women

The US has just freed eight women that Iran was going to execute. The problem is that Iran says they were generated by AI

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Sometimes, an image can trigger unexpected consequences in international politics. During the Kosovo war, at the end of the nineties, a photograph released no clear context on alleged civilian victims provoked immediate reactions from governments and international organizations before their true origin could be verified. That episode left a lesson that is still valid: in high-tension scenarios, the impact of a story can be as fast as the difficulty to check if it’s true. Two versions for the same photos. The episode begins two days ago with Donald Trump asking through your social network Iran to stop the execution of eight women arrested after the protests, he also does so by publishing the image of the eight women, an anomalous situation that, coincidence or not, in a matter of hours takes a radical turn when Trump himself goes on to affirm who has achieved it. According to their version, some would be released and others would receive light sentences, presenting it as a gesture of good will before the alleged new negotiations. The problem: that from the beginning there is no verifiable data clear about their identities or their judicial situation, which leaves the story supported by information that is, at the very least, incomplete. Iran not only denies it, it dismantles the story. The Iranian response could not be more direct: There were no planned executions. They assure that some of the women were already free and that the rest, if convicted, would only face prison sentences. In addition, they accuse Trump of relying on false information and trying to build political success without a real basis. The shock quickly moves from the facts to the credibility of the person telling them. The leap into confusion. The situation escalates towards complete surrealism when Iranian official channels of their different embassies go one step further and affirm that part of the images released would have been generated with artificial intelligence. At that point, the discussion stops being whether they were going to be executed or not, and begins to question whether some of the protagonists exist as they have been presented, or if they simply exist. This change introduces such a crazy level of uncertainty and propaganda that it makes it very difficult to verify how much of the story is real. A real context that does not disappear. Be that as it may, and despite the confusion, the environment in which it occurs is documented. I remembered the Times newspaper that, after the protests in Iran, there are thousands of detainees and reports of unfair trials. In fact, there are human rights organizations that executions have been reported recent events and the use of the death penalty as a pressure tool. This means that, although this specific case is doubtful, the underlying problem is still relevant. Propaganda faster than facts. In any case, what we see is not new in a war, far from it. Throughout recent conflicts, several stories have shown how narrative can prevail over verification. For example, during the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the testimony of a young woman known as “Nayirah,” who reported alleged crimes in hospitals, influenced international public opinion before it was learned that he was linked to a public relations campaign. In the 2003 Iraq war, claims about weapons of mass destruction marked strategic decisions no conclusive evidenceand in the Ukraine conflict, narratives such as of the “Ghost of kyiv” or some viral videos spread on networks became popular quickly before to be qualified or denied. In all cases, the pattern repeats itself: in war environments, political and emotional urgency accelerates the spread of stories that can influence real decisions long before their veracity is confirmed. Strategic tension that sets the pace. Of course, all of this occurs while continuing the pressure in the Strait of Hormuz, with attacks on ships and blockade of ports despite the ceasefire. Iran has conditioned any progress on lifting that blockade, while the United States maintains it as a pressure tool. And in that context, the episode of the eight women It is not isolated: it is an essential part of a scenario where the political narrative and the situation on the ground always advance in parallel. Image | Trump Social, Nara In Xataka | Europe has gotten down to work on one of its biggest geopolitical challenges: opening Hormuz without help from the US In Xataka | Iran has 300 internal reports where it models the war against the US. They are all based on the same thing: Ukraine

We have been sending pregnant women to bed for decades as a precaution. Science has just proven that it is a big mistake

