surprising

The surprising thing is not its pieces, but how they work

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It was in the middle of the Cold War when Western engineers who managed to examine captured Soviet equipment they were surprised finding surprisingly simple circuits and unrefined finishes, but yes, designed to continue working even in extreme conditions where more advanced systems would have failed. That scenario halfway between simplicity and effectiveness left a lesson that decades later makes sense again. Open a missile and understand war. Analysis of remains of North Korean missiles used in Ukraine has offered (one more time) an image as unexpected as it is revealing about the evolution of modern war, by showing that apparently sophisticated systems hide a reality much more hybrid. Just like have reported Since the kyiv government, Ukrainian engineers and scientists have disassembled and studied these projectiles after their use in combat, finding a surprising combination of elements that don’t fit with the classic idea of ​​advanced weaponry. That contrast, between what it seems and what it really is, has become a key clue to understanding how current military balances are changing. Technology from another era in the midst of globalization. To be more exact, the missiles analyzed, mainly the KN-23 and the KN-24reveal a very clear pattern: they are built with manufacturing methods reminiscent half a century ago at the very least, with rudimentary welding, basic materials and simple technical solutions such as the use of graphite to withstand heat. However, inside it appears a completely different element, with commercial electronics from multiple countries, integrated into its control systems to make up for the lack of its own technology. The result is a weapon that mixes the old and the modern in a way that is as unexpected as it is functional. Bigger, less efficient. According to has explained the Ukrainian ministry, technical limitations are evident, since these missiles use less efficient fuels and require significantly larger motors to reach distances comparable to more advanced systems. This lack of sophistication also translates in reliability problemswith failures in flight and premature explosions detected on multiple occasions. Even so, all these shortcomings do not make them irrelevant, but rather an example of how less refined engineering can remain useful if it fulfills its basic objective on the battlefield. The real problem. Be that as it may, and despite their apparent low quality, these missiles continue representing a danger more than significant, since their ballistic nature makes them difficult to intercept and requires the use of advanced air defense systems like the patriot. In turn, this creates a strategic paradox in which relatively simple weapons force the use of resources much more expensive to neutralize them, replicating the same economic imbalance that is already observed in drone warfare. In other words, they don’t have to be perfect to be effective. Adaptation on the ground. Furthermore, they said in kyiv that the use of these systems is also linked to a tactical evolution on the ground that we have been countingone where North Korean forces deployed alongside Russia have been adjusting their way of fighting after suffering significant losses. In this way, they have gone from massive attacks to operations smaller and more flexiblesupported by drones and better coordinated with artillery, in a process of direct learning from the battlefield. If you will, this adaptation also reinforces the idea that the current war not only transforms technology, obviously, but also the way in which it is being used. The new norm. Ultimately, the last unboxing of missiles illustrates a deeper change where war no longer depends solely on the most advanced technology, but on the ability to combine resources available effectively. Blending ancient manufacturing methods with accessible global electronics proves that innovation doesn’t always mean sophistication, but intelligent adaptation. In that context, what Ukraine has found inside these North Korean missiles is not only a technical curiosity, but a clear sign of where modern warfare and its resources are heading, one where imperfect systems coexist, but sufficient and capable of generating real strategic effects. Image | Ukrainian M., Lightrocket In Xataka | A disturbing idea has begun to take hold in Europe: Ukraine has turned Russia into a fearsome air force In Xataka | Cities such as London or Madrid appear on Russia’s new objective map. The reason: drone production

Archaeologists opened a 2,600-year-old Etruscan tomb and found something surprising: four intact corpses

