Topic Reading-Vol.5068-3/10/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

'The damage is already there': A controversial airport comes to Peru's Sacred Valley

Sitting above the Urubamba River valley in the Andes Mountains in Peru, Machu Picchu is a famous Incan citadel. Built around 1450, this historic sanctuary stands 2,430 meters above sea level in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, which was abandoned about a century later during the Spanish conquest. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1983, it is one of the most iconic symbols of the Inca civilization and a major archaeological site in the Americas, drawing around 5,000 visitors a day, 1.5 million annually. But Mach Picchu is hard to reach. After arriving at Lima, Peru’s capital, which is a long way from the other continent, you need to take a 1.5-hour domestic flight to Cusco, then take a four-hour train to reach Aguas Calientes to catch a 30-minute shuttle bus to the entrance. However, a new international airport has been under construction for decades in Chichero, only about a 1.5 to 2-hour train ride to Aguas Calientes. Once completed, the now-hard-to-reach Incan monument will be much more accessible to many more travellers. Already, more hotels are being built to accommodate more guests in the area. But what will happen to Incan roads, irrigation systems, structures, farmlands, and an inland salt mine, some of which are all still in use? Also, can the infrastructure and environment sustain so many visitors, workers, and businesses that are planned on paper? Conservationists, environmentalists, archeologists, indigenous communities, and even local operators and guides are protesting the airport project.

Read the article and learn about this Incan archaeological site.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260205-a-controversial-airport-comes-to-perus-sacred-valley

Topic Reading-Vol.5067-3/9/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

How where you grow up affects your personality

Which determines human behavior, personality, and traits, nature or nurture? Nature, or genetics, refers to innate biological factors inherited from parents, including DNA, eye/hair color, and genetic likelihood of developing certain diseases or mental health conditions. Nurture, or environment, includes external factors, such as upbringing, parenting styles, social relationships, culture, and life experiences. How different would the personal traits of identical twins, who share almost identical DNA, be if they grew up in different families, places, or cultures? For example, while people in the West tend to be more individualistic, the Japanese people are often more collectivistic. Also, religions play a significant or fundamental role in shaping personal identity and cultural values. In the meantime, research shows that Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is over 50% heritable on average, while about 40% of personality traits are heritable, meaning the rest is developed or formed by the environment and opportunities. All in all, it doesn’t seem to be just one or the other, but both nature and nurture develop one’s personality and capability.

Read the article and learn how one’s personality could be developed differently.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260206-is-our-identity-affected-by-where-we-live

Topic Reading-Vol.5066-3/8/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The island with an air-conditioned ‘forest’ to cope with scorching summers

Bordering Saudi Arabia and surrounded by the Persian Gulf, Qatar is a small peninsular Arab country with a population of just over 3 million, most of whom are expatriates and migrant workers. It is rich in natural gas reserves, contributing to over 18% of global liquid natural gas (LNG) exports. The airport in the capital, Doha, is a major global hub, serving more than 50 million passengers a year. Doha has become one of the most popular tourist spots in the Arabian Peninsula. However, Qatar has an arid, hot desert climate, with summer temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, making outdoor activities intolerable. To offer a year-round pleasant atmosphere, Doha’s Al Gharrafa and Umm Al Seneem parks blow cold blasts piped up from the street. People can jog, walk, or shop outside comfortably even in summer. On Gewan Island, a newly added man-made archipelago, visitors can enjoy walking a promenade under its air-conditioned forest. Artificial Intelligence is everywhere, helping people with their jobs. Doha’s artificial environment is certainly one of a kind, providing leisure to the residents and attracting visitors from around the world.

Read the article and learn about Doha’s newest attraction.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/gewan-island-qatar-air-conditioned-forest

Topic Reading-Vol.5065-3/7/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

China’s latest AI is so good it’s spooked Hollywood. Will its tech sector pump the brakes?