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In the face of a potentially risky pregnancy, the prescription that was administered was very clear: absolute bed rest to avoid any fall or inappropriate movement that could cause an abortion. But this is something that today is no longer the norm, since staying still during pregnancy not only does not prevent the premature birth of a baby, but it can be very harmful. You have to move. Here, institutions as important as the Mayo Clinic are quite blunt in their guidelines by noting that there is no evidence that bed rest is effective in treating preterm labor. To reach this conclusion, they logically resort to different clinical studies inside the Cochrane Library In this case, they point out, for example, that in singleton pregnancies, routine bed rest does not prevent premature births and, in fact, the adverse effects of being immobilized outweigh the supposed benefits. In the situation of being in a multiple pregnancy, hospitalization and strict rest do not reduce perinatal risks and, ironically, an increased risk of spontaneous birth has been observed. What dangers does it have? Lying in bed may be something that a priori is seen as completely harmless, but the reality is that science advises against it for different reasons. The first of them is that immobility increases the risk of venous thromboembolism if one is not properly anticoagulated. In addition, it causes bone demineralization, where an estimated loss of bone mass is 2% to 3% per month, muscle atrophy and weakness, orthostatic hypotension, and is also associated with low neonatal birth weight and a higher rate of cesarean sections. Beyond the physical. Having complete rest isolates the pregnant woman in a bed watching television all day, and this only causes increased emotional stress, anxiety, and can lead to depression. In studies, this is something that currently affects 20% of pregnant women subjected to this isolation in countries like the United States. What is recommended. The objective of the different international guidelines to treat these pregnant women has taken a great turn in recent years. The SEGO guide of Spain, for example, recommends these women with aerobic activity for 3-5 days a week, avoiding routine rest. If we cross the ocean, in the United States it is recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, also to reduce the rate of cesarean sections and gestational diabetes. There are exceptions. Generalizations are never good, and that is why you cannot ask all pregnant women for absolute rest, but neither for a lot of activity. Here the most current guidelines establish that there are very specific and documented cases, such as premature rupture of membranes, where this rest is necessary. But these cases are very few. What we must stay with here is that immobility during pregnancy is not the best, and we must stay active as much as possible with activities logically adapted to the pregnancy situation. Images | Anna Hecker In Xataka | There are couples who couldn’t have children. Now AI has managed to give them hope

More and more women track and monitor it through mobile apps

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Applications to record daily steps, glasses of water we have drunk, books read, movies watched, progress in the language we are learning… Measuring and quantifying different aspects of our lives has gone beyond the workplace – where tasks, calls or overtime are recorded – to extend to the field of sport, culture or leisure. Technology today allows us to record activities, habits and daily changes that not so long ago were outside of any measurement. This logic has also been extended to the field of health, and especially women’s health. Applications to follow the menstrual cycle They are already common tools: some of the best known, such as Flo or Clue, exceed 100 and 50 million downloads, respectively. And that trend is not limited to women of reproductive age. In recent years, applications designed specifically for perimenopause and menopause have also begun to proliferate, a stage traditionally much less visible. Kala Health, My Menopause either Balance are some examples of this new niche – although many apps focused on the menstrual cycle also incorporate functions to detect hormonal changes or accompany the transition to menopause. From taboo topic to public conversation The menopause –biological event characterized by the permanent cessation of menstruation and the end of the reproductive period as a result of the loss of ovarian follicular activity– and perimenopause –transition stage before menopause– have historically been described by professionals as invisible periods in a woman’s life. There are research that delve into how “the stigma and taboos” surrounding these stages “foster a culture of silence and a