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Imagine moving a huge slab of stone and discovering that time stopped behind it 2,600 years ago: an intact Etruscan burial chamber, just as they left it when they sealed it. The scene seems straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, but no: it happened in Lazio, about 70 kilometers northwest of Rome and behind is the archeology team It was that of the San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project, Baylor University in Texas and the Italian authorities. The discovery. The tomb is located in the necropolis of San Giuliano in the Marturanum park and what is truly striking is not that it is Etruscan, but that it is the only one in the area that has not been looted. In a region historically plagued by looters, finding a virgin funerary context is simply a statistical anomaly. The unboxing of the grave goods. In the tomb were the remains of four individuals arranged in carved stone funerary beds and their preliminary analysis suggests that the buried people could be two couples. In addition, there is an entire funerary inventory that, due to its richness and variety, suggests individuals of high social status, although anthropological and isotopic analyzes have not yet confirmed their rank. Thus, more than 100 funerary objects appeared almost intact, with an exceptional state of conservation: 74 ceramic vessels, iron weapons, bronze objects, silver hair reels or a bronze fibula still with remains of tissue attached. Of all these pieces, the discovery of a vase located at the entrance to the tombwhich was possibly part of the funerary rite prior to sealing. Why is it important. Beyond the state of conservation, Dr. Bárbara Barbaro, director of archeology at the Soprintendenza, synthesized in a statement: “it gives us a complete vision of life through the prism of the funerary ritual”, something practically impossible from a looted tomb. A kind of time capsule through which to learn about the life, death and funeral rituals of the time. Thus, based on the skeletons, the scientific team can analyze through DNA tests the link between individuals, the remains of tissues and objects help to understand habits and fashions of the time and, in addition, San Giuliano is a clear example of how the Etruscans transformed a rocky landscape into monumental architecture. Context. It is a sealed cave chamber tomb dated to the end of the 7th century BC, in the final phase of the Orientalizing periodone of the most flourishing phases of the Etruscan civilization. Since 2016, the research team has documented There were more than 600 Etruscan tombs in the area, but all the previous ones had been looted. In fact, the rest was plundered since the Roman occupation in the 3rd century BC. On an architectural level, these tombs have been carved directly into the rockin the shape of a small house with a gable roof, a characteristic design of Etruscan funerary architecture. Pending subjects. The field investigation has already concluded, but remains pending the essential to understand everything: the study and analysis of archaeological data. Thus, the genetic and isotopic analyzes of the bone remains will be decisive in knowing the origin, diet and family ties between the buried people. The trousseau found could also shed light on the patterns of production and circulation of objects in Etruria at the time, as well as on the fine chronology of funerary habits and customs. In Xataka | Solving the mysterious origin of the Etruscans: what we know about the people with the most unknowns in Europe In Xataka | A cargo sunk in a Swiss lake 2,000 years ago confirms it: the Roman legions did not deprive themselves of anything Cover | Tomba dei Rilievi, Alessandro Antonelli

We have a surprising new “secret weapon” against climate change: beavers

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When we think about ways to capture carbon from the atmosphere, we often imagine huge, expensive technology installations; However, nature has its own systems to be able to clean the environment. One of these systems, as a new study has shown, is that beavers are true carbon sequestration machines thanks to the dams and canal systems that these rodents build. A Swiss experiment. Until now, we knew that humid ecosystems were important, but precise data was lacking to understand why. Now we know that the key was precisely in these animals, as a study has shown published in Nature. Here the researchers analyzed in detail an 800-meter stretch of a stream in northern Switzerland that had been modified by a beaver colony. What they saw was that the river corridor, after transforming it, acted as a net sink that could retain around 100 tons of carbon per year. In perspective. These figures are equivalent to trapping 26% of all the carbon inputs that enter that system, so over 13 years the wetland created by the beavers has reached store a whopping 1,194 tons of carbon. In short, this means that the area stores up to 10 times more carbon than similar river stretches where these rodents do not live, with a sequestration rate of approximately 10.1 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare per year. How they do it. One might think that carbon is stored in accumulated wood or swamp plants, but the reality is much more complex. The study attributes that more than half of the carbon that has been removed from the environment is trapped below the surface, in the subsoil of the wetland. Added to this is the burial of organic carbon in the form of particles in the sediments. By flooding the area and slowing the flow, the beavers created the perfect conditions for carbon to settle and be locked underground for the long term. The methane problem. When we talk about creating new wetlands, any climate expert might raise an eyebrow, since these areas of stagnant water are known to be large emitters of methane, which is one of the gases involved in the greenhouse effect. On top of that, much more powerful than CO₂. However, the authors of the study also measured this factor and were pleasantly surprised: methane emissions in this system were surprisingly low, representing less than 1% of the total balance. But in addition, the carbon dioxide emissions that came from the sediments were also much lower than the carbon that the system managed to sequester. In this way, it can be concluded that the beaver wetland is a sink, not a source of emissions. Meeting objectives. The data collected in this Swiss stream opens an exciting door for climate migration policies, as encouraging the return of beavers can dramatically increase the resilience of our riverbanks. In fact, calculations suggest that the recolonization of floodplains by beavers could offset between 1.2% and 1.8% of Switzerland’s annual carbon emissions. Images | Francesco Ungaro In Xataka | Franco introduced an exotic sheep to Teide to please the hunters. Now it is destroying its ecosystem

Russia has a tank so ugly it seemed like a joke. And the most surprising thing is that Ukrainian drones don’t know what to do

