tests

If the question is what the European Orion module is doing among giant speakers, the answer is NASA’s extreme tests

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When we talk about Artemis We almost always look in the same place: NASA, the SLS rocketthe Orion capsule and that plan to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon. It makes sense, because the United States leads the program and a good part of the space imagination continues to revolve around its missions. But that reading falls short. Artemis is not just an American story.It is also an international architectureand in that architecture Europe has a much more important piece than it usually seems at first glance. That role has just been realized in a very visible milestone. Airbus Space recently announced that ESM-3, Orion’s third European Service Module and the unit destined for Artemis III, had its four solar wings installed. It is a powerful image because it summarizes well the nature of the project: an American ship with an essential part developed on the other side of the Atlantic. The module, built by the aerospace giant for the European Space Agency, will use those wings to provide electrical power to Orion during its mission, although there is still work to be done before the assembly can be considered ready to fly. The ESM has a much deeper function than a picture of newly installed solar panels may suggest. In the Orion architecture, this module is placed under the capsule where the astronauts travel and concentrates systems that are essential for the mission. NASA explains that provides electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and waterin addition to serving as support to the ship during flight. That is why its role is not understood as a symbolic contribution, but as an operational part of the vehicle. A test on the ground, between speakers and noise The following, however, was not one of those scenes that we immediately associate with space. Airbus Space noted on May 6 that the next step was an acoustic test, a ground test designed to see how the spacecraft responds to the extreme launch environment. Simply put: before thinking about docking, orbits or manned missions, the module had to deal with the noise and vibrations that occur when the rocket takes off. That trial has already begun to materialize. NASA has shown the Orion service module for Artemis III during its acoustic tests at the Kennedy Space Center, surrounded by a wall of high-powered speakers to simulate the sound and vibrations of launch. According to the center, these tests help measure how the structure responds, verify the physical integrity of the spacecraft, protect sensitive avionics and propulsion interfaces, and detect potential problems on the ground well before launch day. This type of test is known as direct field acoustic testor D-FAT, and involves surrounding space hardware with an array of high-power speakers to reproduce the acoustic environment of launch. In equivalent testing of the Orion European Service Module, ESA has spoken of more than 200 speakers and more than 140 decibels. It’s not a new rarity: NASA already submitted Apollo vehicles underwent vibroacoustic testing in the 1960s to see how their structures and systems responded to the noise and vibrations expected during flight. That this test has arrived now does not make the module a ready-to-fly piece, but it does mark another advance in Orion’s preparation for Artemis III. And there the context matters, because the mission in which this module must participate is no longer counted exactly the same as it was a few months ago. Artemis III was for a long time the mission associated with the return of astronauts to the lunar surface, but NASA has rearranged the calendar and now places it as a demonstration mission in low Earth orbit. The plan involves launching four astronauts in Orion, on the SLS, to rehearse rendezvous and docking maneuvers with one or two commercial lunar landing vehicles from SpaceX and Blue Origin. It is not the end of the lunar goal, but an intermediate step to test an architecture that still needs to fit many pieces. The interest of this module is best understood precisely because of this new role of Artemis III. If the mission will be used to verify docking and operations with commercial vehicles, Orion will have to act as a manned platform within a much broader test than a simple test flight. In this scenario, the ESM-3 is not a peripheral contribution, but rather an integrated part of the ship in which the astronauts will travel. Europe, therefore, does not appear only in the cooperation communications: it appears in the machinery that has to make the mission work. The paradox sums up the moment quite well. Europa has just completed a visible part of the preparation of the module that will travel with Orion, and its next test has not been on the Moon, not even in orbit, but among noise, vibrations and speakers within a test on the ground. That is also the reality of Artemis: large lunar objectives supported by a long succession of technical, industrial and often inconspicuous steps. In that chain, ESM-3 makes it clear that the return to the lunar surface is not being prepared only from the United States. Images | Airbus Space | POT In Xataka | The Earth has had a traveling companion for millions of years and we don’t know where it came from, but there is a ship ready to give us answers

