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Spain planted millions of eucalyptus trees to have cheap wood. 90 years later, we have confirmed that they are a green desert

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If you usually move around the Cantabrian coast, you are surely already familiar with that long and stylized tree that is so abundant in its mountains. However, the eucalyptus already covers 30% of the forest area in areas such as northwest Spain. The omnipresence of the eucalyptus is the result of a forestry policy that started in the 40’s whose main objective was to supply the paper industry: it was cheap, it grew quickly, so it had all the potential to be the ideal candidate to repopulate unproductive forests. Decades later, a scientific study of the University of Santiago de Compostela and the CSIC has put numbers to suspicions: For the fauna, these plantations are almost a desert. The environmental cost of the ubiquitous eucalyptus. This research analyzed 240 areas of native Atlantic forest and eucalyptus forest in the Parque Natural das Fragas do Eume and They found an abysmal difference in richness and abundance of birds. In short: the more eucalyptus there is, the fewer birds live in that area and it is no coincidence. Mature eucalypts cannot replace mature trees as functional habitat and their foliage offers very limited support for birds. The most affected are those that eat insects and those that breed in the holes of old trees, such as the great woodpecker or the great tit. The eucalyptus does not generate enough insects to feed on, it has no undergrowth and it is cut down before it forms the cavities that these birds need to nest. On the less bad side, they have also found a fairly simple solution that does not involve eradicating the eucalyptus: simply letting wild vegetation grow in some areas, without clearing it. Why is it important. Because the role of forest birds is important in the balance of the ecosystem: they regulate insect pests, help in seed dispersal and act as an indicator of environmental health. In fact, the EU Birds Directive 2009/147 obliges member states to conserve bird populations in good condition and this study documents that this obligation is being breached in the most eucalyptus of Galicia and the Cantabrian coast. The situation is more complicated than it seems because already in 2017 the scientific committee of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition recommended include eucalyptus in the Catalog of Invasive Exotic Species in 2017, but the proposal was rejected due to the economy behind it: in Galicia this sector generates 2.5 billion euros annually in wood and paper pulp and employs more than 19,000 people, according to the report A Cadea Forestal-Madeira de Galicia 2025 prepared by XERA. It is a complete conflict of interest. Context. The eucalyptus arrived to the Iberian Peninsula in the 19th century for ornamental and medicinal purposes, but its true boom arrive with the repopulation plans of the Franco regime and the commercial demand for cellulose. Parque Natural das Fragas do Eume, the place where the analysis was carried out, is one of the last remaining coastal Atlantic forests on the Iberian Peninsula. There, eucalyptus plantations are currently the second largest type of forest: 1,340 hectares, only behind the native forest. But the species has already colonized its surroundings. In any case, the problem with eucalyptus trees is not local: in Portugal the eucalyptus already covers more than 800,000 hectares and is the most widespread forest species in the country. according to data from the National Forest Inventory of Portugal prepared by the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas. It is also under scrutiny there due to its relationship with large fires. In fact, on a global scale the scientific community has been documenting for years the impact of eucalyptus on Mediterranean and temperate ecosystems outside its native Australia. In detail. Eucalyptus is a silent killer: it releases chemicals that prevent the growth of other plants under its canopy (allelopathy), which eliminates native shrubs and with them, the insects that feed the birds. Furthermore, since it is cut down every ten or fifteen years, it never ages enough to develop the holes needed for nesting by cave birds such as woodpeckers. The problem does not stay on land: dead eucalyptus leaves release oils and toxic compounds when they reach river courses, harming aquatic insects and amphibians that form the base of the river food chain. Yes, but. The damage to the diversity of the eucalyptus is a reality as undeniable as its socioeconomic importance: it is an economic vector and population fixation in these rural areas and eliminating or restricting its cultivation would have a notable impact in communities where alternatives are not abundant. Hence, the study itself does not call for its eradication, but for something simpler and more practical: leaving strips of vegetation uncut within the plantations so that the native flora can recover and the birds can return. It is a low cost solution that has already proven to be effective in other European contexts. On the other hand, there is the limitation that the study has been carried out in a single forest and is focused on birds. Not all species respond the same. In any case, science does not say that eucalyptus is evil, only that covering 30% of your forests with it has a serious biological toll. In Xataka | The Iberian Peninsula is being invaded: more than 1,200 exotic species have come to stay In Xataka | The Ebro is filling with brown prawns, an invasive species that we are going to find more and more on our plates. Cover | Flickr

We have been growing lettuce in space for years. Now we have discovered that they are more likely to make us sick

