For years, every time a young child tops a human tower in front of thousands of people, the debate about the safety of castells resurfaces. The image of children several meters high continues to generate admiration, but also apprehension among those who see this practice as a particularly dangerous activity. Now, a study by researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) and the Santa Tecla Network provides data that question this negative perception.

A group of researchers from the Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona were on the roof of the Palau Güell, on Carrer Nou de la Rambla in Barcelona, and noticed the twenty chimneys that crown this Antoni Gaudí building, recognized by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. Observing them, the question arose. Do they work or are they just ornamental? "It could be that they were just for show or a way to boast," explains Albert Samper, professor at the Higher Technical School of Architecture, who recalls that chimneys were a status symbol, as it implied that buildings that had them had heating, a luxury that at the end of the 19th century only the wealthy classes could afford. But it could also be that the chimneys responded to their main function and were capable of extracting smoke. Gaudí did not write anywhere whether the original chimneys could actually work.

88% of train users in Catalonia say they have noticed an increase in anxiety, depression, and physical discomfort due to the poor performance of the Adif and Renfe rail network. Last March, when the train drivers' strike – combined with the Berà tunnel works – caused a chaotic month to the Cercanías and Regional services.