👁️ HEALTH ON THE FRONT LINE

Special Coverage · February 26, 2026 · Vall d'Hebron Research Institute · Barcelona

 

📅  OPHTHALMOLOGY · DIABETES · BIOTECHNOLOGY

Eye drops can change the fate of 537 million diabetics: D-Sight starts the world's first clinical trial to treat retinopathy in its earliest stages

For 15 years, doctors Rafael Simó and Cristina Hernández quietly investigated a mechanism that no one took seriously: neurodegeneration of the retina occurs before any visible vascular damage appears. Today, its spin-off D-Sight is weeks away from confirming in humans that a simple eye drop with sitagliptin can slow down that process. If they succeed, they will have opened a therapeutic window that did not exist anywhere in the world.

 

🌍 537M people with diabetes in the world

👁️ ~30% of diabetics develop retinopathy

🚫 0 Treatments for early stages

 

Source: IDF Diabetes Atlas 2025 / VHIR / D-Sight

 

 

🔍  THE INVISIBLE DISEASE THAT STEALS VISION

 

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the great silent tragedies of modern medicine. It settles in painlessly, without symptoms in its early stages, and moves methodically until it causes irreversible damage. It is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes and the leading preventable cause of visual impairment and blindness in people of working age worldwide. In concrete numbers: it affects approximately 30% of patients with type 2 diabetes and practically all type 1 diabetics with more than 20 years of evolution.

The mechanism that guided all research for decades was vascular: diabetes damages the blood vessels of the retina, causes microaneurysms, hemorrhages, exudates and finally macular edema or pathological vascular proliferation. From this paradigm, the available treatments are photocoagulator laser and intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF drugs, both highly invasive, expensive interventions, with frequent adverse effects and only applied when the disease has already caused serious structural damage.

"There are currently no therapeutic options for the earliest stages of diabetic retinopathy. We are facing an unmet medical need on a global scale." — Carla Maté Goldar, CEO and co-founder of D-Sight

 

What no one had been able to do until now was to intervene in the initial stages, when the diagnosis is recent and the damage is still reversible. The cause: the scientific community did not have a clear therapeutic target in that window. There was no way to act because there was no recognized mechanism to act. Until the VHIR team demonstrated something that changed the field: neurodegeneration of the retina precedes microvascular involvement.

 

💡  THE FINDING THAT CHANGED THE PARADIGM: NEURO BEFORE VASCULAR

 

The scientific history of D-Sight begins more than 15 years ago in the Diabetes and Metabolism Research Group of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), led by Dr. Rafael Simó, head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. Together with Dr. Cristina Hernández, Simó developed a line of research that challenged the dominant vascular paradigm: the retina is not only a vascular tissue, but a specialized neural tissue.

The hypothesis, then controversial, was gaining evidence: in the preclinical stages of diabetic retinopathy, before the first detectable ophthalmological signs appear, there is already loss of retinal ganglion cells, reduction in the thickness of the nerve fiber and alterations in the function of the optic nerve. Neurodegeneration precedes and partly drives vascular damage. If you can stop this neural process from the beginning, you can prevent the cascade of damage that culminates in blindness.

"It has taken us 15 years to convince the scientific community that retinal neurodegeneration precedes microvascular involvement. Now there is no longer any doubt." — Dr. Rafael Simó, Scientific Co-Founder of D-Sight and Head of the Diabetes and Metabolism Group, VHIR

 

The next challenge was to find the drug capable of exerting this neuroprotection in a safe, effective and accessible way. After years of screening, the answer was surprising to many: sitagliptin, a DPP-4 enzyme inhibitor already widely used as an oral antidiabetic, proved to be the most potent, cost-efficient candidate with the highest margin of safety for topical ocular application. The finding opened an unexpected avenue: pharmacological repurposing, that is, a drug already approved in another indication, now reformulated as eye drops for a completely new use.

 

🏢  D-SIGHT: FROM PUBLIC RESEARCH TO THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

 

D-Sight was set up as a spin-off of VHIR under an innovative 'entrepreneur in residence' model, the first in the history of the Catalan institute. Carla Maté Goldar, an expert in knowledge transfer and scientific entrepreneurship, took on the role of CEO and co-founder, providing the entrepreneurial dimension that researchers needed to make the leap from the laboratory to the market.

The company is currently developing two main lines: sitagliptin eye drops for diabetic retinopathy in early stages – its priority asset – and a second neuroprotective candidate for glaucoma, a pathology that shares the mechanism of optic nerve damage but already has existing treatments, although limited to reducing intraocular pressure without offering real neuroprotection.

 

💰 FUNDING STRUCTURE 💼 Clave Capital (Clave Innohealth): Continuous private investment since incorporation. He leads the last round. [Lead Investor] 🏛️ CPP 2024 Programme — Spain: 1.5 million euros — Public-Private Partnership Call. [Public funding] 🔬 Prous Institute for Biomedical Research: New strategic partner in AI and life sciences. [Strategic Investor] 📊 Total raised: €5 million accumulated (last round: €2 million in 2026). [Milestone 2026]

 

The planned business model is to license a large multinational pharmaceutical company for global commercialization, once D-Sight has completed the clinical validation phases. The company expects to reach the market in the period 2032-2033, a horizon that Maté describes as 'moderately optimistic' but adjusted to the usual times of international pharmaceutical regulation.

 

🧬  THE PHASE I CLINICAL TRIAL: WHAT WILL BE TESTED

 

The study that will begin in the coming weeks is a Phase I clinical trial, the first step of clinical development in humans. Their goal is not to prove that eye drops cure diabetic retinopathy, but something more basic and fundamental: to confirm that it is safe. The trial will administer the ophthalmic formulation of sitagliptin to healthy volunteers and assess its tolerability, absorption, and absence of local and systemic adverse effects.

The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) has already advanced in the regulatory process, and D-Sight completed the industrial scale-up studies necessary to produce the drug with the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards required for human trials. The horizon to complete this phase is 2026 itself, with expected results in the second half of the year.

 

#	STAGE	OBJECTIVE AND CONTENT	STATE
🔬	Phase I (2026)	Healthy volunteers — Safety and tolerability of sitagliptin in eye drops. No expected toxicity according to animal models.	🟢 ONGOING
🧪	Phase II (2026–2027)	Patients with early diabetic retinopathy — Clinical efficacy, optimal dose, and biomarkers of response.	🟡 PLANNED
📊	Phase III (2028–2030)	Multicenter pivotal trial — Confirmation of efficacy and safety profile on a large scale for regulatory registration.	⚪ FUTURE
💊	Market (2032–2033)	Global commercialization with a multinational pharmaceutical partner through an operating license.	⚪ FUTURE

Source: D-Sight / VHIR / Medical Writing, February 2026

 

The choice of healthy volunteers for Phase I is standard in pharmaceutical development: it is about evaluating safety without exposing patients with active pathology to a non-validated drug. Researchers are especially confident in the tolerability of the compound given that sitagliptin has an extensive history of oral use without major adverse effects, and the formulation as eye drops—locally administered and topographically confined—minimizes systemic absorption.

The most relevant aspect for patients is that the Phase I trial is not the final destination: it is the starting point for Phase II efficacy in patients with early diabetic retinopathy, scheduled for the same year 2026. At that stage, it will be confirmed whether eye drops effectively slow down retinal neurodegeneration in real patients.

"This study is the first step in validating the therapeutic potential of the drug and moving towards future phases of research in patients with diabetic retinopathy." — Dr. Rafael Simó, VHIR

 

 

📊  ADVANTAGES OVER CURRENT TREATMENTS

 

To understand the magnitude of the breakthrough represented by sitagliptin eye drops, it is necessary to compare it with the therapeutic arsenal currently available. Existing treatments share a characteristic that limits them structurally: they can only act when the disease has already progressed to intermediate or advanced stages.

 

TREATMENT	STADIUM	INVASIVENESS	EF. ADVERSE	ADMIN ROUTE.
Current treatment (laser)	Advanced stages only	High	Yes	Surgery/Hospital
Anti-VEGF (injection)	Advanced stages only	High	Frequently Asked	Intravitreal injection
Sitagliptin eye drops (D-Sight)	Early phases ✅	Very low	Unexpected	Self-administered ✅

Source: VHIR / D-Sight / own elaboration

 

🎯 The decisive factor: D-Sight eye drops are the only candidate in development capable of acting at the time of diabetes diagnosis, before any clinical signs of eye involvement appear. It does not require hospital infrastructure, can be self-administered at home and its production cost is significantly lower than that of anti-VEGF biologics.

 

🔵  THE SECOND FRONT: GLAUCOMA

 

The Phase I clinical trial is 'useful for both indications', according to Dr. Simó. In addition to diabetic retinopathy, the same molecule is being developed as a neuroprotective therapy for glaucoma. This distinction is important: in glaucoma there are already eye drops on the market, but they all act by reducing intraocular pressure, without offering direct protection to the neurons of the optic nerve. D-Sight targets that therapeutic gap with its neuroprotective formulation.

The advantage is that the glaucoma research base can advance at a faster pace, by sharing the mechanism of action with the already more mature retinopathy program. The dual Phase I will allow relevant safety data to be obtained for both indications simultaneously, shortening the development times of the second candidate.

 

🌐  THE CONTEXT: A SILENT DIABETES PANDEMIC

 

The epidemiological context makes D-Sight's success not just a scientific milestone: it is a public health emergency. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that in 2025 there are 537 million people with diabetes in the world, a figure that could reach 643 million in 2030 and 783 million in 2045. Most live in low- and middle-income countries, where access to current expensive and invasive retinopathy treatments is virtually non-existent.

A low-cost, self-administerable eye drop that can be applied from the initial diagnosis of diabetes would radically transform the preventive approach to diabetic blindness on a global scale. Spain, through VHIR and D-Sight, is positioned on the frontier of this transformation. The Vall d'Hebron Hospital, recognized as the 20th best hospital in the world and the first in Spain in its specialty according to Newsweek, endorses the institutional solidity behind the project.