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Bad news for astronauts who usually eat healthy. That is, for all astronauts. It has been almost ten years since the crew of the International Space Station consume vegetables they grow themselves in microgravity: lettuce, peppers, radishes. Some hot chili. More recently, the astronauts of the chinese space stationwhich already has lettuce, cherry tomatoes and chiveseven though it hasn’t been in orbit that long. The problem is that space salads They are not as safe for consumption as we thought.. A team of researchers from the University of Delaware has discovered that lettuce and other vegetables grown in microgravity are more prone to contamination by bacteria such as Salmonella. Until now, we thought that under microgravity conditions, plants tend to open their stomata (the small pores in their leaves and stems) more instead of closing them to prevent the invasion of pathogens. However, a recent job from the same laboratory has discovered that at the entrance of Salmonella enterica in the tissue was independent of stomatal density, and that the factor that best predicts it is the variety (cultivar) of lettuce together with the microgravity itself. Friendly bacteria also lose their protective effect In previous studies, researchers explored the use of a friendly bacteria, B. subtilis, as a solution to the problem. However, the bacteria, which on Earth help plants fight pathogens, failed to protect them in it simulated microgravity environmentsuggesting that space significantly changes the interaction between plants and microbes. The finding is important. Not only because it calls into question whether salads on the International Space Station are completely safe, but also because it helps understand the challenges of agriculture in future space colonies. Now, anyway, we have another solution: use red lettuce. Probably, the higher content of phenols and antioxidants protects them from salmonella and the data suggests that selecting varieties with these traits could improve the food security of space crops. With population growth on Earth and the loss of agricultural land, space is an increasingly realistic option for growing food. But if they want prevent a salmonellosis outbreakfuture space farmers better wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water. A previous version of this article was published in February 2024 Image | NASA/Cory Huston In Xataka | NASA astronauts will eat their first lettuce from a garden in space today

“In three or four years it is possible that there will no longer be anyone developing software here”

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SAP is one of the largest software companies in the world, so when its CEO states that in a very short time there will be no one programmingthings are going to get really complicated for software engineers. Christian Klein, CEO of SAP, assured in an interview for Financial Review that: “Software development is the function most affected by AI, and there is a possibility that in three or four years there will no longer be anyone developing software at SAP.” Klein’s statement is not a pressure maneuver on his employees, but is part of a strategy that the manager has been building for months, and which now has a name: the Autonomous Company. A company that wants to reinvent itself from within. SAP has more than 110,000 employees worldwide and is the largest software company in Europe. Of those 110,000 employees, more than 30,000 hold software development positions. That means Klein hopes be able to automate work which today employs more than 27% of its workforce with AI agents. The CEO shares the idea that the vibe coding It allows someone without technical training to generate software from natural language instructions. Klein, just like Like many other senior technology managers, he sees this as the beginning of the end for programmers. as we know it currently. That is, the role of the software developer will no longer be linked to the generation of the code, but to your supervision. SAP does not fire, it replaces. However, what Klein wanted to make very clear is that, although SAP will tend to reduce the number of software developers on its staff, that does not mean that it will lay off its employees. They will simply go to develop other roles within the company to meet new development needs. Klein explains that the workforce will change and product managers, who previously barely programmed, will start working alongside experts from different sectors to create new AI agents. “We need product managers who know how to read code and understand business. Although the demand for developers is low, we need more data scientists,” says the manager. Looking for AI trainers, not programmers. According to data from the latest study On global trends on the future of work prepared by ManpowerGroup, AI skills have surpassed engineering and computer science as the most difficult to find, with 72% of companies having difficulty filling these positions. The profiles Klein describes, product managers who understand how AI works and design AI agents, do not yet exist in quantity. what the industry needs. Developer confidence in the code generated by AI fell from 40% to 29% in a single year. 46% of professionals actively distrust these tools. 45% of the code generated by AI contains errors serious safety issues. Klein talks about a future without programmers, but today’s data shows that human supervision is still the difference between a reliable product and one with holes. In Xataka | Richard Liu, CEO of JD.com: “When robots deliver packages, the day will come when delivery drivers will no longer be needed Image | SAP, Unsplash (Becomes Co)

The Galaxy A27 debuts in Spain with six years of updates and what is necessary to be one of the best-selling mobile phones

