BBC News has been a source of updates and news from
various fields – ranging from health to technology. BBC also provides world
news to update about what is going on in different parts of the world. I found
5 interesting news clips from which I was enlightened with new knowledge.
The first clip was from the section “BBC Nature”.
It was about the world’s largest flower – The titan arum. This flower blooms
once every three years and it is found in Sumatra’s tropical rainforests. The
forest researcher from this news clip stated that the titan arum is 9 feet tall
and 3 feet wide! What’s more, this flower has its speciality – it gives off an
unpleasant aroma that smells of bad fish! It reminded me of the flower
Rafflesia, which is also huge in diameter and smells of rotting flesh. I felt
that this news clip was indeed informative; as I had once heard of this flower
that was known to be the world’s largest, but I had never bothered to research
more about it. Personally, I feel this flower is Nature’s gift - people will admire its occasional blooms with awe.
Photo credits:
The second clip I watched was from the section “BBC
Health”. I have to say I learnt something really important, as this concerns
our daily life. Like many household chores, drying laundry is part of every
household’s daily routine. However, not everybody hangs their laundry outside
their homes or flats; they hang wet clothes on laundry stands inside their
homes. The health researcher in this news clip said that drying your laundry
indoors this way increases the moisture level inside our homes by 75%. This
encourages dust-mites (since they like warm and moist surroundings), which
subsequently gives rise to allergies, asthma, hay fever, and a weakened immune
system. The recommendation is that laundry should be hung in a well-ventilated
space (ie. balcony). This piece of news really opened my eyes. Who would expect
that a harmless chore of handing clothes to dry indoors may turn out to be a
horrible mistake?
~
The third clip I watched was from the section “BBC
Future”. Here, there was a news clip that showed a new invention – Robot cars.
These cars are capable of driving and navigating around without any driver at
the speed of 120 metres per hours; hence the name “robot car”. What’s more,
these cars are capable of steering around sharp turns or manoeuvring around
rough terrains that even man finds difficult to master. Another speciality is
that these cars are able to park themselves. So, you may ask what the
technology behind how these amazing cars work is. Passengers that are travelling
in this car have to first set the destination with GPS maps, and using the GPS
map, the car will get a sense of direction. Then passengers have to hit a
button, and the car will go zooming off! Personally, I find this invention
amazing; one who doesn’t know how to drive will be able to finally travel by car himself.
Seeing how efficient these cars can be, probably Robot Cars could become a new
revolution in the coming years.
~
The next clip I watched was from the section “BBC
Nature”. It said that 27 countries have come to a consensus and have formed an
alliance to protect the Antarctica. The consequences of Global Warming have
reached the Antarctica – the ice there is melting. This ice forms a natural
habitat for penguins and other animals; and with the melting of ice, these
animals are losing their natural habitat, which threatens their survival in the
future. This alliance promises to conserve the natural environment of the
Antarctica as well as the marine resources. I hope this promise is really kept - Every time a new alliance is
signed, it promises fruit in the field of Nature conservation and for countries
to Go Green. However, from what I observe, there are only a handful of
individuals who take this seriously. Many others claim that they do not have
time to Go Green. If this is the case, how can the damage done to Mother Earth
be stopped? So, I really hope that this alliance is powerful enough (with the
power of 27 countries) to change the ways of this world.
~
The last clip I watched was from the section “BBC
Medicine”. This was also the clip I liked best. It was about how a simple yet
meaningful act can be the most useful tool in the field of medicine. This act is nne other than human touch. In this news clip, a Physician was talking about how a patient who was
suffering from tumours revived through the comforting human touch. You may
wonder how human touch can help in reviving patients. Basically, human touch is
known to be reassuring and comforting. To a patient who has lost hope of living
any longer, the comforting touch of human hands may just be the perfect remedy
to boost their morale and confidence that they should fight for survival. When
morale is boosted, one’s immune system could be boosted too. This will aid in
the fight against diseases. I felt this clip was an eye-opener too; such a
simple act could go a long way in helping a patient. Human touch is not a
medicine or vaccination that only doctors and physicians are experts at
handling; people like you and I are capable of offering a comforting hand. Even those under depression or worry could be soothed and comforted if
another person holds their hand reassuringly. So, I feel we can help those
around us by just offering the comforting touch of human hand – it yields a
mixture of hope, encouragement, confidence and survival.
~
In a nutshell, by watching these news clips, I learnt a lot. Probably in my free time, I should watch more informative news clips as well as actual world news as I could learn a thing or two, which would be helpful to not only myself, but also to those around me.
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