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A technology 20 years ago took Ukraine to the Russian bombers. Moscow’s response comes from China: a laser cannon

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With the passing of the days, more data about The covert operation which carried out Ukraine in the heart of the air bases of Moscow. Recall: a swarm of more than 100 drones hidden in trucks managed to destroy an important part of the Russian fleet of Strategic bombers. Now the technology that made Spiderweb, and what is Russia’s response to contain Ukrainian drones: a laser weapon … from China has been revealed. Cheap drones and free software. As I counted The medium 404behind the flight of the army of drones was not a sophisticated and secret technology. On the contrary, the devices were driven By Ardupilotopen source software created two decades ago by unmanned aviation enthusiasts. The use of this software, a free system originally designed for civil tasks such as agriculture, rescue or mapping, allowed Ukraine to coordinate that swarm of drones with autonomous navigation functions, air stabilization, waiting modes and contingencies for signal loss, even in a hostile environment saturated with interference and without GPS. Born of leisure … for war. Ardupilot He was born in 2007 of the personal project From Chris Andersonformer editor of the Wired media, who with Lego and Arduino pieces He built a drone browsing system that would later evolve in an open overall source community. What began as a homemade and collaborative experiment ended up being the operational core of a great impact military offensive. As He counted the mediumthe astonishment of its creators in the face of the war use of its software was notable: they never imagined that a tool designed for civil use would end up helping to destroy Russian strategic fighters. Although The website De Ardupilot promotes its use “for the peaceful benefit of all”, its open character makes it impossible to restrict. Irony resides that, while large corporations develop closed and expensive armamentUkraine has managed to use free access tools to execute attacks that remodeled the balance of power. Internet. What happened also leaves another teaching. The technological war between Ukraine and Russia is also a Communities Warforums and repositories. The software that allowed the attack developed collectively over years by programmers and fans distributed worldwide, many of which never imagined that their work would be used in combat. Neither Ardupilot nor its creators can prevent it, and although its code of conduct explicitly facilitates militarization, there is no restrictive license: knowledge is already in the hands of Who wants to use it. In the context of the current conflict, this means a silent revolution: it is not only the armies that free wars, but also free software developers. Ardupilot The Made in China answer. Before the gigantic industry Of low -cost drones that is hitting its troops, Russia has revealed an unprecedented development: a Chinese laser system To tear down drones, they report several Telegram proruse channels. Although it has not yet been officially confirmed, Images and videos disseminated They show a military vehicle shooting a laser beam capable of drilling metal plates and setting fire to drones in full flight. The appearance of the system coincides with the characteristics of the SHEN NUNG 3000 OR THE 5000 MODELan anti -gluvated weapon presented by China and that would also have been delivered to Iran. Analysts of the International Institute for Strategic Studies They point out thatalthough with some modifications, the system used by Russian forces has been derived directly of Chinese design. In fact, Russian military have confirmed that it is already In the hands of units as The Spetsnaz of the nomadic unit, and have even celebrated its effectiveness as an advance against previous technologies considered ineffective or excessively expensive. SHEN NUNG China, Iran and Russia. The entrance of this technology expands the analysis. The growing cooperation Technological between Beijing, Moscow and Tehran is reflected in the circulation of systems Like Shen Nungdeveloped by the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics. Although its operational use is still limited and its real abilities have not been tested in high -intensity scenarios, its mere presence on the battlefield indicates a qualitative change: the powers that seek to challenge the western order are sharing advanced capabilities, many of them before reserved for a handful of countries. Plus: The appearance of this system in Russian territory coincides with recent information that indicates that they will also go I would be using itconfirming that it is available in the market and has already been exported. From Ukraine to the Middle East. The use of laser weapons is not exclusive to the Moscow-Pekín-Teherán axis, of course. Israel has also recently deployed Your Iron Beam system (known as Magen or in Hebrew) to intercept Hezbollah dronesa weapon that combines response speed, precision and low cost per shot. The Israeli system, developed by Rafael and the Air Force, is still in the final test phase, but has already been used in combat. United States, meanwhile, has deployed experimental units of laser weapons in advanced positions and ships, although the advances have been slower than expected due to technical challenges such as the sensitivity of the components, thermal limits and reduced efficacy in adverse environmental conditions. Promise and fragility. Be that as it may, and although these weapons represent a significant advance in the anti -aircraft defense, They are still vulnerable: They have a limited scope, their performance depends on the weather, and require specialized maintenance. Even so, in an environment where drone swarms are increasingly frequent and difficult to intercept with traditional systems, lasers offer a solution attractive. Their low cost per shoot and their ability to operate without physical ammunition make them an emerging alternative, especially for countries that seek to overcome technological asymmetries. Between codes and science fiction. The irruption of a Chinese laser system In the Russian-Ukrainian Front marks a turning point in the use of directed energy weapons and in the global geostrategic dynamics. What until recently seemed a matter of fantastic literature is now a real instrument of combat and deterrence. In parallel, Ukraine has been able … Read more

