thought

We have taken 60 years to discover that a key treatment against diabetes does not work as we thought

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The drugs may well be the substance that we study the most before getting the market: preclinical and clinical trials; experiments In vitroin animals and in people … everything to make sure the treatment is safe and works. But sometimes the question is another: because works. Because the answer can be so complex that we are late for decades to unravel it at all. Also in the brain. Something like that It has happened with metformina compound used for more than six decades in the treatment of diabetes: a new study has found that This drug It acts in our brain and not only in the liver as we believed before. The discovery opens the door to possible new therapeutic, more effective and precise pathways, in the treatment of diabetes. Rap1. The new study develops around Rap1 proteina protein that is usually found in the brain region known as ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). As the team observed in its analysis, metformin acts in this region “turn off” the rap1 function. Modified mice. To check it, the team administered a high fat diet, with which they emulated the effects of type 2 diabetes, to modified mice so that they did not have the rap1 protein in their VMH. Then they administered several types of drugs against diabetes: metformin, insulin and GLP-1 agonists (peptide similar to glucagon 1). When this protein disappeared, metformin ceased to be effective in reducing blood sugar while the other treatments continued to work. The team performed another test to demonstrate the key role of the brain in the functioning of metformin. For this they inject small amounts of the drug diréctorly into the brains of mice with diabetes. They were able to observe that, in doing their blood sugar levels, they decreased, even with “thousands of times smaller” doses of which they are usually administered orally. Combined action. The new study suggests that the biochemical mechanisms with which metformin acts in our body are more complex than we thought. Until now we knew that the drug acted on the liver and we also had evidence that the intestines also act. Now we not only have evidence that it acts on the brain, but it seems that in this context it responds to smaller doses than is required to act in the other areas of the body. The details of the study have been published In an article In the magazine Science Advances. New treatments. The responsible team keeps the hope that the new discovery will contribute to the development of new treatments against diabetes, drugs that focus on this “path” of the brain. The effects of this drug go beyond the control of diabetes, the team recalls: it has also been linked to slower cerebral aging. Of course, it can also have adverse effects, although uncommon, one of the most serious is lactic acidosis, a serious and potentially deadly disease. In Xataka | This is the great hope of competition to replace Ozempic. Your weapon: banish needles with a pill Image | Sweet Life

We thought that Chatgpt was used mostly to work. Openai herself has just demonstrated otherwise

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For months, many of us assumed that Chatgpt It had become the perfect tool for the office work and also to program. OpenAi has published His first detailed study about what users really do and who they are, and the portrait breaks that intuition: most conversations do not work. Personal use dominates and grows. The data reflect a notable change in the type of use of ChatgPPT: in June 2025, 73% of the conversations were not work, when in June 2024 the percentages were almost tied. And there are other interesting data: the public is mostly young, with about half of the messages sent by people between 18 and 25 years old. To this is added a turn in the gender profile: the first records showed predominance of male names, but in 2025 52% corresponds to female names. More than work: chatgpt shows your most personal face The company classified more than one million conversations in seven major categories. The most common, “practical orientation”, supposes 28.3% of all interactions and includes help requests for daily tasks, academic consultations or training tips. The study also draws a curious panorama: it points out that adoption grows faster in less rich countries, although it does not list uses by country. The second major block are requests related to writing, which highlight the edition or criticism of texts and personal communication. The programming also appears, which concentrates only 4.2% of the analyzed chats. A trend that gains strength is the search for information. Openai states that these types of consultations have become a nearby substitute for web search engines. Between May and June 2024, it grew constantly, until it was placed as the second most common use. In this section, questions about products also appear, which suppose 2.1% of the consultations within that category. These data plan questions about the future of searches and how the company led by Sam Altman He is challenging Google. Another relevant block is that of personal advice and intimate conversations. The report indicates that 1.9% of the interactions are related to reflections and relationships, And 0.4% are role -playing games, including the use of chatgpt as virtual “companion”. Although the study insists that they are small figures, The issue is in the spotlight in several countries due to the impact of this technology on the mental health of some people. reflections and relationships, The study has 62 pages and covers the period from May 2024 to June 2025, with data from 1.5 million users and a sample of 1.1 million conversations. If the question is how Openai has achieved to obtain this information, the company says it has used its own models to analyze the messages, preventing human researchers from reading individual conversations. Demographic information comes from the data that users provide when registering. Images | Solen Feyissa | Levart_photographer In Xataka | China is selling us a future full of humanoid robots. We have (many) doubts

