________________________________

Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Kelly Kimura…

And I'm Nancy Sun.

Coming up next in today's news:
New Taipei has a new way to process food waste, and old stuffed animals are
getting a new life!

And in today's Tasty Tidbit…you are more than human!

Stay tuned for more on those stories!
___________________________________________________________

新北高效堆肥廠試運轉
New Taipei Launches High-Efficiency Composting Plant

What happens to the food we don't eat?

It becomes food waste.

Just one city, New Taipei City, collects over two hundred sixty thousand
kilograms of food waste every day!

Now, this city has a new high-efficiency composting plant (高效堆肥廠)!

It's in trial operation (試營運).

From April, this composting plant will turn fifty thousand kilograms of food
waste into compost every day!

Food waste can be processed (處理) more quickly.

This cuts down on bad odors from rotting food.

This plant is part of New Taipei's plans to diversify (多樣化) the ways it
processes food waste.

The ways include traditional (傳統的) composting, bioenergy (生物能源)
production, and innovative methods like black soldier fly breeding
(繁殖黑水虻).

The city is working with a major paper mill (造紙廠) to produce bioenergy.

This produces 90% less carbon (碳) than traditional composting!

It processes waste efficiently, and also aligns with net-zero emissions goals
(符合淨零排放的目標).

This helps the city make progress in environmental sustainability
(環境永續性).

At New Taipei's black soldier fly breeding plant, larvae (幼蟲) process
twelve thousand kilograms of waste daily.

The larvae are scavengers (腐食性動物).

They eat anything!

This black soldier fly breeding plant also turns fly larvae into high-quality
protein (蛋白質).

The larvae are given to poultry (家禽) and fish to eat.

This adds to circular economy (循環經濟) efforts.

The leftover fiber (廚餘的纖維) from food waste and the black soldier flies'
poop can be used to improve soil (改良土壤).

Cities work hard to process food waste.

Food waste is a big problem for Taiwan.

Let's all try not to waste food!
___________________________________________________________

絨毛動物玩具的新生活
A New Life for Stuffed Animals

A woman in England helps the Earth by rescuing (營救) old stuffed animals
(填充玩具).

She saves them from becoming dog toys or going into a landfill (垃圾掩埋場).

Many stuffed animals are made with manmade materials (人工材料).

In a landfill, they would take hundreds of years to break down.

The oil, natural gas, and water used to make them would be wasted.

So she made a company.

It's an environmentally friendly adoption agency (收養機構) for stuffed
animals!

People give her their old stuffed animals instead of throwing them away.

But they do something special first.

They write a message about the stuffed animal's personality (性格) or life.

Personality??

Yes. Knowing about the stuffed toy's personality helps a new person know if
they want to take it home.

When the old stuffed animal arrives at the company, the woman gives it a spa
treatment (水療護理).

What?? A spa treatment?

Yes! She washes it with lots of soap.

She sterilizes (消毒) it with steam (蒸氣).

She dries it carefully.

She fluffs up the fur (讓絨毛蓬鬆起來).

She puts in new stuffing
也會裝新的填充物進去。

She sews up holes.

She carefully cleans its eyes.

When the spa treatment is done, the stuffed animal is very clean!

It doesn't always look new, but it's good enough to go to a new home.

The woman says the life and love the stuffed animals had makes them more
valuable
(更加珍貴).

She sells these secondhand (二手的) stuffed animals at a big department store!

She puts them in environmentally friendly gift boxes.

She puts the messages about them on the boxes.

The woman also sells some of the stuffed animals on her company's website.

People buy them fast!

The new owners can send her photos and news about their stuffed animal.

She puts these on her website so the old owners can see their stuffed
animal's new life!

She thinks that no new stuffed animals need to be made.

There are already so many!

The woman rescues many stuffed animals and gives half of her profits to
charity
(把賺來的錢一半捐給慈善機構).

Let's do good things too!
___________________________________________________________

So in today's News Bites:

New Taipei has a new high-efficiency compost plant.

It will turn 50 thousand kilograms of food waste into compost every day.
___________________________________________________________

And...

A British woman is helping the Earth by saving stuffed animals.

She asks the old owners to write a message about them.

She cleans and sterilizes the stuffed animals and sells them at a department
store.

The woman says the life and love they had make them more valuable.
___________________________________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

And in today's Tasty Tidbit...

Did you know there are more bacterial cells (細菌細胞) than human cells in
your body?

By number of cells, the average person is about 56% bacteria!

Does that sound like a lot?

Before a 2016 study, scientists thought we were 90% bacteria!

Bacteria are very, very light.

