world

The Congo River has been an insurmountable barrier for the two closest capitals in the world for decades. Until now

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For decades, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been living in a peculiar situation: although they have the nearest capitals at the geographical level of the entire planet (with the exception of the Vatican and some cases special, like Nicosia), both metropolises live behind each other’s backs. At least as far as communications are concerned. Today to travel from Kinshasa (RCD) to Brazzaville (Congo) you need get on a ferry to cross the river that separates both countries or even a plane which covers the journey as long as it takes you to have a coffee and read the headlines in the newspaper. Now that’s about to change. Capitals just a stone’s throw away. The story of the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the former Zaire) has been anything but quiet. This has ultimately contributed to both nations sharing a particular condition, beyond the similarities between their names: their capitals are a stone’s throw away. Between Brazzaville (RC) and Kinshasa (DRC) there are a handful of hundreds of meters and a river, the Congo. Depending on the reference we take, between both metropolises there is between one and three kilometers in a straight line. If we except the even more peculiar relationship between the Vatican and Rome (and some curiosities historical), Brazzaville and Kinshasa are often considered the closest capitals. However, despite this proximity, those who want to travel from one city to another right now do not have it easy: they must take a ferry that covers the journey in half an hour or even (if they are in a hurry… and more money), fly over the limited airspace that separates both capitals. What if we build a bridge? The situation is sufficiently anomalous that the authorities have considered on several occasions building a bridge between both banks. The idea can date back at least to the 90s and has been rescued several times since then. Without much success. Whether for political or budgetary reasons or simply because the fear As infrastructure reduces commercial traffic in some influential ports in the DRC, the Kinshasa-Brazzaville viaduct has failed to make it past paper. Coming out of the box. That could change soon. In February the finance ministers of the DRC and the CR reached a bilateral agreement to establish a special tax regime that clears the future of the construction of the viaduct. It may seem like a minor issue, but the infrastructure is expected to be subject to a toll and, beyond the traffic of individuals and tourists, every year moves trucks loaded with thousands and thousands of tons of merchandise. “We have a harmonized tax and customs framework. We also have a bilateral pact, which will allow us to relaunch the call for tenders,” celebrated after the technical meetings Caddy Ndala, from the Brazzaville delegation. An agreement… and something more. If the bridge seems to see (finally) the light at the end of the tunnel, it is not only because of the tax agreement between both countries. The project has also attracted the attention of Africa50an investment platform founded by the African Development Bank (ADB) and African states. The entity is presented in fact as the “main promoter” selected by the DRC and RC to drive the public-private partnership that will shape the infrastructure. Global Highways precise that part of the investment to shape the viaduct will also come from the ADB, which has already financed the feasibility studies. And what will the viaduct be like? The main infrastructure will consist of a short bridge more than 1.5 km which will pass over the Congo River and allow the passage of vehicles and railways. It will also have sidewalks and border control posts. The idea is that the viaduct connects further with the roads that already exist in both countries, facilitating communication between the capitals. “The idea dates back to the mid-19th century,” recognized years ago the president of the ADB, Akinwumi Adesina. To clear its roads, the technicians have selected the narrowest point on the border. In an attempt to put an end to the misgivings that the infrastructure arouses in several commercial ports in the region, it has also been agreed to carry out complementary works of improvements in them. Hunting for goods. The bridge won’t exactly come cheap. In 2017, the ADB estimated that the project would require 550 million dollars, an estimate that has since risen to exceed 700 million. In return, the structure promises to completely change the relationship between both capitals. In 2020 the Africa Investment Forum pointed out that the forecasts involve both triggering the flow of people and goods: the former (people) would go from 750,000 annually now to more than three million; As for the latter (merchandise), it would rise from 340,000 to two million tons. Images | Google Earth and Africa50 In Xataka | A 2.5 billion-year-old geological wonder: Zimbabwe’s Great Dam seen by NASA from space

Last year, almost no robots finished the Beijing half marathon. This year one has broken the human world record by seven minutes

