Topic Reading-Vol.3763-7/31/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Napping regularly linked to high blood pressure and stroke, study finds
A short nap for 15 to 20 minutes around noon to 2 pm is a good way to refresh yourself, especially when you’re sleep-deprived. But if you regularly sleep for an hour or even longer in the daytime, your sleep deprivation will remain and could increase the risk of hypertension and stroke, a new study found. It is now known that sleep duration is one of the most essential metrics for good heart and brain health. So, if you constantly feel sleepy during the day, you may not be having enough sleep at night even though that is essential for your health. If that is the case, you may want to review your lifestyle, eating and drinking habits, and night-time activities especially before going to bed, including smartphoning.
Read the article and learn about what daytime drowsiness could mean to your life and health.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/25/health/naps-high-blood-pressure-study-wellness/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3762-7/30/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

How to have fun this summer in spite of Covid-19 and extreme heat

The summer is sizzling all over the places in the northern hemisphere. Also, the new Covid variant is spreading across the world. What should you do on the weekend or during the vacation this summer? If you aren’t traveling or doing anything special, you want to find some entertaining activities while avoiding heat exhaustion and Covid infection. You know you shouldn’t get yourself and your skin burned under the sun. You could get heatstroke, heat rash, or heat exhaustion quite easily. One way to protect yourself is to use a parasol. You can make it fashionable like in the Victoria era, which might make you look cool! When you’re inside with AC, you can try some activities that you usually don’t do. How about trying a movie marathon of your favorite genre, director, or actor? You can also learn TikTok dance or enjoy karaoke with your smartphone. If you like reading books, try reading a very long book that you’ve kept on the bookshelf or Kindle. You will feel grateful for yourself if you’ve read Les Miserable.  

Enjoy reading the tips to stay cooler in this sizzling summer.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/23/us/how-to-have-fun-summer-2022-covid-heat-cec/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3761-7/29/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
WHO declares monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern
Another outbreak was declared by the World Health Organization on July 23^rd, monkeypox. It was added to the two ongoing public health emergencies, polio and Covid-19. Monkeypox is a viral disease with symptoms similar to smallpox. Initial symptoms include ones typical for a cold, such as fever, headache, sore throat, cough, back pain, muscle aches, and lack of energy. Then rash and painful lesions appear on the face, arms, and legs. The virus spreads through contact with body fluids, sores, and even items contaminated with the virus. It can also spread through respiratory droplets in a close range, like Covid. Though neither the severity nor fatality ratio is any worse than smallpox, monkeypox still deteriorates a person’s health and spread to many others. So far, the fatality ratio is around 3% to 6%, but its side effects and after effects haven’t been well known. In any case, health and the environment are the two most immediate crises the world needs to cope with.
Read the article and learn about another outbreak that concerns global public health.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/23/health/monkeypox-who-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3760-7/28/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
One man's mission to photograph 20,000 species
An American photographer has over 1.6 million followers on Instagram. He is the founder of the National Geographic Photo Ark, which aims to inspire people to help save species at risk before it’s too late through photos of every species in captivity. He has photographed 13,000 species in the last 16 years, having visited zoos, aquariums, and rehabilitation centers around the world. What’s unique about his photos is that those animals and birds are all in captivity. Also, they are photographed against a generic white or black backdrop like a typical studio shoot, which allows us to see the images and moves of the animal or bird without distortion. But it’s not over yet. He is trying to shoot thousands more species to make his collection more than 20,000.
Enjoy seeing these amazing pictures of endangered species.
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/joel-sartore-national-geographic-photo-ark-scn-c2e-spc-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3759-7/27/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Here's what it looks like to ride a Chinese robotaxi with no steering wheel
A robo-taxi is an autonomous car that picks up and carries passengers without a human driver. It significantly reduces the cost of operation as there is no human involvement. Also, there is no need for a rest except for the time for charging electricity or replacing the battery. Furthermore, a self-driving vehicle can be produced much less costly as there are no steering wheels, pedals, switches, or even a driver’s seat. The technologies are already available. It’s just a matter of regulatory approvals. So, where will we see robo-taxis first? Baidu, a Chinese IT giant, has long invested in self-driving technology and recently announced a roto-taxi whose steering wheel can be removed.  The company said it would dramatically reduce the production costs, which would also lower the fare. Battery-charging infrastructure, mobile payment, and local regulations are all key to creating a robo-taxi market. Naturally, some places in China will have taxis without a driver or a steering wheel soon.
Enjoy reading the article on the upcoming self-driving robo-taxi concept.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/21/tech/baidu-self-driving-car-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3758-7/26/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The amount of Greenland ice that melted last weekend could cover West Virginia in a foot of water

