suggests

Science suggests that economic stress ages the heart

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For decades, cardiovascular medicine has operated under an almost immovable dogma: If you want to protect your heart you have to watch your dietexercise and control blood pressure. However, science has begun to see that there are other social factors that can also be very important, such as the status of personal bank accounts. The study. In order to reach this conclusion that aims to drastically change an authentic dogma of medicine, the Mayo Clinic has analyzed more than 280,000 patients thanks to the artificial intelligence application. To do this, the AI ​​has analyzed the patients’ conventional medical tests and their history. In this way, researchers have discovered that the factors that accelerate the biological clock the most of the heart is not always in the medical history, but in the bank account and in the shopping basket. The ‘invisible’ age. The technological core of this discovery is found in an AI algorithm applied to electrocardiograms. In this way, unlike the analysis carried out by a cardiologist who looks for arrhythmias or abnormalities in the conduction of the heart, this learning model analyzes changes in the electrocardiogram that are very subtle in the electrical signals that can go unnoticed by the human eye. In this way, the algorithm can estimate something that science calls “heart age.” From here, when the researchers compared the figure with the patient’s actual age, a cardiac age gap emerged. That is, there were people with a heart that looked older than it should, which is a much more accurate predictor of mortality than some traditional markers. The social impact. Now the question that science asks is why. The results of the study published in Mayo Clinic Procedures, place financial stress and food insecurity as the most aggressive social determinants of health (SDH). In this way, what the study demonstrates is that constant worry about payment, rent, mortgage or the increase in the cost of basic foods generates a state of physiological wear and tear that AI detects as premature aging of cardiovascular tissue. The reasons. At a biological level, this phenomenon is explained through the chronic stress response. Economic uncertainty keeps the body in a state of permanent “alert”, triggering levels of cortisol and adrenaline. This prolonged hormonal overexposure damages the vascular endothelium and alters heart rate variability, effects that the Mayo Clinic algorithm identifies as signs of an aging heart. Surprisingly, the study indicates that the impact of this precariousness can equal or even exceed the risk posed by physical inactivity or chronic diseases such as diabetes in terms of accelerated mortality. From loneliness to inflation. This work is not an isolated event, but the culmination of a line of research that the Mayo Clinic has reinforced in recent years. In 2024, the same team used AI to show that social isolation acts in the opposite way: having strong support networks and community ties works as a biological “brake” that slows down the aging of the heart. However, the new 2025 study is the first to prioritize economic factors over clinical ones. Change the rules of the game. This finding reminds us of the importance that in clinical practice, beyond seeing results of tests or electrocardiograms, we must also know that in front of the doctor there is a human patient. And not only is the high cholesterol in the analysis important, but there are also many social problems behind him that can interfere with his pathology and that doctors should be aware of. The relevance of this work lies in its ability to prioritize. While other previous studies already talked about social stress, this is the first to use AI models to quantify exactly how economic precariousness “rusts” the heart muscle compared to traditional medical factors. Images | Robina Weermeijer Christian Erfurt In Xataka | Half of employees say they work under constant stress: they would give up 21% of their salary to avoid it

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 was in a shopping mall. 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? A new academic study challenges a widely held belief. 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 now 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 The idea that pets replace children has just 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, has analyzed for more than a decade the behavior of millions of homes. Research has 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 “child of practice 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. 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 of children, it’s starting to adopt some ceremonies for one group on the … Read more

A one million years of years suggests that the ‘homo sapiens’ does not come from Africa