We have been listening for years that commercial calls end. The problem is that they never end

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Next June 7 Mobile use will be prohibited to make commercial calls. From that moment “they will have to be done from a prefix from a province or from an 800 or 900 number,” said the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López. It is an important news in the fight against telephone spam, but the problem is that it is not enough, and most likely we continue to receive these types of annoying calls. Eternal fight against unwanted commercial calls In June 2023 It entered into force he last change of the General Telecommunications Law (LGT) that establishes that we cannot receive commercial calls without prior consent. However, Made the law, made the trapbecause the problem is that they can continue calling us if previously We gave our consent. The question is, did we give it? The truth is that yes, because a good part of these communications we have authorized when hiring various services, opening accounts on the Internet or filling business forms. In these documents there are usually clauses that we implicitly accept when leaving our data. According to the modification of the LGT, there are two exceptions that allow companies to make calls to users: If we have expressed prior consent in the contract: The normal thing is that we have granted it without realizing it. In many cases we even authorize third companies to call us if they are related to the contracted services. If the company has a legitimate interest in communication: that “legitimate interest“For example, in the case of calls to improve the service and offer discounts. In those cases they are not considered unwanted communications. Both exceptions are reasonable, but in practice companies are using them abusive. The new reform that will enter into force this Saturday, June 7, was announced months ago. It does not completely solve that problem, even if it mitigates it. There will be no commercialized calls made from mobile phones, but calls with international origin will be blocked, another method that advertisers They took the opportunity to continue “frondo” To users to unwanted commercial calls. The previous consent will have an expiration date Even more striking is the fact that the traditional “trap” that companies had used may no longer have indefinite validity. Thus, the previous consent we had granted will have a two -year “expiration”. From that moment It must be renewed. In this new reform of the regulations there are two other interesting measures that can help mitigate the problem a little more: Nullity of contracts: If we receive an unwanted commercial call and sign a contract for that call, said contract will be considered null and we can request your nullity. Registration of senders: As operators will maintain a record of authorized numbers for commercial calls: if the sender is not registered in the registry, the calls will be blocked. These measures may not eliminate the problem completely, but it is reasonable to think that they will reduce the number and frequency of unwanted commercial calls. We will continue to receive commercial calls The reforms of the General Telecommunications Law leave the doors open to companies can continue to contact users. To start and as we said, they can only do it from a prefix of a province OA through numbers 800 and 900. This type of messages and spoofing calls will probably continue being one of the traditional cyber attacks. But in addition to the calls we receive from such numbers for having given prior consent, there are two others: Operators: The law establishes a period of up to 12 months since the decline of a telephone company is caused so that those responsible can make calls in order to retain or bring the client back. Fraud and scams: It is something that companies fail to stop and continue to suffer. Through Spoofing ‘techniques They manage to falsify the sending of messages and calls to deceive users. The government has been raising solutions In this regard, but for the moment the problem persists. Many measures, no definitive The condemnation of commercial calls (whether real or scams) is limited, but seems difficult to eliminate it completely in the short term. The reforms that the government has been carrying out for two years have contributed to limiting the ways in which companies take advantage of this resource, and the end of commercial calls from mobile number is a good sample of this. However, there will continue to exceptions in them we will continue to receive commercial calls. The Robinson list It will continue to be another of the tools to try to avoid those spam calls, but there will undoubtedly other others such as Google call filter or a new alternative called Stop Advertising. All of them contribute to mitigate one of the big problems for mobile users. One that will be difficult to disappear at all, but to which little by little they are putting more and more obstacles. And meanwhile, a last resort: We can always report. The Spanish data protection agency puts at our disposal A form with which make a formal claim When we detect unwanted commercial calls that violate the law. In Xataka | Solving one of the great mysteries of our time: if it is useful to sign up for the Robinson list In Xataka Mobile | I thought I blocked the so -called spam and it turns out that I was asking to be called. This is how the previous consent works

The motorcycle fever of the 2,000 has brought to the absurd the price of the second hand. There are more expensive than 20 years ago

