unsuspected

Video games have fired their number of users, and come from an unsuspected place: television series

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The video game adaptations have long left behind the “impossible” sambenito. Criticism and public successes such as recent television series’The Last of Us‘ either ‘Fallout‘They have proven that the episodic format fits especially well with the long plot developments of the games and with their very wide characters. But there is more: a recent study shows that not only those series are successful because they attract the players. The flow also works in reverse. More spectators. According to A recent study by Ampere Analysisscreen adaptations drive the growth of the number of players by 140% on average. Among these adaptations, the average increase achieved by television series is up to 203%, much higher than films (48%). Among the former we can find such outstanding series as’Arcane‘,’ The Last of Us ‘,’The Witcher‘,’ Fallout ‘,’ Knuckles’, ‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners‘,’ Conserje Pokémon ‘or’ Halo ‘. Among the movies, ‘A Minecraft movie‘,’Sonic The Hedgehog‘,’Super Mario Bros. the film‘,’Uncharted‘,’ Mortal Kombat ‘or’ Detective Pikachu ‘. To the bunker. For example, the premiere of the “Fallout” series in Prime Video in April 2024 caused a 490% increase in monthly active users (UAM) playing the franchise: 80% of the 14 million active players were new. In contrast, additional content launches for ‘Fallout 76’ previously achieved only 17% increase in UAM. It is a phenomenon that had already been detected since the same premiere of the series, when the 2015 Búnkeres construction and management game ‘Fallout Shelter’ received an unusual impulse Almost a decade after birth, going from giving benefits of about $ 20,000 a day to enter $ 80,000 a day, thus increasing their benefits by 232%. The last ones will be the first. There is a more particular case, because it adapts a narrative game, closed, without online and that had been acclaimed by criticism and public a few years before, calling the attention of non -hardcore public, that is, that the middle fan had more than known. ‘The Last of Us “experienced a 150% rise in its players base: an absolutely spectacular figure if we take into account that the series does not” complement “or expands what is seen in the games, but tells it again. Without a doubt, it is a different phenomenon from that of ‘Fallout’: the excellent invoice of HBO production, much more mainstream That the prime video, it caught the attention of non-players. To compare: the relaunch of “The Last of Us Part II” for PS5 only made the monthly players in 70%. And in cinemas, ‘Minecraft’. This is one of the greatest recent box office successes, and here there has been a clear feedback: the commented Tumults in cinemas They are due to the preteen enthusiasm of the ‘Minecraft’ players, but the current was also in the reverse direction: the premiere in April 2025 produced a growth of 30% of users of the game. Of all of them, 54% of the new players were people who had abandoned the games previously, that is, the film reactivated their interest in the game. Some reasons. They are diverse (although we like to continue putting in the same sack to ‘Arcane’ already ‘Street Fighter’, these are adaptations for generations of completely different spectators), but the Massive television accessibility. This allows those who do not play videogames to know their emblematic stories without having to overcome the “input barrier” that sometimes lifts the technology, already later encouraged to enter them on their own. In any case, it seems that we are living a golden era for this type of series and films: fidelity to the originals achieved with films such as ‘Super Mario Bros.’ or ‘Sonic’ was unthinkable a few years ago. The change in the interests of the public causes these products to cease to be niche, or rather, that they no longer have the need to soften the elements of the original video game to become massive products. Viodeojuegos are already an entertainment mainstream and its adaptations catapult that audience. Header | HBO Max In Xataka | Umbrella to the end of the zombie world: all ‘resident evil’ films worse to better

The AI ​​is obsessed with which we are talking to her. He has a golden opportunity in an unsuspected place: our lounge