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Since the first months of the invasion, the war in Ukraine has become in a laboratory military “tuning” in real time: armored civilian trucks with steel doors, cars with improvised cages against anti-tank missiles, artillery protected with logs or bars welded in haste. As in other long conflicts, when technology does not arrive or is not sufficient, armies resort to bungle creative. From this ecosystem of ugly, urgent and desperate solutions is born the story of the strangest tank of this war… and also one of the most disconcerting for its enemies. Strange but armored. It we have counted other times. On the Ukrainian battlefield, Russia has led improvisation to an extreme almost cartoonish, deploying tanks covered in cagesspikes, cables, rods and metal layers that have earned them nicknames such as “turtle”, “hedgehog”, “furry” or, now, “dandelion”. At first glance they seem like a joke or a symptom of industrial decay, grotesque artifacts closer to scrap than to modern military engineering, but their proliferation responds to a brutal reality: Ukraine’s FPV drones have made classic armor insufficient, forcing Russia to add outer layers whose sole objective is to gain centimeters, time and confusion against attacks that were previously lethal. Origin and evolution. These protective screens, popularly known like “cope cages”began to be seen months ago, when the proliferation of drones transformed land warfare. Initially they were installed only on battle tanks and armored vehicles, but soon they spread to a wide range of systems. Your designs vary greatly: Some structures are crude and heavy, others are better planned, incorporating metal cages, steel plates, chains, spikes, camouflage nets and even reactive armor to reinforce the most vulnerable areas. In the Russian case, some tanks have become completely coveredwhich has earned them the nickname “turtle tanks” due to its resemblance to the shell of these animals. The simple principle that unsettles drones. The logic behind these designs is so rudimentary as effective– If the drone explodes before hitting the main hull, the shock wave loses much of its destructive power. In that sense, the “latest” model, the “dandelion tank”, with branched metal rods and tensioned meshes, works as a three-dimensional barrier that detonates the FPV from a distance, while there are already versions with cables, chains or spikes that seek the same effect from different angles. There has even appeared a sort of brush cutter tank Russian. Every extra centimeter between the explosive charge and the armor increases the chances of survival, and in a front saturated with cheap drones, that minimal advantage can make the difference between a disabled vehicle and one that continues fighting. In fact, this Russian anti-FPV system has migrated to its UGVs. In a video Seen on networks, the Russians claim that this “Courier” UGV survived the attack by a Ukrainian FPV and was recovered, although remembering that the additional weight of the cables will reduce the capacity vehicle loading. From the initial mockery to the silent cup. Yes, because what began as an object of ridicule among Ukrainian soldiers laughing at the welded cages and absurd profiles, has ended in imitation. The Ukrainian forces themselves have begun to equip some of their vehicles with similar protections, and the concept has even spread to NATO armies, with Western French vehicles. testing solutions inspired by these “dandelions”. The implicit message is, above all, uncomfortable: it may be ugly, crude and inelegant, but in real war is working better that many sophisticated solutions that have not yet come to the forefront. Hidden costs and obvious limits. There is no doubt, like so many other extravagant designs in the Ukrainian war, these improvised capes are not a panacea. They add weight, raise the profile of the vehicle, reduce mobility and they offer no real protection facing precise artillery or attacks from below, a tactic increasingly exploited by Ukrainian drones. Furthermore, and here the modus operandi of war, the more time passes, the more operators learn of FPV to identify gaps, adapt trajectories or use new techniques to avoid these metal shields. They are temporary defenses, effective but doomed to lose ground as the adversary figures out how to break them. An absurd race that defines modern warfare. Still, the central fact remains: Russia has created tanks so strange that they seemed like a jokeand for a time they have achieved something unthinkable, leaving enemy drones without a clear answer. In a war of attrition, cheap and experimental, where every day they look for emergency solutionsthese grotesque layers symbolize the current conflict better than any doctrine: a constant race of trial and error, in which even the most absurd can become, even for a moment, the best defense available. Image | Telegram In Xataka | The cold is so savage that Ukraine has activated the most kamikaze option: the “50,000 Russians per month” or giving Moscow what it wants In Xataka | “A human safari”: going outside in a Ukrainian city is now equivalent to being a shooting target for drones

I have tried the Huawei FreeClip 2, headphones with a still strange shape but surprising comfort

