study

the macro study that supports a great longevity ‘hack’

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Science and society in general do not cease in their attempt to achieve a formula to be able to extend life a little more, or at least reach have an older age with a better quality of life. In this sense, there are numerous articles that promise this type of improvement, although logically there is nothing miraculous here, but many different factors influence it. A new rule. A trick that has begun to have a presence among specialists In the world of healthcare it is the 5-2-½ rule. According to this premise, it is enough to sleep five more minutes, do two extra minutes of exercise and eat half a serving more of vegetables a day to mathematically gain an entire year of life expectancy. Its origin. This statement is supported by science, and specifically by a study recently published in The Lancet. The work in this case sought to answer a very specific question: what is the minimum change in our daily habits that achieves a measurable impact on longevity? To find out, the researchers did not take a dozen volunteers, but rather went to the UK Biobank, one of the most complete medical databases, to analyze a total of 59,078 participants with an average follow-up of 8.1 years. The analysis. With all these people they decided to measure sleep time, moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, and diet quality using a dietary scoring system. The mathematics. By cross-referencing the data and applying statistical models, the scientists found a “minimum combination” that was statistically associated with adding a year to life expectancy. The exact numbers of the andstudio were: 5 more minutes of sleep a day. 1.9 more minutes of moderate-vigorous physical activity daily, which is rounded up to two minutes. 5 points of improvement in the dietary quality index, which is approximately equivalent to half an extra serving of vegetables per day. The small print. As with other similar studies, this is an observational study on a population whose lifestyle habits were studied. But it is not a trial that was 100% controlled, where one group was forced to sleep five more minutes and another not to sleep to compare what happened. And this takes a little weight off it. Furthermore, the “extra year of life” is a statistical model at the population level. This means that, if an entire society applied these slight changes, global life expectancy would increase in mathematical models. The problem is that at the individual level, biology is not that mathematical and that is why you cannot compensate for smoking or a severe genetic disease by eating half an extra tomato for dinner. Microhabits. Despite the nuances, the underlying message of the study is tremendously positive. Historically, public health messages have been overwhelming, advertising phrases such as “do 150 minutes of exercise a week”, “radically change your diet”, “get 8 hours of sleep without fail”. This study scientifically demonstrates the immense power of microhabits. It basically tells us that we don’t need to prepare for a marathon or embrace extreme diets for our body to notice it. Adding a handful of spinach to your meal, getting off the subway a stop earlier to walk for two minutes at a good pace, or going to bed a little earlier are actions with almost zero friction. Images | Vitaly Gariev In Xataka | The problem that we read less and less is not a lack of time or discipline: it is that we do not do ‘habit-stacking’

Cancer in people under 50 years of age has been growing for decades. A macro study finally points to the big culprit: biological aging

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The increasing incidence of cancer in young adults is one of the most debated topics in recent oncology. In recent years, exhaustive reviews have warned of an increase in diagnoses in those under 50 years of agealthough medical science had long been searching for the underlying mechanism that connects the dots between modern lifestyle and the early onset of this hated disease. The answer. A new study recently published seems to have found a key piece of the puzzle, which is nothing more than that our cells are aging faster than our ID card. This is the conclusion of research published in the journal Nature that indicates that accelerated biological aging is associated with a greater risk of developing early-onset cancers, especially solid cancers such as lung, stomach and also uterine cancer. Two concepts. To understand the finding, we must first differentiate between chronological age and biological age. The first of these is immovable, since it is nothing more than the years that have passed since our birth. But biological age is flexible, since it is calculated by evaluating the physiological state of a person through blood biomarkers and metabolic profiles. It reflects how “old” our tissues and organs really are. How to measure them. To measure this, Tian’s team used models already consolidated in scientific literaturesuch as PhenoAge and the Klemera-Doubal method. With these tools, they crossed the data of more than 150,000 adults from the UK Biobank and approximately 10,000 program participants. All of Us of the United States. The result shows a dangerous imbalance. This means that those people born in more recent decades had a greater tendency to have a biological age higher than that corresponding to their date of birth. And this time “jump” has direct clinical consequences such as the appearance of cancer. To be more specific, it has been seen that every time we have a person with a biological age higher than their corresponding age, they have an 8% higher risk of having early-onset solid cancer before the age of 50. If we compare the extremes, individuals located in the tertile with the greatest biological aging have a 15% greater risk of developing the disease compared to those in the tertile with the least biological wear and tear. The context. The main thing is not to fall into alarmism, since, although it is true that cancer is increasing in the youngest people in society, it is also increasing in all remaining bands due to multiple factors such as general population aging and better screening methods that allow us to detect cancer earlier. However, the specific data on early onset are undeniable, since large studies point to significant increases in thyroid, breast, colon, kidney and endometrial tumors in the 20 to 49 age group. Colorectal cancer, specifically, is the one that worries the most due to its escalation in young adults. The lifestyle. That we are biologically aging much faster than we should is not magic, but rather it seems to be influenced by different factors related to lifestyle. These include rates of youth obesity, prolonged consumption of diets rich in ultra-processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle, and exposure to environmental toxins. What this new work provides is the quantification of the damage, since these risk factors accelerate the biological clock. We must keep in mind that the human body is exposed to pro-inflammatory factors for more years from early stages of life, which makes it easier for DNA damage to accumulate faster than cellular mechanisms can repair it. In Xataka | Experts agree about the sun and hair: “It is one of the most exposed areas and one of the most forgotten”