So by weight, we are more than 99.7 percent human.

The bacteria of the average adult weighs about 200 grams in total.

Human males have 40 trillion bacterial cells.

Most of them are where food travels through the body.

Scientists say these bacteria are necessary for health.
___________________________________________________________

And that's it for today's episode of News Bites!

If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with
us, record your message and send your Tasty Tidbit to newsbites@icrt.com.tw.

You might hear it at the end of an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!
 

________________________________

Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Kelly Kimura…

And I'm Paz Bueno.

Coming up next in today's news:

Taiwan's aging doctor problem, gene-edited pork could be coming to your
dining table, and why it's a good idea not to step on ants!

Stay tuned for more on those stories!
________________________________

台灣面臨醫生老化的問題
Taiwan's Aging Doctor Problem

Population (人口) aging is one of the main problems of this century (世紀).

It is when the number of older people goes up and the number of younger
people goes down for a long time.

This is happening because people are having fewer and fewer children.

In the future, there won't be enough workers for many kinds of jobs.

Doctors are aging too.

Some are worried that there may not be enough doctors in the next ten years.

According to the Taiwan Medical Association (台灣醫療協會TMA), the average
age of Taiwanese doctors is over 51.

Doctors in Taiwan are divided into 23 departments.

Obstetricians and gynecologists (婦產科) are the oldest, with an average age
of almost 57.

In second place are family doctors, with an average age of 54.

Very close to family doctors are ophthalmologists (眼科), with an average age
of almost 54.

The youngest doctors are radiation oncologists (放射腫瘤科), with an average
age of almost 47.

TMA says the real problem is not about the age of doctors.

Taiwan currently has 55,000 doctors.

Doctors in Taiwan do not have to retire (退休).

About 1,300 medical students become doctors every year.

The number of doctor deaths each year is less than this number.

TMA says the real problem is the uneven (不平均) number of doctors in
different departments.

Some departments do not have enough doctors.

For example, about 400,000 babies were born in Taiwan every year 20 years ago.

However, last year, only about 130,000 babies were born.

Seeing this, young doctors do not choose to be pediatricians (小兒科).

Every year, there are 130 jobs for pediatricians but only around 90 people
become pediatricians.

Hoping for more pediatricians, the government (政府) is giving bigger bonuses
(獎金) to pediatricians who specialize (專長) in caring for children under
four years old.

專家表示，這類的獎勵因該要擴展到所有醫療科系。

This will make sure there are enough doctors in every department.
________________________________

基因改良豬肉未來可望上餐桌
Gene-Edited Pork Could Be Coming to Your Dining Table

Ever since scientists discovered gene-editing, it has been used in various
fields.

One of them is agriculture (農業).

Gene-editing is used to grow crops (農作物) that are resistant (抵抗) to some
diseases (疾病).

Now, scientists want to use gene-editing on other food, for example, meat.

A virus is making some pigs sick.

It can cause pneumonia (肺炎) in baby pigs and stop adult females from having
babies.

The virus also makes pigs more vulnerable (脆弱) to bacterial infections
(細菌感染).

This virus can cause pig farmers around the world to lose $2.7 billion US
dollars a year.

There are vaccines (疫苗) for this virus, but they are not always effective.

Scientists found that the virus looks for part of one gene.

Researchers at a company edited the gene.

Pigs with these edited genes will then have descendants (後代) that are more
and more resistant to the virus.

To earn government approval, the company must show that the altered
(被改變的) gene is safe.

They must also show that the gene can be passed to descendants and can
protect them from the virus.

Some organizations and farmers are excited about the new technology because
this virus causes pigs to get sick and farmers to lose a lot of money every
year.

However, some animal welfare organizations (動物福利組織) think very
differently.

They say that keeping too many animals in one place is the main reason that
diseases spread quickly.

專家們擔心如果牲畜都對疾病免疫，那它們就會被圈養在比目前更差的環境。

That's because the animals would not get sick.

They think agribusiness (農業企業) should stop keeping too many animals in
one place, not develop gene-edited animals.

If all goes well for the company, they will get government approval next year.

So don't be surprised if you see gene-edited meat at the supermarket in a few
years.
________________________________

So in today's News Bites:

Taiwan has an aging doctor problem.

There are actually enough doctors in Taiwan.

The main problem is the uneven distribution of doctors among the departments.

And,

Gene-edited pork could be coming to your dining table.

Scientists are working to make pigs safe from a virus.

Some organizations and farmers are excited about the new technology because
this virus causes pigs to get sick and farmers to lose a lot of money every
year.
________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

Smelly Ants

What's that smell?!

Oh, that's from ants.