We thought we had seen everything in washing machines, but no. DREame just presented one with three drums

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We have already talked about The crazy trend to add more functionalities to the washing machine and thus charge us a fortune for them. Connected washing machineswith Integrated Voice Assistantswith Telephone functionwith one Extra door to add things halfway and now washing machines not with one, but with three drums. It is not a concept, it is called Tri-Drum and is one of the home products that Dreame has presented in Ifa. Three drums You have read well. Dreame’s new invention is a washing machine that has a large drum with 10kg capacity and two smaller additional In the upper part with capacity for 400 grams of clothes. Image: DREame For the large casting we will use the 10kg drum, but we need wash some loose garment that has been stainedwe can resort to the other two and thus use much less water. It can also come good If we don’t want to mix garments either because of the color, because they are very dirty, because we want to wear a different detergent or due to allergies or sensitive skin (for example washing the clothes of a baby). At the moment we do not know its price or if it will go on sale in Spain. It is not the first Although it seems a lie, there have been other similar ones. Hisense presented the triple washer at the IFA of 2017although we believe that It never got on sale. Here they bet on two additional drums at the top, one for baby clothes and one for underwear. This same year, Haier also presented his triple drum washing machine Within its Leader range with a design that reminds Mickey Mouse’s silhouette. This time, it is on sale in China by 4,999 yuan, some 600 euros to the current change. LG Twinwash. Image: LG A few years ago LG presented the Twinwashan additional drum that we can place our washing machine at the bottom and to which we access As if we opened a drawer. Here we talk about an accessory and the two drums are quite large, so it is different from the bet of Dreame, Haier or Hisense. In this case the idea is that we can put two large straps at the same timeone for light clothes and one for the color. It is not sold in Spain. Cover image | DREame In Xataka | We are experts in technology, but it is time to buy a washing machine and we suffer

We thought that Sunday’s anxiety in the afternoon was a laziness problem. Actually, it’s about working balance

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Every weekend, millions of people experience a sensation that is increasing as Sunday is coming and the first day of the work week is approaching. According to A study Prepared by LinkedIn, this phenomenon, known as “Sunday anxiety“or” Sunday syndrome “, affects up to 80% of the workers surveyed, being more intense in the employees of generation Z with 94% incidence. In fact, this phenomenon is so studied that they have even managed to start time: the first symptoms tend to appear From 15:58 on Sunday, According to a survey which was carried out in 2020. The usual thing is to attribute this anguish Sunday to laziness or to the desire to stretch leisure time to the maximum at the expense of neglecting labor obligations. However, its origin is a bit deeper and is related to the abrupt step of leisure to duty. Factors behind Sunday anxiety According to published by The countryanticipated anxiety by the arrival of Monday is manifested with varied symptoms: from stomach discomfort and difficulty sleeping to melancholy and fear, depending on each person. According to psychologist Marisol Delgado, a specialist in psychotherapy by the European Federation of Psychologists Associations (EFPA), “Sunday afternoon is one of the few moments in which many professionals can stop reflecting on their life and wander after five or six frantic days.” Sunday’s anguish not only depends on personal emotions, but it is influenced by multiple factors structural and cultural. One of the most prominent is Labor exhaustionthe overload of tasks and the poor management of them throughout the week. In short, the job anxiety It does not have its origin in the laziness of returning to work instead of continuing to enjoy leisure time, but of the anxiety produced by the Labor overload and the lack of free time until next weekend. In other words, of a Bad balance between personal and work life. As Delgado explained, “people who suffer from this disorder are usually those who focus on the negative of things, those who do not know how to manage their free time, those with a clear avoidance strategy In complicated situations or those that have little tolerance to frustration and do not accept that things end, that the weekend ends. “ The feeling of guilt for not having fulfilled all the weekend plans, or for Not having enjoyed free time As expected, it helps to increase the feeling of discomfort and frustration before the work week starts again. The tendency to compare with others Through social networks It adds to anguish, especially when it is perceived that the weekend itself It has been less satisfactory than that of othersincreasing that feeling of discomfort. Strategies for a bad Sunday Although Sunday anxiety may seem difficult to handle, there are effective resources to reduce its impact both at the moment and in the long term. Among the most recommended is the create a relaxing routine For Sunday night and avoid leaving tedious or home tasks for that day. Try to advance them to Friday or Saturday morning to release your agenda for the rest of the weekend. Similarly, minimize Monday’s negative connotations planning an activity that is fun for Monday: a film session or is with a friend. In short, schedule an activity that makes you wishing that Monday arrives To do it. Another strategy consists of Organize and plan the weeksince having clarity about the objectives and tasks facilitates stress management and helps to reduce intrusive thoughts. When the discomfort persists, it is recommended Search for professional supportcommunicate the needs to the work environment to prevent Those first symptoms of lack of balance between working life and leisure time can derive in mental health problems. In Xataka | If you have wondered how much free time you need to be happy, science has an answer Image | Unspash (Hannah Popowski, Annie Spratt)