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I’ve been using the Huawei FreeClip 2 for a couple of weeks. I put them on out of work obligation, but since then they have spent more time in my ears than I thought they would. That says quite a bit about these headphones. But, as almost always in life, there are asterisks. Huawei FreeClip 2 technical sheet HUAWEI FREECLIP 2 Earphone dimensions and weight 25.4 × 26.7 × 18.8mm 5.1g per earbud DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT CHARGING CASE 50.0 × 49.6 × 25.0mm 37.8g sound 10.8mm driver NOISE CANCELLATION ANC Cancellation on calls with 3-microphone systems ‘Crystal-clear calls’ system Open-ear transparency mode microphones 3 Clear Voice battery 60 mAh per earbud 537 mAh in charging case USB-C charging 5V 1.5 A Wireless charging up to 3W Theoretical autonomy Up to 9 hours on a single charge Up to 38 hours with the case charged connectivity Bluetooth 6.0 Dual connection Quick pairing on Huawei with EMUI 10.0 or higher compatibility Android 8.0 or higher / iOS 13 or higher (to use the Huawei Audio Connect app) Standard Bluetooth connection without advanced features if the app is not used design Open-ear headset with C-shaped bridge design (arc that surrounds the ear) Bridge material: silicone + shape memory alloy Resistance IP57 (headphones) and IP54 (case) price 199 euros HUAWEI FreeClip 2 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones, Open Earbuds, All Day Comfort, Open-Ear Adaptive Listening, up to 38h Autonomy, iOS and Android, 42 Month Warranty, Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Design with personality and that requires personality The design, officially “C cross-bridge design” and unofficially “two pairs of cherries”they no longer feel like as risky a bet as they did in their first version. That first generation It made me ask a legitimate question.: Who is going to want to wear spheres hanging from a cable over their ear? This is how they will see you with them. Image: Xataka. Two and a half years later, after a wave of imitators of the format, it seems that the market has responded: people do want this. I personally still have my reservations: I don’t go through life hiding, but Yes, I like to go unnoticed, and with these headphones in my ears it is complicated. There is some look from someone who wonders if that is an earphone, a modern hearing aid, a piercing or what. Huawei has reduced the weight to 5.1 grams per earbud. The bridge that connects both parts uses liquid silicone with shape memory. And the tension is just right: they don’t press, they don’t slip. I have bent down to pick things up from the floor, I have run with them and I have spent long periods of time cleaning the house with them in my ears. They usually don’t move. But there is some ‘but’: Sometimes, for some reason (I guess we all have different ears), my left one would slip a little and I would have to adjust it. Are you going to wear a hood? Problem. Will you take off your sweatshirt? Problem. These helmets are not designed to stay there with that type of friction. Running with them is acceptable, but it is clearly not their ideal use, and in fact I did not feel like repeating the play. By the way, these headphones, like those of their first generation, They are exactly the same as each other, there is no left and right model.so it doesn’t matter how you put them on or how you store them in the case. That’s where the sound comes out to your ear. Image: Xataka. Open-ear comfort always sounded like an empty promise until now. These headphones fulfill it because they simply disappear. You really forget you’re wearing them. After hours with them I suddenly realized that they are still there. That’s how well they integrate, that’s how little they bother you. The sound, without any big fuss, it fulfills for the day to day, without further ado. The bass has presence thanks to a drivers 10.8 mm double diaphragm. They do not give the punch of closed headphones, but for an open design it seems acceptable to me. Voices over the phone remain clear, but the treble at high volumes sounds a bit sharp. With the ten-band equalizer you can do something. In short: they deliver, but no one expects miracles in detail and dynamics. The application to customize them and access some advanced features. Image: Xataka. What surprised me the most is controlling sound leakage at moderate volumes. Huawei incorporates a system that emits waves in inverted phase to cancel escaping audio. That is, the noise cancellation system, but towards the outside instead of inward. It works reasonably but not impressively. I listen to something with my wife and, if it is not at high volume, she assures me that she does not hear anything. I pass them on to her and confirm it. If I decide to increase the volume to around 80%, there is an obvious leak. I didn’t try the first FreeClipbut I remember seeing some complaints on this point. The problem has not disappeared but I think it has lessened. The battery is one of its strong points. Lasts up to nine hours of continuous real use. Seven or so most of the time. With the case you can chain charges up to about 38 hours in total. Very good figures for those who travel or spend the day working outside. Fast charging is another detail: ten minutes in the socket gives you three hours of autonomy. A unique appearance. Image: Xataka. The touch controls work on the cable that joins both parts. At first I didn’t understand why a natural gesture produced certain behaviors. Then I failed several attempts because I forgot where that wire was exactly. Afterwards you get used to it, but it is not a perfect system, it is not completely reliable because it requires a lot of precision. Swiping your finger on the … Read more

