The Spanish Chernobyl: a silenced negligence

accidente nuclear 1970 - Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas - CIEMAT - madrid - españa - junta de energia nuclear - franquismo - ocultacion de informacion - francisco franco-manzanares jarama y tajo - contaminacion radiactiva - Centro Nacional de Energía Nuclear

Social panic is a great excuse, a subterfuge used by cowards to avoid disclosing sensitive information. Data that, if known, rather than generating collective fear, would help to save lives. From Saturday, November 7, 1970 onwards, one of these informative censorships spread, as much or more than the trail of harmful radioactive isotopes that leaked … Read more

The crusade of Cerro Belmonte: the Madrid neighborhood that became independent from Spain

fidel castro- guerra de las embajadas-cerro belmonte 1990 - madrid - ayuntamiento de madrid - independencia de cerro belmonte - himno - queremos pan queremos vino queremos al alcalde colgao de un pino - Agustin Rodriguez Sahagun - reino independiente de belmonte

1990 was a tremendously turbulent year for Madrid and, more specifically, for one of its neighborhoods: Cerro Belmonte. The residents of the humble but tenacious neighborhood were unwilling to comply with a speculative plan supported by the Madrid City Council to expropriate and evict 125 families in exchange for building luxury villas. Thus, the first … Read more

Lukasa: the ancestral African memory boards

lukasa-mbudye-sociedad secreta-tarjeta de memoria africana-africa-conocimientos perdidos-mensajes secretos-pueblo luba

Human beings need to archive information. This may be due to his innate curiosity and his unstoppable desire to know and not to forget. This is why we invented data storage media, designed to replace the oral transmission of knowledge, which is imperfect and subject to alterations. We quickly think of hard disks or USB … Read more

Asteroids, meteors, bolids, meteorites, comets… What are their differences

diferencias entre asteroide, meteoro, meteoroide, meteorito-astronomia-oumuamua-la daga de tutankamon esta hecha de meteorito-bolido de chelyabinsk-cometa Halley

Although space may seem a distressing and empty place, the truth is that it is full of millions of roaming travelers that, from time to time, can be seen from Earth. There are several types of them, and you’ve probably wondered more than once how to distinguish them. Here are some clues: Asteroids: rocky masses … Read more

Dossier “HOAXES OF VACCINES”. The vaccines that transform you into an X-Men

vacunas covid19-sars cov 2-pandemia de covid 19-arnm-rna-mrna - arn mensajero-vacuna de arnm-vacuna de pfizer-vacuna de moderna-mutacion genetica-daños en el adn-conspiracion-esterilidad en hombres

It is the life of the hoax party. It has been an unprecedented success in social networks. Thanks to it, everyone now knows that messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines do all sorts of nasty things to our genetic material. Needless to say, everything they cause is bad. Yes, conspiracists are extremely pessimistic… The truth is that … Read more

The lizards that weep blood

lagarto cornudo phrynosoma-mecanismo de defensa-eyaculacion de sangre-mecanismo antidepredador-falso camaleon-zoologia-ecologia-el lagarto que llora sangre

Because of this peculiarity, they look like creatures out of some disturbed mind, but they are very real, both they and their bloody “weepings”. They do not “weep” blood because they have seen something horrifying, but because it is an extremely curious defense mechanism. This behavior has been recorded mainly in some species of horned … Read more

Dossier “HOAXES OF THE PANDEMIC”. The lies about PCRs

bulos-infoxicacion-informaciones falsas-mentiras-pcr-reaccion en cadena de la polimerasa-test diagnostico covid 19-coronavirus-sars cov 2-rt pcr-falsos positivos-falsos negativos

In crisis situations, fear and unease find a very pleasant niche in which to prosper. So do those who feed and promote those fears. Complexity is unpleasant, and our world, fortunately or unfortunately, is complex. All the events we experience involve a myriad of factors, so it is not easy to explain them or find … Read more

The Turing test: Can machines think?

test de turing-prueba de turing-piensan las maquinas-inteligencia artificial-alan turing-eugene goostman chatbot

With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), our conception of intelligence has been slightly disrupted. After all, AI machines meet the requirements of some of the definitions of “intelligence”, such as solving complex problems. So, can machines think? This question was already proposed in the middle of the last century by one of the fathers … Read more

The link between the Bluetooth technology and vikings

bluetooth y vikingos - tecnologia bluetooth-harald blatant-harald bluetooth-historia de vikingos-runas-Jim Kardach

It seems that we are referring to the Pleistocene if we consider that 32 years ago, in 1989, the idea of the Bluetooth technology emerged, a wireless networking system designed to connect devices of all kinds with each other, to somehow unify technology. The Swedes Nils Rydbeck and Johan Ullman of Ericsson Mobile were the … Read more