What Steve Jobs thought about intelligence

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A good way to help us work our path to success is to find inspiring figures. People from different areas that reached significant goals and who had often overcome multiple adversities. Fortunately, we live in a connected world where many speeches or experiences of those who can be our referents are at hand. The speech. We must not necessarily match everything. Sometimes it is enough to find certain anecdotes or advice that can be adequate for certain moments of our life. It is no secret that Steve Jobs has inspired thousands of people, and continues to do so. A speech provided In 1982 by Apple’s co -founder at the Academy of Achievement It has a part that has not gone unnoticed. Much is talk about intelligence. Some believe that this capacity is key to achieving great achievements in life, and that it is directly related to intellectual coefficient (CI). Others believe intelligence It has nothing to do with the ICeven some claim that it is a secondary capacity to achieve achievements, and that it is of no use if there are no defined goals, action plans and, above all, discipline. But what did Jobs think? As Ign points outthe businessman had a fairly peculiar vision of what it was to be intelligent. For him, he was mainly on people’s ability not to see things individually, but to understand them as a whole. To do this, it was essential to take distance and contemplate a problem or a situation as if they were looking from the top of a building. Let’s see exactly what Jobs said: “I have reflected a little about this, and one of the things that I think is important is that it has a lot to do with memory, but also with the ability to get away a little, as if you were in a city and you could see everything from the 80th floor, looking down. While others try to discover how to go from point A to point B reading those absurd maps, you can see everything in front of you.” This successful businessman continues to explain that power away allows us to see everything as a whole, and make connections that, from that perspective, seem obvious. “Therefore, brilliant people often feel guilty, because they come up with things that simply say” look this “, and other people give them silly awards and feel weird,” he said, precisely in the academy that recognizes the achievements. Other ideas. For Bill Gates, another personality of the technological world, success was to consider the worst and best scenario. Microsoft co -founder left in the background qualities such as reading or exercising memory, although We know that it has a huge library and that he dedicates much of his time to read. For Warren Buffettthe key to achieving success is high as time as time. Images | Apple In Xataka | Sam Altman’s advice to achieve success in a competitive world: build a solid network and be constant *An earlier version of this article was published in August 2024