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The half marathon world record is held by Jacob Kiplimo with a time of 57:20 achieved just a month ago in Lisbon. This Sunday a humanoid robot called Lightning ran that distance in 50:26achieving for the first time a milestone that had never been achieved. Robots seemed clumsy and unable to outrun humans, but that is no longer true. And it’s just the beginning. Robots are already faster than humans. In the half marathon held on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Beijing, the absolute dominators were the humanoid robots. Lightning not only broke the human world record by almost seven minutes: he managed to arrive 17 minutes before the first human runner to cross the finish line. The first three classified They were also Lightning models developed by Honor. From disaster to excellence. The first edition of this same event, the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, It was an absolute disaster for humanoid robots. Only a third of those who ran it managed to finish the race, they were controlled remotely and ran at a pace much lower than that of human runners. This year things were very different: more than 100 robots were presented and most finished the test, but also almost half ran autonomously and several managed to surpass even the best human runners in the world. This is Lightning. The winning robot measures 169 centimeters, weighs 45 kg and was specifically designed to adapt to complex terrain and move at high speed. Its legs measure about 95 cm and its proportions are designed to imitate the stride of elite human runners. It has a liquid cooling system which curiously has been adapted from the one found on Honor smartphones. Du Xiaodi, engineer in charge of this project at Honor, explained that “Running faster may not seem significant at first glance, but it allows technological transfer, for example in structural reliability and cooling, and eventually in industrial applications“. Not everything went well. The race, however, also had moments in which the robots failed. One of them collided with a nearby vehicle although he managed to stabilize himself and continue walking. The H1 model from Unitree, the most famous humanoid robot manufacturer in China, collapsed as it approached the finish line and had to be removed from the road. One of the Lightning models hit a barrier after crossing the finish line, and some other robots they had difficulties with the curves and unevenness of the route. The event also served as a test bed for batteries, joints, motors and algorithms that control these machines. Industrial applications. Xiaodi mentioned it but also Liu Xiangquan, professor of robotics at the University of Science and Information in Beijing. According to him, these long-distance races allow the resistance and behavior of these robots to be evaluated, something essential for their application in industrial environments. Here not only speed is evaluated, but also the aforementioned resistance, stability or the capacity for autonomous navigation in uncontrolled environments. But a key component is missing. Although the demonstration and milestone is fascinating, what this field needs most is other things. For example, advance manual dexterityperceive the real environment in unforeseen situations and be able to perform varied tasks and not focus so much on repetitive movements. Industrial robots are already good at that, but here we are looking for much more versatility because at the moment these robots They are not able to fold clothes or put the plates and cutlery in the dishwasher with sufficient speed and dexterity. China continues to set the robotic pace. The Asian country has completely devoted itself to the world of robotics. Dominate this segment and its companies They manufacture 80% of global production. In recent months we have seen spectacular demonstrations such as the one Unitree carried out with a dozen humanoid robots at a martial arts show. Sunday’s half marathon is one more element of that narrative and that message that China is leaving to the world: robots are our thing. And in a year, what? Breaking the world record is very striking, but this event tells another story: that of how in just one year Chinese manufacturers have managed to improve their models in an amazing way. If everything continues to improve at this rate, it is difficult to predict what the robots that run the next marathon will be capable of, but it seems logical to think that at this point the athletic ability of robots will be absolutely amazing. Image | CGTN In Xataka | In China they are not satisfied with creating advanced robots: a company has developed a head that gestures like a human

The world will run out of memory for AI chips until 2027. And cell phones and cars are already paying the price

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The big bottleneck in the artificial intelligence industry has nothing to do with AI models, GPUs, or data centers. It has to do with memory, and for months we are immersed in a crisis of which now the manufacturers give us more information. Three companies—Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron—control 90% of global production, but current estimates indicate that between the three They can only cover about 60% of expected demand through 2027. That’s terrible news not only for AI, but also for everything non-AI. The era of memory scarcity. These three manufacturers have prioritized HBM production for AI accelerators because these memories leave better margins. The direct consequence is the shortage of DRAM memories, which are used in PCs and mobile phones, and since October 2025 we have seen how this market has skyrocketed in price. Betting everything on one segment has left the other dangerously neglected. Samsung will have new factories. According to indicate In Nikkei, Samsung plans to launch its fourth memory manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, in 2026, although mass production will not begin until 2027 or later. Furthermore, not only memories will be manufactured in that plant. There is a fifth plant under construction on that same technology campus, but it will be dedicated to HBM chips and will not begin operating until at least 2028. The South Korean giant has another ace up its sleeve: the United States. HBM to power. SK Hynix is ​​the only one of the three that has a concrete supply improvement for 2026, because it has already started manufacturing HBM chips at its Cheongju plant in February. It is also accelerating construction of a plant in Yongin, near Seoul, with the goal of completing it by February 2027. Micron also asks for patience. Meanwhile, Micron, the American company, has the goal of starting production of HBM chips in Idaho and Singapore in 2027, and will build a factory in Hiroshima that will theoretically come into operation in 2028. It has also just purchased a plant in Taiwan from Powechip, but the chips that come out of it will not be available before the second half of 2027. This is not enough. The consulting firm Counterpoint Reserach estimates that in order to resolve the current DRAM crisis, an industry-wide production increase of 12% annually until 2027 would be required. However, current plans add up to a growth of 7.5%, which makes it clear that these expansions by these three manufacturers are not enough. For Counterpoint analysts, the consequence is clear: the balance between supply and demand will not be normalized until 2028. SK Hynix is ​​already talking about supply limitations for AI chips could last until 2030, and the truth is that all the forecasts only confirm that this problem will still last for years. We consumers pay the price. Memory is an absolutely transversal product that is everywhere. 80-90% of current memory chips go to computers, mobile phones and servers, and the rest to cars and industrial equipment. The most direct impact is already in the mobile market entry-level: memory already represented 20% of the manufacturing bill for one of these smartphones, but that figure is expected to reach 40% by mid-2026. That gives manufacturers few (or no) options, which will impact that cost on the price of these devices. And so with everything. IDC esteem that mobile sales will fall by 13% in 2026 due to this circumstance. The danger of cycles. The memory industry has a history of cycles in which the rise and fall of memory prices is traditional. In 2023 there was a collapse in prices after post-pandemic demand for PCs faded. Several manufacturers recorded historic losses, and learned the lesson of overproducing to meet demand. Now that we need more production, manufacturers are being much more cautious when it comes to increasing their production or investing in new factories. For them, by the way, the crisis is going great: Samsung has earned in three months of 2026 what it earned in all of 2025. China to the rescue. Although South Korea and the United States dominate global memory production, there are several Chinese manufacturers that are gradually gaining relevance. YMTC and CXMT They have been growing significantly in production for some time and that is making now have a golden opportunity to gain market share over competitors that they seemed unattainable. Image | Liam Briese In Xataka | The situation with RAM prices is so desperate that there are already those who build their own memory at home

