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In 1958 France approved a nuclear plan to defend itself without the US. Russia has turned the plan into a reality for Europe

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It happened in 1958, but now it cannot be more relevant. Then, General Charles de Gaulle had a vision of the need for France to maintain some strategic dependence by launching the Nuclear deterrence policy Sovereign, a kind of nuclear umbrella arguing that, although the United States was an ally, its interests may not always coincide with those of Europe. It has spent more than half a century and, suddenly, the continent has set the French nuclear doctrine against American uncertainty. The possible extension of the shield. It was French president Emmanuel Macron who He raised the possibility to associate French nuclear deterrence with the defense of other European countries. Although its ad It could explicitly spread To other nations. In this regard, the French Defense Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, reiterated that the nuclear arsenal will remain completely Frenchunder the only authority of the president. However, the key issue is whether France could assume a more active role in the continent nuclear defense. The (in) definition. Historically, French nuclear doctrine has been ambiguous with the threat of a massive response if France’s “vital interests” were in danger. However, these interests have never been defined precisely. From the presidency of De Gaulle, France has suggested that some European countries were already de facto, Under your protection. In fact, in 1964 De Gaulle declared that a Soviet attack against Germany could be interpreted as a threat to France. We remember that France and the United Kingdom are the only European nations with nuclear weapons. France counts With almost 300 eyeletsdeployed in airplanes and submarines, while the United Kingdom has approximately 250. Thus, there is a crucial difference: France maintains total independence in the development and operation of its arsenal, while the United Kingdom depends on US technology. Europe thinks about it. Actually, what has really changed in this debate is not the French proposal, but the attitude of the rest of Europe. Until recent United States and NATO. This idea has jumped through the air with the second mandate of Donald Trump, added to his current rhetoric of reduce military support To Europe, which has generated a change of perspective. Countries Like Germany They have seriously considered the option of a European nuclear shield. Moreover, the next German chancellor Friedrich Merz, surprised his allies by suggesting that it was time to open a dialogue with France and the United Kingdom about the possibility of reinforcing European nuclear deterrence. Scenarios for the alleged nuclear shield. Analysts have become more or less according to the time of summarize the options. There is talk of a deployment of French airplanes with nuclear weapons in other countries, Like Germany or Poland. The decision to use them would continue to be in the exclusive hands of the French president, but his presence would send a disjection message. Also of patrol of French nuclear bombers in European borders, as they do in French airspace, and the creation of air bases in other European countries, allowing a rapid deployment of French nuclear forces in case of crisis. The importance of eyelets. We would say that key for obvious reasons. The number of eyelets is a crucial factor. As we said, France has 300 nuclear heads, and together with The 250 of the United Kingdomthe total number would reach 550. The problem: which is significantly lower than Russian Arsenalwhich exceeds approximately 6,000 eyelets (the majority in reserve), although it is often clarified that the deterrence does not depend only on the amount of weapons, but on the credible and fast response capacity. Another aspect under discussion is if France should modify its nuclear doctrine to explicitly include the defense of its European allies within its “vital interests”. Some analysts argue that maintaining strategic ambiguity is part of the deterrence itself, but others argue that a clear statement of commitment would strengthen trust among European allies. The Russian threat. Although France has M51 missilescapable of reaching Moscow and other great Russian cities with enormous destructive power, Moscow’s ability to respond is, what is much greater. According to estimates in Russian media, a single Missile “Satan II” It could “atomize Paris In 200 seconds“, which underlines the risks of a direct confrontation. The problem lies, in addition, that Russia, given its geographical extension, could resist a prolonged nuclear exchange, while France lacks that strategic advantage. This asymmetry in the ability of mutual destruction raises doubts about the effectiveness of French deterrence in case of a conflict with Russia. If the “yes” occurs. In any case, what seems clear is that if France manages to expand its nuclear role within Europe with the support of the United Kingdom, this would represent a crucial step towards the strategic autonomy of the EU. The deployment of combat aircraft with nuclear capacity in Eastern Europe would not only strengthen the defense of the continent, but would send a clear political sign of unity and determination to Russia. It would be to see, of course, what would be Moscow’s reaction. Image | James Vaughan In Xataka | Europe rescues an old plan to defend Ukraine without a third World War: Sky Shield and its 120 combat planes In Xataka | Ukraine will lose his most powerful weapon in the US. That will give Russia an unprecedented advantage: attack more than 30 kilometers