marked lack of support.” However, professionals such as Juan José Escribano Tórtola, head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Service of the Severo Ochoa University Hospitalcelebrate the move from “absolute ostracism” – even among health professionals – a few years ago to “greater information about these periods of women’s lives.” He comments: “More and more women come to our consultations to find out about possible treatments and/or measures related to their health at this stage, and more and more professionals are concerned about finding complete solutions (…) to improve the quality of life of our patients.” (Pexels) Although media coverage continues to be scarce, according to Irene Mira, a journalist specialized in women’s health, social networks, specialized associations – such as Spanish Association for the Study of Menopause (AEEM)— and other dissemination channels – such as books, podcasts, websites or blogs – are facilitating the dissemination of information about menopause and perimenopause. And it is precisely in this increase in visibility (and greater predisposition of women to inform yourself) where the rise of applications that allow tracking these stages is framed. In fact, Dr. Pilar Valenzuela Mazo, a gynecologist specializing in menopause at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and creator and host of the podcast Menopause for everyonesees a clear trend in her patients: “More and more women come to the consultation using applications, either to record symptoms or to learn about menopause.” This is how menopause apps work Although each platform has its own focus, most apps focused on menopause and perimenopause share the same promise: helping users understand what is happening to them in this new stage of their lives. These tools usually combine several layers. The first is the symptom log: hot flashes, insomnia, menstrual irregularities, mood changes, vaginal dryness, changes in libido, pain, energy or sleep problems are some of the parameters that allow writing down to detect patterns. Added to this is a second, also common function: explanatory health content. Many include articles, guides or “encyclopedias” on menopause and perimenopause, with information on symptoms, treatments, healthy habits or sexual health. In addition to this offer, some applications include digital accompaniment. It is the case of Kala Healthone of the few tools available completely in Spanish. Talia Leibovitz, CEO of Kala Health, highlights the “community of support among women” and “the possibility of accessing professionals from different areas, such as gynecology, nutrition or mental health.” Explain to Xataka that the intention is to “offer reliable information, monitoring tools and professional support in one place” for a phase that can last years and affect both physical and mental health. Although these are applications with a very specific audience, some of these applications are beginning to show that there is real interest. In the English-speaking market, tools like Balance already have more than 100,000 downloads, while in Spanish the development is much more incipient: applications like Mi Menopause or Kala Health currently have around 10,000 and 3,000 downloads respectively. They can be useful (but not a substitute) For medical professionals and those in the technology sector, the main value of these applications is found in their ability to organize an experience that is often experienced as chaotic. In perimenopause, for example, symptoms can appear intermittently and be confused with stress, insomnia, anxiety or specific changes in the cycle. Recording them can help detect patterns and better understand what is happening in the face of a medical consultation. That’s where doctors and developers agree: digital tracking can be useful if it works as a support tool. The gynecologist specializing in menopause Valenzuela Mazo explains that keeping a record of symptoms helps women come to the consultation with the information “more organized” and, when the data is consistent, it can help the professional better understand the evolution of the condition. (Unsplash) Along the same lines, the head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Service Escribano Tórtola maintains that this type of monitoring can be “very useful” for doctors and that, in fact, it is already being implemented in many specialized units. The usefulness, furthermore, is not only clinical. In a field marked by the historical deficit of research in women’s health, the data collected by these applications is also beginning to have scientific value. Some are already being used as a basis for studies on quality of life during menopauseas occurs with research supported by the information collected by My Menopause, the app developed by the AEEM. And furthermore, beyond clinical … Read more