It took Shenzhen 20 years to have a subway. And 20 others have the best metro in the world

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The first time I traveled to Shenzhen, what was repeated to me most when I looked at its impressive skyscrapers was that until recently it was a small fishing village. And although it is true that this fact is a bit exaggerated and simplified because well, 330,000 inhabitants is not exactly a village and there was more activity than fishing, the reality is that its growth and transformation into the most technological city in the world it has been brilliant: today they live there more than 17 million people and has seen the birth of colossi such as Huawei, Tencent, DJI or BYD. And of course, the most technological city in the world has one meter at its height, which of course has grown at breakneck speed. Because the history of the transportation network goes hand in hand with the city. But what makes the shenzhen subway It is not so much its size or how quickly it has expanded, but the combination of the previous two with a third variable that rarely appears in the equation: design ambition. While in the West, with rare exceptions, we opt for functional projects that are contained in price and budget, Shenzhen presents entire lines in a few years with stations that seem taken from the cinema. From science fiction cinema. Shenzhen subway today. Shenzhen subway has 635 kilometers long, 441 stations and 17 operating lines, leading the country in network density (0.30 km/km²) and intensity of use (15,000 trips/km/day). And in this tangle, semi-automatic lines coexist with other fully automated and driverless lines. like Line 20 or very fast as Line 11which reaches 120 km/h. As a curiosity, the Shenzhen metro network It is operated by two different companies: Shenzhen Metro Group manages the majority of lines and MTR Corporation of Hong Kong operates Line 4 and the recent Line 13. This is something unusual that adds difficulty to the matter in terms of interoperability. Why is it important. The Shenzhen metro may be unique in its kind, but it is the best argument to demonstrate that speed of execution and quality of design are not incompatible. The third variable in the equation is cost and surprisingly, comparatively it is cheaper: China build for around $250 million per kilometer in purchasing power parity terms, between two and eight times less than Western equivalents like Paris or New York. On the other hand, the Shenzhen metro acts as an urban catalyst: the stations were planned following the TOD modelthat is, promoting urban development around transport stations. That is to say, they serve the city but also make the city. On a global scale, this network is a methodological reference: it is no longer just a matter of engineering, but also about experience, design and territorial strategy. The Eye of Shenzhen, the centerpiece of Gangxia North Station, one of its most iconic elements. Unsplash Context. First of all, a clarification: that fishing village reference usually emphasizes about 30,000 inhabitants in the late 70s, but that figure corresponds to Bao’an County and not the 30,000 of Shenzhen Town, which constituted the original urban core (today Luohu district). The growth is in any case exponential and shows a dispersed demographic base that required territorial reorganization and explains the aggressive growth of the metro network. But if we have mentioned that figure of 330,000 inhabitants that explains the China Global Television Network is because it was that entire area that was designated as Special Economic Zonea plan that provides advantageous conditions to promote economic development (usually economic laws for a free market economy). In short, the laboratory of Chinese capitalism. Wow it worked. Metro planning began in the 1980s, construction in 1998, and the first line opened in December 2004. The beginnings were not quick or easy. The subsoil where the Shenzhen metro is integrated did not help at all: weathered granite, high water table and proximity to the Pearl River Delta, which forced the intensive use of specialized tunnel boring machines, jet grouting and even freeze the ground. Neither is the climate: 35 °C with 90% humidity in summer and recurring typhoons that require oversized drainage systems and watertight gates. The idea of ​​the subway was born before the megacity it is today: in 1983, Mayor Liang Xiang visited Singapore and On his return he made it clear: around Shennan Avenue I would leave a green belt of 30 meters on each side and reserve 16 meters in the center to build it. In 1988 there was a formal light rail proposal. Shenzhen Metro Group was established in July 1998 and construction began that same year. Six years later, on December 28, 2004, he opened the Line 1 with 17.4 kilometers and 15 stations. It was a modest system: four-car trains, 15-minute frequencies and limited coverage to the central corridor on two lines. How have they done it. Building an average of 30 kilometers a year is simply an unthinkable pace in Europe. The secret is in a large scale prefabrication which allows them to be made in the factory and assembled on site like Lego XXL and meticulous planning from design to maintenance. The avant-garde design of the stations is not accidental but has every intention: for Shenzhen, its subway is its showcase of the identity it wants to project to the world. An example: the Shenzhen eyea spectacular skylight following the Fermat Spiral or the ceiling that simulates an origami of Universiade or maritime integration of the station Sea World between Lines 2 and 12. The business model is Rail + Property imported from Hong Kong and is equally interesting because it has allowed it to grow without depending on waiting for state/municipal budgets: the operator builds the subway and in exchange receives the right to develop the land around the stations: apartments, offices, shopping centers. Those real estate income are what pay for the railway investment. Tap to go to the post What’s to come. As if the Shenzhen metro itself were … Read more

