record the shows. A goalkeeper of a similar club published This video in which he denied the entrance to another client who also carried them. We don’t have to go so far: a few months ago They arrested a man in Barcelona for recording women without their consent using a goal. Image | Xataka In Xataka | They modify a goal scratch to identify strangers on the street. It is a warning of the dangerous ‘doxing’ that awaits us

Having an AI browser that does things for you sounds good. Until a hacker uses it to steal all your money

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Ask the AI ​​to make a summary of that article that you just saw in Reddit can be very expensive. It is what They just revealed Those responsible for Brave, who have discovered a surprisingly simple way to hack the browser of the perplexity comet to do not only what the user asks, but what an attacker has managed to convince him to do. The danger of leaving everything in the hands of AI is evident. What happened. Brave’s experts, a browser that competes with Chrome or Firefox and also has AI functions, wanted to analyze the risk of using an agetic browser like the one It offers perplexity right now with Comet. And what if they have done it. The browsers with ia promise a lot. Thanks to tools like Comet – Openai too has its chatgpt agentheir of Operator-, It is possible that the browser becomes a kind of digital butler and do things for us autonomously when visiting websites. Thus, you can summarize a news, tell you which song appears in that YouTube video, look for offers, answer emails or complete purchase processes. A priori the advantages are huge, but be careful, because there are also important risks. But be careful to let go of the steering wheel. However, delegating everything in the browser can raise a real threat to the safety and privacy of our data. If we trust them too much, these browsers may have access to all our data, since theoretically they will benefit from access to our email, but also to banking and financial data and even health. What happens if the amazing model or makes mistakes? Or worse: What happens if someone modifies the content in a malicious and invisible way for ia agents to follow malicious instructions? Having the AI. That is just what They discovered in Brave When trying a simple technique. They published a malicious comment on a Reddit thread, and then asked Comet to summarize the article. When they went to do it they verified how Comet did not know whether the content of that thread could or not contain malicious instructions: he simply met them and followed them. And in thread, as can be seen in the video, there were some simple instructions that stole the credentials of their perplexity account and even intercepted the verification code that the platform sent to the user to log in the service. Result: Automatic account by the attacker thanks to the AI. How the attack works. As Brave experts explain, the problem is that the way of hacking this type of browse is not hacking the browsers, but hacking the content, something that is very, very simple. The steps are the following: Configuration: An attack writes Malicious instructions in some content on the web. If you control that site, you can hide instructions using blank text if the background is also white, or in comments or other invisible elements. They can also do it directly “injecting” those instructions through comments in publications on social networks such as Reddit or Facebook. Activation: A user sails to that website and uses the browser with AI. If you do something simple as “Summarize this page“Or ask that certain information be extracted, these malicious instructions are activated. Injection: As the AI ​​processes the information on the page, see those malicious instructions and follow them. It is not able to distinguish whether the content has a malicious purpose or not, and considers everything as part of what you should do at the request of the user. Exploitation: these malicious commands and instructions indicate to the navigator’s tools to perform various actions, such as navigating the user’s bank account, Extract stored passwords In the browser or collect information to a remote server controlled by the attacker. Possible solutions. Those responsible for the study indicate that to protect themselves from these types of problems, agricultural browsers must first differentiate between what the user has asked for and what the user content is. The content of a website “should always be treated as non -reliable.” In addition, the browser with AI should necessarily ask for the user’s interaction to perform certain actions, how to access passwords or perhaps send an email. Restrict permissions to the agetic browser and make good use of Two -step verification systems “With mobile applications such as Google Authenticator, for example,” are also adequate ways to mitigate a problem that can put in many problems the deployment of these tools. Outstanding image | Perplexity, Xataka with mockuuups studio In Xataka | I have tried day, the browser that replaces ARC and bets everything to AI. It hasn’t come out as expected

Kodak revolutionized the world of photography. His last message sounds more like farewell than reinvention

