Spain

Should the same fine pay the same poor as a rich? Spain is already serious that the DGT puts progressive sanctions

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An increase of up to 500%. That is what has been able to add in the Congress of Deputies with their proposal of law to implement the concept of progressivity to traffic sanctions. A measure that already applies in other countries and aims to match the balance. This is what we know. A Law Proposition. First of all, it is important to know What is a law proposition. This formula allows any parliamentary group to present a letter in which the modification of a law or the creation of an existing one is. Once presented, the government has 30 days to answer whether or not it is processed. If processed, the deadline for presenting possible amendments to the text is opened. In case of moving forward is when the final approval of the text is discussed in the Congress of Deputies. Here is the time to approve this proposition, which decays or that different modifications are included. The proposal to add. Therefore, the proposal to add is, for the moment, in the first step before traffic violations are forward. However, it is still important because it opens the debate to the approval of progressive fines in our country. As you can read in the text presented at the Congress of Deputies, the idea is that the one who has the most pay in case of committing an infraction. “It cannot be that for some a fine ruins the month and for others it is a calderilla,” said Enrique Santiago, spokesman to add, in words collected by The country. What is it? As we say, in which he pays more who has the most. But, to what extent. That is what would have to be defined and add its proposal: A 30% increase in the cost of the sanction “in response to the severity and transcendence of the fact, the background of the offender and his status as a repeat offender, the potential danger created for himself and for the other users of the road and the criterion of proportionality” A 150% increase for sanctioned offenders whose annual gross income is between 70,000 and 85,000 euros. A 300 % increase between sanctioned offenders whose annual gross income between 85,000 and 100,000 euros. A 500 % increase for sanctioned offenders whose annual gross income greater than 100,000 euros. In addition to increases in the payment of sanctions, the proposal also includes reductions for serious and very serious infractions: 30% reduction for those who prove income up to 1.5 times the SMI 15% reduction for those who prove income between 1.5 and 2.5 times the SMI What do we pay? At the moment, the DGT contemplates three scenarios to punish the infractions According to the Traffic Law: Mild infractions: up to 100 euros of sanction. Serious infractions: sanction of 200 euros. Very serious infractions: sanction of 500 euros as a general rule. Reiteration in alcohol or drug use is punished with 1,000 euros. Driving a car with detectors or radar inhibitors is punished with 3,000 euros. Current punishments for speeding How much would we pay? If we apply the proposal to add to the current sanctions, it must be taken into account that all speeding is a serious offense, although a penalty of 100 euros is contemplated for the milder cases. That is, to exceed the maximum permitted speed would entail the payment of the following fines: People who enter less than 1.5 times the SMI: 70 euros. People entering between 1.5 and 2.5 times the SMI: 85 euros. People who exceed 2.5 times the SMI and up to 70,000 euros: they could pay up to 130 euros “in response to the severity and transcendence of the fact, the background of the offender and their status as a repeat offender, the potential danger created for himself and for the other users of the road and the criteria of proportionality.” People who enter between 70,000 and 85,000 euros: 250 euros. People entering between 85,000 and 100,000 euros: 400 euros. People who enter more than 100,000 euros: 600 euros. In response to more serious speed, which is punished with 600 euros, we could talk about sanctions of up to 3,600 euros at the upper end. For fines for drug use, it would amount to 6,000 euros. And for the use of inhibitors and radar detectors they would be 18,000 euros. Does this apply in any country? Yes, different European Union countries have this way of acting in traffic but not all apply in the same way. The most obvious and known case is that of Finland, pioneers who apply this method since 1929 according to Pyramid Consultingspecialized in resorting traffic sanctions. Finland is also famous because in the early 2000s, a Nokia manager was sanctioned with a Fine of 116,000 euros for exceeding the maximum limit allowed at 25 km/h. It is not the only Finnish case, Anders Wiklöf, Finnish millionaire owner of Wiklöf Holding (A group of more than 20 companies that invest in all types of sectors), complained that only three fines 300,000 euros had cost him. And Finland is not the only country where this criterion is applied. In Sweden and in Switzerland he also pays the most and in Denmark, reductions of up to 50% are contemplated when paying fines so not everything is bad news, they collect in Cubic centimeters. And does it work? There are doubts that increasing what is paid for traffic infractions has a real effect on traffic accidents. Some studies They claim that applying progressive fines can reduce road deaths by 5% and 2% serious injuries. However, a meta -analysis It did correlate an increase in the payment of the sanctions between 50 and 100% of the cost of them with a 15% reduction in infractions. Despite this, it was not confirmed that there was a clear correlation between this reduction and a decrease in the number of accidents, dead on the road or injured. Photo | Jorge Fraganillo In Xataka | We already know … Read more