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It was taking a while, but the Galaxy A27 it has become official just before July starts. It is the direct successor of the Galaxy A26one of Samsung’s best-selling phones. Is there much evolution between one or the other? Is it worth taking the leap? Let’s see it a little further down, but small spoiler: part of the 349 euros. Mobile – Samsung Galaxy A27 5G, Black, 128 GB, 6 GB RAM, 6.7″ FHD+ Super AMOLED, Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, 5000 mAh, Android 16 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A continuous mobile with six years of updates As Samsung explained in its statement, the mobile will be available starting July 3. However, we can now buy it at MediaMarkt, both in its version with 6+128 GB (which costs 349 euros) and the one with 8+256 GB, available for 439 euros. There aren’t many changes between this phone and its predecessor, both good and bad. This means that, despite being an affordable mobile phone, it continues to maintain its six years of updates guaranteed. He Galaxy A27 It arrives with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 under the hood, a 4nm chip. This, together with the 6 or 8 GB of RAM memory (depending on the model we choose), will offer us more than enough performance for the most common apps. In addition, it has a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen with Full HD+ resolution, 120 Hz and a maximum brightness level of 800 nits. As for the battery, it comes with what is expected in this range: a 5,000 mAh battery with 25W fast charging. It is true that fast charging is fair, but Samsung optimizes its phones very well, so we can expect an autonomy of approximately a day and a half. Like all your current phones, we will also have many AI functions thanks to Galaxy AI and Gemini. At a photographic level, it has three cameras on the back, where its 50 MP main sensor with optical stabilization and an f/1.8 aperture stands out. And, finally, we cannot forget that is compatible with 5G networksBluetooth 5.1 and has a fingerprint sensor located on the side button. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: Galaxy a27 ✅ THE BEST Six years of updates: It is one of the biggest assets of Samsung’s Galaxy A. It makes the phone last longer. Many AI tools: One UI brings many artificial intelligence tools and they work at a very high level, as is the case with the image eraser. ❌ THE WORST High launch price: The phone has increased in price compared to the previous generation, so it is a bit expensive at launch. Fair fast charging: A 25W fast charge is already starting to be very poor, especially if we take into account what other phones in the same price range have. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for a Samsung phone because you like its ecosystem, you want it to have many years of updates and you don’t want to pay too much. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You are a user who needs their mobile phone to have more power, faster charging or a better camera. You can do very well there. Galaxy S25. You may also be interested Samsung Galaxy A26 5G 256GB Mobile Phone, Amazing Intelligence, 6GB RAM, 50MP Camera, Mint, 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty + 1 Extra Year The price could vary. We earn commission from these links XIAOMI POCO The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Samsung In Xataka | Best truly wireless earbuds (TWS) with noise cancellation. Which one to buy and seven recommended models In Xataka | Best mobile phones 2026. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

The legal shield of the wolf has been cracking for years. Now the majority of communities in Spain have opened the door to hunting them