 

 

👁️

15 years of research that no one believed, now weeks away from being tested on humans.

If eye drops work, millions of people around the world will have the chance to preserve their vision for the first time before losing it.

 

 

Sources: Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) · D-Sight · ConSalud.es · Medical Writing · Action Vision Spain · InfoDiabetic · Biotech Spain · InnovaSpain · The Referent · IDF Diabetes Atlas 2025

 

🤖 ROBOTS ON THE WORLD'S BIGGEST STAGE

The Great Leap of Chinese Humanoids: How Unitree Robotics Redefined the Boundaries of Robotics in Front of 679 Million People

Beijing · 16 de febrero de 2026  Fuentes: CNBC · South China Morning Post · The Guardian · Fox News · Daily Mail · TechEBlog · Interesting Engineering

On the most-watched night of the year in China – and one of the most watched on the planet – dozens of humanoid robots from the Hangzhou company Unitree Robotics burst onto the stage of the 2026 Spring Festival Gala to execute, completely autonomously, a martial arts choreography that broke five world records and revealed that humanoid robotics is no longer a promise of the laboratory:  it is an industry.

 

📺 679 M Telecommunications

🤖 ~300 G1 robots on stage

⚡ 4 m/s Maximum speed

💰 $13,500 G1 base price

 

📺  THE SETTING: CHINA'S SUPER BOWL

The China Media Group Spring Festival Gala — popularly known as the Chunwan — is the world's most-watched television program consistently since the 1980s. Its annual audience is around 700 million viewers and easily surpasses the American Super Bowl or the final of the World Cup. For a tech company, appearing on that stage is tantamount to a public demonstration of capabilities to the world's largest global market.

On Monday, February 16, 2026, as the Year of the Horse began, Unitree Robotics starred in the most talked-about segment of the night under the name

Wu Bot ("Real CyberKung Fu"). Dozens of G1 units — the company's most commercially popular humanoid — took center stage in Beijing and performed a martial arts choreography synchronized with a group of children from the famous Tagou School of Martial Arts.

 

"It was the whole world watching, and the robots knew it perfectly. They didn't miss a single move." — Guardian Chronicle, February 17, 2026

 

What the audience saw that night—moving swords, spinning nunchucks, trampoline jumps, and coordinated runs—wasn't simply a spectacle. It was the most massive demonstration to date that autonomous humanoid robotics can operate under extreme pressure conditions, in front of a global audience and with no room for error.

🏆  THE FIVE SINGLE-NIGHT WORLD RECORDS

According to the technical data published by Unitree in its official statement and confirmed by specialized media such as TechEBlog, Interesting Engineering and The AI Insider, the performance on February 16 established the following unprecedented milestones in the history of humanoid robotics:

 

	GLOBAL BRAND	TECHNICAL DETAIL
🦘	Trampoline jump: 3 meters	First time a humanoid robot has reached this height in an autonomous jump. Complete series of stunts were executed.
💨	Carrera: 4 m/s (14.4 km/h)	Stage-coordinated cluster speed. It is equivalent to a sustained human trot.
🌀	Airflare: 7.5 rotations	First time achieved by any humanoid platform in the world. Outperforms previous competitor demos.
🗡️	Handling of real weapons	Swords, clubs and nunchucks with new generation dexterous hands, with more than 90% accuracy in learned sequences.
⏱️	Synchronization: hundredths of a second	The robots coordinated movements with each other and with the child artists with minimal latency in real time.

 

Behind each of these achievements is a radically updated motion control system. Unitree implemented reinforcement learning combined with hybrid force-position control, and developed a new AI fusion localization algorithm that integrates proprioceptive data with three-dimensional LiDAR data to maintain positioning accuracy even during high-speed dynamic movements.

   Fuente técnica: The AI Insider / Unitree Official Release, 17/02/2026

⚙️  INSIDE THE ROBOT: THE TECHNOLOGY THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE

🧠 The Brain: Real-Time Motion AI

What sets the G1 apart from previous generations is not only the mechanical power, but the software architecture that controls it. Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree, explained to the Chinese media 36Kr that this year's technical focus was to ensure that robots could complete formation changes and movement transitions while running at high speed — something that no humanoid system had managed to do in a stable and coordinated way.

To do this, a high-concurrency cluster control system was developed capable of synchronizing dozens of robots in real time with minimal latency. Each unit simultaneously processes signals from its environment (triangular 3D LiDAR) and its own body (proprioceptive sensors) to adjust its position and movement in fractions of a second, without centralized communication that could introduce delay.

 

"Our robots can execute Kung Fu because we solved the problem of high-speed movement with formation accuracy. That same problem exists in factories." — Wang Xingxing, CEO de Unitree, 36Kr, 17/02/2026

 

🦾 The body: the G1 in numbers

SPECIFICATION	VALUE	RELEVANCE
Height	1.27 meters	Full human scale for work environments
Weight	35 kg (with battery)	Lightweight for logistics and handling tasks
Degrees of freedom	23 motorized joints	High mobility for complex motor tasks
By máximo de rodilla	90 N.m	Withstands high-impact loads and movements
Hands	Dextéras, new generation	Handling of tools, objects and weapons
Base price	USD 13,500 (int'l)	CNY 85,000 in China; Competitive vs Rivals

 

   Fuente: Unitree Robotics · TechEBlog · South China Morning Post

📈  THE DAY AFTER: ORDERS, PRICES AND OUTLOOK

The commercial impact was immediate and forceful. On the e-commerce platform JD.com, the closest delivery dates for the G1 were changed to the beginning of March in a few hours, with tens of thousands of visits to the product in the three days following the broadcast, according to data from the portal itself.

   Source: South China Morning Post, 20/02/2026

Wang Xingxing told the specialized media 36Kr, minutes after the end of the gala, that Unitree plans to ship between 10,000 and 20,000 units during 2026. This represents a growth of between 82% and 264% compared to the approximately 5,500 units shipped in 2025, and would make the company the manufacturer of humanoid robots with the highest production volume in the world.

   Fuente: South China Morning Post · CNBC, 17-20/02/2026

 

"The improvement in capacity compared to the previous year is between 5 and 10 times. And this is just the beginning." — CEO of Unitree, quoted by Daily Mail

 

The projection places Unitree in an unprecedented position in the industry. While Tesla has not yet set a price or general availability date for its Optimus robot, and while Boston Dynamics maintains Atlas as a research platform with no sales price, the G1 is already in inventory, with delivery in weeks.

🌐  THE MAP OF GLOBAL COMPETITION

The performance at the 2026 gala was not just one company's success: it was the strongest signal to date of the systemic advancement of Chinese humanoid robotics. Along with Unitree, three other companies — Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab — also appeared on the broadcast, in what analysts interpret as a coordinated demonstration of the national robotic ecosystem, with implicit backing from the Beijing government.

 

Company	Model	Price	Commercial status	Shipments 2026
🇨🇳 Unitree	G1 / H2	USD 13,500 / 29,900	For sale · Immediate deliveries	10,000–20,000 u.
🇺🇸 Tesla	Optimus	No public price	No general availability	Limited production
🇺🇸 Boston Dynamics	Atlas	No public price	Research Platform Only	No data
🇨🇳 Noetix	Bumi / N2	No public price	Prototype + gala 2026	No data

 

Unitree's competitive advantage lies in the combination of three factors: the Chinese manufacturing supply chain, which significantly reduces component costs, the state support for the humanoid robotics sector included in the 14th Five-Year Plan, and a go-to-market strategy that prioritizes actual availability over laboratory exclusivity.

   Source: CNBC · The Guardian · mlq.ai

🏭  BEYOND THE SHOW: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE INDUSTRY?

Wang Xingxing was explicit about it: the goal is not entertainment. Every movement demonstrated on the Chunwan stage has a direct equivalent in an industrial application. The dynamic balancing capabilities developed for trampoline jumps are the same as those needed for a robot to navigate uneven terrain in a logistics warehouse. The manual dexterity used to handle nunchucks and swords is the same as that required to assemble delicate components on a manufacturing line.

The CEO also estimated that the general capacity of the G1 robot is, today, comparable to that of a 10-year-old child – capable of performing complex motor tasks but still with limitations in reasoning and adaptation to unforeseen situations. Large-scale industrial utility, he said, would arrive in three to five years.

   Fuente: TechNode · 36Kr, 21/02/2026

Researchers consulted by CNBC stress that the demonstration of multi-robot coordination is perhaps the most relevant advance for real applications: in manufacturing environments, robots do not operate alone. The ability to synchronize dozens of units in real-time, without centralized communication, could be the key to fully automated assembly lines in high-turnover industries.

 

"The live performance in front of 679 million people was the biggest stress test ever given to a robot. He passed it." — Interesting Engineering, 18/02/2026

 

📌  CONCLUSION

The night of February 16, 2026 will be recorded in the history of technology as the moment when humanoid robotics definitively left the laboratory and entered the global stage. Not as a promise, but as a product. Not in a controlled demo, but in front of the largest television audience in the world.

Unitree Robotics didn't just break five world records that night. It showed that China has, today, the best commercially available humanoid robots on the planet, at the most competitive price, with the largest announced production volume and with the most massive validation that can exist: 679 million witnesses.

The race for the industrial humanoid has begun. And the first gunslinger is already on the track.

 

SOURCES CONSULTED

CNBC · South China Morning Post · The Guardian · Daily Mail · Fox News · TechEBlog · The AI Insider · Interesting Engineering · TechNode · mlq.ai · Unitree Robotics Official Release · 36Kr · Robozaps

🧬 GENOMICS — CEREALS — FOOD SECURITY

Scientists from CONICET and INTA identified two genomic regions that control the fertility of the wheat ear. The favorable allele increases yield by 5% and grains per square meter by 8%. The data is public and is already of interest to seed companies.