Now that we know what is going to happen in Greenland, the most surprising thing is the name of the winners: Russia and China

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If the Trump’s words in Davos are confirmed, it seems that “nothing” is going to happen in Greenland. This leaves another reading that is beginning to gain strength among analysts: that the threats from the United States to force control of Greenland they have opened a crack which, without needing to fire a single shot or lift a single finger, immediately benefits two nations. The geopolitical gift. While Washington has presented the move as a maneuver to stop your rivalsin Europe it is interpreted as a direct threat to the sovereignty of an ally and to the very credibility of NATO. Meanwhile, in Moscow and Beijing it is read as proof that the Western order no longer holds about shared rules, but about impulses, blackmail and force. In this climate, the simple debate about “who’s in charge” and “how far the American umbrella extends” erodes the cohesion that for decades had been the main strategic brake (at least on paper) for Russia in Europe and the biggest structural obstacle for China in its global struggle. Russia far ahead. It we have counted before. In the Arctic, Russia is not starting from scratch or playing for the future: it is already installed and has been operating for years with a material and geographical advantage that the United States can’t match quickly. Moscow has a consolidated military presence in the north, with bases, infrastructure, operational experience and an integrated defense logic around its sea routes, its resources and its strategic deterrence, in addition to key assets such as its Northern Fleet and the symbolic and technical weight of having used the region as a space for testing and projection since the soviet era. So when Washington turns Greenland into an open crisis, Russia watches. two things at the same time: the opportunity to weaken Western unity and the risk that the Arctic will go from being a terrain of contained competition to a zone of direct confrontation, one in which any miscalculated move accelerates militarization and possible escalation. The Russian method. The Russian reaction to the tension over Greenland has been marked by a combination of irony, enthusiasm and cold calculation, like someone who suddenly finds a perfect lever to improve your position without visible effort. The message that is repeated around the Kremlin is transparent: the best thing that can happen to Russia is for the United States and Europe to dedicate themselves to fight among themselvesbecause that, first of all, distracts from Ukraine, poisons cooperation and pushes allies to distrust American leadership. In that framework, they counted in AP that Russian propaganda allows itself the luxury of celebrating that “Atlantic unity is ending,” of joking that Europe has no real tools against Washington and to present the entire episode as a didactic scene in which Russia’s rivals tangle themselves. Greenland as a smoke screen. One of the most immediate benefits for Moscow is that focus shift political and media: when the European agenda is filled with Greenland, Ukraine loses diplomatic oxygen and negotiation space. The tension is forcing European leaders to put out internal fires rather than focus on the war, and that rreduces pressure collective action on Russia just when Moscow is seeking concessions or relief in any negotiation process. Furthermore, the simple fact that NATO is discussing whether or not to “block” American expansion introduces a disturbing idea: that the alliance is not an automatic pact of trust, but rather a kind of club where the strongest can change the rules if it suits them. Putin and Trump. Russia, furthermore, seems to be watching your tone with the White House because his priority is not to clash with Trump while he tries to obtain advantages over Ukraine and rebuild his relationship with Washington. That is why he avoids openly condemning the pressure on Greenland (a few hours ago Putin said that they care about “zero”) and, instead, wraps it in a comfortable ambiguity. It is a position that, although passive, in reality It’s strategicbecause it lets the conflict cook within the Western camp without Moscow appearing as the instigator. At the same time, introduce a dangerous idea in the debate: that international legality is secondary to the will of a great power, something that Russia knows well and cynically exploits when it suits it. China doesn’t need Greenland. From Beijing, the opportunity is not so much in “winning” Greenland, but in observing how the United States fights with its allies and devalues ​​the system that gave it a strategic advantage over China. They remembered in the Guardian that, in Chinese eyes, the ideal scenario is not to conquer Arctic territory, but see how it breaks the discipline of the Western bloc, because the great multiplier of American power has always been its network of alliances. China may have interests in polar routes, research and resources, but its biggest prize It’s political: a Europe more distrustful of Washington, open to its own balance and more tempted to take refuge in trade as a lifeline in a world of tariffs and blackmail. The Polar Silk Road. It we have counted before. China has been building an Arctic story for years that presents it as a legitimate actor, with official roles where it defines itself. as “almost arctic” and with the promise of a Polar Silk Road supported by melting ice, new sea routes and faster transport between Asia and Europe. There is concrete signs of that ambition, such as the use of Northern Maritime Route to drastically shorten travel timesalthough that route depends largely on Russia and its control over the corridor. In that sense, each crisis between the United States and Europe is not only a political problem: it is an economic window for Beijing, because it messes up rules, pushes Europe to look for alternatives and gives China room to present itself as a “stable” trading partner, although that stability may be more rhetorical than real. Davos and a resignation. He clash over Greenland It is aggravated … Read more