We believed that pets were replacing children. One study suggests just the opposite

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The first time I saw a dog in a stroller It was in a shopping center. It passed me like any child’s stroller: wheels, hood, a small package inside. I looked twice because it seemed too small for a baby, and it wasn’t. Inside there was a dog. I remember well that he was a french bulldog and her name was Chanel. Over time, the scene stopped seeming exceptional to me. I started seeing dog strollers in downtown neighborhoods, parks or even on public transportation. An image that has become a symbol of something deeper: the feeling that, in aging societies, pets are occupying a place that children once had. But what if that reading was incomplete, or outright wrong? What if, far from replacing children, pets were playing another role in family life? An academic study questioned a widely held belief a few months ago. To begin with, the numbers help to understand why suspicion has established itself in the public debate. In Spain, according to the Spanish Network for the Identification of Pet Animals (REIAC)in 2023 there were more than ten million dogs registered compared to less than two million children between 0 and 4 years old. A difference so wide that it invites, almost automatically, to think about a change within homes. The scenes that come from outside reinforce that impression. South Korea has crossed a symbolic threshold: More strollers are sold for dogs than for babies. It is not an exaggeration, it is the statistical reflection of a country in demographic emergency. The trend has caught on so much that even faith has adapted. In Japanese temples such as Ichigaya Kamegaoka, the ancient ritual of Shichi-Go-San —previously exclusive for children— has filled with snouts and straps. In the absence of infants, sanctuaries bless pets to prevent their liturgies from being left without protagonists. Against this backdrop, political and moral interpretations have proliferated. In 2022, Pope Francis described as “selfish” to those who prefer to have animals rather than children. In South Korea, then Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo He even stated that young people They “love their dogs” instead of starting families. A resounding diagnosis that, until now, had relied more on cultural symbols and perceptions than on contrasted data. Disassembling the narratio But the idea that pets replace children received a serious corrective from academic research. The study Cats, Dogs, and Babiesled by researchers Kuan-Ming Chen and Ming-Jen Lin from National Taiwan University, analyzed for more than a decade the behavior of millions of homes. The research concluded that people who adopt a dog are up to 33% more likely to have a child later than those who do not. Far from displacing paternity, the animal seems to act as a preliminary step. This is what the authors call the “practice child effect”. As Chen and Lin explainmany couples use the experience of caring for a dog to evaluate their willingness to take on responsibilities: routines, expenses, and emotional bonds. If the experience is positive, it increases confidence to take the next step towards human parenthood. However, there is no change in sight. Neither the Taiwanese study nor the experts who analyze the demographic winter maintain that the increase in pets will translate, by itself, into a rebound in birth rates. The academic work itself warns that this is a country-specific analysis and that patterns may vary depending on the cultural, economic and social context. Furthermore, it is not yet a peer-reviewed article to verify the data either. The cart as a metaphor The study does not propose pets as response to demographic declinebut as a clue about how care decisions are postponed today in a context of economic and vital uncertainty. This reading fits with what sociologists and demographers point out in Spain. As reflected in the analysis of my colleague in Xatakathe drop in the birth rate responds to widely documented structural factors: job insecurity, rising housing costs, difficulties in conciliation, delay in emancipation and increasingly later motherhood. In this scenario, pets do not displace children; They occupy the space left by a postponed vital project. For this reason, the image of the dog in a stroller summarizes this ambiguity well. As Dr. Jerry Klein explainschief veterinarian of the American Kennel Club, these strollers can have a practical function in certain cases: “They offer elderly dogs, dogs with arthritis or mobility problems a way to enjoy the outdoors without straining themselves.” Veterinary platforms such as Dialvet either ToeGrips They agree that they can help protect paws from hot asphalt or help small dogs who cannot keep up with long walks. However, other experts urge caution. Carlos Carrasco, from DOS Training, warns in La Voz de Galicia that “a dog is not a child with hair” and that carrying a healthy animal in a stroller can be a “humiliation” that denaturalizes it. Along the same lines, ethologist Isabel Jiménez, director of La Manada de Iris, points out in IM Veterinaria that excessive humanization “nullifies the dog as a species and makes it emotionally ill.” a study published in Animals (MDPI) reinforces this idea, warning that anthropomorphism can generate anxiety and stress in the animal by not respecting its basic biological needs, such as smelling and walking. Finally, the rise of pets does not alone explain the demographic winter, but it does reveal how forms of affection and responsibility are reconfigured in societies where having children has become more complex. The Taiwanese study does not offer miracle solutionsbut there is a clear warning: facing pets and children as if they were exclusive options oversimplifies a much more nuanced reality. Perhaps, when we see a dog in a stroller, we are not looking at the symbol of renunciation, but rather at the reflection of a generation that postpones irreversible decisions while looking for possible forms of care. Before blaming the puppies, it might be worth looking at the system surrounding those who are hesitant to become parents. Image | Unsplash Xataka | As Japan runs out … Read more