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The price of second -hand cars It has been triggered for yearsand it is more than usual to find models that cost more today than new four or five years ago. It is a sector that is not alone. The second -hand motorcycle is more expensive than everand it is not necessary to point to especially exclusive editions. Some are selling at exorbitant prices, although with a certain trick. The lucky one. The Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade It is one of the icons of the sports motorcycle. Even more in its Repsol version, painted with the colors of the MotoGP team. It was an especially expensive motorcycle, that was sold for 11,799 dollarsabout 14,000 euros in Spain. Inflation has made its own and, 20 years later, this model is sold (the current CBR1000RR-R Fireblade) is sold for 25,500 euros, a price in the line of what the great Japanese manufacturers ask for for their supercar. The price. The revaluation of a unit in perfect condition of this Honda is shocking. One of them was sold in the London Motorcycle Show for 22,000 pounds, just over 26,000 euros to change. In Motorpasion Moto They echo a second unit, with an estimated price of between 10,000 and 15,000 pounds, waiting for a new owner. He never started. To achieve these figures that exceed the original price, some requirements must be met, some of them especially complex. These units are sold as an old concessionaire stock: they have never been started, conducted or enrolled. They are motorcycles with 20 years on their backs, but without use. It’s not just nostalgia. The fever for the 2,000 superbikes is real, and there is nothing more to see the revaluation of most models in Platforms such as Milanuncios. Motorcycles of 20 years ago with prices that touch the 10,000 euros if the unit is in excellent condition and with “few” kilometers. They are motorcycles specially oriented to circuit, they do not have electronics or the restrictions on emissions of current models, and are seen as authentic candies to enjoy driving in their purest state. Beyond the sports motorcycle. Finding second -hand units almost at the same price as new units is not something exclusive to the supercar motorcycle. According to Anesdor datathe average price of the general motorcycle has risen 30% in the last five years. And, to a higher displacement, greater increase in the price. Despite the slightest attraction in the occasion market, in Spain two occasion motorcycles are sold for each new motorcycle, with an annual growth trend that is around 5% year -on -year. Image | Motorcycle auctix In Xataka | We do not trust the second -hand electric car: its value does not stop falling and it is a problem for the industry

The five years of updates are just the beginning

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The European smartphone faces One of the greatest regulatory changes in its history. One that affects both the way they will have to start producing it and the future of their life cycle. As of June of this year, it will be more durable by law. But there is a B face in this regulatory change. Why the changes. The European Union has published The new mandatory energy labeling and design requirements as of June 20, 2025. The regulations are aimed at prolonging the useful life of this type of product, both in repair and software support and durability of batteries. The commission makes it clear: it wants less phones to be sold, and increase their shelf life through two key points. The ecological design. Manufacturers will have to guarantee minimums in the manufacture of their smartphones. Batteries must endure at least 800 load cycles and download retaining at least 80% of its original capacity. Will be obliged to make consumers available to consumers Criticism spare parts within 5 to 10 working days, for at least 7 years after the end of product sales in the EU. Access will be non -discriminatory for any professional repaire. Must ensure availability of Operating system updates For at least five years. The new label. In order for consumers to be clear about what each smartphone offers in durability, the Commercial labeling In the box of this product category. In itwill be valued from A to G (being the maximum score and g the minimum) how each of the following criteria meets. QR code that leads to the official website of the manufacturer with detailed information about the product. Commercial brand with which the device is identified. Specific name or identifier of the model in question. Energy Efficiency Scale, where A represents the best performance and G the worst. Letter indicating the concrete level of energy efficiency obtained by the device. Battery autonomy time by full load, expressed in hours and minutes. Evaluation of fall resistance, classified from the A (more resistant) to E (less resistant). Repair score, also based on a scale from A to E. Number of load cycles that the battery can support before reducing to 80 % of its initial capacity. Degree of protection against water, dust or immersion, according to the corresponding IP standard. Official number of the applicable regulation: Regulation (EU) 2023/1669. Tablets and exceptions. The changes posed by the EU will apply to all smartphones and tablets. No categories per range or price are established: the regulations will affect from the most economical mobile in the market to the best Flagship. Fixed wireless phones will also be included, which have a cargo station. There are two curious exceptions that are fought from the requirements: Folding mobiles with roller screen and the Computer Tablets (Tablets-PC, convertibles of more than 17.4 inches). Traditional folding are not saved from the new regulations, but those who have a screen that are enrolle. The small print. The changes raised by Europe, of a first glance, seem to play in favor of the consumer. The reality is that they are much more complex than the labeling hides. First, software support is an important expense for manufacturers. Although the current tonic is that it goes more, with cases such as Samsung, Google and manufacturers as honor offering between six and seven years of updatesthese update policies usually cover the most popular devices. The entrance ranges are the devices that offer the least margin to manufacturers, and prolong the support of a low -cost device that stopped being marketed years ago will involve extra costs. Extra costs that, depending on the commercial success of the device, They will be more or less assumable by the manufacturer himself. No one talked about versions. Europe will force manufacturers to update their devices for five years, but it is not detailed that it is strictly necessary to update the Android version. A two -year version support and three system updates is one of the most probable scenarios after the application is these new measures. It is also the most plausible solution to a problem related to the hardware of the input range devices: not all support five years of operating system versions maintaining decent performance. Image | Xataka, KDG2020 In Xataka | The EU opens the iPhone by force: the European model will never be the same again

