Topic Reading-Vol.4237-11/30/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

You can get Covid-19 and flu vaccines at the same time, but should you?

As winter approaches in the northern hemisphere, people live and work in a more closed environment. Then the air is dryer inside and even outdoors. Yes, the flu season is coming. Also, COVID-19 is still out there with new variants like HV.1 and EG.5. So, if you’re getting those vaccines, should you get them on different days or on the same day? Studies have found there seems to be no significant difference in antibody levels between different-day shots and same-day shots. Also, after-shot temporary reactions, such as fatigue, headache, fever, and muscle pain are nearly the same. It rather depends on the person. Then the question is whether you go to the clinic once or twice. Would you risk exposing yourself to an environment where there could be other patients with cold, the flu, or COVID-19 twice? Would you experience after-shot reactions twice? Furthermore, would you like to make just one visit or two visits?

Read the article and learn about how two vaccines could be taken before the flu season.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/24/health/covid-19-flu-vaccines-same-time/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4236-11/29/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

American consumers are experiencing sticker shock for domestic wines. How did US bottles get so expensive?

Wines in the US have become more expensive, but not just because of rising demands. During the Covid pandemic, alcohol sales spiked as many people were forced to stay home and needed comfort. They had an extra budget allowance to buy more expensive wines than they used to buy as they could not dine out or travel. This allowed winemakers to raise prices to offset the rising production costs, including bottles, labels, corks, capsules, and labor. None of these improved the quality, flavor, or taste of the wine, though. After the pandemic, the demand declined but the prices stayed high. Winemakers are afraid that consumers might perceive lower prices as having lower quality. Also, the cost to bottle wine is nearly the same for almost any wine. That’s why prices of wines in the US are staying high. But if there are no good affordable wines, consumers are likely to pick alternative drinks, such as craft beers or sparkling alcohol drinks. Winemakers seem to need sound strategies to manage today’s and future business.

Enjoy reading the article and learning about the pricing mechanism of US wines.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231121-how-us-wine-became-so-expensive

Topic Reading-Vol.4235-11/28/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

From Sin City to Sports Central: How Las Vegas is betting big on a lucrative industry

Located in the Mojave Desert, Nevada, Las Vegas is a city famous for gambling, shopping, and entertainment. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the US, welcoming around 40 million visitors a year. It originally grew as a gambling city with casinos and hotels like Caesars Palac, earning the nickname “Sin City.” Then it added family attractions, including museums, theaters, halls, and amusement parks, and also developed business facilities for conventions, and became known as the Entertainment Capital of the World. Recently, the entertainment city has broadened its business scope to sports events, constructed stadiums and arenas, and hosted Formula 1 racing events, major league sports games, and national title events like the Super Bowl. Now, Las Vegas claims itself as the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World. It seems that the city is also home to the construction, maintenance, and hospitality industries. What will happen to this desert city in the middle of nowhere in the future? Is this resource and energy-consuming city sustainable?

Enjoy reading and learning about what is going on in the Capital of Gambling, Entertainment, and Sports events.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/18/business/las-vegas-sports-economy/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4234-11/27/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Newborn cloned cat is all Chinese

Animal cloning is the process of creating a genetically identical copy of an animal. The most popular technique of animal cloning is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which involves removing the nucleus from a donor cell and placing it into an enucleated egg cell. The egg cell is then stimulated to develop into an embryo, which is then implanted into a surrogate mother. The first cloned animal was Dolly the sheep, which was born in 1996. Catarina the cat was the first cloned cat from a somatic cell in 2001. Research institutions in China have been working on cloning animals with all-Chinese technologies and machines and recently created its first cat cloned from somatic cells using domestically developed equipment and reagents. They’ve also cloned 20 pigs only with homegrown equipment and reagents this month. These are a few examples of all-Chinese scientific research like the Tiangong Space Station. As the number of newborn children has been declining drastically in China (Vol.4232), the news might remind you of the clone troopers in Star Wars movies.

Read the article and learn about China’s all-domestically cloned cat.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/22/WS655d6091a31090682a5ef70a.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4233-11/26/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Skiplagging: Why some flyers love it and why airlines hate it
"Skip-lagging" or "hidden-city ticketing" is a practice some travelers use to fly cheaply. It involves booking a flight with a layover at the desired destination and another leg to another airport to make the airfare cheaper. For example, if you want to fly from Los Angeles to Chicago, you might find a much cheaper airfare to Columbus, Ohio via Chicago. So, you buy a ticket to Columbus, fly to Chicago, and discard the Chicago to Columbus flight. The practice has been popular as airfares to major destinations are painfully expensive while the ones to another airport that is connected are much cheaper. On the other hand, it makes the airline fly with an empty seat for the leg and wait for the no-show passenger until the last minute. In fact, the practice is often against the airline's ticketing policies, and it could impose a penalty on the ticket holder. However, as airfares between popular destinations have become more expensive even before the pandemic, some flyers are trying to save as much airfare as they can despite the risk of penalties. Are there any ways for airlines to be more friendly to budget travelers?
Enjoy reading the article and learning about what skip-lagging ticketing is about.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/skiplagging-hidden-city-explainer/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4232-11/25/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

After Years of Sharp Decline, Will China’s Birth Rate Rebound?

China’s population is around 1.4 billion, nearly the same as India. The nation recorded its first population drop in six decades last year. And its population is expected to fall to around 1.3 billion by 2050 while India’s will increase to 1.7 billion. Furthermore, China is rapidly aging, and the population aged 60 or older is expected to reach 400 million, making up about 28% of the population. That’s because the number of new births has been declining faster than any other country. Over the last several years, the number of newborns has been showing double-digit declines. In fact, there were 18.8 million newborns in 2016 but the number fell to 9.5 million in 2022, which is nearly half of six years before. And the number is expected to decline another 10% or so this year to around eight million. What is going on? As the number of women of childbearing age declines, so does the number of newborns. Also, fewer people are getting married and are not so motivated to have children. If there has been such a rapid decrease in the number of children, what is happening to schools and businesses for children?

Read the article and learn about China’s drastic decline in newborns.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2023-09-26/blog-after-years-of-sharp-decline-will-chinas-birth-rate-rebound-102112610.html

Topic Reading-Vol.4231-11/24/2023

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Why you see Black Friday sales in July

Americans celebrate a unified Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. After a day of family gatherings and feasts, people are ready to shop, either for Christmas or their wish list on Black Friday, the start of the Christmas shopping season. Some stores open as early as midnight to fire up sales with heavy discounts. Indeed, Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year in the US for decades. Nowadays though, the term is used not only on the day after Thanksgiving but also for other promotional events, such as Black Friday in July by Best Buy, an electronic retailer. There is also Cyber Monday, an online sales promotion day on the Monday after Thanksgiving, which now become popular in other markets. Then Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer by market cap, hosted a “Prime Day Sales” event in typical July and another in October this year. All these sales events are intended to stimulate consumers with heavy discounts on promotional items before their competitors do. How will American retailers do this weekend?

Enjoy reading the article and learning about what Black Friday meant and means now.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231116-why-you-see-black-friday-sales-in-july