COCKROACH

Cockroaches may make your skin crawl, but the insects—or, to be exact, their brains—could one day save your life.

That's because the central nervous systems of American cockroaches produce natural antibiotics that can kill off bacteria often deadly to humans, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and toxic strains ofEscherichia coli, scientists said this week.

Two species of locust tested so far also have the same bacteria-killing molecules in their tiny heads.

The findings suggest that the insect world—which makes up 80 percent of all animals on Earth—may be teeming with new antibiotics, said study co-author Simon Lee of the University of Nottingham in the U.K.

Such a discovery is crucial, because scientists are scrambling to combat strains of several infectious diseases, including MRSA and E. coli, that are resistant to traditional antibiotics, Lee said.

(Related: "Sharks Carrying Drug-Resistant 'Bacterial Monsters.'")

"It's a promising new lead. We are looking in an unusual place, and to my knowledge no one else is looking there," Lee said.

"That's what we need in terms of [finding new] antibiotics, because all the usual places"—such as soil microbes, fungi, and purely synthetic molecules—"have been exhausted."

(Also see: "Blockbuster Ocean Drugs on the Horizon?")

Insect Brains Have "Clever Defense" Against Bacteria

Lee and colleagues dissected the tissues and brains of cockroaches—which "smell as bad as they look," Lee said—and locusts in the lab.

(Read more about how locust brains switch on swarming behavior.)

The team tested nine separate types of antibacterial molecules found in the insects' brains and discovered that each molecule is specialized to kill a different type of bacteria.

This "very clever defense mechanism" allows the bugs to survive in the most dirty of domains, Lee said.

The scientists found the bugs had antibiotics only in their brain tissue, the most essential part of the body, he added.

A bug might live with an infected leg, for instance, but a brain infection would almost certainly be fatal.

Insect-brain drugs for humans are still years away, Lee said, but there's one hopeful glimmer: When the team added the insect antibiotics to human cells in the lab, there were no toxic effects.

PICNIC

Everybody likes picnics. _________________ seems to be a popular activity all over the world. Having a picnic makes everyone happy. There’s _________________ food and somewhere nice to eat it. I think it’s interesting to see the different things ___________________. In England, people _________________ full of sandwiches and cake. In India, people take small metal containers of curry. In Japan, people take _________________ food that are beautifully presented. I think it’s easy to tell where picnickers ___________________ looking at what they bring to the picnic. The _________________ picnics is that they are outside and you can eat and feel the warm sun. I’ve _________________ picnics in the snow, although I guess they might happen somewhere.

FAMINE

There __________________ that famine should be a problem in today’s world. We are so rich. Companies have billions of dollars. Countries have trillions. It’s __________________ that people __________________ enough to help famine victims. It’s a sin. There is __________________ food in this world to feed everyone. Government leaders need to tell the world why they let people __________________ . Even the United Nations can’t persuade governments to give __________________ to help __________________ . Of course, there are good governments and bad ones. The bad ones __________________ own people starve. The leaders steal the country’s money. Some countries have a famine but __________________ tells people there are __________________ . That’s shocking.

Media says Obama knew US spied on Merkel (29th October, 2013)

BEFORE READING 

SECURITY:Rank these and share your rankings!!. Put the most important for state security at the top. 

• military security   • political security   • economic security   • security of borders

• environmental security   • food and water security   • energy security   • cybersecurity

1. SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	sources	a.	intensified
2	tapping	b.	cordial
3.	administration	c.	headquarters
4.	warm	d.	supposedly
5.	base	e.	references
6.	allegedly	f.	serious
7.	suspicious	g.	ex-
8.	escalated	h.	monitoring
9.	grave	i.	doubtful
10.	former	j.	government

Several German news sources are questioning how much President Obama knows about the US spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 'Spiegel' magazine reported that the USA's National Security Agency (NSA) started tapping Ms Merkel's mobile telephone in 2002, under the George W. Bush administration. It says President Obama knew that the tap was still in place as early as 2010, before he visited Berlin in June of that year to tell Germans of the warm friendship that existed between their two countries. A newspaper reported that the contents of Ms Merkel's SMS messages and phone calls went straight to the White House. The US Embassy in Berlin was used as a base for the surveillance.



The spying allegedly began when former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in office. US intelligence sources were suspicious of his refusal to support the second Iraq War. Obama told Ms Merkel last week that he had not known of the bugging. However, a media report cites an NSA official who said Mr Obama ordered the programme to be escalated. A document from the NSA warned of "grave damage for relations" if its spying programme was discovered. Ms Merkel is shocked that the USA may have engaged in the sort of spying she thought was a relic of the Cold War. She was also spied on in the former East Germany, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

COMPREHENSION 

1. TRUE / FALSE:Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The article says American media is asking questions about the spying.	T / F
b.	The USA may have started tapping Merkel's phone in 2002.	T / F
c.	A magazine said President Obama knew about the spying from 2008.	T / F
d.	The White House was used as the base for spying on Angela Merkel.	T / F
e.	The spying supposedly began with Ms Merkel's predecessor.	T / F
f.	Obama told Merkel he had known nothing about her bugged telephone.	T / F
g.	A US agency warned spying could damage international relations.	T / F
h.	Angela Merkel spied on other people before the Berlin Wall came down.	T / F

SECURITY

We have to think about security ___________________. It seems the world is becoming a more dangerous place. Most of the people I ___________________ about home security. They have ___________________ and some of my friends have a web cam filming their house. Of course, personal security is also very important. In many countries, people have ___________________ themselves. In other countries, ___________________ spray. In recent years, Internet security is a big issue. We are ___________________ about it. There are whole industries based on Internet security ___________________ to make your computer more secure. The most important thing ___________________ is never put too much personal information on the Web.

