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The earthquake has revived the fear of a new Fukushima. This time, nuclear power plants are armed to teeth

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The red tsunami alert issued on the coast of Japan after a strong earthquake in Russia has served as a raw reminder of the 2011 disaster. Japanese televisions cut their usual programming to show an unequivocal order in capital letters: “Tsunami! Evacuate!“The message, shouted in unison by the presenters, resonated with those of 14 years ago. But this time, the nuclear power plants were much better prepared. Context. For millions of Japanese, The scene that was lived this Wednesday It was too familiar. The collective memory immediately returned to March 11, 2011, when an earthquake of magnitude 9 unleashed a tsunami that not only charged about 20,000 lives, but caused the worst nuclear accident of the 21st century in the Fukushima central. Yesterday, the workers of the own Fukushima plant They suspended their tasks and evacuated the nuclear power plant towards higher land, knowing that nuclear safety has suffered a radical transformation. The global nuclear industry not only learned Fukushima’s lessons: it made them concrete, steel and new protocols on an unprecedented scale. The turning point. To understand the magnitude of the changes, we must remember what exactly failed in Fukushima-Daiichi. The disaster It was not caused directly by the earthquakebut for the tsunami that followed. Waves of up to 15 meters far exceeded the containment wall of the plant, flooding the emergency diesel generators and cutting all the plant power of the plant. Without capacity to refrigerate reactors, Three of the nuclei merged. The lesson was brutal: the security margins, designed for probable events, were insufficient before an extreme event. Fukushima was a global attention call that unleashed a regulatory and technical revolution. The paradigm shift is summarized in moving from a probabilist approach (designing for what is expected) to a total resilience (being ready for the unexpected). Not only in Japan. Immediately after the accident, regulators around the world launched A thorough review of its facilities, creating international frames to ensure that the lessons learned will be applied everywhere. China and the United States They promoted strategies so that all nuclear power plants can support an indefinite loss of energy. In Europe, all plants passed Stress tests against earthquakes, floods and total loss of security systems, forcing each country to implement a national action plan in case of finding defects. Gravelines, the largest nuclear power plant in France, reinforced his dike and added new gates Mobile Concrete and steel. Japanese centrals have been working like none, investing billions of dollars. They sealed all possible water input routes with stagnant doors, installed high capacity Achique pumps and built higher walls. Onagawa, the central closest to the 2011 epicenter, survived thanks to its 14 -meter wall. After Fukushima’s accident, the Tohoku Electric Power energy company did not walk with little girls and built A new 2 meter high dikealmost like a 10 -story building. Hamooka raised his breakwater 22 meters above sea leveland relocated the emergency diesel generators in a hill at 25 meters high. Tokai-2 raised A slope 1.7 kilometers longprepared to resist a wave of 17.1 meters. The reactors of the future. These lessons have also moved to the new designs of third and fourth generation reactors, including compact modular reactors (SMR), which incorporate them as standard. The AP1000 and its Chinese CAP-1000 derivative They can keep safe for 72 hours without any human intervention or external energy thanks to passive cooling systems that work by gravity and convection. The European EPR-2 includes double containment, a filtered vent system and A “Core-Catcher” Designed to contain the molten nucleus in the hypothetical case of an accident. And the Nuscale or the BWRX-300 of Gen-Hitachi can be installed as underground reactors, which makes them intrinsically immune to tsunamis and other surface disasters. A safer world. Wednesday’s Tsunami alert is a reminder that we are still at the mercy of nature. But also an opportunity to verify that, in the 14 years that have passed since Fukushima, the defenses of nuclear power plants have become a real fortress. The 2011 disaster was not in vain. Image | IAEA In Xataka | People did not take the drills seriously, so Japan found something much more effective: video game drills

What is “carnivorous bacteria” and why Europe believes that now is the best time to take precautions