Europe, America, and China have all been suffering heat waves this month. Record high temperatures have been registered in many places already. And so has been in Greenland. Even on the Northern Hemisphere’s most icy island, temperatures have been several degrees higher than normal, melting ice rapidly. In fact, as much as six billion tons of water, enough to fill more than seven million Olympic-sized swimming pools, rushed into the ocean each day between July 15 and 17.  This is a continuing trend these days as enough ice melted in Greenland in 2019 to raise the global sea level by 1.5 millimeters permanently.

Indeed, the heatwave is everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere this summer.

Read the article and watch the video to learn about the transformation occurring in Greenland.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/20/world/greenland-heat-wave-ice-melting-climate/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3757-7/25/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Amazon sues administrators of more than 11,000 Facebook groups that allegedly brokered fake online reviews
When people try to choose what to buy, many of them check online reviews that were posted by those who supposedly purchased and/or used the item. Those reviews should genuinely reflect users’ voices but not all of them do. You might have seen overly positive or negative comments on some of the review columns, which are posted by those who were paid or given something to appraise the item, the seller of the item, or competitors who intend to devalue the item. Indeed, there are so many fake reviews seen on online shopping sites. Now, Amazon announced that it sues over 11,000 administrators of Facebook groups that brokered fake online reviews in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan. Facebook is also accountable for those spam and fake reviews and working with Amazon to cope with online review fraudsters. Will we see fewer fake reviews or have to wait until AI advances to sort out fake reviews better? One thing is for sure you just want to be cautious about what to believe or disregard in online reviews.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about how serious online fake reviews are.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/19/tech/amazon-facebook-fake-review-suit/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3756-7/24/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Police identify victims, gunman and armed bystander in Indiana mall shooting
Another mass shooting occurred in a shopping mall in Indiana, the USA on Sunday evening July 17. Three shoppers were shot and killed around in the mall by a shooter with a legally purchased AR 15-style rifle, who possessed another gun and 100 rounds. But before he shot more people, he was fatally shot by a bystander who carried a legally purchased handgun. It was within two minutes after the gunman started shooting and had already fired 24 rounds from the rifle. The bystander fired 10 shots to fatally wound the gunman. Many more could have died if the gunman hadn’t been gunned down. The police chief praised the 22-year-old bystander’s act as heroic, proficient, and tactically sound.
This is NOT a two-century-ago news article or a western movie but an incident today. No wonder why people in America want to carry guns.
Read the article and learn what America’s gun culture is like.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/17/us/indiana-greenwood-park-mall-shooting/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3755-7/23/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Vincent Van Gogh: Hidden self-portrait discovered by X-ray
Vincent Van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who killed himself at the age of 37 in 1890 probably because of severe depression and poverty.  He was financially supported by his brother Theo, an art dealer in The Hague, who died only six months after his brother’s death. Van Gogh’s paintings did not sell during his lifetime as he wasn’t considered a successful painter even though they are some of the most valued paintings in the modern art society.
Recently, when the National Galleries of Scotland X-rayed his “Head of a Peasant Woman” before the exhibition, they discovered a self-portrait of Van Gogh hidden on the back of the painting. As it was covered by layers of glue and cardboard, no one had realized the self-portrait until then. It is known that the painter reused canvases to save money and that might have been the reason. Whatever the purpose or reason might have been, the painting now seems to have a higher value.
Enjoy reading the article and seeing the image of the hidden self-portraitist of the famous Dutch artist.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-62135891

Topic Reading-Vol.3754-7/22/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Trapped baby elephant and mum rescued in Thailand
Look at this poor mom elephant stuck in the pit where her baby fell into. She had been sedated by the rescuers but fell into the hole, too. It is unknown if she tried to feed her baby with her milk or just fell by accident. Fortunately, both the mom and baby were rescued safely. We can do things like this to save wild animals.
Enjoy watching this heart-moving video.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-62167134

