1 . For sharks, the Mesoamerican Reef, which stretches over 600 miles, is a busy highway. Sharks use it to find their way and it provides them with food and habitat.

But as with on-land highways, this superhighway can be dangerous. Overfishing, commercial development and illegal practices are endangering the species. “We’re seeing a continued decline in shark populations. Our goal is to turn that round.” says Rachel Graham, founder of Mar Alliance, a non-profit organization focused on conserving sharks.

By monitoring sharks, Mar Alliance can collect important knowledge on the species to help inform conservation and push for political action. But rather than acting in opposition to the local fishing community, MarAlliance enlists their help.

“They are the ones who are on the sea every single day,” says Graham, “and they’re the ones who decide the species’ future.”

MarAlliance employs up to 60 fishermen across its range, mostly on a project basis, training them to collect data, record and release fish. Not only does this provide an alternative income to fishing communities, making them less dependent on natural resources, but it also teaches them about the benefits of a healthy ocean ecosystem and how to fish sustainably.

Among them, Ivan Torres, who used to catch sharks to sell locally as food, has learned how critical they’re to the whole ecosystem, saying he’d never fish sharks any more.

If this attitude change continues to spread throughout fishing communities, Graham has hope for the shark populations. “The primary threat to sharks is unquestionably overfishing,” she says, “By reforming the industry, populations can bounce back.”

In 2020, Belize outlawed the use of gillnets, large panels of netting of trapping large sealife. The ban’s impact is already noticeable with a recorded 10-fold increase in shark populations.

But such regulations need to be copied along the whole superhighway for long-lasting impact, and countries need to find a sustainable balance between fishers and the fished. “We need to find a win-win strategy between fisher livelihoods and shark survival,” Graham emphasizes. “I hope that through education and providing an economic alternative for fishing communities, MarAlliance will help ensure safe passage for sharks along the reef”.

2 . KidsWorldFun Short Story Contest

Calling all young writers from around the world! It’s time to release your creativity and share your incredible stories with us. KidsWorldFun presents the ultimate Short Story Contest, open to young people of all ages.

Two Modes of Entry

● Free Entry: get the chance to win a certificate and have your story published on our website.

● Entry Fee of $10: get the chance to receive a cash prize as well as a certificate and have your story published. Payment links will be sent via email for these entries.

Amazing Prizes Await

First Prize: $100, certificate and publication;

Second Prize: $75, certificate and publication;

Third Prize: $50, certificate and publication.

Highly commented stories will also be published for the world to enjoy.

Contest Categories and Word Limits

To ensure fairness, we have set three categories for writers to choose from and minimum and maximum word limits for each category.

Submission Guidelines

● Include proof of age with your entry (scan or take a photo of your identity card). Entries without proof of age will be disqualified.

● Your story must be original and unpublished.

● Type your story out.

Our judges will evaluate each story based on content, language and writing style. Their decision will be final. For more information, please contact us at enquiry@kidsworldfun.com. We’re here to assist you every step of the way.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to showcase your talent and win amazing prizes! Enter the KidsWorldFun Short Story Contest today!

4 . Nine out of 10 American adults have unhealthy metabolisms (新陈代谢) mostly because of the food they eat. Experts say it might be time for the government to regulate what Americans put in their mouths.

Dariush Mozaffarian, a heart doctor at Tufts University in Massachusetts worries people who are in poor metabolic health are at increased risk of getting heart disease and other serious health problems. “When you have nine out of 10 adults being metabolically unhealthy, largely due to diet-related illnesses, you know we have a broken system,” Mozaffarian said.

A big part of the problem is that Americans eat a lot of junk foods. Junk foods are processed foods like sweets or potato chips that provide little nutritional (营养的) value but are high in fat, salt and sugar. Junk foods are hard to resist because they contain things the body wants and needs. Linda Bartoshuk, a professor of food science at the University of Florida believes the problem is that the body has a hard time knowing when to stop wanting them. “We take in too much salt, sugar and fat, which produces all kinds of illnesses,” Bartoshuk said.

Mozaffarian is among health experts who are calling for more policies to help Americans eat healthier foods. He would like to see the government improve nutrition in existing foor programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Meals on Wheels SNAP provides economic aid to poor families to buy food, and Meals on Wheels delivers meals to older Americans

Mozaffarian also thinks food nutrition should be included in the health care system. There could be more nutritional education for health care workers, and students in medical school. While Mozaffarian believes nutritional education would be effective, changing Americans diet is more important. “We need to fix the food so that parents and kids who are busy and out wanting to enjoy their lives can get nutritious, affordable food,” he said.

7 . A method to transform a commonly thrown-away plastic to a resin (树脂) used in 3D- printing could allow for making better use of plastic waste.

A team of Washington State University researchers developed a simple and efficient way to transform polylactic acid(PLA), a bio-based plastic used in products such as plastic tableware and food packing to a high-quality resin. Yu-Chung Chang, a postdoctoral researcher on the work said they made stronger materials just straight out of waste, and they hoped that would provide people with the stimulation to upcycle this stuff instead of just throwing it away.

PLA is rarely recycled because like most plastics, when it’s melted down and reformed, it doesn’t perform as well as the original version and becomes less valuable.

“But once you look into it, it turns out that it can take up to 100 years for it to break down in a landfill,” Chang said. “In reality, it still creates a lot of pollution. We want to make sure that when we start producing PLA millions of tons, we will know how to deal with it. ”

In their study, the researchers developed a fast method to recycle PLA breaking the long chain of molecules (分子) down into simple monomers (单体)-the building blocks for many plastics. The entire chemical process can be done at mild temperatures in about two days. The chemical they used to break down PLA, aminoethanol, is also inexpensive.

“If you want to rebuild a Lego castle into a car, you have to take it apart brick by brick, Chang said. “That’s what we did.” Once PLA was broken down to its basic building blocks, the researchers rebuilt the plastic and created a type of liquid resin that is commonly used as printing “ink” for 3D printers. When used in a 3D printer and cured into plastic pieces the product was equal or better than commercially available resins.

The researchers have applied for a temporary patent and are working to further improve the process. They are also looking into other applications for the upncycling method.

Free Talk in Our English Class

10 . Some signs of sleep deprivation (匮乏) like dark circles under your eyes might be noticeable, but others can fly under the radar.     1    

You don’t have energy. If you feel so tired and listless at work that you would rather run for your pillow than do even the smallest task at the desk, that could be the result of a lack of sleep.    2     This practice could actually be what’s keeping you up at night.

You find it difficult to concentrate.    3     Science has shown that it’s harder to focus, pay attention and make decisions when you’re sleep deprived. Whether youre working at an office, working from home or just trying to get through your to-do list, not getting enough sleep will make concentrating more difficult.

●    4    Sleep deprivation can lead to problems like high blood pressure and diabetes. If you have hypertension (高血压), the longer you’re awake, the longer your blood pressure may remain high. If you suffer from diabetes, regularity in your sleep cycle could keep your blood sugar levels more stable. Reduced sleep could also impact your body weight by affecting hormone levels. Changes in hormone levels due to sleep deprivation can create eating disorder which could have an impact on your blood pressure and blood sugar.

You feel moody, depressed or angry. Sleep deprivation night mean that you can easily get upset.     5     You might even anger more easily and find it difficult to cope with stressful situations.