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Many of the infectious diseases around us have a seasonal component. The flu, for example, is a thing of winter. Other infections are more dangerous in summer, such as those caused by Salmonella, or those caused by gender bacteria Vibrio. A seasonal infection. A few days ago, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued a statement in which it remembered that, with the arrival of summer, increases the risk of vibriosisinfections caused by the bacterial genre Vibrio. Maybe the name Vibrio It does not tell us much, but this genus contains several species of pathogenic bacteria. This genre belongs for example Vibrio Choleraethe bacteria that cause anger. Also in this genre is the so -called “carnivorous” bacteria, V. Vulnificus. Salobres waters. Bacteria of this genre usually inhabit salobres waters, waters such as river estuaries where salinity levels are intermediate, not as high as in the sea but greater than in rivers. These bacteria can be found in different geographical contexts. In its statement, for example, the ECDC indicates the presence of these bacteria in the Baltic Sea, where salinity conditions are especially favorable. The European center has A monitoring system of the risk in which the Black Sea is also indicated as the potential focus of infections. Two ways. Infections by Vibrio They can occur in two very different ways. The food route is perhaps the most common. It is generally produced through seafood specimens contaminated by the bacteria and occurs when the animal is consumed in raw or little cooked. The symptoms of this infection They are similar to those of other gastroenteritis: diarrhea, cramps, vomiting, fever or chills. The other way of infection is through wounds, and occurs When we bathe in waters contaminated by this bacterium with open wounds. These infections can lead to complications such as those given when the infection goes to our circulatory system; but also to tissue necrosis. The nickname of “carnivorous” bacteria that is assigned to the species V. Vulnificus It is because infections caused by this bacterium can cause necrotizing fasciitisthe death of infected tissues. This is not the only bacteria that causes this problem, in fact there are bacteria, like group A streptococci that we associate with this problem more frequently, so in reality the appellation can be used to refer to bacteria of very distant species. Relative risk The severity of vibriosis It depends on several factors. The most vulnerable people are those with liver problems, committed and elderly immune systems. In Europe and Spain. The last cholera epidemic in Spain occurred in the 1970s, but since then various European countries have seen outbreaks caused by this and other bacteria of the genre Vibrio. In Spain, for example we do not have to go far behind to find recent cases of vibrosis (beyond the case of cholera detected a few years ago in Madrid). According to Explain the ECDCvibriosis cases remain “relatively uncommon” in Europe. Between 2014 and 2017 there were an annual median of 126 cases, although in 2014 a more important outbreak left 445 registered cases. The heat wave registered that year can be linked to the increase in cases. In Spain, infections have also been registered, even some starring V. Vulnificus. According to experts, these types of infections are a risk that grows summer due to the increase in temperatures associated with climate change. This increase does not affect only the concentrations of this bacterium in certain waters, it also implies its geographical expansion to estuaries and seas where before its presence had not been problematic. Should we worry? ECDC warning should be seen as a reminder to extreme caution, not as a health or food alert. In summer it is convenient to increase our caution. The risk of contracting these infections is greater for different reasons: The increase in water temperature It allows these bacteria to prolish more easily, which increases their concentrations and with it the risk of infection; In addition, the mere fact of spending more time in these waters makes our exposure greater. As detailed by the ECDC, reducing the risk of these infections is partly in our hand. Avoid raw or poorly cooked seafood (especially oysters, stand out) can avoid scare. In the case of bathers, the center recommends covering open wounds, piercings or recent tattoos, avoiding the bathroom in salobres as much as possible. If the wound occurs while we are in the water, it is convenient to clean it properly and with fresh water to avoid infections. In Xataka | In the 50 we decided to bombard food cans with huge amounts of radiation. Thus we discover a new bacteria: ‘D. Radiodurans’ Image | Tiffany Jae / CDC/Janice Haney Carr

There are people who feel that the best AI becomes silly and vague over time. Is more than a sensation