Scientists have investigated what happens to your brain when you play video games. And they have surprising news

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There is something strangely comforting about dissonance. Sometimes, while I’m fighting with a crochet hook trying to make a scarf not end up looking like a dish towel, I like to put the TV channel in the background. TacticalGramma. Michelle is 59 years old, she is a proud grandmother and, while I clumsily count wool stitches, she is annihilating entire squads in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 with a precision that any teenager would want for themselves. The scene has that visual irony: technology has not come to isolate us in a basement, but to rescue our neurons from rust. For decades, the social narrative sold us that video games “rot” the brain; Today, science is beginning to suggest that, if you want to reach 60 with good mental agility, perhaps you should take control. The brain clock. A study published by Nature has managed to compare the health of neural connections with the person’s actual age—what is known as brain clocks. The team led by Carlos Coronel-Oliveros has discovered that players who are experts in strategy titles like StarCraft II They have a mental structure that is much more resistant to the passage of time. On average, the brains of these players function with the agility of someone four years younger, according to a statistical estimate based on neuroimaging models. An efficiency phenomenon that neuroscience calls Brain Age Gap (BAG). When Sudoku is no longer enough. While classic brain games are isolated and repetitive tasks, an action video game forces the brain to manage an avalanche of information in real time. This level of constant demand—planning movements, reacting to attacks, and filtering out distractions simultaneously—forces neurons to reorganize. To reach this conclusion, the research team used research techniques whole-brain modelingcombining fMRI with machine learning algorithms capable of detecting subtle patterns in connectivity. The results showed more efficient integration in the so-called “frontoparietal hubs”, key regions for attention and executive function that are usually among the first to deteriorate with age. Changes in brain hardware. This apparent rejuvenation has a physical reflection in the structure of the brain. Science has found that, just as a muscle develops with exercise, certain key areas of players become denser and more robust. Studies in Scientific Reports and Translational Psychiatry reveal that those who regularly play action titles have more “gray matter” in regions responsible for coordination, attention and making quick decisions. It is as if the brain had expanded its information highways to react sooner and better to each stimulus. But the most useful change is the refinement of our visual “filter.” Research in PLOS ONE show that the players They develop a superior ability to ignore unnecessary noise. It’s not that they see more, it’s that their brain has learned to process only the information that really matters to win the game, optimizing the energy expenditure of the visual cortex. The ‘learning to learn’ factor. What is truly significant is not being more precise within the game, but the impact on the ability to continue learning. A study in Communications Biology showed that video game training Action speeds up the speed at which people learn new tasks, even when they are unrelated to the game. As they explain psychologists Daphne Bavelier and C. Shawn Green, these games train the brain’s attentional control. The result is improved cognitive adaptation, valuable in an ever-changing technological world. But experts still debate the degree of “far transfer”—that is, the extent to which being a keyboard whiz makes you better at managing a real crisis or a complex spreadsheet. When the benefit runs out. Even so, it is advisable to lower your enthusiasm. Most of these studies they are correlational: they do not allow us to state with certainty whether playing transforms the brain or whether certain already “agile” brain profiles are more inclined to enjoy video games. Furthermore, the effects vary depending on age and life context. Side B is not minor either. Researchers warn that excessive exposure can cause cognitive fatigue and sleep disturbances. The World Health Organization recognizes the video game disorder as a real problem when gambling becomes a compulsive behavior. The neural benefit depends on the balance that if the challenge stops being stimulating and becomes automatic or addictive, the protective effect disappears. Not just any game will do. Another key point is that not all video games produce the same effects. The strongest benefits are seen in action and real-time strategy games, which require quick decisions and multitasking. As experts point outonce a game stops being difficult and becomes mechanical, brain plasticity stagnates. Speed ​​and time pressure seem to be essential ingredients for keeping machinery in shape. There is something hopeful about seeing someone like TacticalGramma master a digital environment. The science doesn’t say that video games are a panacea, but it does suggest that brain aging doesn’t have to be a one-way path to decline. Perhaps the secret to a healthier brain is not in a pill, but in our ability to continue to face what is difficult and accept the frustration of constant learning. For now, I’m going to leave crocheting for a while. Image | freepik Xataka | The art of self-deception: why our brain defends our mistakes even if it knows we are wrong