By Scientific Staff —  Sunday, February 22, 2026   ⏱ Read: 6 min

Published in: Field Crops Research   • Authors: Nicole Pretini (INTA Pergamino), Fernanda González (CONICET / CIT NOBA), Leonardo Vanzetti (INTA Marcos Juárez)

 

More than fifteen years ago, a group of Argentine scientists asked themselves a question that seemed simple but hid an enormous complexity: why do some ears of wheat produce more grains than others? The answer, forged between laboratories and batches in Buenos Aires, has just been published in the specialized journal Field Crops Research and is already resonating in the most important seed companies in the country: there is a region of the wheat genome that, when it carries the correct allele, improves yield by up to 5% and the number of grains per square meter by 8%.

The finding is the work of Nicole Pretini, researcher at INTA Pergamino and first author of the study; Fernanda González, CONICET researcher at CIT NOBA (Center for Research and Transfer of the Northwest of the Province of Buenos Aires) and INTA Pergamino; and Leonardo Vanzetti, from INTA Marcos Juárez, Córdoba. The three have been working for decades on the reproductive efficiency of the ear as a key to multiplying Argentine wheat production.

 

📊 RESEARCH IN FIGURES

 

🌾 19M ton ANNUAL PRODUCTION IN ARGENTINA

📈 5 % HIGHER YIELD (FAVORABLE ALLELE)

🧬 8 % MORE GRAINS PER M² (QTL QFFE. PERG-5A)

 

🔬 THE FINDING

Two genomic markers, a productive leap

QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci) are regions of the genome that span several genes and are associated with observable quantitative characteristics, such as the height of a plant or, in this case, the number of grains produced by an ear. The team identified and validated two of these regions in real field conditions:

🧬 THE TWO QTLS IDENTIFIED 🟢  QFFE.perg-5A: the most powerful. When it carries the favorable allele, it consistently improves yield in all evaluated environments: +8% in grains per m² and +5% in total yield. 🟡  QFEm.perg-3A: Its effect is dependent on the environment, suggesting interaction with specific climatic or soil conditions.

 

The name 'QFFE' comes from the acronym for Spike Fruiting Efficiency, the conceptual axis of this entire line of research. What makes QFFE.perg-5A special is not only that it improves performance, but that it does so in two simultaneous ways: the individual ears produce more grains and, at the same time, there are more ears per square meter.

"In addition, we were able to establish that this improvement was a consequence not only of greater reproductive efficiency of the ears but also of the establishment of more ears per m²," Pretini said. The combined effect of both mechanisms is what makes this marker a high-value target for breeding programs.

 

"Under these conditions we observed that QTL QFFE.perg-5A affected performance in all the environments studied. Not only were there more efficient dowels, but also more dowels per square metre." — Nicole Pretini — INTA Pergamino, first author of the study

 

🌿 FROM THE LABORATORY TO THE FIELD

The Missing Test: Full-Scale Trials

Identifying a genomic region under controlled conditions is one thing. Showing that its effect is sustained when wheat is grown in a real field—with wind, climatic variations, competition between plants, and heterogeneous soils—is another story. That's exactly what the team did at this stage of research: bring the previous findings into the field.

The assays were carried out in multiple environments, using isogenic lines (genetically identical plants except in the region under study). The result was conclusive for QFFE.perg-5A: the favorable allele showed consistent improvements regardless of location, season, or soil conditions. This environmental robustness is, for specialists, a fundamental quality in a marker intended to be used in genetic improvement programs.

"Ear fertility or fruiting efficiency (FE, grains per g of ear dry weight at anthesis) was proposed as a promising trait to improve wheat yield potential, based on its functional relationship with the determination of grain number and evidence of trait variability in elite germplasm adapted to Argentina's productive conditions,"  González explained at the time of publication of the work.

 

👩 🔬 THE TEAM BEHIND THE DISCOVERY

 

🔬 Nicole Pretini Researcher — first author INTA Pergamino / CONICET	🌾 Fernanda González Director of the study CONICET CIT NOBA / INTA Pergamino
🧬 Leonardo Vanzetti Molecular Biology INTA Marcos Juárez (Córdoba)	🎓 Giuliana Ferrari Doctoral Fellow R+D+i Agency — candidate genes

 

🇦🇷 ARGENTINA TRIGUERA

A discovery with a Pampean name and surname

Argentina is not only a wheat-producing country: it is one of the great breadbaskets of the world. With an average production of 19 million tonnes per year, wheat is the country's second most important winter crop after barley, and one of the pillars of national agri-food exports.

Of those 19 million tons, between six and seven million are consumed domestically – in the form of bread, noodles, semolina and multiple derivatives – while the rest is exported. Advancing the potential yield of the crop, even by one percentage point, has a direct economic impact on millions of dollars in foreign exchange and on the food security of countries that depend on Argentine imports.

"Advancing in basic and technological knowledge that allows us to increase crop yields in a more efficient and sustainable way could, firstly, improve national production and exportable balances and, secondly, contribute to global food security," said González when presenting the results.

 

"This line of work began more than fifteen years ago, when we identified the reproductive efficiency of the ear as a promising trait to improve wheat yield, particularly in Argentine varieties." — Fernanda González — CONICET / CIT NOBA / INTA Pergamino

 

🏭 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Seedbeds, fields and technology: science comes out of the laboratory

One of the most outstanding aspects of the finding is its immediate applicability. Unlike many genomic discoveries that remain in the experimental stage for years, the QTLs identified by the team are tools that can be integrated into conventional breeding programs today, without the need for gene editing or state-of-the-art technologies.

In the short term: Wheat breeding companies can use identified QTLs to perform molecular marker-assisted selection at early stages. This means crossing varieties and, through a simple DNA analysis, identifying which of the hundreds of resulting plants carry the favorable allele, without the need to wait for harvest.

In the medium term: the team is working on identifying the specific genes that are within the QTL regions. Once these genes are known, new doors are opened: precision genetic editing, improvement of varieties with greater climatic adaptation, and multiplication of the effect in combination with other agronomic characteristics.

🔓 PUBLIC DATA, FREE ACCESS FOR ALL COMPANIES ✅  The data of the identified QTLs are freely accessible and are already available to all companies in the sector through CONICET. 🤝  Several breeding companies have already contacted the team to begin applying the results in their selection programs. 🎓  Giuliana Ferrari, a doctoral fellow at the R+D+i Agency, joined the team to continue identifying the specific genes within the key regions.

 

"The identified QTLs could be used to select lines during the breeding process, with the aim of obtaining wheat varieties with higher yields," Vanzetti explained. He added that the long term is also promising: "This would allow us to understand in greater depth some of the mechanisms that regulate performance and would open the doors to applying new breeding technologies, such as gene editing."

 

🌱 BEYOND WHEAT

Barley, rice, corn: the scope of a cross-sectional finding

One of the aspects that most excites the scientific community is the possibility that the mechanisms identified in wheat are not exclusive to this species. Many processes that determine yield in cereals are evolutionarily conserved: similar genes can serve analogous functions in wheat, barley, rice, and maize.

"What we found in wheat may provide clues to investigate similar mechanisms in crops such as barley, rice or corn. In fact, within the region of the genome that we identified, we found candidate genes whose function has already been described in other crops, which reinforces the idea that these are conserved mechanisms. This opens the door to comparative studies and more integrated breeding strategies between species," Pretini said.

In practical terms, this means that the Argentine find could become the seed of a new generation of research into crops that feed billions of people around the world. Rice is the basis of the diet in Asia; maize is essential in Latin America and Africa; Barley is key to beer and animal feed. If the same QTLs identified in wheat have functional analogues in those species, the potential impact is multiplied exponentially.

 

🕰️ THE STORY BEHIND THE DISCOVERY

Fifteen years of patient science

 

2007	The INTA Pergamino team, led by Fernanda González, begins to study the reproductive efficiency of the ear as a promising characteristic for wheat yield. First working hypothesis.
2012	First results in trials at the individual plant scale. Patterns in wheat DNA related to fruiting are identified. The team is consolidated with the incorporation of researchers from INTA Marcos Juárez.
2018	Formal identification of QTLs QFFE.perg-5A and QFEm.perg-3A under controlled conditions. The markers are named and larger-scale validation studies begin.
2021	INTA Informa publishes the team's advances on the physiology and genetics of spike fertility. The work is beginning to arouse interest in the seed companies of the private sector.
2025	🌟 Publication in Field Crops Research: QTLs are validated in real field conditions, with consistent impact in multiple environments. Giuliana Ferrari joins in to identify specific genes. Seed companies are beginning to apply the results.

 

✍️ EDITORIAL

An ear that holds more than grains

In a country accustomed to celebrating its natural advantages in agricultural production, this finding reminds us that the real competitive advantage of the future is not only in the quality of the soils or in the climate of the humid pampas. It is in knowledge: in the quiet work of scientific teams that for fifteen years pursued a difficult question in university laboratories, experimental stations and borrowed lots.

The work of Pretini, González and Vanzetti is, in this sense, a model of applied science with real impact. They are not just looking to publish; They want seed companies to use their results, so that the varieties planted in the next decade are more efficient, so that each hectolitre exported represents more grains and more foreign exchange. And that, in the long term, this knowledge will also serve to better feed a planet that in 2050 will have 10,000 million mouths.

An ear of wheat, seen from the outside, is almost invisible in the immensity of the pampas. But inside their cells, a handful of genes contain the difference between a mediocre harvest and an exceptional one. Argentine science has just found some of these genes. Now, the challenge is not to let that knowledge get lost in an academic journal and I really got to the fields.

 

Tags: 🌾 Wheat 🧬 Genomics 🔬 CONICET 🌿 INTA 🇦🇷 Science Argentina 🌍 Food 📊 Safety Field Crops Research

© 2026 — Sources: CONICET, INTA Informa, Field Crops Research, La Nación, Infobae Revista Chacra, Agencia DIB, Radio Nacional.