the largest battery company in the world is no longer just about batteries

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The Chinese company specialized in the development of batteries has published results for the first quarter of 2026 that have left analysts speechless. Not because they are good, but because no one saw them coming. And the income has exceeded the forecasts of several analysis firms by 40%. The margin of error is so large that it only shows the obvious: that CATL It has long ceased to be just a battery company. What the numbers say. In the first quarter of 2026, CATL had a turnover of 129.1 billion yuan (about $18.9 billion), 52.5% more than in the same period of the previous year, according to they count from Reuters. Net profit grew 48.5% to 20.7 billion yuan. Analysts expected revenue growth of 35.7% and profit growth of 20.9%. The reality is that the numbers almost double the estimates. If the context of the successful year they had in 2025 is added, the image is just as groundbreaking, since according to the annual report The company’s own revenue that year reached 423.7 billion yuan, with a growth of 17%, and net profit rose 42%. Why analysts They have failed so much. Market consensus continued to treat CATL as a supplier of cells for electric cars. The problem is that this approach ignores two movements that are redefining the company. The first: energy storage, a business with higher margins than vehicle batteries, already represented around a quarter of the product the company shipped in the first quarter. According to data Production data collected by Hello China Tech, in April storage had climbed to 41.3% of total cell production, up from less than 20% a year earlier. The second movement: internationalization. Approximately a third of CATL’s revenue already comes from outside China. A Bet that explains everything. Energy storage is not a segment that CATL has joined by inertia. It is the logical consequence of a thesis: the world needs to store renewable energy on a massive scale. The war in Iran has skyrocketed global energy costs and accelerated demand for renewables, making storage systems critical infrastructure. CATL, which already led that market with a global share of 30.4% in 2025, according to SNE Research (for the fifth consecutive year), has arrived at the exact moment with the necessary capacity. And its shipments of batteries for storage have grown by 80% year-on-year in 2025. Europe as a lever for internationalization. The Debrecen plant, in Hungary, went into mass production during the first quarter of 2026. An investment of 7.3 billion euros to supply Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen, with a planned capacity of 100 gigawatt-hours annually and a planned workforce of 9,000 people. This factory is proof that CATL is not content with being a supplier that exports cells, but rather a manufacturer with an industrial presence in the markets it serves. At home, dominating like never before. At the same time, CATL has reached a milestone in China that it had not achieved for five years. According to data from the Chinese Passenger Car Association collected According to CarNewsChina, its production share of electric vehicle batteries in the domestic market exceeded 50% in the first quarter of 2026. In the NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) type battery segment, that share reaches 81.6%. And in the LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) segment, where there is more competition, it reaches 41%, the highest level in four years. The world’s second largest manufacturer, BYD, fell to 13.4% global share, from 16% a year earlier. What CATL is today, beyond batteries. The company itself has been trying to change the story for some time. In your 2025 annual reportstates its ambition to become “a leading global zero-carbon technology company.” It may sound like corporate rhetoric, but it is worth noting that CATL has storage systems deployed in nearly 2,300 projects around the world. Its batteries power artificial intelligence data centers, including SenseTime’s in Shanghai, which the company says reduces electricity consumption by more than 10 million kilowatt-hours annually. It also has subsidiaries in the electric aviation sector and solutions for maritime transport zero emissions. It operates more than 1,000 battery exchange stations for passenger cars and more than 300 for heavy trucks. And it is building what it describes as the world’s first zero-carbon off-grid industrial park, in Shandong. ANDThe market has not yet it has finished processing. It’s not all good news. Morningstar analyst Vincent Sun warns that the automakers’ strategy of diversifying suppliers and cutting costs could “dilute CATL’s pricing power and put pressure on its unit profit.” When you are the dominant supplier, customers have incentives to reduce their dependence. Here it would be necessary to see if CATL’s diversification towards storage, energy services and internationalization builds a sufficient barrier. Cover image | CATL In Xataka | China and the US are dancing the AI ​​dance. And more and more they dance ‘agarraos’