This fly larva turned his ass into the head of a little one. The big question we have now is how it will be adult

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When we think of camouflage in nature, images of Octopos that melt with the seabed, of SEPIAS or chameleons. There are other tactics to confuse possible predators, such as Butterflies that mimic patterns in the wings to confuse birds or Palo insects. But there is an even more committed case to go unnoticed: that of a flip larva that has turned its butt into the head of a termite. And it works so well that the termites until they feed. Fluke. What seems an adorable creature in the main image is, in reality, the rear of a blue fly larva. It has false antennas, but also false eyes, an impressive morphology adopted with a single objective: to confuse the termites. And the finding has been made … by chance. Researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, the CSIC and the Pompeu Fabra University were studying butterflies and ants in the Anti-Atlas mountain range, south of Morocco. However, like They explain In the publication of the IBE, as the butterflies did not fly due to the heavy rains, they began to look for ants. “When we lift a stone, we found a termiter with three fly larvae that we had not seen before.” Shut mask. They themselves affirm that it was a “casual finding”, but really special because, after it, they made three more expeditions in the area and, “despite lifting hundreds of stones, we only find two others, together in another termitter.” In it study Published in Current Biology, researchers develop their surprise with these larvae that have developed “a unique costume”. Located on the back of the body, the bluefly larva shows a “termite mask” with a non -functional head that has an antennas, palps and eyes extremely similar to those with a great trine harvesting. Those eyes have a function, but very different from what we might think: they are the holes for which the larva simply breathes. Twin. As they explain, most termites live in extremely dark environments on termiters at meters deep, so they do not need eyes at all. The harvesting termites, however, go to the surface to collect grass and have functional eyes, something that these larvae mimic with their spiracles. 3D camouflage. The specimens are curious, but they would really have to define them as fascinating due to two extremely unique details. One is that they not only have antennas in that false head, but throughout their body, as if they were tentacles. Researchers estimate that it is something that facilitates simultaneous communication with several termites inside the termiter. As you don’t see there, the termite that rubs to the “narrow” larva the tentacle of the false termite and thinks “ok, is mine.” But … do they only use touch? The truth is that not because, apart from being felt, the termites have a unique aroma that allows them to identify themselves as the same colony in the galleries of their home. And here comes the other fascinating detail: the larvae imitate that aroma and smell exactly the same as the rest of the termites. Each colony has a distinctive aroma, something that these larvae also have and that researchers have described as a “chemical costume.” They even give it porridge. “The larva is not only tolerated, but constantly communicates with the termites,” says Roger Vila, one of those responsible for the finding. He also speculates the possibility that the termites themselves feed the larva (through their functional head, yes), but it is something they are testing. In one of his photographs you can see that possible mouth -to -mouth food. Accelerated evolution. Vila comments that it is not so weird that there are flies that are made by other insects to carry out forms of social parasitism. For example, humpback flies also imitate the termites, but in that case they are adults, and not the larvae, the protagonists. It also indicates that the common ancestor between both flies dates back to more than 150 million years ago, “much more than what separates human beings from mice, so we could affirm that we have discovered a new case of evolution of social integration,” he says. In addition, he points out that the blue fly larva would have evolved very quickly to adopt these forms. Complications. Vila emphasizes that discoveries like this help to be aware of everything we do not know about the diversity and specialization of insects, but also comments that studying these laboratory larvae is something that seems extremely complicated. The larvae studied ended up dying without reaching metamorphosis in the laboratory, which indicates that, either recreate the conditions they have in the termiter in the desert is crucial – something very difficult – or there is some other element of the nest and the symbiotic relationship between species that is crucial for the survival of the specimens. We will see what they end up discovering, since now the mystery is not only to know if it is a unique larva, but how it will be in its adult form. Images Ibe, Roger VilaCurrent Biology In Xataka | It turns out that there is another terrestrial species that cures its injured and performs surgical amputations: ants

