test

the extreme experiment in Greenland to test the human microbiota

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The idea of ​​eating rotting meat sounds like a one-way ticket to the emergency room for a major stomach flu at best, but in the most extreme latitudes of the planet, it is a survival technique perfected over millennia. Now, explorer and chef Mike Keen a challenge has been proposed that defies Western physiology: feeding exclusively on decomposing seal for a month in Greenland. And all this to see how your microbiota adapts to this new diet and how grouper’social experiment‘. More than rotten meat. When we talk about the diet that Keen will follow on his expedition, the automatic mental image is that of meat left out in the open without any type of control. However, there is a crucial nuance, since the traditional inuit practiceslike the kiviak or the igunaq They are not just random rotting meat, but have gone through a fermentation process. What does it consist of? It is a controlled fermentation culturally, since for months these preparations undergo processes involving bacteria and very particular metabolites that science is just beginning to catalog. This fermentation not only preserves food during the long, dark Arctic winters, but, according to the researchers’ hypothesis, it could be key to the survival of the Inuit and extract vital nutrients in a diet based almost exclusively on animal products, lacking the plant fiber that normally feeds our intestinal bacteria. His secret. The scientific core of this type of diet is in our digestive system, since various studies have focused on the relationship between traditional fermented foods and the intestinal health of Arctic populations. Here, a study published in Microbiome on the Inuit gut microbiome showed that this is highly dynamic over time and is deeply shaped by the intake of traditional foods. In this way, unlike populations like ours, where the Western diet homogenizes the bacteria in the intestine, for the Inuit there are unique signatures. Centuries of history. Greenland’s dependence on seal meat is not a modern eccentricity, but a historical pillar. Historical records and isotopic analyzes have confirmed that even the Viking settlers in Greenland relied heavily on the seal for survival. It is a food that has been sustaining human life on the island for centuries. However, replicating this type of diet without traditional ecological knowledge carries a lethal danger, since poorly preserved decomposing meat is microbiological Russian roulette. Without the exact temperature control, preparation and anaerobic sealing that recipes like igunaqmeat becomes a breeding ground for serious pathogens such as Salmonella either Listeria that cause pathological conditions very serious. The experiment. By taking these foods, we hope to know exactly the metabolic adaptations that occur when these diets are taken and also to see how the microbiota changes when subjected to a 100% animal and fermented diet for a month. In order to reach clear conclusions, analyzes will be done on the feces, or blood, throughout this month of testing and also afterwards, to be able to have something clear about how its interior changes. Images | DejaVu Designs at Magnific In Xataka | To the question of whether “eating breakfast as soon as you wake up is good for your body”, science offers a clear answer

its lunar lander just passed a NASA fire test

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The race between SpaceX and Blue Origin to land on the Moon continue and Jeff Bezos’ company has just taken a big step forward. This week, testing of its MK1 lander in NASA’s vacuum chamber was successfully completed. This demonstrates that it is ready to take NASA payloads to our satellite this year and, above all, that it is on the right track to also take the Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface. Everything under control. MK1 is an uncrewed cargo lander. NASA has chosen it to take two payloads to the Moon at the end of this year. On the one hand, the stereoscopic cameras for the surface study of the lunar plumes at the south pole. On the other hand, the retroreflective laser array, which will help find the location of the instruments placed in orbit. To verify that the landing system is ready, it has been tested in NASA’s vacuum chamber A, where the conditions it will be exposed to during its space trip are emulated. The results have been positive, which is why they represent a great advance for Blue Origin and a reason for SpaceX’s fear. A camera to imitate space. NASA Camera A It is a vacuum chamber, 27 meters highin which temperatures fluctuate between -50ºC and 30ºC. It is used to imitate space conditions and check the performance and stability of the systems that are planned to be brought there. In the case of the MK1, it has been proven that it has great structural resistance and that it withstands thermal stress as expected. From MK1 to MK2. In general, the results of these tests They have been very positive. Even so, there have been learnings that will be applied in the development of MK2, the manned lander with which it is expected to perform commercial services for NASA. Logically, the main manned commercial service that Blue Origin wants to be part of is the Artemis program. But there is a competitor with the same purpose. The race against SpaceX. NASA launched the development of the HLS manned landing system for Artemis in the hands of SpaceX and Blue Origin. Both have received funding for the development of their respective technologies, so the US space agency ensures that it will keep the one that finishes first. As long as the result is reliable, of course. It seemed that in this competition SpaceX clearly had the upper hand. However, some recent bugs and delays are allowing Blue Origin advance and continue in the fight. Will you pass them on the right? For now, the situation is equal. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but the success of the MK1 tests leaves plenty of room for optimism for Jeff Bezos’ space company. Images | POT In Xataka | The launch pads are saturated for all space companies. For all but one: SpaceX