CONICET researchers achieved a high-impact scientific breakthrough: they demonstrated that synchronized stimulation with intermittent light and sound can promote the generation of new neurons in aging brains, strengthening the hippocampus and opening perspectives for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

🧠 The scientific finding

• Participating institutions: CONICET and Leloir Institute Foundation.
• Methodology: application of intermittent visual and auditory stimuli, synchronized in gamma frequency.
• Results: In animal models, the integration of new neurons into brain circuits was observed, especially in the hippocampus, a key region for memory and learning.

🔑 Relevance of the discovery

• Neurogenesis in aged brains: it was proven that even at advanced ages it is possible to regenerate neurons.
• Strengthening of the hippocampus: the technique reinforces the neural circuits affected in Alzheimer's.
• Non-invasive alternative: synchronised audiovisual stimulation is emerging as an accessible and safe tool.
• Potential impact: It  could become a complementary approach to slow cognitive decline.

📊 Medical and social implications

Area	Expected impact
Alzheimer's	Possible partial restoration of cognitive functions
Brain aging	Improved plasticity and memory
Clinical research	Basis for future human trials
Accessibility	Non-invasive, low-cost and replicable method

⚠️ Challenges and next steps

• Validation in humans: so far the results are preclinical, in mice.
• Scalability: it is necessary to adapt the technique to real clinical contexts.
• Regulation and ethics: any therapeutic application must pass safety and efficacy tests.

🎙️ Conclusion

The CONICET study marks a milestone in Argentine neuroscience. With an innovative approach, the researchers showed that the combination of light and sound can reactivate the brain's ability to generate neurons, even in stages of aging. This finding opens a path of hope in the face of Alzheimer's, a disease that affects millions of people in the world.

Byung-Chul Han: When producing was showing, not manufacturing

A philosophical reflection on the original meaning of production and its transformation in the performance society

We live in an age where everything must produce visible results. Our existence has become an uninterrupted succession of tasks, goals and figures that justify our place in the world. Free time is perceived as an anomaly, rest as a failure of the system, and pause as a void that must be filled as soon as possible. However, this understanding of production as constant manufacturing and accumulation of achievement was not always the case.

The South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han, one of the most influential critical voices of our time, reminds us that the concept of production had a radically different meaning. Originally, producing was not synonymous with manufacturing more, but with deciding what deserved to appear to the common gaze. This seemingly subtle distinction disarticulates our entire modern conception of work, creativity, and human value.

The forgotten sense of producing

The word production did not mean manufacturing or elaboration, but exhibiting, making visible.

— Byung-Chul Han

This statement introduces a deep fissure in our way of thinking. The word produce comes from the Latin producere, composed of pro- (forward, outward) and ducere (to guide, to carry). It literally means to carry forward or bring to light. It was not about adding value, or optimizing processes, or demonstrating usefulness, but about making present something that deserved to be seen.

In its oldest sense, producing was linked to the idea of appearance. Something was produced when it ceased to be hidden and showed itself, when it entered the common space of the visible and shared. The production was not a race against time, but a gesture that put something in relation to others, an act of trust that what was shown would find its place without being forced.

This conception implied a radically different relationship with value. Not everything that was produced had to be profitable, nor did everything visible have to be justified by its function. There were gestures, deeds and words that were produced because they made sense in themselves, not because they responded to an external demand. Production was, in a way, a contemplative act that demanded attention, care, and patience.

 

Figure 1: The original meaning of producing as an act of making visible

The performance society: when freedom becomes imperative

Han describes our age as the performance society, a system where individuals are no longer exploited by external forces, but exploit themselves under the illusion of freedom. This self-exploitation is much more effective than traditional exploitation because it is accompanied by a feeling of autonomy and personal fulfillment.

The society of the twenty-first century is no longer disciplinary, but a society of performance. Its inhabitants are no longer called subjects of obedience but subjects of performance. These subjects are entrepreneurs of themselves

— Byung-Chul Han

The paradigm shift is radical. We have gone from Foucault's disciplinary societies—hospitals, prisons, barracks, factories—to a society of gymnasiums, office towers, banks, and shopping malls. Power no longer functions through external prohibitions, but through the positivity of being able to do. The imperative is no longer you must, but you can, and it is precisely that apparent freedom that chains us.

This dynamic does not work through external imposition, but through self-demand. Each person internalizes the need to produce and becomes the manager of their own exhibition. It is not enough to do something, it must be made visible, shareable, validable. The result is a form of burnout that doesn't come from physical labor, but from the constant pressure to stay active, relevant, and present.

 

Figure 2: The subject of performance as exploiter and exploited of himself

The self as a permanent project

In this context, even personal identity is transformed. The self becomes a project that must be produced relentlessly, a kind of personal brand that must be constantly cared for, updated and optimized. Producing is no longer just making things, but making oneself. And this task, far from liberating, generates tiredness, anxiety and a diffuse sense of inadequacy.

The subject of performance is trapped in a paradox: he is simultaneously master and slave of himself. He believes himself to be free because there is no explicit boss to control him, but in reality he has internalized all the control mechanisms and submits to much more relentless self-surveillance than any external supervisor.

From shared visibility to constant exposure

The problem arises when visibility ceases to be an act of openness and becomes a permanent obligation. In contemporary society, producing is no longer just showing, but demonstrating. Demonstrate competence, value, performance, relevance. Everything that is done seems to need an explicit justification, a metric that validates it.

Visibility becomes ambiguous. On the one hand, it is essential to exist socially in the digital and professional world. On the other, it becomes a constant source of pressure and evaluation. What is not shown does not seem to count, but what is shown is immediately put on trial. Production ceases to be a free act and becomes a continuous examination.

Social networks and digital platforms have exponentially intensified this dynamic. Every post, every comment, every “ like” it becomes a unit of value that feeds the need for constant exposure. Life itself is transformed into content, into material that must be continually produced, edited, and distributed for the consumption of others.

Fatigue as a symptom of the era

Han identifies tiredness as the characteristic disease of our time. But it is not a productive tiredness that leads to rest and regeneration, but a violent tiredness that destroys all community, all closeness and all shared narrative. It is a tiredness that isolates and divides, that exhausts all the senses.

Contemporary neuropsychiatric illnesses—depression, attention deficit disorder, occupational burnout syndrome—are not individual anomalies, but symptoms of a system that demands perpetual performance. Burnout is not the result of working too much, but of the structural impossibility of stopping, of the disappearance of spaces for contemplation and true rest.

Excess positivity also manifests itself as an excess of stimuli, information, and impulses. It radically modifies the structure and economy of care. This fragments and destroys attention.

— Byung-Chul Han

 

Figure 3: Fragmentation of attention and violent fatigue

The invisible as a lost space

When everything should produce quantifiable results, something fundamental is lost: the possibility of spaces without performance. What is not translated into visible metrics is marginalized, even if it is precisely there—in silence, waiting, contemplation—where deep reflection, genuine creativity, and authentic rest emerge.

Contemplative time, that time that produces nothing in economic terms but is essential to thought and culture, has been colonized by the logic of performance. Even leisure has become a productive activity: it must be optimized, it must generate shareable experiences, it must contribute to personal development.

The vita contemplativa, that dimension of human existence dedicated to reflection and contemplation, has been almost completely absorbed by the vita activa. There is no time to think because there is always something to do, something to produce, something to demonstrate.

Towards a new understanding of production

Recovering the original meaning of production does not mean rejecting work or idealizing the past, but questioning the reduction of all activity to quantifiable output. It means remembering that showing is not the same as demonstrating, and that making visible does not necessarily imply competing or justifying oneself to an invisible but omnipresent audience.

Han proposes what he calls a revolution of time: to recover forms of temporality that are not subject to the logic of productivity. This implies claiming the right to slowness, to pause, to contemplation. It implies recognizing that not everything valuable can be measured, and that human life needs spaces where no performance is demanded.

Han's implicit proposal is an invitation to reconcile with what appears without demanding anything in return. To allow certain things to exist without being immediately evaluated. To produce without exhausting ourselves, to show without exposing ourselves completely, to accept that not everything valuable has to yield.

 

Figure 4: The Revolution of Time and the Recovery of Contemplation

Practices of resistance: kindness as a political gesture

How can we resist a system that does not oppress us from the outside but from our own interiority? Han suggests that resistance cannot be frontal—there is no external enemy to fight—but must be articulated as a praxis of delay, as a set of practices that slow down, that interrupt the constant flow of activity.

Kindness  emerges as a political category. It is not about kindness as superficial courtesy, but about a kind look at the world that does not immediately seek to appropriate, categorize or instrumentalize what it sees. It is a form of attention that allows things to be without the need to immediately translate them into value or utility.

This kindness implies recovering the ability to stop, to contemplate without purpose, to establish relationships that are not mediated by the logic of exchange. It involves psychologically dismantling the mechanisms of the performance society through small daily gestures that recover other ways of being in the world.

Conclusion: Producing as an act of appearance

In a world saturated with activity and forced visibility, rethinking production as an act of appearance can be a discreet but radical form of resistance. A way of remembering that, before manufacturing results and accumulating metrics, producing consisted simply of making visible what deserved to be seen.

It is not a question of rejecting technology, work or productivity in themselves, but of questioning their totalization. It is a matter of recovering spaces where human life can unfold in dimensions that are not immediately translatable into performance: deep thought, artistic creation without market expectations, human relationships without instrumental purpose, genuine rest.

Byung-Chul Han's philosophy invites us to recognize that we live in an age of positive violence, where the imperative to be able to do has become a more subtle form of domination but no less effective than the forms of disciplinary power of the past. And it challenges us to imagine and practice ways of life that are not entirely subsumed under the logic of performance.

Perhaps the most urgent task of our time is to learn anew how to produce in the original sense of the term: not to make more, but to discern what deserves to appear. Not to constantly prove our worth, but to trust that some things make sense on their own. Not to expose ourselves relentlessly, but to cultivate spaces of invisibility where we can simply be.