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Maybe not at the level of the housing or corruption, but in the political chronicle of recent years there has been a topic of debate that has exacerbated tempers: the wolf. From 2022 The European and Spanish institutions are immersed in a thorny debate about the degree of protection of the Canis lupuswhether it should be allowed to be hunted or whether it remains vulnerable. The result of this tug of war has not been exactly positive for the species, whose legal shield It has been eroding little by little. Now just received a new setback in Spain, where the majority of communities have made it clear that they don’t look with evil eyes his hunting. What has happened? That the legal status of the wolf has just received a new setback in Spain, where it has become clear (for the umpteenth time) that everything related to the management of the herds is a matter of political dispute. To understand it, we have to go back to last Monday, when the majority of communities and the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco) staged their difference of opinions around a report that, in practice, will influence the really relevant issue: whether or not wolf hunting is allowed in Spain. What exactly was discussed? He sexennial report about the situation of the wolf in Spain. Basically it is a study that shows how the country’s herds evolved between 2019 and 2024 and (importantly) concludes whether or not the current conservation status of the species can be considered ‘favorable’. Said like this, it may not seem like a big deal, but that label (‘favorable’ or ‘unfavorable’) in turn influences whether hunting should be allowed. Furthermore, it is a report required by the European Commission (EC) and which is already a year late: Spain should have sent it before July 31, 2025. Why has it taken so long? Because before the report had to go through the Sectoral Environment Conferencea body in which two parties sit with totally opposite positions: the ministry, in favor of considering the situation of the wolf in Spain as ‘unfavorable’, and therefore in need of high protection; and the majority of autonomous communities, who believe that after years of preservation the species is already in a ‘favorable’ situation. And what did they agree? The positions of each other are so far apart that at Monday’s meeting they were put on the table two reportsboth focused on the wolf but with different conclusions. One was made by Miteco and advocated protecting the herds. The other was presented by the Xunta de Galicia and basically concluded that the herds have increased so much since 2019 that we can now speak of an acceptable level of conservation in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. That last one was (by far) the position that received the most endorsements during the meeting. The autonomous governments of Galicia, Andalusia, Cantabria, La Rioja, Region of Murcia, Valencian Community, Aragon, Canary Islands, Extremadura, Balearic Islands, Madrid, Castilla y León and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla supported the report that concludes that the situation of the wolf today in Spain is “favorable.” The only votes against were those of the Government and Catalonia, which delegated to Miteco. Basque Country and Castilla-La Mancha they abstained. What does the Government say? The Minister of Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, claimed on Tuesday that “technical and scientific rigor” prevailed and recalled that the objective of the report should be to show the state of conservation of the species in the last six years. Along similar lines, Jordi Sargatal, from the Government, judged “without scientific basis or value” the report of the communities led by the PP. Miteco has actually advanced that it will send to the European Commission “all the information” on the subject, which would include both studies. Just a year ago the ministry published a census which concluded that in Spain there are 333 herds, 12% more than in the previous census, carried out between 2012 and 2014. Although this data is positive, the Government itself accompanied it with a footnote: that 12% is still insufficient. “Scientists consider that, to ensure long-term genetic viability, 500 herds must be reached.” What do the communities say? They argue that the species has recovered ground, which would justify opening the door to hunters. “The current status of the book is favorable and there is no scientific basis to justify it having a special protection regime,” argues the Xunta. At stake are not the herds, but their impact, as remember Joaquín A. Pino, counselor of Castilla y León, who recalled that ranchers “suffer recurrently” attacks from wolves. “The management of the species must be based on the reality accredited by the six-year report to also protect extensive livestock farming and rural areas,” insist the regional government before remembering that damage to the primary sector has been increasing by more than 10% annually and, only in Castilla y León, was it recorded last year 4,474 attacks from wolves to livestock farms. The compensation for these damages (6,294 dead cattle) exceeded four million. Images | Arturo de Frias Marques (Wikipeda) and AR ® Higher School of the Environment (Flickr) and Mytec In Xataka | Mexico desperately needed Mexicans to care about axolotls. So he put them on the bills

Every 80 years, a new star appears in the sky. According to an astronomer, his new stellar appearance will be tonight

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The sky is as mysterious as it is fascinating. In case it wasn’t enough to have this week the most unpredictable meteor shower of the yeartonight a new star could also appear out of nowhere in the sky. Okay, it doesn’t really appear out of nowhere. It’s always there. The thing is that it is usually invisible to our eyes; But, if an astronomer’s predictions come true, a brutal explosion could make it visible for a few days from today. This is the white dwarf T. Coronae Borealis. This is a binary system composed of a red giant and a white dwarf, in which one of the few recurring novae also forms. of the Milky Way. Until now, only 5 of these explosions have been documented that are repeated from time to time, drawing a new bright point in the sky. The last time T. Coronae Borealis “exploded” was in 1946. It is clear that the next explosion must be soon, although few scientists dare to give a date. Astronomer Jean Schneider, from the Paris Observatory, did dare some time ago to provide 4 possible explosion dates. The first three were not fulfilled. The last one is tonight. Better to look at the sky in case the flies. Most scientists believe that the next explosion of this recurring nova must be soon, but they believe that there is no way to calculate an exact date. However, Schneider has a different hypothesis. Although T. Coronae Borealis has always been considered a binary system, he believes that, in order for the explosions that have already been documented to occur, a third astronomical object is necessary. This would not only increase the intensity of the explosion, but also makes calculations easier. Thanks to that, he estimated four dates. The first three have passed without pain or glory. The last one is the night of this June 25. Therefore, he recommends setting your sights on the constellation Corona Borealis and looking for a new bright point. As bright as the North Star. Companion stars that engulf each other. Beyond Schneider’s predictions, what is known at the moment is that in T. Coronae Borealis, located 3,000 light years from Earth, there are two stars: a red giant and a white dwarf. Both rotate around each other, with an orbit of 227 days, in a process in which, from time to time, the red giant becomes unstable due to an increase in pressure and temperature and begins to expel its outermost layers into space, forming an accretion disk around it. Little by little, the gravitational attraction of the white dwarf pushes the material from that accretion disk towards it. In a way, the white dwarf “feeds” on its companion. It is a process in which the atmosphere heats up, until a very intense thermonuclear reaction occurs in the form of an explosion. A change of brightness. Normally, T. Coronae Borealis is magnitude 10. This equates to a brightness that is minimally on the edge of what can be seen with binoculars. The brightness increases inversely proportional to the magnitude: if it decreases, the star appears brighter. When the explosion occurs, the magnitude drops abruptly to a figure between 2 and 3, making it look very very bright. For a few days, a little less than a week, it shines brightly. similar to that of the polar star. Blasts from the past. This phenomenon was observed in 1866when the magnitude fell to 2, and in 1946, when it was around 3. In the second case it was possible to study much more thoroughly and something interesting was seen. That the magnitude did not suddenly fall from 10 to 3, but rather, as the white dwarf warmed its atmosphere, signs began to be detected. Starting in 1938, the magnitude had begun to decrease to 9 and the star’s brightness was more bluish. He was getting ready. The constellation is located between Hercules and Bootes It’s happening. After the 1946 explosion, the magnitude of T. Coronae Borealis was fixed at 10.2. However, in February 2015 it dropped to 10. It was a striking figure, which became even more interesting just a year later, when in 2016 it dropped again to 9.2. The shine also began to look more blueish. The same thing was happening as in 1938 and since then there have continued to be fluctuations around 9. Since then it was 8 years until the explosion, it was calculated that there should be another explosion in 2024, but it never occurred. We are already in 2026 and at the moment nothing; But, for Schneider, the moment of truth could be today. You can track the brightness. There are websites where you can track the brightness of the stars. This is, for example, the case of the website of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. In it, when entering T CrB in the search engine, we see that the magnitude is currently 9.9. Most experts believe that Schneider does not have sufficient evidence of the existence of a third object to validate his observations. The shine does not seem to have fallen again. Still, at some point the explosion should occur. What if you don’t go out to look and you miss it? Image | NASA | E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani In Xataka | We have been studying the planets of TRAPPIST-1 for years with great hope. James Webb just knocked it down