We attended a crash test and discovered the new (and first) Ebro full electric

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Wuhu has turned out to be quite a surprise. While Beijing has those aromas and that life of what, clearly, is a great capital, Wuhu, although it is enormous, is more reminiscent of that “neighborhood China.” The multi-hundred-story buildings that can accommodate hundreds and hundreds of families make an appearance, of course, but the atmosphere is different. There are restaurants, small shops, it feels more local, more authentic. It is here where Chery, the technological partner of the Spanish company Ebro, whom I accompany on this trip, was born and has its headquarters. And it shows. Not because the hotel we stayed in belongs to the company, that too, but on the road. A walk through Wuhu | Image: Xataka If in Beijing you didn’t see a single Chery car, here they are religion. They are everywhere, wherever you look. The taxis? All Chery. Personal vehicles? Absolute omnipresence of the Tiggo and Arizzo ranges. BYD, Geely, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai are also here, but Chery’s dominance is absolute. Caught | Image: Xataka It’s something normal. China has that component of betting on the local. It is a kind of pride, something to boast about, using a product born in your city and the government promotes it. That’s why BAIC reigns in Beijing and that’s why when they ask you about your cell phone or watch model, they smile a little when they see that, in my case, they are an honor and a Huawei. The same thing happens with Chery, but today it’s not time to talk about Chery, but about Ebro. Chery is the partner technology from the Spanish Ebro, which uses its platforms to sell its own models in Spain, Portugal and, soon, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia. A Ebro s700 It is, at its core, a Chery Tiggo 7. Knowing that, it will not surprise anyone that Ebro’s new model is based on the Chery QQ3 EV. Because yes, Ebro has finally announced a completely electric car which will be produced in its factory in the Free Trade Zone of Barcelona. It still does not have a name and the specifications are not final, since the homologation is missing, but I can tell you a little something, since I have been able to see it in first person. The new electric Ebro | Image: Xataka This car has a clearly urban vocation and is focused on the younger audience. More circular and oval shapes, 2.7 meters between axles and 4.3 meters long give shape to a more compact car and very different from what Ebro has put on the road to date. It is a risky bet for 1) a brand that until now was synonymous with SUVs and 2) a market whose electrification still has a way to go. It has a 42.7 kWh lithium-ferrophosphate battery, which translates into a range of more than 300 kilometers. It has a 90 kW rear axle motor, which allows it to offer, always according to the brand, 122 HP, 111 Nm of maximum torque, 135 km/h maximum speed and acceleration from zero to 100 in less than 11 seconds. At the moment, his name is Ebro BEV | Image: Xataka The power of the charging system has not been revealed, but it will be compatible with AC and DC and will be able to go from 30% to 80% in 30 minutes. Inside the car we find two generous screens, a 15.6-inch floating central one with 2K resolution and a system powered by a Snapdragon chip, and another smaller one, 10.25 inches, in the instrument panel. In China, analog needles and lights have passed away. Interior of the Ebro BEV | Image: Xataka The price has not been revealed either. and the specifications, as we said, are provisional. When the process of industrial adaptation and approval is completed, we will clear up doubts. This is not the only novelty, although it is the most notable. Ebro has taken advantage of the presentation in Chery’s hometown to announce a new version of the Ebro s400 with 1.5 TGDI engine and DHT transmission with two electric motors. This has a power of 224 HP and consumes 5.55 L/100 km. An interesting thing is that it can move in tandem mode (so that the combustion engine generates energy so that the electric one moves the wheels) or in parallel (both engines working at the same time). In theory, this should help reduce the car’s engine noise and improve the lack of “oomph” seen in the previous model. Restyling of the Ebro S800 PHEV. The s700 and S400 maintain the same front grille design | Image: Xataka Ebro also announced a restyling from the s700 and s800with a new front grille with rectangular shapes inspired, according to the firm, in Barcelona, ​​and aesthetic adjustments designed to homogenize the design and give it a more rounded touch. This has been one of the parts of the day, but today I have also been able to witness something that, to date, I had never seen: a crash test. I don’t know, there’s something, let’s say, funny, in seeing a car going towards another knowing that both are going to break down. Under controlled conditions, needless to say. It has a certain charm and, frankly, the real shame is that it lasts so little, because it’s barely a second. New car for sale, few kilometers, one owner, always in a garage | Image: Xataka For the test, Chery placed a Tiggo 9 (remember, the base of an Omoda 9 SHS) at one end of the road. To the other, a Tiggo 7 that rushed towards him at 50 km/h. At the same time that the Tiggo 7 crashed head-on, the Tiggo 9 received a complete impact against a barrier vehicle at 40 km/h from behind. They are, from what they have explained to us, two overlapping forces whose purpose is to bring the test closer to a real environment. To the right and in the background, … Read more

