Topic Reading-Vol.2340-9/7/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The secret of gua bao: The Taiwanese street food taking over the world

What’s gua bao? It is a kind of Taiwanese street food that consists of a clam-shaped white steamed bun called bao, a slice of braised pork, pickled mustard greens, coriander and ground peanuts. It is also known as steamed bao or Taiwanese Hamburger, or could referred to as Taiwanese version of the Taco, another world popular spicy Mexican sandwich.

One busy street shop in Taiwan sells 3,000 gua baos a day, which means about five gua baos in every minute. And its popularity has spread across the oceans to New York and London.

Enjoy reading the text and seeing the photos of this popular snack and think if you want to try a bite.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/gua-bao-taiwan/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2339-9/6/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What makes chocolate chip cookies so addictive?

The chocolate chip cookie was invented by an American chef eight decades ago. It is one of the most beloved sweets in America. Its main ingredients are no different from other kinds of cookies; shortening, flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and vanilla, but adds nuts, oatmeal, and of course chocolate chips. A touch of salt is also added to enhance the sweetness. There are numbers of variations in the recipe and styles for chocolate cookies, such as chewy, soft, or crispy cookies, and bitter or milky chocolate chips. Also, some people prefer eating warmed cookies to enjoy melt chocolate.

Whichever the preference is, the cookie seems to have addictive ingredients and characters for Americans, along with a strong connection to their childhood.

Enjoy reading what makes chocolate chip cookies so popular among Americans.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/30/health/chocolate-chip-cookies-addictive-food-drayer/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2338-9/5/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Technology is changing the way you see a doctor, but is that good for your health?

Humans or technology? It isn’t an issue of choosing one or the other when it comes to diagnose a patient and provide proper care and prescription. In fact, technology overperformed humans to give initial diagnoses in certain areas. When talking about continuity, machines could accumulate historical data of a patient in all areas, not limited to the specialty or lifespan of a certain doctor. Also, when a new disease or cure is found in another area of the world, that information could be factored into the diagnosis, which can not easily or universally be done by human doctors. In the meantime, humans can focus on providing essential services such as consultations and practices. All in all, it seems that if humans try to improve and work better with machines, they will, in turn, help humans more efficiently and properly. Isn’t that what humans have been doing since the first Industrial Revolution a few centuries ago?

Enjoy reading and sense the occurrence of a medical revolution.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/30/health/ai-artificial-intelligence-technology-health-care-intl/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2337-9/4/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

China targets video gaming to tackle myopia in children

Video games are to blame for myopia. Looking intensely at a tiny display of the smartphone for hours, mobile gaming has been viewed as one of the most likely causes of nearsightedness among young children in China, the world largest gaming market. The world most populous country has over 500 million visually impaired citizens, nearly half the population over K-1 students. And China is quick to act on solving critical problems, drastically and thoroughly. Now, the authorities have started limiting the number of new online games, playing time, and restricting the age of players. In fact, a newly released world top-selling game title, Monster Hunter World, was removed from the online shelves. The shares of the developer, Tencent, the fifth most valued company in the world, and other game developers plumped in a few days. Now they have left no choice but to look for the international market.

What about cram schools that make children stare at textbooks for long hours every day?

Enjoy reading the article and think if the time to study also should be limited like games.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45366468

Also, here is a China Daily's article about the Chinese government initiatives.
Give our children a 'bright future'

Topic Reading-Vol.2336-9/3/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The dangers of eating raw fish

If you don’t eat raw or undercooked seafood, such as sushi or oysters, you may not need to worry about this article. If you do, however, it may be worth checking this out.

A Korean man was amputated his forearm because of an infection after eating raw seafood. The infection was caused by a bacterium often found in coastal ocean water. Symptoms of this kind of infection are watery diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills. Though patients of such infection don’t usually require medical treatment, quite a few cases are reported each year even in the US where meat is king. Also, there are risks for getting parasites and salmonella bacteria when uncooked seafood is eaten.

To avoid such risk of illness, it is recommended to heat seafood before eating.

Would you dare to eat heated sushi or “raw-oyster”?

Enjoy reading and learn the risks of eating uncooked seafood.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/30/health/raw-fish-vibrio-vulnificus-amputation/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2335-9/2/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Which country has the most expensive education?

In many countries around the world, tomorrow is the day students begin or go back to school. It is the day they start a new school year or term. How much parents of students spend on their child’s back-to-school necessities varies widely by country. American parents spend whopping $685 on average. But that’s just part of the total spending on education. The combined expenses to have a child finish primary to undergraduate school, including class fees, books, transport, and accommodation range widely from France’s $16,000 to Hong Kong’s $131,000.

Another big difference is how much time students spend in school. While primary students in Russia spend just over 500 hours a year, those in Denmark stay around 1,000 hours in class.

Also, Australians spend 22.9 years on average from primary school to college. That’s a very long school life expectancy, isn’t it?

The question is how these differences in time and spending on school make a difference in their lives.

Enjoy reading and learn differences in education among developed countries.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180829-where-is-the-most-expensive-country-to-go-to-school

Topic Reading-Vol.2334-9/1/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Dubai's racing to build the world's first hyperloop

Hyperloop? It is a mag-lev, magnetically levitating, vehicle that travels in a sealed tube. Since it travels free of, or with much less air resistance and friction, the speed could reach as fast as a passenger plane. It is suitable to transport passengers or objects between distant places like between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Helsinki and Stockholm under the Baltic Sea. Another proposed routes in the Arabian Peninsula is to link Dubai with the greater United Arab Emirates.

Though the hyperloop concepts sound like solving problems like air pollution and congestions at a speed of a jetliner, there are questions about its technological and financial feasibilities to build and operate such a costly transportation infrastructure where there are other alternatives already in use.

Enjoy watching the video to learn what the Hyperloop concept is like.

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tech/2018/08/15/global-gateway-hyperloop-dubai-overview.cnn/video/playlists/global-gateway/