We had always thought that after 35 our performance collapsed. Is the opposite

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Working in the technology sector involves facing the “Curse of the 35“That idea, halfway between myth and the harsh reality, that when you reach that age Your career stagnates, The hiring opportunities collapse And you become a “obsolete” piece in front of younger colleagues. This perception is fed by data such as The average age of employees in technological giants: 29 years on Facebook and LinkedIn, 30 on Google and 33 in Microsoft. Science comes to doubt it. A recent one Scientific study published by academics From the South China University of Technology and the University of New South Wales has rigorously analyzed if this barrier has some empirical justification. And the conclusion is resounding: no, you don’t have it. The myth collapses: there is no abrupt fall of performance. To get to this conclusion, the researchers used A known methodology as ”. In simple terms, they sought a sudden and vertical fall in the performance of professionals, just at the time they turn 35. Analyzed a huge amount of data from an important Professional Networking Platformtogether with patent records and Salaries of thousands of engineers and scientists. The result was unequivocal: there is no ‘significant discontinuity’ in the innovative performance or economic productivity of professionals when crossing the threshold of 35 years. In other words, the idea that an engineer’s ability vanishes from one day to another is simply a myth without a scientific basis. What we do have is a productivity peak. That there is no chopped drop in productivity does not mean that the capacity for innovation is constant. The study reveals what the true professional career is, and has an inverted ‘u’. According to the data, the A professional ability to innovate (measured in the number of patent applications that the investigated have made) increases rapidly during the twenties, it reaches its maximum point around 34 years, and from there it begins a soft and gradual decline. A peak of innovation that varies in the sector. Depending on the specialty you have, the peak of ‘maximum success’ is different. In the case of software and communication engineers, the peak reaches its maximum at 32, while chemical engineers achieve it at the age of 31. Those who take longer to reach this are mechanical engineers, standing at 37, where accumulated experience plays a more important role. Why does prejudice do not exist then. If the performance does not fall according to this study, the question we can ask ourselves is why that ‘myth’ arises that at 35 there is a barrier. The study points to a possible economic explanation and for this they introduced a novel metric: the performance-sailor (PIR) ratio that measures how many patents an employee produces for each euro that the company invests in its salary. Here the curve is different. It has ‘u’. The analysis shows that this ratio is decreasing until it reaches its lowest point between 38 and 39 years. This is because, in that age strip, wages can continue to rise by seniority, while patent production has already begun its soft decrease. It is the time when an employee, from a purely numerical perspective, is ‘more expensive’ for the company. After touching background, it will rebound again. But when a person is at the bottom of the ‘U’, he later returns to ascending. Experience, management capacity, mentoring and accumulated tactical knowledge become very valuable assets that, although they are not always reflected in a patent, are crucial for the long -term innovation of a company. It is good news for professionals. The professional career does not end at 35, according to this study. In fact, if you are here, you are at your best. It is the ideal stage to maximize your innovative production. Facing the 40, it is strategic to start pivoting towards management, leadership or mentoring roles, where vast experience may be better to take advantage of it. It is also a warning for companies. There are companies that can be reluctant to hire someone to exceed 35 years, but they are in a big mistake. They are losing talent that is in their performance peak. The study suggests that companies should reconsider their salary structures so that they are linked to the real performance that at ancient times. But in addition, they also advocate promoting more diverse teams with employees from different age ranges, where the most experienced can collaborate with the youngest. The unemployment problem among the older ones. This is something that in Spain is suffered in the first person. Recently, it was seen that 47% of the unemployed in Spain are over 50 years oldwith the incentive that many will not work until they retire. Therefore there are mechanisms such as Subsidy for over 52 years to give them an economic livelihood. But the reality is that the Spanish labor market faces that In 2030 40% of workers will be over 50 years old for the general aging of the population. This makes it right now back a qualified person just because he is olderNot the best idea. And more when we see that its productivity does not look so diminished. Images | Agefis Vlada Karpovich In Xataka | China has a huge youth unemployment problem. So much, that some people pretend that they work

Japan thought he had touched back on his birth crisis. I didn’t know how wrong it was wrong

