Topic Reading-Vol.2791-12/2/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Water vapor detected on Jupiter's moon Europa,

Found by Galileo Galilei in 1610 along with three other brother moons, Europa, [jʊəˈroʊpə] is one the 79 known moons of Jupiter. Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is the sixth-largest moon in our solar system. It has a very thin atmosphere, composed primarily of oxygen. Because of its smooth surface, scientists have been expecting that a water ocean exists beneath it, which is one of the three essential ingredients for extraterrestrial life along with energy sources and chemicals like carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Recently, scientists have discovered the presence of water vapor above the surface. Though it is not yet liquid water, water in vapor form is still the next best thing. In 2025, NASA is planning to launch Europa Clipper, an interplanetary spacecraft to make flyby inspections of to find more about this distant, cold moon in an attempt to find if it indeed has a suitable environment to host life.

Do you want to visit this potentially habitable moon? Be prepared to land on the surface whose temperatures are below -150°C. But you may also want to be reminded the message repeatedly sent to us by the creator of the monolith in Space Odyssey 2010, “All these worlds are yours, but Europa.”

Enjoy reading the article and learn about Europa.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/18/world/europa-moon-water-scn/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2790-12/1/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

In secular India, it's getting tougher to be Muslim

The population of India has been growing at a rate of over one percentage point, thanks to the healthy fertility rate. With 1.37 billion population, India is the world’s most populous democratic country. Indeed, approximately 900 million people are eligible to vote and about two of every three of them voted in the last national election in May.

When it comes to religion, about 80% of the population practices Hinduism. Though there are about 200 million Muslims in the country, the third-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan, they represent less than 15% of the nation’s population, So, democracy seems to work naturally in favor of Hindus even though the country has no state religion under the constitution. Also, despite the secular national status, India’s personal laws on issues such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance vary by religion.

Naturally, religion plays significant roles in elections and people’s lives in India where secular doesn’t mean freedom of religion, equal citizenship to each citizen regardless of their religion, or separation of religion and state but just freedom in religion.

Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, won 303 seats in the parliamentary election this year, well over the majority and was the second win in a row. The party’s policy reflects Hindu nationalist positions and advocates social conservatism and a foreign policy centered on nationalist principles. The leader, Narendra Modi, and the supporters seem to have little hesitation to work on their religious interests.

Enjoy reading the article and think about what influences more in today’s politics.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/19/asia/india-muslim-modi-intl-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2789-11/30/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Global epidemic' of childhood inactivity

All over the world, children are becoming physically less active, according to the WHO. Nearly four out of five children are found to have less physical activity than they are supposed to. Instead, they are sitting too long in the chair studying, watching whatever screen, or playing games. South Korean children are one of the least active among the 146 countries studied. The country is known for its hard-studying culture to get to prominent universities, and the children spend long hours studying in school, cram school and at home. Also, it is one of the most digitized countries, thanks to the high-tech giant Samsung. In general, boys are more active than girls in most of the countries. The World Health Organization says inactive children’s health, brain development, and even social skills are impaired. Physical activities include any activity that makes the heartbeat faster and the lungs breathe more, such as running, swimming, cycling, playing sports, and even walking. Aren’t these activities that children want to do?

As the world requires more brainwork than physical activity, Homo Sapience seem to be adapting themselves to the new world.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about how active today’s children are.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50466061

Topic Reading-Vol.2788-11/29/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Chinese scientists develop lab-grown meat from animal cells

Cultured meat is a form of cellular agriculture. It is produced by in vitro cultivation of animal cells without slaughtering the animal. Unlike plant-based meat, which is made by extracting proteins from plants such as soybeans, peas or wheat, cultured meat takes animal cells and nurtures them to create muscle tissue. So, it is still real meat but not from the animal’s body but from just cells. No commercial lab-grown meat is on the shelves yet, but research and engineering are on the way. Recently, a team of scientists in a Chinese university successfully produced cultured pork meat. Since plant-based meat is already gaining some ground in upscale restaurants and supermarkets, it won’t be so long before such cultured meat is sold next to the slaughtered animal meat section. What will it be called then, cultured meat, lab-grown meat or merciful meat? Will it then create a new food criterion like lab-culturists or merciful-eaters in addition to vegetarians and vegans?

Enjoy reading the article and learn about this rising meat category.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201911/22/WS5dd735c5a310cf3e35579318.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2787-11/28/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

How climate change could kill the red apple?

The banana is yellow, the orange is orange, and the apple is red, but not always. In fact, the apple has a variety of colors, such as red, green and yellow. But when you think of an apple, it is usually red. And unless you want to have or try a different taste or flavor, you most likely pick red apples over yellow or green ones. There seems to be a certain expectation of taste by the color. While apple buyers tend to weigh more on the color rather than the taste or texture, many kinds of apples are grown in farms that provide different functions. Some are more suitable for sauce or cider and others are perfect for pies.

What makes apple red is a protein called MYB10. The more MYB10 in the apple, the redder the skin likely be. Also, temperatures play some roles. As temperatures rise, apples’ skin less likely becomes red. That’s why apples are usually grown in cooler regions.

But what if no or only a few apples were red? That could happen if global warming progresses and temperatures in apple-growing regions rise.

In a few decades from now, your grandchildren may ask, “Did apples use to be red?”

Enjoy reading the article about what affects the color of the apple.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20191119-how-climate-change-could-kill-the-red-apple

Topic Reading-Vol.2786-11/27/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

In pictures: Eurostar celebrates 25 years of service

Eurostar is an international high-speed railway opened 25 years ago. It connects London to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and other destination in the continent through the Channel Tunnel, a 50-kilometer long railway tunnel beneath the English Channel. The train runs at a top speed of 320 km/h, carrying the passengers from London to Paris in just two hours and sixteen minutes whose economy class ticket costs between 64 and over one hundred euros depending on the time of departure. Considering the time and hassles to and from the airport, the train service is a convenient transportation option between these busy cities. True, Eurostar trains carried over 200 million passengers through the tunnel, including nobles and celebrities like Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Hanks.

Unfortunately though, while the train line links the UK and EU destinations smoothly and safely, the relationship between the both ends of the channel is hardly predictable, and soon, all passengers and crewmembers are going to be required to carry their passport and go through customs and immigration like they used to be.

Enjoy reading about Eurostar’s 25^th anniversary and think if you want to travel under the channel someday before or after the Brexit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50418077

Topic Reading-Vol.2785-11/26/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Are Instagram captions more powerful than pics?

Photos on Instagram, videos on YouTube, and anything on Facebook. Postings on these popular and dominating social network services are most commonly valued by the number of “Likes.” Someone may be surprised and honored to find that their posting is liked by thousands overnight. For influencers, who have the power to affect the purchase decisions of others by their popularity, the number of Likes to their postings is crucial. It is a simple indicator of how influential the person’s posting is. So, what draws more Likes for Instagram?

You may think that’s, of course, the photos. Yes, the photo is the meat of the meal. To you surprise, captions play a very important and influential role to enhance the value of the photo. Photo caption could be just a word, a few words or lines of text under the photo. It not only explains what the photo shows or tries to communicate but also elaborates on the message of the photo and enhances its value within the community. In many cases, captions keep viewers more interested and even involved in the photo message so that they create more interactions among the viewers. If one wants to be an influencer, he or she needs to be a good or lucky photographer as well as a creative and communicative copywriter.

Enjoy reading the article and learn about what captions add to the image alone.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191119-why-instagram-captions-are-important