To build the longest world bridge, China turned to a peculiar material: bamboo

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Although Saudi Arabia and Arab Emirates are immersed in a particular war for have the most beast buildingstalking about megaconstructions is to automatically look at China. The Asian giant has some of the works more tremendous, impossible bridges and even Higher abandoned skyscraper in the world. And one of those pharaonic constructions is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge. With a length of 55 kilometers, it turns out that it is not only formed by steel and concrete: the secret ingredient is bamboo. And according to those responsible, continue like the first day. The bridge. After six years of planning and another eight of construction, in 2018 China opened the imposing bridge that connects Macao and Zhuhai. Its 55 kilometers, 6.2 of them underground, allow to convert a trip that previously lasted three hours into a ‘walk’ of just 30 minutes. And something that resonated in its day was the 420,000 tons of steel (which would be equivalent to 60 Eiffel towers), its more than one million cubic meters of concrete and the flexibility necessary to support typhoons and earthquakes. It is a barbarity, with an underground stretch that disappears and emerges from the sea It looks like a ship, but it is one of the two inputs/exits of the sea Bamboo. It turns out that the mixture added a plant: bamboo. And it is something that is not so weird, since, as we can read In South China Morning Post, China is the largest bamboo producer in the world and is something to give way. In the aforementioned bridge, this element was used on the panoramic platforms that are found throughout the same and the official newspaper Science and Technology commented a few days ago that, after six years installed, these panels have resisted sunlight, typhons and The corrosion of seawater, keeping “as solid as ever.” One more element. Lou Zhichao is a member of the Bamboo Research Institute of the Forestry University of Bamboo and pointed out that, apart from in China, bamboo occurs mainly in developing countries, which gives China a unique advantage and position to the time to process this bamboo. His team, in fact, has been developing more advanced technologies to process bamboo a decade, causing the process to emit less co₂ while encouraging the use of bamboo under constructions due to a relationship between resistance and weight higher than some alloys of some alloys of some alloys of steel. In addition, it can replace wood, plastic and steel itself in some constructions. Bamboo II. Now, although it has interesting properties, it also has a problem: it is prone to decomposition. This means that when bamboo facilities are done, toxic preservatives must be used that make the material much less ecological. The chickens that come through those that come out in environmental matters, basically. And, precisely, the Zhichao team has been working in recent years. One of its latest advances in research is a heat treatment that eliminates nutrients that cause the accelerated decomposition of the material. This allows to reduce its processing time by 50% while increasing durability outdoors without antimoho treatments. Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport. You don’t have to go to China to see great structures in which bamboo is clear protagonist. In Spain we have examples such as Madrid airport Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, in which the roof of terminal 4 is formed by lames 100 mm wide of bamboo sheet. In total, there are 200,000 m² of bamboo with fire resistance and was the ideal material due to the peculiar curved forms of the terminal roof design. It is also a material that was raised for the Futurist Ciudad Oceanix City And the protagonist of the bamboo towers that Paris wants to build for 2050. And scaffolding. Beyond in places as punished as a bridge in such a complicated area and applications in other buildings, bamboo is absolute protagonist in Hong Kong. Specifically, in its skyscrapers, like an exoskeleton that really is a system of Scaffolding During the construction of buildings. For the rest, Zhichao continues to work to expand the use of bamboo as high quality material for several reasons. One because it absorbs 50% more co₂ than common trees. Another because it is estimated that its crop and market benefits some 50 million people throughout the country. And, therefore, he hopes that the government “finance the development of key technologies and reinforce regulation by national and local standards to boost the industry.” Industry tech. Apart from in structures, bamboo is positioning as a material that can be very useful in other sectors. An example is that of consumer technology not as an element that goes within the devices, but as part of the packaging. A few years ago, on a visit to the Innovation Center of Lenovo, They told ushow they were starting to use bamboo in the boxes of their laptops. Bamboo box to the right. On the left too, but after a year underground. The reasons were environmental due to the degradation of their fibers in normal conditions in nature. In fact, it can be buried directly in the garden to use it as fertilizer. In the photo that we leave just on these lines you can see two boxes, one new and one after a year underground, to appreciate its degree of decomposition. And, that sustainability is one of the keys (along with many others, of course) of decarbonization. Images | Xataka, Moso, NRG800, Chronus, HMZB, Chris 73, Kamakura In Xataka | After 120 years of growth, a Japanese bamboo has just flourished. And that is a problem