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He has tried pulling a checkbook And even acting as Celestinabut Japan has encountered a seemingly irresoluble problem: birth. The country has gone from demographic winter to the debacle without palliative. That is at least the reading left by the latest government data, which reveal that in just one year (from January 2024 to January 2025) the population of Japanese citizens has been reduced in More than 900,000 peoplethe biggest fall Since at least 1968. There is only one positive indicator: immigration. A fact: 908,574. Talking about birth in Japan for a long time is to talk about falls, pessimistic forecasts and a future full of unknowns. It is nothing new, but that does not prevent when your government publishes official data, as has happened This Wednesdaythe demographic debacle continues to surprise. And rightly. According to the data of the Ministry of Interior, in 2024 the country lost neither more nor less than 908,574 inhabitants, which leaves the census of Japanese citizens in 120.65 million. Far, far from 126.6 million which it reached in 2009. More than a blow. The data is bad in itself and does not improve when it is put in context. As Remember Kyodo News It is the 16th consecutive year in which the census of Japanese citizens fall, a trend that seems to have no softening visos. On the contrary. The 2024 was the greatest demographic collapse of the statistical series, which starts in 1968. You have to go back to that same decade to find a lower birth record than the one scored last year: 687,689. In the opposite pole, the number of deaths (almost 1.6 million) stood at maximum. A percentage: 59%. Demography is not simple statistical theory, it is directly connected to the country’s economy. And that is something that government data makes it very clear: after years of population debacle and with the Gripada Birth engine, Japan has found that barely 59% of its population It is at work age (between 15 and 64), significantly below the world average, which is around 65%, according to the latest estimates of the OECD. With less and less native population of working age and a society in full aging, the panorama facing the country is the least challenging. In fact there are those who warn that a ‘red line’ is crossing. Some authors point out that 2025 will mark the point at which the population born during The Baby Boom In the late 40s, an age in which the percentage of the working population collapses and increases that of those who require care is exceeded. That turning point even has a name: The “problem 2025”. And what does that suppose? That in practice it is quite likely that from now on Japan will meet “a sudden increase” of elders who need care, which will result in “a significantly greater burden for workforce,” warns An IPEI report. As for what he will mean for public coffers, years ago the government has accounts and already calculated that between 2025 and 2040 the general costs of social care will shoot 60%. How to solve it? The big question. Japan has been deploying a range of measures to encourage their birth and reverse their demographic crisis. And that happens so much to dedicate Millions of resources to programs Pronatality and raising aids as encourage the paternal casualties or ease May young people find a partner. It is nothing new or exclusive to Japan. In South Korea, China either Russia Governments have launched similar campaigns with Disrupt results. In the background, however, a key question underlies, such as I already pointed out in 2023 The BBC chain: Increasing the birth of a country is a matter of money? Do the ‘baby checks’ or the paternal casualties? To what extent do these factors influence and how much depends on more structural ones, such as the difficulties in accessing broad homes, labor philosophy, gender inequalities, the cost of life or simply a cultural change that no longer prioritizes motherhood? A word: immigration. Not all demographic indicators in Japan are in red numbers. Moreover, there is one that grew last year until reaching record values: that of the foreign residentsthose people from other countries with permission to remain in Japan for at least three months. According to government data, your number grew by 10.65% (354,089 people) until adding 3.68 million. The records had never reached such a high figure. In practice that means that foreigners already represent almost 3% of the total population, another figure that had never been achieved before. Japan Times Precise that in 2024 661,800 people were moved from abroad, which shows that the fall experienced by this registry during the pandemic, especially in 2021 and 20022. If there are both Japanese citizens and the foreign population, the total census of residents in the country is taken into account. 124.3 millionapproximately 554,000 less than the previous year. Why is it important? Because the influx of foreigners has served for more than softening the country’s demographic bleeding. It also involves a chute of energy for its economy. 85.77% of foreign residents are of working age, a significant percentage for a country with a birth problem and that has been aging years. The increase in immigration also has certain challenges. Its increase coincides with the rise of the ultra -right party Sanseitowho has campaigned by flying the motto of “The Japanese first.” Image | JJ Ying (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | More and more Japanese women decide to marry men from South Korea. And there is something that explains it: the K-Pop

We thought the tourist floors were the most profitable. Amancio Ortega has found something better: headquarters and shops

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The rental market He has shot In recent years and with them the profitability that their owners They get them. Keeping this in mind, have you ever wondered how much must pay Inditex, Primark, Amazon or Apple for the rent of some of its offices or stores? Amancio Ortega, like homemade main From these companies has that answer: almost 1 billion a year together. Choose buildings without borrowing. In addition to the founder of Inditex, Amancio Ortega is the creator of one of the greater real estate empires in Spain: Pontegadea. The basis of his fortune remains his participation of 59.29% in Inditex, which allows him to access Milmillonarios annual dividends which strategically reinveys premium buildings distributed throughout the world. All this without borrowing with third parties. However, instead of focusing your business on the sale of these properties to obtain surplus value, your goal is to make constant profitability through rentals. Since its buildings have been specifically selected by Its strategic location In the main capitals of the world, the big firms are tail To rent some of its premises. Millionaire rentals. Thanks to this strategy, Pontegadea registered in 2024 income linked to real estate of 977 million euros, According to data to those who have had access Digital economy. This figure represents a 20% increase with respect to the 657 million euros that Ortega’s real estate registered in its 2023 accounts. This increase means that, for the first time, Pontegadea has exceeded the joint revenues from rents of its main rivals in Spain: Merlin Properties and Colonial. Something that It already foresaw That could happen for some years. They always buy with tenants. Such and as he published Expansionin addition to making a strategic selection of its buildings, Pontegadea has as a guideline buy buildings already occupied by solvent tenants. This has been demonstrated in all its operations, such as the logistics center of Baldonnell Business Park of Dublin From which Amazon operates, the Amazon headquarters in Seattleor the Venlo distribution centerfrom which it serves as the operations center of the DSV parcel company, one of the largest in the world. Thus, the new properties that Pontegadea incorporates in its portfolio generates income from the first minute and ensures something very valuable for a landlord: a tenant that pays promptly. Inditex also pays for rent: A Pontegadea. It is paradoxical, but some of the dividends that Pontegadea de Inditex receives are invested in premises that are then rented to the different brands of the group to install their stores or stores in them. That Pontegadea is the owner of the main premises of Inditex is a strategic advantage (in addition to a fine irony), since thus the textile can better deal with the variations in the price of the real estate market and not shoot their operational costs. OK To what is published For the economic one Expansionin 2024, Inditex paid 46 million euros for real estate rental to Pontegadea. That figure represents 18% more than the previous year, when the figure reached 39 million. In Xataka | Amancio Ortega: the billionaire who lives as one more neighbor. Except for private jets and superyates Image | Gtres, Flickr (José Román)