SpaceX tests Starship V3 with improvements that will change the lunar race

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SpaceX is about to make a very important flight to complete its path to the Moon. Next May 19 (although it will already be May 20 in Spanish peninsular time), Starship flight 12 will take place. In it will try version 3both from the Super Heavy rocket and from the Starship itself. This third version includes new improvements, which will be vital for many of the future projects of Elon Musk’s company, but above all to become the main private partner that will take the next batch of astronauts to land on the Moon. Write down the date. On May 19, at 6:30 p.m. EDT, (12:30 a.m., Spanish peninsular time), will be launched Starship version 3. This ship is one of the two candidates to dock with the Orion capsule of the Artemis mission and facilitate the landing of two astronauts on the Moon. At the moment it competes with Blue Origin, whose candidate ship is advancing at a very good paceso it is very important that this mission be completed successfully. The improvements. Starship version 3 includes many improvements. For starters, the first phase of it, the Super Heavy rocket, will be a little higher. In its last flight it measured 71 meters, while now it will reach 72.3 meters. It will also carry 250 more tons of propellant, reaching a total of 3,650 tons of methane and liquid oxygen. Continuing with the fuels, its innovative internal conduction system has been redesigned to ignite the 33 engines at the same time and maneuver better. Finally, it should be noted that it includes 3 large aerodynamic control grilles, instead of 4 smaller ones, and that it has a hot separation structure that facilitates the recovery of the rocket. More about engines. The 33 Raptor 3 engines will replace the 33 Raptor 2 engines, resulting in a thrust of 280 tons each. In version 2 it was only 230 tons. The result will be a total rocket thrust of 9,240 tons.. On the other hand, they are lighter engines, so, despite incorporating improvements in their thermal protection shield and fire suppression system, the set is less heavy. Ship improvements. In addition to the improvements on the Super Heavy, the Starship will also include major technological advances. For example, its new orbital maneuvering engines will allow the approach and docking maneuvers in orbit that will be so necessary with Artemis to be carried out. It can remain in orbit for up to 48 hours without solar panels and carry a load of 100 tons to it. Version 2 could only carry 35 tons. This time, the Raptor engines are much more powerful Journey to quasi-orbit. Like the rest of Starship’s flights, this one will take the ship to something known as quasi-orbit. It means that, although it will be a suborbital flight, energetically it will remain very close to the real orbit. In simpler terms, the ship is ready to go into orbit. However, these tests are aimed at analyzing its reliability. Until this is confirmed, SpaceX does not want to risk leaving a 135-ton object wandering in low orbit. Guardian Starlinks. One of Starship’s missions in the future will be to continue contributing to increasing the Starlink satellite fleet. Therefore, on test flight 12 will fly with 22 models of these satellites. He will not take them with the rest, but will release them on a trial basis. Although two of these will also have an important mission, since they will be in charge of analyzing the behavior of the thermal study and taking photographs. This system has a series of dark tiles, which must be kept in place for its proper functioning. Therefore, to ensure that satellites are capable of detecting errors, some tiles have been painted whiteas if they weren’t there. It is a fictitious test error. If they do not locate it, modifications will have to be made. The end of a short but intense journey. Since it is the first test of this new version, there will not be a recovery on Earthbut the two phases will land for later collection. If all goes well, a landing could be tried on the next flight. Step by step. There are many new things to try. Images | SpaceX In Xataka | The launch pads are saturated for all space companies. For all but one: SpaceX

Speculation with Pokémon cards is such a serious problem that some stores already give knowledge tests to their customers