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Your first camera may be a Small yellow or black box, plastic, with a metallic click and a reel that you carried to reveal to discover photos of bright colors. Before there were mobile phones and Instagram filters, Kodak was the entrance door to photography for millions of people. Yesterday, that same company warned in its quarterly report (Form 10-Q that presents before the SEC) that its continuity is in doubt. The market responded to the announcement with a fall close to 26% of the shares in the subsequent moments. According to the aforementioned document, Kodak closed the last quarter with a net loss of 26 million dollars, compared to 25 million benefit a year earlier, and 155 million box to June 30. The problem is that in less than a year obligations over around 500 million and today it has no compromised financing to cover them, which activated the notice of ‘Going concerns‘. To gain margin, the company has launched extraordinary measures, but has indicated that “these conditions raise serious doubts about the company’s ability to continue operating.” To invent the easy photo to existential doubt Far from their domain days in cameras and reels, Kodak operates today in commercial printing, chemicals and advanced materials, and film for cinema. Its brand is licensed for consumer products, while reinforcing businesses where it retains industrial technology and capillarity. Besides, It already has a regulated installation in Rochesterregistered by the FDA, which will start with PHOSPHATE BUFFERED SALINE (A buffered saline solution with phosphates that is usually used in laboratories and biomedical processes) and aspires to produce intravenous sera later. His footprint in consumer photography is, today, more symbolic than real. As we mentioned above, the pressure of that short-term debt is combined with loose income and limited liquidity, according to 10-Q and the results note. To win oxygen, Kodak has decided to close his Company Pension Plan in the United Statesa corporate system that guarantees retirement payments to former employees. The company plans to clarify on August 15 how it will serve all participants and complete reversal in December 2025, with the idea of amortizing part of the term loan and renegotiating or refinancing the rest. Kodak camera In 1975, Steven SassonKodak engineer, presented a digital camera prototype who captured images with a CCD sensor and kept them on tape. It was rudimentary, but marked the beginning of a technological revolution that would end up imposing. The company decided not to market it then for fear of cannibalizing the road business and for the immaturity of the product. This caution delayed its entry into the digital market, allowed rivals to consolidate positions and weakened the model that had made it unbeatable for decades. In 2020, Kodak tried to reconvert the pharmaceutical ingredients with a letter of interest from the United States Development Bank for a loan of 765 million dollars. The stock market reaction was glowing, but the process was paralyzed between research and criticismand the loan was not formalized. That ambition survives today on a smaller scale: Rochester’s CGMP installation, already registered by the FDA, will begin with PBS as the first product and will serve as a basis for exploring materials of greater regulatory value. What happens in the coming months will be decisive for Kodak. The company argues that it may pay a significant part of the loan and expand or refinance the rest, while executing the closure of the pension plan and Light your new pharmaceutical line. The market, for now, observes skepticism. For a brand that defined photography for more than a century, the challenge is no longer to innovate, but simply survive. Images | KODAK | Bady Abbas In Xataka | The agreement with the US seemed to pave the way to Nvidia in China. Now is the Asian giant who begins to close the door

Traveling by plane with a monstrous battery sounds great. Until airport safety thinks