work until 70 years old

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In 1889, Otto von Bismarck invented the public retirement pension in Germany and set the retirement age at 70 years. At that time, only a lucky few made it alive to collect it. Now, 137 years later, Germany has proposed recovering that age limit so that its employees can retire. So that they later say that history is not cyclical and pendulous. As and how to collect ReutersChancellor Friedrich Merz last week presented a 33-point plan to reform the German pension system. Merz’s plan has a priority objective: that the pension system does not collapse. To achieve this, the German chancellor is betting on a package of measures that involves working more and forgetting about early retirement. Germany doesn’t get it right. Germany has one of the oldest pension systems in the world, but also one of the most stressed. Germany’s problem is an old acquaintance for Spain: every time there are fewer workers to pay the pensions of more and more retirees. According to data According to the German Federal Statistics Office, there are now 33 pensioners for every 100 people of working age. In 2070, that figure could reach 61 pensioners for every 100 contributors. That means less than two workers per retiree. By 2035, the forecast is that one in four Germans will be over 67 years old. With the current financing system, today’s German workers pay the pensions of today’s retirees. Without a sufficient workforce to contribute contributions, the scheme does not hold. and the baby boomers They are reaching retirement right now. We live longer, we work more. The most striking proposal of those presented by Merz is to link the legal retirement age to life expectancy in Germany. That is, since we live longer, employees must also contribute for more years. The easiest way to do this is to delay the minimum legal age for retirement. Currently, anyone who retires before 2023 will be able to do so at 67, just like that in Spain. However, with the new plan that the Foreign Ministry has put on the table, that age would rise to 67.5 years in 2041, to 68 in 2051, and would evolve until reaching 70 years by the end of 2090. We are not facing a sudden change, but rather the executive seeks to progressively adapt to the demographic ramp of its population, trying to cushion the strong impact that the planned mass retirement will entail. for the next decade. Merz sold it as a guarantee for young people: “No citizen has to worry,” he said. The system, according to him, is not going to collapse, but “All the elements of this reform package must be implemented quickly and make up a comprehensive concept that only works as a whole.” Goodbye to retirement at 63. In addition to extending the legal age to access retirement, the German Chancellor’s proposal is complemented by a tightening of the requirements to qualify for early retirement, the so-called Rent mit 63the formula that allows you to retire at age 63 without penalty if you have contributed for 45 years. It is estimated that about 270,000 Germans take refuge each year in a early retirement without penalty. Unions see it as a direct blow to blue-collar workers. In statements collected By DW, Christiane Benner, leader of IG Metall, pointed out that the proposal “completely ignores” the conditions of those who work in factories or construction, because spending the last few years behind a computer is not the same as spending the last few years on a scaffold. To reduce this difference, the Government proposes that those who cannot continue for health reasons have easier access to this early retirement, which will no longer be automatic for those workers with long-term careers. The Swedish model as inspiration. Along with the changes in the retirement age, the package of measures proposed by Merz also points to a change in the way in which Germany manages its employees’ pension funds, opting to invest part of them in capital markets. The chancellor has not invented anything that is not already being applied in other European countries. An example would be the swedish systemwhere 2.5% of employees’ salaries go to individual accounts that are invested in funds. In Germany, the proposal is to start with an additional 0.5% on the salary and gradually reach 2%. Each worker would have their own account. Merz estimates that the fund would channel at least 30,000 million euros a year to the markets. Critics warn that the stock market could fall, and that a sharp decline at the wrong time could pose a serious risk to the liquidity of the pension system. In Xataka | Collecting two retirement pensions is the dream of any worker. What we didn’t know is that Social Security allows it Image | Unsplash (Maheshkumar Painam, Oxana Melis)