We have just discovered a Mayan city of more than 2,800 years in Guatemala. And rethink the history of the region

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The jungle of Peténnorth of Guatemala, he continues to surprise historians who are dedicated to exploring pre -Columbian history. There, near the border of Mexico, archaeologists have discovered a fascinating “Urban triangle” formed by three old cities that stand out for their architecture and heritage. Among all the most surprising is “the grandparents”, an important Mayan ceremonial center of More than 2,800 years of antiquity that takes its name of two pieces discovered by the experts: sculptures of an elderly couple who were probably used for rituals related to the cult of ancestors. The experts They recognize That the findings open the door to rethink what we know about ceremonies, society and pre -Hispanic politics in northern Guatemala. Beyond Uaxactun. For centuries the Mayan civilization extended in the south of what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, shaping a rich culture that dates back At least 2,000 ACreached its splendor during the 5th century of our era and declined in the post -classic stage, from X to XIII. During that wide period the Maya created great populations, as uaxactúna site located in the Petén region, in Guatemala. For some time, Guatemalan archaeologists have looked, however, beyond Uaxactún, towards the jungles of Petén, in search of old pre -Columbian cities. Hence, in 2009 they would boost the Uaxactún Archaeological Project (Paru), which explores a vast area of ​​around 1,200 square kilometers (km2) around the old Mayan city. Thanks to him and after more than a decade and a half of work, experts have cataloged about 176 deposits, from small archaeological vestiges to broader settlements. “An urban triangle”. That the researchers have found 176 sites does not mean that they have excavated them all. Over the last years they have observed three attention three, Mayan cities that have been studied thanks to the involvement of several Slovak institutions, including the Enoius University. Their conclusions have just been submitted and reveal Something amazing: an “Urban Triangle so far unknown” that lived its splendor in the Middle Preclassic (800-500 BC) and late and is formed by three cities that barely are far five kilometers each other. The discovery is interesting both for archaeological vestiges themselves and for the horizons they open. “The findings allow to rethink the understanding of the ceremonial and socio -political organization of the pre -Hispanic Petén,” They stand out from the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala. The three archaeological sites that have captured the attention of Guatemalan and Slovak experts and make up that new Mayan urban triangle are Petnal, Cambrayal and the grandparents, the most fascinating of all. A new archaeological jewel. Grandparents is a city dating from the Middle Preclassic (800-500 AC), reaches an extension of some 16 km2 and is located about 21 km northwest of Uxactún. In the opinion of the local authorities, it implies “one of the oldest and most important ceremonial centers of the preclassic in Petén.” In fact they expect light to contribute on the origins of Mayan civilization. His name is due to one of the most curious pieces found by archaeologists: human form sculptures that represent an ancestral couple and that experts relate to ancient worship rituals to ancestors. The initial dating places them towards 500 and 300 BC Architecture for stars. The sculptures however are only a small part of the archaeological treasure of the grandparents. In A statementthe Ministry of Culture highlights its “remarkable architectural planning”, with radial pyramids, triadic groups and sculpted monuments with an iconography of the region. “In addition to the sculptures, grandparents houses a type of architectural set known as group E, used as astronomical observatory,” They clarify. “The disposition of its buildings allows you to register with precision solstices and equinoxes.” Experts have known the Eaxactun Group E for years, but they believe that the one located in the grandparents could be even older. That without having the rest of the vestiges discovered. At the foot of the sculptures of the two ancestors, a human burial was located and not far from there remains of several felines, in addition to offerings of vessels, shells, arrow points and a trail from which archaeologists hope to obtain “valuable information” about the old Mayan settlement. Completing the triangle. The grandparents is the main course of the new findings presented by Guatemala, but not the only one. Another of the outstanding deposits is Petnal, a city that was equipped with a pyramid of 33 meters high decorated with preclassic murals. At their highest point, archaeologists have also discovered a well -preserved stay that still retains remains of painting on stucco with reddish, white and black tones, “another extraordinary discovery”, experts celebrate. Because of its characteristics and architecture, however they believe that, unlike grandparents, which probably acted as a “ceremonial center”, Petnal exercised political center. 57 meters of channels. The third city that completes the urban triangle of Petén is Cambrayal, equipped with a network of 57 meters long channels that part of a palace and extends through the facade. Interestingly, archaeologists believe that the channels, stuped, were not used to bring water to the rooms, but to evict waste, just like a primitive drainage system. Another piece discovered in Cambrayal by experts is a sculpture similar to others located on the southern coast. The Ministry of Culture of Guatemala Point out that the three cities share more than proximity and distribute throughout the petén. They all had a more or less similar story: the settlements remained inhabited during much of the preclassic, ended up abandoned and with the passage of the centuries they enjoyed a second golden age after being rediscovered, rebuilt and again populated, already during the stage called late classic. Images | Ministry of Culture of Guatemala In Xataka | 60 years ago we discovered a hidden gold in the jungle of Peru. Now we know that it was really much more