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A new one comes out artificial intelligence (AI) To the market, social networks and specialized communities hallucinate with their new capabilities, and at the same time, a cycle where users who know the models begin to feel disappointment begins. They begin to see how what until yesterday achieved without problems via Chatbot or API, today stays in a vague attempt. There is a part of sensations, and one real. “Super broken” models. When he launched, Gemini 2.5 PRO reaped huge praise in social networks. The model was Very fastof the cheapest, had A context window huge and it was A beast in programming. However, for a few weeks, comments have emerged in communities such as Reddit that describe a “unusable” model. A model, which as described worked incredibly well between March and June, but that after using now at the end of July it released “absolute nonsense“. Showed a conversation with Gemini summarized by the assistant in which he did not stop recognizing errors. Other users also show Examples of behaviors annoying as Do not finish answers. They are only recent examples of Google’s AI, but even models as praised as Claude have received at different times criticism similareven recently with Claude Code. Suspicion. Many of the users who have criticized the different models speak of cut models: “My assumption is that they reduced the size of the model,” said A Claude 3.5 user in Hacker News. The suspicion is that, over time, and at times of maximum demand, companies begin to use distilled versions of AI models that are not so intelligent, because they have less dedicated resources to respond to the indications. Ian Nuttal developer too He observed Claude Code degradationand claimed that he would pay to have a good version that would never be reduced or degraded at peak hours. Alex Finn, also developer, expressed Equally frustration: “This happened to me with all the IA programming tools that I have used.” It’s not just a sensation. In 2023, many users felt that GPT-4, Openai’s most advanced model at that time, was becoming silly. The company claimed that contrary to what the community denounced, they made each new version “smarter than the previous one.” However, a Paper Academic It ended with speculation: experts from Berkeley and Stanford checked a spectacular precision drop of GPT-4 among its variants in March and June 2023. In programming, for example “the percentage of generated responses that are directly executable was reduced from 52.0 % in March to 10.0 % in June”. Others statistical studies At the end of 2023 they also showed a significant loss of quality between the December and May model. Openai and Anthropic confirmed problems. In December 2023, OpenAI recognized that they had received the feedback on the assistant becoming more vague. They claimed that they had not updated the model from a month earlier, and that it was not intentional, recognizing the problem and explaining that “the behavior of the model could be unpredictable.” Some users came to devise (and achieve, according to their experience) Methods to encourage the model to do betterlike the surprising promise to give a tip or explain to the chatbot that they had no fingers to write the code. More recently, Anthropic acknowledged To TechCrunch have problems in Claude Code, as slower response times, before complaints of users of having limited use without having affirmed. Users who previously performed tasks normally and now could not progress. In Xataka | I have tried day, the browser that replaces ARC and bets everything to AI. It hasn’t come out as expected

Studying a lot is fine, but there is another factor that influences that you approve or suspend: the exam time

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If you want to approve an exam, there is nothing more than study (well, or Use Chatgpt). Going prepared is the best insurance to get good note, but there is more. Some researchers have discovered That the exam time can also influence, and much, in the result. The study. It was carried out at the University of Messina, Italy. They took into account the exams that were made between the end of 2018 and early 2020. In total, more than 100,000 exams of 1,243 subjects. The approved rate was 57%, the curious thing was when they realized that there was a time slot in which the approved rate was greater. Better at noon. The exams were held from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. The time slot between 11:00 and 13:00 is where the approved rate reached its peak. If you are lucky enough to put the exam at that time, the chances of edges are higher. If on the contrary you have the exam at 8 in the morning or 3 in the afternoon, you may not take out outstanding. Because. The study does not delve into the causes, but researchers have a hypothesis: biological rhythms. One of the authors of the study affirms that the results show “how biological rhythms, often ignored in decision -making contexts, can significantly influence the result of high -risk evaluations.” Our cognitive performance is improving during the morning to reach a peak at noon and start its descent in the afternoon. The approved rate curve is clear: at noon better Fountain The chronotype The study also indicates that this could vary depending on the chronotype, something that has not been taken into account when obtaining the results. It refers to the natural predisposition of a person to have energy peaks and need for rest at different times of the day. Although we know that Genetics plays an important role in sleep cyclesit is also true that students usually study at night. A bad rest would explain that in the first hour the performance goes down. Exams and more. The researchers propose that the institutions concentrate the exams around the central hours of the day. Although the time of an exam does not depend on students, there are other evaluations where we do have some margin when arranging the time as a job interview, as They point to The Times. The researchers agree and leave the door open to study if the time also influences a better performance of the candidates and even the interviewers. Image | Flickr (University of Seville) In Xataka | The selectivity of 2025 promised to be more fair than ever: students feel that Pau is the opposite