the key is knowing what to study

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Every year, thousands of young people finish their selectivity studies with their minds set on Medicine, Software Engineering or Law. The problem is that they are the usual ones, the ones that everyone knows and also the ones that, because of its popularityhave the highest cut-off marks. However, while these places are assigned in minutes, there are five careers with employment rates above 80% and almost no students. For some reason, companies looking for professionals with those profiles, but the students ignore them. The report U-Ranking 2025 prepared by the BBVA Foundation and the IVIE has crossed the data of two variables that almost never go together: the real employability of the courses and the number of graduates from each branch. Among the results, attention is drawn to a group of degrees with very few enrollments, but with job placement rates that popular careers are not enough, and salaries above 30,000 euros. A mismatch that comes from afar. a report Randstad Research and the San Pablo CEU Foundation estimate the mismatch rate between the studies completed and the jobs obtained in those areas after graduating at 49%. That is, almost half of graduates end up working in something not directly related to the career they have studied. Meanwhile, there are very specific technical profiles that companies they cannot cover. High cut-off marks and the reputation of being tough studies they alienate many students of those races. However, the reality is that the fewer people study a degree, the easier it is to find a job in that field when they leave. Environmental Engineering: 92 graduates and 85.5% hired. U-Ranking data indicates that there are only 92 graduates per year in Environmental Engineering in all of Spain. The Social Security affiliation rate of graduates of this degree four years after finishing it is 85.5%. That is, eight out of ten work “on their own” when they finish their degree, with an average contribution base of 32,643 euros gross per year. The degree is four years and the average cut-off grade for the 2025-2026 academic year was 7.2, with a minimum of 5 at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. With regulatory pressure on environmental impact growing in Europe, these professional profiles are increasingly in demand in consulting, energy and public administration companies. There are very few candidates to cover that demand, which gives those who choose it a fairly comfortable starting position. Geomatics and Materials Engineering: two almost invisible degrees. Geomatic and Topographic Engineering has 149 graduates. It is one of the rarest degrees in the Spanish university system. Even so, its affiliation rate reaches 86.3% and the average contribution base is around 31,845 euros per year. It can be accessed with an affordable passing grade, which starts at 5 in different universities such as the Polytechnic of Madrid, Valencia, the University of Jaén or the University of León. Its applications range from the use of drones, digital mapping and geographic information systems that are increasing their demand in sectors such as infrastructure, defense and urban planning. On the other hand, Materials Engineering has 195 graduates, with a membership rate of 82.7% and average contribution bases of 33,240 euros. The cut-off mark in the 2025-26 academic year started at 5 in universities such as Salamanca, although it varies greatly depending on the center, rising to 8.5 at the University of Barcelona or 9.1 at the University of Seville. It is a very transversal degree that connects with very different sectors: from aeronautics, automotive or energy to biomedicine. Few students know her, but those who choose her do not usually stay without work for long. Naval Engineering and Electronic Engineering: the best paid in the group. Naval and Oceanic Engineering is somewhat more in demand, but without reaching the levels of Medicine, Psychology or Nursing. It has 392 graduates and an average contribution base of 34,490 euros per year. Its affiliation rate is 82.5% and you can enter the University of A Coruña with a 5. This career is responsible for training professionals to design and build boats, marine structures and propulsion systems. Its main demand comes from shipyards, marine renewable energy and defense. The number of annual graduates does not even remotely cover available vacancies. Electronic Engineering is the largest of the five, with 474 graduates. Even so, its tuition remains affordable with universities that require an average of 7.5 such as the Politècnica de Catalunya, the University of La Rioja or La Laguna. Its affiliation rate reaches 90% and the average contribution base is 37,544 euros, one of the highest in the ranking. Of the five careers that we have discussed, this is the one that combines the best employability with the highest remuneration. In Xataka | Overqualification in Spain becomes chronic: 34% of workers perform tasks below their educational level Image | Unsplash (Christian Lendl)