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In 2024, global sales of ‘Pokémon’ collectible card game They reached 2.2 billion dollars, with a growth of 25% compared to the previous year. The Pokémon Company increased production up to 10.2 billion letters by 2025. During the pandemic, Logan Paul and other content creators began opening envelopes on videos that reached millions of views. Since then, the fever has not stopped growing, and stores are beginning to propose unusual tests to distinguish genuine buyers from resellers. This is a test. At the west branch of Ikebukuro, in Tokyo, the specialty store Bic Camera made a decision that would separate the buyers of ‘Pokémon’ trading cards from the scalpers: to buy packs of the latest expansion, Ninja Spinner, you must first beat a written questionnaire of 15 questions about the ‘Pokémon’ universe without a cell phone, without help and in Japanese. It’s just the beginning. The questionnaire is not the only requirement. Shoppers must have an active loyalty account in the chain, either via app or physical card, allowing staff to spot suspiciously frequent purchases. Additionally, the store applies a limit of one box per customer and removes the seal and outer packaging upon delivery: an opened product loses much of its value on the secondary market, where resellers need the seal intact to inflate prices. According to X user Ryo Saeba, the system is working: Several resellers failed the test and left without product, since due to the random nature of the questionnaire it cannot be prepared in advance. It is a problem that, however, does not have an easy solution even from The Pokémon Company: if more copies of the most in-demand cards are printed, speculation would be reduced, but competitive play would be affected, as would the feeling of exclusivity of finding a rare card in a pack. Why Ninja Spinner. The Ninja Spinner expansion is the Japanese version of the western Chaos Rising, scheduled for release on May 22, and which features Mega Greninja ex as the main card. The former Mega Greninja gold card was worth $593 in March and It is now quoted in thousands.. An envelope that costs around 5 euros in the store can be resold for 40 in a matter of hours. The bad yen. Additionally, there is an additional economic factor that makes the reseller problem more serious: the structural weakness of the yen, combined with the relatively affordable price of the boxes, has made Pokémon cards a common target of foreign buyers and international resellers. Japan-exclusive releases, which include illustrations and finishes not available in other markets, multiply the appeal. Sometimes new items last minutes on shelves before ending up on resale platforms. How they do it. Professional resellers have tactics to circumvent the control systems that stores establish to give preference to real buyers: they hire several people to wait in line simultaneously, use multiple payment cards and create fake accounts to access online reservations. In October 2025Japanese police arrested two Vietnamese citizens who had created thirty fictitious accounts using fraudulently obtained SIM cards to participate in purchase raffles and obtain dozens of boxes that summer. Other initiatives. Other Bic Camera branches have adopted measures such as requiring a driver’s license or Japanese tax identification document, which limits purchases to residents. Official Pokémon Center stores also maintain strict unit limits per customer to preserve prices close to the official one. Outside Japan there has also been a lukewarm response to the activity of the scalpersname as resellers are known in the sector: Walmart, for example, introduced a limit of five packs per purchase at the end of 2024 after a video with 12 million views on TikTok showed a scalper emptying a store’s entire display in one trip. Header | Pexels In Xataka | In 2016, millions of people went out to hunt Pokémon on the streets. In 2026 there will be autonomous robots guided by this

In 1953 Hollywood filmed a blockbuster in front of US nuclear tests. It was the most radioactive movie in history, literally

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Year 1953, during a nuclear test in the Nevada desert, several Las Vegas hotels offered their guests privileged views of the mushroom cloud at dawn as if it were a tourist attraction at Disneyland, with cocktails included and terraces full of spectators. The scene, which is difficult to imagine today, reflected the extent to which certain risks were perceived very differently in the midst of the nuclear age. Filming in the Cold War. In the mid-50s, The Conqueror It was born as a historical blockbuster that from the beginning involved decisions that were difficult to justify, such as choosing John Wayne to play Genghis Khan himself under the production of Howard Hughes. Filming moved to locations in Utah, an area that offered spectacular landscapes but was, at the time, close to areas where the United States was filming atmospheric nuclear tests. The context was not a secret, but its risks were not fully understood either, since public and scientific perception of radiation was much more limited than today. That combination of cinematic ambition and geopolitical moment left a scenario that, seen with perspective, is much more disturbing than what it seemed like then. The real environment. This perfectly documented that nuclear testing in the Nevada desert generated radioactive fallout that moved to populated areas, subsequently affecting known communities as “downwinders”. It is also proven that the filming team worked in one of those regions, and that part of the surrounding material was transferred to other sets, potentially expanding exposure. This context is neither a theory nor a subsequent reconstruction, but a historical fact recognized by investigations and official organizations that have studied the consequences of those tests. The passage of time and the uncomfortable statistics. What happened? That, over the years, a significant part of the cast and production team developed cancerincluding figures such as John Wayne himself (who died of the disease in 1979), Susan Hayward and Dick Powell. The most cited figure that gives an idea of ​​the possible impact speaks of more than 90 cases among about 220 people linked to the production, a fact that has fueled the fame of the filming as one of the most disturbing and cursed in the history of Hollywood. Even so, we must remember that this number comes from of informative accounts and not from controlled epidemiological studies, which requires treating it with some caution despite its impact. What is proven and what is not. The line between facts and story is key in history. It’s proven that there was exposure to a potentially contaminated environment and that several team members developed serious illnesses over time. What is not proven is a direct causal relationship between filming and these cancers, since factors such as personal habits (including smoking) and the lack of comparable clinical data, facts or causalities may enter, making any definitive conclusion difficult. Therefore, the case remains an ambiguous terrain: perfectly plausible in its approach, but not scientifically confirmed. From failure to modern myth. Upon its release, the film was received quite coldly and criticalremaining in the popular imagination as another failure within the industry. However, as the decades passed, his memory has changed completely, transforming into a story that combines Hollywood, Cold War and invisible risk. What at the time was simply a bad creative and logistical decision ended up being reinterpreted as an episode from the world of celluloid. loaded with symbolism about the limits of knowledge and (i)responsibility. The context changes everything. Because the story of The Conqueror lies not only in what happened during filming, but in how that same filming fits within an era in which exposure to nuclear risks formed part of the everyday landscape. There is no doubt, what seemed acceptable then is today perceived as true nonsense, and this radical change of perspective is what turns the case into something more than a movie anecdote. It wasn’t just a problematic shoot, but an example of how seemingly normal decisions can take on a completely different meaning. with the passage of time. Image | RKO In Xataka | The day a man dared to go further than anyone else: a real fight with Bruce Lee where there were no limits In Xataka | One of the most iconic scenes from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ had an infallible trick: the pain you saw in the scene was not fiction