We thought we were facing a “historical” oil harvest. Farmers now foresee a reality bath

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Olive oil is going through convulsive times. The drought lived some crops back put many crops against the strings and fired the prices of this cornerstone of our kitchen. Last year the arrival of the rains allowed some normalization, without moving from some modest results. And now, uncertainty does not disappear. Like the last, “in the best case.” The Olivar sector has issued a statement to lower expectations Regarding the following oil harvest. They did it after a meeting of members of the union of small farmers and ranchers (UPA) in which representatives of the olive grove of all the autonomous communities were able to discuss the situation of this harvest. Farmers estimate that oil production will give us between 1.2 and 1.4 million tons of the product. According to Indicates the UPAthese figures would imply a harvest similar to the last “at best.” According to Data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foodlast year there were 855,577 tons of olive oil, which would have to add 112,973 tons of olive pomace oil and 407,400 tons of table olive. According to The most recent estimates From the Ministry for this year, the expected production for this year would be at 1,415 million tons of pomace oil, plus 126,000 tons of olive pomace oil and 533.012 tons of table olive. Different communities, different impacts. In the eye of this hurricane are the Andalusian producers. “The current situation in the main autonomous producer community, Andalusia, leads us to think that the euphoria that reigned among the great market operators about a historical harvest is collapsing,” They point in a press release From the UPA. According to the estimates of the organization, the Andalusian harvest could give between 950,000 and 1,150,000 tons, while the Castilian-Manchega would be around 125,000 tons and in Extremadura the production would be about 80,000 tons. The rest of CC.AA. would contribute around 12,000 tons to this year’s harvest. Heat, pests and productive capacity. The data seem to validate the fears that A few weeks ago He highlighted the sector. As indicated then, there were several factors that invited to reduce optimism regarding the coming harvest. The first of them, the meteorology: the premature arrival of heat at the end of May implied a problem for the olive grove in full flowering. Meteorological conditions have affected different olive groves differently, but intense and advanced summer could be a determining factor in this year’s harvest. To the meteorology we must add the appearance of certain pests, such as prays (Prays Oleae), also the so -called olive moth; or that of milkweed (Euphyllura Olivina). To this must be added the olive grove, the fact that the plant tends to not be able to produce in full performance for two consecutive years. Waiting for September. It is still soon to know reliably the evolution of the harvest since There is still one of the key points that the olive groves throughout the year. The first of these stages occurs in spring and is the flowering of the olive tree, which usually occurs between April and May; The second, which we still have ahead, is the maturation of the fruit. To know how the olive grove this stage, we still have to wait until September. For now we do not know what the meteorology will hold for a month seen, although The predictions Aemet does not invite optimism. Medium-term predictions indicate a warmer and more dry August than normal, while quarterly forecasts also indicate a trimester August-October by pulling warm and dry. There will be so much to wait to see the evolution of the crop. In Xataka | More and more giants get into the Andalusian field and in the olive oil industry. The last: Pepsico Image | Royber99

Spain thought its position regarding the closure of nuclear. That has just changed