A macro study confirms that early menopause increases the risk of heart attack and stroke

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When we think of the menopausesocial and medical conversation is usually limited to obvious and short-term symptoms, such as hot flashes, mood swings, insomnia or the closure of the fertile period. However, this phase in the life of any woman has implications that go much further in terms of health as it involves a great metabolic and, above all, vascular change. A new vision. Now, the largest international study carried out to date has confirmed a reality by pointing out that when menopause comes early, the risk of suffering a myocardial infarction or stroke increases drastically, remaining stable independent of other traditional risk factors. The magnitude of the study. The research, to reach these conclusions with practically unwavering solidity, has resorted to the PURE-based macro-study, closely following a massive cohort of 111,619 women from 26 different countries, recording their clinical evolution for an average of 14.6 years. And the experts already point out that we are facing a methodological turning point in female cardiology. In figures. The findings evident in this study clearly segment the risk based on the age at which the end of menstruation occurs: When menopause occurs before the age of 40, it is called ‘premature menopause’ and carries between 27% and 30% greater risk of suffering major cardiovascular events such as heart attacks. In the case of a menopause between 40 and 45 years of age, it is called ‘early’ and registers a 14% higher risk of presenting cardiac complications. It is a risk factor. The most robust and worrying data provided by the research is that this increase in cardiovascular risk persists practically unchanged even after the researchers statistically adjusted the models to isolate some classic variables such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking or a sedentary lifestyle. This means that early loss of ovarian function is an independent risk factor in itself for these serious problems to occur. Because? The medical explanation behind this phenomenon lies in the abrupt loss of what cardiologists call the “estrogen shield.” It must be kept in mind that during the fertile age, estrogenic hormones exert a fundamental protective role in the circulatory system through various mechanisms, such as keeping cholesterol and triglyceride levels at bay. But estrogens also keep veins and arteries in good condition, promoting vascular relaxation and inhibiting the accumulation of body fat in arterial walls. Additionally, when estrogen levels fall prematurely, the process of forming lipid deposits in the arteries progresses at a much faster rate. The economic gap. One of the most innovative and alarming points of the PURE study is how the geographical context radically alters the impact of early menopause. And its conclusions show how the impact on cardiovascular health is almost double in low-resource countries compared to rich nations. For example, in countries such as Pakistan, Tanzania, Bangladesh, India and Zimbabwe, an overwhelming 43% of postmenopausal women had experienced early menopause. But in rich nations like Canada or Sweden the figure drops to 23%. A nuance. The authors introduce an important warning, since in countries with very precarious economies, chronic malnutrition usually causes what is known as hypothalamic amenorrhea, since the body prioritizes living over maintaining other functions such as reproductive functions. And although this confusion could partially inflate the statistical gap between rich and poor countries, the study clarifies that it does not in any way invalidate the main conclusion of the study: on a global level, without estrogen, the heart suffers. Images | Molly Wichman In Xataka | Nuria Marín, menopause expert: “Women continue to look for answers outside the health system”

Spain has done its first major study on how many pets there are in the country. And he got a surprise