In the search for a supersonic train, China tests a Maglev that will reach 4,000 km/h. The problem will be maintaining it

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China’s conquest of the high-speed train field is impressive. In the 2008 Beijing Olympicsthe country had just 120 kilometers of high speed between Beijing and Tianjin. 17 years latermanage more high-speed kilometers than any other countrya very long distance from Spain or Japan. They are not only building kilometers to unite the entire country: they are developing technologies so that the plane is no longer necessary. As? With Maglev trains at speeds of 1,000 km/h. And a specific model, the T-Flight, which dreams of 4,000 km/h. Maglev + Hyperloop. China is one of the countries, along with Japan, that is investing a lot of money in the development of the magnetic levitation trainsor Maglev. This technology allows trains not to rest their wheels on the rails, but rather to float thanks to a series of powerful magnets and an electromagnetic field. This allows us to exceed the 250 km/h that has been set as a standard for high speed and, for example, China has the fastest Maglev in the worldone that reaches 431 km/h. It is already operational between Beijing and Shanghai, but in Japan is testing one that will exceed 600 km/h. It’s a speed that will seem slow compared to what CASIC is preparing. It stands for “China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation,” a state-owned tactical missile company that announced the T-Flight project in August 2017. The idea? Combine magnetic levitation trains with Hyperloop-style vacuum tubes. T-Flight. In short, it is putting a Maglev in a vacuum tube, eliminating air pressure and resistance as much as possible, but there is much more. For example, the idea of CASIC is that magnetic levitation is enhanced thanks to superconductors that will raise the train up to 100 mm above the rail. Conventional Maglevs are raised by about 10 mm, and the idea is that the higher the train is, the more stability it will have at extreme speeds. On the other hand, the tube itself, with a system that extracts air from it to create a low pressure environment, reducing aerodynamic resistance to the maximum. This partial vacuum and levitation that eliminates the physical resistance of the wheel and track is what will allow unprecedented speeds to be achieved. Achievements. In 2024 they already achieved one first validated test as a world record by reaching 623 km/h, but in the summer of this year, in a low pressure environment, The train reached 650 km/h in seven seconds in its laboratory. They were strange tests, since the track was a kilometer long when the usual thing is much longer, but that also gives us a clue of what brutal which is both the acceleration and braking of the train. That is, think that, in seven seconds and in just one kilometer, the train accelerated to 650 km/h and stopped. The team’s idea is to reach 800 km/h as the top speed this year, but the ambition goes much further. Ambition. Currently, the team is in Phase 1, which is the one that aims aim that speed of 1,000 km/h. To do this, and to validate the speed in real conditions, they want to extend the test track to 60 kilometers. However, the thing does not stop there and, when the project was born, it was already said that Phase 2 and Phase 3 would have as aim 2,000 km/h (almost double the cruising speed of a traditional commercial airplane) and 4,000 km/hsupersonic speeds that would compete with the fastest planes in the world. This would allow large urban centers in China to be linked in a few minutes, leaving aside the need to take planes to cover long distances. In fact, this high speed is already showing in Europe that short flights do not make sense if we combine the waiting time at the airport with the flight itself and compare it with the comfort of access to the train. A major challenge. Now, the goal will not be easy. Maglev technology works and is proven, but what they want to achieve with this T-Flight not only complicates things because, in addition to a track, a tube must be built. And, of course, maintain it. Extending this partial vacuum over hundreds of kilometers of tube represents an enormous technical challenge because it implies that the joints must be perfectly sealed, without the cold and heat dilating them so that there are no leaks. It is estimated that a 600 km pipe requires an expansion joint every 100 meters, and each one of them represents a potential point of failure. Furthermore, at 300 km/h appreciate vibrations in the seats. Air system to reduce pressure inside the tubes Furthermore, any decompression would be catastrophic and perhaps most importantly: there is no certification standard or safety protocols for something like this. In any case, T-Flight continues to take steps at a good pace and, although it seems difficult to see it working in the short term, if a country can achieve it right now… it is China. Images | Geely In Xataka | After 20 years, the definitive one arrives: Brazil prepares the first high-speed train in South America