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The history of human evolution is a fascinating puzzle that we lack many pieces. Each new fossil adds details, but occasionally, one of them does not fit the image we had. Or rather, It forces us to redraw the puzzle completely. This is what has just happened with the analysis of a skull of one million years old found in China, an investigation that, according to its authors, “totally changes” our understanding about when and how we arise, since I would question Our origin based in Africa. The study. Published In the prestigious Science magazinea team of scientists from China and the Museum of Natural History of the United Kingdom, a posture that the lineage of the Homo sapiens began to separate from their relatives, such as Neanderthalsat least half a million years before what was believed. And this is not a short time. The skull The protagonist of this story is the skull of Yunxian 2approximately one million years old, which was damaged. This caused that at first it was classified as the skull of a Homo erectus, One of our most primitive ancestors. But nothing is further from reality. Thanks to digital reconstruction technology, which included computerized and modeled tomographies, researchers were able to restore their original form. The analysis. Once the results were had, the surprises arrived. The skull did not belong to a Homo erectus, It showed a mixture of primitive and modern features. According to the study, Yunxian 2 is actually an early member of the clado Homo Longi, a sister species of Homo sapiens which also includes Mysterious denisovans. “Our research reveals that Yunxian 2 is not Homo erectusbut an early member of the clado Longi And it is linked to the Denisovanos, “said Professor Chris Stringer, co -director of the research.” This changes the thought a lot because he suggests that a million years ago, our ancestors had already been divided into different groups, which points to a much earlier and more complex human evolutionary division of what was believed, “he continued explaining. New temporal line. Until now, most genetic studies placed divergence between the lineage of the Homo sapiens and that of the Neanderthals about 600,000 years ago. However, this new analysis has changed everything and the dates remain as follows: Origin of the clado sapiens: It is now estimated at approximately 1.02 million years. Origin of the clado Longi: It is calculated in about 1.2 million years. Separation of both lineages: the study places the divergence between the lineage sapiens and the Longi 1.32 million years ago. This implies that three large groups of humans with large brains –Homo sapiens, Homo Longi (including denisovanos) and Neanderthals – could have coexist for almost a million years, much longer than was thought. Africa. Although the appearance of these fossils in the Asian continent can make us think that the origin of our ancestors is not in Africa as thought, we must have caution. Professor Stringer himself, one of the study authors, warns that there is not enough evidence to affirm that our species evolved in Asia instead of in Africa. The task that is now ahead is to select fossils with a similar age found in Africa and Europe and do the same study. That is why the scientific community is enthusiastic right now, but in a critical position. Dr. Aylwyn Scally, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Cambridge, points out that both genetic and fossil -based analysis have significant uncertainties, especially when establishing such old chronologies. “More evidence is needed to be safe,” he says. What is clear is that Yunxian 2’s skull has opened a new and exciting window to our past, demonstrating that the history of human evolution is much deeper and more complex than we imagined. Images | Ranjit Pradhan In Xataka | “This is not a penguin.”

There are people on the Internet following a diet based on potatoes. Science suggests that it is a bad idea

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The Self -Experimentation It is present in many fields and that of nutrition and diets is among them. He last example we have encountered It is frankly surprising, these are people who have tested a diet based on potatoes … and little else. The results they report are positive, but the idea of ​​trying this form of self -experience does not seem to be so good. Potato diet? We have seen, over the last years, an immense variety of diets, some that we could consider, in one sense or another, extreme. An example of this are diets based on a single food or food group, and an example of these is found in the potato -based diet. There are different versions, more or less lax, of this diet, but in essence it is about subsisting based on potatoes (approximately between one and 2.5 kg daily) for a brief period of time (between three and five days). Other versions can incorporate This type of diets might seem a contemporary fashion or a meme that goes too far, but the chronicles place their origin At least in the nineteenth century. One of his first drivers could have been the writer British Lord Byron. But is there evidence? Studying the effects of this type of diets is complicated by the risk they imply. Although focusing our diet on a single element can help us control the calories we consume and therefore lose weight, No food It is sufficiently varied in nutrients to guarantee our body the proper micro-and macronutrient supply. This is especially True for potatoes. The caloric density of this food has made it one of the bases of sustenance both in South America where it is originally in Europe. However for a while, Some experts In nutrition they see it as a lower food compared to other carbohydrate sources, A notion discussedyes indeed. Some studies made with animal models They have given us some clue that, at theoretical level, could support the idea that potatoes can help us control our weight. A compound present in the potato and called proteinase II inhibitor could play a role in this relationship. “It works for me. ” A priori it is not easy to distinguish a “Miracle diet“Of the diets contrasted by the scientific community and therefore backed by studies and experiments. That a person has had a satisfactory experience with a diet does not imply that this diet is healthy. The effects of dietary changes may not be evident or can occur in the longer term, so while we perceive a change for better, our body may be suffering consequences that are not directly apparent. Nor does it mean that this diet will adjust to our specific needs, which can be very different depending on our context. In Xataka | Intermittent fasting is the fashion diet. At least among scientists who study their effects on microbioma Image | CONGERDESIGN

The data suggests that Germany works less hours than Spain. The reality of your labor market tells another story