Europe needs an alternative to Starlink and Spain has just invests 14 million in its first piece: Sateliot

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The gigantic Starlink satellite constellation has left Europe at strategic disadvantageas the Ukraine War demonstrated since its inception. In the new geopolitical context of Rearme, and while the European space industry seeks to become independent from the United States, Spain has decided to take care of one of its key assets in the low terrestrial orbit. The news. The Spanish government has approved A strategic investment of 13.85 million euros in Sateliot, The Catalan 5G satellite company for the Internet of Things. The investment will leave the European funds Next Tech (of the recovery plan, transformation and resilience), managed by the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT). Although the State I already participated in Sateliot Through the Public Company Sepides (with 4.69% of the capital), this investment 10 times greater reinforces the position of Spain prior to the development of IRIS2, the future European Starlink. What is Sateliot. Founded in 2018 by Jaume Sanpera (CEO) and Marco Guadalupi (CTO), Sateliot operates a constellation nanosatellites which offer 5G connectivity for the Internet of things from the low terrestrial orbit. These cubesats operate 600 km altitude and can connect any IoT device compatible with the standard “Rela 17” NTN. Sateliot is not a broadband service such as Starlink, but points to a thousand millionaire business: eliminating areas without cellular coverage for agriculture (irrigation devices, fertilizers), livestock (animal geolocation), logistics (trucks and ships), industrial infrastructure and renewable energy. Small satellites, huge expectations. Sateliot has launched six small cubesat satellites in orbits of about 600 km altitude, but projects to expand its constellation 250 satellites in 2026 to offer almost global coverage. The company has signed commercial contracts with companies such as Telefónica or Amazon Web Services, with which it plans to invoice 270 million euros a year. His forecast is reach income of one billion euros Annual for 2030. Integrated with terrestrial networks. Satelliot technology takes advantage of the 5G standard so that the IoT devices of its customers can connect directly to the satellites without specific equipment. Your customers or those of the operatorsbecause technology is integrated directly into land networks so that devices have continuous connectivity in remote or rural areas without stable terrestrial coverage. In this way, farmers can optimize the use of water and fertilizers to reduce costs. and industries such as logistics will be able to have a real -time monitoring of containers and goods. The way to Iris2. Sateliot acts as Precursor and strategic complement of the future IRIS2 European system, planned for 2030 with a public and private investment of 10,000 million euros. Iris2 is the European response Starlink, a constellation of satellites in different orbits that will initially offer sovereign communications for the Member States and their NATO partners, and will be expanded with commercial services or agglutinating other existing ones, such as Oneweb of the French Eutelsat. The Spanish Hispasat is another of the companies that leads the effort. A compartmentalized Starlink. Sateliot and Oneweb are somehow pieces of the future European Starlink, but cannot compete on the Starlink is far from what the European industry can offer right now. While Sateliot as Oneweb deployed their satellites (hiring Falcon 9 rockets, among others), Spacex has built in just over a year its first direct-to-cell constellation with LTE connectivity for all types of customers. The system He began to deploy In January 2024 and It is already working in the United States In beta phase, integrated with T-Mobile. Europe is aware of this resource difference, and is putting its eggs in many baskets. Part of the Strategy 2040 of ESA It is to support the development of these constellations and achieve autonomy in access to space with new commercial rockets that aspire to be reuse. Image | Sateliot In Xataka | Spacex has launched 8,000 Starlink satellites in five years, but they are not enough. And we are beginning to understand why

In 50 years of democracy, in Spain only a book has been prohibited, a controversial comic that would be illegal to publish today