It seemed like a game of imitating movements. It was actually diagnosing autism better than many clinical tests

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When we think about video games, the fact of being a form of entertainment for young people (or not so young) or even that have an educational purpose. But they wanted to go one step further by betting on video games as a diagnostic tool for the little ones in the house and detect diseases early as important as the autism or the ADHD. The importance. Classically, both ADHD and autism are pathologies that they overlap from childhood, making early diagnosis difficult, which is the cornerstone in modern medicine to be able to tackle problems quickly. And this is what has been achieved with a video game that promises to differentiate a patient with ADHD from another with autism in less than an hour, just with the ability to copy the movements made by a silhouette on the screen. As we say, early diagnosis, especially of ASD, is really important to apply treatment that improves the quality of the child’s life and also begins effective interventions as soon as possible. Because although at the moment there are no treatments that are curative, it is possible to try to control some of the symptoms that are generated. Currently there are not many reliable and specific biomarkers to make this diagnosis, and this is a problem because autism spectrum disorder coexists with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in 50-70% of cases. This overlap often results in a “confusing clinical picture” that leads to erroneous or delayed diagnoses that are ultimately a serious problem. Hard to detect. But diagnosing ASD is not easy either, because it is based in many cases on traditional evaluations of motor imitation, because the problem lies in mirror neurons of our brain. In this way, it is classic that if a baby He doesn’t respond by smiling when we make him smile. the case can be raised alarm. But this is a slow thing that requires highly trained observers and has limited reliability, precision, and scalability. The video games. And this is where the video game in question comes in to be able to give us the tools that we lacked on a daily basis to do the job. diagnosis of ASD. Something that a research team has achieved by developing the Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation, or CAMI. A system that is a short task, lasting one minute, which has been designed as a very attractive video game so that you want to play. The system in this case uses different computer vision methods to evaluate the performance of the imitation without the need to place any type of sensor on the children and almost without human intervention to interpret the results that are generated. Imitation as key. The objective of the study was clear: To examine whether CAMI could identify imitation problems specific to autism compared to children without any type of illness or children with ADHD. In the event that a child could not imitate the movements that appear on the screen, we could be talking about a major problem that is causing all of this. But the obligatory question in this case is… Why do we look at the imitation of movements? The answer is that imitation performance is considered a promising biomarker that is quite specific for diagnosing autism. Imitation in this case is essential for social learning and interpersonal relationships, and its deficit has been associated with children who have ASD compared to healthy children. The challenge was to demonstrate that this deficit is specific to autism and not to other conditions with atypical motor profiles, such as ADHD. That is, if a child could not follow the movement that appeared on the screen it was due to a problem related to the autism spectrum and not because there was a problem in attention. The experiment. The cross-sectional study recruited 183 children between 7 and 13 years old. Participants were divided into four groups: ADHD (without ASD), ASD with co-occurring ADHD, ASD without ADHD (ASD only), and neurotypical children. The test consisted of two trials of one minute each, in which children were asked to stand up and copy the “dance” movements that an avatar made on the screen. The movements in these cases were recorded by the Xbox Kinect cameras and CAMI automatically calculated an imitation score for each trial ranging from 0 to 1, with one being perfect imitation. These scores were averaged to obtain a composite score. The result. The results were significant. Children with ASD, regardless of whether they had ADHD or not, showed significantly worse CAMI performance than neurotypical children. In contrast, children with ADHD alone showed CAMI performance similar to that of neurotypical children. But screening could also be done within patients who pointed to having ASD, since worse performance on the CAMI was associated with greater autism traits (measured by ADOS-2), specifically in restricted and repetitive social affect and behavior. However, performance is not associated with ADHD traits or general motor ability, which gives us a clue to be able to refine the diagnosis much more. The authors conclude that this CAMI method, which is low-cost and scalable, specifically distinguishes ASD not only from neurotypical development, but also from ADHD. Although currently a research tool, the findings lay the foundation for establishing CAMI as a definitive test to see if a child has autism or not. Images | Alireza Attari Sam Pak In Xataka | We have discovered a genetic mechanism to explain up to 80% of autism cases. Thanks to some Spanish scientists