Italy planted millions of fir trees to protect the Alps. 90 years later they have discovered that biodiversity has been reduced by half

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The ecologist Aldo Leopold wrote a phrase that would end up defining all modern conservation in 1949: “maintaining each piece is the first rule of ecological intelligence.” He said it decades before science could measure it, but today studies like the one in the Alps Italians demonstrate the extent to which removing pieces of an ecosystem can seem invisible… until generations pass. A forest that seemed like a solution. In the 1930s, Italy by Benito Mussolini He decided that the best way to stabilize the Alps was to cover them with trees. The logic seemed impeccable: stop erosion, ensure wood for the future and display an image of order and national productivity. For this they chose norwegian sprucea fast-growing conifer, straight trunk and profitable wood. Thousands of hectares of alpine meadows and native forests were razed to plant dense, homogeneous rows of this species. For decades, that decision was sold as a forestry engineering success. From afar, those green forests looked healthy. But almost a century later, science has discovered that beneath that appearance a silent impoverishment was hidden. Ninety years later, the ecological bill. The studyled by ecologist Gianalberto Losapio and published in the journal Ecology, analyzed two areas of the Italian Prealps, near Lake Como: Monte Bisbino and Vicere Alp. There, the researchers They compared three habitats Neighbors: spruce plantations, native deciduous forests and traditional alpine grasslands. During five months of field work they identified 136 plant species and 201 arthropod species. The results were devastating. In plantations there was a median of only seven plant species per plot, compared to 18.5 in native forests and 37 in grasslands. Translated: more than 50% less diversity than in natural forests and almost 75% less than in the pastures. The problem of planting only one type of tree. The big mistake was believing that more trees automatically equaled more nature. Monoculture works well to produce wood, but It’s an ecological trap. When a landscape is filled with a single species, complexity disappears, because each plant, insect and microorganism plays a role in the ecosystem. Reducing this variety implies reducing resistance to diseases, pests or extreme phenomena. In the Italian Alps, diverse landscapes were replaced by uniform blocks coniferousand the result was a brutal simplification of the ecological network. What seemed like reforestation ended up being a substitution of biodiversity for productivity. A: Location of the study sites. B: Satellite image of the Monte Bisbino site. C: Satellite image of the Alpe del Vicerè site. Satellite images B and C represent the location of the fixed plots. “SM” = monoculture spruce plantations, “DF” = native deciduous forest and “GR” = grassland (prairie/mountain grassland). Map data: Google, Maxar Technologies Darkness as a silent weapon. The norway spruce It has a key characteristic: it is perennial. While beech, maple or chestnut trees lose their leaves and allow light to reach the ground in spring, the spruce maintains a closed canopy all year round. It is not trivial. In fact, that difference changes everything. Many alpine plants flower precisely in that window of early light, before the forest canopy closes. Under a spruce plantation, that opportunity disappears because the ground remains in constant shade and many species simply cannot survive. That is, it is not an open competition, it is a physical and permanent exclusion. The ground was also transformed. There is more, because the damage did not remain on the surface. Spruce needles acidify the soil as they accumulate over decades. The researchers found 25% more organic carbon in these plantations, although that did not mean greater fertility. It was just the opposite: organic matter decomposed more slowly, a sign of lower biological activity. Not only that. The balance between carbon and nitrogen also I was upsetindicating slower and less efficient nutrient cycling. In simple terms, the forest continued to accumulate remains because the system had lost the capacity to recycle them. It was a stuck ecosystem. A poorer and more fragile forest. Beyond the number of species, scientists measured something even more important: the “functional uniformity”that is, how ecological roles are distributed within the plant community. In spruce plantations, this index was 30% lower than in natural forests. That means less balance and more vulnerability. It’s not just that there are fewer species, but rather that entire functions within the system are missing. Some niches were left empty and many ecological jobs stopped being done. In other words, the forest is still there, but it works worse. It didn’t even create a new ecosystem. The researchers of the study said that one of the most revealing findings was verifying that these plantations they did not generate a new community adapted to the spruce. In fact, no specialized boreal species appeared nor a new equilibrium built. No, what they found was a version mutilated of the original forest: the same species as always, but less numerous and diverse. The spruce did not bring new life, it simply eroded what already existed. The insects resisted better, but with nuances. The only less alarming data appeared in the soil arthropods. Its diversity barely varied between plantations and natural forests. Reasons? Scientists believe that this due to their mobility and their ability to move between nearby habitats. Be that as it may, even here there is caution among experts. Soil chemistry suggests that microbial activity and the finer network of underground life have also changed, although they were not directly measured. The surface may give an image of partial recovery, but the subsoil continues to tell another story. The global lesson that comes too late. If you also want, what happened in Italy is not a historical rarity. Today, a good part of the global reforestation commitments continue exactly this model: plant quickly, cheaply and uniformly to meet climatic and accounting objectives. According to previous studies cited by the authorshalf of the areas committed to forest restoration in the world are monocultures of non-native species. Although it is an efficient formula in the short term … Read more