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The reduction of working hours and how to face it is an issue on the debate table in a good part of the world. In Spain, the reduction of working hours is in Parliamentary Processing Phase and it is expected that at the end of the year a working day of 37.5 hours per week will be carried out. Countries like Germany, United Kingdom or Portugal have performed pilot tests of the four -day work week to evaluate The effect of that reduction. However, why is the reduction of working on if, according to 2023 data of Eurostat, in Spain the Real workday Average is already 36.4 hours a week, while in Germany is 34 hours a week? The key after that figure is in the quality of the employment of each country and reveals that, even if it may seem, a worker in Germany does not work less hours than in Spain. The middle days. In response to Eurostat data, indeed, the days in Germany seem to be shorter than in Spain, with 36.4 hours a week in front of the 34 hours of Germany. However, if we segment that data by type of day, the expected thing would be for working hours to maintain the same proportion. Nothing is further from reality. By differentiating the Eurostat data Between full time and part -time day we find that the average number of usual weekly hours in the main employment in full -time is 40.2 hours a week in both Spain and Germany. Something similar happens when differentiating the part -time Where Spain leaves an average of 20.3 hours a week, while on average part -time workers in Germany do 21.8 hours. So, if the days of Spain and Germany are not so different, why is there such a remarkable difference in the average? The key is in the quality of the labor market. Precariousness. According to him Press report Prepared by an expert council appointed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy in 2022, 42% of workers in Spain suffer some kind of precariousness (Submployment, temporary contracts, low wages, etc.). Despite that, after the 2022 labor reform, it changed The contract model expanding the use of the contract full -time indefinite. According to the 2023 INE data13.3% of the workforce in Spain worked part -time. That is, the data indicate That in that year, 15,454,000 employees worked full -time, while 2,580,900 did it part -time in Spain. Instead, the German labor market is much more fragmented in that aspect. In 2023, 31% of this country’s workers worked part -time, According to data of the Federal Statistics Office. This difference in full -time employment and part -time contracts makes a big difference in the calculation of the final average of weekly hours worked, since both variables are taken into account. Active retirement. To this is added the enormous success in Germany of the model of “Minijobs“, in which workers complement studies or retirement with part -time jobs for a few hours a week. official dataaround 13% of retirees between 65 and 74 years in Germany, they continue working, either out of economic necessity or by personal choice. On the other hand, in Spain that percentage drops to 4.08% of the retirees who choose to continue working with some or none modification in your workday. Average working life in Europe. Source: Eurostat That makes, according to Eurostat dataGermany’s working life is 39.6 years, while in Spain it is 36.3 years on average. That is, a good part of German workers work less hours a week in part -time jobs, but they do it for more years than Spanish workers. In Xataka | Some researchers have analyzed the working day in Spain: the same thing that 40 years ago is worked, but in worse jobs Image | Eurostat

LEGO has been in video games decades, but its latest strategic movement suggests that it is now more seriously than ever

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LEGO has been present in dozens of video games, but most have been developed by third parties. That could change soon. His CEO, Niels Christiansen, has revealed in an interview with Financial Times that the company is betting again on a team of internal developmentan interesting movement in its strategy. The idea seems clear: having more control over your products. To understand the importance of this step, it is enough to review the history of Lego and how its relationship with the digital world has evolved. Founded in Denmark in 1932Lego began to manufacture plastic bricks in 1949. Over time, he expanded his catalog and consolidated himself as one of the most influential toy brands in the world, although without paying attention to the digital world. However, at the beginning of the 1990s, when computer science began to collect more strength than ever, a group of enthusiasts led by the artist Dent-de-lion du Midi (also known as dandi) thought it was the moment that LEGO would make the leap from the physical world to the films and, eventually, that of video games. Lego in the world of video games To convince the company was not an easy task. Dandi and his team worked for more than a year in the creation of a digital library that recreated Lego bricks in a virtual environment, an idea that was revolutionary at that time. But when they finally presented the project, The answer was a blunt not. Despite the rejection, the team did not give up. Instead of leaving the initiative, they decided to bring their proposal directly to Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, CEO of the company and grandson of the founder. The bet went well. Kristiansen was impressed enough to assign a budget for an in -depth study on the digitalization of Lego products. That study would end up paying fruits. With an initial investment of 11.5 million dollars (about 27 million adjusted to inflation), the “was born”Darwin Project“, an initiative that gave rise to four divisions, one of them dedicated to video games. From here, ‘Lego Island’ in 1997, the first video game for the company’s PC was helped. However, the initial enthusiasm did not take long to be eclipsed by the financial reality of the company. In the early 2000s, in full economic crisis, Lego decided to sell its division of video games as part of a strategy of a strategy Restructuring to avoid bankruptcy, thus delegating the development of their titles in external studies. Today, the situation is radically different. LEGO has not only avoided bankrupt Billing of 10,100 million dollars in 202413% more than the previous year. With its business more solid than ever, the company has decided to recover control over its digital strategy. “We can cover experiences for children of all ages, digital or physical,” says Christiansen. For that purpose, an internal game development division “It is something we are building” The bet is firm. LEGO has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to triple its template of software engineers since 2022 and in reinforcing its digital infrastructure. What remains to be seen is whether this new approach will mean a distancing from external studies with which he has worked for years. Give up developments like ‘Lego Star Wars‘ either ‘Indian Lego Jones‘, which have been key in their success in the video game industry, would be a risky play. Meanwhile, ‘LEGO Fortnite‘He has shown that the brand still has a huge pull, with 87 million players to his credit. The big question is: will this movement mark the beginning of a new era for LEGO video games, or will it simply be another piece in its global strategy? Time will say if the Danish company is willing to Build your own brick road to brick Or if, as until now, he continues to trust his external partners to shape his digital universe. Images | LEGO In Xataka | How ‘Fortnite’ is creating his particular “fortniteverso” thanks to Lego, with whom he is reformulating his foundations In Xataka | There is a fever for video games designed “for couples” because they get something unexpected: reinvent the ways of playing

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