Topic Reading-Vol.4761-5/7/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Five things you need in case of a power outage

There was a nationwide power outage in Spain and Portugal on April 29. Whatever the cause was, nearly the entire peninsula was without power for almost 24 hours. How prepared are you for a power blackout that might last for hours, if not days? Unless your house is self-powered by solar, battery, or generator, lights, A/C, fridge and freezer, TV, and other appliances are of no use. If you live in a tall apartment or work in a building, you’ll have no choice but to walk down the stairs to get out or walk up to get home. Also, internet connections, card or phone payment systems, cashiers, and even traffic lights might be unusable. So, how did people in the peninsula manage the recent power outage? Overall, if you wind the clock back by a century, you might find what is needed to spend a day or days without power, such as cash, candles, a radio, and canned food. Also, it would be helpful if you have a power bank or solar charger. Indeed, a power outage reminds us of how dependent we are on electricity. 

Read the article and learn what it took to survive a day without power in Spain and Portugal.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy6d0987r0o

Topic Reading-Vol.4760-5/6/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Ultra-processed foods may be linked to early death

A new study of ultra-processed food (UPF) raises concerns about the risk of early death. Ultra-processed foods often contain many additives and chemicals that aren’t found in the home kitchen, including preservatives, emulsifiers, colorings and dyes, and flavor enhancers. In addition to these artificial ingredients, UPFs are often high in sugar, salt, and fat, which could increase the risk of chronic health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers. The study found that people in the US and UK take more than half of their calorie intake from ultra-processed foods while those in Colombia and Brazil take less than 20%. It also estimates that 14% of early deaths in the US and UK could be linked to UPFs while only 4% of premature deaths were linked to UPFs in Colombia and Brazil. If you regularly consume a lot of UPFs like cakes, pastries, biscuits, chips, sausages, instant soups and noodles, margarine, spreads, and some breakfast cereals (Vol.4754),  you may want to reorganize your diet because they are highly processed and contain a lot more artificial ingredients than you think. 

Read the article and learn how ultra-processed foods could affect your health.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm30kwvv17o

Topic Reading-Vol.4759-5/5/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The US island with no cars and one horse for every person

Mackinac Island is an 11 km2  small island in Lake Huron in Michigan, an upper Midwestern state in the USA, whose capital city, Detroit, is known for its iconic automotive industry. In the late 19th century, Mackinac Island became a popular tourist attraction and summer colony. Many of the structures on the island have undergone extensive historical preservation and restoration. Because of its historic significance, the entire island is listed as a National Historic Landmark in the US. Only 600 or so residents live on this tiny island, along with roughly the same number of horses, and 1,500 bicycles for hire, but no automobiles whatsoever. Those horses keep things running, including transportation and garbage collection. Still, there are over 1,600 rooms in hotels, resorts, B&Bs, condominiums, cottages, and homes to accommodate over a million visitors annually, but no chain hotels. If you’re interested in a historic American town without motor vehicles, Mackinac Island is the place to visit. It only takes a 20-minute ferry ride from St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. 

Read the article and learn about this car-free island in Michigan.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250425-the-us-island-where-cars-are-banned

Topic Reading-Vol.4758-5/4/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Chimpanzees more empathetic than assumed – study

Bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit distinct physical and behavioral differences. Chimpanzees are typically larger and more robust, with a more muscular build, while bonobos are smaller and leaner, with proportionally longer limbs. Bonobos are known for their relatively peaceful social structure while chimpanzees have a more hierarchical and aggressive social structure, with male dominance and frequent aggression. It had been thought that chimps were not as empathetic to each other as bonobos, but a new study found that chimpanzees do comfort each other when in distress, just like bonobos do. The study compared the behaviors of 40 bonobos in D.R. Congho and 50 chimpanzees in Zambia when in distress, such as a fight, and found that both species consoled each other by embracing, hand-holding, and touching like humans. Also, the younger the apes were, the more empathetic they were to each other, which suggests emotional sensitivity is developed in their early stage. After all, both bonobos and chimpanzees share over 98% of their DNA with humans. 

Read the article and learn how empathetic to each other our close relatives are. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y45ylrv0xo

Topic Reading-Vol.4757-5/3/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Trump deep sea mining order violates law, China says

In the US, an executive order is a written directive, signed by the president, that orders the government to take specific actions, With an executive order, the President can order the federal government to take any steps that are within the scope of the constitutional authority of the executive branch, and do not violate any federal law. Since January, US President Trump has signed 140 or so executive orders, including the withdrawal process from the World Health Organization and Paris Agreement, rolled back federal recognition of gender identity, pardoned over 1,500 January 6 rioters, and declared a national emergency on the southern border. Also, he signed a series of executive orders on trade and reciprocal tariffs that confused the world trade orders, supply chains, and stock market. Now, he has signed another controversial order to step up deep-sea mining within the US and in international waters to establish the US as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration. The move is critically accused not only by environmentalists but also by other countries, including China, for violating international law. Mining in international waters is supposedly negotiated at the UN, and other countries issue mining permits after agreeing on a framework for how resources could be shared. While the economy may just experience short-term fluctuations, the environment and ecology could be affected permanently by insensible acts. What leadership is the USA going to take on?

Read the article and think whether these executive orders represent what the US citizens want.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2v37z333lo

Topic Reading-Vol.4756-5/2/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Who will win the race to develop a humanoid robot?

For decades, robotic arms and robots have been widely used in factories and warehouses, assembling parts, putting chips and parts on electric circuit boards, painting car bodies, and putting merchandise into boxes. Under a controlled environment, robots can perform specific tasks automatically and reliably 24/7, save for maintenance. Nowadays, robots are also used to service customers in controlled environments, such as restaurants, hotels, and airports, delivering food, answering questions, and helping customers. Also, some cars are assisted or even driven by AI-powered driving systems. You can see robots are now performing tasks more autonomously than just automatically. The next breakthrough seems to be how robots perform day-to-day tasks such as dish washing, laundry, house cleaning, and human assistance. To perform like humans, robots need to be more autonomous, flexible, and mobile, ideally with two legs to do tasks safely in a day-to-day environment. Recently, a two-legged humanoid robot ran a half-marathon race in Beijing (Vol.4749), but more advanced AI and mass-produced parts are essential to produce reliable and affordable humanoid robots. Who can develop such autonomous robots and where? 

Read the article and learn how and where humanoid robots can be produced.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62jxdxng7do

Topic Reading-Vol.4755-5/1/2025

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Say goodbye to the $5 T-shirt

Always, lower-income households are the ones that are affected the most when the prices for basic necessities like food, housing, and energy increase. For the last several years, US households have had to endure rising prices on these necessities due to chronic inflation. People also need clothes and shoes, which are mostly imported from China and other Asian countries. Now, because of the Trump administration’s 10% across-the-board and reciprocal tariffs, prices for mostly imported basic apparel and footwear like T-shirts, pants, and sneakers are going to increase substantially. In addition, those who have been enjoying duty-exempted direct imports of fashion and commodity items from Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu will soon have to pay import duties, though they aren’t as high as the recent reciprocal tariffs. Inflation and tariffs certainly hit the lower to middle socioeconomic tiers the hardest, who have little room to save or fewer options to choose from when prices for basic necessities increase. No wonder the administration is pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower the interest rate while it is raising tariffs sharply across the board. 

Read the article and learn what is about to happen to US households soon.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/22/business/clothing-t-shirts-tariffs/index.html