The first time Spain displays combat airplanes in Iceland

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In a context marked by the War in Ukraine and Moscow’s growing aggressiveness in airspace of the North Atlantictogether with the progressive militarization of their Strategic routesSpain has first assumed the most active role in the defense of NATO’s northern flank. A historical step. Yeah, for the first time In its history, Spain has deployed combat planes in the nation of northern Europe as part of the NATO Air Police Mission. The operation, baptized as Tactical Air Detachment (DAT) Stinga (“Sting” in Icelandic), represents a milestone for the Army of the Air and Space (EA), which until now had concentrated its participation in the east flank of the Atlantic Alliance, especially in the Baltic countries. With this movement, the Spanish government intends to demonstrate Your commitment With all NATO defense scenarios, including the Arctic strategic, which gains relevance to the growing military activity Russian in the North Atlantic. Keflavik: The new Spanish advanced position. The detachment will operate from the Keflavik air basesouth of Iceland, considered a critical installation for its location in the North Atlantic, key to the control of intercontinental air traffic and for the routes between North America and Europe. Iceland, country No Air Force Own, trust Rotations of NATO allies to guarantee the integrity of their airspace. To the 44 aviators They arrived as advanced to prepare the operation, will add up to 122 Spanish military (among pilots, maintenance technicians, specialists in armament, logistics and security personnel), responsible for operating six F-18 fighters They arrived on July 22. The mission will officially begin on the 28th and will run until mid -August. Permanent alert in the north sky. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Ichaso Franco, the Stinga detachment will be in fast reaction alert (QRA), or in other words, will be prepared to Intercept any aircraft That violates the standards of allied airspace, whether flying without a flight plan, without radio contact or with the transposeor off, a usual practice in air intimidation maneuvers by Russia. This is precisely the reason why NATO launched in 2014 (After the Crimea Russian Annexation) a series of air surveillance deployments that have been expanding their territorial presence throughout Europe. “Hostile” training. Plus: Unlike other air police missions already carried out in Estonia, Lithuania or Romania, Iceland presents different operational challenges. Not only because of latitude and weather conditions, but by lack of previous experience of the Spanish army in that theater. That is precisely the reason why, according to The world pointedan intense preparation in simulatorsrecreating specific scenarios for the Arctic environment. In addition, training flights in the region have been scheduled to consolidate the operational capacities of the pilots and maintain the full operation of the F-18. Beyond a gesture. Although the duration of the mission will be rather brief, its political and strategic value is significant. Spain thus reinforces its image of Reliable and willing ally To participate in the distribution of responsibilities within the Atlantic Alliance, aligning with the priorities of Moscow deterrence On all fronts, including the least visible so far for Spanish public opinion. By projecting strength in the north, the Spanish nation also contributes to the defensive architecture that extends from the Baltic Sea to the Arctic Circle, at a time when NATO Redfine Its military borders before a Kremlin every time more aggressive. Operation Stinga thus not only a punctual deployment, but the beginning of A new phase in the outer projection of the Spanish armed forces. Image | Ministry of Defense of Spain In Xataka | With its rejection of dedicating 5% of GDP to Defense, Spain has done something else: open the melon of the melons in NATO In Xataka | Spain refuses to spend 5% of GDP on artillery. Because what you really want is to sell it to Europe

The bird to Andalusia has stopped again. This time he has touched Malaga in an July to forget at high speed

