Topic Reading-Vol.4999-12/31/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

A soaked tent or a bombed-out ruin: Gazans face a grim choice this winter

While many of us are about to welcome the new year in a warm place, there are many people who are struggling just to live. Palestinians in Gaza are one of them. Over two months after the ceasefire and despite multiple binding orders from the International Court of Justice, only extremely limited supplies have been allowed to reach people in Gaza, which lacks almost everything and is living in extreme deprivation and amidst complete destruction. Earlier this month, torrential rains and frigid temperatures plunged Gaza into a deeper humanitarian catastrophe. Many families lost their few belongings, and food supplies were soaked inside their flooded tents. Yet Palestinians in Gaza have no choice but to stay in the soaked tents or inside the ruins of buildings that could collapse at any time. Whichever choice they make, there is no electricity, running water, heating, or windowshields. Food, medicine, blankets, clothes, and other daily essentials are all scarce. Will the new year bring them more relief or hope?

Read the article and learn about the devastating situation in Gaza.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/22/middleeast/gaza-winter-storms-grim-choice-intl

Topic Reading-Vol.4998-12/30/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

AI hiring is here. It’s making companies — and job seekers — miserable

A massive job transformation is in progress in various job fields as AI helps or even takes over jobs that were previously done by humans on computers. Also, AI is now assisting both job seekers and hiring companies. By using AI, you can create skillfully worded, beautifully polished job applications. However, that is what other job applicants all do, too. In the meantime, hiring companies use AI to screen such AI-edited applications and even to conduct job interviews. A recent survey found that more than half of the US job seekers admitted they had experienced an AI-led interview. The question is how appropriate the evaluation and judgment AI makes on candidates. Is AI always less subjective than humans? Won’t algorithms magnify human biases, such as ethnicity, appearance, language, or education?

Read the article and learn about how AI is taking place in hiring processes.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/21/economy/ai-hiring-complication

Topic Reading-Vol.4997-12/29/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Shanghai embraces paperless travel

China’s public transportation is vast. There are more than 300 metro lines in 47 cities, a 50,000 km high-speed rail network, and over 200 commercial airports across the country to serve its 1.4 billion people and more than 60 million foreign visitors. Also, China is one of the world’s fastest-changing and most advanced countries when it comes to public transportation systems. Gone are the days when travelers paid for paper tickets in cash. Not even credit cards like in Singapore or precharged transportation cards in Japan, but QR codes, an ID card, or smartphones are essential for traveling. Shanghai, China’s largest metropolitan area, is a good example of advanced digital and paperless transportation services for all travelers. Digital tickets for metro, buses, and ferries, e-itineraries for domestic flights, e-invoices for the national railway system, and even self-check-in kiosks and self-bag-drop counters for international travelers. And of course, mobile payments like WeChat Pay or AliPay are the most commonly accepted form of payment in China. With a smartphone linked to payment systems, you can enjoy hassle-free travel in China.

Read the article and learn how advanced China’s public transportation systems are.

https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-LatestNews/20251212/ff1edee603ca413ab5d26dc5e022aff0.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4996-12/28/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Woman marries ChatGPT character

How close could your AI companion be? Recently, a thirty-two-year-old Japanese woman decided to marry her ChatGPT character. The AI-generated companion, Klaus the AI, appeared on her smartphone at their wedding ceremony.  At the beginning of their relationship, he was just someone to talk to. After a while, he became very close to her and proposed, and she accepted. Recently, AI companionship has been on the rise. Anyone could turn to a chatbot for support, friendship, and even romance, especially on their smartphone, which is accessible 24/7 on demand. Because AI characters accept who you are and respond to whatever you say or ask in a friendly fashion, some people became overly attached to their AI soul mate. Also, you can share your emotions with AI companions more closely because they know where you’ve been, what you did, and when from the logs and images on your smartphone. For example, when you’re traveling solo, you can talk to your AI companion and share the joy and experience. Furthermore, the AI character appears only when you want, never bothers you, and costs you nothing. In a sense, an AI character may be an ideal partner for some people.