Ten years ago, we were happy with microSD cards on mobile phones. The manufacturers have killed them for a good reason

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Far was that time when buying a MicroSD card It was practically an essential for our mobile phone. The mobiles from ten years ago They came with a scarce internal memory (8, 16 GB), insufficient for devices that, despite their limitations at the hardware level, recorded Full HD video and had an ecosystem rich in applications. Today, it is increasingly difficult to find devices compatible with this memory expansion. And, yes, this is good news. The golden age of the microSD. There was a time in using an SD was the best possible option on an Android mobile. In fact, the operating system itself allowed to move some of the apps to external memories, releasing the local memory of this load. In 2010, Android 2.2 Froyo He had this option as a native from the adjustments, something that remained immovable until years later. The key was that Android was a much more insecure system than is now. In fact, with Android 6.0 It was possible to expand system storage using microSD cards. The party is over. There are two milestones that mark the progressive disappearance of MicroSD cards on Android. The first is the Popularization of Unibody mobiles: The end of the removable housings. The extra groove to incorporate the SD next to the SIM (or double SIM) hinders stagnant designs, somewhat incompatible with the Current IP protocols They protect the water and dust device. The second reason is imposed by Google with Android, and that is that the operating system was progressively restricting the permissions until they prevent them from moving apps to the SD, limiting it only to the passage of files. Reading speed. As internal memory modules have been improving progressively, reading and writing speed has shot in recent years. A UHS-1 micro SD around 200 MB/s reading speed (speeds that are never reached). EMMC’s most modern standards (slower technology in internal memories, only used in low range) can double this figure. If we talk about UFS memories, standards such as UFS 2.2 around real writing speeds close to GB, something that doubles with UFS 3.1 and almost quadruplica with UFS 4.0. Next to nothing. The size of the apps has increased considerably in recent years, as well as their requirements, and moving them from an SD is not too realistic. The focus on security. By default, the memory of any commercialized Android mobile comes encrypted, something that protects the local data of the device. SD memories do not come with this protection layer, nor do they meet the requirements to do so. Android is an increasingly sure system And, according to the latest data, it is exposed to 90% less malware than in 2016 thanks to the Play Protect scanguaranteed windows of security patches, Automatic reset and constant purge of fraudulent applications in Play Storeamong others. The microSD today. Although relegated in general terms to low -cost mobiles, The MicroSD continues to give a dummy In 2025. If your mobile has support for them, you can continue moving simple apps such as Telegram or Instagram (giants such as WhatsApp do not allow it), and even some games allow you to send part of your reading data to the SD. The same goes for multimedia: nothing prevents us from saving and reproducing content from a microSD card externally. The limitation of speed and stability (if you use a low quality microSD) will be present, but the function has not died at all. A necessary evil. Smartphones manufacturers and Google itself have been closing the door to microSD cards. It is a evil necessary to improve the stability of the system, to make Android a safer platform and continue allowing the apps to grow (in size and requirements) to the frantic rhythm to which hardware evolves. Image | Samsung In Xataka | It is 2024 and I still use an SD card on my mobile: what can I do and what is different about the storage of my phone

More and more countries see how the average age of its population approaches 50 years