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The president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia said, just a few days ago that Renfe “tried not to leave anyone behind.” Only a few months ago, Oscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, took a breast out of the company’s punctuality. Yesterday, the high speed line in Malaga suffered delays again. It is the last case in a summer that seems to accumulate problems. The latest. The detachment of a vault and water leaks. That is the reason why the bird was delayed yesterday on its way to Malaga. They point out in The worldthat the problem was in an aquifer that borders the tunnel and that caused the filtering of water. Quickly, Adif went out to make clear that the structure of the tunnel and official sources were not compromised indicated to local media as South newspaper that no cut in the line had occurred or the passengers had to be evacuated. Everything was solved taking the trains to the farthest path of the affected wall. “Minimum affectation”. With these words, according to COPERenfe defined the impact that this last incidence has had. The company assured that the delay did not exceed half an hour and that it was because the trains had to circulate at low speed and in a unique way. For the Popular Party it is a “negligent action” that should force Pedro Sánchez, president of the Government, to face. Beyond political proclamations, the truth is that the Malaga case is the last one of a summer in which Adif and Renfe are focusing the debate on the reliability of their service. Click on the image to go to the original tweet The eyes set in Adif. The involvement in the high speed line was taken yesterday by Renfe but also ouigo and Iro. It has been in Adif in whom they have put their eyes since they are responsible for the maintenance of the roads. In fact, in Malaga today They remember that that of the aquifer is a problem that has been maintained since 2005 when the works “pricked” the same and since then Adif pays compensation to the neighbors for the damages caused. José Ramón Carmona, general secretary of the PP of Malaga, pointed out that the problem is the “investment abandonment and the absence of maintenance in the rail network that entails a serious infrastructure degradation.” The situation is delicate because the leaks of these aquifers directly affect the Abdalajís Valley, where the tunnel was built. They explain in eldiario.es That the tunnel was built with a stagnant lining, formed by a reinforced concrete ring inside by prefabricated dovelas. It has a thickness of 35 centimeters and concrete of different resistance was used in two different sections to avoid leaks while releasing the pressure that water can cause. A summer to forget. Adif claims begin to be constant in a summer that is being to forget. The most controversial case focused the looks the first days of July when A train was stopped 13 hours On the tracks, without assistance and with an old woman who ended at the hospital. So, The Government and Adif They pointed out that the problem was originated by an ouigo train whose fault resulted in a domino effect that ended with the Renfe train abandoned to its fate. In Ouigo they pointed that nothing would have happened if Adif had maintained the facilities correctly. And Adif defended himself by ensuring that they would put an ongoing plan to solve the possible problems in their catenaries. Days later, A train stopped In Toledo for a problem in the infrastructure, which once again stopped travel between Madrid and Andalusia. Beyond Adif. To problems directly linked to Adif, other incidents that have stopped circulation in recent months or weeks must be added. We have had delays and cancellations for uncontrollable phenomena such as torrential rains either Fire next to the tracks But also for him copper theft which came to derive in the collapse of the Andalusian bird and in the accusation of Boicot by Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation. Balls out. In spite of everything, the leaders of Renfe and the bridge itself have long since defended that the train situation is not as bad as we imagine (or we see). RENFE President himself He presumed days agopointing out that the company is among the best in Europe and criticized those who defined the last days as “rail chaos”. In December 2024, Bridge defended exactly the same in a session in the Congress of Deputies. The truth is that passengers do not seem to see it like this and have negatively highlighted Renfe’s performance in recent months. Renfe also has expanded the times To return the money in case of delay. And in The confidential They collected how delays in high Spanish speed have shot themselves in recent years. Photo | Falk2 and Adif In Xataka | Two years after Renfe competition entered, the data indicate something: trains are cheaper than ever

In Japan, a young man has devised the best way to leave at his time and not make extra hours: found his own religion