South Korea overtakes China as ASML’s largest market. Sanctions are already changing the world

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In the first quarter of 2026, South Korea has accounted for 45% of ASML salesthe Dutch manufacturer of lithography machinery without which no advanced chip exists. China, which until now led the same ranking with 36%, has fallen to 19%. The order of the semiconductor world has been inverted in the duration of a ‘Q’. Why is it important. ASML is the only company on the planet capable of manufacturing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machinesessential to produce chips less than 7 nanometers. Whoever controls access to ASML controls, to a large extent, which countries can manufacture elite semiconductors. That is why the figures for the first quarter of 2026 are not just another balance sheet but a way to understand the geopolitical map in real time. Or at least with “only” three weeks of latency. In figures: South Korea: 45% of ASML sales in Q1 2026 (up from 22% in the previous quarter). China: 19% (up from 36%). Taiwan: 23% (up from 13%). ASML’s total net sales in the quarter: €8.8 billion. Net profit: 2,760 million euros (+17% year-on-year). Sales forecast for 2026, revised upwards: between 36,000 and 40,000 million euros. The context. The United States has been building a sanctions architecture for years designed to disconnect China from access to advanced semiconductor technology. ASML, a Dutch company but with technology whose development has also involved American and British partners, stopped selling its EUV machines to China years ago. In 2023 added restrictions on more advanced DUV/UVP systems. What the first quarter data show is that this fence already has measurable effects on real sales flows. Between the lines. South Korea’s jump is not explained only by the Chinese fall. Samsung and SK Hynix They are in full race to build high-end memory capacity (the type of chip that powers AI data centers), and both companies have accelerated their orders for EUV machines. SK Hynix has committed nearly 12 trillion won (about 8.2 billion euros) in EUV lithography equipment for its Cheongju and Yongin factories. And Samsung, for its part, has placed a bulk order for approximately 20 EUV machines as part of a larger purchase of 70 systems for its P5 plant in Pyeongtaek. The underlying message is that the demand for AI is already sold in advance. According to ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet, customers in the memory segment have already exhausted their capacity for the entire year. Supply will not meet demand in the foreseeable future and prices continue to skyrocket. Main loser? China, without access to EUV, has been using older DUV systems for years and multiple exposure techniques to approach the 7 nanometer nodes. This translates into chips that are more expensive to produce and have lower yields. Companies like SMIC, ChangXin or Yangtze Memory Technologies operate under increasing financial pressure: the more exposures you need to compensate for the absence of EUV, the worse the production economics. The big question. Can China build its own ASML? There are prototypes in development and the ambition to achieve mass production of EUVs before 2030 is public and no one hides it. That doesn’t mean we can take it for granted: neither Nikon nor Canonwho have dominated lithography for decades, have managed to develop EUV systems. ASML is where it is because it spent years working to achieve it, and it also did so with a very well-coordinated ecosystem: Carl Zeiss optics, specialized laser technology, thousands of components from suppliers around the world… Replicating that from scratch, under sanctions, in less than five years, is a titanic task even for a country of 1.4 billion inhabitants and an excessive ambition. Yes, but. The restrictions, in fact, have not sunk China, but have forced it to adapt. SMIC produces 7 nanometer chips using alternative techniques, although at higher cost and on a smaller scale. The pace of state investment in semiconductors has not slowed down. And the fact that several engineers who have worked at ASML have ended up in Chinese projects has raised alarms on the other side of the Pacific. China has built its current position on a long-term mindset. The sanctions close the shortest path, but that does not mean that other paths do not exist. In Xataka | China prepares a 2nm AI chip to end NVIDIA’s dominance. Your problem is how you are going to manufacture it Featured image | ASML