That Chinese and Russian bombers patrol together is not surprising. That they do it against Japan and South Korea has had an immediate response

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The growing synchronicity between China and Russia in the airspace of Northeast Asia has ceased to be an anomaly and has become an increasingly calculated strategic pattern. The problem is that the last joint patrol between both nations once again demonstrated how the airspace has been transformed into an area of ​​maximum tension. Strategic pressure. The last patrol joint Sino-Russian has certified that the airspace around Japan and South Korea has been transformed into a zone of permanent friction. Russian Tu-95 and Chinese H-6 bombers, escorted by J-16, made a circuit that forced Tokyo and Seoul to deploy fighters as the formation traversed corridors where any mistake can escalate quickly. The flight, although it fits in annual exercises between both countries, occurred just after Chinese J-15 fighters launched from the Liaoning aircraft carrier They will activate their radars of fire against Japanese F-15s, an act considered equivalent to announcing an imminent attack. For Japanthese maneuvers are no longer simple demonstrations of force: they symbolize coordinated pressure in response to its increasingly declared involvement in the defense of Taiwan, a stance that China considers a direct provocation. “It is a serious concern for national security,” has settled the Japanese minister. South Korea and a pattern. In parallel, South Korea had to mobilize your aviation when seven Russian and two Chinese aircraft entered the KADIZ without warning, a practice recurring since 2019. Although the zone does not constitute sovereign space, its systematic violation allows Beijing and Moscow to measure reaction times, saturate surveillance and normalize incursions that, in other circumstances, would have been interpreted as signs of crisis. The aircraft remained about an hour before withdrawing, on a route that overlaps both the Chinese defense zone and disputed areas between Tokyo and Seoul. This routine erodes stability: forces South Korea to invest resources, exposes regulatory divergences (Russia does not even legally recognize the existence of KADIZ) and builds an environment where the exception becomes an operating habit. japanese fighter The Japanese doubt. The background of this escalation we have been counting and started with the comments from the Japanese prime minister, who stated that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be an existential threat to Japan. The message, aligned with the doctrine of collective self-defense, meant for Beijing a crossing of red lines that unleashed diplomatic and economic reprisalsaccompanied by a notable increase of his military activity near Okinawa and especially Yonaguni, the closest Japanese point to Taiwan. So, Tokyo plans to deploy electronic warfare units and air defense systems, reinforcing an island whose location makes it both a shield and a priority objective. For Japan, this militarization is a necessary response. For China, it is an indicator that Tokyo is willing to integrate more actively in an eventual scenario of support for Taiwan. Wear tool. China-Russia joint patrols are no longer isolated exercises, but expressions of increasing coordination spanning from Alaska to the Sea of ​​Japan. They integrate bombers, fighters, early warning aircraft and synchronized maneuvers that show a willingness to project power and generate a constant cost to the region’s defensive systems. In addition to their military value, these missions have a clear political objective: underline that the airspace over Japan and South Korea is not a monopoly of their Western allies, but rather an environment in which Moscow and Beijing can operate freely and predictability. At a time when China responds With every Japanese gesture on Taiwan, this cooperation acts as a pressure amplifier and a reminder that Tokyo could be confronted with two powers at the same time. Fragile balance. The combination radar-locksflights in identification zones, maneuvers without warning and diplomatic tensions accumulated has created a climate where an unforeseen incident could escalate quickly. Japan reinforces its military presence, South Korea adjusts its protocols and China and Russia intensify their joint missions, raising the level of structural friction. As Taiwan establishes itself as a strategic epicenter, nearby air routes become permanent contact lines and every approach, every response, every silence on a radio frequency can be interpreted as a signal. In other words, a wrong calculation can transform an annual patrol in the trigger of a broader regional crisis. Image | CHINESE GOVERNMENT, US Air Force In Xataka | If the question is how far the tension between China and Japan has escalated, the answer is disturbing: they are targeting each other. In Xataka | China has just shown Japan a diplomatic dart that it had been keeping for decades: World War II

the surprising equipment of the new $500 million superyacht from the founder of Valve

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The founder of Valve, Gabe Newell, in addition to being a video game enthusiasthas also proven to be a true sea enthusiast. In fact, his enthusiasm for sailing reaches such a point that not only has he just launched a new superyacht valued at more than 500 million dollars, but he has even has been purchased the company that manufactured it. Gabe Newell is one of the most active millionaires when it comes to superyachts. With a fortune estimated at about 11 billion dollarsthe video game magnate has a small flotilla of yachts, although not all of them are used for recreational boating, but are part of the marine research organization ink fish. Newell’s new yacht However, the Valve co-founder’s new yacht has been designed in great detail for the millionaire’s use and enjoyment. The new acquisition used the internal code Y722, but upon leaving the dry dock it has been registered as Leviathan.