Topic Reading-Vol.3753-7/21/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Jayland Walker: Autopsy shows black man 'shot or grazed' 46 times
Akron is the fifth-largest city in Ohio, the USA with a population of about 190,000. It is racially diverse with nearly 60% of the residents being White and 30% being Black or African Americans. On June 27, a 25-year-old black man was stopped by Ohio Police. He was wearing a ski mask and jumped out of the moving car. While he was trying to escape into a parking lot, he was shot and killed by the eight police officers, seven of whom were white and one was black. An autopsy found 46 gunshot wounds on his body. 46 wounds by pistols, not by machine guns! This means each officer fired multiple good shots, possibly even after he was down. It is not clear how many more shots were fired that missed him. The local police union believed that the officers acted in line with their training. So, this is how police officers are trained in the US where people are allowed buy and carry guns by the constitution.
Read the article and think if police officers should shoot to kill an overpowered and surrounded suspect.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62184202

Topic Reading-Vol.3752-7/20/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
BMW introduces new heated seat subscription in UK
Nowadays, maps, navigation, and driving assistance are some of the features in a car that needs to be constantly updated online. So, a monthly subscription service seems to be a suitable way to get those features updated and operated. Now, BMW is offering optional seat heating on a monthly subscription basis in Britain. But why a monthly subscription for heated seats? Actually, car seats cannot be heated simply online. The heating coils and other hardware are needed to be installed in the car to be activated. In other words, the buyer of the vehicle already paid the hardware cost. The new subscription service is called BMW Functions on Demand, which is offered in an online market BMW ConnectedDrive Store. They say the customers can choose not to subscribe to the service when seat heating is unnecessary like in summer. Then why monthly not daily or hourly? Next in line for a subscription service is a heated steering wheel, whose hardware also needs to be preinstalled. Should subscription fees be required to get the already-paid preinstall features operational?
Read the article and think about the future of automotive marketing.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-62142208

Topic Reading-Vol.3751-7/19/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Spain to make some train journeys free from September
Inflation is everywhere. Over 50% consumer price increase has been experienced in Turkey and Sri Lanka. And even the US, whose economy has been growing steadily, saw a 9% increase in June, the highest rate in over four decades. Also, many countries in Europe are experiencing a sharp rise in energy prices, such as gas, electricity, and petrol. Those governments are trying to ease the pain of consumers through subsidies, tax reliefs, and price controls. The Spanish government already slashed the ticket prices for state-owned transport in half but they wanted to go even deeper and greener. Multi-journey tickets for various public trains are going to be free of charge from September till the end of the year. Why multiple tickets only? That’s because the government wants to provide daily commuters with economic and sustainable means of transportation instead of driving. Other European countries have been offering similar incentives for train passengers, especially during the summer to ease the financial burden on travelers and traffic congestion on the road. Whichever the case might be, nothing is free in a long term.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about Spain’s drastic action to cope with inflation.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/spain-to-introduce-free-train-journeys/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3750-7/18/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Texas woman argues unborn baby counts as passenger after fine

A carpool lane, more officially a high-occupancy vehicle lane, is a restricted traffic lane only for vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers. It aims to increase vehicle occupancy to reduce traffic congestion, fuel usage, and air pollution. On June 29, a pregnant woman was ticketed for driving a carpool lane by herself in Texas, the USA. Then she argued that the baby in her womb should be counted as a person. The recent ruling by the Supreme Court that reversed the constitutional right to an abortion triggered a heated debate about the rights of unborn babies. The woman said she was going to contest the penalty in court. Could this case also be argued in the high court? Will she pay airfare for her unborn baby if she wins the case?

Enjoy reading the article and think if an unborn baby should be counted as a passenger.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62124366

Topic Reading-Vol.3749-7/17/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
World Population Day: India will overtake China in 2023, says the UN
The world population is projected to reach eight billion later this year but the growth rate is slowing to the lowest level since 1950. Surprisingly, over half of the population growth in the next three decades will be seen only in eight countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. That’s because fertility rates are falling below the replacement rate, 2.1 children per woman, in most developed countries. The lowest is China’s 1.15, whose population is due to begin declining next year. Then India is expected to become the world’s most populous country with over 1.4 billion population. While fertility rates are declining, life expectancy is increasing, which makes the population age even faster. In fact, the global average life expectancy is projected to reach 77 by 2050, which will increase the population aged 65 and older to 16% from 10% now. Will human ingenuity be able to cope with both global warming and population aging at the same time?
Enjoy reading the article and learn about what the global population is and will be like.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62126413