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Work overload is one of Japan’s most serious problems, taking employees to collapse due to exhaustion. Despite the numerous measures that have been launched To protect workers, thousands of people are pressed to extend your workday Without compensation. In many cases, these eternal days generate physical and mental consequences They can be fatal. A Japanese young man has found an unexpected and legally protected form of getting rid of the so feared extra hours: founding his own religion. One that prohibits working beyond their working hours. The only commandment of Hista: You will go out at your time. In 2018, Motohiro Histano, tired of the workload and culture that surrounded him, decided to found a new religion he called Motohiro to Peoplealso known as MTOP. This was not going to be a religion like any other: it does not promise eternal life or demand penance for its faithful. Only offers a clear commandment: to refuse to work hours, arguing “religious reasons” not to do so, Point out on the webof the cult. He said In several statementshis main objective was to offer a valid (and legally respected) excuse to get out of work at his time. “The ‘religious reasons’ are the most powerful reasons in the world of reasons. I do not do miracles or have super powers. I only grant the power of the ‘religious reasons’ to those who follow me,” said Hista in Your message Foundational THE SACRED BOOK OF HISAN. If Judaism has the Torah, Islam the Qur’ Japan Labor Standards Law. The Japanese labor legislation provides strong protection against discrimination For reasons of sex, race or religion to its workers, so it is expressly forbidden to impose rules or retaliate against them for these reasons. That diligence in the protection of religious feelings was the one that gave the idea to Hista to found his church. If a religion dictates that “Nége to work overtime overtime, because it is bad to spend your time on things you do not want to do”, as faithful, the employee must follow those precepts. So the company will have no choice but to accept it, or assume a demand for religious discrimination. Pray to x. To make this religion the only thing that is needed is to follow An X account and join the followers of “Free Lance God“(The God free of responsibilities). As reads in his bio, religion has as many faithful as followers marks the accountant. At the moment, 17,100 faithful to the God that allows you to leave work at your time. Hista’s religion is laughing, reality does not. As with others Parodic religions like that of pastefarism, or the insumiso pussy, Motohiro to People adopts humor as a tool for denounce work injustices present in the daily life of Japanese society in the form of satire and social criticism. The work overload and eternal working hours have plunged Japan into a Demographic winter with Birth for soils and an aged labor market. Authorities and companies are promoting labor conciliation measures oriented not only to improve birth rate allowing families to compatible working life With the care of childrenin addition to Improve productivity promoting him employee welfare. Hista’s religion is a complaint to all this culture of toxic work that prevents people from having a life beyond work. In Xataka | In Japan there are parents named “Pikachu” to their children. We do not blame them, but the Japanese government yes Image | Motohiro Hieno

China built the largest high speed network in record time. Now you want something more difficult: improve it

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China has already shown that you can do what no other country has achieved: display in record time The largest high speed network on the planet. But it is not enough to have it. The new challenge is even more complex: to improve it, make it more efficient, more connected, more useful for the economy. And that demands less colorful, but equally ambitious decisions. To grow quickly to grow well. Between 2021 and 2024, China added 10,000 Kilometers of track to your high speed network. The figure impresses, but it is no longer what defines success. The Ministry of Transportation has made it clear that the current objective is not to extend the railway map without pause, but to squeeze its potential. In fact, The country has set As a goal to reach 50,000 operating kilometers before the end of 2025. The network adds 48,000 kilometers, more than 70 % of the world total, and connects 97 % of cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. Millions of travelers, but there is still a margin of improvement. Only in the first half of 2025, Chinese high -speed trains They transported 2,240 million people. The figure impresses, but the authorities are not formed. The objective now is to make this system more comfortable, more predictable and better coordinated with the rest of the transport ecosystem, from the urban metro to airports. High speed yes, but also logistics. China wants its high -speed trains to cease to be just a solution for travelers. The new approach includes routes adapted to the transport of goods, interconnections with airports and sea nodes, and improvements to integrate the system into the production chain. What is at stake is no longer only mobility, but the country’s competitiveness. Beyond traditional rails. While the current network is kept, China develops new generations of trains, such as magnetic levitation. These advances do not seek to replace what is built, but prepare for a future where speed, autonomy and sustainability are key. The country has already tried prototypes that reach 600 km/h In cities like Qingdao. Figures that impress. Security that holds. Moving millions every day with punctuality is an achievement. Doing it without major incidents, for years, it is even more. China has built a network that not only runs quickly, but aims to resist earthquakes, storms and overloads. According to Xinhuasince 2012 no serious accident has been registered in the high speed network. Centralized planning. Faced with chronic delays that affect many countries, China has maintained a clear strategy: centralized decisions, sustained investment and state control of the process. It is not a perfect model – there are errors, cost overruns and debatable decisions. But its results in deployment and integration are difficult to ignore. A mature network, a major challenge. As we have seen, the Asian giant continues to expand its network, especially towards interior and less connected regions. However, it is no longer just about adding cities to the map. The real challenge is another: to ensure that a gigantic infrastructure works better and better, with less margin of error and more logistics demands. The stage of the big deployments is giving way to the stage of precision. Images | N509FZ (Wikimedia Commons – CC by-SA 4.0) | N509FZ In Xataka | China has not only created the world’s broader high -speed network: it wants to operate it at 1,000 km/Hy has taken a new step