A brotherhood in Sagunto has closed its doors to women during Holy Week. The decision threatens to cost the entire town

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What weighs more, tradition or equality? It seems like a whimsical question, but it’s exactly the same as yesterday they had to consider hundreds of brothers from Sagunto. There the members of Sang de Sagunt have had to make a controversial decision with Holy Week around the corner: Keep the doors of their brotherhood closed to women, preserving the status quo with which they have functioned in recent centuries, or accept the requests increasingly pressing of the women who want to procession just like the men of the town? For them there are few doubts. What has happened? That nothing will change in Sagunto. At least for now. Yesterday the brotherhood of the Sang de Sagunt decided by an overwhelming majority that it will remain faithful to tradition and keep its door closed to women. The members of the brotherhood with the right to vote were called to a conclave in which they had to decide a crucial question: whether or not to alter the statutes so that where it now says “male” it now includes “any baptized person”, a small change that would nevertheless allow women to participate in the work of the entity. The brothers voted for do not touch a single comma. What was the result? The vote was held behind closed doors, but its results were not long in coming. To begin with, we know that of the 1,627 brotherOnly 403 voted, all men, of course. Regarding the result, the ‘no’ to the change won resoundingly. 267 people spoke out against altering the statutes compared to 114 who supported it. Another eight brothers abstained, 12 voted blank and two issued invalid ballots. The result throws a bucket of cold water (the umpteenth) on the claims of the dozens of women of the Semana Santa Inclusiva Sagunto collective who were waiting gathered at the doors of the temple where the summit was held. Why is it important? Beyond the vote and what it means for the brotherhood, the result is important for several reasons. To begin with, it shows that, despite the attempts at Inclusive Holy Week, the message of equality is far from reaching the brotherhood. It’s not just that the ‘no’ won overwhelmingly, it’s that it’s the third time that the brotherhood has spoken out in that sense. A similar vote was held in 1999 in which only nine brothers They spoke out in favor of the inclusion of women. In 2022 the experience was repeated with the same result, although the ‘yeses’ shot up to 135, leaving at least a positive reading for women. Yesterday the vote did not even leave that little consolation. Support plummeted to only 114. Are there more reasons? Yes. Yesterday’s vote is also relevant for what it may represent for Holy Week in Sagunto. In February elDiario revealed that the Ministry of Tourism had initiated an investigation file to decide whether or not to remove the label Festival of National Tourist Interest (FITN). The reason: precisely the lack of gender equality in the brotherhood that has been in charge of the central events of Holy Week for centuries. The loss of the title would be a lot more than a simple administrative formality. The FITN label clears the way to benefit from promotion channels and subsidies, so if Sagunto loses that label it could be affected at a tourism level. The Government already has advanced which, after yesterday’s vote, has decided to initiate a file to “revoke” the 2004 declaration. Why did they vote against? In the background there is a key debate: Maintain the current status to preserve tradition or adapt it to the values ​​of the 21st century for greater equality? As the reporters who were waiting yesterday for the result of the vote at the doors of the temple explained, arguments in favor of both positions could be heard in the streets of Sagunto. At the summit, however, the first one won with arguments like “tradition is tradition” or that women can set up their “own brotherhood.” “We are sad, above all disappointed,” admits to The Newspaper Blanca Ribelles, from Holy Week Inclusive. “I thought that our society would have evolved and that we would be more mature than three years ago, because equality is something that is no longer questioned. It is not about being more, but about equality.” After collecting signatures to encourage voting, Ribelles recognizes that now the next move may be to go directly to court, although assures which is a path “that we would never have wanted to reach”. Is it a unique case? Not quite. What the group demands is that women not have to limit themselves to mending their clothes, cleaning the hermitage or raising funds. They want to go out in procession in “the usual brotherhood, the one they have always had.” It is not the only place in Spain where the debate has arisen. A year ago the Constitutional gave the reason to a woman from La Laguna (Tenerife) who reported a similar situation. The case has been resorted at the European level, however, which explains why yesterday it was not decisive in the Sagunto vote. Images | Sagunto Tourism and Valencian Community In Xataka | Holy Week has been a huge marketing campaign for decades. Now it even has board games

We have not understood for decades why chronic pain punishes women more. Finally we have the answer

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Historically, medicine has grappled with an undeniable gender gap in which women Women suffer chronic pain more frequently than men, and on top of that their pain flares for much longer. This is something that many doctors have considered ‘normal’ and has been dismissed with psychological biases. But now science has seen that an explanation should not be sought in the mind, but in the immune system. Against pain. This is the objective that medicine has right now, since it is undoubtedly a situation that for many people can be unbearable. That is why the magazine Science Immunology publish now a new study that offers a paradigm shift in our understanding of the biology of pain. The result of this is that he has managed to find the key to some types of white blood cells called monocytes and in its direct relationship with testosterone. What’s happening? When an injury is suffered, such as a blow, the body tries to defend itself with an inflammatory response. One of its components is pain, which is a necessary alarm signal to warn that something is wrong, but once the tissue begins to heal, it is logical that this alarm goes off. But this is where the body’s defense cells come in, monocytes, which act as ‘firefighters’ by releasing proteins called interleukin-10. Here the research team has been able to see that this interleukin-10, abbreviated as IL-10, acts directly on sensory neurons to “turn off” hypersensitivity and therefore pain. The problem, and here lies the importance between sexes, is that men resolve this inflammatory pain much faster because they produce a greater amount of this protein. The reason. Testosterone. This male sex hormone stimulates monocytes to produce higher levels of IL-10 after injury, and therefore pain can be better reduced. But in women this level of testosterone is much lower, and therefore the production of this natural ‘painkiller’ is lower, which causes the sensory neurons to take much longer to stop giving the signal that generates pain. Your demonstration. Beyond doing so in animal models, the research team has been able to validate the experiments with human data from the AURORA studiowhich is a project that evaluates patients who have suffered traffic accidents and severe trauma. Here the clinical data confirmed the laboratory’s suspicions, since they saw that the elimination or reduction of IL-10 activity in monocytes significantly delays the resolution of pain in both sexes, validating that this hormone-mediated immunological difference is exactly the same in humans. In the future. This discovery is not just another biological curiosity to close a historical debate, but it has important therapeutic implications. And right now the severe pain crisis has to be treated with opiates on many occasions, which have a long list of side effects. But upon discovering this cellular mechanism, the researchers tried administering Resolvin D1a compound that promotes the resolution of inflammation. Here it was clearly seen how pain was reduced equally in both sexes. This is why we are at the gateway to a new generation of non-opioid therapies that specifically modulate the immune system. But what is most important about this study is that it highlights the need to leave behind the “one size fits all” model in medicine to move towards more personalized medicine. Images | Redd Francisco In Xataka | Medicine has been using opioids to relieve pain for centuries. Science finally has an alternative