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Europe ages. That is not No novelty. Not an exclusive phenomenon of the old continent. In other regions of the planet, such as Japan, South Korea or even ChinaThey also suffer more or less clearly The effects of A demography marked by the collapse of birth rate and the increase in life expectancy. With everything and despite the fact that the trend is known, from time to time data arises that help us better understand the scope of change. Eurostat has shared one that shows to what extent the EU begins to become a territory of middle -aged people. The data also reveals another trend: aging is much clearer among the native population, those born within the EU itself, which among immigrants. A figure: 44.7. Recently Eurostat technicians made accounts and calculated that The middle ages From the EU population it is already at 44.7 years. The data is interesting for several reasons. The first, because confirms the gradual aging of Europe. Does A decade That same statistical indicator was 42.5 years ago, two ago it was 39.3 and if we looked back further back, 2001 (the first year documented by Eurostat), it did not reach 38.5. The second reason why the data is interesting is for What reveals us. The median is not the same as the average, but it shows us the value located just in the middle of the statistical series. In this case that means that 50% of the EU population is already above 44.7 years. They are probably even more because the median was calculated based on the statistics of January 2024 and the indicator has not stopped growing over the years. Differences in the EU. 44.7 is the data of the European Union as a whole, which means that there are countries in which the median age is even higher. The clearest cases are Monaco and Italy. In the first, the indicator is already 50.5 years and in the second brand 48.7. In Bulgaria, Portugal and Greece approaches or exceeds 47 and in another half a dozen countries the median overcomes the 45 years. Is The case of Spainwhich started 2024 with half its population above 45.6 years. In 2014, the median was 41.8, two decades ago it marked 38.3 and in 1994 it did not even reach 35 years, which gives an aging. Native Foreign Vs.. Eurostat tables show something else: how immigration is serving to cushion the aging of the EU, just as it has helped some countries (Spain included) To win population despite prick of indigenous birth. According to the data of the EU Statistical Office, on January 1, 2024, the average age of the population born outside the 27 countries of the community club was two years lower than that of the natives. Moreover, Eurostat acknowledges that “compared to the native population, those born abroad are overrepresented between 20 and 54 years” and “underrepresented” in the groups located at the extremes, those of younger and more advanced ages. “59.7% of the population born abroad was between 20 and 54, compared to 42.1% of the native,” They need. A percentage: 6.1%. Eurostat data also reveal that the EU demographic pyramid narrows every time by the base and grows on the cusp, among the older population group. And clearly, in addition. Between 2004 and 2024 the proportion of citizens over 80 years in the EU increased from 3.8 to 6.1%. The statistical office Precise In addition, growth was recorded in all EU countries, with increases especially pronounced in Greece, Latvia and Portugal. The same happened with the group of those over 65: to assume 16.4 went on to represent 21.6%. The other face of the currency. The trend is diametrically opposite among people under 15. At the statistical level, today children and adolescents “weigh” much more in the EU that just two decades ago. If in 2004 they represented 14.6%, now they suppose 16.2%, a setback that has been even more pronounced in countries such as Malta or Cyprus. “During the same period the proportion of young people (children under 19) decreased in all EU countries at the level of the Union, the Fall was 2.4 percentage points, from 22.4% to 20.0%,” Clarifies Eurostat. Why is it important? Because demography is much more than mathematics or simple statistics. The evolution of the middle ages helps to understand where the whole of European society walks and better understand the scope of its aging with All drifts that this implies at a social, economic, welfare or even in defense level. It is not something exclusive to the EU or the West. TO late 2024 South Korea officially became a “overwhelming” society, a label that reveals that about 20% of the population already exceeds the 65 -year barrier. Japan’s example. The clearest case is probably Japan. After decades seeing how its birth rate collapsed, in the country it begins to talk about “Problem 2025”marked by the gradual aging of the millions of citizens who were born during the Baby Boom in the middle of the last century. There the experts already warn of the challenge that this growing imbalance between the population of working age and the elderly will have at a social and economic level. Images | Bennett Tobias (UNSPLASH) and Eurostat In Xataka | Russia is desperate to increase its birth. So you will veto the series that promote a “culture without children”