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Spain is mired in a demographic revolution silent. And he doesn’t even star in it the migratory flowneither agingneither population movements between cities or any other of the many trends that we have been noticing for years. They are promoting the authentic revolution the petsthe dogs and cats that live in our homes. We knew that in Spain there are millions and millionsbut the census carried out by the Government has revealed an astonishing reality: it is already easier meet animals than with Spaniards under 30 years of age. And everything indicates that this gap will continue to widen. How many pets are there in Spain? If you take a walk around your neighborhood (no matter where you live) it is quite likely that you will find people walking dogs or the occasional cat hanging out of an apartment window. We don’t say it. This is said by the multiple statistics that for years have been trying to clarify how many pets live in Spain. They all agree that there are many (many), but their ‘photo’ is not always the same. Although the Animal Welfare Law forces register with microchip to all the dogs and cats, to the shelters they keep coming animals that do not meet that requirement. The result is that it is very difficult to know exactly how many pets there are in Spain. The Companion Animal Identification Network (REIAC) have registered 10.16 million dogs, 967,800 cats and 52,055 ferrets, Anfaac (the association of feed manufacturers) speaks of 6.96 million of dogs and 4.93 million felines and Aedpac estimates that in total they live in Spain 28 million of pets, a figure that other sources round up to approximate 30 million. Year Cats Dogs Others Total 2021 4.58 million 6.89 million 1.81 million 13.29 million 2022 4.76 million 7.08 million 1.85 million 13.69 million 2023 4.97 million 7.28 million 1.92 million 14.17 million 2024 5.29 million 7.42 million 1.95 million 14.66 million 2025 5.62 million 7.56 million 1.99 million 15.17 million The data: 15.17 million. Some time ago the Executive decided to prepare a National Statistics on Animal Protectionan ambitious work that, among other issues, includes “the first official study carried out by the Government on the number of companion animals in our country.” The task has not yet been completed, but a few days ago the Ministry of Social Rights decided to advance some of its first conclusions. And one of them helps to once and for all settle the debate about how many pets live in our country. According to his calculations, in Spain there are 15,171,569a figure obtained after reviewing the regional records between 2021 and 2025. To be more precise, technicians have identified 7.56 million of dogs and 5.62 million cats. The list closes with other species that also live in Spanish homes, such as rabbits, birds, reptiles or turtles. The Executive estimates that in total there are 1.99 million. At the territorial level there are no big surprises, the communities with the most pets are also the most inhabited: Andalusia (3.26 million), Catalonia (1.99) and Madrid (1.89 million). year Population under 10 years old Population under 30 years old 2021 4.19 million 14.05 million 2022 4.07 million 13.99 million 2023 4.01 million 14.18 million 2024 3.94 million 14.30 million 2025 3.86 million 14.43 million Is it important? Yes. And not only because it offers us a new official reference on the number of ‘furries’ that live in Spanish homes. Statistics help to better understand what type of pets we have, which are the most popular and, above all, how their population evolves. Of all the possible readings left by the Government data, this last one is probably the most interesting: those 15.17 million pets represent 14.1% more than in 2021, when the census of companion animals totaled 13.3 million. What does it mean? This percentage shows a growing population (in fact it has been growing steadily, year after year) and explains why pet care has become such an attractive business, something that happens both in Spain and in other countries. The last example is left to us by insurance companies and venture capital funds, which they are betting for veterinary coverage policies for dogs and cats. In general, EAE Business School calculates that pets already generate a business of 5.77 billion euros per year and ‘pet-money’ grows at 8.3% and supports 75,000 jobs. Are there so many pets? Yes, and one way to appreciate it is to resort to comparisons. We knew that in Spain it is much easier encounter with pets than with small children, but the latest data published by the Government offers us another even more shocking revelation: in our country we already there is more pets than people under 30 years of age. To be precise, in 2025 the INE had 14,432,931 inhabitants between 0 and 29 years old registered in Spain. If we talk only about children under 10 years old, the count is 3.86 million people. What does that mean? That in Spain there are much more dogs or cats than children and, if we talk about pets in general, the population of pets almost quadruples that of infants. It’s nothing strange. In Asia there are baby stroller manufacturers that they have started to be interested for another business niche with much more promising expectations: dog strollers. Image | Mia Anderson (Unsplash) In Xataka | 93% of owners believe that sleeping with their dog improves their rest. Science has just proven that it is self-deception