Japanese food to get UNESCO status ( 27 October 2013)

BEFORE READING 

TASTIEST: Rank these according to the tastiest to least tastiest cuisine.

• Japanese   • French   • American   • Mexican

• Indian   • Chinese   • Italian   • Thai

1. SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	important	a.	meals
2	cuisine	b.	linked
3.	heritage	c.	special
4.	dishes	d.	all around
5.	unique	e.	significant
6.	healthy	f.	necessary
7.	throughout	g.	good for you
8.	role	h.	cooking
9.	associated	i.	part
10.	essential	j.	tradition

The United Nations is going to put traditional Japanese food on its list of important world cuisines. It will be the fifth time for UNESCO to give a country's or region's food its cultural heritage status. French, Mediterranean, Mexican and Turkish food are already on the list. Traditional Japanese food is called 'Washoku'. It is very famous for its variety. It ranges from sushi (raw fish on rice) to ramen noodles, tempura and sukiyaki. Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs said it wants to put all of its food on the list, not just one or two famous dishes. The agency said Japanese food is special because of its artistic presentation. It also uses unique ingredients. Many dishes are important because they celebrate the four seasons.


'Washoku' is very healthy and has a good balance of minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates and protein. It is one of the reasons why Japanese people live for so long. It also helps to keep obesity levels low. The cuisine is also important as different meals throughout the year help to bring families and communities together. Food plays an important role in many ceremonies that mark seasonal traditions. The menu for New Year's celebrations, rice-planting events and harvest festivals are all very different. Japan's government said food helps Japanese people keep a strong sense of culture. It also said 'Washoku' is closely "associated with an essential spirit of respect for nature."

COMPREHENSION

1. TRUE / FALSE:Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The U.N. will give modern Japanese food a special prize.	T / F
b.	Five other cuisines are already on the UNESCO list.	T / F
c.	Japan doesn't want only sushi andsukiyaki to be on the U.N. list.	T / F
d.	A cultural agency said Japanese food is presented in an artistic way.	T / F
e.	The Japanese diet is well balanced and good for a long life.	T / F
f.	Japanese cuisine helps keep communities apart.	T / F
g.	Rice-planting food and New Year's food are the same in Japan.	T / F
h.	'Washoku' is connected with a respect for nature.	T / F

Baldness treatment a step closer (25 October 2013)

BEFORE READING 

HAIRSTYLES: Which one is your most likeable and least likeable?? 

• straight   • closely cropped   • very long   • wavy

• curly   • shaved   • punk   • ponytail

1. SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	at hand	a.	unlike
2	suffer from	b.	guarantee
3.	treatment	c.	regarding
4.	different	d.	care
5.	procedure	e.	answers
6.	in terms of	f.	coming soon
7.	solutions	g.	retreating
8.	assure	h.	shake up
9.	receding	i.	be troubled with
10.	revolutionise	j.	method

Help may soon be at hand (or head) for the millions around the world who suffer from and worry about baldness. Scientists from the University of Durham in the UK, and Columbia University Medical Centre in the USA, say they are close to finding a solution to grow new hair. This is also good news for burns victims, who are likely to be those first helped by any new treatment. The scientists have grown new hair follicles in the laboratory. This is different from currently available treatments, which simply transplant hair from the back of the scalp to cover bald spots and areas without hair at the front of the head. Unlike transplants, the new procedure will allow the hair to keep growing naturally in the follicle
.

Researcher Colin Jahoda did not give a timeframe in which his research will be commercially available. He said: "It's closer, but it's still some way away because in terms of what people want cosmetically they're looking for re-growth of hair that's the same shape, the same size, as long as before, the same angle. Some of these are almost engineering solutions." He did assure those with receding hairlines and those thinning on top that there is hope. He said: "I think baldness will eventually be treatable, absolutely." Professor Jahoda's colleague Angela Christiano was equally positive, saying their research could "revolutionise" hair-loss treatment. She said: "The first step is actually showing that it can be done.

COMPREHENSION 

1. TRUE / FALSE:Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Scientists in India are close to finding a solution to baldness.	T / F
b.	The research may help people who have suffered burns on their skin.	T / F
c.	Current methods transplant hair from the body to the head.	T / F
d.	The new method actually grows new hair.	T / F
e.	Researchers said the new treatment would be available from 2015.	T / F
f.	People want hair the same size and angle as before.	T / F
g.	A professor said engineering solutions were needed.	T / F
h.	Another professor said the new treatment was not revolutionary.	T / F