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Microsoft has sneaked into Samsung’s teles. This has been announced by both companies, which have reached an agreement so that Copilot is part both of the future Smart TVS and the company’s monitors. It is an interesting announcement not so much for what it means for these two companies, but for the tendency to which it points. Why is it important. Here Microsoft achieves a small triumph for its artificial intelligence solutions, and does so by the hand of a giant like Samsung. But here what attracts attention is that First great integration of AI in products that until now did not want to know much about it. Talk without stopping with TV. Our televisions are perfect candidates for adapted systems specifically to them, and this is a striking step in that direction. The command continues and will continue to be better in many cases (button to rise volume instead of “rises the volume a bit”, for example), no doubt. However, The Chromecast or the Fire TV Stick They already showed us that saying “reproduces the trailer of ‘Superman’” or “reproduces ‘Stranger Things’ in Netflix” is also a very powerful option. An AI to go further. Those functions of the traditional voice attendees of the teles are interesting, but having a model of AI as a co -pilot will allow that experience beyond and Interact with TV in a more versatile way. You can ask for time and visual information will appear accompanying audio information, for example, or by a movie and a card with its IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes qualification will also appear. Where did I stay with this series yesterday? And of course, we can ask us to recommend a movie – “What mystery film must be fun?” – Or that gives us related information about it – “What more movies has made the director of this film? We can talk with Copilot Normally on any subject, because after all, it is a generative AI and are designed for that purpose. The speakers, the next border. There is another hardware element that awaits the arrival of AI as a May water: smart speakers. That intelligent have never had much: Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, already said years ago that these devices “They were more silly than a stone“. The option of being able to talk to these products when they are enhanced by a generative model such as Chatgpt or its rivals is very promising, and the curious thing is that at this point we should already have a great protagonist in this field. What vadis, Alexa+? Amazon is undoubtedly the great absentee of the AI ​​segment, and for months now Alexa+ presentedits new platform with generative AI models that in theory Ibn to flood your family of Amazon Echo devices. The deployment, however, is being infuriatingand the project still has a very limited reach, we assume that because they prefer to go on safe. The privacy dilemma. It is inevitable to think that one of the possible risks that will involve the use of these devices with this technology will be the invasion of our privacy. We already know How do TVS manufacturers spend them With its users in this section, and the traditional smart speakers have already built many suspicions about it In the past. In addition, where is the limit between a useful and an annoying or invasive presence in the living room? The battle to conquer your lounge started has. It seems inevitable that AI ends up being an integral part of our televisions as it begins to be in our computers or mobiles. Smart speakers are specially prepared so that in the future we talk more than ever with them, but will there be other hardware solutions that go further? Domestic robots, maybe? There is in this segment a huge challenge in many sections – non -invasive experience and, as far as possible, private – but also an extraordinary opportunity. And Microsoft, for the moment, has seen it. Image | Jens Kreuter In Xataka | There is a new fever among ultra -ups: fed up with technology, they want houses as “dumb” as possible

The not so far -fetched theory that argues that the cradle of Spanish football is in an unsuspected place: Vigo

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In football not all matches are played on the grass. For years there is a struggle that is settled in the newspaper libraries, the archives and local chronicles of the Spain of the late 19ths: that of the origins of the origins of Foot-Ball homeland The most widespread version, the canonic and the one that Mention The Royal Federation (RFEF) on its webs Recreationalthe dean of national football. However, there is a theory that places the cradle of Spanish football at the other end of the Peninsula, in Galicia. To be more precise at the Vigo docks. What is the cradle of football? You may like more or less, but kicking a ball has always made us funny. The citizens of ancient Greece practiced a game called Episkyrosthe peoples of pre -Columbian Mesoameric had their popular Pok-a-tok And even the Vikings were fond of Knattleikr. If we talk about football as we know it today, however, the genesis of sport must be located later, in nineteenth century England. There, in him Mortlake districton the outskirts of London, a match between Barnes Football Club and the Richmond Football Club was held more than a century and a half ago than It would be crucial For the history of modern football. The reason? Its rules. Before, matches had been played, but with guidelines agreed by the teams themselves. The December 1863 was the first one that was governed by the rules of the newly created Football Association (FA), founded only a couple of months before. And when do you jump to Spain? The most widespread version ensures that football came to our country not much later, in the 1870s, via Huelva. And for reasons that have more to do with finance economy than sport. In 1873 it was established A company of British capital to exploit the deposits of the Riotinto Minera Basin and with it they landed in the British region that soon gave free rein to one of its great hobbies, football. South Canal remember That on August 16, 1873, coinciding with the patron saint festivities of San Roque, a match was already held in the town, “the first football played in Spain,” the local chain says. Of that set echoed A few years ago ‘Mines and Riotinto, cradle of football in Spain’, a work published with the support of the Diputación de Huelva, which would confirm that the first goal of Spain was sung in the small town of the region of the Mining Basin. And the first team? Five years later, in 1878, the Riotinto English Cluban association that facilitated that British engineers and sailors could practice sports such as Cricket, Polo, Pole Lawn-Tenis or the Foot-Ballwhich in turn referred to the creation of the Rio Rio FC. The recreational itself remember That there is a record of at least one match played in the province on September 10, 1874, an encounter between personnel in charge of the railroad tracks that linked Huelva and the mines and a gang moved to Gibraltar. Riotinto FC 1918. Sobple matter? Not at all. Years ago a Galician story, José Ramón Cabanelas, took a surprise while diving in the newspaper library of Vigo lighthousenewspaper founded in 1853. The expert was looking for documentation for a book on the origins of the Eastern Telegraph Company (the English cable) in the Galician city when he met a brief and irony passage that activated his historian instinct. The reason? What counts … and what suits. The text was signed by some of the chroniclers of Vigo lighthouse June 10, 1876, And tells: “Again they have visited us (to the casino) the English. They are as friendly! They walk like four, they step on six and drink like fifty. They fish, hunt, smoke, paint and play ball according to their use and way.” To any other reader the comment would have gone unnoticed, but Cabanelas remained a question: what did the English mean that the English “play the ball”? Are there British in Vigo? Yes. If in the 70s of the nineteenth century Mines de Riotinto had displaced British to take care of the exploitation of their mines, Vigo had them for another business as relevant: the management of the telegraph. Since 1873 the city welcomed offices of the Eastern Telegraph Companycompany that Vigo had chosen for its good location as access to the peninsula and the tranquility of its estuary. In fact, years later, in 1896, another similar company would also be established, the Deutsch Atlantische TelegrapheGellchaftthe German cable. Each arrived in addition to its patriot colony. And how important is that? Much, according to Cabanelas. The historian recalls that the English cable offices settled in Vigo in May 1873 and the British transferred to the city soon A franchise From the Exiles Club Club, an association where the expatriates could meet, stay with their families, chat about the future of the convulsive start of the twentieth century … and also practice the most popular sports in England and organize teams. Perhaps in Galicia there were still no players accustomed to football, but Vigo already had at that time from a port through which English flag ships with crew willing to play a match against his compatriots of the telegraph. The meetings were played in the Malecon, an area located today in the urban center and that stands out as one of the most sought -after in the city. Conclusion? Cabanelas It is clear: “The first football matches began to be played in Vigo as soon as the English cable arrives in May 1873”. Another chronicle of Vigo lighthouse Of 1880, he confirms that by then the “games with ball” were so popular that they aroused the interest of the neighbors, moving “so many spectators as Rafael Díaz used to have in their equestrian circus.” “The English settled in Vigo in 1873, that is, ten years after the Constitution in England of the Football Association and, from the first moment, their customs were brought … Read more