Science also begins to study the effect of art and culture

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“Ah, a lot of gym. But it works the brain a little too.” When Shakira uttered this phrase, immediately converted into a global meme thanks to her session with Bizarrap, she certainly did not intend to lay the foundations for a new scientific hypothesis about aging. And yet, in the midst of the era of biohackinglongevity supplements and timed wellness routines, a recent British study has just put the focus exactly there: on the brain, emotions and culture. We have been hearing for years that the secret to aging gracefully involves count grams of protein, lift weights, nail eight hours of sleep, avoid glucose spikes and of course reach the sacrosanct 10,000 steps a day. Longevity has become a cocktail of science, aesthetic obsession and multi-billion dollar industry. However, a team of researchers from University College London (UCL) has put an unexpected ingredient in the shaker: visiting museums, getting lost in a good book or vibrating at a concert also tangibly influences how our body ages. The investigation, published in the scientific journal Innovation in Aginganalyzed data from 3,556 British adults over 50 years of age. Pulling the thread of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA)—one of the most ambitious European projects on the subject—scientists crossed two seemingly unconnected worlds: cultural habits and physical biomarkers. On the one hand, they recorded how often these people went to the theater, visited galleries, listened to music, danced or painted. On the other hand, they measured their biological clock through blood tests and epigenetic data. The main conclusion was that those who participated in cultural activities at least once a week showed biological aging approximately 4% slower than those who only carried out this type of activity a few times a year. Furthermore, according to one of the indicators used by the team, the most culturally involved people had a biological age close to one year younger than the least culturally active participants. Professor Daisy Fancourt, lead author of the study, explained in the UCL statement that the results suggest that “artistic and cultural activities should be considered beneficial health behaviors, similar to physical activity.” The museum is not a magic pill It is advisable to curb your enthusiasm: the study does not say that reading Tolstoy will take away your wrinkles or that an exhibition replaces a good cardio session. Nor does it guarantee that listening to Clara Schumann automatically lengthens your life. What is evident is a strong correlation. People who often participate in cultural activities have better aging indicators, but correlation does not imply causation. As I well remembered Guardianmany experts insist that this type of research should be interpreted with caution. People who frequently consume culture also tend to share other factors: higher educational levels, higher incomes, less financial stress, healthier lifestyles, and a stronger emotional support network. Although the authors adjusted the statistics to isolate variables such as smoking, previous physical exercise or socioeconomic status, cleaning the equation of all confounding factors is an almost impossible task. Still, the findings dovetail perfectly with an increasingly robust line of science that underscores the biological impact of emotional health and social connectedness. According to the magazine Healththe secret is not in the museum or the book itself, but in what happens inside us when we enjoy them: stress is reduced, isolation decreases, the brain is stimulated, we regulate our emotions better and we receive a good shot of dopamine. Art would not cure by itself, but it would trigger physiological processes that do stop biological deterioration. And that, without a doubt, changes the terms of the conversation. Beyond muscle and metabolism Perhaps the truly revolutionary thing about this study is not that “4% slower”, but the paradigm shift it puts on the table. We have been understanding healthy aging for decades almost exclusively through physical parameters: diet, sweat and cardiovascular prevention. All of that remains essential. In fact, the study itself does not at any point question the benefits of physical exercise. But contemporary science is embracing a broader idea: aging is not just a metabolic or muscular process. It is an emotional, mental and deeply social process. Concepts as the “cognitive reserve” —the protective shield that the brain creates against deterioration thanks to continuous intellectual stimulation— are already common in neuroscience. Learning, having stimulating talks or being impacted by a work of art strengthen that shield. At the same time, disciplines such as psychoimmunology they are teaching us how loneliness, chronic stress or depression punish the body through inflammation and hormonal imbalances. Social isolation is already a major cardiovascular risk factor. This is where culture jumps out of the drawer of mere “entertainment” to reveal itself as a key tool for physiological well-being. The interesting thing is that the study does not talk about extraordinary habits or impossible routines. It talks about everyday practices such as reading a few pages before going to sleep, listening to music on the way to work, commenting on a movie after the cinema and going to an exhibition on any given Sunday. Small cultural gestures that, according to this line of research, could have more biological impact than it seemed. In fact, in the UK this has already jumped from theory to practice. The British health system has long been promoting “social prescription” (social prescribing), a strategy where doctors refer patients to community and cultural activities as a complement to traditional medicine. Reading groups, art workshops, choirs or gardening are prescribed to combat anxiety, cognitive decline or depression in older people. Daisy Fancourt herself is a pioneer in this field, documenting in his book Art Cure how art tangibly intervenes in physical and mental health. The antidote to the stress of hyper-optimization That this study has gone viral reveals something deeply contemporary: collective exhaustion in the face of the tyranny of productive well-being. Today, wanting to live longer seems too similar to an endless spreadsheet– Measure steps, macronutrients, heart rate, REM sleep, and ice water immersion. In such a gridded panorama, … Read more

A Nazi officer has been watching you for two hours while you study, and has five million views on YouTube