China already has its “flying truck.” The HH-200 has just completed its first test flight

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China has just put into the air one of those machines that, by concept and ambition, do not go unnoticed. It is not a new fighter jet like the J-35Abut rather a commercial unmanned aerial system for transportation, completed its first test flight on April 15. There is still no logistics network deployed, but there is a movement that allows us to understand where the Asian giant wants to move in the pilotless air transport of goods, especially within the framework of its commitment to the so-called low-altitude economy. First flight. After the entire development phase, the program has already left paper behind. CCTV places the inaugural test in Puchengin the province of Shaanxi, and explains that it lasted for 22 minutes, with correct operation of the onboard systems and stable evolution of the device during the journey. To be precise, this is the first real flight evaluation, and it has been completed satisfactorily. The figures of the device. Once the test is confirmed, the next thing is to take a closer look at what kind of aircraft China has in its hands. It is a system with a square section fuselage, high wing, double engine and double boom, with dimensions of 12.2 meters long, 16.8 meters wide and 3.7 meters high. In the operational section, it boasts a maximum load capacity of 1.5 tons and a maximum range of 2,360 kilometers. Furthermore, according to official information, it is capable of reaching a maximum cruising speed of 310 kilometers per hour. The logistics part. Beyond dimensions or scope, one of the keys to the HH-200 is how its operations on the ground and in flight are planned. China News assures that the system has been designed with civil aviation standards and that it can perform the flight intelligently and autonomously from start to finish, with obstacle avoidance functions supported by AI. Added to this is a direct passage fuselage and a rear configuration designed to facilitate loading operations, allowing work with pallets, loading platforms and conventional forklifts, to the point that two operators could complete loading or unloading in five minutes. Where do you want to operate. The device is not only designed to move goods from one point to another under ideal conditions. Instead, it has a strong environmental adaptation capacity and can execute missions on short runways, high-altitude airports, extreme temperatures and adverse weather. China News gives us some interesting concrete examples: cargo routes in coastal and border areas, internal logistics routes between specific points and operations between islands in Southeast Asia, before opening the door to uses such as emergency rescue, remote sensing or agricultural and forestry tasks. From trial to market. After this first milestone, the next step will not be an immediate implementation, but an additional testing phase. It is expected that the vehicle will continue to accumulate flight tests before its eventual entry into service, an important nuance to avoid confusing initial technical success with operational maturity. Even in this scenario, according to China News, the project has 20 order intentions and closer cooperation with several firms. We have to wait to see if we will see the HH-200 beyond the testing scope. Images | CCTV In Xataka | Boeing has surpassed Airbus after years behind. That doesn’t mean I’ve regained control.