China has taken a new step in its high-speed race. The CR450 has just reached a new milestone in its tests

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China has spent years perfecting machinery that not only symbolizes speed, but also industrial precision. Its last exponent, the CR450has shown the scope of that search: in its most recent tests, two trains reached a combined speed of 896 km/h at the intersectiona new record in the Chinese system. It is not an isolated gesture, but a step within the innovation program launched in 2021 to raise the bar for high speed with more reliability and performance. The new registration was confirmed on October 21. During tests on the high-speed line connecting Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu, two CR450 trains crossed each other, reaching a relative speed of 896 km/h. In the same test campaign, one of the prototypes once again reached 453 km/h per unit, equaling the record set in 2023. The tests, they explain, are part of the “evaluation operation” that is currently being carried out on the Wuhan–Yichang section, a prior step to a more demanding phase scheduled for 2026. Speed ​​is on the table, but the operation is not yet At first glance, it might seem that two trains traveling at 453 km/h should add up to a crossing speed of 906 km/h. In practice, testing conditions prevent this. As China Railway Group explainedthe exact moment when both units are on parallel tracks it only lasts a few secondsand getting them to maintain the same speed at that point is extremely complex. For safety reasons, technicians increase speed gradually, ensuring stability and synchronization before attempting new records. The CR450 is not an isolated project, but one more piece of the railway plan that China launched in 2021 to raise commercial speed to 400 km/h. The challenge is not minor: maintaining that pace without increasing consumption or noise. Before entering service, the prototype must complete 600,000 kilometers of tests under real conditions, an essential requirement for its certification. This year, trials have extended from the Chongqing to Qianjiang sections to the Wuhan–Yichang line, where technical teams continue to fine-tune the train’s behavior in prolonged use scenarios. How Sina collectsmuch of the CR450’s advancement can be understood by looking inside its engineering. The train incorporates permanent magnet motors with a total power of 11,000 kW. The weight has also been reduced about 50 tons thanks to the use of carbon fiber and magnesium alloys, and the aerodynamic profile has been optimized with a longer nose, 15 meters. They claim that at 400 km/h, the noise level inside the car barely reaches 68 decibels. Although the CR450 has already demonstrated its technical capabilities, its commercial deployment remains without a clear destination. Today there is no operational line in China prepared to travel at 400 km/h. The first that contemplates this possibility is the Chengdu–Chongqing Central Line, approved in 2021 with a base design of 350 km/h and adaptable sections for future tests at higher speeds. According to China Economic Newsthe plan is that next year the train will undergo a more demanding testing phase there, the closest so far to a real service scenario. The development of the CR450 is divided between two of the main railway manufacturers in the country. The CR450AF version has been built by CRRC Qingdao Sifang, while the CR450BF is built by CRRC Changchun. Both They share an eight-car configuration —four engines and four trailers—. Official information indicates that they incorporate advanced communication and braking systems, as well as high stability bogies designed to maintain balance even in extreme speed tests. The immediate future of the CR450 passes through the aforementioned line, where over the next year it will undergo tests closest to real operation. There is still no confirmed date for its entry into service, and those responsible for the project emphasize that the priority continues to be technical validation. For now, we have to wait to see if all the promises of the program materialize and if the new train manages to transfer its laboratory achievements to the operational field. Images | China Railway Group In Xataka | The shortest launch in history: a million-dollar luxury yacht sank just 200 meters from the dock

Listen to the judge, weigh tests and send a verdict with the mobile. It is not a dystopia, but the latest in immersive theater