Watch the video and think about how close we could be with an AI character.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/18/business/video/japanese-woman-married-ai-generated-persona-chatgpt-japan-clare-duffy-vrtc-digvid

Topic Reading-Vol.4995-12/27/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Inside Mongolia’s ‘Mars camp’: The extreme adventure that wants to turn tourists into astronauts

Nowadays, although still quite expensive, you can buy an orbital or suborbital space flight to experience weightlessness and enjoy a view of Earth offered by SpaceX, Blue Origin, or Virgin Galactic. However, getting to, staying on, and returning from Mars seems still far beyond feasible for civilian travelers, at least within this decade. But if you are still so eager to experience the challenges on the Red Planet, you may be able to travel to a mock Mars camp in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. At Mongolia’s MARS-V camp, mission crew members will experience a month-long survival challenge at the camp in the middle of nowhere, for only at $6,000 per person for a month, including pre-camp training and evaluation. The desert is a vast, cold, arid region known for its extreme climate and landscapes, where temperatures drop below 30 degrees Celsius in winter and rise beyond 40 degrees in summer. The crew members will undergo a virtual astronaut training program, such as conducting geological mapping or collecting soil samples in a space suit. They’ll inhabit the living quarters of interconnected modular pods, and eat freeze-dried Mongolian dishes like rehydrated dumplings or mutton stews. Communication with the support team (front desk) takes minutes to mimic interplanetary lag. Of course, smartphones will be collected before the mission begins. Would you be interested in being completely isolated from the world and conducting planetary exploration tasks for a month?

Read the article and learn about this extreme travel mission in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/23/travel/mongolias-mars-camp-tourist-astronauts-hnk-spc

Topic Reading-Vol.4994-12/26/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

He brought over 600 water bodies back to life. His next mission: saving India’s vanishing stepwells

India is home to a vast network of waterways, including the Ganges, which supports hundreds of millions of people. However, the most sacred river is also one of the world’s most polluted rivers because of untreated sewage, agricultural waste, and industrial runoff. India also has an architectural engineering marvel, stepwells, ancient subterranean structures with steps leading down to water for drinking, agriculture, industry, and community. Because water is considered sacred, stepwells weren’t created just as water reservoirs, but were also crafted and embellished with carvings and divine sculpture. Also, when the water level declined in the stepwell, people had to step down deeper to fetch water, which physically reminded them of the water scarcity. However, these precious water bodies have long been neglected or abandoned since the British rule. An environmental conservation group, which has restored over 600 water bodies in India, has recently restored two stepwells and is planning to do more. It requires generational and traditional knowledge and craftsmanship to protect and revive long-abandoned historical assets of human ingenuity.

Read the article and learn about India’s historical water bodies.

https://edition.cnn.com/climate/india-water-crisis-stepwell-restoration-arun-krishnamurthy-c2e

Topic Reading-Vol.4993-12/25/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Pangolin’s plight: Photo book spotlights the world’s most trafficked mammal

Pangolines are nocturnal, scaly mammals that live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. They have protective keratin scales covering their skin. They eat ants and termites using their long tongues, helping maintain ecosystems by controlling insect numbers. Pangolins have existed for 80 million years, evolved along with dinosaurs, and survived the massive asteroid impact. However, they are sadly facing extinction due to human threats like poaching. When threatened, a pangolin curls into a near-impenetrable ball with its scales, but those scales are highly demanded for traditional medicine, mainly in China. In fact, pangllins are the world’s most illegally poached and widely trafficked mammals for their meat and scales. Even though China banned the use of pangolins in traditional medicines in October this year, the future of the scaled mammal remains uncertain.

Read the article and see the photos to learn about long-lived Pangolins.

https://edition.cnn.com/world/pangolin-remembering-wildlife-photos-conservation-c2e-spc

Topic Reading-Vol.4992-12/24/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Canada's Carney called out for 'utilizing' British spelling

Canadian English (CanE) tends to be close to American English (AmE) in most regards, but it also features elements from British English (BrE) as well as its unique expressions and pronunciation. For example, bathroom is common in AmE, washroom is mostly used in CanE, and loo or WC is the standard in BrE. When it comes to spelling, some CanE combines AmE and BrE conventions. While Americans use the Anglo-French spelling defense and offense (noun), most Canadians use the British spellings defence and offence. Also, colour for color, honour or honor, centre for center are a few examples of BrE spelling used in Canada. In the meantime, in CanE, words like realize and organization are the same as AmE. Recently, the incumbent PM of Canada, Mark Carney, who studied at Oxford and lived and worked in the UK for years, was called out by Canadian language experts to stop using British spelling, such as globalisation and catalyse, in official documents, and use Canadian spelling. It’s a matter of a nation’s history, identity, and pride, eh?