If you also feel that you do not have so much time to read as you would like, there is a solution: the “fast reading”

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I confess that Bill Gates gives me some healthy envy. Not just to have A current account which looks like a phone number with so many figures, but for its ability to Read more than 50 books a year. I have tried and it has been impossible for me. But Do not shoot the towel. Scientific evidence revealsthat there is a balance point between the speed of reading and the ability to understand and retention of the content that is being read. However, with adequate practice, that balance can be improved by accelerating the reading speed without compromising Reading understanding. Research Like those of the University of Guayaquil, they conclude that the reading speed can increase significantly with the practice and use of appropriate techniques. An average reader reads between 200 and 400 words per minute, while through rapid reading training, that speed can reach speeds of up to 1,000 or 1,700 words per minute. Strike a balance Fast reading is especially useful for processing long texts superficially, being useful for obtaining general ideas or punctual information. It is not recommended in contexts where a deep understanding, detailed analysis or memorization of the content is required, but when it comes to seeking specific information or in texts that address subjects of which previous knowledge is already had. The main ones involved in a slow reading speed are: Subvocalization: It is the habit of mentally pronouncing the words that are read. That limits the reading speed since the visual image of the word that interprets the brain is vocalized as if you are reading aloud, undergoing the need to vocalize each of the words and not limit itself to the compression of it. Word reading by word: The global understanding of the text decreases. Regression: reread several times or have to search in the next line of text as it breaks the reading flow. Low concentration: It affects both speed and retention. Quick Reading Techniques Science reveals that this speed increase is not a magical process, but the result of the conscious training of eye movements, vocabulary expansion and the use of strategies to improve global understanding, and not only the amount of words read per minute. 1. Fragmentation This technique is to avoid reading word by word and assimilating the Words by groups. For example, to start training, you can group the words of the phrases of two by two and increase the number progressively With practice. At first it may be a bit strange, but the brain recognizes the words for its morphology, which explains, for example, that you Cberreo Pdeue Read Etse Txeto. If you read it Word A Word would cost you more than in block because a word contextualizes its adjacent. This principle makes your view jump between words, not word in word during reading. The usual thing is to start reading like this:In-a-place-of-the-scan-of-whose-name-no-quiero-alleging But with a little practice, we soon start reading like this: ANDn a place-of the stain-of whose name-I do not want to remember With proper training, the number of “pauses” is reduced: In a place in the stain-of whose name I do not want to remember. 2. Use a visual guide The rupture of the reading flow is one of the most frequent causes for reading the reading. This usually happens when you have difficulty finding the following text line. The solution: as simple as using the finger to indicate the start of the next text line or an equivalent visual guide. On screens you can use the mouse pointer as a guide. If you prefer Read on mobiles or tablets, the edge the screen or any other reference can contribute to the view not to hesitate when looking for the next line and the reading inertia is maintained. 3. Be faster than voice If when you read you listen to the words in your brain, you are not reading quick enough. As we have said before, this phenomenon is known as subvocalization. To avoid this, it will be necessary to train the reading speed trying to read faster than that inner voice is able to vocalize. In doing so, it will be forcing the brain to prioritize visual processing instead of the “auditory” of your internal voice, thus improving the reading speed. 4. Infinite look Like any other muscle, ocular muscles should also be exercised to improve reading speed. One way to improve your performance is to practice infinity to get a visual sweep of the most efficient text. This technique consists in drawing the infinity symbol (∞) on the text block, so that the look runs in a more global way, not line by line, and improves the capture of words by blocks. In Xataka | The productivity books that have helped me the most: the recommendations of the Xataka editors Image | Unspash (Thought catog, Eliott Reyna)