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An austere room with an open door. Every three or four minutes, an SS officer entershe stares at the viewer and sees that he is doing exactly what he is supposed to do: studying or working. Except for a few threatening opening words and a sullen farewell, there is nothing more. With small variations (a Soviet officer, times that vary between one and four hours, setting in a sinister basement in some other video) we are facing a successful experiment with five and a half million views. Which connects with one of the most unique traditions of YouTube. The origin. It was published in September 2023 by the German channel Radical Living under the title “2 hours from a WWII German officer to help you study/work/focus.” The description, a laconic “Study with me.” The video accumulates more than five million views and carries, at the end of its description, the inevitable warning that “this work should only be seen as satire” and that the author condemns Nazi ideology. In March 2026 the same channel uploaded the soviet version: same formula, different uniform. Study with me. Having someone on the internet accompany you while you study is not new. The format is on YouTube since around 2014 and began to gain real traction around 2018, when creators around the world began posting recordings of themselves studying in real time, usually with lofi music in the background and visible timers, imitating the also inevitable Pomodoro technique. The mechanics are deliberately simple: the viewer puts on the video, sees someone working in silence (or, in this last variant, someone watching him) and that helps him to work too. Long live Lofi Girl. The absolute reference of the genre is Lofi Girlthe French channel created by music producer Dimitri, launched in February 2017, and which showed the continuous broadcast, livelofi music with an anime girl studying by the window. The channel exceeded 15 million subscribers in 2025 and the image of the girl with headphones has become one of the most recognizable icons of productivity culture on the internet. In July 2025 the character symbolically “graduated” with a video on TikTok showing her wearing a mortarboard and a laptop with the phrase “THE END.” Thus closing the era of the character’s continuous stream, which had lasted more than seven years. More variants. The success of Lofi Girl generated multiple imitations: the subgenre “dark academy“It brought gothic atmospheres, fireplaces, rain, dark wood and a fanfare of violins for those who prefer to study imaginatively in a Victorian castle (the success of ‘Wednesday’, in fact, did not come out of nowhere). Then came the fantasy environments: the library of Hogwartsa elven forestthe spaceship…Each variant adds layers of schematic roleplay, a narrative excuse for the viewer to “get in the mood.” The Nazi or Soviet officer is the latest mutation of that logic, taken to the point of absurdity (and of course, there is a Spanish version with Pepe Viyuela, who is already a subgenre in its own right) Why we like to be watched. There is a technical concept that may explain why these videos work: the body doubling. It emerged in the ADHD community to describe the fact that performing a task in the presence of another person (even if you don’t interact, review your work, or do anything specific) significantly improves your ability to concentrate and get started on tasks. There are already studies that talk about how body doubling It generates a feeling of responsibility that helps you stay on task. The presence (real or not, that doesn’t matter) of someone creates an external structure that the brain uses to regulate itself, something especially valuable for those who have difficulties with executive self-regulation. and the theoretical foundation It goes back even further: the psychologist Robert Zajonc described in 1965 “social facilitation”, that the mere presence of others increases the level of alertness and performance on tasks that we already master. That’s why it works to go down to work in a cafeteria, where no one knows each other. That’s why Lofi Girl works, and that’s why, in its own twisted logic, the SS officer works. In Xataka | We are experiencing a crisis of concentration. Experts are beginning to think that the problem is not mobile phones, but the algorithm

The longest solar burst ever detected lasted almost three weeks. Four ships had to join forces to study it

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Four different spacecraft have confirmed the detection of the longest solar burst ever recorded. measured to date. Previously, the longest known lasted 5 days. However, the one just described in a studio in The Astrophysical Journal Letter It was much longer, as it lasted from August 21 to September 9, 2025. No more and no less than 19 days. Four ships, one answer. This very special solar burst was detected for the first time by Solar Orbiter of the European Space Agency (ESA). The objective of this spacecraft is none other than to study the poles and solar winds, as well as the Sun’s magnetic field, from a close distance. It was not the first solar burst that he had detected, but he had never encountered one of these characteristics. The results were confirmed twelve days later by the ships wind and Parker Solar Probeboth from NASA. A few days later, the STEREO-Aalso from NASA, again supported the same result. A type IV burst. This long burst is a type IV burst. A phenomenon that occurs when electrons are trapped in the Sun’s magnetic field is known as a solar flare, so that they begin to spiral around its lines, generating a large amount of electromagnetic radiation. There are five types. Those of type IV They have wide bandwidths and can last for hours. The duration of this was much longer, which is why it attracted so much attention. The key is in coronal mass ejections. Solar flares are completely harmless. And, unlike other phenomena, such as solar winds or coronal mass ejections, they do not release plasma or charged particles, only radio waves. Therefore, they would not affect telecommunications on Earth. Now, in this case it has been seen that the burst could be related to coronal mass ejections. According to the clues collected by STEREO-A and the scientists’ reconstructions, there must have been 3 coronal mass ejections that served as food for the radio burst. But what is that? Coronal mass ejections are abrupt releases of plasma that are generated in the solar corona when a lot of energy accumulates in it. Possibly, these three ejections were supplying electrons to the explosion, such that there were always electrons trapped and rotating around the magnetic field. That, possibly, is what made this burst last so long. When he was running out of “food”, the Sun was giving him more. Very important. These types of findings are very important because they help us better understand how the Sun works. Solar activity follows cycles of approximately 11 years, with peaks and low points. In 2025 there was a big peak, especially active. Studying everything that happened at that time is very useful to better understand this type of phenomena, especially those that can affect telecommunications, such as solar winds or coronal mass ejections themselves. In this case, the ejecta had not been seen as such, but the long trail they left had been seen. Analyzing that footprint is as useful as it is for paleontologists to study those left by the dinosaurs. Image | THAT In Xataka | The Webb and Hubble telescopes simultaneously observed Jupiter’s auroras. The problem is that they didn’t see the same thing