It has become a bottomless pit of people stripping women with AI

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Since AI Grok has conquered what was once Twitter, the social network has become an infinite well of content generated by artificial intelligence. The problem is when that content is used to misinform or ends up harming other people. And today, Grok has become one of the main sources of sexualized images created without consent. Just like they count According to Bloomberg, the chatbot generated approximately 6,700 such images per hour during a 24-hour period in early January. The magnitude of the problem. On X there are many users who spend their time using Grok to modify photos that other people publish on the social network, generating versions in which they appear scantily clad or in sexualized situations. The middle appointment the findings of independent researcher Genevieve Oh, who identified that during the analysis carried out between January 5 and 6, Grok produced these images at a rate 84 times higher than the other five websites most active in this type of content. Oh estimated that 85% of the total images produced by Grok have been generated to sexualize. What’s special about Grok. Unlike other chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude either GeminiGrok doesn’t impose many limits on generating sexualized content from real people. Users can tag Grok’s account in replies to other people’s posts and request that he modify the original images. The most common requests include phrases such as “put her in a bikini,” “take off her clothes,” or “change her clothes to a see-through bikini.” The chatbot generates these images in a matter of seconds and publishes them automatically, linking them to the victim’s original publication. Victims without response. Maddie, a 23-year-old medical student cited per Bloomberg, woke up on New Year’s Day to discover that several strangers had altered a photo of her and her boyfriend using Grok. First they removed their partner from the image and put her in a bikini, then another user asked Grok to replace the bikini with dental floss. “My heart sank. I felt hopeless, helpless and just disgusted,” she said. When she and her friends reported the images through X’s moderation systems, they never received a response. In a different case, X determined that there were no “rule violations” in the reported content. According to the mediumthe images were still on the social network at the time of the publication of the report. Cases media. The problem has even reached public figures. And as they say from Guardianmultiple users asked Grok to alter an image of Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ebba Busch, to show her in a bikini. In addition to this, two British government ministers have also been victims of these manipulations. Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, a group specialized in investigative journalism, counted to the outlet how Grok responded to instructions such as “bikini now” or “put a bikini with the Confederate flag on her” over the photo of Busch in Parliament. Musk and X’s response. In the face of recent criticism, Elon Musk claimed in X that “anyone who uses Grok to create illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they uploaded illegal content.” However, this strategy of punishing users instead of preventing the chatbot from generating the content appears to have proven ineffective. Just like they count From Bloomberg, when someone requests to remove those images in the comments, Grok often apologizes and says he will take them down, but in many cases the images remain and the system continues to generate new ones. Legality. Carrie Goldberg, attorney specializing in online sexual crimes, explained to the outlet that the scale of deepfakes on X is “unprecedented” and noted that the platform “is not acting as a passive editor. It is actually generating and creating the image.” In this sense, the Law Take It Downapproved in the United States in 2025, holds platforms responsible for the production and distribution of this type of content. Brandie Nonnecke, of Americans for Responsible Innovation, counted Bloomberg that platforms have until May 2026 to establish the required removal process. Increasingly widespread use. Although the technology to create sexual deepfakes is not new, as there are dozens of websites and Telegram bots dedicated to undressing people, the fact that this capacity is hosted by a social network as well-known as X marks a turning point. And unlike specific image manipulation services, Grok is free, produces results in seconds and is available to millions of users on X. Sloan Thompson, of the EndTAB organization, pointed out Wired said that “when a company offers generative AI tools on their platform, it is their responsibility to minimize the risk of image-based abuse. The alarming thing here is that X has done the opposite. They have integrated AI-enabled image abuse directly into a mainstream platform, making sexual violence easier and scalable.” Cover image | Tamara Bellis and Antonio Vallejo In Xataka | We are entering a new era of robotics driven by AI and Disney is its perfect showcase