Topic Reading-Vol.3748-7/16/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Airline reveals 'Skynest' bunk beds for economy class passengers
If you’re provided a personal cabin long enough to stretch your body in a sleep-friendly environment, can you take a sound two-cycle sleep in a given four hours? How much would you pay for this luxury on a flight as long as 17 hours on top of a regular economy-class fare? Since New Zealand is far away from any major travel destinations except for Australia, Air New Zealand has been trying to make their long flights as comfortable as they can for their passengers. Now, they are planning to offer an option for economy class passengers to rest in a sleeping pod for a prescheduled four-hour period during their flight. The “Skynest” concept features six full-length sleeping pods on their new Boeing 787 due in service in 2024. It looks like Japan’s capsule hotel pod. The pod will also offer meditative onscreen content or Zen-tertainment to help the passenger fall asleep. Again, how much would you pay for a four-hour sleep or body-stretching time on a long flight?
Enjoy reading the article and learning about Air New Zealand’s “Skynest” pot.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/air-new-zealand-skynest-bunks-new-cabin/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3747-7/15/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

$450 million Hong Kong Palace Museum opens with trove of Forbidden City treasures

Constructed in the early 15^th century, The Palace Museum is a national museum in the Forbidden City in Beijing. There are nearly 1,000 buildings on the 72-hectare site. It became open to the public when the last emperor of China left the palace in 1924. There are over a million rare and valuable artifacts in the museum, including paintings, ceramics, seals, steles, sculptures, inscribed wares, bronze wares, and enamel objects. Of the 13,491 boxes of artifacts evacuated from Beijing during Japan’s invasion, nearly 3,000 boxes were taken to Taipei by the Nationalist Party, about 2,200 boxes are stored in the Nanjing Museum, and the rest, over 8,000 boxes are in The Palace Museum. They are all valuable treasures of China.

Now, situated in the West Kowloon Cultural District overlooking Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Palace Museum just opened to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the handover. Over 900 valuable artifacts are loaned from The Palace Museum for display. Included is "Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains," a famous 12^th-century ink-on-paper work by Zhao Fu. So, if you are interested in ancient Chinese artifacts, you now have three museums to choose from, Beijing, Taipei, and Hong Kong. The question is when Hong Kong starts welcoming foreign tourists.

Enjoy reading the article about Hong Kong’s new tourist destination.

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/hong-kong-palace-museum-opening/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3746-7/14/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Penguins at a Japanese aquarium are being fed cheaper fish - and they aren't happy
Penguins eat krill, squids, and fishes. But their diet varies slightly on the species of penguins, which have slightly different food preferences. This reduces competition among species. For example, the smaller penguin species of the Antarctic and the subantarctic mainly feed on krill and squids while larger emperor penguins eat fish and squids. But not all fish are the same for penguins. When an aquarium near Tokyo changed the fish species to feed its penguins, they turned away. The aquarium used to feed Japanese horse mackerel, a very popular fish in the region, and tried to substitute it with mackerel, which is more widely and cheaply available. These fish species sound and look similar but they are in different families. This change was meant to cut costs to cope with inflation and rising prices but wasn’t liked by penguins. Now, the aquarium staff is trying to make the cheaper alternative tastes more palatable for their penguins by mixing it with their favorite Japanese horse mackerel, which seems to be ok for the penguins. Well, think about pet dogs. They have their favorite or accustomed dog food, and some of them turn away when a different one is offered. We are all sensitive about what to eat.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about how sensitive animals’ diet is.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/japan-hakone-aquarium-penguins-fish-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3745-7/13/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Google's new Street View camera is more portable (and looks weirdly cute)

Google’s Street View is a virtual representation of our surroundings on Google Maps with millions of panoramic images. Over the last 15 years, more than 10 million miles have been mapped. These images have been collected by cameras on cars, bicycles, backpacks, snowmobiles, and even sheep in remote places like the Faroe Islands. You might have seen one of those cameras on a car or backpack once in a while. Now, Google recently revealed a new Street View camera that weighs only one-tenth of the current version.  Great news for Google’s backpackers (and sheep)! Also, it can be mounted on a car’s roof rack without customization so that it can be used on many more kinds of cars. Because of the new compact design, the company hopes to collect pictures in remote places more frequently, which is great news for all of us, too.