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A court in Barcelona He has rejected suspend the publication of ‘Hate‘, The book on the murderer José Breton that Anagrama will publish and that has raised a great controversy for the contrast between the right to the dignity of the victims and the freedom of the press, which in democracy is almost sacred. “Almost”, because there is some exception. Specifically, the only case of a forbidden book in Spain in democracy is a comic, a satire of deep nihilism, and even disturbing today. Dozens of red lines. ‘Hitler = SS’, the work of the cartoonist Vuillemin and the Gourio screenwriter, is a milestone in editorial history in our country. It was originally edited by the wild French satirical magazine ‘Hara-Kiri‘(predecessor of’ Charlie Hebdo ‘) In 1987. It was a compilation of comics about Jewish extermination in the concentration camps: wild and impudent, the painfully feast trace of Vuillemin converted the comic into an extremely uncomfortable experience, and that did not prisoners. Nazis and Jews are portrayed with absolutely ruthless, Chabacano and looking for controversy. That is, completely punk and underground. Prohibited in France. The humorous and provocative content of the comic is clear with the warning with which it starts: “All similar to the six million people who never existed is merely casual.” From its same appearance in France, The distribution was kidnapped by order of the Minister of Interior. Several Jewish associations protested against the album, which suffered three judicial demands, of which he lost two. In 1989 the authors were sentenced to pay a Franco as a symbolic fine, but the reissue in France is prohibited. Prohibited in Spain. Here the comic was edited by the Makoki publishing house, name that to the fans of the Spanish underground comic It will be familiarand that he was in a new stage in the mid -1990s after his golden years. The plaintiffs were two Jewish associations, B’nai b’rith and Mauthausen Amicale: ‘Hitler = SS’ was accused of attacking the dignity of prisoners and attacking Judaism. In 1995, the Constitutional Court made the decision to prohibit it because it considers that its objective was to humiliate the Jews. The plates and the copies of the album were destroyed, the editor was sentenced to a month and a day of arrest and 100,000 pesetas of fine. The sentence. In Spain, the Constitutional affirmed In his sentence That “every vignette – word and drawing – is aggressive on its own, with a rough and rude message, in short, oblivious to good taste, even when it does not correspond to tertiary in this issue, which is brought here as an external sign of its offensive mood.” It was said that in the album “it beats a pejorative concept of an entire people, the Jew, for their ethnic features and beliefs. A racist attitude, contrary to the set of constitutionally protected values.” And above all, it was said that the comic was aimed at minors, which had to be protected from a publication that sought “deliberately and unscrupulously the vilipendium of the Jewish people, with contempt of their qualities to achieve dismembrance in the consideration of others, determining element of infamy or dishonor.” A outdated interpretation of a phenomenon, the comic for adults, which at that time has been operating in Spain. Kidnapped books. ‘Hitler = SS’ is a unique case being a forbidden comic, as we say a unique circumstance in democracy, since it would make a reissue of it criminally. But there have been cases of temporarily kidnapped books until the resolution of judicial processes, or definitive kidnappings but have not made the content of the book illegal, which could be reissued. These have been the cases: In 2018 a judge of Collado Villalba prohibited the impression and marketing of the book Fariña of Nacho Carretero. The cause: a demand from the former or Grove, José Alfredo Bea Gondar, for violation of honor. Was A precautionary measure Until the trial was held, which finally acquitted Carretero and what Volume sales were multiplied. Luque Historical Studies: In 1991, the City of Luque (Córdoba) published this book on the Civil War. An individual whose relative appeared in him as the author of a murder denounced the book. A court opened proceedings and confiscated the copies in circulation. Those years: In 1993, a judge from Murcia ordered the kidnapping of this book of former General Secretary of the Government Presidency, Julio Feo. The complaint came from María José Alemán, former part of the then mayor of Murcia, who was insulted by its content. What happened in Alcàsser?: The father of one of the dead girls in Alcàsser in 1992 never believed in the official resolution of the case. Published this book that included theories with films SNUFF and senior government positions. The book withdrew by demand from the mother of another girls, who considered that the right to privacy of her and her daughter had been violated. OT, the hidden face: In 2005 all the copies of this Wayne Jamison book about the talent show were kidnapped at the request of the Gestmusic producer. I also know how to play my mouth. Sabina in living flesh: The biography of 2006 of the musician, co-written by the Canretant and Javier Fernández Flores was suspended by a conflict for the ownership of the rights of this book, that the Random House-Mondadori publisher considered that they were his. Besides, there has been innumerable cases of magazines Withdrawal of kiosks by judicial processes or when censorship still was at the beginning of the transition. They are often removed by the publishing house itself to avoid precisely judicial procedures or image damage. This is what happened with ‘Thursday’ In 2007 with the famous cartoons of Guillermo and Fontdevila of the then heir to the crown and his wife: the authors were fined, but the publication was not redistributed after the preventive kidnapping by express desire of the editorial. In Xataka | The kidnapping of a book in the era … Read more