Women consistently sleep worse than men. And science has finally discovered why it is

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For years we have been able to have a perception in many homes: the women tend to sleep worse, wake up more and feel more tired than men. This is something that for a long time has been dismissed as a subjective perception, but Science has now wanted to close the debate, pointing out that it is not only a perception, but that there is a gender gap documented. The data. The Global Sleep Survey 2025carried out on a massive sample of more than 30,000 people in 13 countries, has produced a key figure: 38% of women have problems falling asleep more than three times a week, compared to 29% of men. Something that in Spain is not a very different situation, since according to the cross-sectional studies recently published in Naturewomen have much higher scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), indicating worse subjective quality. In this way, while 44.6% of Spanish women report poor sleep quality, in men the figure drops to 30.1%. A paradox. Tests with motion sensors suggest that women sometimes have higher “sleep efficiency” on paper, but it is perceived as greater exhaustion. The person responsible for this is the sleep fragmentationwhich is related to constant waking up or even in mothers due to having to get up to care for a baby, for example. The hormonal factor. It is undoubtedly one of the big differences that exist between men and women, since estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate drastically during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy or menopause. In the specific case of menopause it can be seen as a drop in the level of estrogen, in addition to produce alterations in bone formationalso increases the immediate degradation of rest. The data indicates that 51% of the Menopausal women suffer from sleep disordersshown a big difference: 44% of women in this stage report serious problems compared to 33% of non-menopausal women. If we go to pregnancywe see something similar with physical (from discomfort) and hormonal disruptions that create a pattern of alertness that often doesn’t fully recover until years after childbirth. The mental load. Beyond the hormonal load, the social factor is, perhaps, the most difficult to correct. One of the most important is the role that women have in many cases regarding the care of other people. According to the data compiled by the University of Michigan and diverse reviews on BMJ Openemployed women wake up twice as often as their partners to care for children or dependent relatives, even when they are the main breadwinners of the home. This “caretaker” role keeps the brain in an “alert” situation, making it attentive to whether a baby cries at night or a dependent family member has any need. This causes 76% of caregivers to report poor sleep quality.since the brain cannot unconsciously disconnect to monitor the well-being of the environment. Its consequences. Poor sleep not only means being tired the next day, but also has more serious clinical consequences. One of the most important is the increase in the probability of having a metabolic diseasesuch as diabetes. In addition, it increases accelerated cognitive deterioration and causes an increase in anxiety and depression disorders. And what is interesting in this case is that the female brain in sleep deprivation is more vulnerable to emotional dysregulation. The solution. The scientific community, from the Sleep Research Institute (IIS) to publications in Frontiers in Psychiatryagrees that it is not enough to increase “sleep hygiene” by leaving your cell phone before going to sleep, for example. It mainly aims at social therapy, making changes in the structure of the home that avoid fragmentation of sleep by getting up to take care of someone, for example. But logically, if you are in a perimenopause situation, you should also choose to go to the doctor to receive pharmacological treatment whenever there is significant hormonal deregulation. Images | Slaapwijsheid.nl In Xataka | If you fall asleep in less than five minutes, you don’t have a “superpower”: it’s a warning signal from your brain

We have carried the burden of reproductive delay on women. But men also have their part (and the proof is in the sperm)