As more people are traveling again, this renovation is going to be appreciated by many.

Enjoy reading the article and watching the video to learn about behind the scene technology of the popular Google Map.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/24/tech/google-street-view-new-camera/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3744-7/12/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Sri Lanka: 'I can’t afford milk for my babies'

Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst financial crisis in seven decades after its foreign exchange reserves plummeted to record lows, with dollars running out to pay for essential imports including food, medicine, and fuel. As the Prime Minister admitted, the country is "bankrupt," fuel reserve is less than scarce, food prices skyrocketed, and nearly no medicine is left in hospitals. In fact, food prices jumped 80% in June alone, leaving many people no choice but to line up for charity food providers and churches. For hospitals, the only suppliers of essential medicines and equipment are donors. What had caused this economic turmoil? Over-tax cuts to gain popularity and over-borrowing from China to invest in infrastructure were to blame. Also, the Coronavirus pandemic hit the tourism businesses from abroad badly. The problem is that there is no way out of this economic turmoil as the country has no money to pay anyone for anything. It is feared that babies and young children, in particular, are becoming malnourished, which could affect their healthy growth.

Read the article and learn about how disastrous Sri Lanka’s state of the economy is.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62032761

Topic Reading-Vol.3743-7/11/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Arabs believe economy is weak under democracy
Economy or politics? Of course, one popular answer among politicians seems to be, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Indeed, according to a survey conducted on nearly 23,000 people in nine countries and one territory across the Middle East and North Africa by the Arab Barometer network, most agreed that their economy is weak under democracy. They are Iraq, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Mauritania, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, and the Palestinian Territories. Compared with the survey taken three years ago, considerably more people agreed that the economy is weak under a democracy. Also, the majority of people expressed that they are more interested in effective government than the form it takes (democracy), and most of them agree that their country needs a strong leader. Even Tunisia, which formed a lasting democratic government after the 2011 Arab Spring upspring, is slipping back into an authoritarian rule recently. Whichever the system, democratic or authoritarian, might be, jobs and inflation seem to be the most pressing issues nowadays.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about what people think is the most important before the political system.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62001426

Topic Reading-Vol.3742-7/10/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

As Korean employees return to the office, so does 'gapjil' workplace harassment

In 2014, the vice president, also the daughter of the owner of Korean Air assaulted two flight attendants of the airline who served her macadamia nuts in a bag instead of a porcelain bowl as their plane prepared to take off and ordered the aircraft to return to the gate. Then in 2019, her mother was found guilty of the charges of forcing her staff to kneel for forgetting to buy ginger, kicking and spitting on them for being late, and striking them on the forehead with a mop handle for seemingly no reason. These were just a few high-profile workplace abuse cases that went public in South Korea. Then what the situations are like in ordinary workplaces where seniority and hierarchy must be strictly respected? Gapjil, is an expression referring to an arrogant and authoritarian attitude or actions of people in South Korea who have positions of power over others. It has long been a predominant problem, especially within elite families and societies. Women, part-timers, and gig workers seem to be the most likely victims. After the pandemic, as many office workers are returning to the office, workplace harassment seems to be on the rise. What about the situation in North Korea?

Enjoy reading the article and learning about office harassment in South Korea.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/04/asia/south-korea-gapjil-harassment-survey-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3741-7/9/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Chunk of glacier breaks loose in Italian Alps, killing at least 6 hikers

Glaciers are massive bodies of slowly moving ice that forms on land. They are made up of fallen snow that gets compressed into ice over many centuries. Most glaciers today are remnants of the massive ice sheets that covered Earth during the Ice Age, which ended over10,000 years ago. Since glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes, its changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change like sea levels.

On July 3, a large chunk of Alpine glacier broke loose and slid down a mountainside in Italy, sending ice, snow, and rock slamming into hikers on a popular trail on the peak killing at least six and injuring eight. 10 or so people are also missing. The glacier was in the Marmolada range whose peak is about 3,300 meters high and hadn’t collapsed like this before. However, Europe had been unusually hot for the last several days and the temperatures had topped 10 degrees Celsius at the summit, which was too high for the elevation. Were just extreme weather conditions to blame? What had caused such extreme heat in Europe even before summer? Have we witnessed the act of global warming?