Read the article and learn about the proper use of CanE.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj69d89l8l5o

Topic Reading-Vol.4991-12/23/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Covid 2020: The year of the quiet ocean

Of the 34,000 fish species in the ocean, about two-thirds use a wide variety of sounds for communication, foraging, reproduction, and territorial interactions. For example, whales make various sounds for navigation, social bonding, mating, and warning. However, a variety of noises is created in oceans from geophysical sources, such as volcanic activities, vents, currents, sea ice, and storms. In addition, as human activity increases in and on oceans for shipping, traveling, and military activity, anthropogenic noise rises, too, which disturbs the life and communication of marine animals. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, such manmade noise pollution significantly declined, allowing scientists to hear what the ocean sounded like without so much noise pollution. Indeed, for animals and creatures that swim and live underwater, the sound of screws is much more bothersome than we think.

Read the article and learn about what the underwater world sounds like.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251210-covid-2020-year-of-the-quiet-ocean

Topic Reading-Vol.4990-12/22/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Five of the world's safest countries for 2025

Published each year by the Institute for Economics & Peace, an international think tank headquartered in Sydney, the Global Peace Index (GPI) is the world's leading report on peacefulness. It ranks 163 countries by 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators on a 1-5 scale across three domains: Societal Safety & Security, Ongoing Conflict, and Militarization. Countries with lower scores are considered more peaceful, having less conflict, higher safety, and less militarization. The 2025 index shows a continuing decline in global peacefulness, marking the sixth consecutive year of deterioration with rising conflicts, geopolitical fragmentation, and militarization. Countries with the top five scores are: Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, and Switzerland, followed by Singapore, Portugal, Denmark, Slovenia, and Finland. What factors are common among these safest countries, and what features are distinct from less safe countries?

Read the article and learn what the most peaceful countries are like.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250822-five-of-the-worlds-safest-countries-for-2025

Topic Reading-Vol.4989-12/21/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Why are sperm donors having hundreds of children?

When a woman wants to produce her own child but is unable to achieve a pregnancy with her partner or without a partner, she could use sperm from an unknown donor from a sperm bank, which collects semen, screens, processes, and stores it for future use. Surprisingly, fewer than five in 100 volunteers' sperm meet the qualifications, including sperm count, motility, and shape, in addition to health and genetic testing of the donors. Also, recipients can choose the donor from the list of profiles, which further narrows down the donor candidates.  As a result, only a limited number of donors’ sperm is being used for a vast number of pregnancies, and this imbalance is creating dozens, or even hundreds, of half-siblings, without the knowledge of either the mothers or the donors. Imagine the offspring of the same donor meet each other and have children?

Read the article and learn how a small number of donors are creating many children.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg8mge23leo

Topic Reading-Vol.4988-12/20/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

High-fiving gorilla scoops first prize at Comedy Wildlife Awards

Founded in 2015, the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards is an annual, global photography contest for humorous images of wild animals. The contest features several categories, including Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians, Aquatic Species, Insects, two categories for young photographers, and video entries. This year, the top prize from over 10,000 entries from more than 100 countries was awarded to a photo of a dancing young male gorilla in Rwanda taken by a British photographer. Other category winners include a chimp pricking its nose, dancing foxes, a smiling sea creature, and “headlock” seabirds. If you want to vote for your favorite photo, click or touch on your favorite image from this year’s 43 finalists for the People’s Choice Award.

Enjoy seeing the winners of the 2025 Comedy Wildlife Awards.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/10/travel/comedy-wildlife-awards-winners-2025-scli-intl

Topic Reading-Vol.4987-12/19/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Voyager 1 will reach one light-day from Earth in 2026. Here’s what that means

In 1977, NASA launched two interstellar probes, Voyager 1 to explore Jupiter and Saturn, and Voyager 2 to for Uranus and Neptune. After the successful planetary flybys, they were commissioned to explore interstellar space, a region of outer space beyond the influence of the solar wind. They successfully reached interstellar space in 2012 and 2018, respectively, and they are still flying at a speed of over 55,000 km/h. Next year, Voyager 1 is expected to fly one light-day, about 26 billion kilometers, away from our planet. To travel that distance, it takes 24 hours for a light or a signal at the speed of light, or over 1.2 million years for a commercial jetliner at a cruising speed. It requires continuing and inter-generational effort to maintain contact with the probes, but NASA’s project team members, as well as the retired members, are hoping to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Voyager project with the probes flying over one light-day from Earth.