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Let’s talk about semen because it’s important. We already knew: the quality of sperm, for example, is directly related with the life expectancy of men. However, in recent days the situation has taken an interesting turn. A few days ago, a group of researchers from the Sanger Institute and King’s College London advertisement that “aging” has more consequences than it seems. It is not only that, with age, sperm accumulate mutations; is that the percentage of sperm with mutations does not stop growing. And that changes many of the things we thought we knew. What exactly have they done? The team sequenced semen samples from individuals between 24-75 years old and They discovered that the process accumulation of mutations is not just a matter of wear and tear. There is, interestingly, a combination of chance and positive selection. That is, he has found evidence that there are “winning” variants in the testicles. The study concludes that it “concludes a 2–3× risk of known causal mutations with age and estimates 3–5% of sperm with a pathogenic mutation in middle-aged and older men.” The numbers are low, but the paradigm changes. The paradigm? It is not just that the older you are, the more mutations there are, but that these mutations compete with each other and thrive within the testicle (intratesticular positive selection). This means that the risk window widens beyond the simple annual arithmetic sum. For years, we have carried the burden of delayed parenthood on women. In a simplistic (and now we know hasty) way, the public debate has loaded thethe responsibility of reproductive planning about them. But also the health-scientist: the risk profiles were defined by the gestational age of the mother. And yet, men also have their part. What is hidden in the sperm. Although, as I cannot help but repeat, the risk is low, we cannot ignore that the greater presence of variants linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and developmental syndromes changes the general picture. The reality is that, despite everything we know, we know very little. And that is a problem because, whether we want it or notthe trends are very solid: the age of having children it’s going to be delayed all over the world. Image | Quinn Dombrowski In Xataka | Having many children sounds great as a way to preserve the species. Until you start passing genetic mutations

Men and women are “better” separately

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We do not go through the branches. The truth is that birth rates are below the replacement level In the US and Europe since the 70s. In these last 30 years, the entire world came behind. Today, analysts like Fernández-Villaverde They are convinced That since 2023, humanity does not reach the replacement rate. But why? A fight without barracks. Hundreds of researchers have that question hanging in the cork of their offices. We have seen Many theories and many of them focus on one thing: the emancipation of women and the increase in their autonomy; But Claudia Goldin has an interesting idea. Goldin argues that, although that is important, the key comes from a mismatch between the wishes of men and women. A delicate balance. Goldin Notice That as of the 70s, the increases in productivity and social flexibility allowed societies to be more diverse: the social costs associated with the rupture of traditions were lower (often, radically lower) to those of periods of attention. However, the benefits of breaking those traditions are not the same for everyone. In aggregate terms, Always according to Goldinmen “benefit more from maintaining traditions; women benefit more than avoiding them.” The interesting thing is that they are apparently non -cooperative strategies. What does this imply? That only to the extent that one does not yield, the other has no reason to do so. That is, “when the probability that men abandon traditions is low, some professional women will not have children and others will delay them, often too much.” It makes sense: the raising of a child is a very complex task and “tradition” does that work in women. If the father does not accept to assume part of that work, it is very expensive for women, they can assume parenting and professional development. And, given that dilemma, many opt for the second. But why? Because the problem is another. A previous one, in fact. And having children has a fundamental characteristic: that cannot be reversed. A priori, one can park his professional career at any time, but he cannot ‘park’ the children. That means that women have to have clear signs that their partners are reliable and the truth is that in a context in which men can opt at any time for a non -cooperative strategy, these signs are something complicated to determine. That is what is behind all this, According to Goldin. And it is also what complicates its resolution. If it exists. After all, none of the great episodes of birth growth (after 39 in the US, after 1945 in almost all the nations that fought in World War II, after the prohibition of abortion in Romania in 1967, etc …) were intense, surprising and, above all, short. For Goldinuntil an institutional structure is achieved in which cooperation between men and women is the best option for both, nothing will solve the birth fall. Image | Ramiro Pianarosa | Genessa Panainte In Xataka | The secret to tracing birth? Fill everything with Mormons, Amish and Ultra -Orthodox Jews

The Church faces the challenge of a future without priests. At the moment he already knows how to allow women to give “Mass”