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Travel salts and do fast checkeo: molts, clothing, pajamas, jacket in case it refreshes (which you will end up not using), loaders and loaders The Power Bank of 30,000 mAh with which you can load your mobile and that of all your friends a couple of times. You keep everything, you arrive at the airport and surprise: You can’t pass with such a large external batteryso they requisition and lose it. Indeed, in the same way that we can only carry liquid boats up to 100 milliliters In a transparent plastic bag up to a liter of capacityexternal batteries also have limits. Knowing them will help us not to take an unpleasant surprise as soon as you start the holidays Let’s talk about airplanes. IATA (International Air Transport Association) is the global commercial organization that groups the majority of the world’s airlines. It represents more than 350 airlines in 120 countries (that is, 80% of world air traffic) and among its many tasks is the promotion of safety standards. It is in the 66th edition of the IATA DANGEROUS GOODS REGULATIONS where the limits of lithium and ion-lithium batteries are collected (PDF). Image | Xataka The limits. According to the IATA, we can carry in the hand luggage, and always in the hand luggage, not in the winery, a maximum two external batteries of up to 100 Whing each. The same is secreted by EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) (PDF). IATA terminology, however, is something confusing because it considers the Power Banks as spare/loose batteries, and of those we can take up to 20. However, if they are non -spillable batteries, they must be 12V or less, 100 whi or less and the limit is two units per person. If it is a replacement battery of between 100 and 160 WH, we can take up to two that the operator approves it and if it is greater than 160 WH, we most likely cannot transport it, as the EASA exposes. So, and to go on insurance: Maximum capacity: 100 Wh Maximum units per person: two Power Banks. Image | Gomi Forgive, Wh? In the Tech world we are accustomed to talking about the ability of a battery in terms of MAH (milliamp tell us about (watts time). If the brand of our Power Bank gives us the data, better than better. If not, we can do the MAH> WH conversion with this formula: (mAh) x (v) / 1000 = Wh Power Bank usually have a 3.7 volt voltage, so in the case of an external 20,000 mAh battery we would be talking about 74 Wh. That leads us to the following conclusion: if we want to carry the Power Bank on an airplane, the maximum theoretical capacity must be, at most, 27,000 mAh, although it may be tightening the rope too much. With a battery of 20-25,000 mAh we should go more than served, so, again, to go on insurance on an plane: Maximum capacity: 20,000-25,000 mAh. Maximum units per person: two Power Banks. Image | Gomi But one thing. This is a general rule and airlines usually accept it or adapt it, but we have doubts the ideal is to speak with the operator and comment our particular case. It is also possible that There are concrete standards depending on the country or the airline. For example, Hong Kong’s laws They prohibit loading the Power Banks using the USB take of the seats or loading devices with the external battery during the flight. South Korean operators force To take the battery at all times with us (not in a backpack, not in the upper trunk, with us) and companies like China Airlines and Singapore Airlines They prohibit The use of them during the flight. China’s case is particular. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued an urgent notice whereby, as of June 28, 2025, passengers are prohibited from climbing the plane With batteries without the 3C certification (CCC). This is a mandatory security brand, similar to the European EC, which guarantees the quality and safety of Chinese products and that applies to both those imported and those manufactured in China. The thing is that, for the moment, it only applies to domestic flights. And in the trains? Nor in the Renfe conditions nor on the Adif website any mention is made to external batteries. Renfe, in fact, considers dangerous objects to firearms, white weapons, sports and sharp work instruments. Weapons could behave if we carry the relevant license or accreditations, as well as ammunition. What we cannot carry are sharp objects such as knives or stabs, paint ball guns and explosive, flammable, chemical or toxic substances. They do not specify anything about external batteries. They do not do it either Iro and Ouigowhich have similar restrictions and in no case refer to external batteries. Anyway, from Xataka we have contacted the three operators to get out of doubt and update in the case of receiving an answer. Image | Tonny Zhong

China is at the gates of overcoming Taiwan in number of chips produced. Sounds very intimidating but it is not so much

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China will surpass Taiwan in 2030 in the production capacity of semiconductors. This is indicated by a recent Yole Group report that highlights how the efforts of the Asian giant will soon be rewarded. At least in the quantity section. Not so much in quality. Chinese-Taiwan tension. China has one especially delicate relationship With Taiwan, and that shows in the chips race. TSMC is the jewel of the Taiwanese crownabsolute protagonist in the semiconductor sector. No one produces more and better chips, and the restrictions that affect the People’s Republic of China (China) do not affect the Chinese Republic (Taiwan). China, however, has been investing in its own continental companies and manufacturing plants (“Foundries”), and that is giving results. The data. According to this study, the production capacity of semiconductors in continental China plants will represent 30% of the world total quota before the decade ends, when in 2024 it was 21%. Taiwan currently is the market leader with a 23%share, while China is already second with the aforementioned 21%. Behind are South Korea (19%), Japan (13%) and the US (10%). Big Fund. Beijing put years ago its plan to be a “complete nation” in the field of semicoductors. This is: not depending on anyone. To do this, he created the so -called Investment Fund of the Integrated Circuit Industry of China, popularly known as the “great background” or “Big Fund”. The economic support of this body has allowed SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor – two of the main manufacturers of Chinese semiconductors – to flourish especially. Chinese manufacturers evolve. The domestic plants of continental China have been growing in relevance, and They have invested significantly in expansions that allow working in chips for sectors such as automotive or generative artificial intelligence. All this makes the panorama for semiconductors in China improve, but only in a section. Good for quantity, bad for “quality”. The problem of these semiconductor plants is that they use less advanced photolithographs ranging from 8 to 45 Nm. Although these types of chips remain perfectly valid for industries such as automotive, IoT devices or appliances, they are not for advanced AI chips, which are in which TSMC dominates. The great Chinese promise, in trouble. SMIC, the main Chinese semiconductor manufacturer, has been trying to make the leap to a 5 Nm photolithographic node, but this technology He is choking. In fact, his 7 nm node already had Notable problems In performance per wafer, and failing to take that step is for the moment a negative note in that remarkable advance in production rhythms. And while his rivals for all. TSMC and Samsung have already overcome that photolithographic node and are going at full speed to start the mass production of 2 nm chips. It is expected that TSMC achieves it this year and that Samsung does it in 2026. Taiwan in fact is Testing your lithography A14 (1.4 Nm), which will enter large -scale production in 2028. Image | Xataka with chatgpt In Xataka | ASML’s new lithography team divides chips manufacturers. TSMC considers not using it until 2030