To produce is not to accumulate objects, but to choose what deserves to be put on display. Sometimes, making visible consists of removing everything else.

Conceptual references

Byung-Chul Han's key works:

• The Fatigue Society (2010) — Analysis of the transformation of disciplinary societies into performance societies.

• The Transparency Society (2012) — Critique of the contemporary obsession with total visibility.

• The Agony of Eros (2012) — On the disappearance of desire and otherness in narcissistic society.

• Psychopolitics (2014) — Analysis of neoliberalism as a form of psychic domination.

• The Expulsion of the Different (2016) — On the Loss of Otherness and Genuine Difference.

• The Scent of Time (2009) — Philosophy of temporalities and the crisis of narrative time.

Key concepts developed in the article:

Performance society: Social system characterized by the self-exploitation of subjects who believe themselves to be free but who have internalized the mechanisms of constant control and evaluation.

Violence of positivity: A form of violence that does not come from external prohibition but from an excess of stimuli, from the imperative to be able to do, from the obligation to constantly perform.

Vita contemplativa: Dimension of human existence dedicated to reflection, contemplation and deep thought, which has been colonized by the logic of performance.

Praxis of delay: A set of practices that slow down the frenetic pace of the performance society and recover non-productive forms of temporality.

Public TV will broadcast the National Team's matches in the 2026 World Cup

The Government confirmed a trade agreement that guarantees the issuance without the use of public funds

By Editorial Staff

Public TV will once again be the screen of the Argentine National Team in a World Cup. The government confirmed that the state channel will broadcast all the matches of the team led by Lionel Scaloni during the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The decision is part of a trade agreement that, according to official sources, will not involve the use of tax funds.

An expected announcement in a context of changes in public media

The confirmation comes at a time of debate over the role and funding of state media. Amid discussions about possible structural reforms, the government sought to send a signal of continuity in the coverage of sporting events of national interest.

The broadcast of the National Team's matches in World Cups is historically one of the most valued content by the audience. In 2022, Argentina's matches reached historic ratings peaks and consolidated TV Pública as one of the most watched channels in the country during the tournament.

A trade agreement with no tax cost

The Executive stressed that the agreement reached to obtain the broadcasting rights was made "without disbursement of public funds". As they explained, the financing will come from advertising agreements and contributions from private companies, which would cover the costs without resorting to the state budget.

The strategy aims to sustain the channel's presence in high-impact events without committing fiscal resources in a context of economic adjustment.

Which matches will be broadcast

The agreement contemplates the issuance of:

• All matches of the Argentine National Team
• The most important matches of the final phase, depending on the availability of rights
• Special coverage from the World Cup venues, with envoys and thematic programming

Public TV also plans to produce complementary content, such as tactical analysis, special programs and daily summaries.

Reactions: public support and caution in the sector

The announcement generated a positive reaction among viewers, who value the possibility of seeing the National Team on an open signal. On social networks, the news was trending for several hours.

In the audiovisual sector, the measure was received with caution. Some specialists stressed that Public TV thus maintains a strategic role in the broadcasting of massive sporting events. Others, on the other hand, raised questions about the sustainability of a model based solely on trade agreements, especially in a volatile advertising market.

A World Cup with an expanded format and logistical challenges

The 2026 World Cup will be the first with 48 teams, which implies a longer schedule and greater demand for production. The distances between locations in the United States, Mexico and Canada also represent a challenge for news teams.

Even so, Public TV assures that they are already working on operational planning to guarantee quality coverage.

Conclusion: a political gesture and a commitment to the audience

The decision to broadcast the National Team's matches on Public TV combines a political gesture – maintaining a service of high social interest – with an alternative financing strategy. In a context of changes and tensions in the media system, the announcement seeks to reinforce the idea that the state channel will continue to be present at major sporting events.

The challenge will be to sustain the quality of coverage and ensure that the business model adopted is viable over time.

GOLDEN GLOBES 2026

Full List of Winners and Protests Against ICE

The 2026 Golden Globes held its 83rd edition on January 11 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, marking a historic milestone not only for its awardees, but for becoming the scene of a powerful political protest. A-list celebrities took to the red carpet to demonstrate against the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wearing pins with the messages "Be Good" and "ICE Out" in memory of Renee Good, a woman killed by an ICE agent days before the ceremony.

Symbolic Protests Dominate the Red Carpet

The red carpet of the 2026 Golden Globes ceased to be just a fashion showcase to become a platform for political activism. Multiple celebrities wore pins with anti-ICE slogans, introducing a strong social stance at an awards show that the previous year had avoided political pronouncements.

Renee Good Case: The Trigger for the Protest

On January 7, 2026, Renée Nicole Good, 37, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent while in her car during an operation in Minneapolis. Good, described as a poet and community activist, had decided to stop her vehicle to observe and peacefully alert about the presence of agents, carrying only whistles to warn other neighbors. The case has sparked national outcry and an FBI investigation.

Celebrities Who Spoke Out

Among the figures who wore the protest pins were:

·       Mark Ruffalo: The "Hulk" actor declared that "this is for Renee Good and for the people in America who are terrified today." He harshly criticized Donald Trump, calling him "the worst human being in the world."

·       Wanda Sykes: She explained the meaning of pins in interviews on the red carpet.

·       Jean Smart: The winner of best comedy actress wore the pin during the gala.

·       Ariana Grande: She joined the silent protest during the event.

·       Natasha Lyonne: Visible with the message "ICE Out" upon arrival.

The Organization Behind the Campaign

The protest was organized by activists Nelini Stamp of Working Families Power and Jess Morales Rocketto of Maremoto, who compared the movement to historic moments such as Marlon Brando's rejection of the Oscar in 1973. "There's a long tradition of people creating art taking a stand for justice at key moments," Stamp said. Organizers promised to continue the campaign throughout the awards season.

Film Category Winners

The big winner: "One battle after another"

Paul Thomas Anderson's film "One Battle After Another" was crowned the big winner of the night in cinemas, taking four Golden Globes out of the nine nominations it received. This victory cements Anderson as one of the most celebrated directors in the industry, being his first Golden Globe as a director after years of recognition.

MAIN CATEGORIES - CINEMA

CATEGORY	WINNER
Best Motion Picture - Drama	Hamnet
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy	One battle after another
Best Director	Paul Thomas Anderson (Battle After Battle)
Best Screenplay	Paul Thomas Anderson (Battle After Battle)
Best Actor - Drama	Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)
Best Actress - Drama	Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
Best Actor - Musical or Comedy	Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)
Best Actress - Musical or Comedy	Rose Byrne (Battle After Battle)
Best Supporting Actor	Stellan Skarsgård (Frankenstein)
Best Supporting Actress	Teyana Taylor (Battle After Battle)

 

SPECIAL CATEGORIES - CINEMA

CATEGORY	WINNER
Best Foreign Language Film	The Secret Agent (Brazil)
Best Animated Feature	Las Guerreras K-Pop (KPop Demon Hunters)
Best Original Song	"Golden" - The K-Pop Warriors
Best Original Score	Hamnet
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement	Sinners

 

Highlights

Wagner Moura made history by becoming the first Brazilian actor to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama for his role in "The Secret Agent", a film that also won the award for Best Foreign Language Film, beating the Spanish "Sirat". Timothée Chalamet continued his streak of success with his win for "Marty Supreme," while breakout Teyana Taylor surprised by winning Best Supporting Actress.

 

Winners in Television Categories

"Adolescence" Sweeps Series

The Netflix miniseries "Adolescence" became the big winner in the television categories, taking four awards out of five nominations. The series, which follows in the footsteps of the successful "Baby Reindeer", won over critics and audiences with its raw representation of contemporary British adolescence.

MAIN CATEGORIES - TELEVISION

CATEGORY	WINNER
Best Series - Drama	The Pitt
Best Series - Musical or Comedy	The Studio
Best Miniseries or TV Movie	Adolescence
Best Actor - Drama Series	Noah Wyle (The Pitt)
Best Actress - Drama Series	Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus)
Best Actor - Comedy Series	Seth Rogen (The Studio)
Best Actress - Comedy Series	Jean Smart (Hacks)
Best Actor - Miniseries or TV Movie	Stephen Graham (Adolescence)
Best Actress - Miniseries or TV Movie	Michelle Williams (Adolescence)

 

SUPPORTING ACTORS - TELEVISION

CATEGORY	WINNER
Best Supporting Actor - TV	Owen Cooper (Adolescence)
Best Supporting Actress - TV	Erin Doherty (Adolescence)
Best Stand-Up Performance	Ricky Gervais (Mortality)
Mejor Podcast	Good Hang with Amy Poehler

 

Memorable Moments from Television

Jean Smart received her third Golden Globe for her role as Deborah Vance in "Hacks," cementing herself as one of the most celebrated actresses on television today. "I'm one of the luckiest people in this industry and I don't take it lightly," she said excitedly. Meanwhile, Amy Poehler won the inaugural first award for Best Podcast, receiving the award from Snoop Dogg in one of the funniest moments of the night.

The Red Carpet: Glamour and Style

The red carpet of the 2026 Golden Globes displayed a diverse color palette that ranged from delicate pastel tones to shiny metallics. Gold and silver made their appearance again, testaments to the permanence of the classics, while vibrant shades of red, klein blue and emerald green conveyed a special energy.

Best Looks of the Night

·       Amanda Seyfried: Spectacular in a draped white dress by Versace and jewelry by Tiffany & Co. that made her one of the most talked about of the night.

·       Jennifer Lawrence: She surprised with a dress of transparencies and flowers by Givenchy that was one of the undisputed protagonists.

·       Amal Clooney: She made an impact in a draped red Balmain dress with a heart-shaped neckline, Jimmy Choo bag and Aquazzura shoes.

·       Ariana Grande: She opted for a vaporous black dress with a fitted corset and ties on the shoulders, combining modernity and romanticism.

·       Kate Hudson: She dazzled in a stunning silver dress with metallic fringes by Armani Privé.