To survive in Europe, our Paleolithic ancestors turned to an extreme practice: cannibalism

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More and more evidence is that our ancestors resorted, at least occasionally, to cannibalism. We are not speaking in this case of other human species, such as Neanderthals, who could have practiced dozens or hundreds of thousands of years but also Homo sapiensthat had already become the only humans in Europe and the rest of the world. New tests. A recent study led by researchers from the Catalan Institut of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolved (IPHES-CERCA) He has shown New indications of cannibalism among humans. They found them in the Polish site of the Maszycka cave, whose remains would go back about 18,000 years ago. Europe in the Magdaleniense. This places the finding in the context of the Magdalenian period in Europe. This period that owes its name to the French site of the Madeleine covers various European settlements between 19,000 and 14,000 years old, they explain in An article for The conversation Some of the members of the study responsible for the study: Francesc Marginedas Miró, Antonio Rodriguez-Hidalgo and Palmira Saladié Ballesté, researchers from the IPHES-CERCA and CSIC. The period follows an era of important changes in Europe, mainly derived from the end of the last era era. The ice setback left behind an ideal environment for a change in ecosystems, and with it the expansion to the north of modern humans. From burial to the table. As the team continues, the Magdaleniense, to others of his cave paintings, also stands out for careful funeral rites, burials “with care and offerings”, at least for some of his dead. Because to others what expected them was the flint of the tools with which they were expired. 63 bones. The new analysis studied more than fifty remains found in the Polish Cave of Maszycka, located near Cracovia. They belonged to half a dozen individuals, both adults and children. The remains found together with animal remains and many with signs of having been manipulated. Despite this, the hypothesis that this manipulation responded to simple funeral rites had not been ruled out. The new analysis has incorporated new 3D microscopy techniques in the study of brands, which has allowed distinguishing brands caused by humans from others, such as those that would have caused other carnivores. “The location and frequency of cutting marks and intentional fracturing in skelet added in a press release Marginedas. The details of the work were published In an article In the magazine Scientific Reports. To the core. The study revealed other details that can give us some clues of the context in which this consumption of human flesh was produced. For example, the team points out, the bodies were prosecuted shortly after death, thus avoiding the decomposition of tissues. In Xataka | We have been looking for the mysterious ancestor town of the Indo -Europeans. We have a new track in DNA Image | IPhes-Cerca

The boom and fall of Blackberry, the status symbol that the iPhone turned into history

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Before the absolute domain of the format imposed by smartphones with any screen without space for the keys, in half the world who left the cod was nokia. In the other half was Blackberry. Its mobile phones, with a reliable QWERTY keyboard and technology to the last, were synonym for quality, even status. Not only public figures had a Blackberry, but their use in business environments was practically mandatory at certain levels, and the company got that His models were desired by the general public. In that area, they had a very special model: the Blackberry Pearl 8100. It was something similar to what is currently happening with the iPhone, but beyond ‘Fardar’, having a Blackberry allowed access to a free instant messaging service among its users. At a time when SMS kept costing money (unless they were included in the rate) and were not as immediate as a chat, Blackberry Messenger It was consolidated as a kind of Microsoft Messenger to talk to friends and family. In 2009, everyone wanted to have a Blackberry mobile and dominated the market with almost 21% share. However, nothing lasts forever and, as soon as the iPhone and the Android mobiles They began to popular, the company’s sales fell into dive. The reason for his success was that physical keyboard that had stopped making sense and to which the brand He wanted to cling without successeven testing hybrid alternatives and Systems like Blackberry 10 To compete against Android. Spoiler: They did not set. And that is only a tip of the Blackberry iceberg, a story that my partner Ana Boria tells perfectly in the video we leave to lead this article, with the perfect storm that led to the loud fall of the mythical Blackberry. And it is curious because, many years later and already in 2025, there are users who continue to remember the fantastic times of that innovative Blackberry and, especially its keyboard and touchpad with those who differentiated themselves from the competition. From outside, as someone who never had a Blackberry, I can only say that it is even sorry for the story of a company that, obviously, was buried by a progress that did not see coming and who did not know how to adapt. Although … well, it’s not like so many other companies that disappeared without a trace. Although their attempts to return to the mobile segment did not work, at least they managed to reinvent themselves in other fields. AND It seems that nothing is going to him. In Xataka | Commodore boom and fall, the giant of the 1980s who revolutionized computer science and fell into oblivion