Universal quantum computers promise to change the world. Now they are closer thanks to giant super atoms

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The prototypes of quantum computers currently manufactured by IBM, Honeywell or Google, among other companies, are engineering prodigies. However, they have defectswhich currently greatly limits the range of applications in which it is possible to use them. The most important of all of them is that they make mistakes and they are still not able to correct them effectively. Scientists are working on developing advanced error correction systems, and if they achieve their goal, universal quantum computers capable of dealing with a wide range of problems will arrive. The Achilles heel of current quantum machines is the extreme fragility of their qubits. And they are very sensitive to disturbances from the environment. Their interaction with the space around them can cause quantum information to be lost or altered, preventing them from delivering a correct result. This phenomenon is known as quantum decoherence and it has the ability to degrade the quantum states that need to be protected in order to carry out operations with qubits. Currently, researchers are making an enormous effort to design effective strategies for isolating qubits from the environment. However, efforts are also being made to develop less fragile qubits, and therefore less sensitive to noise. This is the plan that several scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden are working on. And they have developed a completely new quantum system designed to protect quantum information and minimize interference from the environment. Its purpose is, neither more nor less, to pave the way for universal quantum computers or large scale. Less decoherence leads to more robust and higher quality quantum computers Quantum computing experts maintain that quantum computers that will have the ability to correct their own errors can be used to design exotic materials, and probably also to develop new drugs and in industrial optimization problems, among other tasks. These are some of the applications that the qubits implemented with giant superatoms proposed by the Chalmers University of Technology team led by applied quantum physics professor Anton Frisk Kockum could put in our hands. Giant Superatoms explore two ideas long known to quantum physicists: giant atoms and superatoms. Giant Super Atoms explores two ideas long known to quantum physicists: giant atoms and superatoms. Unlike isolated atoms, a giant atom in this context is an artificial qubit designed to interact with its environment using light or sound waves at multiple physically separated points. This peculiarity allows them to protect quantum states more effectively than conventional systems, reduce decoherence and remember past interactions. The problem with using giant atoms in quantum computers is that they have significant limitations when trying to entangle them. Entanglement is essential in quantum computing because it allows multiple qubits to share a single quantum state and act as a coordinated system. To solve this limitation, the Chalmers researchers have combined giant atoms and superatoms. A superatom is made up of several natural atoms that share the same quantum state and behave collectively as a single larger atom. Lei Du, one of Chalmers’ researchers, explains to us what is a giant super atom: “We can observe it as multiple giant atoms working together as a single entity, allowing them to exhibit a non-local interaction between light and matter. This allows quantum information from multiple qubits stored and controlled as a unit and without the need for increasingly complex surrounding circuits.” For the moment, giant superatoms are a theoretical proposal, but Professor Anton Frisk Kockum and his team are going to try to build a quantum system using them. If they succeed, they could have found a new type of qubit that is much more robust, and, therefore, suitable for use in the development of universal quantum computers. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | ScienceDaily In Xataka | We already know what the chips that will arrive until 2039 will be like. The machine that will allow them to be manufactured is close

There are only 66 cases in the world and science is just beginning to understand it

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Night rest can be interrupt due to many factorssuch as the need to go to the bathroom constantly to drink water before going to sleep, but there are other cases, such as painful sleep erectionswhich right now is emerging from ignorance, and that is why every time you get to know more of this problem which, fortunately, is quite infrequent. What is it? Although you may think that this is a problem related to the penis, the truth is that it is classified as a parasomnia. And it is no wonder, because what happens to the man here is that he has multiple erections during the night while he is in the REM phase of sleep that are so painful that it makes you wake up with a jump out of bed. But the curious thing is that the problem does not lie in the penis tissue itself, but rather clinical reviews point out that this disease is closely linked to hypertonicity or contracture of the bulbocavernosus muscles of the penis and the pelvic floor. Added to this are alterations in the central nervous system, such as instability during REM sleep, a peak in activity of the sympathetic nervous system and abnormal processing of pain and hormonal stress signals. It’s a challenge. At the level of cases diagnosed with this problem, the reality is that we speak of a “phantom disease” since it barely there are 66 cases documented worldwide, and there are almost no articles in the medical literature. This is something that translates into a situation of underdiagnosis, since in daily practice specialists see very few cases throughout their career. As a result, patients suffer a medical journey that delays diagnosis for years, and in desperation, and in the absence of answers, many end up assuming erroneous self-diagnoses based on chronic stress or prostatitis. Science tries to advance. Historically, the lack of cases made it difficult to create treatment protocols with the steps that doctors had to follow to solve the patient’s problem. However, recent clinical research has shed light on highly effective therapeutic approaches. That is why right now the use of muscle relaxants such as baclofen has proven to be a turning point for patients, since by relaxing the muscles of the penis an improvement is achieved in patients with this problem. In addition, diseases that are below this problem should also be looked for, such as sleep apnea or insomnia in general, which may be related to this pathology. Although there is still much to be done to investigate this disease, which a priori is quite unknown. Images | gpointstudio on Freepik In Xataka | Before colonizing other planets, humanity must solve a problem: erections in space

from the anti-aging miracle with scientific backing to the dangerous world of injectable ‘looksmaxxing’