The question that is being asked half Spain is if the rain is over. We have some answers

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Martinho is giving His latest layers on the French coast and, although it is possible that it still affects us Some high impact storm Throughout the week, the mechanism that has made March one of the rainiest months of registration is starting to dissipate. The remains of the Borrascas train. In the next few days, some “residual activity” will still be. The Mediterranean aspect will have some instabildiad, there will be a small Dana and certain showers derived from the situation in Italy. However, the differences with the previous week They will speak for themselves: More sun, less rain and generalized rise in temperatures in most of the country. So, the rain is over? This is worth stopping and explaining it well. What seems to be over is THE BORRASCAS HORS which had been configured in the Atlantic thanks to a blocking anticyclone in northern Europe and the help of Azores. The consequence of that, like Duncan Wingen saidis that the models anticipate a dry week on the Peninsula (especially in the west). We spend between 30 and 60 l/m2 below normal for this time of year. The same rains something in the Cantabrian cornice and the east of the Balearic Islands. Does it mean that it will not rain anymore? It doesn’t have to. What we mean is that we return to a more normal situation. The intense rain is over, constant and without rest. But nothing more than that. Are spring? In coastal areas, temperatures will begin to “prevail”, yes. It will not be rare to find the thermometers above 20 degrees in the Guadalquivir and southern Galicia. However, it will not happen the same throughout the country because, without overcast skies, night temperatures are going to sink into the peninsula. We talk about three degrees lower than normal. A new March. It is true that this March is being “historical” in many ways. In fact, Peninsula soils They are practically saturated due to rainfall. But we would not be wrong if we thought it is a completely isolated fact. The Roberto Granda’s analysis tell us That, except in counted areas of the country, March is becoming increasingly rainy. That has implications for everyone. Not only are the problems that can be given in the field if we do not start recovering some sun: the impact for the health that will have is so good The pollen boom we are going to have In the coming weeks. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | Saharian dust clouds reach Spain and Europe. The other problem is what accompanies them

How a German submarine cable is threatening to change energy control in Spain

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European energy infrastructure is one of the more interconnected in the worldone in seven electricity units It is marketed through terrestrial and submarine cables. However, electrical networks They need more connections and improvements to guarantee stability and energy safety. Now, a German company has decided to challenge the monopoly structure of Spain. German initiative. The Europe Link Development Company has proposed Apollo-Link, a project to create underwater interconnection between Spain and Italy. From the project page They have explained that it is an alternative to continue promoting networks in Europe and more in A context of energy crisis. In this way, the initiative would allow Italy to reduce its energy dependence and take advantage of the renewable energy of Spain. Connection so far. Currently, the interconnection of Spain with the rest of the EU countries is done through France, except with Portugal. The Spanish electricity grid has exclusivity in the transport of electricity, so the German project will challenge the monopoly structure. However, there are exceptions for private international interconnection projects that can be described as “Merchant Lines”. Merchant Lines. European legislation allows third parties outside of transport networks (TSOS) to develop international interconnections under the “Merchant Lines” regime, which is eximicated from the regulations of the Spanish electricity sector. However, these projects must meet certain requirements, and the technical-economic viability of the interconnection must be demonstrated. Despite the possibility of these private projects, the TSO always have preference to execute projects that conform to the official network planning. Economic impact. As The economist has been able to have accesswithin the energy sector they have warned about the implications of this project. While Italy would benefit from Spanish renewable energy, on the other hand Spain would experience an increase in electricity prices due to the greater exchange with other countries. The negotiation of economic terms and the distribution of benefits and costs will be crucial to avoid disadvantages for the country, as already It happened in full crisis of 2022. In addition, before the implementation of the project, thorough studies must be carried out to evaluate its impact on the networks of both countries. What will it consist of? Europe-Link Development has mentioned which seeks to facilitate the exchange of electricity between Spain and Italy. The objective is to link the electrical systems of both countries through an underwater cable of 660 kilometers and an exchange capacity of 2,000 MW. However, it is in a preliminary phase and needs the approval of the managers of the electrical networks of Spain and Italy, Electric and Terna, respectively. Image | Apollo-Link Xataka | Taiwan has just stopped a ship after cutting an underwater cable. The problem is that there are only Chinese citizens inside