Read the article and learn about the 48-year-old probe still traveling 26 billion km away.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/09/science/voyager-1-light-day-earth

Topic Reading-Vol.4986-12/18/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The moment the earliest known man-made fire was uncovered

The control of fire was a pivotal technology that dramatically accelerated early human evolution. Fire provided warmth and protection from predators, especially at night, allowing early humans to sleep on the ground in caves rather than in trees. Also, fire allowed humans to cook food, which fundamentally altered the early human diet. Cooking with fire increased the digestibility and energy yield of food, expanded the food menu, and increased caloric intake, which helped human brains grow. In the meantime, cooked food was easier to digest and therefore, freed up energy for other body functions, including brain development. Socially, fire enhanced communal activities. People gathered around the fire, enjoyed social bonding, and tried to communicate more, which helped evolve languages. Then, when did humans start making fire? A recent discovery at an archaeological site in England showed a trace of human-created fire as long as 400,000 years ago, 350,000 years earlier than previously thought. Human evolution seems to have taken a very long time.

Read the article and learn about when and how fire started helping human evolution.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-b9da7a6d-165b-492a-8785-235cd10e2e8e

Topic Reading-Vol.4985-12/17/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

What is a hostile takeover bid?

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is a multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate formed in April 2022 from the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. It owns media brands including Discovery Channel, HBO, CNN, DC Entertainment, Cartoon Network, the Max streaming service, and Warner Bros, whose movie franchises include Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Superman, Badman, Monsterverse, and Barbie. Netflix, a subscription-based streaming service giant, tried to acquire the WB studio and streaming assets of WBD in a friendly fashion to expand its video content. After the acquisition was announced, a surprise takeover bid was proposed by Paramount Skydance, whose portfolio includes Mission Impossible, Star Trek, and Top Gun, as well as the CBS network, Nickelodeon, MTV, and Paramount streaming service. While the Netflix-WBD acquisition was discussed between the respective boards in a friendly fashion, Paramount’s bid to acquire the entire WBD company was an unannounced direct offer to WBD’s shareholders, called a hostile takeover bid. What are the differences between a friendly acquisition and a hostile takeover?

Read the article and learn about what is going on around WBD.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/08/business/what-is-a-hostile-takeover

 

Topic Reading-Vol.4984-12/16/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Am I addicted to my smartwatch?

If you wear a smartwatch, how much are you relying on it? Smartwatches act as mini-computers, including convenient features, such as calls, texts, apps, music control, and even contactless payments, just like your smartphone does. Smartwatches can also track real-time health and fitness conditions of the wearers 24/7, including blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen level, glucose level, and sleep patterns. They monitor blood flow with green LED lights to measure heart functions and also detect changes in electrical current to estimate stress levels. While these indicators might warn you of some physical irregularities, do they also improve your mental well-being? Smartphones have replaced cameras, and now smartwatches are taking some share from wristwatches. Functions seem to have become fashions nowadays. But don’t you get a little too nervous if you constantly monitor your heart conditions and sleep quality?

Read the article and learn what smartwatches do to their wearers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8xdgwrrd0vo

Topic Reading-Vol.4983-12/15/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The case for taking the same holiday again and again

It is always exciting to visit a new place, try unusual activities, or eat unfamiliar food. But sometimes, the place was not as exotic or distinct, the activity was too boring or demanding, or the food didn’t match your taste buds. Though unusual and unexpected experiences can be enjoyed as part of your vacation, some people prefer visiting the same place and doing the same things to enjoy comfort, familiarity, or nostalgia. If you know what to expect and what suits you, you can enjoy the same vacation routines safely and comfortably, and again and again. Also, you do not have to worry about where to stay, what to do, or which restaurant to eat at. Which vacation style suits you seems to depend on whether you’re looking for thrills or comfort, but you might also find something new when you revisit the same place because you’re unlikely to have seen, tasted, or experienced everything that the place offers only once.