Spain produces more solar energy than ever, but it only gets a cheap time of electricity a day

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In full July, with the air conditioning Working tirelessly and The tuned light billin Spain there is a single moment of the day when electricity consumption does not hurt so much in the pocket. That little energy respite is concentrated at noon, a time strip in which electricity costs half or even less than in the rest of the day, but why is it just time? The fire triggered. On Wednesday, July 16, the average price of electricity had been in the € 164.06/MWh at the regulated rate (PVPC), According to data from Electrica de España. For this Thursday 17, a slight drop is expected to € 102.85/MWh, but that half hides an unequal reality: for much of the day, the cost exceeds 120 euros per megavatio hour, As the Iberian energy market operator has collected (OMIE). Only for a single hour there is a “affordable” price. In just seven hours, electricity will go from relatively affordable to almost double its price. At 15:00, it will cost € 73.00/MWh. At 22:00, it will reach € 129.85/MWh. The explanation is not in a peak of consumption, but in a change of source: the sun is exhausted, the gas enters and the market reacts. Why only in that time strip? The reason is in the sun. From three in the afternoon, the solar production curve increases considerably. The electrical system then enters an overoferta phase: there is more renewable generation than real demand. This surplus translates into an abrupt fall in the price in the wholesale market (‘pool’), which reflects in real time the imbalance between what is produced and what is consumed. The problem is that this surplus cannot be stored properly. Spain still does not have batteries No infrastructure sufficient pumping to save That cheap energy and release it when it is most needed. Thus, the system is forced to sell cheap at noon and buy expensive at dusk. To this lack of storage is added a less visible problem: he Curtailment. Although more renewable than ever, part of that energy is lost due to saturation of the network. According to Red Eléctrica, in some knots of the central-south peninsular-such as Arenas de San Juan or Caroyuelas— It has wasted up to 30 % of the electricity generated due to lack of capacity to evacuate it. Meanwhile, the price of light continues to rise. This schedule imbalance generates what experts call a daily “spread”: a price difference that can exceed € 200/MWh between the cheapest time and the most expensive of the day. It is what makes an invoice shoot although part of electricity is generated almost free. It is not just guilt of the sun. The price of light not only depends solely on solar radiation. From the blackout of April 28, Red Electrica has activated A reinforced operational modewith more weight of the combined gas cycles to stabilize the network. This emergency measure It has become the new normality While structural reforms are implemented that will not be ready until next year. The direct impact on the invoice. Consumers with regulated rate (PVPC) are the most exposed to this volatility. Every day, your bill depends on the price hour by time. But even free market customers are noticing uploads: some electrical companies are transferring the contracts to the contracts, As Facua has warnedwhat could be illegal if it is not foreseen contractually. With this panorama, many consumers try to concentrate the use of appliances such as washing machines, ovens or air conditioners during that cheap time of the day. However, not everyone has room to reorganize their life around a single low cost strip. The solution is more than clear. In this environment we have spoken many times: it goes through More energy storage, greater demand management, More local micro -redes and best interconnections with Europe. The government already has launched Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 To accelerate these changes, and has initiated the creation of a capacity market to guarantee the supply. But none of these measures is immediate. Some have deadlines until September, but others will lengthen until mid -2026. Meanwhile, the gas dependence will continue to mark night prices. A race against clock. Every day, the Spanish electrical system offers a single cheap electricity window. It is the reflection of an energy paradox: there has never been so much renewable energy, and it has never been so difficult to take advantage of it efficiently. As long as storage and flexibility deficiencies are not resolved, the cheap time will be a timely privilege and not a guarantee. In a summer marked by heat waves, the cost of not acting on time will be measured not only in euros, but also in emissions, social vulnerability and energy dependence. Image | Unspash Xataka | Broady in April, more expensive invoice in May: thus has affected the system reinforcement

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