run 20 km to churn your own butter. We have put it to the test

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Just when I thought the culture of running I could no longer invent more excuses To go out and devour kilometers, the algorithm has decided to merge training with cooking recipes. To put you in situation, I was doing scroll calmly on Instagram and suddenly I came across what I consider the last barrier to fitness: runners that make butter while they run. They have named him the churning and burning (something like “stirring and burning”) or, simply, the butter runs. Can it be real? Apparently, yes. It all started in February of this year with American content creator Libby Cope and her partner, Jacob Arnold. In the video, Cope ask a simple question: “We Googled it and, as far as we knew, there were no previous runners who had successfully made butter. So we said… ‘Okay, shall we be the first?’” In it reel She is seen pouring a carton of liquid cream and salt into an airtight bag. “You might be wondering why,” Cope says to the camera. “The real question is: why not?” Since then, the phenomenon has exploded globally. A quick look at Instagram shows us an army of runners imitating the feat on accounts like saral.fit, margot_outdoor, lib_claire, rachlzw either alexladikoff. gonzo journalism Faced with such an avalanche of content, in Xataka We couldn’t sit idly by, but we didn’t want to get dirty either. So we turn to our hero without a cape: my partner Javier Lacort. Javier, always willing to sacrifice his sports team for investigative journalism, accepted the challenge without blinking: “I’ll do it,” he said. We owe him, at the very least, an eternal breakfast. The conditions of the experiment were the following: Javier went out into the street to run 20 kilometers with an entire 500 ml brick of liquid cream on his back. The weather: clear skies, 51% humidity and a temperature of 13ºC, although with a treacherous thermal sensation of 8ºC. My partner opted for a pragmatic and very much our approach. While American pioneers recommend using airtight bags Ziploc heavy-duty, Javier simply poured the liquid cream into a regular plastic shopping bag. With a few secure snap knots, he placed it directly into the pocket of his hydration vest. The goal was to see if the force of the impact over 20 kilometers would be enough to whip cream. But, before seeing the result, what does science say? How does running turn a liquid into a spreadable solid? As detailed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the principle is pure physics: The constant churning process causes the fat globules present in the cream to collide, clump together and end up separating from the remaining liquid, known as whey. Come on, the same thing they did nomads centuries ago by galloping with milk sacks hanging from their pack animals, only now the pack animal is wearing carbon fiber slippers. Today, the runner It’s the human mixer. However, the results vary greatly. Get butter depends on several factors: the distance (most run between 5 and 10 kilometers), the intensity of the stride (the more bounce, the better) and, fundamentally, the percentage of fat in the cream used. The process and the verdict Javier completed his 20 kilometers and, after leaving his vest on a park bench with the air of having survived a true dairy odyssey, the verdict was clear. Upon opening the bag, he confessed: “It smelled wonderful, honestly.” In the images that he gave us of the process, the evolution can be clearly seen. After 20 kilometers of impact against the asphalt, the macro photos reveal that, without becoming a solid and consistent block of butter, the cream had been whipped and presented a lumpy and thick texture. Why did Javier get a thick whipped cream texture instead of a block of butter like those on TikTok, despite having run a considerable distance? The answer is in the weather. Scientific American magazine has the key: Temperature is crucial. If it is too cold, the fat molecules harden and fail to group together to form solid clumps; if it’s too hot, the mixture turns into soup. The ideal temperature is room temperature. With a thermal sensation of 8ºC, Javier had the thermometer against him. In fact, other runners who attempted the challenge on snowy days failed in the same way. Given what has been seen, for those who want to replicate it, the pioneers leave some vital advice. Libby Cope recommends running for at least an hour, using cream with 35% fat and, as a rule of thumb, always use an airtight “double bag” to prevent your back from ending up looking like a clandestine cheese factory. Other users recommend loosening the hydration vest a little so that the bag bounces more, or choosing routes with hills, stairs or uneven terrain. And the vital question: is this edible? The short answer is yes. In fact, eating it has become the official goal of the race. The challenge has generated a small post-workout ritual: open the container to check if there is butter and spread the fresh result on a piece of bread as a snack recuperator. It’s the perfect ending to the social media video. Culinary creativity has not taken long to appear. One of the runners, Irene Choi, is no longer satisfied with the basic recipe, but rather practices he habit stacking (stack habits) creating flavored butters. They add sea salt, herbs de Provence, garlic or even honey before going for a run. Choi went so far as to make a “honey butter and corn juice” that he called “an excellent use of my time.” From a more cynical (and brilliant) perspective, columnist Emma Beddington reflects on Guardian about the phenomenon: “The couple (Libby Cope and Jacob Arnold) now have more butter than they know what to do with. Do they even know how much butter costs these days? Let them sell it!” Beddington jokes that this trend fits perfectly into … Read more