·       Julia Roberts: All elegance in a velvet dress by Giorgio Armani in tribute to the late designer.

·       Jennifer Lopez: Groundbreaking in a mermaid silhouette dress with baroque embroidery by Lily et Cie.

·       Emily Blunt: Impeccable in a white outfit with a Louis Vuitton cape.

·       Ana de Armas: Elegant in a black satin dress by Dior.

·       Pamela Anderson: She surprised with a minimalist white outfit, hair up and natural makeup.

Men's Trend: Brooches

Brooches became the male trend of the night, beyond protest pins. Oscar Isaac, Dave Franco and Patrick Schwarzenegger were some of the most elegant actors who opted for this jewel to accompany their tuxedos, proving that brooches are much more than a watch.

Nikki Glaser: The Hostess Who Conquered Hollywood

Nikki Glaser returned as host for the second year in a row, cementing herself as one of the most successful hosts in recent Golden Globe history. The comedian, known for her biting humor in the "roasts", proved that the best jokes work when the host reveres her subjects.

Monologue Highlights

·       He joked about Sean Penn's aging by comparing him to a "leather handbag" and mentioned 'El Chapo' in a joke that generated laughter and surprise.

·       He referenced Leonardo DiCaprio and his young girlfriends, a recurring but always effective theme.

·       He maintained a perfect balance between irreverent humor and respect for the honorees.

 

Ceremony Facts and Statistics

KEY FIGURES FROM THE 83RD EDITION

CATEGORY	FACT
Edition	83rd
Date	January 11, 2026
Headquarters	The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills
Hostess	Nikki Glaser (2nd year in a row)
Most nominated film	One battle after another (9 nominations)
Most nominated series	The White Lotus (6 nominations)
Main Winner - Film	One battle after another (4 prizes)
Main Winner - TV	Adolescence (4 awards)
Inaugural category	Mejor Podcast
Transmission	CBS y Paramount+

 

Honorary Lifetime Achievement Awards

After not being televised the previous year, the two Lifetime Achievement Awards returned during a primetime special titled "Golden Eve," aired on January 8, 2026, on CBS and Paramount+.

·       Cecil B. DeMille Award: Helen Mirren, legendary British actress recognized for her versatility and her multiple portrayals of royalty.

·       Carol Burnett Award: Sarah Jessica Parker, American television icon and star of "Sex and the City".

 

Analysis: Implications for Awards Season

The 2026 Golden Globes are once again consolidated as the definitive thermometer and the prelude to the Oscars. Wagner Moura's win marks a historic precedent that could influence Academy nominations, while the dominance of "Battle After Battle" positions her as a favorite for multiple categories at the industry awards.

Observed Trends

·       International diversity: The triumph of Brazilian and Korean productions signals a growing openness of Hollywood to world cinema.

·       Political activism: The return of political protests on the red carpet marks a change of direction from last year's ceremony.

·       New categories: The inclusion of Best Podcast reflects the evolution of cultural consumption and the adaptation of the awards to new platforms.

·       Dominance of streaming platforms: Netflix and Apple TV+ continue to consolidate their presence in the main categories.

 

Conclusion

The 2026 Golden Globes will go down in history not only for their winners, but for reminding us that film and television are powerful platforms for social change. On a night where glamour met protest, Hollywood showed that art and activism can coexist, sending a clear message about the responsibility of public figures in times of social crisis. With "One Battle After Another" and "Adolescence" leading their respective categories, and with voices like Mark Ruffalo's resonating beyond the red carpet, this edition marks a turning point in how the entertainment industry engages with the pressing political issues of our time.

___________

© 2026 MiDire - Portal de Noticias y Cultura

Fuentes: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Billboard, FormulaTV

Nicolás Maduro was captured

Nicolás Maduro was captured in Venezuela by U.S. forces and transferred to New York, where he was held in a federal prison on charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy. The operation, confirmed by President Donald Trump, marks a historic turn in hemispheric politics.

🛑 Capture in Venezuela

• Date: The operation was performed on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
• Intervening forces: A U.S. special commando, including Delta Force units, executed an action by land, sea and air that lasted less than 20 minutes.
• Location: Maduro was intercepted in Venezuelan territory and initially transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, bound for Guantánamo.
• Official confirmation: Donald Trump posted images of the moment on social media, assuring that the U.S. "will lead the democratic transition in Venezuela."

✈️ Moving to the United States

• Air route: From Guantanamo, Maduro was flown by military plane to an airport in upstate New York.
• Entry into Manhattan: He was later transferred by helicopter to a helipad on the west side of Manhattan, near 31st Street and the Hudson River.
• Custody: A caravan of police vehicles escorted the former president to federal facilities linked to the DEA.

🔒 Brooklyn Prison

• Detention Center: Nicolás Maduro was admitted to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a federal prison located in the borough of Brooklyn.
• Charges: He faces accusations of narco-terrorism, international conspiracy and drug trafficking, according to judicial sources.
• Conditions: The MDC is a high-security prison that has housed figures such as Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
• Judicial process: It is expected that in the coming days the formal process before federal courts will begin.

📌 Political implications

• Regional impact: Maduro's capture represents a break in the Bolivarian axis and could accelerate the democratic transition in Venezuela.
• International reactions: Latin American and European governments have asked for procedural guarantees, while Chavista sectors denounce "imperial kidnapping."
• Trump's message: The U.S. president affirmed that "international justice cannot wait any longer" and that "Venezuela will be free."

'Operation Absolute Resolve': The military assault that redrew the geopolitical map in 48 hours

1. THE UNPRECEDENTED EVENT

In an operation that rewrites the manual of contemporary international law, U.S. special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas during the early hours of January 3. "Operation Absolute Resolve" – carried out with 150 aircraft from twenty bases – represents the first forced extraction of a sitting head of state in Latin America by the United States since the invasion of Panama in 1989.

The key fact: The operational timing (22:46 to 03:29 Washington time) reveals meticulous planning that took advantage of Venezuelan weather windows and surveillance cycles.

2. ANATOMY OF A LIGHTNING OPERATION

Intelligence phase (previous months)

According to statements by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, the CIA and military intelligence agencies carried out:

• Exhaustive surveillance: Movement patterns, habits, security routines of President Maduro
• Architectural replica: Construction of a duplicate of the presidential residence for training
• Vulnerability Analysis: Venezuelan Air Defense Systems, Military Response Times

Execution (night of 2 to 3 January)

22:46: Donald Trump's presidential order from Mar-a-Lago
00:00-01:00: Coordinated takeoff of 150 aircraft (F-22, F-35, B-1, E-2, drones)
01:01 (02:01 Caracas): Delta Force forces arrive at the target
03:29: Maduro and Cilia Flores embarked on USS Iwo Jima

Critical points attacked simultaneously:

• Fort Tiuna (main military base)
• La Carlota Air Base
• Port of La Guaira
• El Volcán antenna station

3. THE OIL FACTOR: THE GEOPOLITICAL COUNTDOWN

Trump's statements on Venezuelan oil offer the fundamental interpretative key:

"We're going to make our big American oil companies [...] invest billions of dollars, repair the oil infrastructure [...] and start generating profits"

Economic contextualization:

• Reserves: 303.22 billion barrels (17% worldwide)
• Current production: <500,000 barrels/day (vs. 3 million in 1998)
• Investment required: Estimated $200-250 billion to recover capacity

Experts consulted point out that this operation coincides with:

1. Renegotiation of the U.S.-China oil agreement U.S.-Saudi Arabia
2. Inflationary pressures due to energy prices
3. Strategy for relocating critical chains outside the Middle East

4. UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

To. On international legality

• Which article of the OAS or UN Charter does the United States invoke?
• Was there authorization from the Security Council?
• How is the announced U.S. "guardianship" articulated?

B. On the situation in Venezuela

• Casualty figures: Only contradictory statements (Venezuelan Vice Presidency vs. Pentagon)
• Reaction of the FANB: Organized Resistance or Institutional Collapse?
• Interim government: Delcy Rodríguez affirms constitutional continuity from undisclosed location

C. The judicial process

• Southern Judicial District of New York: History in Transnational Drug Trafficking Cases
• Precedents cited: Noriega (Panama) and J.O. Hernández (Honduras)
• Procedural Questions: Capture in Foreign Territory Without Extradition

5. INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS: A DIVIDED CONTINENT

Immediate support:

• Lima Group: Colombia, Brazil, Chile issued coordinated communiqués
• Pacific Alliance: Support for "democratic restoration"

Convictions and reservations:

• Mexico: "It flagrantly violates sovereignty and international law"
• Argentina: Urgent call by CELAC and UNASUR
• CARICOM: Internal Division, 7 Countries Reject Unilateral Action

Global players:

• China: "Serious precedent of hegemonism"
• Russia: Urgent meeting of the Security Council
• European Union: Ambiguous communiqué, emphasizes "need for stability"

6. PROJECTED SCENARIOS

Scenario 1: Consolidation of control (40% probability)

• Establishment of pro-U.S. interim government
• Deployment of "stabilization" troops
• Fast start of oil contracts with ExxonMobil, Chevron

Scenario 2: Resistance and protracted conflict (35%)

• Formation of military/paramilitary resistance fronts
• Regional destabilization campaign
• Intervention of external actors (Russia, Iran via proxies)

Scenario 3: Institutional collapse and humanitarian crisis (25%)

• Power vacuum at the state and local level
• Massive migratory wave (potential +3 million in 6 months)
• Internationalization of the conflict via the United Nations

Nature reveals the most important scientific discoveries of 2025

From the discovery of a new layer of the immune system to ecosystems in the most extreme ocean depths

The prestigious scientific journal Nature has just published its annual list of the 10 people and discoveries that marked the year 2025, consolidating an extraordinary period for global research. Among the standout findings are revolutionary advances in immunology, ocean exploration, biotechnology, and personalized medicine that promise to transform our understanding of the natural world and the therapeutic capabilities of modern science.