“Walpurgisnacht”: the witches’ night

noche de walpurgis-walpurgisnacht-brujas-brujeria-noche bruja-satanismo-aquelarre-sabbat

I imagine you are all prepared for this unique night. What is going to be celebrated? Today is the “witches’ night”, one of the most important festivities of the witches’ calendar in Northern Europe. On this night, one of the most intense and frightening witches’ sabbaths of the year takes place at the Brocken Peak … Read more

Types of snakes according to their fangs

vibora-serpiente cascabel-serpiente solenoglifa-colmillo-veneno-tipos de serpiente-denticion serpientes

Snakes have often been associated with evil, either for cultural reasons or, directly, because of our survival instinct. We fear and respect them and the venom they use to hunt and defend themselves. However, as it usually happens, fear is diluted when our knowledge about them increases. In fact, they are not all equally poisonous … Read more

The cunning trickery of Ophrys orchids

ophrys apifera - engaño de orquideas-mimetismo-orquideas que engañan a abejas-orquidea ophrys

Life has devised a multitude of strategies to adapt and survive, such as mimesis. We all quickly think of examples from the animal kingdom, such as syrphids, some caterpillars, various butterflies or spiders that resemble ants. However, plants are not far behind. Orchids of the genus Ophrys sp. are true works of art of nature. … Read more

Electrical therapies in ancient times

escribonio largo-medicina en la antiguedad-electroterapia-roma-romanos-grecia-griegos-platon-aristoteles-pez torpedo-raya electrica-pez gato electrico del nilo-Malopterurus electricus-gota-dolores de cabeza-prolapso anal-dioscorides-galeno

Most of us are familiar with or have heard of electricity-based therapies. They are used in a wide range of medical disciplines: neurology, psychiatry, physical medicine, rehabilitation… Logically, we consider these techniques an advance of the modern world, because if electricity had not been discovered, they could not exist. It is true that electricity is … Read more

The explosive beetles

escarabajo escopetero - zoologia - brachinus - escarabajo - insecto - escarabajo bombardero - reaccion quimica - quimica - disparo irritante - biodiversidad - naturaleza

Nature is the best weapon engineer. Some living beings are equipped with a series of strategies and tools that it’s difficult to imagine they were generated by chance. In fact, devotees of creationism and intelligent design use these examples to vindicate their beliefs. Let’s look at the case of the carabid beetles of the genus … Read more

The SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Part 2: Lights and shadows of vaccines

vacuna-vacunacion-pfizer-astrazeneca-oxford-moderna-sputnik v-inmunizacion-inmunidad-sistema inmune-eficacia-seguridad de las vacunas-memoria inmunitaria-anticuerpos- sars cov 2-covid 19-coronavirus

In the face of the current situation, which will undoubtedly mark humanity forever, a race against time has been generated to try to overcome it as quickly as possible. Not in vain, in less than a year it has shown us how vulnerable we are, but also our resilience. The most promising weapons with which … Read more

The SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Part 1: The mechanisms of vaccines

vacunas-sars cov 2-coronavirus-covid 19-virus-pandemia-ADN-ADN recombinante-vacuna de ARNm-ARN mensajero-mutaciones-sistema inmune-sistema inmunitario-inflamacion-linfocitos-linfocito T-linfocito B-macrofago-antigeno-inmunidad-memoria

Is the end of the pandemic near? Is SARS-CoV-2, the same one that has shown how fragile the egomaniacal Homo sapiens and his civilization are, giving its last breath? Will the longed-for vaccines end with this science-fiction situation? The vaccines are being presented as the definitive solution to our problems, the definitive weapon that will … Read more

The origin of nativity scenes

san francisco de asis-franciscanos-navidad-belen-belenes-arte-origen del belen-francisco de asis-milagros-cristianismo

The nativity scene tradition has become a true artistic expression. There are orthodox and heterodox nativity scenes worthy of admiration for their level of detail and complexity, not to mention the exquisite craftsmanship of some of their figures. Where does it come from? When did we start representing the events surrounding the birth of Jesus … Read more

“Smokescreen”: An expression with a military history

cortina de humo-dichos populares - expresion -guerra-armas-segunda guerra mundial-primera guerra mundial-distraccion-politica-dichos

“Smokescreens” are a strategy increasingly employed by politicians and the media to divert mass attention away from the truly important things and hide them. The expression has, therefore, a metaphorical use today, but not long ago it was used (and still is) in the military field to confuse adversaries and acquire strategic advantage. Let us … Read more