They're those busy little bugs that you sometimes find in your kitchen,
looking for food.

When many kinds of ants are angry, in danger, or crushed under your shoe, a
very strong smell comes out of them.

Maybe you've smelled trap-jaw ants. Taiwan has them.

They smell like chocolate! Mmmmm...?

Some ants smell like lemons! Oh!

Some smell like vinegar. Ooof!

And some smell like blue cheese or rotten coconuts. Ugh! Pee-ew!

If you see a line of ants, don't step on them!
________________________________

Thank you for listening to today's News Bites!

If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with
us, record your message and send your Tasty Tidbit to us at
newsbites@icrt.com.tw.

You might hear it at the end of an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!






 

________________________________

Hi everyone, welcome to a new episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Jacob Ingram.

In today's news:

Biker pups, behemoth blueberries, and blink and you'll miss it.

Stay tuned for more on those stories, coming up next.
________________________________

新北市待養毛孩學當機車族
Shelter Pups Train to be Scooter Buddies

Have you ever dreamt of cruising down the road with your furry best friend,
the wind blowing through your hair, and fur?

Well, buckle up because the New Taipei Animal Protection Office has a barking
good idea!

Many people ride scooters (機車) in Taiwan.

Scooters are cheaper than cars.

And they are useful for short distances (短距離) and busy roads.

So the office wants to help animals get used to scooters.

This may help them get adopted.

And the animals can fit into their new owner's daily life more easily.

The office says workers at its animal shelter in Bali District are working
with dogs there.

They are helping the dogs get comfortable around scooters.

They help the dogs get used to the sounds of the scooter engine.

This is so the dogs don't get scared when it goes "VROOM"!

And the workers help the dogs learn how to sit safely on a motorcycle.

They also use special equipment so the dogs can be comfy and protected.

新北市動保處教狗狗當機車族，訓練在適當防護下坐機車，熟悉搭車感覺。

They say some doggos are natural biker pups.

But some dogs get a little scared.

Just like learning tricks, some dogs get it faster than others.

But the most important thing is that they all get a chance to find a loving
forever home.

And the Animal Protection Office is reminding everyone that safety comes
first!

If you're taking your furry friend on a scooter ride...

Make sure they have a leash or harness to keep them secure.

動保處也請民眾載毛寶貝出門前一定要做好相關安全措施。

A happy and safe animal is the best riding buddy!
________________________________

澳洲農場種出巨無霸藍莓
Supersized Superfood: Australian Farmers Grow Giant Blueberry

Hey there fruit fans.

Buckle up for a berry good story!

Blueberries are a small round fruit.

They are dark purple or blue, with a light sweet taste.

Usually, blueberries are about the size of a marble (彈珠).

But some farmers in Australia have grown a giant blueberry that would crush
them all!

This giant blueberry is bigger than a ping-pong ball (乒乓球).

It weighs 20.4 grams, which is about 10 times heavier than a regular
blueberry.

This colossal blueberry didn't just magically happen.

The group of farmers have been working on this for a long time.

Blueberries are known to be good for you, full of vitamins, minerals, and
antioxidants (抗氧化劑).

In fact, they are often called a "superfood".

And the farmers say more people are now eating blueberries as snacks.

But they say people want bigger berries.

So they developed a special kind of blueberry, called the Eterna.

They say Eterna blueberries are usually bigger than regular blueberries.

And they say Eternas are still full of blueberry flavor (味道).

The farmers thought their giant blueberry might be the biggest in the world.

They told the Guinness World Records about it.

And the Guinness World Records confirmed that it was now officially the
heaviest blueberry ever recorded.

這顆藍莓獲得金氏世界紀錄認證，成為世界最大藍莓的新紀錄保持者。

For now, the farmers are keeping the giant blueberry in the freezer (冷凍庫).

And they say they are still trying to decide what to do with it.

But so far, they say they don't plan on eating this giant berry.

農場團隊說，他們都捨不得吃掉這顆藍莓，還在思考要怎麼處理它。
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

The New Taipei Animal Protection Office is helping the dogs learn how to sit
safely on a motorcycle.

This may help them get adopted and fit into their new owner's daily life more
easily.

They say some doggos are natural biker pups.

But some dogs get a little scared.

Just like learning tricks, some dogs get it faster than others.

But the most important thing is that they all get a chance to find a loving
forever home.

And,

Farmers in Australia have grown a giant blueberry that's bigger than a
ping-pong ball.

It weighs 20.4 grams, which is about 10 times heavier than a regular
blueberry.

The Guinness World Records confirmed that it was now officially the heaviest
blueberry ever recorded.