If you’re wondering where all those shared scooters went, this study gives you the answer

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You probably remember it if you have lived in a Spanish city in the last ten years. Overnight, your city was filled with electric scooters and shared bikes. Everywhere. Everywhere. Some well parked, others that made you feel like a 3,000 meter steeplechase athlete. As the last decade nears its end, Spain joined the wave of shared micromobility. Our streets were filled with operators who put on the streets, under the pay-per-use formula, electric scooters, bicycles and cars that promised to revolutionize the way we move. The formula coincided with another movement: low emission zones. At the end of 2018, Madrid launched Madrid Central. With this project he intended to reduce the volume of cars on the street in its central almond. In 2019, Barcelona began to apply similar measures in a much larger area, in this case it extended to the entire metropolitan area of ​​the city. The general feeling is that we were facing a model that had come to stay. The message was that the volume of cars in city centers had to be reduced and that young people, increasingly less interested in their own car, would combine public transport with scooters and electric bicycles for shared use. A new, more efficient door-to-door mobility. Today, almost nothing remains of that. The new and shared mobility that disappeared To understand what happened with that movement, Andrés Camacho Donezar, Professor of Business Strategy and business models, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, and Carmen Valor Martínez, teacher and researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences (ICADE), Department of Marketing, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, have carried out a study in which the evolution of 10 operators that were or are part of micromobility services in our country has been studied. The conclusions have presented them in The Conversation which explains the problems that these companies had to face and how what seemed like a perfect business, with clear benefits for citizens, ended up being diluted over the years. The study indicates that shared micromobility has three obvious benefits: it is affordable for the vast majority of citizens, it is good for society as a whole because it facilitates access to mobility for all types of incomes and, in addition, it is environmentally beneficial since it should reduce traffic and polluting emissions. These promises laid a rug for all types of companies put their vehicles on the street. The most paradigmatic case was that of Madrid, which had up to 18 companies fighting for users and a regulation that allowed having on the street up to 10,000 electric scooters. After various regulatory attempts and closing the concession to three companies, in 2024 it ended up banning them completely. The process was similar to that of Barcelona, Saragossa either Sevilleto give a few examples. In all these cities, the private companies They tried to do business by attracting new users, the neighbors were divided between those who enjoyed them and those who suffered from them. Until, finally, the City Councils ended up banning them. The reasons have almost always been the same. The study details the problems that operators have had to make the service profitable. From an expansive phase to cover the maximum possible territory, we have moved on to atomization, closing the circle. Vandalism, high collection costs and repairs they began to complicate the business from a purely commercial point of view. To this we must add the neighborhood complaints that led to greater pressure from the City Councils towards the companies. Already in 2018, articles began to proliferate that echoed a problem: the streets were invaded by shared electric scooters. Due to a lack of civility and clearly insufficient control by companies, pedestrians began to encounter new obstacles. After many complaints, also in European cities with Paris in the leadthe City Councils began to put their restrictions. In Madrid, for example, it happened from “door to door” to virtual stations. Users could only pick up or park an electric scooter in limited and geolocated spaces. It was a mortal wound for a service that promised to save the last mile. To this we must add that these same town councils saw another business opportunity: controlling micromobility services themselves. And in most of the large Spanish cities public bicycle sharing services have been launched. With limited spaces to collect and release bicycles and a maintenance service that is not pressured by extraordinarily narrow profit margins. The result is that these shared electric scooter companies, the few that remain, have mostly pivoted to offer themselves as a solution to tour operators that offer rides or tourist visits using this means of transport or supply vehicles to the town councils themselves, like Lime in Getafe (Madrid). With mandatory restrictions (geolocation systems, limited parking spaces…) and some citizens who have rejected the use of electric scooters, shared mobility with these vehicles It has been impossible to make profitable. And public bikes have killed the possibility of the business pivoting to this vehicle. The result is a micromobility service that seemed perfect on paper but failed in practice. Photo | Jonas Jacobsson In Xataka | Madrid bans electric scooters on public transport: the latest explosion has broken the camel’s back

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