Salmon sperm is the new fashion ingredient in aesthetics. And no, it’s not as crazy as it sounds

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In the era of the cult of perfect skin, the aesthetic industry seems to know limits. Masks with bee venom, sera with snail drool, injections that They promise to reprogram Aging … Any compound that promises youth, elasticity or luminosity is a good formula for even Celebrities Be behind it, even if we are talking about salmon sperm. A new anti -aging elixir? Although talking about salmon sperm captures attention (and lifts eyebrows), the truth is that it does not imply directly applying reproductive cells on the skin. In statements collected by the Spanish, Dr. Araceli González, specialist in aesthetic medicine, has clarified: “This product is popularly because it allows you to obtain polynucleotides, components with great qualities to restore the skin without leaving any residue.” In this way, it helps support reparation, regeneration and collagen production on the skin. For celebrities it is not new. Personalities such as Jennifer Aniston had already undergone this type of treatments in previous years, as reported in an interview to the Wall Street Journal, where he even joked asking his estheticist: “Really? How do you get the salmon sperm?” However, what was previously a luxury curiosity, today has become a booming aesthetic trend that adds more and more followers, from dermatological clinics to Influencers In social networks. The Telva medium It has included it Among the seven major skin care trends by 2025. And the big question. How do you get? Well, the answer is more technical than biological. The PDRN is obtained by processing and purifying the DNA of the gonads (sexual organs) of the salmon. Sperm is not used as such, but the genetic material is broken in polynucleotide fragments, which are then integrated into sera, masks, injections or combinations with techniques such as microaguja or laser, according to He explained Dermatologist Mansha Sethi Thacker A Vry Well Health. A curiosity is that in Asia they usually inject it directly, while in the US they are applied topically after treatments such as exosomes or laser. Does it really work? Treatment defenders ensure that it offers visible and progressive benefits. According to Dr. Adam Friedman, a dermatologist at the George Washington University, for the same medium, it has detailed that it stimulates collagen production, improves hydration, accelerates cell regeneration and healing, and decreases inflammation and better pigmentation. For its part, the aestheticist Adeela Crown, Interviewed by the Financial Timeshe has summarized it thus: “It is a slower process, but bioestimulants such as polynucleotides make skin cells work to produce and maintain the basic components of healthy skin.” Its use in medicine. Although the boom is recent, seeing the benefits gives notes that it was already used before. As He explained Dr. Araceli González to El Español, The use of polynucleotides were already used in medical contexts to treat burns, serious injuries or even ulcers. In addition, preliminary investigations, mentioned by Varywell Health, They have indicated that they can have anti -inflammatory effects and have begun to use to stop hair loss and strengthen the scalp, with repeated treatments every few weeks. Are there side effects? Like any aesthetic treatment, it is not exempt from precautions. Dr. Richard Westreich, plastic surgeon in New York, has pointed out in The Guardian that side effects are generally mild: bruises, swelling or redness may appear, especially if the product is injected. In addition, as in every medical process there may be a risk of allergic reaction. For its part, dermatologist Emma Craythorne has warned in FT that “no current study is of high quality”, and although the results are promising, more robust clinical research is still required. A new aesthetic revolution? For many specialists, polynucleotides treatment represents a paradigm shift. Not only does it seek to correct visible signs of aging, but preserve and stimulate the natural functions of the skin. “It is a bioestimulator that does not change the volume or the shape of the face,” He explained Araceli González. Therefore, it is suitable for both young skins that seek to prevent mature skin with marked sagging signs or elastosis. In addition, it is beginning to be used in areas where other treatments do not work well, such as the lower eyelid, where botulinum toxin has no good results. Dr. Elizabeth Hawkes, an Oculoplasty specialist in London, has affirmed at ft that “polynucleotides have transformed their practice” for the security they offer in sensitive areas such as eye contour. What are the forecasts? What began as an eccentricity worthy of headlines, salmon sperm on the face, has evolved towards a trend backed by clinics, dermatologists and public figures. But between the promises of cell regeneration and the media brightness, is the question: are we facing a real scientific revolution or before another cosmetic seasonal phenomenon, camouflaged under a disruptive name? For now, science advances slower than social networks, but if something teaches us the history of beauty is that, in the search for eternal youth, no ingredient – unlikely that seems – is out of play. Image | Angela George and Unspash Xataka | People are fed up with Skincare’s thousand steps so the last Beauty trend is just one thing: exosomes