Argentina says “no” for the sale of the telephone subsidiary to Clarín. Telefónica Spain says “It’s not my problem”

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Javier Milei’s government He has “preventive” suspended the sale of Telefónica Argentina to Telecom (controlled by the Clarín and Fintech group), alleging risks of monopolistic concentration. However, Telefónica has already charged 1,245 million dollars (about 1,190 million euros) and considers the closed and irrevocable operation. The problem is not in your hands now, but in that of your buyers. Why is it important. The operation represents a strategic divestment for Telefónica, which seeks to reduce its exposure in Latin America to focus on their priority markets: Spain, Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom. Argentina meant only 3% of group’s revenues and generated negative operational results (-199 million euros in 2023). Between the lines. The blockade has a strong political component: Milei maintains an open confrontation with the Clarín Groupowner of 40% of Telecom Argentina and owner of the newspaper of greater circulation in the country and several influential media. The Argentine president has even fixed in his X account A message accusing Clarín of “hosting the government with lies.” The contrast. Milei’s position is contradictory with his ultraliberal ideology. In February, During a speech in Washington, he said that “monopolies are not bad, unless they are armed by the State.” Now it uses precisely antitrust arguments to block an operation between private companies. Yes, but. Argentine legislation, unlike the Spanish or European, contemplates only one EX POST CONTROL of business operations. This means that conditions or restrictions can only be imposed on the buyer, not the seller, and only after closing the transaction. In figures. According to the Argentine government, the merger would create a telecommunications giant that it would concentrate: 61% of the mobile phone market. 69% of fixed telephony. Up to 80% of the residential Internet service in some areas. And now what. Telefónica goes out with the clean jacket of this Barrizal. If the Argentine authorities confirm the dominant position, the only one affected would be Telecom Argentina, which could be forced to sell assets at lower prices than they would put in normal conditions. The objective, reduce its market share. The operation is part of Telefónica’s strategy to disinvest in Latin America, where business They represent 13% of Ebitda with lower margins (19.4% compared to 32.1% of the group). This operation seems clearly advantageous for Telefónica, which can now reinvest the funds achieved in businesses with the greatest growth potential, such as Telefónica Tech or as its position in the United Kingdom. EITHER keep reducing your debt. Outstanding image | Casa RosadaTelefónica In Xataka | 100 years after his birth, Telefónica faces the greatest existential dilemma in its history: what wants to be older

In the 60s Spain wanted to experiment with gamma radiation. The result was an “atomic forest” in Alcalá