A hidden arsenal in our cells

The most shocking discovery of the year came from systems biologist Yifat Merbl and her team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. While researching proteasomes, cellular structures known primarily for their protein recycling function, Merbl identified a completely unknown ability of our immune system.

Proteasomes, which make up to two percent of a cell's protein content and degrade seventy percent of cellular proteins, turned out to have a secret mode of operation. When they detect a bacterial infection, these tiny structures change their molecular configuration and begin to produce antimicrobial peptides capable of destroying bacteria by piercing their outer membranes.

"This is really exciting because we didn't know this was happening in cells," Professor Merbl told the BBC. "We discovered a new immunity mechanism that allows us to have a defense against bacterial infections. It's happening all over our body in every cell and generates a new class of potential natural antibiotics."

The finding, published in the journal Nature in March 2025, revealed around a thousand peptide fragments with antimicrobial sequences, all of which resulted from the degradation of ordinary and unspecialized proteins. Most surprisingly, these peptides come from cellular waste machinery, which led the team to christen their research method "container diving" or "dumpster diving" in scientific terms.

Implications for the Antibiotic Crisis

This discovery comes at a critical time. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics represents one of the greatest threats to global public health. Experiments by Merbl's team showed that when proteasomes are turned off in laboratory cells, they become significantly more vulnerable to infection by bacteria such as Salmonella.

Professor Daniel Davis, director of biological sciences and immunologist at Imperial College London, called the findings extremely striking, noting that they fundamentally change our understanding of how the body fights infections. However, he cautioned that turning this discovery into a new source of clinical antibiotics still requires years of additional research.

Dr Lindsey Edwards, an expert in microbiology at King's College London, stressed that this mechanism could be especially useful in immunocompromised patients, who are more vulnerable to severe infections and have limited therapeutic options.

Life in the Abyss: The Deepest Ecosystem on the Planet

While Merbl explored the microscopic depths of our cells, Chinese geochemist Mengran Du descended into the most extreme depths of the Pacific Ocean. With just 30 minutes left on his underwater mission aboard the submersible Fendouzhe, Du decided to explore a final stretch of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench between Russia and Alaska.

What he found redefined the known limits of life on Earth. At depths of up to 9,533 meters below the surface, nearly 25 percent deeper than any previous record, Du and his team at the China Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Technology documented entire communities of tube worms, clams, and mollusks thriving in conditions that seemed impossible for complex life.

Chemical oases in absolute darkness

These creatures don't rely on photosynthesis, but on chemosynthesis, a process by which symbiotic bacteria living inside them convert chemical compounds such as methane and hydrogen sulfide into usable energy. The discovery, published in Nature in July 2025, revealed a roughly 2,500-kilometer corridor of chemosynthetic ecosystems in the hadal zone of the northwest Pacific.

"Although we see the hadal trench as a very extreme environment, the most inhospitable environment, these organisms can happily live there," explained Du, who was recognized as one of the key figures in science of 2025 by Nature.

The sediment analysis revealed surprisingly high concentrations of methane, an unexpected finding that led the team to formulate a new hypothesis: microbes in these ecosystems convert organic matter in sediments into carbon dioxide and then methane, a process scientists didn't know occurred at such depths.

Implications for the global carbon cycle

This discovery has ramifications that go far beyond marine biology. The hadal trenches, as it is now understood, act not only as methane reservoirs but as active carbon recycling centers. Recent studies suggest that sediments in these areas can sequester up to 70 times more carbon than other regions of the seafloor.

Julie Huber, a deep-sea microbiologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who was not involved in the research, expressed amazement at the extent and diversity of the communities discovered. The finding suggests that similar ecosystems could exist in other hadal trenches around the world, dramatically expanding our understanding of where and how life can thrive in extreme conditions.

Other outstanding scientific milestones

The Nature 2025 list also recognized other significant advances that are shaping the future of science and medicine.

Personalized medicine with CRISPR

The case of KJ Muldoon, a child born in 2024 with CPS1 deficiency, an ultra-rare genetic disease that prevents protein processing and accumulates ammonia in a lethal way, marked an unprecedented milestone. A team of doctors and scientists from Philadelphia and Pennsylvania developed a completely customized CRISPR gene-editing therapy in just six months, designed to correct a single error in your DNA.

This treatment represents the first case of fully personalized gene therapy for an individual mutation, opening the door to a new era of precision medicine where treatments can be designed specifically for each patient's unique genetic profile.

Fighting dengue with bacteria

Brazilian Luciano Moreira developed an innovative method to combat dengue by releasing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacterium, which blocks the transmission of dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses. This method, initially experimental, has been adopted as a national measure in Brazil, marking one of the most ambitious efforts to control vector-borne diseases.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Nature also recognized the first images captured by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, one of the largest and most advanced telescopes in the world. This instrument promises to revolutionize our understanding of the universe by mapping the entire visible sky of the Southern Hemisphere every few nights, making it possible to detect transient astronomical objects and study dark matter in unprecedented detail.

A year of scientific transformation

The discoveries of 2025 share a common thread: science's ability to reveal the unseen, whether it's digging through cellular junk to find new immune defenses or descending into the most inhospitable ocean depths to discover thriving ecosystems.

These findings not only push the frontiers of human knowledge, but also offer tangible hope in the face of some of the most pressing challenges of our time: bacterial resistance, climate change, and rare genetic diseases.

As the year draws to a close, the scientific community looks optimistically to 2026, aware that each discovery opens up new questions and possibilities. As Professor Merbl pointed out about their immunological finding, the team believes that it has only scratched the surface of this molecular universe. The same could be said of Du's hadal ecosystems and the countless mysteries that still await deep within our planet and our own cells.

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Sources: Nature, BBC, CNN, El Universal, Weizmann Institute of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Economic crisis and poverty in Argentina: a current x-ray of a structural problem

Poverty in Argentina is once again at the center of public debate. The most recent reports show that more than 40% of the population lives in poverty, while different organizations warn that the economic recovery has not yet managed to translate into real improvements for the most vulnerable sectors.

This panorama, far from being homogeneous, reveals a complex web of inequalities, divergent indicators and a hard core of exclusion that has persisted for more than two decades.

📉 A country where income is not enough

According to the National Council for the Coordination of Social Policies, 61% of the population had difficulty covering the total basic basket or faces problems of access to housing, health, education or social security. This alternative indicator is not limited to income: it measures rights, quality of life and access to essential services.

At the same time, the Argentine Catholic University (UCA) registered a drop in indigence and a partial recovery in income, although it warns that there is a structural core of poverty that has not changed for 20 years.

📊 Recent developments in indicators

The data show a slight improvement from the 2024 peak, but they are still alarming:

Indicator	2024 (peak)	2025 (latest data)	2025 1º(Indec)
Income poverty	45,6%	36,6%	31,6%
Coast (ODSA-UCA)	49,9%	36,3%	--
Homelessness	12,3%	6,8%	6,9%

 

Despite the decline, specialists agree: economic stabilization has not yet translated into tangible improvements in daily well-being.

🧩 An uneven map: who is most affected

The reports indicate that:

• The crisis hits the lower-income sectors hardest.
• The social gap continues to widen.
• Access to basic rights continues to be a structural debt.
• The economic recovery benefits the formal sectors first, leaving informal workers and vulnerable households behind.

In addition, researchers from the Gino Germani Institute warn that 72% of workers receive salaries below what is necessary to cover the basic basket, which deepens job insecurity and economic insecurity.

🧠 Beyond the numbers: the human dimension

Poverty is not just an economic indicator. It impacts on:

• Physical and mental health
• Access to education
• Quality of housing
• Future expectations
• Job placement
• Social participation

The reports agree that multidimensional poverty – the one that measures rights and not just income – is the one that grows the most and the one that costs the most to reverse.

🔍 What do these data show about the country?

The different studies consulted reveal a clear pattern:

• Poverty in Argentina is not a circumstantial phenomenon, but a structural one.
• Recent improvements are insufficient to reverse decades of inequality.
• The economic recovery does not reach the entire population in a uniform way.
• Sustained policies that address income, rights, and quality of life in  a comprehensive way are required.

📝 Conclusion: a challenge that demands more than statistics

The numbers show a slight improvement, but the daily reality of millions of Argentines continues to be marked by uncertainty, lack of opportunities and vulnerability. Poverty in Argentina is a complex phenomenon that requires multidisciplinary approaches, long-term policies and a sustained commitment from the State, the private sector and civil society.

Meanwhile, the latest reports serve as a stark reminder: the economic recovery won't be complete until it reaches everyone.

🚗 From a Hands-Free Journey to Autonomous Taxis: How a 1995 Journey Anticipated the Future of Mobility

In 1995, researchers at Carnegie Mellon traveled 4,800 kilometers without touching the steering wheel. Thirty years later, that experimental feat is reflected in the expansion of autonomous taxis in several cities in the United States.

Thirty years before driverless vehicles began to circulate on the streets of Phoenix or San Francisco, a group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University made a demonstration that seemed to come out of a futuristic movie. In 1995, aboard a modified Pontiac Trans Sport, they traveled 4,800 kilometers from Pittsburgh to San Diego without putting their hands on the wheel, in a journey dubbed "No Hands Across America".

The experience, which combined computer vision, experimental sensors and pioneering software, marked a before and after in autonomous driving research in the United States.

🧪 An experiment that paved the way

The vehicle used, known as Navlab 5, was part of a series of prototypes developed by Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute since the mid-1980s. Its driving system, called RALPH (Rapidly Adapting Lateral Position Handler), analyzed in real time the images captured by a front camera to identify lanes, edges and visual references of the road.

Researchers Dean Pomerleau and Todd Jochem only intervened to accelerate or brake; the steering was automated 98% of the way, an absolute record for the time. The initiative was sponsored by Delco Electronics, AssistWare Technology and the university itself.