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There are people capable of anything in order to dodge the task of being part of a jury, because they do not want that responsibility in their conscience or because you do not feel like investing a considerable amount of their time in determining the fate of others. But … what if we condensate all the tedious process in a couple of thrilling hours? What if we did to have fun? Would we even pay for it? What’s up. ‘The Jury Experience ‘is an immersive play in which spectators become an active part of the show, analyzing testimonies, examining forensic tests and listening to allegations. Finally deliberate and offer a final verdict of guilty or innocent. The cases are accessible and not especially violent or disturbing, they are often inspired by real events. How it works. The development of ‘The Jury Experience’ is ambiguous enough so that there is no “correct” resolution. There are no conclusive evidence in development, there are no last -minute confessions. That is, the responsibility of awarding someone a conviction or an acquittal falls entirely in the public. According to the organizers From this interactive entertainment, “the proposal invites you to reflect on justice, personal responsibility and limits of perception and social judgment.” Where to see it. Currently, ‘The Jury Experience’ is turning all over Spainand has been seen in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Sevilla or Alicante, among others. At the time of writing these lines you can see it in Bilbao, but the work does not stop traveling. Moreover, it is already starting to operate as a franchise, and to raise different cases so that the most aware can repeat. If a crime was judged in autonomous cars and accidents with cyclists because of artificial intelligence, in the second we will judge a more classic intrigue, with a love triangle, a conflicting divorce and a crime in a mansion. Experiences from within. ‘The jury experience’ is not an isolated experiment. Currently, especially in capitals such as Madrid and Barcelona, ​​immersive theater experiences abound. Although there are often those oriented to the whole family (such as those of Plot Point ‘Superdetective’ and ‘The fantastic legend of Calamburia’), there are others aimed at a more adult audience, such as the different versions of ‘Cluedo’ live, which already has several cases. There are even places especially dedicated to gender, such as 4DX Theater List Box In Madrid, where apart from the entire aforementioned ‘cluedo’ franchise, they have works such as ‘the memory of the psychiatric’. What the True Crime. There is an interesting hook in this phenomenon that allows the temperature of the tastes of the public: the Claim of “based on a real case” multiplies the morbid of the Devotos del True Crimethat they listen Podcasts And they see series inspired by authentic crimes often calibrating the possibilities they would have had to take the investigation by another route. Even in a highly fictional environment, such as ‘cluedo’, public participation allows it to transform it into a True Crime Without consequences. A new morbid fun, and also a perfect thermometer of where our leisure pulls. In Xataka | There are thousands of people hooked to True Crime documentaries on YouTube. The only problem is that they are generated by AI

Grok 4 destroys the tests and aims to be the most advanced AI model. The problem is that Elon Musk continues to sabotage his answers