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Almudena Suárez Treviño is a woman of Mass. Although not in the conventional sense of expression. She not only goes to the church of her people to listen to the priest on duty, give peace to the rest of parishioners and commune in the Eucharist. No. In addition to all that Almudena officiates religious celebrations in Catholic temples. Almost (almost) as if it were a parish priest. So much so that the bishopric of Tui-Vigo He just ratified it officially in its functions. Your case, enough less exceptional of what it seems, it is actually the finding of a much greater phenomenon: the Vocations crisis. What happened? That the bishop of Tui-Vigo has just published a APPOINTMENT LIST Officers, a kind of internal adjustment in the diocese to “alleviate the current deficiencies of attention “that causes the shortage of priests. Until there nothing weird. Nor does anything that can arouse interest beyond the affected villages. The striking, which has aroused the interest of the parishioners and means of the rest of the community and Spain (including the Galician television), is that this list of priests closes with the name of a woman: Almudena Suárez. And not just that. He Official document Proclamation for those who want to read it that this woman is authorized to direct “the celebration of the word” in seven parishes of the arciprest of Louriña (Pontevedra) as long as its presbyter is not. Actually the announcement of the bishop of Tui-Vigo is a ratification because Almudena has been having an out of the common role in his parishes. So much, in fact, that three years ago Vigo lighthouse He already dedicated him A report. Click on the image to go to Tweet. A cure woman? No. Almudena is not a priest. It is really Biologist and theologianhas a title of religious sciences, a master’s degree and at least until a few years ago she exercised as a religion teacher in an Institute in Pontevedra. That is your professional curriculum, your presentation sheet. 21 years ago, however, one of his theology professors proposed to embark on “An innovative project”an adventure that in practice would lead him to be more than a simple parishioner. What Almudena did was get involved in the Diocesan assemblies in the absence of presbyters in the Galician rural. With the approval of who then act as a bishop in the diocese of Tui-Vigo (a decision that his successors have maintained) assumed a responsibility that basically allows the parishes in the area to become more bearable the shortage of priests and the lack of vocations. But Masses officiate? No. Sundays Almudena go to a series of churches, it is located before the rest of parishioners, read, preach and fulfill in some way the role that a pastor should play, but does not officiate a liturgy. What it does has another name: word celebration. “We arrived, we meet and the first part of the celebration, which is called the word liturgy, is exactly the same as in a mass. We ask for forgiveness, the reading is done, I proclaim the gospel and preach,” Explain to The voice. “We profess faith, pray the creed and do the requests.” That does not mean that it is a kind of priestess or that it takes care of the same rites as a priest. “I want to make it clear that I don’t trade masses”, insists The woman before clarifying that when it comes to communing she is only responsible for distributing the hosts that a pastor has previously consecrated, a task that the Church does not allow her to assume. By providing that service Almudena facilitates life to the priest in charge of the seven villages, serving as support. The two alternate on Sundays in the churches, so that a week the parishioners have Mass and the following, celebration. How do she carry it? Initially he confesses that it was difficult to take pass through his family’s misgivings to “how people would respond.” After spinning, however, he decided to accept the offer and assume a new role in the diocese. “I thought it was a good opportunity, since we are always complaining about women that they do not give us power in the church. I thought it could be good for all of us,” confesses. “In the end I threw myself into the pool and it was as if I touched the lottery.” It makes that more than 20 years, a period during which it has gone through different places where assures having encountered the acceptance and “affection” of the parishioners. “I was the first and I am the only one with appointment (from the bishopric of Tui-Vigo). I have it since 2004. What happens is that this time it has been more evident because, for the first time, breaking glass roofs, the appointment was published on the Bishopric website,” he celebrates. Is it a unique case? No. The role of Almudena may not be common in southern Galicia, but if we expand the focus to the rest of Spain we verify that there are more lay people who exert the same function as her. Including women too. In 2018 The voice revealed Also that to the north of the community, in Outes, there was a group of neighbors who were responsible for ceremonies before the shortage of priests. “It is not the Mass of women, as they say, they are women who make the Sunday celebration for the entire community,” I clarified The parish priest. There are also examples in Burgos, Tarragona either Lionamong other points of The emptied Spain. “The priests in charge, generally, of a good number of rural parishes, cannot go every Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist in all of them, so they sometimes have a lay or religious who, on Sundays in which the pastor is absent, goes to direct ‘the celebration of the word’”, They explain from the archdiocese of Oviedo. The Catholic Church in fact offers Formations for laity. A … Read more

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