Although the experiment did not have an immediate impact on the automotive industry, it did become an academic milestone that inspired subsequent projects, including the DARPA Grand Challenge of the 2000s, fundamental to the development of modern autonomous driving.

🚕 Thirty years later: autonomous taxis are here

Today, three decades after that experimental journey, the fruits of that work are seen in the proliferation of autonomous taxis in cities such as Phoenix, San Francisco, Austin and Las Vegas. Companies such as Waymo, Cruise and Zoox operate fleets that transport driverless passengers, using LIDAR sensors, radars, multispectral cameras and artificial intelligence systems trained on millions of miles of data.

What in 1995 was a bold experiment, today is a commercial service that is beginning to be integrated into urban life, with specific regulations and debates on safety, privacy and coexistence with traditional traffic.

🔄 From a university prototype to a multibillion-dollar industry

The evolution from Navlab 5 to today's autonomous taxis involved advances on multiple fronts:

• Computer vision: from a single camera to multispectral systems.
• Sensors: incorporation of LIDAR, radar and ultrasound.
• Processing: from experimental computers to specialized chips.
• Mapping: from simple routes to dynamic HD maps.
• Artificial intelligence: from linear algorithms to deep neural networks.

Each of these steps was made possible by decades of research accumulated since Carnegie Mellon's first projects.

🌐 A legacy that is still in motion

The "No Hands Across America" journey not only proved that a vehicle could stay in its lane for thousands of miles; It also inaugurated a vision that today materializes in autonomous services that are beginning to be part of the urban landscape.

What seemed like a reckless experiment in 1995 is now an expanding industry that redefines mobility and poses new technological, ethical and regulatory challenges.

💵 Dollar and Argentine economy: exchange rate calm, inflationary expectations and market signals

The zero gap marks an atypical day as analysts project a 2026 with lower inflation and a higher dollar

The price of the dollar was once again at the center of the Argentine economic agenda, in a context where exchange rate stability coexists with expectations of future correction. Both the official and parallel markets showed practically identical values, an unusual phenomenon that generates different readings among economists and financial operators.

✅ Today's quotes: stability on all fronts

The official dollar was around $1430 for purchase and $1450 for sale, while the blue dollar traded at the same values. The exchange rate gap, therefore, remained at 0%, a scenario that is not usually sustained for long periods in the Argentine economy.

The tourist dollar, which incorporates an additional 30% over the official exchange rate, was positioned near $1503.40, maintaining its stable trend.

For analysts, this calm responds to a combination of factors: exchange controls, lower seasonal demand and moderate expectations of devaluation in the short term.

✅ Inflation: projections of deceleration towards 2026

The Central Bank's latest Market Expectations Survey (REM) anticipates a monthly inflation scenario  of around 1.5% for May 2026, consolidating the downward trend that began to be observed in 2025.

Although the slowdown is seen as a positive sign, specialists warn that the process will depend on the recomposition of relative prices, fiscal policy and the evolution of the exchange rate.

✅ The dollar towards 2026: gradual correction, not a sharp jump

Private consultants project that the dollar could be close to $1,720 by the end of 2026, in line with a progressive adjustment of the exchange rate. The market consensus points to an orderly movement, without abrupt shocks, although conditioned by the government's ability to maintain fiscal balance and investor confidence.

✅ Financial market: caution in the face of new debt issuance

The auction of the Bonar 2029N, the first issuance of debt in dollars in eight years, generated expectation among investors. The result will be key to gauging the market's appetite for Argentine assets and the perception of the country's ability to refinance itself in foreign currency.

In the last round, bonds and stocks showed slight declines, reflecting a cautious stance pending definitions on January maturities.

✅ What does this day leave

• The zero exchange rate gap is a striking fact that could anticipate a readjustment.
• The projected downward inflation is an encouraging, if fragile, sign.
• The expected exchange rate for 2026 suggests a moderate adjustment.
• The issuance of debt in dollars will be a key thermometer for market confidence.

 

Winners of the Cheese World Cup

The Santa Fe cheese "Frutos del Campo" from San Carlos Sud won the silver medal at the prestigious World Cheese Awards 2025 held in Bern, Switzerland, standing out among more than 5,200 cheeses from 46 countries.

🧀 Achievement Details

• Award-winning product: a Sbrinz-type cheese, with a hard mass and intense flavor, aged for 12 months.
• Company: Frutos del Campo S.A., a dairy SME located in San Carlos Sud, Las Colonias department, Santa Fe.
• Competition: 5,244 cheeses from 46 countries participated, evaluated by an international jury of 267 experts.
• Argentine representation: only 12 companies from the country applied, and Frutos del Campo was the only one to obtain a medal.
• Organization: the contest was coordinated by the Guild of Fine Food, considered the "World Cheese Cup".

🌍 Importance of the award

• International visibility: positions the Argentine cheese industry on the world map.
• Regional pride: the commune of San Carlos Sud celebrates this achievement as a symbol of quality and tradition.
• Economic impact: it opens doors to new markets and exports for SMEs.

👉 In summary: Frutos del Campo brought the Santa Fe flavor to Switzerland and managed to make an Argentine cheese among the best in the world, consolidating the reputation of national dairy production.

The most awarded Argentine cheeses in international competitions stand out mainly in the World Cheese Awards, the most prestigious competition in the sector. In the 2025 edition held in Bern, Switzerland, Argentina won a total of 12 medals, including 2 gold, several silver and bronze.

🧀 Ranking of the most awarded Argentine cheeses (World Cheese Awards 2025)

Stand	Cheese	Producer	Medal	Characteristics
1	Reggianitto 18 months	Dairy Cowboy	🥇 Gold	Hard cheese, long maturation, Italian style adapted to Argentine tradition
2	Tuscan	Ventimiglia Cheese Factory	🥇 Gold	Hard dough cheese, intense flavor, made in Cordoba
3	Sbrinz argentino	Fruits of the Field (San Carlos Sud, Santa Fe)	🥈 Silver	Stationed 12 months, the only winner in Santa Fe
4	Artisanal Blue Cheese	Various producers	🥈 Silver	Recognized for its quality and distinctive flavor
5	Pategrás Cheese	Several Argentine SMEs	🥉 Bronze	Traditional on the Argentinian table, semi-hard style
6	Argentinian Gouda cheese	Regional producers	🥉 Bronze	Local adaptation of the Dutch classic
7	Sardinian cheese	Producers from Cordoba	🥉 Bronze	Strong, ideal for grating
8	Fontina Cheese	Patagonian producers	🥉 Bronze	Semi-hard, with sweet notes
9	Argentinian Brie Cheese	Dairy SMEs	🥉 Bronze	Soft cheese with moldy crust
10	Argentinian Camembert cheese	Boutique producers	🥉 Bronze	Similar to Brie, with a creamy texture

📊 Keys to Argentina's performance

• 12 medals in total in 2025: 2 gold, several silver and bronze.
• Santa Fe, Córdoba and Patagonia were the most prominent regions.
• Hard and seasoned cheeses (Reggianitto, Tuscan, Sbrinz) are the ones that receive the most international recognition.

👉 In conclusion: the most awarded Argentine cheeses are the Reggianitto from Lácteos Vaquero and the Toscano from Ventimiglia (gold), followed by the Sbrinz from Frutos del Campo (silver). This ranking shows how the national cheese tradition manages to compete on an equal footing with powers such as Switzerland, Italy and France.

 

📰 Special Report | Argentine Economy

Massive closure of companies in Argentina: a phenomenon that deepens

✅ Panorama general

Argentina is going through one of the most critical periods for its productive framework in more than a decade. Between 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, 97,110 companies closed and only 79,787 opened, which left a negative balance of 17,323 firms and a net loss of 17,949 registered jobs, according to official data from the Ministry of Labor.

The deterioration was not abrupt, but persistent: each quarter showed a decline in the number of active companies, with a trend that has not yet found a bottom.

📉 Quarterly evolution of company closures

Official data show a sustained drop:

Quarter	Net balance of enterprises	Situation
1° 2024	–5.553	Onset of deterioration
2° 2024	–4.627	Falling consumption and cost pressure
3° 2024	–2.804	Slowdown, but still in the red
4° 2024	–2.042	Mild moderation
1° 2025	–2.297	Persistence of the closure of signatures

In total: more than 17,000 fewer companies in 15 months.

🏭 Sectoral impact: industry on alert

The industrial sector is one of the hardest hit. In the last weeks of November 2025 alone, five manufacturing companies closed their plants, leaving more than 400 workers laid off in Buenos Aires, La Rioja and San Luis.

The most affected items:

• Metallurgy
• Appliances
• Textile
• Auto Parts

The combination of falling domestic consumption and increased imports deepened the crisis in medium and large factories.

🧊 Emblematic case: Whirlpool abandons local production

The American multinational Whirlpool announced the definitive closure of its washing machine plant in Pilar, leaving 220 employees unemployed and putting an end to its industrial activity in the country.

The company will continue to operate only as an importer and distributor, a structural change that reflects the loss of competitiveness of the Argentine manufacturing sector.

📌 Factors that explain the phenomenon

🔹 1. Fall in domestic consumption

The contraction of purchasing power reduced demand in almost all areas.

🔹 2. Opening of imports

The flexibility of foreign trade generated strong competition for local industry, especially in durable goods and textiles.

🔹 3. Rising operating costs

Rates, logistics, rents and tax burdens put pressure on profitability.

🔹 4. Macroeconomic instability

Exchange rate volatility and lack of predictability discourage investment and make planning difficult.

👥 Impact on employment

The net loss of nearly 18,000 registered jobs does not reflect the full impact, as many businesses that continue to operate also cut staff or adjusted production shifts.

🔮 Perspectives

Although some indicators show a moderation in job destruction towards the end of 2024, the trend of business closures continues in 2025. Recovery will depend on:

• Macroeconomic stability
• Production incentives
• Smart import protection policies
• Reactivation of domestic consumption

With no clear signs of reversal, Argentina's productive framework faces a historic challenge.