Bukele turned Bitcoin into legal tender in El Salvador. It has just reversed

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In June 2021 Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, raised a singular option: Bitcoin turned into legal tender in his country. The country’s Bitcoin Law was approved shortly after, in September, but made it involved in controversy and uncertainty. Now, three and a half years later, Bukele has been forced to back down. Bitcoin is no longer a legal tender in El Salvador. As they point out In the countrythe Salvadoran Parliament has approved a reform to the Bitcoin Law and causes it to cease to be considered official currency. It can continue to be used freely by users, but Bukele’s ambition in this area is thus truncated. IMF pressures. The reason for the decision is simple. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been pressing El Salvador for two years and urging him to “mitigate the risks of Bitcoin.” The country chaired by Bukele urgently needed a loan of 1.4 billion dollars, but had to give in this reform. Today was the deadline to do it if I wanted such credit to be granted. Bitcoin returns to the background. With this measure the Bitcoin ceases to be considered as legal tender, and for example, it cannot be used to pay taxes. Its adoption and acceptance goes from being mandatory to voluntary. He never set. There are hardly any data on Bukele’s initiative, which was the only one who with his active profile on social networks such as Twitter/X spoke of the theoretical success of his measure. During approval They occurred Citizen protestsand the data suggest that their use by citizens has been reduced. Wallet goat. The controversial digital wallet Created by the Government tried to promote the use of Bitcoin with a singular promotional measure: each person to install it was given. Public shops and institutions had the obligation to accept payment in Bitoin. In spite of all this, the acceptance of citizenship was always very limited mid -2022 The fall of Bitcoin was especially for El Salvador, which was about to enter bankruptcy. In 2024 only 8.1% of the population acknowledged having used the tool, they indicate in the country. A Wallet goat vulnerability also caused A value of $ 840,000. Criticism and complaints. El Salvador media as the lighthouse indicate How most Salvadorans did not use bitcoin to make transactions “and more than 70 % responded that they did not benefit their economy in a survey.” In addition to corruption in the adoption of Bitcoin, with duplication or falsification of identities to collect the 30 dollars or violation of international laws against money laundering, they point out in the country. Bukele barely comments. The president of El Salvador is very active in X, but has not commented on the issue. What he has done is comment The condemnation of corruption of the American senator Bob Menéndez, who had opposed the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. Only A brief message in X of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador confirmed the modification of the Bitcoin Law. Lack of transparency. As they point out in the country, opacity and lack of transparency regarding the initiative has been remarkable. There was no official information until recently, when the Salvadoran government launched a website called Bitcoin Office. According to this website, El Salvador has 6,049.18 BTC, equivalent to about 605 million euros. In Xataka | The man who has been fighting for 10 years to look for the 765 million he lost on a hard drive says goodbye to his dream

In 2011, a collector bought in Morocco a meteorite. It has turned out to be a direct test of thermal water on Mars