He believes that in 20 years millions of people will live there

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Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, does not stand still since the tycoon moved to Florida to be closer to their headquarters. Now Bezos has given an enlightening talk about how he sees the future of the space sector. The businessman believes that millions of people will voluntarily live in space in 20 years. Don’t be sad. During a talk with John Elkann (president of Ferrari and Stellantis) at the Italian Tech Week TurinBezos did not mince his words. The tycoon said he did not understand how “someone who is alive right now can be discouraged” about the future. The reason for your optimism? A near future where artificial intelligence, robotics and, above all, space exploration, converge in “multiple golden ages.” The future of humanity is not only on Earth; according to Jeff Bezos, it is about to expand exponentially through space. The role of Blue Origin. “I think in the next couple of decades, there will be millions of people living in space; that’s how quickly this is going to accelerate,” said Bezos, who I had already confessed in the past his expectation that Blue Origin will end up being bigger than Amazon. This optimism is not just rhetorical. Bezos is investing billions of his personal fortune each year to build new technologies for the commercial exploitation of space: New Glenn, Blue Origin’s heavy rocket successfully completed its first mission for NASA: launching the two probes of the ESCAPADE mission heading to Mars (the probes will set their final course for the red planet in November 2026). Blue Origin He also recovered the first stage of the rocket on the high seas, becoming the second private company in the world to achieve this. However, the year 2026 has been complicated: in May, the fourth New Glenn exploded on its only launch pad during a static power-up, destroying towers and key infrastructure. NASA estimates that the platform will not be repaired before 2028. Orbital Reef, the commercial space station in the form of a luxury hotel for millionaires that will have scientific modules for when the International Space Station is removed from orbit. The project overcame a series of habitability tests with real people within full-scale models of its modules, within the framework of NASA’s space station development program, which foresees that the first private platforms will replace the ISS in the second half of this decade. bluemoon, the lunar module with which Blue Origin It aims to surpass Starship by solving one of the big problems of the SpaceX ship: the evaporation of cryogenic propellants in space. NASA has assigned Blue Moon the mission Lunar Base Ischeduled for fall 2026, which will land at the lunar south pole. Blue Moon will also participate in the Artemis III mission (2027, in low Earth orbit) and in Artemis IV, the first manned lunar landing scheduled for early 2028. The explosion of the New Glenn complicates the launch schedules, although NASA is working to undock the lunar module from the rocket so as not to delay the mission. Other lunar developments, such as the ability to make solar cells from lunar regolith. Bezos was clear: “If you’re going to go to the Moon and stay on the Moon, you need to use the Moon’s resources.” Exploit the Moon and space. One of Bezos’ goals is to turn the Moon into an industrial launch pad. “The Moon is a gift from the universe,” he said, noting that its low gravity makes it cost 30 times less energy to launch a kilogram of mass from the Moon than from Earth. In his vision, the Moon becomes a “rocket fuel depot” that will allow us to explore the rest of the solar system. Bezos’ vision directly connects the space race with the other great revolution of the moment: artificial intelligence. AI is a technology with an enormous energy thirst, and its data centers are becoming a true “energy hole” on Earth. Bezos’ solution: get them off the planet. The proposal is build gigantic data centers of gigawatts in space. The advantages are obvious: “We have solar power there 24/7, and solar power there has no clouds, no rain, no weather.” It’s not science fiction. In fact, Bezos predicts that this apparent science fiction will be economically viable very soon: “We will be able to surpass the cost of terrestrial data centers in space within the next two decades.” Space, he believes, will go from being a place for communications satellites to being the center of heavy industry and data infrastructure. In the end, Bezos’ vision unifies all the revolutions underway. If AI and robotics will take over production, what is left for humans? According to him, the freedom to choose. Bezos doesn’t believe we need to live in space to survive. Robotics technology will be so advanced that “we will be able to send robots to do that job.” So why will those millions of people go? Bezos’ answer is simple: “The majority will live there because they want to.” A version of this article was published in November 2025 In Xataka | The first civilian to take a spacewalk with Polaris Dawn is a millionaire, but he also pilots fighter jets Images | Blue Origin