Read the article and think about which way you want to enjoy your next vacation.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20251204-the-surprising-joy-of-going-back-to-the-same-place

Topic Reading-Vol.4982-12/14/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Neanderthal 1: The incredible discovery that rewrote history

Neanderthals are an extinct species of human ancestor who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia until about 40,000 years ago. They are known for their stocky build, prominent brow ridge, and large brains. In 1856, the first set of their fossil remains, Neanderthal 1, was discovered in the Neander Valley near Düsseldorf, Germany. Initially, it was a subject of scientific debate, but by 1864, it was named Homo neanderthalensis. Then, previously discovered fossils in Belgium in 1829 and Gibraltar in 1848 were re-examined and identified as Neanderthals. They went extinct due to a combination of factors, including climate change, competition with Homo sapiens for resources, and genetic issues from small, isolated populations. Also, Neanderthals are thought to have interbred with modern humans in Eurasia. In fact, modern people with non-African ancestry have around one to a few percent of Neandertal DNA. Though the Neanderthal 1 discovery site was destroyed by limestone mining, the area has been developed into an archaeological park and discovery site as part of the Neanderthal Museum.

Watch the video and learn about the extinct group of archaic humans.

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0ml7hhx/neanderthal-1-the-incredible-discovery-that-rewrote-history

Topic Reading-Vol.4981-12/13/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Why Greece is now the world’s best place to retire

When the retirement age approaches, some people want to move to live in their dream place where they can enjoy a mild climate, beautiful views, and fresh air. However, aside from the dreamy picture, other practical factors should be taken into consideration, such as visa requirements, safety, cost of housing and living, convenience, ease of integration, and the quality and cost of healthcare. According to the Annual Global Retirement Index by International Living, which evaluates popular retirement destinations, Greece, Portugal, and Spain are at the top of the list. They are mostly sunny and warm, and are relatively affordable to live in. Other retiree-friendly countries are Panama and Costa Rica in the Caribbean, and Thailand and Malaysia in Asia. Another factor that should not be ignored is extreme weather conditions triggered by global warming, such as severe droughts in the Mediterranean region and the recent destructive storms in South Asia.

Read the article and learn which countries are friendly to foreign retirees.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/01/travel/worlds-best-retirement-destinations-2026

Topic Reading-Vol.4980-12/12/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Adolescence lasts into 30s - new study shows four pivotal ages for your brain

From birth to death, the brain changes in response to new knowledge and experience, and also ages as you become older, but not as constantly as you might think. According to a new study that scanned the brains of about 4,000 people, there seem to be five distinct brain phases: Childhood from birth to nine, Adolescence from nine to 32, Adulthood from 32 to 66, Early aging from 66 to 83, and Late aging from 83 to death. These landmark ages of nine, 32, 66, and 83 can be reached earlier or later depending on the individual, but they are clearly shown in the data. It’s quite surprising that adulthood comes as early as nine and lasts until 32, the age you might have thought to have already been an adult for ten years or so. The good news is that our brain efficiency seems to improve until around 66, a retirement age for many. How surprisingly functional the brain is!

Read the article and learn about how our brain functions by stage.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgl6klez226o

Topic Reading-Vol.4979-12/11/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Competition heats up for new civil jobs

This past June, over 12 million new college graduates with bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees were poured into the already overcrowded job market, where millions of previously graduated students have been struggling to find jobs. There are simply not so many job opportunities that require university degrees, especially for those who have no previous work experience or particular expertise. On November 30, the national civil service exam for central government institutions was held. Of the 3.718 million qualified applicants, 2.83 million took the exams for 38,100 positions open for 2026, an average of 74 candidates per position. One extreme example is a police officer’s position in Yunnan province, which attracted nearly 6,500 applicants. As AI becomes part of business and daily life, is there a golden rule to get an *iron rice bowl?

*Iron Rice Bowl is a Chinese metaphor for job security and stability, like civil service jobs.

Read the article and learn how severe to get a civil service job in China.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202512/01/WS692ccf4da310d6866eb2c245.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4978-12/10/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Why singing is surprisingly good for your health

Some people sing songs when they feel good or want to feel better. Indeed, singing helps us improve our mood, reduce stress, and increase feelings of happiness. Also, singing is a social tool. When you sing in groups, you feel connected and share the feeling with others. In addition, singing brings physical benefits for the lungs and respiratory system, as well as well-being and the suppression of pain. Indeed, singing is not only an emotional and social act, but also a physical and cognitive act. Singing is easy to do. It doesn’t require any cost, equipment, or skills to sing songs. So, try singing a song you like to find out what it does to your state of mind.