During the Cold War, the USA and the Soviet Union competed in their spaceflight technologies by sending animals and men into space, and landing astronauts on the Moon. It sparked rapid advancements in aerospace technology, reforms in science education, and the nuclear arms race. In this decade, military drones, humanoid robots, and AI have made significant technological advancements to the point where conventional technologies, skills, and labor are being replaced. Drones and counterdrones are now the major forces in the Russia-Ukraine War. Humanoid robots are working in factories, stores, and restaurants along with human coworkers. AI is taking the place of skilled, experienced, and knowledge workers. And China seems to be leading the race in speed, scale, and economy, thanks to the AI Plus initiative to integrate artificial intelligence across all economic, industrial, and social sectors, transforming AI from a technical tool into a core driver of productivity. Only about two years after ChatGPT’s debut, DeepSeek, a high-performance, cost-effective AI model, was released by a Chinese AI startup. To kick off the Lunar New Year, a band of humanoid robots performed Kung Fu, spin kicks, and back flips at the country's annual Spring Festival Gala. Then, in early last month, movie stars, celebrities, and famous characters appeared in cinematic videos and went viral. They were created with a new AI tool called Seedance 2.0 by ByteDance, a Chinese tech giant known for TikTok and Douyin. It is such an advanced and sophisticated tool that short videos are created from images, audio, video, and text prompts quickly and effortlessly. For example, you can see a fighting scene of famous stars like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Hollywood was quick to react by issuing a warning notice to ByteDance for copyright infringement. As AI improves, so do deepfakes. The race and battle are already going on to protect copyrights from infringement and the public from being misinformed.

Read the article and learn about the latest example of AI’s sophistication.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/20/china/china-ai-seedance-intl-hnk-dst

Topic Reading-Vol.5064-3/6/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Six possible effects of Trump's climate policy change

Last month, the US president erased the scientific finding that climate change endangers human health and the environment and deregulated federal greenhouse gas emission standards for all vehicles and engines of model years 2012 to 2027 and beyond. The administration claims that the deregulation restores consumer choice, makes more affordable vehicles available for American families, and decreases the cost of living because of the lower cost of trucks. This reversal action against the global efforts will not only remove limits on carbon dioxide, methane, and four other greenhouse gases that spur heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and other extreme weather, but also lead to health problems and premature deaths in its own country. Also, the cars manufactured without environmental regulations in the US may be cheaper for domestic buyers in the short term, but will not be sold in other markets without meeting their respective environmental regulations and requirements. So, what will business leaders in the automotive industry do: enjoy the temporary pain relief to make the balance sheet cleaner, or move forward to the future trend in the bigger picture? They may also be wondering which wind will blow in the next election in 2028, the blue or the red.

Read the article and learn about another reversal move by the US administration.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd03ee39945o

Topic Reading-Vol.5063-3/5/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Global warming forced scientists to change the way they look at El Niño

El Niño, meaning “the little boy” in Spanish, and La Niña, “the little girl”, are two opposing climate patterns that break these normal conditions. El Niño occurs when the normal east-to-west trade winds that push warm water toward Asia weaken or reverse, and warm surface water from the western Pacific moves eastward towards South America. This prevents cold water from rising to the surface, upwelling, near South America, making the central and eastern Pacific become much warmer, and changing rainfall patterns and influencing global weather. When the trade winds strengthen, the opposite phenomenon occurs, La Niña. El Niño and La Niña events occur every two to seven years but not regularly, and they last nine to 12 months, sometimes for years. In the last three decades, these phenomena have been detected by comparing the ocean temperature in a specific part of the tropical Pacific. But as global warming has raised the temperatures of the whole tropical Pacific, the anomalies have become harder to see. Now, scientists subtract the temperature anomalies in the rest of the tropical Pacific from those in the region most important for El Niño. This update is just like replacing the old glasses with newly prescribed ones. With upgraded glasses, scientists can now see the changes in ocean temperatures earlier and better, and forecast long-range weather more accurately.

Read the article and learn about another influence of global warming.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/17/weather/el-nino-global-warming-pacific-ocean

Topic Reading-Vol.5062-3/4/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

A four-day science-backed guide to forging better friendships that will improve your life

Unlike family members or relatives, you can choose and make friends yourself. You can have a good time with your friends, share a bond of mutual interest, trust, and respect, and offer help or support when needed. Studies show that fostering good friendships will bring health and mental well-being. Then how?

You can’t just have fun with friends all the time. You learn to manage the ups and downs of being good friends. Sharing interests definitely helps deepen friendships. For example, exercising, playing sports, learning an instrument, making dishes, or doing a ritual together all keep your friends closer to you. Also, going out and spending time in nature will enhance your well-being and, therefore, help social connections. After all, your mental health is influenced by your mindset.

Read the article and learn the benefits and ways to keep good friendships.

Note: As this article was published last year, read 2025 as 2026.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250103-a-four-day-guide-to-forging-better-friendships-to-improve-your-life