We have a new clue about depression and we have found it in an unsuspected place: body temperature

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Depression is something that goes beyond our brains. Like many other diseases, this psychological ailment is manifested in other aspects of our physiognomy. For example, in our body temperature. Temperature and depression. A study has identified A relationship between body temperature and depression. The team responsible for the analysis observed a positive relationship between the variables, that is, that the appearance of depressive symptoms was linked to a higher body temperature among the participants. The relationship was proportional. The severity of the symptoms, the greater the body temperatures were also. They also observed an apparent relationship between the variability of temperatures and depressive symptoms, but this did not show being statistically significant, so conclusions cannot be extracted in that aspect. Beyond the statistical incidence is little What is known of this relationship. For example, the equipment indicated that it is still an enigma if this increase in body temperature could be due to a loss of control capacity, an increase in temperature generation through metabolic processes, or if it was a combination of factors. More than 20,000 participants. To carry out the study, the team compiled information from 20,880 participants from 106 countries. During the study, which lasted for seven months in 2020, the participants carried a thermometer device to measure their body temperature and daily reported temperature and symptoms of depression. “Let us know, this is the biggest study to examine the association between body temperature (measured both self -assess and through portable sensors) and depressive symptoms in a geographically wide sample,” explained in a press release Psychiatrist Ashley Mason, co -author of work. The study It was published in the magazine Scientific Reports. An old suspicion. Although it is probably the most massive, this is not the first analysis that indicates this relationship. A study published in 2003 He pointed to the existence of this relationship and its possible link with the 5-HTT protein, the “serotonin transporter”. Another important indication has to do with the drugs usually used in the treatment of depression, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI). In recent years, various studies have proven that these compounds reduce thermal tolerance of those who consume them. The main studies in this regard were analyzed In a literature review published in 2022. Correlation and cause. The present study finds a link between temperature and depression but does not indicate the possible form of the causal direction, if there were. It is impossible to determine, through known data if depression causes an increase in body temperature or if a high body temperature can increase our risk of appearing depression. Nor is it possible to rule out that there is an underlying cause of both that the analysis does not see: inflammatory stress or processes could independently cause both depressive symptomatology and an increase in body temperature. Cold or heat as therapy? Understanding what is happening can help us better understand depression and, therefore, bring us closer to the tools we are looking for to fight it. Until now the heat had been used to improve the patient status. These types of therapies could make sense through a “rebound effect”, helping the body to recover its capacity for thermal self -regulation, Add the equipment. In Xataka | The great mystery of our body temperature: it does not stop lowering globally and we still do not know why Image | Tankilevitch polyina *An earlier version of this article was published in June 2024