just completed a critical test before delivery

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Spain is in a moment of weapons renewal. A few days ago we said that the country has been selling his old submarines for scrapa movement conditioned by something very specific: the new generation of S-80 submarines is beginning to gain traction. Or impulse, rather. And the ignition of engines S-82 Narciso Monturiol It is one more step towards delivery to the Navy. And it has cost… Milestone. It was last February 28 when S-82, the second submarine of the S-80 Plus series, started its diesel engines for the first time. The Ministry of Defense has become again echo of the achievement achieved a few weeks ago, and it is no wonder. The ignition is one more step in the commissioning of the submarine after the electrical ignition, the boarding of the batteries and the launching. Overcoming these phases brings the ship closer to its delivery. The S-82. The Narciso Monturiol measures about 80 meters in length, has about seven meters in diameter and is capable of moving about 3,000 tons while submerged. It has capacity for more than 30 crew members and can last submerged for three weeks. Regarding weapons, account with a system developed by Navantia and Lockheed Martin that allows launching ground attack missilesbeing the only of the European Union’s conventional submarines that have that capability. It can also arm DM2A4 heavy torpedoes with a range of up to 50 kilometers. Issues. And if the ignition of the engines is announced as a milestone, it is because the S-80 program has not had it easy. These are the first submarines of Spanish design, and since 2004 they have been suffering delays. The first in the class, the S-81 Isaac Peralshould have been delivered in the early 2010s, but design errors and a budget that went from 1.8 billion euros to 3,900, ended up being delivered in 2023. The biggest problem was weight, something crucial in a submarine. It had between 70 and 100 tons of overweightsomething that was discovered just when it was due to be delivered and that compromised the entire project because it is something that would cause buoyancy problems. There were also other problems in the propulsion system and disputes between the Spanish Navantia and the French Naval Group. Next steps. And, again, completing these tests is the step prior to delivery at some point this year. It also shows that there is someone doing the calculations somewhat regularly because the S-82 was scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2024, generating a delay in the plans. This delay is what caused the very veteran S-71 to have to be revised so that Spain could keep two submarines operational at the same time, giving itself the situation of having a new generation one alongside the aforementioned S-71. The next steps for the S-82 are to continue testing systems before delivery, and then the S-83 and S-84 will arrive, which were dated for 2026 and 2028 respectively and will arrive with a novelty: the BEST AIP system to improve immersion capability and long duration missions. Both the S-81 and S-82 will also be upgraded with the BEST AIP at some technical stop between 2029 and 3031, respectively. After that ignition of the S-82 engines, they start the most critical tests, such as those of acoustic signature and immersion, key steps before it can be launched into the sea to definitively retire the S-71. Photos | Ministry of Defense In Xataka | In the 19th century, Spain designed the first “torpedo launcher” to defend itself against the United States: the Sanjurjo Badía submarine