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The debate on a possible extension of nuclear plants has returned to the scene and has turned on the media focus. The electricity insists on lengthening their operation beyond the expected, but the executive denies that formal negotiations are being maintained and refers to the conditions that already set as essential. A letter and three conditions. Iberdrola and Endesa sent a joint letter to the government will make more or less a month. In it, they proposed to reopen the debate on the progressive closure of the nuclear park – which contemplates the shutdown of the Seven reactors between 2027 and 2035– With the argument that maintaining operational some centrals would reduce the cost of electricity for consumers. According to the countrythe Government responded by another letter signed by the Ecological Transition Minister, Sara Aagesen, opening to assess the proposal under three immovable conditions: that there is no additional cost for citizens, that the security of the supply is guaranteed and that the plants comply with the standards of the Nuclear Safety Council. So far they “dialogue.” According to eldiario.esthe government considers the letter of electricity as a declaration of intentions, not a formal request. In addition, Naturgy and EDP – also minority owners of some plants – did not sign the document, which leaves Iberdrola and Endesa alone. The debate intensifies. The situation is complex for a primary reason that is not technical, but the economic viability of nuclear. As the confidential explainedelectricity consider that operating with the current fiscal charge is unfeasible if the market price does not exceed € 65-70/MWh. In contrast, projected prices are around € 55/MWh by 2030. In this context, the Endesa CEO, José Bogas, raises the government a fiscal reduction, especially autonomic taxes (such as the one already eliminated in the Valencian Community) and the Enresa rate, which finances the dismantling of the centrals and waste management. However, according to the miteco, this fiscal reduction would involve damage to citizens, and therefore clashes frontally with their red lines. Almaraz, the first thermometer. The immediate focus is at the Almaraz nuclear power plant (Cáceres), whose first reactor must close in November 2027 and the second in October 2028. Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy – his three owners – have not yet met to approve the necessary investments that would allow their operation beyond those dates. The meeting scheduled for June has not been held, and sector sources admit that it will not occur before September. Meanwhile, companies prepare a new proposal that, According to El Confidencialcould be presented after summer at a meeting not yet confirmed with Minister Aagesen. The plan would be to offer a tax reduction in exchange for prolonging the activity of some centrals until 2030. However, the Ministry insists: if the conditions do not change, there will be no negotiation. A hot topic in Congress. The debate is more than served from the political field. On the one hand, the Popular Party preparing one Law proposition to extend the life of nuclear. The proposal would have the support of several regional governments of the PP – as Extremadura and Community Valencian – and the parliamentary support of Junts and ERC, which have shown flexibility in Congress in relation to the revision of the nuclear calendar. However, the government has reaffirmed its position. As El Confidencial recalledPresident Pedro Sánchez was bluntly in Congress last May, accusing PP and Vox of acting as “amateur lobists” of the electric. “If companies want to keep the centrals open, they pay them, not the citizens,” he settled. Facing an ambivalent European framework. In addition, the legal position of nuclear energy in the EU adds complexity, since European regulations do not consider nuclear energy as a renewable source. This is established by Directive 2018/2001 (Red II), a vision that has also adopted Spanish legislation. However, in 2022, the European Commission took a partial turn by including this technology, under certain conditions, In the so -called “green taxonomy”next to the natural gas. This classification allows certain nuclear investments to be labeled as sustainable from the climate point of view. As Miguel Huarte expanded has indicatedthis places the nuclear in a normative gray area: it is not renewable, but free of emission in its operation. And while France or Belgium have already chosen to extend their atomic parks, Spain maintains the opposite course. Accelerating another route. At the same time, the miteco has processed this July 31 a new Royal Decree by urgent route to reinforce the electrical system. As you have indicated in a press releaseit is a technical standard that does not directly address the nuclear calendar, but it does signal to a reinforcement of the electrical system by means of supervision, electrification of the demand and promotion of energy storage. Among other measures, the proposal increases the technical control of Electricity and CNMC, promotes renewable hybridization with storage systems and limits speculation on connection points. Although the text does not mention the nuclear, it reinforces the idea that the government bet remains clear: moving towards a 100% renewable mix. A door ajar. The crossing of cards between electric and government has served more to draw red lines than to open doors. What is played, beyond the kilowatt, is the country’s energy model: one where renewables are implacable and nuclear tries to scratch time under the promise of stability. But as well He has pointed the newspaper.Without a formal proposal and without an explicit resignation to tax privileges, electricity will continue to wait at the gates of a ministry that, for now, remains firm: either they meet the conditions, or the closing calendar will continue its course. The future of Almaraz – and perhaps that of the entire nuclear park – will be decided, if, after summer. And with many more letters even to play. Image | Foronuclear Xataka | Spain was supposed to have a “antiapagones” plan. It has encountered an insurmountable obstacle: politics

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