Spain wants to reduce marine pollution and will start in an unsuspected place: the bathroom

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Spain adds this year 642 beaches with blue flag, four more than last year, According to the Association of Environmental and Consumer Education (Adeac). This badge, which recognizes the environmental quality, security and services of the coast, returns to place the country among world leaders. Even so, the figure represents only 18 % of the more than 3,500 beaches in the country, which shows a pending challenge. To face it, Spain has begun to move. A new plan is brewing. Rather, a new bill with The goal of reducing pollution For single -use plastics, where wet wipe manufacturers will be forced to assume cleaning costs derived from the improper use of these products. In addition, the initiative wants to prohibit citizens from discarding wipes by the toilet and release balloons in the air. With this measure, Spain seeks to align with European standards on single -use plastics and move towards the UN sustainable development objectives. A serious problem. Wet wipes, even those made of natural polymers without chemical modifications, generate an important environmental impact. Its resistance to decomposition causes obstructions in sewerage and purification systems, especially during periods of heavy rains, such as has detailed The Guardian. The microfibers that release reach rivers and seas, aggravating pollution and raising management costs for local authorities. Responsibility. The new law will force companies to take care not only for the cleaning of the waste they generate, but also of information campaigns. To control who should pay, manufacturers will have to officially register. Although biodegradable wipes would be exempt, the Ministry of Environment He has insisted In that it is best not to throw any for the wiper, to protect pipes and the environment. A very economical topic. A awareness campaign of the Spanish Water and Sanitation Supply Association I already estimated Six years ago, the withdrawal of these wipes was an annual cost of 230 million euros. Until now, economic consequences have fallen to public administrations. According to eldiario.esValencia had to invest 10 million euros in 2019 to clean a three -kilometer jam. In Badajoz, a similar athlete was a cost of 200,000 euros. Murcia encrypted in more than 250,000 euros the replacement of a damaged team at a treatment plant, while the repair of pumping equipment amounted to another 200,000 euros. Other countries already have the lead. Four years ago, both France, Germany, Belgium and England They prohibited use of single -use plastic products, following the EU guidelines. In addition, on the one hand, France a year later prohibited the use of plastic To package small fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, Germany and Belgium They have been developing A fund funded by single -use plastics manufacturers, who must contribute according to the amount of plastic they sell. This fund aims to cover the cleaning costs of public spaces and waste management, reinforcing the principle of “who pollutes, pays”. It does not start on the shore. While the bill continues its parliamentary processing, its effectiveness will depend much on the citizen response. Because the care of the beaches does not begin only on the coast, but in the daily habits of those who enjoy them. Image | Pexels and Marco Verch Xataka | If the question is whether there is an “invasion” of moths in Murcia, the answer is that of every year by these dates

There is a new and unsuspected investor in the Andalusian field: Pepsico

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Pepsico has launched Vivaoliva, a program of 300,000 euros that seeks to give an impulse to the olive grove in Jaén through regenerative agriculture, economic inclusion and generational relief, as stated ABC Sevilla. Why is it important. Jaén concentrates the greatest number of olive groves in the world but drags a structural fragility accentuated by the shortage of water, climate change and rural depopulation. The initiative raises a specific model of territorial transformation. The first phase starts in Bedmar, Sierra Magina, with 150 farmers from the Grupo Inteole Cooperative. The program will finance agricultural technologies and form in techniques such as compostingcoverage crops and infiltration ditches. The context. This is not a casual bet. Pepsico already has direct links with the territory: its brand Alvalle It is supplied exclusively with extra virgin olive oil from 2021. The economic connection is real and strategic. In figures. The 300,000 euros distributed among 150 farmers account for 2,000 euros per exploitation. It is an amount that can finance some specific improvements, but that will hardly transform on its own the structural reality of farms that need investments of tens of thousands of euros to completely modernize. Yes, but. The program faces the challenge of demonstrating real impact with limited resources. Andrea Pont, director of the Pepsico Foundation in Europe, Talk about “guaranteeing sustainable income”. Now it remains to see if the economic sustainability of the Jiennense olive groves goes through what can address a single business initiative, or if you need anything else. Between the lines. The commitment coincides with Pepsico’s need to ensure its olive oil supply chain in a context of climatic uncertainty. What is presented as corporate altruism also responds to a business logic: protect Alvalle’s supply sources. Deepen. The program must compete with adverse market dynamics: Volatile oil prices. High energy costs. And a property structure that favors large farms against the small producers it intends to boost. Vivaoliva has solid technical advice (Earthworm Foundation, The Sustainable Smallholder) and seeks to become a replicable model. Its success will be measured not only in regenerated hectares: also in itself it manages to retain rural population and create a demonstration effect that attracts more investment to the territory. In Xataka | Ten years ago, Jaén thought that the Andalusian Olivar deserved to be a World Heritage. They did not know the mess in which they got Outstanding image | Jaén oil