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We live in a time where people do not stop complement your nutrition with magnesium, collagenvitamins and more. But in recent months you have surely come across the famous ‘peptides’, a compound that has gained quite a bit of momentum in the world of cosmetics under the trend called looksmaxxing and also in bodybuilding. But… Do they have any scientific endorsement? What are peptides? In biological terms, peptides are short chains of amino acids that act as the building blocks of proteins, such as collagen, elastin and keratin. They are naturally in our body from the protein that we administer in our diet, and that the body uses as bricks to build the elements of the skin, muscle, immune system and many more functions. But this is something that has happened from natural biology to the field of cosmetics and nutricosmeticssince it has been seen that when these peptides are applied to the skin, they act as “messengers” that trick the body into believing that it has lost collagen, stimulating its production. In this way an anti-wrinkle effect is promised. What does science say? Unlike many “miracle supplements” that flood the internet, topical and oral peptides do have robust scientific backing, although, as always, keep in mind that you should not expect an amazing miracle when applying them. Among one of the most representative studies we have that of the Spanish Society of Aesthetic Medicine (SEME) which analyzed the effect of biomimetic peptides in patients between 40 and 70 years old. Here it was seen that, after four sessions, the biopsies confirmed real changes in the skin as there was a greater proliferation of collagen and elastin. There is more. Clinical trials with active ingredients such as Matrixyl in 93 people showed also a noticeable reduction in fine lines after 12 weeks of use, and also collagen peptide supplements such as Peptan have been shown in clinical trials to be able to reduce wrinkles around the eyes by 13% and pores by 57%. The dark side. When this becomes an obsession, that is when the problems begin, and again social networks have been a trigger. Here TikTok or Instagram has caused a trend known as looksmaxxing to break out., which in Spanish could be translated as ‘maximize appearance’. And it is nothing more than a subculture, predominant in younger men, who wants to optimize their physical attractiveness to the maximum. While the softmaxxing includes gym routines, haircuts and intense skincare, the most extreme aspect has popularized the use of injectable peptides. Suddenly, it’s not uncommon to see videos of content creators showing off refrigerators full of vials that promise ultra-luminous skin, instant muscle recovery, extreme fat loss, or hyper-defined jawlines. And it is a danger. The big problem with these injectables is that they are often not regulated, and people resort to the Internet to buy them thanks to the legal loopholes created by products under investigation or not suitable for human consumption. Here different organizations have launched alerts warning that using products that have not been authorized by the responsible agencies can cause serious risks such as infections, abscesses or even tissue necrosis. A gym shortcut. Beyond wanting to maximize beauty and reduce the number of wrinkles, in the world of bodybuilding, peptides have burst onto the scene, presenting themselves as a modern alternative to classic steroids. In this way, it is not uncommon to hear about BPC-157, TB-500 or CJC-1295, which are peptides that promise great aesthetic results. His promises. BPC-157 or TB-500 have been dubbed ‘healing peptides’ due to the great fame they have gained by promising regeneration of tendons, ligaments or muscle tears in record time. Another popular group are secretogogues such as CJC-1295 They stimulate the pituitary gland to produce growth hormone ‘naturally’, which enhances muscle growth and fat burning much more quickly than by directly injecting the hormone. Your problems. The problem in the field of bodybuilding is the same as in the aesthetic field, but multiplying the doses. Here science points out that although it is true that the BPC-157 can ‘heal’ tissues, at the moment it has not been approved by the EMA or the FDA for this use because there are a lack of studies to support its safety and the recommended dosage. Furthermore, playing with hormonal levels does not come for free, and without going any further, enhancing the release of growth hormone to have more muscle increases IGF-1 levels. And this in the long term can cause insulin resistance and, therefore, open the door to type 2 diabetes in several years. That is why the recommendation is always to avoid their consumption without medical supervision and logically if they have not been approved by the agencies responsible for drug control. Images | Norbert Buduczki In Xataka | Magnesium, creatine, collagen: we are taking supplements above what science believes is useful

The world became obsessed with pistachios because of Dubai chocolate. Now the war has turned it into a trap