A fertility ritual 500 years ago

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Few places on the planet are presupposed with such archaeological wealth without discovering as Latin America. Without going very far, an unprecedented fact occurred recently in Peru, when a group of researchers found in a municipal dump no less than A 5,000 -year -old mummy of antiquity. Something has happened in an area of ​​Mexico. What intuited an accumulation of rotrefacta garbage has turned out to be an incalculable value treasure. An unexpected finding. Yes, what at first seemed to be a simple garbage in a remote cave in the mountain area in Guerrero (Mexico) has ended up being one of the most surprising archaeological revelations of recent times. The speleologist Katiya Pavlova, accompanied by the local guide Adrián Beltrán Dimas, explored in September 2023 Tlagoococ cave (Name that in Nahuatl means “Cueva de los Texas”) when, after crossing a narrow passage flooded with just fifteen centimeters between the roof and the surface of the water, they ran into fourteen objects carefully arranged around stalagmites. The scene, preserved in gloom and constant humidity for centuries, seemed to have stopped over time. Fertility ritual. Among the objects found There were four shell bracelets, a huge decorated snail of Strombus genretwo complete stone discs, six discs fragments and a piece of carbonized wood. The arrangement of the bracelets, placed on small stalagmites of rounded way with possible galician connotations (Cover image), led archaeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to interpret the whole as vestiges of pre -Hispanic fertility rituals. As explained The archaeologist Miguel Pérez Negrete, in many Mesoamerican cultures the caves were considered sacred spaces, linked to the underworld and symbolically associated with the uterus of the earth, which reinforces the ritual hypothesis of the offering. Venus and Quetzalcoatl symbols. Three of the bracelets present engravings with important pre -Columbian symbols. One of them is The Xonecuillia S -shaped figure associated with the planet Venus and the measurement of time. Another shows what, according to researchers, could be the representation of QuetzalcóatlCreator God in several Mesoamerican cultures. Not just that. The indications allowed the objects in the Postclassic period (950–1521 dc), and attribute them tentatively to The Tlacotepehua culturea little documented civilization that inhabited the mountain region. As for the excellent state of conservation of the pieces, it is attributed to the stable climatic conditions within the cave, which has allowed, after more than five centuries of silencethey resurface in this way. 500 years hidden legacy. As we said at the beginning, it is a (other) surprising archaeological finding of hundreds of years ago. The Tlayócoc cave, located about 2,380 meters above sea level, is known among the premises for its water and bat guano, but so far there were no recent records of deep exploration. Hence the finding of Pavlova and Beltrán can represent the first human incursion in that place in approximately five hundred years. After the discovery, both immediately contacted the INAH, who recovered the objects last March and will integrate them into their heritage For study and preservation. No doubt, an exciting finding that contrasts with the initial theory: a handful of fragments in the dark, confused with garbage, has revealed a forgotten fragment of indigenous spirituality, of ancestral cosmology and of material expressions of the sacred. Image | Katiya Pavlova In Xataka | In 2023 some explorers entered a remote cave in Mexico. They found the last archaeological treasure of the country In Xataka | 60 years ago we discovered a hidden gold in the jungle of Peru. Now we know that it was really much more

We have found the oldest human fingerprint in the world. He is 43,000 years old and someone left her in Spain

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Now we know a scene that occurred thousands of years ago. It happened more or less like this: a Adult Neanderthal He found a granite shot whose irregular shape, rich in quartz and natural clefts, possibly evoked for his eyes more than a simple stone: it looked like an elongated face. What followed was a seemingly minimal act, but full of significance. He left the oldest human footprint ever known, and did it in Spain. The art of Neanderthals. The scene has now described the scientists and calculate what happened about 43,000 years in what is today the province of Segovia. As explained in the study Recently publishedthe adult Neanderthal wet his finger in red pigment and pressed with him the stone just where the nose of that possible face would be, thus leaving the oldest human fingerprint ever recorded. The discovery, made in 2022 in San Lázaroit has been verified through an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, geologists and forensics, which have concluded that the reddish point contains iron oxides and clay minerals not present in the cave, indicating that the pigment He took intentionally From another place. Art. Unlike a tool or utilitarian utensil, the stone did not present signs of practical use: its value was symbolic, aesthetic, or perhaps spiritual. The red pigment point, without which the object would not have archaeological value, marks the decisive step between the merely physical and the cultural: between the stone and the idea. The stone found The meaning behind the gesture. The authors of the study, published in the magazine Archaeological and Anthropological Sciencesthey argue that the finding reinforces the hypothesis that the Neanderthals had a symbolic mind similar to that of Homo sapiens. For them, the act of selecting a stone for its shape, transporting it, applying a precision pigment and probably attributing a meaning is proof of the existence of at least Three cognitive processes Complexes: the mental conception of an image, the will to communicate something through symbols, and the ability to attribute meaning. This triad, they affirm, is the art base. In that sense, the simple pebble with a red point can represent one of the oldest human face abstractions of the European prehistoric record. The uniqueness of the object makes it a difficult piece to contextualize: there is, for now, another equal. That said, remember that your artistic dimension cannot be ruled out. On the contrary: its rarity reinforces its character as an isolated, but revealing example, of the ability of the Neanderthals to Project thoughts and ideas about the material world. Breaking prejudices. There is more, of course. The finding highlights not only the original act of that Neanderthal, but also the persistent modern resistance to consider these hominids as authentic art creators. As explained Archaeologist David Álvarez Alonsoif it were a human intervention dated just 5,000 years ago, no one would hesitate to classify the object as art portable. But the fact that a Neanderthal has produced a debate that is not strictly scientific, but also cultural: our resistance to accepting that others Humans, extinct about 40,000 years ago, shared with us not only tools, fire and hunting strategies, but Also imaginationsymbolism and the need to represent. Under that prism, the stone of San Lázaro breaks that taboo with a single footprint. It is not a mural, nor a petroglyph, not even a figurine: it is a unique gesture on an ordinary support, one that, they assure, demands a deep rereading of what we consider “art” and who can produce it. A window The researchers tell In his work that the trace of pigment, interpreted as a deliberate act, forces us to ask ourselves for the Mental process that led to that moment. The first: What did that Neanderthal see in the stone: a face, a spirit or a sacred object? We will never know, but what the intervention suggests is a will to assign meaningto highlight, to leave a brand (mark). As the team points out, the total absence of pigments in the surroundings of the cave suggests A firm intention: The stone was collected, transported and altered with purpose. If we also want, in its apparent simplicity, the finding contains a complexity that forces us to reconsider the conception of the human being. If the Neanderthals could look at a stone and see a face in it, and then intervene it so that others would also see it, then they shared with us something essential: The ability to transcend the immediate and imagine the invisible … through a simple sign. Image | Mr. Álvarez-Alonso et al. In Xataka | We have been convinced for years that the fingerprints are unique. These researchers want to demonstrate that it is a myth In Xataka | The Neanderthals left a deep genetic footprint in us. The last example: the sense of pain