For now, the farmers are keeping the giant blueberry in the freezer.

And they say they are still trying to decide what to do with it.

But so far, they say they don't plan on eating this giant berry.
________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

And now for today's Tasty Tidbit...

Why do we say something is "as fast as lightning"?

Well, that's because lightning is really, really fast!

A bolt of lightning can travel at an incredible speed of about 430,000
kilometers per hour!

Just how fast is that?

It would take lightning less than one second to get from Taipei to Kaohsiung.

We wouldn't even have time to finish a blink before it's done.

And that's today's episode of News Bites!

If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with
us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to
newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!
 

________________________________

Hi there, and welcome to another episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Jacob Ingram.

Today's stories...

Making money from convenience, saving newspaper kiosks, and the power of
popcorn.

Let's check it out.
________________________________

台灣超商營業額破4千億大關
Taiwan's Convenience Store Craze

Convenience stores are a part of daily life in Taiwan.

We go there to pay bills, buy tickets, pick up packages...

Not to mention the usual necessities (必需品) and 24-hour services.

台灣有很多便利商店門市，民生用品種類多、而且24小時全年無休又服務多元化，讓它成為民眾生活中重要一部分。

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (經濟部) says as of December 2023, there
were 13,706 convenience stores in Taiwan.

That's an average of one store for every 1,703 people.

Taiwan's density (密度) of convenience stores exceeded (超越) Japan in 2016.

That made us the country with the second-highest density of convenience
stores in the world.

South Korea is highest on the list, with 57,617 convenience stores.

That's one store for every 897 people.

We see lots of convenience stores in Taiwan.

Sometimes, you can even see 3 stores on the same intersection (交叉路口).

And all those stores together means a lot of money.

The government says convenience stores in Taiwan made a total of $ 412.6
billion NT last year.

The stores have two peak sale periods.

The first one is in January, which is considered hot pot season.

Some people skip the supermarket, and buy their ingredients at convenience
stores.

They think convenience stores are closer and open 24/7.

The second peak season is from July to August, during summer.

During the hot weather, drinks and ice-cream sales go through the roof
(飆升).

And many convenience store chains promote membership.

When members buy something, they can accumulate (累積) points.

They can exchange these points for things at the store.

The stores will also roll out limited co-branded (聯名) products from time to
time.

That includes famous cartoon characters, bags or even model cars.

All these promotions help increase sales.

Another source of revenue is from selling coffee.

Many adults like to get a cup of coffee before school or work.

Major convenience store chains sell a lot of coffee

In fact, if you stack up all the coffee sold by three major convenience store
chains in 2020...

They would be higher than 100,000 Taipei 101s!

That's a lot of coffee! No wonder, it's called black gold.
________________________________

義大利標誌性報亭沒落
Italy's Disappearing Newspaper Kiosks

Have you ever seen a news kiosk?

It's a stall that sells newspapers, books and magazines.

30 years ago, they could be seen all over Italy.

No street or plaza (廣場) was complete without a news kiosk.

For many locals, it was a place to socialize (社交、互動).

When you picked up a newspaper, you could also chat with neighbors, or talk
about politics, soccer and the weather.

But over the years, newspaper sales have been going down.

And that meant the number of kiosks went down too.

In 2004, kiosks sold about 9.5 million newspapers every day.

But by January this year, kiosks only sold around 950,000 every day.

So over the past 20 years, two thirds of Italy's kiosks have closed down.

Italy's government wants to keep kiosks around.

It is offering incentives (獎勵) up to $2,000 euros for kiosks to stay open.

But kiosk owners say that money can't solve problems in the long term.

One owner says "Everything is online, no one reads papers and magazines
anymore."

Some owners say the only way to keep kiosks open is to diversify (多樣化).

And that is exactly what many are doing right now.

為了生存，許多報攤開始販賣紀念品給遊客。

Many kiosks now sell fridge magnets, baseball caps, T-shirts, football cards
and more.

The future of newspaper kiosks is uncertain.

But there are still people out there working to protect their culture.
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites...

The government says convenience stores in Taiwan made a total of $ 412.6
billion NT last year.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs says as of December 2023, there were 13,706
convenience stores in Taiwan.

In fact, Taiwan is the country with the second-highest density of convenience
stores in the world.
________________________________

And,

The number of newspaper kiosks in Italy is going down.

Italy's government wants to keep kiosks around, and it is offering incentives
up to $2,000 euros for kiosks to stay open.

But kiosk owners say that money can't solve problems in the long term.
________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

Today's Tasty Tidbit is all about the power of popcorn.