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Before rowing us and getting into work I propose a game. One fast, simple and above all curious. Open Google Maps, activates the satellite vision (with that of the street the effect will not be the same), write “Alcalá Atomic Garden” And then let the web transfer you to a point located near Meco and the Northeast HighwayA-2. There, Google’s red claw. Approximate. What do you see? Exact. A Huge circumference green Symmetric. Perfect As if they had drawn it with an XXL size compass. If you dedicate a couple of seconds you will appreciate that it is formed by concentric circles, a succession Tree rings Almost and leafy enough to stand out in bird view and that someone planted in their day around a clear center. It is not a mistake. It is history. More specifically the footprint of “El Encín Gamma Radiation Field”an installation that in its day, back in the last decades of Franco, stood out on the country’s scientific map. His chronicle is fascinating. Almost as much as the large 15 -hectare wooded square left in Alcalá and that, In words From the anthropologist Ambrosio Sánchez de Ribera, it is “a singularity” at European level. New times, new science The 50s and 60s were times of change. For the world, which gradually entered into The cold war. And of course for Spain, where Franco seemed to enter a new phase marked by developmentalism and a certain cracking of its international isolation, with milestones such as The signing of the concordat with the Holy See In 1953, the Pacts of Madrid or the entrance to the UN, In 1955. The 50 were also time for something else: nuclear energy. With still the recent memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki And in full arms race with Moscow, the US wanted international opinion not to focus only on the threat of atomic war and also value its civil and scientific uses. Probably the best proof of that effort is speech “Peace atoms”pronounced in 1953 by Eisenhower before the UN. “Instead of focusing exclusively on the dangers of atomic war, Eisenhower praised the Civil nuclear applications In agriculture, medicine and energy generation. He proposed to create an ‘international atomic energy organism’ that promoted the peaceful use of nuclear energy ‘for the benefit of humanity’ “, Remember Elisabeth Röhrlichhistorian of the University of Vienna. The result soon materialized: just Four years laterIn 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (OIEA) was created. Spain, who had started his own (and shy) history with nuclear energy to late 40did not remain impermeable to those changes. In the 50 Patria Press (Node included) already talked about the US plants either United Kingdom and experiments with radioactive sources applied to medicine and agriculture. In 57 Madrid even hosted a European FAO summit on the subject. Thus, with that backdrop, around 1959, Spain decided to take another step and, with the key mediation of César Gómez Campoan engineer with experience in the USA, planned to create his own “Gamma Radiation Field”a focused specifically designed to perform “crop and seed irradiation experiments”. The chosen place: El Encín, a plot away from Alcalá where Gómez Campo himself had been conducting studies for Agronomic Research Institute. The project advanced relatively fast, as Ambrosio Sánchez de Ribera recalls in a broad (and very complete) essay About the Encín published in 2018 in Complutenses Annals. In 1961, what time was lifted would be an active scientific installation whose footprint still shows today from Google bird: a field of study of 440 square meters of diameter, an area of ​​15 hectares and 18,000 trees, although in 2018 there were only 5,000 left. A huge outdoor laboratory The Encín was a huge outdoor laboratory. One with a design as peculiar as its purpose. The field was circular and was formed by a series of concentric rings arranged around an axis. In the center there was a circle of 25 m radius with a removable hexagonal greenhouse. Inside it contained a lead sarcophagus that housed the source of radiation with which scientists operated, Cesio137 from used bars of American nuclear reactors. Around that central almond of 50 m in diameter, protected with a concrete wall and a stepped soil slope of several meters high to avoid the radiation output, the nearly 18,000 trees that completed the circumference of 15 hectares were distributed. Its purpose was to serve as extra screen against radiation. By way of auction, the center had a garden of large trees and several constructions where the staff had its offices and laboratories. Clarified what the Encín was the other great question: What did they do in it in the 60s? Basically experiment with radiation to find mutations that in last terms allow to achieve varieties of interesting vegetables, fruits or seeds for their characteristics. What is called induced mutagenesis. Gómez Campo himself explained In 1964, which centers such as El Encín were dedicated: “Essentially it consists of a gamma ray emitting source that is installed in an open field, so that the irradiation of growth or relatively bulky animals is possible.” Certain hours a day and for several months a year, at the Alcalá base the technicians opened the lead sarcophagus so that the gamma ray emitting source could act in the center of the field, the 50 m area of ​​diameter protected with a wall and slope in which plants, seeds, insects or some animals were exposed. “The dose received depended on the distance from Cesio137”, Sánchez de Ribera clarifies. When the years of irradiation ended the lead sarcophagus fell again, the caesium was locked and the researchers could access to work. The El Encín field worked 12 years, Between 1961 and 1973when his activity was complicated by the construction of a cement factory in the surroundings. The dust hindered research, so that in 73 it was decided to remove the radioactive source and transfer it to the Polytechnic University of Madrid. There he was only three years before embarking on … Read more

More than half of the population in Spain has vitamin D. A study now question the benefits of supplementation