We have been thinking for 50 years that lemmings are rodents that commit suicide. The guilt of everything has Disney

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If they mention the lemmings we will immediately think of The legendary action video game and puzzles of Psychnosis of 1991. The mechanics of that game, in which the herd of creatures obeyed us blindly, even opting for sacrifice, have a specific origin: a Disney documentary. But … what if everything he told were not only false, but orchestrated by the filming team itself to obtain images of the lemmings suicide? What is a lemming (really). A Lemming It is a small rodent that usually lives in areas near the Arctic or in Biomas de Tundra. They are similar to field mice and musk rats. They measure between 13 and 18 cm in length, they have very short tail, chubonch and hairy snout, short legs and small ears. With a garrita on the front legs they dig into the snow. They are herbivores and live in large tunnel systems. And no, against what is said, they do not have a docile attitude and a flock behavior: although they move in a group by the very high demographic explosions they experience, they are aggressive even with the predators. What was believed to be a lemming. That demographic explosion (which actually obeys mere survival: The reproduction cycles are short and the very fertile females to compensate for the attack of predators and the shortage of food at certain times) is precisely what the 1958 documentary ‘white hell’ was inspired. Produced by Disney, this production talked about how, due to the multitude of offspring that they have since there are not enough resources to maintain them, the lemmings are sacrificed for the good of the population and threw themselves by cliffs, committing suicide. The film even offered images of the moment. The origin of the myth. Long before the filming of ‘Blanco Hell’, Rumorology around Lemmings was abundant: In the 16th century, the Bavarian geographer Jacob Ziegler defended that these rodents fell from heaven when there was a storm and died when the grass grew in spring. This thundered statement was based on local folklore: being the Arctic fauna, the native populations of Inuits or Yupiks had their legends around the lemmings, similar to those of the geographer. Little by little, science was denialing this almost celestial origin of rodents, although for centuries it was believed that the herds were traveling transported by the wind. In pop culture. Science fiction and fantasy was the one that possibly grabbed this idea of ​​the lemmings that moved by air and transmuted it into bugs that commit suicide throwing themselves into the void. Since the fifties we find precipitating Lemming in works such as the story ‘The march of the fools’ of Cyril M. Kornbluth, of 1951, where the lemmings with space travelers who march to Venus to die in a collective suicide are compared. A legend of Disney comics, CARK BANKShe drew in an adventure of the ducks to Lemmings jumping through Norwegian cliffs. And nothing less than Arthur C. Clarkein his story ‘the possessed’ explains with a case of alien group possession the behavior of rodents. What really happened in the documentary. The director of ‘Blanco Hell’, James Algar, I intended to record an authentic sacrifice of the Lemmingsbut he did not look like. So the photo director came up with a group of local children to hunt Lemmings, 25 cents the piece. Once they had enough, they were cleared them. A cruel resolution (nothing strange in Documentaries about animals of the time), but today is somewhat uncomfortable to see: ‘Blanco Hell’ went on to accompany other Disney films to which time has not treated very well, and was withdrawn from Disney+ together with classic cases such as The racist ‘Song of the South’. In pop culture. And thus the myth was founded, which gave us an extraordinary video game and a wrong belief in the popular culture that persists until today, as the same Begoña Villacís demonstrated, which in 2017 signed in the confidential an article entitled ‘Catalonia, an army of lemmings‘. Although few stories as fun around the nice rodents as an article of ‘Popular Science Monthly’ that, in 1877, said that suicide lemming what they want is to throw themselves into the Atlantic to immerse themselves in search of the lost continent of Lemuria. Damn rodents. Header | Wikipedia, Psygnosys In Xataka | The amazing video that shows an octopus by changing color while you think is dreaming

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