200,000 years ago humans already made their beds, although in their own way. We know it thanks to a remote cave in Africa

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We know that bed frames emerged a long time ago. more than 5,000 yearsthat Tutankhamun was buried next to several cots (including one foldable) or that in the Middle Ages it was not unusual for people to sleep in closetsbut… How did our most remote ancestors, the prehistoric humans who spent their nights in caves, manage to rest? Did they have beds? And if so, how were they prepared? Did they do something similar to the sheet changes? A remote cave located on the border between South Africa and Eswatini just cleared some of those unknowns. And their answers are fascinating. The science of sleep. Few things come more naturally and spontaneously to us than sleeping, but that doesn’t mean it’s a simple matter. Not at least for researchers who are dedicated to studying rest from a scientific perspective, psychological and historicalwhich is precisely what a group of archaeologists has done who has examined several remains of beds in Border Cavea prehistoric site located in the Lebombo mountains with an extensive record that spans from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age. Experts have known about the cave for about 90 years and have been excavating it for decades in search of information about our most remote ancestors, but it still has some surprises in store for them. Recently, for example, they analyzed several sediments at a microscopic level that allowed them to identify something curious: six microfacies with remains that tell us about different types of prehistoric ‘beds’. Beds made basically with plants and ash. Why is it important? To begin with, because the remains located by archaeologists in Border Cave cover a very broad period of time. It is known that the cavern was occupied during a period that extends between 220,000 and 43,000 years back. In fact, the remains of beds date back to between 161,000 and 43,000. Some are even older and date back to 200,000 years ago. As if that were not enough, there is another key fact: there are not many strata studied with a level of detail like that of Border Cave. Experts had already analyzed vestiges in Shibhudu or the deposit of Diepkloofboth in South Africa, but the new sediments have allowed them to go one step further and better understand what resting areas were like in Prehistory. Vegetable beds. One of the conclusions reached by the researchers is that the beds were made with herbs Panicoideaea subfamily of grasses. and reeds. With these materials, the inhabitants of Border Cave created different types of ‘beds’, some with patterns very similar to those seen in other sites in Africa and others apparently novel. “We describe six microfacies stratigraphic characteristics identified in the Border Cave deposits, which cover a period between 200,000 and 43,000 years,” the researchers point out in a study published in Journal of Archaeological Science. “Several match those described at Sibhudu and Diepkloof, although with small and potentially significant differences. Three microfacies, associated with more recent ‘grass mats’, have no published equivalents.” The trail of ash. In the cave, archaeologists have not only found remains of plants. They also located ash. Revealing ash deposits under the plant beds that leave behind some interesting ideas and tell us about how they prepared the ‘beds’ tens of thousands of years ago. For example, archaeologists report that thousands of years ago the inhabitants of Border Cave could use ash as a resource to keep their resting areas dry and warm and keep insects away. Another possibility is that they burned old vegetation to add new one, an idea that is not exactly new. “The construction of plant-based beds and their maintenance with the burning and addition of fresh material has received increasing attention in the search for the origins of modern human behaviors,” recognize. Looking at our ancestors. Another telling clue is that not all Border Cave is the same. Archaeologists have seen important differences depending on the age of the deposits, something that can be seen in the burned remains or the concentrations of phytoliths. For example, the more modern ‘beds’, those between 60,000 and 43,000 years old, are less fragmented and also appear to have been less burned and walked on. “New evidence pointing to the deliberate placement of ash on surfaces prior to bed construction is ambiguous, but the creation of beds over existing or purposefully displaced ash deposits was clearly common practice across all occupations,” ditch. Images | Wikipedia 1 and 2 Images | In 1938, two scientists locked themselves in a cave with one goal: to create 28-hour days.

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