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Vitamin D, in reality, is not strictly a vitamin. It is a prohormone. Even so, in this article we will continue to identify it as a vitamin by familiarity. Anyway has a fundamental role in the proper functioning of our body. Our body is able to produce it When we expose ourselves to sunlightalthough we can also get it from some foods or Taking supplements. Its importance lies in its ability to favor the absorption of calcium and phosphorus inside our intestine, so without it our bones would become fragile. However, this is not all. It also has the ability to improve muscle function, to activate some defensive cells of our immune system, to regulate blood pressure, and even reduce the level of inflammation of our body. In many regions of Spain, the Sun abounds for a good part of the year, and, even so, more than half of the Spanish population, between 50 and 60%, has an insufficient level of vitamin D (less than 30 ng/ml). This is the percentage defended by a good part of the most recent studies, such as, for example, the one prepared by the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition In 2023, although this figure varies depending on the age and sex of the people collected in the report. Unfortunately many of these studies are not available publicly, but most of them argue that up to 60% of the general population has an insufficient level From this prohormone, as we have just seen. And if we stick to people 65 years of age or older, this figure is triggered until 80%. Vitamin D supplements are in question It is not easy to explain why in a country as sunny as Spain so many people of all ages have an insufficient level of vitamin D, but the most reasonable thing is to assume that it is due to a combination of several factors. On the one hand, many people avoid exposing themselves to sunlight during those hours in which this radiation source is more intense to prevent the appearance of skin cancer. And when they do they protect with solar creams that are capable of blocking up to 95% of the synthesis. In addition, a part of the population has acquired habits that invite you to spend more time at home and less outdoors. The intake of calcifediol supplements is the solution that doctors usually opt for to remedy the vitamin D deficit The diet can help us fight this lack, but the figures given by scientific studies show that in Spain we do not consume with the necessary abundance foods rich in vitamin Dsuch as wild salmon, sardines, cod liver oil or mushrooms. In these circumstances, the intake of calcifediol supplements, which is one of the types of vitamin D that circulate in our blood system, is the solution by which doctors usually opt to remedy this deficit. However, during the last decades Several scientific studies They have questioned the efficacy and benefits of the intake of vitamin D through supplementation. One of the most recent It has been led by Dr. Cynthia Thompson, of the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Public Health College of the University of Arizona (USA), and is very interesting because it tries to statistically evaluate two consequences of taking vitamin D supplements that other studies had only insinuated: the possibility that they reduce the risk of having cancer, but, at the same time, they increase that of suffering a heart disease. This random essay has lasted seven years and involves 36,282 women. Those who were randomly assigned the vitamin D supplementation and calcium supplementation experienced a 7% reduction in the cancer mortality rate. However, those same people also experienced a 6% increase in mortality from cardiovascular diseases. These figures are significant From a statistical point of view, but they do not allow us to reach a definitive conclusion in regard to general mortality. According to Dr. F. Perry Wilsonfrom Yale University (USA), vitamin D supplementation probably does not affect mortality, although it could slightly reduce the risk of some forms of cancer. However, it could also increase the risk of heart disease presumably due to the calcification of arteries. Whatever it is important that we keep in mind that the results of this study, and of those who have preceded it, are not conclusive, although, yes, they give us valuable clues that are worth taking into account. Image | Darina Bellonogova More information | Medium In Xataka | We have found some supplements capable of improving memory in the elderly: prebiot promising

Media Spain has gone crazy with the question of whether olives fattening or not. But its biggest problem is not calories

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“Do olives fattening?” In recent days, this question has run like gunpowder online and should not surprise us. It is one of those things that becomes viral from time to time: it is a typical case of very common product at the gastronomic level, but deeply unknown at the nutritional level. Let’s see what the science of olives and the rest of the pickles say. An urban myth. As the nutritionist Pablo Ojeda pointed out a few days ago, the idea that “the olives fattening” is close to the urban myth. And not only because, in short, food does not fattening or thinning for themselves (that is something that has to do with the general caloric deficit and not a specific product). It is an urban myth because it arises from a truth: that, According to the Spanish Food Composition Database92% of the energy provided by an olive It is fat. It is the nutrient that they contribute most with a lot of distance on carbohydrates or proteins. And that (even if that fat is “good”) destroys the nutritional profile of any product. However, if we look at other parameters we will see that, for example, the caloric density of these products is not very high. That is, you have to eat many olives so that that contribution is really noticed. Is the same thing with the rest of the pickles? In fact, olives are surely the most caloric pickles. In general, these types of products have very few calories. Classic pepinillos have about 12 calories per 100 grams, onions about 30. In comparison, it is true that olives have a greater caloric contribution: 120 green and up to 289 blacks. The real problem is salt. Because seen that, it may seem that pipinillos are a nutritional jewel. And, although they do not have many calories, what is certain is that they are very uploaded. To get an idea, WHO advises that salt consumption Do not exceed 5 grams a day. Well, only pipinillos are 2.3 grams per 100. In a context in which salt consumption does not cease to rise (promoted, above all, by the ultra -processed), care must be taken because it is a very important risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. And the probiotics? Here is some confusion because, although it is one of the fashion themes, still We know very little about the microbiota of our digestive system. On the one hand, yes: there are traditional products that are fermented in brine and, indeed, these They can have microorganisms to help us with the microbiota (although either much). However, “pickles” comes to mean ‘conserving in vinegar’ and in that environment it is difficult for interesting probiotics to remain. Most of what is sold in the market, in fact, has none. Beyond, this is, we must remember that the evidence that sustains probiotics is still scarce. It is not worth obsessing with them because, in most times, Its impact on health is zero. What matters As we often rememberIt is wanting to eat better. Everything else is literature. Image | Marius Haakestad In Xataka | In Belgium the authorities have asked their citizens not to eat the Christmas tree. And they have good reasons