We begin to discover the effect of microplastics on our body thanks to the most unsuspected thing: tap water

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The heat comes and, with it, the thirst comes. On average, according to some public estimates, household consumption grows up to 44%. But those data are incomplete because, a good part of the water we drink, comes in bottle. In Spain they are sold 5,331 million liters of bottled water every year. And it is a market in full growth. Sales grow annually at a rate of 2.5%. What we usually forget is that this type of product has consequences: the pressure pressure rises. As? What does what? One might think that drinking water rises the normal artery pressure. After all, blood pressure is the force exerted by blood against the walls of the arteries. If there is more liquid in the system or more salt, there should be more pressure … But not. Although obviously in extreme cases and, of course, specific conditions and compositions They alter the pressure Within a fork, the system has dozens of mechanisms to ensure that the blood pressure of a normal human being is what has to be. And then? That is what some scientists from the Danube University asked when, in the middle of a very small clinical trial They discovered that the same did not happen with bottled water. The Austrian team discovered that by keeping eight healthy people (of both genres) to a “water regime” of only tap water, His basal diastolic blood pressure dropped. It happened in men and in mujres, but in the latter the effect was much more striking. Because? Right now we only have hypotheses, but the most solid are phthalates (chemical substances that make the most flexible and durable plastic). And, honestly, it is something quite interesting: because, although all the water we consume right now has complex microplastics and substances, the truth is that they do not have the same things. And that is exceptionally good news. Not because with the available information is (or not) advisable to take (or stop drinking) bottled water. But because it is these little things that allow us to improve our understanding of What microplastics do in our bodies. Image | Noppadon Manadee | Engin Akyurt In Xataka | When the tap water knows in rays: the invisible chemistry of drinking water that explains why he knows how he knows (and why he is one of the best inventions in the world)

The EU has opted her mining independence in front of China to the most unsuspected site: Extremadura

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Extremadura recently jumped into the media by four potential rare earth deposits. Although this is a thesis at the moment without practical application, the community presents other equally valuable elements that have made the European union put their eyes on it. A valuable source. The European Commission has launched A package of 47 strategic projects, among which seven are located in Spain and three in Extremadura. This initiative is aimed at ensuring the supply of essential raw materials for the European industry, such as Lithium, Nickel and Wolframio, and avoid dependence on countries like China. The EU support for extraction in these deposits will be 22,000 million euros. The Extremadura mines. The deposits that will receive European funds are the mines of Aguablanca, Las Navas and La Parrilla. Besides. The companies at the head of these initiatives will be: Lithium Iberia, Río Narcea and P6 Metals. In particular, the Navas project will receive an investment of more than 500 million euros, According to ABCand it is one of the most ambitious farms on the continent that will have the support of electric vehicle belonging. The lithium mine of Cáceres has been out of aid Due to the local dispute on the impact of extraction on the population. As they collect in Digital Extremaduraantiminas groups like Ama Cáceres and save the mountain of Cáceres have considered that it is a victory. Two of them reopen. On the one hand, the Aguablanca mine, located south of the province of Badajoz, is the only Nickel site in all of Europe. As detailed by the countryit was closed for ten years due to the fall in nickel prices and copper. Its reopening is important for the European Union, given the growing demand for this metal for the battery industry. On the other hand, the grill mine, in Cáceres, which houses the largest Wolframium site in Europe. Although his activity was suspended in 1986, he resumed in 2019 with the exploitation of dumps. Currently, the Wolframium appears on the list of EU critical raw materials. Controversy. According to eldiario.esin the mining projects of Extremadura, entrepreneurs and financial would be involved such as Alejandro Ayala, known for its connection to Civitas and Atlético de Madrid, Enrique Martinavarro, related to the Horteofrusco sector and the venture capital, in addition to Miguel Rodríguez, owner of Festina. These entrepreneurs, together with the investment of funds such as Blackrock, would carry out the projects. The distribution of the funds. The European Union (EU) seeks with these funds to ensure its critical raw materials for the development of new technologies and reduce its dependence with external suppliers, such as China, As reported by Euronews. In addition, the commission has warned in the statement that it cannot allow lithium and other elements to become a new source of vulnerability, similar to what happened with Russian gas. Image | Unspash and Flickr Xataka | The great paradox: while Andalusia and Extremadura fight against floods, the water system prepares for the next drought

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