Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Cost of living: Why more Australians are giving up their pets
Household bills are rising from food, energy bills, and daily necessities
like diapers, detergents, and to pet food. As the rising costs outpace the income
gains, the living budgets of middle and low-income households are getting
tighter, especially for those who have pets. For example, a lost-dog animal
shelter in Melbourne, Australia has been receiving more abandoned pet dogs
recently. As the cost of pet products has risen twice as much as the food and
drinks for humans in Australia, more pets are being given up by their owners. Also,
inflation hits the operation costs of animal shelters even more badly. Furthermore,
because of inflation, fewer people are now adopting those animals looking for permanent
homes. It seems like a serious downward spiral for pet animals.
Read the article and learn about how inflation affects the lives of once-beloved
pet animals.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63071930
Dear MEL Topic Readers,
‘World’s dirtiest man’ dies at 94, months after his first wash
Did our ancestors and close cousins, Neanderthals, ever bathe or wash
their faces tens of thousands of years ago? Were they unhealthy if they had
never bathed? Recently, an Iranian hermit died at the age of 94, having outlived
most of the healthy and clean fellows in the country. He lived a solitary life
in between a hole in the ground and a brick shack built by townspeople. He didn’t
eat any fresh food or drank clean water. More surprisingly, he hadn’t bathed
for over six decades until his fellow villagers convinced him to wash his body
a few months ago. He feared he would get sick if he ever used any soap and
water. Unfortunately, he died just months after the wash. Though he was known
as the world’s dirtiest man, he lived longer than most of the clean people.
What was the cause of his death?
Read the article about a man without a wash for decades.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/26/asia/worlds-dirtiest-man-dies-iran-haji-scli-intl/index.html
Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Ancient DNA reveals first Neanderthal family portrait
Neanderthals are an extinct species of archaic humans who lived across
Europe and southwest to central Asia from about 400,000 until about 40,000
years ago. They were about 1.50 to 1.75 meters tall and weighed around 64 to 80
kilograms, and had large noses, strong-double-arched brow ridges, and relatively
short and stocky bodies. They were hunter-gatherers and ate meat, plants and
fungi, and shellfish when available. Apparently, they co-existed with our, homo
sapiens, ancestors that appeared around 300,000 years ago in Africa, but the
cause of their extinction is still unclear. Recently, researchers extracted DNA
from the bones and teeth that once belonged to a small Neanderthals community
of seven males and six females including five children. They found that the
community had low genetic diversity, meaning they were most likely family members
or relatives. As genetic study advances, we’ll find more about the social
organization and behaviors of our mysterious cousins. In fact, the two species seem
to have interbred with each other before Neanderthals went extinct.
Enjoy reading the article about the lives and communities of the extinct species
of archaic humans.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/19/europe/neanderthal-first-family-dna-scn/index.html
Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Singapore's Changi Airport is going to get a lot bigger as plans for T5
take shape
The Republic of Singapore is an island city-state off the southern tip
of the Malay Peninsula. The technology-driven-minded people and the government
have made the small city-state one of the most advanced and wealthiest nations
in the world. It is also the hub of finance and air transport in Southeast
Asia. In fact, Singapore’s Changi Airport is one of the world’s most awarded
airports with its four convenient and accommodating terminals. For example, opened
in 2019, Changi Jewel is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex that
is connected to terminals. It has a 40-meter-tall world’s tallest indoor waterfall
that is surrounded by theaters, a four-story garden, and trails. Now, eyeing on
the future of increasing air traffic in the region, the Singapore government
has revealed the updated plan for the fifth terminal. The T5 design takes into
account the pandemic challenges, environmentally friendly operation, and attractive
atmosphere for the city’s residents. Will it be worth flying to as a travel destination?
Enjoy reading the article and learning about this futuristic design
concept of one of the world’s most attractive airports.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/singapore-changi-airport-t5-cmd/index.html
Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Here’s why mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others
Are you bitten by mosquitoes more than others around you? Although mosquitoes
don’t bother us so much in large cities any longer, they are there to bite us when
we go out for a picnic or hiking. Moreover, in sub-tropical or tropical regions,
they are vectors for dengue, yellow fever, malaria, and Zika. We know that body
heat and carbon dioxide that is released from our bodies attract mosquitoes.
But it would be helpful to find what else attracts mosquitoes so that more effective
mosquito repellent could be produced. Recently, researchers tried to find what
elements from our bodies attract mosquitos. They asked volunteers to wear nylon
stockings for six hours a day over several days and used them to find which
element attract more mosquitos. They found that carboxylic acids, large
molecules that produce the characteristic smell of humans, attract more
mosquitoes. That’s good for those who magnet mosquitoes. However, as we all breathe
and release CO2, we still need to cover our skin when we go outside in summer or
in warm regions.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about this unique research about
mosquito magnets.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/22/world/mosquito-bite-attraction-smell-scn-trnd/index.html
Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Forbidden City eyes stronger ties with Taipei peer
Established in 1925 after the eviction of the last Qin emperor from his
palace, The Palace Museum is a national museum housed in the Forbidden City in
Beijing. The museum consists of nearly 1,000 buildings and houses 1.8 million
pieces of art. It is the world’s most visited museum. Built in 1965, The National
Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan has a collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of
Chinese artifacts and artworks. Most of those were moved from the Palace Museum
in Beijing and five other institutions in mainland China when the Kuomintang
party retreated from the mainland in 1949 after the long-fought Chinese Civil
war. Combined, these two national museums house and exhibit a massive
collection of China’s historical artifacts and artworks. On October 21 during the
20th national congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the director
of the Palace Museum in Beijing sent a message to Taiwan that he hopes to have
more communication and cultural exchanges with his counterpart in Taiwan. He
even suggested that they host a joint show in the newly established Hong Kong’s
palace museum. Indeed, communication and cultural exchanges often break the ice
when there is conflict and tension.
Enjoy reading the article and learning about a cultural message from Beijing
to Taipei.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202210/22/WS63533514a310fd2b29e7de56.html
Dear MEL Topic Readers,
India vaccine maker destroys 100 million doses of expired Covid jab
SII, the world’s largest vaccine maker in India, provided more than 90%
of Covid doses that have been administered in India. But they apparently
produced much more doses of Covid vaccine than people wanted. Though over 70%
of the Indian population received two or more doses, including 300 million booster
doses, they had not been encouraged to take any more despite the government
promotions. One reason is that people in India, just like those in other
countries, seem to have been fed up with the coronavirus. Also, they aren’t
used to taking vaccine shots regularly, like a flu shot. As a result, the vaccine
manufacturer had no choice but to destroy100 million doses of their expired
Covid vaccine. Could those dumped doses have been used in other countries
before the expiration?
Read the article and think about what logistics plan and generosity
could have prevented 100 million doses from being wasted.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-63324548