Artemis 2 passes its life test and clears the path to the Moon

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The mission Artemis IIwhich aims fly over the Moon againdid not have the best of luck in its rehearsals before launch due to the fuel and a hydrogen leak. But now NASA can breathe easy, since the second general test with fuel of the gigantic SLS rocket It has been a resounding success. and opens the way for humanity to return to the Moon half a century later. Without a doubt. Between February 19 and 20, 2026, engineers from the US space agency managed to complete the loading sequence of propellants without serious incidents, stopping the countdown exactly at the expected moment: T-29 seconds. The doubts about the engineering team are left behind and an imminent launch window opens that could start as early as March 6. Master hydrogen. Filling a 98-meter-high rocket with more than 2.6 million liters of superfrozen fuel is no easy task in practice. That is why in the previous test, carried out on February 3, we saw how it had to be aborted when the clock read T-5:15. And the culprit was none other than NASA’s old enemy: liquid hydrogen leaks. It must be taken into account here that liquid hydrogen is an exceptionally efficient propellant, but tremendously elusive, since it requires cryogenic temperatures of -253 °C. This extreme temperature causes the materials shrink in the rocketfacilitating escapes and increasing safety risks for the crew. Although this is what NASA found during the Artemis 1 mission in 2022. The repair. For this second attempt, NASA technicians meticulously replaced the defective seals and filters and the truth is that the move went perfectly. And during this last test, the filling was completed normally and the exhaust controls worked wonderfully. One step closer. The success of this trial is essential so that the Artemis program is not further delayed and neither is everything that will come after it. If we put ourselves in context, the Artemis mission was scheduled for September 2025, but was delayed until spring 2026 due to technical problems in the heat shield, batteries or control system of the Orion capsule. A big blot on paper that NASA needed to make up for with some success like this. When will it be released? In this way, the space agency already has its sights set on the launch window that opens from March 6 to 30the most optimal being to do it between March 6 and 11. That is why if everything follows the planned plan, the Orion capsule will be launched on a free return trajectory on a trip of approximately 10 days around the Moon, without landing on the moon. The objective. On board will be four pioneers who will take over the Apollo missions: Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen. Its mission is not only historic because it is the first manned flight of the program, but because it will serve to validate all life support systems before the main course: Artemis III. A project that has its sights set on carrying out the first manned landing on the south pole of the Moon since 1972 and, above all, overtaking competing countries such as, for example, China, which makes very significant progress in the space race. Images | POT Pedro Lastra In Xataka | NASA has managed to grow lettuce in space. What he discovered next was not part of the plan

There are people capable of testing positive in a breathalyzer test without having drunk a drop of alcohol. And we already know why

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Although it may seem crazy, failing a breathalyzer test after drinking only water and a plate of pasta is possible. And while explaining it that way to a police officer may raise questions about a poor excuse, The truth is that it is a medical reality for those who suffer from the known self-fermentation syndrome. The investigation. Until now we attributed this problem to yeast, but a team of researchers from UC San Diego and Massachusetts General Hospital has identified specific strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae as those responsible for generate intoxicating levels of ethanol in the intestineopening the door to treatments as surprising as fecal transplantation. That is, there are bacteria that can literally make us drunk without drinking a drop of alcohol. The metabolic storm. To reach this conclusion, the study analyzed to 22 patients diagnosed with this metabolic problem, comparing them with 21 healthy relatives. In this case, the results were quite compelling, because fecal samples from patients in the midst of the outbreak were capable of endogenously producing ethanol at alarming levels. In order to know much more, These samples were cultured and an ethanol concentration of up to 136 mg/dl was observed.. To put it in context, in many countries the legal limit for driving around 50 mg/dl in bloodso these patients without drinking would be doubling the level of alcohol permitted while driving. An alcohol factory. The novelty of this study is that it shifts the focus from yeast to bacteria, since genomic analyzes showed a massive enrichment of genes related to mixed acid fermentation. But we must not fall for the statement that these bacteria are ‘bad’, but rather that the ecosystem is broken to give rise to this problem. And what is the trigger? The antibiotics. And the use of these drugs can sweep away the balanced flora, allowing opportunistic pathogens to take control of the intestine and begin to metabolize sugars into alcohol. The treatment. Logically, this is a serious problem, not because of the fact of testing positive in the alcohol test, but because of the toxicity that the body faces. That is why the objective right now is on the treatment that now has the focus on a fecal microbiota transplant. For this study, the donor of his fecal microbiota was a personal trainer with enviable intestinal health. And the result was incredible, since the patient with this problem saw these problems disappear permanently, and his ability to “self-produce” alcohol disappeared after repopulating his intestine with the healthy bacteria of another person. Beyond getting drunk. As we have said before, it may seem ideal to have a feeling of intoxication without having to spend a single euro on a drink, but the reality is that this problem also leads to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. And constantly producing alcohol can cause very serious liver damage. But on the social issue, this endogenous overproduction of ethanol has led people to lose their driving license or face labor problems unfairly. All for a problem that may seem like the perfect excuse, but is actually a major medical problem. Images | Lawrence Krowdeed In Xataka | There is an age at which we should stop drinking alcohol forever. Neuroscience is clear why