Have you ever wondered how popcorn pops? It all has to do with water and heat!

Inside a kernel of popcorn, there's a tiny bit of water. When things get hot,
the water turns to steam and quickly expands. This creates more and more
pressure inside the kernel until...

POP!

The kernel explodes, turning into fluffy popcorn!

If you have a fun fact, a joke, or interesting news you'd like to share with
us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to
newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!
 

________________________________

Hi there.

You're listening to an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Brody Halverson.

In today's stories...

How a laser could fight cancer, how our food affects the planet, and how a
"bee's-eye-view" helps find the sweet spot.

Stay tuned for those stories, coming up next.
________________________________

偵測癌細胞的雷射系統
A Laser that Finds Cancer Cells Fast

Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare (衛生福利部) says cancer has been the
leading cause of death in Taiwan for 41 consecutive (連續) years.

But now there may be a new way to fight cancer.

It's a breakthrough (突破) in medical technology.

A team at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology has developed
new technology.

It is a laser that can detect cancer cells in an hour.

When cancer happens in a human body, a tumor (腫瘤) grows in the affected
part.

The tumor then releases circulating tumor cells (CTCs 循環腫瘤細胞) that
spreads the cancer throughout the body.

That's how cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

One way to fight cancer is to find it early.

And to find it, doctors follow CTCs.

Usually, doctors take a little bit of the patient's blood.

They send the blood to a lab to get tested.

Experts do the testing and look at the results.

It usually takes at least two weeks to get the test results.

All this takes a lot of time, work, and money.

CTC tests are not covered by National Health Insurance.

The tests cost around $15,000 to 20,000 NT.

This may be a lot of money for some people.

But NTUST's new laser can quickly scan (掃描) for CTCs.

The team says this uses less materials and costs less money.

The old way of testing also kills the CTCs.

But the new laser allows the CTCs to stay alive.

This way, the live CTCs can be cultured (培養) for cancer drug testing,
speeding up early treatment.

這項科技目前正在申請醫療儀器認證中，預計3年後能量產。

The team hopes this technology would make a change in cancer treatments.
________________________________

科學家提議蟒蛇肉為食物來源
Could Python Meat Change the Way We Eat?

The effects of global climate change have been threatening (威脅) our food
sources.

Traditional farming takes up a lot of resources.

You need land, food, water, and more.

The carbon footprint (碳足跡) that traditional farming produces is also
shocking.

Researchers are trying to find a more sustainable (永續) meat source that is
eco-friendly.

And they might have just found the answer...

Snake meat.

Not just any snake, but the long and enormous python (蟒蛇).

Snake meat is considered a delicacy (佳餚) in many countries.

To meet this demand, commercial snake farming has been popping up (出現) in
recent years.

Snake meat is healthy in some ways.

It is high in protein and low in saturated fats (飽和脂肪).

Some say it tastes like chicken.

Some researchers think python farming has a low impact on the environment.

They believe snakes do not need to be fed often.

They say the snakes can even go months without eating.

On top of that, pythons can be fed waste meat, such as rats or dead animals.

They also don't need much water.

Sometimes they can drink the dew (露水) that forms on their scales (鱗片)
every morning.

Pythons don't need a lot of space.

They seem to be able to tolerate (忍受) small confined (狹窄) spaces.

Compared to other animals, pythons are relatively easy to farm.

But some feel that treating animals this way is wrong.

There are still many questions that need to be answered.

And more research needs to be done.

Many also wonder if people would be willing to eat snake meat.

縱使養殖蟒蛇作為食物有一些好處，那也要人們願意接受才行。
________________________________

So in today's News Bites,

A team at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology has developed
a laser that can detect cancer cells in an hour.

The new laser uses less materials and costs less money.

The team hopes this technology would make a change in cancer treatments.
________________________________

And,

Researchers are trying to find a more sustainable meat source that is
eco-friendly, and they're thinking about python meat.

Some researchers think python farming has a low impact on the environment.

But some feel that treating animals this way is wrong.

There are still many questions that need to be answered.
________________________________

趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit

And in today's Tasty Tidbit,

Many people like looking at beautiful flowers.

But did you know that these flowers have "secret signs" for bees?

Bees see the world differently. They can see ultraviolet light. And under
this light, many flowers have patterns and colors that humans can't normally
see.

These patterns and colors help bees find pollen (花粉).

So next time you see a bee buzzing around a flower, remember, they're not
just smelling the roses, they're seeing the secret signs!

And that's it for today's episode of News Bites!

If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story you'd like to share
with us, record your message and send us your Tasty tidbit to
newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you might hear it at the end of an episode.

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!