Topic Reading-Vol.5084-3/26/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Counting calories doesn't work. Try eating smarter instead

Some people in the world are struggling to get as much energy as they can from the little food they eat, while overweight people, especially in the US and the UK, are trying to aim the opposite, to get the least from as much food as they eat. Why some people are overweight is not just because they eat too much food, but also because they consume it at the wrong time, at the wrong speed, and in the wrong way. Our body metabolizes the food we eat; the process of our organism to create energy, facilitate growth, and produce waste. But how fast or efficiently this process works varies widely by the food, timing, speed, and duration of eating. For example, taking the same calories at breakfast burns the energy more than at dinner. Also, if you eat more slowly, the food is digested better, and your gut feels fuller for longer. And it’s not just about calories but also about the nutrition you get from the food you eat. Of course, what you eat matters the most, too. Naturally grown food is more nutritious than artificially processed food, like whole grain vs granola and chicken breast vs protein bars. All in all, eating smartly seems to help you benefit the most from the food you eat.

Read the article and learn what smart eating means to your health.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260320-counting-calories-doesnt-work-try-eating-smarter-instead

Topic Reading-Vol.5083-3/25/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

India's young are more educated than ever. So why are so many jobless?

Though young people in India are more educated than ever before, over 20% of them cannot find jobs. In the last three decades, the number of colleges and universities has risen from 1,600 to 70,000, producing five million graduates annually. This has narrowed the gender gaps and caste barriers to some extent, but has not helped the increasing number of graduates secure aspiring, stable, salaried jobs. Unlike other East and Southeast Asian countries that have been growing with export-led manufacturing industries to employ a large number of not-so-educated workers, India’s leading industries are skill-intensive services like IT and communication, which aren’t producing as many job opportunities as labor-intensive industries. As a result, hundreds or thousands of applicants compete for limited job opportunities in government services, and many graduates have given up their aspirations and taken on family farms or businesses. When they reach their 30s, will they become financially or professionally independent from their families to create their own families?

Read the article and learn how India’s young people are struggling to find jobs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17841zez8wo

Topic Reading-Vol.5082-3/24/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

Cuba is going dark under US pressure. How the crisis unfolded and why its troubles are far from over

Initiated in the 1960s following the communist revolution and nationalization of US assets, the US maintains its long-standing economic embargo on Cuba to pressure the Cuban government to transition toward democracy and improve its human rights record. After losing its main oil supplier, Venezuela, due to the US’s capture of its president by force, Cuba has also lost other oil suppliers, including Mexico, because of US pressure. Now, the 10 million Caribbean islanders suffer from severe fuel shortages, constant blackouts, and limited access to water. Accordingly, garbage collections, hospital operations, and transportation services, all essential to people’s lives, are affected. In Havana, the capital city with a population of over two million, patients are waiting for surgeries in hospitals, garbage is piling up in the streets, and people are spending nights in their dark homes. Once the attack on Iran ends, will the US administration move on to displace the Cuban government as it did to Venezuela? Whichever the case may be, those who suffer the most are ordinary citizens.

Read the article and learn about the recent situation in Cuba due to the US blockade.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/18/americas/cuba-us-pressure-blackout-latam-intl

Topic Reading-Vol.5081-3/23/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Can Ukraine's war-torn wheatfields be cleansed?

Known as a “breadbasket,” Ukraine is a top exporter of sunflower oil, maize, and wheat. But as its farmland has turned into battlefields, much of the soil has been contaminated by toxic elements from shells, missiles, drones, bombs, tanks, and vehicles, each of which leaves different residues and remains on the farmland. Researchers are particularly concerned about the toxicity of heavy metals, such as cadmium, cobalt, copper, zinc, and nickel, which could increase the chance of getting cancers, birth defects, miscarriage, or stillbirth. They’ve also found that the land where tanks had burned or drones had crashed more contaminated than the soil that had been hit by bombs or projectiles. It would take significant labor, time, and money to decontaminate the surface soil of the fertile farmland.

Read the article and learn about how Ukraine’s farmland has been affected by the war.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly2e3jzeyko

Topic Reading-Vol.5080-3/22/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

The war created an oil problem. It’s not the only price you’ll pay

Nearly 90% of all the oil and gas flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, a 167km-long strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, goes to Asia. As the traffic through the Strait has been shut down by Iran, Asian countries are struggling to cope with the shortage of those fuels. Sri Lanka has declared every Wednesday a holiday for public institutions to conserve fuel. In Myanmar, private vehicles are allowed only to operate on alternate days depending on their licence plate numbers. Even in the USA, the world’s largest petroleum-extracting country, the prices of oil and gasoline soared recently, putting financial pressure on commuters and drivers. Other countries are also affected by price hikes in various items, including food, AI chips, aluminum, natural gas, plastics, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, due to rising material and transportation costs. When a flow of oil and natural gas is disrupted, the whole world is affected in some way or another.

Read the article and learn about how the US and Israel’s war on Iran is affecting the lives and economy of the world.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/17/business/price-increases-oil-food-aluminum-iran-war

Topic Reading-Vol.5079-3/21/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

This is why you only breathe out of one nostril at a time

Your nostrils are the entrance to your respiratory system. They warm, condition, and filter the air you breathe. They also house your olfactory organs, which give you the sense of smell. That’s why when your nose gets stuffy or blocked, you don’t smell or taste well. Without noticing, your nostrils naturally switch between a dominant nostril for airflow while the other rests, called the nasal cycle. Regulated by the autonomic nervous system, this work-and-rest cycle prevents drying, cracking, and maintains mucus health. The cycle usually shifts every two to five hours without our recognizing it. Which of your nostrils is at work now?

Read the article and learn about the mechanism of our nostrils and the nasal cycle.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/08/health/nostril-breathing-wellness-conversation

Topic Reading-Vol.5078-3/20/2026

Dear MEL Topic Readers, 

How Iranians are evading internet blocks to contact family abroad

Iranians, especially those who live in Tehran, have been under heavy bombardment by Israel and the USA since February 28. Also, they have been under an internet blackout by their own authorities since January 8. Without phone or internet connections, how have they been conveying their situations to those who live abroad? One analogue yet practical way to talk to others abroad is to use a Turkish phone and an Iranian phone near their border, where signals from both countries reach, and hold them together while talking. Another, more digital way is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which secures your internet connection by creating an encrypted tunnel for your interactions. Connecting to the Internet via VPN, your data, location, and online identity are all hidden from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) or sensorship. Because of the desperate demands to hear the voices or messages from their loved ones, the prices of such arrangements have skyrocketed recently. However, there is no other way for Iranians to establish communication with the outside world. And when they talk, they say they are doing OK, no matter how heavy the bombardment around them might be. Who created a situation like this?

Read the article and learn how Iranians are connecting with others abroad.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl58y5943o