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A black stone that had fallen from the sky was discovered in the Sahara desert by a Saharawi group. Selling to the highest bidder, we have known for a long time that it comes from the Mars cortex, but they have had to spend more than 10 years for scientists to desert one of their best kept secrets. A meteorite called “Black Beauty”. Officially called Northwest Africa 7034, the 320 grams rock was found in 2011 in the Sahara desert, in Western Sahara, and later sold to an American collector in Morocco. Its composition is unique among known Martian meteorites. It contains very old and very young minerals glued to each other, but coincides with what was observed by NASA’s rovers on the surface of Mars, so it was part of the Martian cortex when it detached from the red planet. A time capsule. A Recent study It focuses on a zircon grain found in the meteorite. This zircon has no less than 4,450 million years, which places it in the earliest stages of Martian history. The majority of known meteorites that come from Mars are from later geological periods, so NWA 7034 provides invaluable information on what the surface environment of the red planet was long before becoming what it is today. The meteorite that contains the most water. What makes Black Beauty exceptional is that it houses 10 times more water than other Martian meteorites. It was known that by the interaction of the rock with the water present in the crust of the planet at the time of its formation, but the recent analysis of the zircon with modern microscopy techniques has revealed much more information. The fragment contains iron, aluminum and sodium, unusual elements for a zircon of purely magmatic origin. But it is above all the presence of tiny inclusions of magnetite (iron oxide) that suggests that it crystallized under hydrothermal conditions. That is, in the presence of water at high temperature, and in an oxidizing environment. Ancient hot springs. The magnetite is trapped in zones of the zirch that are not altered by radiation, which indicates that they were formed at the same time as the zirch, and not as a result of subsequent secondary processes, the researchers explain. What the study comes to say is that 4,450 million years ago, during what is known as the pre-ondic period of Mars, there were already hydrothermal conditions in the Martian cortex. The Black Beauty meteorite is a direct proof that Mars had water in its formation stages. Favorable conditions for life. The finding reinforces the hypothesis that Mars had from very early the necessary conditions to house life, or at least some environments suitable for microbial life. That there was life on Mars or that it arrived on earth through a meteorite is still two hypotheses for which we have no evidence. However, that a meteorite of 2011 has given us so much information and reasons to continue investigating demonstrates how important the Martian samples can be that NASA and China want to bring in the coming years. Images | New Mexico University, NASA

China has turned on a wind turbine so large that among its blades the tallest building in Spain fits. And there are 11 meters left

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Best known by Your high speed trains Able to reach 450 km/h, the Chinese state company CRRC Corporation He just hit the table in a very different industry: that of marine wind turbines. A new scale for offshore wind. CRRC has launched the larger floating wind turbine in the world. Known as Qihang, it has a tower of 151 meters high and a rotor 260 meters in diameter, 11 more than the crystal tower, the tallest building in Spain. Qihang opens a new scale for marine wind energy in which only China competes against China. With 20 MW capacity, it exceeds 16.6 floating wind turbines and 18 MW that Envision Energy and Dongfang Electric deployed, respectively, in 2024. However, it will soon be surpassed by Mingyang Wind Power’s new 22 MW model. Touring like a high -speed train. With a maximum rotation speed similar to that of CRRC trains, the Qihang wind turbine can produce up to 62 GWh of energy per year, enough to supply electricity to 37,000 homes per turbine. Its design is a work of art of modular architecture. It allows multiple power settings, and adapts to different floating platforms and anchors. With materials capable of supporting extreme conditions, including typhoons, it has more than 200 sensors in blades, structures, transmission systems, floats and moorings for comprehensive monitoring. First unit in tests. The first Qihang He left the CRRC factory In Sheyang (Jiangsu province) on October 10. He arrived in Dongying (Shandong province) in December and was transferred to the test site in the port of Guangli using self -propelled modular barges. On January 11, already completely assembled, it began to operate in what will be a period of exhaustive tests and certifications before its definitive to the high seas and its connection to the electricity grid. The country that surpassed Europe at sea. With unstoppable development, China already exceeded the United Kingdom as the country with the highest installation of marine wind energy in the world, and this type of huge floating turbines only reinforce its global leadership. Only Chinese companies are developing turbines with powers greater than 20 MW for the logistics difficulties they entail In regions like Europe. Floating technology can expand the generation of wind energy to deeper and more distant waters from the coast, accelerating the decarbonization of the electric grid without impacting the landscape of the coast. In Xataka | China installed in August the most powerful “wind turbine” capable of resisting typhons. Two blades have just been broken In Xataka | China has connected the world’s largest terrestrial wind turbine. It is so great that it is altering the local microclimate

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