Read the article and learn the benefits of singing.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251128-how-singing-can-improve-your-health

Topic Reading-Vol.4977-12/9/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Natl capacity to recycle now exceeds supply

China is not only the world’s largest producer of home appliances, EVs, solar panels, wind turbines, and many others, but also the largest market for them.  Around 40 million fridges were sold domestically in 2024 alone, and over a million EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles have been sold each month this year. China is also the world’s largest producer of solar panels and wind turbines, and generates more energy from them than all other countries combined. According to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China’s growth in recycling capacity for retired electric batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines has outpaced the supply, and those recycling plants are underutilized. Did the recycling industry overestimate or miscalculate the growth of the recycling market, or are users of those batteries and turbines using them even after the limitations? Whichever the cause may be, China is undoubtedly a proactive and advanced world leader in generating and recycling renewable energies.

Read the article and learn about China’s recycling capacity.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202511/29/WS692a3475a310d6866eb2c035.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4976-12/8/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Does music make animals calmer?

When house dogs or cats are unattended, they tend to become nervous. Since they can hear much higher frequencies than humans, they react to the sounds and noises coming from outside, such as footsteps or car horns. It is no wonder that some dogs bark at little sounds when they are left alone. Studies found that some type of music helps them reduce anxiety, such as piano, acoustic, classical, or even soft rock that has slower tempos without heavy percussion. For example, 80% of house dogs exhibited fewer anxiety symptoms like pacing, trembling, and panting when piano music was played. Researchers assume that some relaxing music might help animals release chemicals that please their minds. Indeed, as dogs and cats hear and smell much more than humans do, they are very sensitive to the environment and ambience. It may be worthwhile trying to find out which type of music your pet animals enjoy listening to.

Read the article and learn what music could do to the state of animals’ minds.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251121-does-music-make-animals-calmer

Topic Reading-Vol.4975-12/7/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Cats became our companions way later than you think

Unlike other members of the feline family, like cheetah, puma, jaguar, leopard, lion, lynx, and tiger, cats have been domesticated like dogs for some time. Until recently, they were thought to have become humans’ companions when agriculture began in the Levant around 10,000 years ago. But a new study of DNA from cat bones from archaeological sites has found that cats seem to have started living with humans only 3,500 to 4,000 years ago in Egypt. The domestication spread to Europe about two millennia ago, and then to China along the Silk Road, and also to other places on ships as pets and pest controllers. By then, dogs had been humans’ companions for over 10 millennia. Is that why dogs tend to chase cats?

Read the article and learn how and when the feline species became our friends.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8dvdp9gn7o

Topic Reading-Vol.4974-12/6/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,　

How extreme weather is making plastic pollution more mobile, more persistent and more hazardous

Plastic is harmful to the environment even before its birth because it is produced using fossil fuels. Globally, less than one-tenth of the plastic waste is recycled, and the rest is sent to landfills, incinerated, or discarded, causing an environmental nightmare. In addition to normal wear and tear, environmental factors like sunlight, oxygen, wind, and temperature fluctuations break down plastics into smaller particles, called microplastics. According to a newly released analysis by scientists, climate change, including rising temperatures, increasing humidity, and stronger winds and waves, is accelerating plastic pollution further in water, soil, air, and wildlife. Extreme weather conditions like storms, flooding, and wind can break down plastic into pieces more easily and spread them more widely. And you know how harmful microplastics are to the environment, food chain, and health. Plastic is closely connected to global warming and is also integrated into our lives, environment, and health.

Read the article and learn how plastic pollution is affected by global warming.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/27/climate/how-extreme-weather-is-making-plastic-pollution-more-mobile-persistent-and-hazardous

Topic Reading-Vol.4973-12/5/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

National parks announce ‘America-first’ fee surges for international tourists

Hiking in a national park is exciting, but a hike of national park fees is discouraging. The United States has announced to implement a new “America-first” entry fee policy at 11 most-visited national parks starting from next year, including the Great Smoky Mountains, Zion, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. Non-US residents will have to purchase the annual pass for $250 or pay a $100 fee in addition to the park’s entrance fee. The annual pass costs $80 to US residents. Such a premium price for foreigners is quite common among popular tourist attractions around the world. For example, the Grand Egyptian Museum near Cairo charges around 200 EGP to Egyptians but around 1,500 to foreigners. But this substantial price hike under the American Families First policy hits foreigners’ wallets hard, considering the strong US dollar and already-expensive traveling costs to and around America. There are still 52 national parks that are exempt from the foreigners’ fee.