If your mobile sounds like a maracas when stirring, you are in luck. Your camera has what you have to have

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There is a question that my acquaintances ask me lately when they buy their new phone and, unintentionally, they move it a little stronger than the account. Why does it sound like there was something loose? Depending on the size and distribution of the cameras, the sound can be more or less strong. For example, my iPhone 16 Pro sounds quite lazy, but my Pixel 9 Pro It is a show. In both cases, more or less sound, the origin of this phenomenon is a consequence of good news: the camera is level. THE SOUND TO MARACAS. Agite the phone and that sounds at the top is a matter of concern for users, and in Forums like Reddit It has been widely discussed. There is only one reason for the phone to sound like a maracas when moving it, and that reason is the OIS. These are the acronym for optical image stabilizer, and if your mobile has one, you are in luck. And no, there is no problem that sounds in specific situations such as stirring the phone. What is an ois. There are two ways to stabilize an image: physically or digitally. In the first case you just have to process the image through some cut to try to eliminate trepidations. In the second, we talk about a mechanical system in charge of compensating the involuntary movements we make when holding the phone. This Ois It is usually composed of a game of gyroscopes and electromagnetic actuators, designed to compensate for the micromevications that this area suffers. If you move the mobile phone, you will compensate to the right, and so on each of the possible directions. Not all ois are the same. If my iPhone 16 pro sounds less it is because it does not use a traditional system, it directly uses a stabilized sensor. This means that there is no movement in the lens, but in the sensor itself. This is much more precise compared to traditional, faster, and useful with large sensors. It is a technology that has not ended up standardizing, since its implementation is more expensive. What does the ois allow. Thanks to OIS, we can obtain more clear photographs in any type of light condition, but especially in low light. Not having hardly trepidations, the camera can lower the shutter speed (almost as if it were on a tripod). It also affects videos, in which stabilization is key. Both when capturing video with more light and when allowing more stable planes, the OIS is simply essential. More and more mainstream. The OIS, despite carrying with us more than ten years, is not completely standardized. More and more mid -range mobiles carry it, but when manufacturers want to save costs, the OIS is one of the elements they cut. If we look at the list of devices released in 2025 with OISthe tonic is clear: mid -range mobiles, leaving the cheapest proposals (such as the recent CMF Phone 2 Pro) At the mercy of electronic stabilization. Image | Xataka In Xataka | How to take the best photos with a cheap mobile: seven tricks to compensate for technical limitations

Having solar panels at home sounds very good in case of national blackout. The problem is that they don’t work