Spain was not one of the first to step on Antarctica, but now it has one of the most coveted laboratories on the continent

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The Antarctica It is a huge frozen desert, but also one orUnique portunity for research. Spain is one of the more than 30 countries that have Bases in the territory And one of them, Gabriel de Castilla’s, has just been extended to be able to carry out a broader range of projects. The peculiarity is that its construction has been carried out in record time and will allow a boost to the investigation of the Climate change and the Biodiversity With a particularity: Spanish is one of the three clean laboratories on the continent. Only. We have been decades studying Antarctica From the air. Is what is allowing us to know What is it under that layer of icebut we also have been studying at Antarctica from the ground. He Antarctic Treaty of 1959 It is the one that allowed different countries to establish bases on the continent, exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes. However, before that there were already bases such as Orcadas base from Argentina, which were operating continuously in the field. The reason is that it is a Single scenario For research. Not only for its diversity or for the dry atmosphere that allows to install advanced astronomical observatories, but because we can reconstruct the climate of hundreds of thousands of years thanks to the air bubbles trapped in the ice and, above all, it is a Climate change thermometer. Spanish Antarctica. We owe several findings to the field research, being one of the most notable the discovery of the ozone layer in 1985. As a result of those agreements, Spain could establish Two bases in Antarctica. The most veteran is the Juan Carlos i. It was inaugurated in early 1988 and is operated by the CSIC. It is not busy all year, but maintains automated records when there is no one and supports projects of areas such as biology, geology, weather and glaciology. The other is the Gabriel de Castillaopened a year later and operated by the Army. Its operation area is diverse, with research in the fields of earth sciences (geomagnetism, volcanic surveillance or geomorphology, among others), biological sciences (ecology, ethology or microbiology), environmental sciences (climate change) and disciplines such as physics, mathematics or biochemistry. Gabriel de Castilla. Like Juan Carlos I, this base is not always busy. Spanish work is limited to the months of the Southern summer, which occurs between December and March, and its location is unique because it is next to one of the two active volcanoes of Antarctica. This makes it a unique enclave to study geological processes and extreme ecosystems. But it seems that the base fell short, so a new scientific module has been built. In the upper image we see what the base was like. In the lower one, those small modules have been eliminated to leave the new space. Reform reforms. After an investment of two million euros, the Gabriel de Castilla has been able to expand its surface to about 307 m². Thus, he has been able to improve his equipment thanks to a microscope room, an electricity and electronic space, a sanitary module and a clean laboratory. And we might think that in such an extreme climate the construction would go slow, but no: in 70 days of the plane to having a structure that already expects research equipment. As points The army, 700 panels, 400 profiles, 26 screws and a total of 80 tons of material have been used to create a new module 41 meters long by 7.2 wide and another 7 high. In case you wonder, beyond the heating, the walls have a 50 millimeter polyurethane sandwich -type layer and another 60 millimeter inner layer of rock wool to improve thermal protection. Clean laboratory. But beyond the speed in its construction, the most important thing about the ‘new’ Spanish base in Antarctica is the aforementioned clean laboratory. It is a space designed to minimize external pollution, so research processes can be carried out in a practically aseptic space in which the samples are not contaminated with exterior agents. The protocols are very strict in both cleaning and ventilation and disinfection, and the really important thing is that, of the more than 30 bases present in Antarctica, that of the Gabriel de Castilla is one of the three Clean laboratories from the region. As they detail in This video From El País, it will be shared with Portugal, and one of the objectives will be to analyze pure samples to better understand the human impact on the planet without external interference. Images | Earth Army, Antarctic campaign In Xataka | Some scientists have discovered that Antarctica is raising 5 cm a year. It is not clear if it is a luck or a problem

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