OpenAI will start placing ads on ChatGPT. We already know who this first test will reach

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For years, ChatGPT It has functioned as one of the most accessible gateways to artificial intelligence, an assistant that many people use daily without a subscription. That model, which helped popularize generative AI at a speed that is difficult to match from the end of 2022is now beginning to show its limits. Maintaining that promise of mass access has an increasing cost, and OpenAI has decided to explore an avenue that had been on the table for some time: will start testing ads in the chatbota movement that puts back on the table how the AI ​​we use every day is financed. ChatGPT is about to change. OpenAI says that ads will only be shown on the free and Go plans, while users of ProBusiness and Enterprise will be left out. The decision introduces a clear separation between plans aimed at the general public and those designed for professional or business use. As we can see, in this pilot, advertising is associated with the cheapest access levels, while higher subscriptions maintain an ad-free experience. This is what ChatGPT ads will look like Where the advertising will appear. There are also details on how advertising will be integrated into the user experience. In this first phase, ads will appear at the end of ChatGPT responses when there is a sponsored product or service related to the ongoing conversation, always separated from organic content and, as the company promises, clearly labeled. Therefore, we should be able to know why we are seeing that specific ad and we will have the option to hide it. What about conversations. Along with the announcement of this test, OpenAI wanted to establish in writing the principles that, according to the company, will guide its advertising approach. It insists that ads will not influence ChatGPT responses, which will continue to be optimized based on what is most useful to the user, and emphasizes that conversations will not be shared or sold to advertisers. It also promises control: we can disable personalization and delete data used for ads. For adult users only. Not all users or all conversations are included in this test. The firm points out that the ads will only be shown to adults who are logged in, and that both accounts in which the user indicates, or the system estimates, that he or she is under 18 years of age, as well as content linked to sensitive areas, will be excluded. Health, mental health and politics are among the topics prohibited from appearing in advertisements. Someone has to pay for AI. Generative AI has become an extremely expensive technology to operate, while, as is often the case with services with a massive free plan, converting those users into subscribers is not easy, even with cheaper paid plans. OpenAI earns revenue from subscriptions and its API for developers, and in that context testing ads fits as one of the ways the company puts on the table to expand revenue without closing access. The financial hole. The economic context is best understood by looking at the numbers published at the end of 2025. According to financial documents seen by The Wall Street JournalOpenAI assumes that it will continue to accumulate very high losses for several years before achieving significant profits towards the end of the decade. The projection for 2028 is even more demanding, with operating losses that would reach $74 billion, driven mainly by the cost of computing. The competition is getting fiercerz. Added to this financial pressure is a competitive context much more demanding than that of ChatGPT’s first months. OpenAI’s initial leadership is no longer as undisputed as in 2022 and 2023, with rivals such as Google with Gemini and Anthropic with Claude reinforcing its offer and gaining presence. Staying ahead requires constant investment, not only in research, but also in infrastructure and operational capacity. The announcement does not close the debate, it opens it. OpenAI insists that this is a limited test with no long-term commitments, but the simple fact of introducing advertising sets a precedent. It remains to be seen if this model is limited to the United States or if it ends up spreading to other markets, and how users react to this change. Ultimately, the question is broader and affects the entire industry: who pays the real cost of artificial intelligence that aspires to be in the hands of everyone. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | If we ask Spaniards how they feel about AI, the answer is simple: more productive