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Xai has launched Grok 4its new artificial intelligence model that is sweeping the most demanding performance tests in the sector. The model exceeds OpenAi, Google and Anthropic proposals in multiple benchmarks. And is that in the absence of knowing OpenAI’s strategy with GPT-5At the moment it has all the ballots of being the most pointer the model. However, Grok continues to drag the usual problems: controversial responses, offensive content and an Elon Musk using the model to subtract credibility. The numbers speak alone. In the test Humanity’s last examconsidered one of the most difficult to measure abilities of AI, XAI states that Grok 4 has achieved 25.4% Without additional tools, surpassing O3 of Openai (21%) and Gemini 2.5 Pro from Google (21.6%). But it is with Grok 4 Heavy, its multiagente version, where the results shoot: according to the company, reaches 44.4% With ‘tools’, almost doubleing competition. Image: XAI In addition, at the benchmark ARC-AGI-2which measures the ability to solve complex visual patterns, Grok 4 has obtained 16.2%practically double the next commercial model. According to Musk“Grok 4 exceeds the doctoral level in all subjects, without exception”, an affirmation that, although it sounds to marketing, is supported by the results obtained. The revolutionary approach. Grok 4 Heavy works with A “multiple agents” system that work in parallel about the same problem, then comparing their results as if it were a study group. This architecture allows you to climb intelligence according to the available computational power, a concept that could redefine how we understand the AI ​​performance. Image: XAI The usual problems. The launch of Grok 4 occurs just after the previous version of the chatbot published anti -Semitic comments In X, even identifying as “Mechahitler” in some answers. XAI had to temporarily withdraw the service and eliminate offensive publications, while countries like Poland They announced complaints before the European Commission and Türkiye blocked access to chatbot. The cause was a modification in the system instructions that allowed the model “not to avoid politically incorrect statements.” Although Xai withdrew that guideline, the damage was already done. A constant sabotage. Despite these technical advances, Musk continues to condition Grok’s responses in ways that compromise their usefulness. The model performs automatic searches for the opinions of the tycoon in X to respond to controversial issues, turning the alleged search for “truth” into an echo of its creator’s ideas. This practice, confirmed By experts in AI like Carlos Santana, he once again demonstrates how Musk’s controversial decisions are directly influencing the development of the model. In addition, several researchers already They have managed to avoid Easily model safety barriers, making it generate content on chemical weapons, malicious software, drugs and other sensitive issues through relatively simple jailbreak techniques. Ethan Mollick, professor at Warton and an expert at AI, Point out The lack of transparency of the company: ‘There is no detailed technical documentation, risk analysis or explanations on how to avoid future incidents’. This opacity makes it difficult for companies to trust Grok for critical applications. Grok 4 prices. XAI Grok 4 Basic offers at a price of about 30 dollars a month. However, the company has also launched Supergrok Heavy, a subscription of $ 300 per month in which its most advanced model is offered and that directly becomes the most expensive market service on the market. What is coming. XAI plans to launch a programming model in August, multimodal agents in September and video generation in October. Also will integrate Grok 4 in Tesla vehicles Next week, expanding the scope of AI throughout the Musk ecosystem. The question is whether the company will separate the technical excellence of the media controversies that surround it, or if it will remain hostage of its founder’s impulsive decisions. Cover image | XAI In Xataka | We knew that AI would generate new jobs that did not exist before. What we did not expect is that he was fixing his pifias

We have just found new tests of Ozempic’s benefits in another field: dementia

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Although drugs pass exhaustive controls dedicated to, among other things, detect side effects, their clinical use allows us to find out new details about their effects on the body. This includes associated risks, but also possible additional benefits we did not count on. Lower risk of dementia. Drugs destined to keep blood sugar levels under control in people with diabetes (such as Ozempic or Zepbound) They can have a positive effectreducing our risk of dementia. Several studies have deepened in this relationship, offering hopeful results in this regard. Diabetes and dementia. Diabetes is one of the Risk factors that we usually associate with the appearance of dementia, such as age, tobacco, certain genetic factors or cholesterol, among others. Diabetes It is also a risk factor in arterosclerosis and stroke or stroke, which are factors that also contribute to certain forms of dementia. Knowing this, it can be intuitive to think that drugs that help us keep diabetes at bay can have this type of effects. However, intuition is not enough, so several research groups take time to work to better understand the underlying interactions and be able to strengthen our knowledge about the issue. Two studies. A few weeks ago, the magazine Jama Neurology He published two independent studies on each other who tried to investigate this issue. Both focused on how drugs aimed at reducing the amount of blood sugar were associated with a lower risk of dementia and cognitive problems among people with type 2 diabetes. Reviewing the evidence. One of the studies It was based on the systematic review of scientific literature related to the subject, review accompanied by a meta -analysis, a quantitative study of the results compiled through the review. This analysis was carried out from 26 randomized essays among which were added about 165,000 participants. The team responsible for the study did not find a significant change in the risk of dementia when studying the set of treatments focused on glucose reduction. But he did find that agonists of the peptide receptors similar to type 1 glucagon (LPG-1), the family of compounds to which the semaglutida belongs and therefore Ozempic, were related to a risk of suffering from 45% lower. One more essay. The second of the studies mentioned focused on two drugs, the agonostas of the GLP-1 receptors (LPG-1st) and the sodium/glucose collection inhibitors 2 (SGLT2is). The team observed that both the LPG-1ras and the SGLT2is were linked to a lower risk of suffering some forms of dementia such as Alzheimer’s in contrast to other treatments destined for glycemic control. A key factor. Studying the link between diabetes and dementia can open the way to better understand a disorder as complex as dementia. There is still little that we know about cognitive deterioration associated with age and disorders such as Alzheimer’s, but in increasingly aging societies, finding ways to reduce their weight in the well -being of older people will become unavoidable. In Xataka | Ozempic is supposed to increase the risk of erectile dysfunction. Thousands of people think exactly the opposite Image | Chemist4u / Steven Hwg

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