NVIDIA will invest $1 billion to continue advancing AI. The surprising thing is that it will do it in NOKIA

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Nokia stopped being in the general public’s conversations years ago. For many people, Nokia is a memory of those rugged phones from decades past. That is why it has attracted so much attention that NVIDIA, the most powerful company right now in the world of artificial intelligence, announce that it is going to invest 1 billion dollars in Nokia and that the two companies are preparing a strategic alliance around mobile networks and artificial intelligence. The immediate question is obvious: what has NVIDIA seen in Nokia to put that money there. The company in which NVIDIA has invested It is the usual Nokiathe Finnish telecommunications parent company that survived the mobile era. Its headquarters are in Espoovery close to Helsinki, and today its business focuses on the development of network infrastructures, software and advanced connectivity solutions. It is the company that provides operators around the world with technology that makes mobile networks and the expansion of the 5G. From 3210 to 5G towers. There was a time when Nokia dominated the mobile market with terminals that marked an era. The 3210, recently re-released as a single phoneor the first camera phones are part of collective memory. However, the emergence of smartphones completely changed the landscape. In 2014, Nokia said goodbye to that stage by selling its device business to Microsoft.. Since then, the mobile phones with its name belong to HMD Global, while Nokia Corporation, as we say, concentrates on network technology. The movement that no one expected. NVIDIA and Nokia have announced a strategic alliance that combines money and innovation. The American technology company will invest $1 billion in Nokia, an operation that will be carried out by subscribing new shares at a price of $6.01 per share. This is not a purchase, but rather a capital increase. In exchange, both companies will work together to develop mobile networks based on artificial intelligence, a step that prepares them for the jump to 6G. NVIDIA’s investment does not consist of purchasing shares on the market, but rather subscribing to new shares issued directly by Nokia. In total, more than 160 million titles will be created, in an operation that will expand the company’s capital. There is no change of control and the planned participation is 2.9%. The deal is subject to customary approvals before closing, but projects an interesting long-term alliance between both companies. A bet with 6G destiny. The agreement is not limited to money. With this investment, NVIDIA and Nokia are teaming up to develop a new generation of mobile networks based on artificial intelligence. The objective is for operators to be able to offer faster, more efficient services adapted to the growth in data traffic generated by AI. Dell Technologies, which provides servers, and T-Mobile US, which will test the first AI-RAN networks with a view to the jump to 6G, also participate in this roadmap. Behind the acronym AI-RAN lies the great bet of this alliance: applying artificial intelligence to the network that links our mobile phones with the antennas. This is what is known as AI-RAN. These networks learn from traffic, adjust themselves and make better use of available energy and spectrum. Omdia estimates that this segment will move more than 200 billion dollars between now and 2030. It is a technical leap, but above all a way to prepare the ground for 6G. Why Nokia is back on the scene. For Nokia, the agreement represents a capital injection and strategic validation. The company reinforces its roadmap towards new generation networks and consolidates its position in a market where it competes with giants such as Ericsson and Huawei. In addition to financing, it gains visibility: NVIDIA’s support boosts its image as a leading technological partner in the era of artificial intelligence. On the stock market, the announcement has already caused a strong rise in its shares. What NVIDIA earns (and it is not little). For NVIDIA, this alliance expands its reach beyond data centers. Getting into the network infrastructure means bringing artificial intelligence to the edge, where the data is generated. With Nokia technology, you can integrate your platform into antennas, base stations and optical systems, delivering AI capabilities directly from the network. It’s a way to extend your dominance in accelerated computing into new territory: telecommunications. The first to try it will be far from Europe. None of this will be immediately noticeable, but it will lay the foundation for the connectivity of the future. AI-RAN networks promise faster, more stable and more efficient connections, which is essential for new services that depend on artificial intelligence. From augmented reality glasses to drones or connected cars, everything aims to operate with lower latency and greater reliability. The first tests, promoted by T-Mobile US, will be carried out in the United States. Images | NVIDIA | BoliviaIntelligent In Xataka | Elon Musk already bought Twitter to control the narrative. His Grokipedia is another symptom of that obsession

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