Read the article and think about what this glacier landslide could mean to us all.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/glacier-italy-alps-marmolada-kills-hikers/

Topic Reading-Vol.3740-7/8/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Amazon introduces new warehouse robot, says it's not replacing human workers
Amazon’s fulfillment centers (warehouses) are busy 24/7 and get even busier especially during holiday seasons when people aren’t working. Nowadays, since faster deliveries are essential to improve customer satisfaction and operational efficiencies, the online retail giant is adding more mobile robots to get the boxes stored and shipped faster and more safely. This new autonomous warehouse robot, Proteus, can move heavy carts around the warehouse and work with humans safely. The video shows how smoothly but closely the robots pass each other, beyond the level that humans cannot or aren’t allowed to do. How much percentage of the total workload is done by humans in modern warehouses? As labor shortage is becoming a universal problem, smarter and faster robots are going to take place of or compensate for humans. Indeed, robots just need proper maintenance to work 24/7, which perfectly matches the operational requirements.
Enjoy watching the video to learn about Amazon’s latest warehouse robot.

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/06/22/amazon-first-fully-autonomous-mobile-robot-orig-ht.cnn-business

Topic Reading-Vol.3739-7/7/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Why humans get less sleep than other primates

How long do you usually sleep at night? Do you always feel well-rested? We, humans, sleep less as we grow and age; babies and children sleep for 10 or longer hours a day, teenagers and adults sleep seven to nine hours, and seniors sleep even fewer. But our closest relatives like orangutans, chimpanzees, and baboons usually sleep around 10 hours, and some other monkeys sleep over 15 hours. Is that because we have longer screen hours than before? Not really. Studies found that those who live in non-industrial societies sleep no longer hours than industrialized populations. As most humans sleep in more protected places than animals, threats from predators won’t explain why. Interestingly, humans seem to spend longer sleeping time dreaming than others. This type of sleep is known as rapid-eye-movement sleep, or REM sleep, when the brain is rested and information is organized. Another difference is that humans tend to interact with others at night even after dinner, which naturally shortens the sleeping hours. There seem to be various factors that have made humans sleep fewer hours than other primates.

Enjoy reading the studies about how and why humans sleep less than our relatives.  

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220524-why-humans-get-less-sleep-than-other-primates

Topic Reading-Vol.3738-7/6/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Ferdinand Marcos Jr sworn in as Philippines president, replacing Duterte

Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was the 10^th President of the Philippines for two decades until 1986 when he was removed from power by the People Power Revolution. During his term, the Philippines was under martial law from 1972 for nearly ten years and his dictatorship lasted until he was ousted. In those days, the Constitution was revised, media outlets were silenced, and violence and oppression were used against the political opposition, Muslims, suspected communists, and citizens. He also pursued aggressive infrastructure development with foreign debt, which caused an inflationary crisis. Now, 35 years have passed since his exile, bitter memories have faded and new generations have been born. Then in the recent presidential election, his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr was elected the 17^th president, who has been praising his father’s achievements. In fact, he earned nearly 60% of the total votes cast. His running mate, who was elected in a separate election, is the daughter of the last president Rodrigo Duarte. The Marcos dynasty has just been reelected. The Aquino dynasty seems to have ceased. And now the Duarte is rising. How many democratically established dynasties are there in the world?

Enjoy reading the article and learning about the new leader of the Philippines.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61976940

Topic Reading-Vol.3737-7/5/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Australia census: Five ways the country is changing

Australia is a geographically diverse country with a wide variety of landscapes and climates, deserts in the center, tropical rainforests in the northeast, and mountain ranges in the southeast. Despite the infertile soils, there used to be over hundreds of thousands of indigenous people living before Europeans arrived in 1788. Now, of the 25.5 million total population, indigenous people account for only 78,000, according to the latest census. In the last five years, Australia’s population increased by 2.1 million, more than half of which were born overseas or have a parent who was. Surprisingly, nearly a quarter of those immigrants came from India. Now, one in five Australians speak a language other than English at home. Also found is that Australia is becoming less religious, just 44% of the population identify as Christian and nearly 40% say they have no particular religion at all. You may also want to be aware that Australian cities now are among the least affordable housing markets in the world. In such a huge country with vast open land? You might now refresh your image and knowledge of Australia.