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The last few years have been anything but quiet for the pistachio industry. First ‘Dubai chocolate’ fever Its demand skyrocketed, straining supply chains and skyrocketing prices. Now the Iran conflict has struck a blow to its market, causing an earthquake whose consequences are still difficult to predict. For now there are already analysts warning that the fruit is beginning to be priced at highs that have not been seen for almost a decade. The big question is… And now what? What has happened? That the pistachio market is showing signs that it does not remain immune to the Middle East conflict, something that is otherwise expected if we take into account that Iran is one of the large world producers of this dried fruit. The alarm signal was raised by Bloomberg, which on Monday warned that the conflict is already affecting the price of pistachios in the markets. Their analysis is based on measurements from Expana Markets, a British firm specialized in the agri-food sector, which assures that in March the pound of pistachios reached $4.57the highest value since May 2018. Is it important? Yes. The pistachio market is very broad, it moves billions and it is supplied from more suppliers than Iran, so Expana’s data should be taken as a clue. Even so, they are interesting for their context. The pistachio had already experienced a price increase in recent years, driven by its popularization in the the drinks and food in general and especially for the enormous success of Dubai chocolate, a sweet made with cocoa and pistachios. After TikTok was filled with viral videos about its tablets, the price of grain skyrocketed: Bloomberg estimates that between the end of 2023 and 2025, Expana’s reference value for the US rose 30%. Are there more indicators? Yes. In Spain we have the platform data Pistachio Prowhich shows the increase in prices that the different varieties of grain have experienced in recent years in the Lonja de Albacete. A few months ago, in fact, the website informed that the price of Kerman-type grain had reached a “historical record” in both conventional and organic grains. Globally, a year ago Financial Times I already warned that Dubai chocolate was straining global pistachio supplies, driving up prices. Does the war in Iran have that much influence now? Yes. And for several reasons. The main one is that Iran does not occupy just any place on the world pistachio map. Although his weight is nowhere near what it was a few decades ago, when he hoarded good part of global production, the Islamic Republic continues to be the second largest breadwinner on the planet, only behind the United States. USDA estimates in fact indicated that during the 2025/2026 season its production would be around 200,000 metric tons, 18% of world production. They are 80,000 tons more than the third country by volume, Türkiye, and 160,000 tons more than the contribution of the entire EU. Some analysts it’s been several weeks warning that Iranian crops may be affected by the impact of the war on energy and water supplies for irrigation, in addition to problems with infrastructure. This is without, of course, taking into account the blow that the conflict has dealt to maritime traffic and the entire logistics chain. Some voices even have slipped in which the Iranian pistachio industry has been directly punished by the bombings. Are there more factors? The answer is once again affirmative. The war has tightened the rope, but the reality is that the pistachio trade was not going through its best moment in Iran. The industry has not been immune to the sanctions and geopolitical tensions that preceded the attack launched by the US and Israel on February 28. Neither, remember Bloombergto the repression with which Tehran responded to the protests internal. Even the harvest would have been lower than expected. All these factors also impact the supply of the fruit. “Pistachios are undoubtedly sensitive to disruptions in the Middle East, given the region’s role as a producer, transit hub and destination,” warns Nick Moss of Expana Markets. Tehran is also a key supplier of pistachio to the gigantic Indian market, which has now seen its supply chains affected, like other nations. “The war has led shipping companies to cancel all new reservations from March 2 for shipments destined for the Middle East,” duck Gyana Ranjan Das, from Grown Point. Does it only affect Iran? At all. If the war in Ukraine in 2022 and that in Iran now demonstrated anything, it is that the effect of bombs and drones is still felt in the countries where the battles are fought, but the disruptions they generate extend to markets and economies around the world. Iranian farmers are not the only ones affected by the conflict. The Strait of Hormuz is key to global shipping oil and ureaso its blockage directly affects the supply (and therefore the costs) of two essential inputs for farmers: fuel and fertilizer. Although there are those who believe that US producers will be the big beneficiaries, in recent weeks media such as Associated Press (AP) or Los Angeles Times They have interviewed California farmers who acknowledge that they have also been harmed by the conflict. one of them assured have merchandise worth five million dollars blocked on ships, fruits that under normal conditions would have already arrived in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. An expectant market. Surely that is the adjective that best defines the current state of the world pistachio market. Expectant. And not only because the second largest producer on the planet is at the center of a conflict that is currently hanging on a very delicate truce. After years marked by increased demand, the sector faces a potential increase in costs, a rise in prices, a decrease in supply and a strangulation of trade. “Even for buyers who do not normally source directly or indirectly from Iran, these supply restrictions could lead to increased competition for stock available elsewhere,” … Read more

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