Read the article and learn about another America-first policy implementation.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/26/travel/us-national-park-foreign-fees-tourism-hnk

Topic Reading-Vol.4972-12/4/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Taps may run dry in this country, where the water crisis is so severe it can be seen from space

Iran, mostly a semi-arid country, has been in drought for six years, the worst drought for four decades. The main water reservoirs around Tehran, Iran’s capital, where around 15 million live in its metropolitan area, are only around 11% full, and about 10% of the nation’s dams are almost dry. Warshippers are making a desperate plea in mosques, and airplanes are flying to seed clouds by injecting chemicals to induce rain, but to no avail so far. The country has been extracting much more water from rivers, lakes, wetlands, and underground aquifers at a much faster pace than they are replenished, mainly to irrigate farmland to achieve food self-sufficiency. Besides the drought and warming temperatures, the increasing population, leaky water infrastructure, and poor management are also to blame. The president has warned the residents of the capital of water rationing and possible evacuation from the city. But where to go?

Read the article and learn how serious Tehran’s drought is now.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/01/climate/iran-water-crisis-evacuate-tehran

Topic Reading-Vol.4971-12/3/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
This oil-rich country has stood in the way of climate action. It’s quietly building a clean energy
The climate of Saudi Arabia is predominantly arid to semi-arid, and its land is mostly desert. It was a land of nomads until the discovery of large oil reserves in 1938. By the 1970s, the kingdom had become the world’s largest oil exporter, and its population began to become settled and increased tenfold by 2025. Since Saudi Arabia is a hot desert country with little surface or underground water, demand for electricity is increasing to run air conditioning and provide desalinated water. The energy mix of the oil-and-gas-rich country was almost entirely fossil fuels in 2020. However, the kingdom is trying to source half of its electricity from renewable energy and the rest from gas by the end of this decade, while keeping wealth-generating oil for export. The main source of clean energy now is massive solar farms and battery storage facilities around large cities, the futuristic city of NEOM, and the luxury Red Sea tourism destination. Helped by the rapidly declining prices of solar panels and batteries, renewable energy is going to produce a substantial share of Saudi Arabia’s energy mix in a few years.
Read the article and learn why the oil-rich kingdom is pushing solar farms. 

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/17/climate/saudi-arabia-solar-energy-empire

Topic Reading-Vol.4970-12/2/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

How can you tell if your new favourite artist is a real person?

Robots have been painting car bodies and assisting in surgeries, and we appreciate their fine work for some time. Now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) enables machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs, and perform human-like tasks, including solving problems, automating tasks, and even creating content, such as text, images, or music. For example, AI powers personalized recommendations for online shopping or on streaming services like Spotify. Furthermore, AI now assists artists or music producers in writing, creating, or even performing music. Can you tell if the song you’ve heard and liked on a music channel was created, assisted, or performed by AI? Currently, there isn’t any requirement or obligation for artists or music platforms to let their listeners know if or how AI is used in their music. Does it matter to you, or do you want to know how to distinguish genuine human music from AI-assisted/produced music?

Read the article and learn how AI is used in music production.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ylzjj5wzwo

Topic Reading-Vol.4969-12/1/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Rerouting the US: Reimagining a country for high-speed trains

In the US, the railroad distances between Boston and New York, and New York and Washington, are approximately 350 km, and it takes about three and a half hours for each leg by the fastest train service. This average speed of about 100 km/h is far slower than the high-speed train services of other countries, like China, Japan, and France. Two centuries ago, the US had a railroad coverage as long as the rest of the world combined. Today, the aforementioned Eastern Corridor train services are the only ones that practically serve both business and leisure passengers. All other busy megacities, like Los Angeles and San Francisco, New York and Chicago, and Atlanta and Orlando, are mostly traveled to either by environmentally unfriendly air or car. In the meantime, China, whose land size is about the same as the US, has a nationwide high-speed railroad network of nearly 50,000 km at a top speed of 300 km/h. So, what if America’s busy destinations are connected by high-speed trains?

Read the article and learn how the US’s busy travel routes can be connected by high-speed trains.

https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2025/11/travel/us-high-speed-rail-reimagined-vis/