Enjoy reading the article and learning about modern Australia.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-61961744

Topic Reading-Vol.3736-7/4/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The hidden spaces on planes that are off limits to passengers

How are pilots and flight attendants rest during a long flight? Pilots have to be in very good shape for approaching and landing and cabin crew members must show their fresh and friendly faces to serve the before-landing refreshments and meals. However, you probably haven’t seen them sitting or taking a nap in a passenger’s seat. Where are they taking a rest?

On large, wide-body jets, crew rest compartments (known as CRCs) for flight attendants and pilots are usually tucked away behind locked doors and are off-limits to the public. Depending on the type of aircraft, these compartments are usually located either above or below the passenger cabin. What do they look like? How comfortable are they?

Enjoy reading the article and seeing the photos of hidden rest compartments on large aircraft.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/airplane-crew-sleeping-quarters-cmd/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3735-7/3/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Could you land a plane in an emergency?

“A passenger with no flying experience landed a plane at a Florida airport after the pilot” posted in Vol.3688 on May 18. The passenger who took control of the plane had no piloting experience yet he landed the aircraft safely with the assistance of a flight instructor/air controller on the ground. The lucky passenger seemed to have a good sense of controlling a mechanical device. But beyond his natural sense and professional assistance, the aircraft was a small Cessna, which had been landed by a passenger in an emergency case a few times before the incident. But what about a larger airplane like a jet airliner that cruises at 35,000 feet above the ground? Nowadays, there are a variety of tutorials and simulation games on the Internet that seem to increase confidence, especially in men, in controlling an aircraft. However, when they try a professional flight simulator that is used to train pilots, the result won’t look as good as on the game machine. It’s not the confidence but the training that determines fate.

Enjoy reading the article and learning about what landing an aircraft could mean to non-pilots.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/could-you-land-plane-emergency/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3734-7/2/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Amazon Alexa will be able to mimic deceased loved ones' voices

Only a few lines of voice data can personalize voice reading, according to Amazon, the provider of Alexa, a virtual assistant device that tells you the information you want or play audiobooks. Besides Alexa’s standard voice, users can choose recognizable voices of famous people like Samuel Jackson to voice Alexa. Now, the online giant says that Alexa will be able to mimic someone’s voice only from a few lines of voice data. For example, you can have your Alexa wake you up or speak the weather forecast in your last grandmother’s voice. Indeed, AI can learn things faster and better these days. Then what about using a famous actor’s or athlete’s voice? Will that infringe on their copyrights like photos or videos? In the meantime, such technology could be used to speak for a person who lost his or her voice, just like “Iceman” Kazansky in the Top Gun Maverick for Val Kilmer who lost the ability to speak after undergoing throat cancer treatment in 2014.

Enjoy reading the text and learning about the new voice-mimicking technology.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/23/tech/amazon-alexa-mimic-voice/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3733-7/1/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Summer air travel is off to a messy start. Here's how to up the chances of getting where you want to go

As travel restrictions have been removed, people are booking for the summer around the world. While some airlines are scheduling flights nearly as many as they used to operate before the pandemic, airlines in the US are cutting back the number of scheduled flights. Why? They laid off too many pilots, cabin crew, and ground staff during the pandemic and are now having difficulty bringing them back or replacing them. Also, there are shortages of airport workers, including air traffic controllers. In short, both airlines and airports are going to have a very busy, maybe too busy summer this year. So, if any incidents or accidents occur at an airport or during a flight, delays and cancellations of other flights are inevitable as a chain reaction. Here are some tips that might help you to improve your readiness for your valuable summer travel.

As for your flights, try to book in the early hours, get to the airport three, not two hours before the flight, and choose non-stop flights, but if you can’t, keep a longer connection time. When you plan your trip, try to get to the place earlier, pack your essentials in your carry-on bag, and book backup transportation if you can. While traveling, check your departure airport’s and airline’s websites frequently, get airline apps for checking flight status and rebooking, and confirm your reservation at your hotel before checking in. Better be prepared than sorry.

Enjoy reading the article to learn about these after-pandemic travel tips.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/summer-air-travel-tips-reducing-risk-delays-cancellations/index.html