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The national blackout that Spain has suffered It has been historicalbut has also sown the doubt. While the vast majority of citizens ran out of light, in the street there was “life” in some supermarkets or marques that made the use of other renewable alternatives. Surely also, today more than ever many will ask about the need to have a solar installation in their home, which leads us to another question: how does a network of domestic panels work before a national blackout? Installation in normal conditions. Before talking about the case of a blackout as the one that occurred in Spain, it is convenient to explain the most basic of A “standard” installation In a typical home. In most cases, solar panels capture the radiation of the sun and generate what we call DC (DC). This current passes through an investor that converts it in turn in alternating current (CA), and that is precisely what we use in homes. In Spain and in almost all countries, most solar facilities are connected to the electricity network (known systems as on-Grid). This allows, on the one hand, to consume solar energy directly in the house. On the other, pour the surplus to the network (which entitles economic compensation, such as the net balance or Simplified compensation). Finally, of course, it allows you to receive electricity from the network when there is not enough solar generation (for example, at night or on cloudy days). The problem occurs when there is a situation like that occurred yesterday. Installation in blackouts. When you have a photovoltaic installation in the house of only panels and there is a blackout, something contradictory but very important happens: even if you have solar panels working, the sky is sunny and the beginning of the day, your house is also It is left without electricity. As? Yes, this occurs by security regulations (for example, in Europe under the standard VDE 0126-1-1 and similar), all solar investors connected to the network must detect the loss of tension and turn off immediately, is what is called Anti-Isla protection. The reason? The reason for this “cut” is to protect network maintenance technicians: if there were thousands of houses by sending electricity to a supposedly “dead” network, it could be lethal for workers They are at that time repairing the failure. Therefore, if you have only solar panels connected to the network, you cannot use electricity during a blackout. Your solar panels are automatically disconnected. There is no more. The solution: batteries. If you also have batteries, the thing changes, although here the situation varies depending on the type of investor and configuration you have. If you have hybrid investors (solar + battery), there are modern investors that already allow to continue operating in what is called Island or back-up mode. This means that when they detect a blackout, they are physically disconnected from the network and come to feed only your house using solar energy and energy stored in your batteries. In addition, there are also systems for backup investors (The so-called back-up inverters), where a separate system is used that can feed a specific part of the house (for example, fridge, essential lights or internet). One More Thing. But even so, for this to work you need lithium or lead batteries properly sizeda hybrid investor compatible with operation in island mode or an inverter with backup function (Back-UP), a automatic cutting system that separates your home from the public network in case of blackout guaranteeing safety, and finally an electrical panel prepared to isolate non-essential loads (for example, it makes no sense to keep the electric oven or air conditioning on if the energy is limited). In any case and to place all this in perspective in the Spanish landscape, only 33% of facilities Current domestic lots in Spain include batteries. This means that most households with solar panels would continue to suffer electric cuts during a blackout like the one that occurred yesterday. The reasons are very varied, but the extra cost of investment of them after the solar installation (already large) is key. The promise of self -supply. All this leads to a final question: Is it possible to be self -sufficient (energetically) in Spain? The short response is no. The promise of solar self -supply on the peninsula is based on taking advantage of the high solar radiation (Spain receives on average between 1,600 and 2,000 kWh/m²/year) to generate clean energy and reduce dependence on the electricity grid, especially in single -family homes. Thanks to photovoltaic self -consumption and the Price drop Of the solar panels (more than 80% have fallen in the last decade), today it is technically possible to cover between 60% and 80% of the annual consumption of an average house in Spain only with solar energy, and in some cases, almost 100% If appropriate storage batteries are installed (although with the network hitch). The problem. However, self -supply has important limits: solar production is intermittent (there is no generation of night and lowers a lot in winter or cloudy days), the batteries remain expensive (between 4,000 and 9,000 euros a complete domestic installation) and its capacity only allows a few hours or days of autonomy without network. Plus: We already said it, the current legislation requires that the systems connected to the network be disconnected in blackouts if they are not equipped to function in Isla mode, which implies that, without a specific design (and of large disbursement), even with solar panels, you could run out of electricity in general cuts. Image | Pxhere In Xataka | What is the “energy zero” and why the supply can go suddenly but it takes hours to recover In Xataka | Spain is dark: a general blackout has left us all without light

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