It had been a long time since a cell phone left me speechless. So I went to China to test the Honor Magic8 Pro camera

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If you asked someone from HONOR how they were going to improve the camera on their phones next year, the answer they would give you is that you hold the telephoto. A few weeks ago I was traveling to China to see first-hand the factory and the R&D laboratory from which the HONOR Magic8 Proa terminal that bets (almost) everything on the camera. And what a camera. Just stroll through the busy streets of Shenzhen or sit and enjoy the sunset in Hong Kong to discover that yes, HONOR has been working hard on its camera. I can’t talk about specifications, yet, but I can confirm that we have a wide angle, an angle and a periscopic zoom which is, without a doubt, the main protagonist. So much so that I ended up using it more than the main sensor for obvious reasons. That zoom was enjoyable A quality optical zoom not only makes the photo “look sharper”, but also gives a lot of play. The perspective we get with the telephoto cannot be achieved with a normal zoom (cropping of the sensor), since it is by using a longer focal length that we get that “compression effect” of the shots. Let’s say that the distance between two objects in different planes of the scene is reduced, something that is very useful in urban photography and allows us to achieve things like this. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka But let’s start at the beginning. Little can be said about the main sensor. It is a sensor that HONOR has clearly mastered and whose results speak for themselves. Good control of highlights and shadows, notable HDR work and faithful color representation, although some background work is noticeable to highlight the strongest colors. In this case, green. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka At night, the sensor knows how to surprise. It is no secret that there is a treatment for shadows and noise, but The result is one of the best I have seen to date.. These photos are really complex because you have fine details in highlights and huge contrast. The terminal resolves photos well, preserving detail, eliminating noise almost completely and keeping glare at bay. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka In this image we have to look not only at the enormous tubular building on the left, but also at its reflection in the next building. It is not a pastiche of lights without rhyme or reason, but the camera manages to perfectly capture the reflection without burning either the background or the building. Also notable is the definition not only of the lines of light, but of the light bulbs themselves hanging from the trees and the texts of the distant blocks. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka I liked it a lot during the day, but it’s at night when it really conquered me. If you told me 15 years ago that a gadget I carried in my pocket was going to allow me to take this photo, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. HONOR has done an excellent job not only in the camera, but in the processing. This image would be impossible to take freehand if there were not good stabilization, a good sensor and good background processing. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka But if this camera surprises, the telephoto is another story. The HONOR Magic8 Pro has a periscope with 3.7x optical magnification that we can digitally expand up to ten and 100x. The sweet spot, however, is x3.7. Because? Because we can get closer to the subject taking advantage of the full resolution of the sensor and take photos like these, I hope you are not hungry. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka In these photos you can perfectly see what I mentioned previously. Without an optical zoom we would not be able to achieve a blur as silky as this image. You don’t have to rely on portrait mode to crop your subject and blur the background, but you can achieve a superior effect by simply moving away from your subject and using the zoom. If you add a large, high-resolution sensor to that, you get a photo with exquisite textures. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka If we talk about urban photography, this periscope allows us to get closer to the scene and frame in ways that, normally, we could not achieve, either because it does not have a telephoto (something strange in the high range) or because the resolution of the sensor is not up to par. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka It also allows us to see things that we can only intuit with the naked eye. The advantage of having this resolution is that, even when cropping by zooming to 10x, we can achieve good results. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka The best thing is that the quality of the photos is preserved even when light is scarce. Normally, it is taking photos at night when I least enjoy testing a mobile phone. It is the most complex moment and where the seams are usually seen by the cameras. The HONOR Magic8 Pro is not exempt from those seams by any means, but the work that the Chinese firm has done is sensational. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with … Read more

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