Author: Zheluo Cai

Creation is enthralling and mysterious, and the wisdom of God remains perennially unfathomable. To know Him is to barely understand His heart, but to know myself, despite the many regrettable mistakes that have been made, is to understand the sufficiency of His grace, faithfulness, and lovingkindness. My enriching journey with Him took me through the halls of national service (the army), auditing, cross-cultural missionary service, church work, mentoring, psychology, and caregiving. Although now in retirement, I am still very much a learner at heart and an avid reader, and despite the smudges in life, I love it. Eternity then becomes a lifelong expectation.

Helsinki’s Radical Solution To Homelessness

Posted on Thursday, 6 June, 2019Thursday, 6 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Tatu Ainesmaa turns 32 this summer, and for the first time in more than a decade he has a home he can truly say is his: an airy two-room apartment in a small, recently renovated block in a leafy suburb of Helsinki, with a view over birch trees. “It’s a

Apple, Facebook, Google And Amazon Face Increased Scrutiny

Posted on Thursday, 6 June, 2019Thursday, 6 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Congress is launching a bipartisan investigation into digital markets and the tech industry, looking into giants such as Facebook, Google and Amazon for competition problems and anti-competitive conduct. “The open internet has delivered enormous benefits to Americans, including a surge of economic opportunity, massive investment, and new pathways for education online,”

Chinese Rover Finds Strange Rocks On The Moon

Posted on Wednesday, 5 June, 2019Wednesday, 5 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Kicking off the new year with a bang, China made history in early January by landing the first-ever spacecraft on the far side of the moon. Now, results from that mission suggest another bombshell: the first signs of lunar mantle material available for scientific study. Yutu-2, the rover partner to the

Right Whales Population Decline

Posted on Wednesday, 5 June, 2019Wednesday, 5 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

The endangered North Atlantic right whale faces increased odds because its main food supply has shifted due to ocean warming, according to new research. Scientists have been searching for an explanation for a precipitous decline in the North Atlantic right whale population, which has dropped from 482 in 2010 to

What Sparked The Tiananmen Square Protests in 1989?

Posted on Tuesday, 4 June, 2019Tuesday, 4 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

What sparked the pro-democracy protests in 1989? In April 1989, the popular reformist leader Hu Yaobang died. During the 1980s he had been a high-ranking Communist party official who had promoted economic and political reform but was ousted by his conservative opponents. Two days after his death, on 17 April, several hundred

The Quintessential California Road Trip

Posted on Tuesday, 4 June, 2019Tuesday, 4 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Northern California’s coastal stretches have long lured road-trippers, even before John Steinbeck, his wife, Elaine, and their peripatetic poodle rumbled down the Pacific Coast in 1960. In “Travels With Charley,” Steinbeck famously enthused about ogling the “ambassadors from another time,” referring to the region’s ancient redwoods. Last summer, as wildfires raged

The Science Of Anger

Posted on Monday, 3 June, 2019Monday, 3 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Anger is the flash of fire that sparks in your brain when you feel you have been short-changed. Perhaps a stranger has nipped into the parking space that you had been about to occupy, or a lazy work colleague has landed you with a thankless task. Or maybe you have

Climate Change Link To Puffin Deaths

Posted on Monday, 3 June, 2019Monday, 3 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Climate change played a role in the deaths of thousands of puffins in Alaska, according to a study. Scientists believe the birds starved to death when the fish they eat migrated north with rising sea temperatures. The bodies of dead, emaciated puffins began washing up on beaches on Saint Paul

The Basis For Rejoicing In God

Posted on Sunday, 2 June, 2019Sunday, 2 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

3 John. John’s final Epistle where he referred to himself as ‘the elder’ was addressed to his ‘beloved Gaius.’ In it, he mentioned three individuals: Gaius, Diotrephes and Demetrius. The Apostle’s greeting to Gaius “… I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just

The Malaria Vaccine That Could Change World Health

Posted on Sunday, 2 June, 2019Sunday, 2 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

“In each house were three or four patients who complained of chilling, severe headaches, sweating, pain in back and extremities. After four or five relapses, the headaches and pain became unbearable for many patients who then exhibited a muddling delirium with coma, ending in death. Most were between the ages

Burnout Is Officially A Diagnosable Condition

Posted on Saturday, 1 June, 2019Saturday, 1 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

It’s common in any work environment to hear people toss around “burnout” as a buzzword when they are feeling over-stressed and under-appreciated. According to Gallup, 23% of employees report feeling burnout at work very often or always, while an additional 44% reported feeling it sometimes. But what does burnout really mean? The

The Unfulfilled Promise Of DNA Testing

Posted on Saturday, 1 June, 2019Saturday, 1 June, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Hillary Savoie wanted clear answers. Instead, the genetic testing results for her 4-year-old daughter, Esmé, sent her reeling. “I’m pale. The bags under my eyes are purple,” she wrote in her blog started when Esmé was a baby. “My lips are drawn tight in a thin line.” Ever since the

The Ursa Minor Constellation

Posted on Friday, 31 May, 2019Friday, 31 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky. Like the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, hence the North American name, Little Dipper: seven stars with four in its bowl like its partner the Big Dipper. It

Uji And Byodo-in

Posted on Friday, 31 May, 2019Friday, 31 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Uji, 19 km south of Kyoto, is one of two regions in Japan, well known for its tea cultivation, apart from its famous Byodo-in Temple. Uji River that flows from Lake Biwa, cuts through the City, and joins the Yodo River that eventually empties into the Inland Sea at Osaka;

Ginkaku-ji

Posted on Thursday, 30 May, 2019Thursday, 30 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Situated in northeastern Kyoto, we went on Kyoto public transport to the Ginkaku-ji area. Also known as the Temple of the Silver Pavilion, it showcased the Higashiyama culture of the Muromachi period. It was built by the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the grandson of Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, the founder of Kinkaku-ji (Temple

Air Pollution May Be Damaging Every Human Organ

Posted on Thursday, 30 May, 2019Thursday, 30 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Air pollution may be damaging every organ and virtually every cell in the human body, according to a comprehensive new global review. The research shows head-to-toe harm, from heart and lung disease to diabetes and dementia, and from liver problems and bladder cancer to brittle bones and damaged the skin. Fertility,

Black Hole May Have Swallowed A Neutron Star

Posted on Wednesday, 29 May, 2019Wednesday, 29 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Astronomers may have spotted a neutron star being swallowed by a black hole for the first time, marked by a belch of gravitational waves rippling across the cosmos. If confirmed, the detection by the twin LIGO detectors in the US and the Virgo detector in Italy would be the first evidence that

Pontocho And Gion

Posted on Tuesday, 28 May, 2019Thursday, 30 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

The Kamo-gamo River partitions the Pontocho area on its western bank from Gion, on the east. The latter is well-known for its historical Pleasure Quarters, but both districts are occupied by numerous period ochaya (tea houses) and restaurants. Although a day trip down Pontocho, a narrow pedestrian-only street, is picturesque,

Aoi Masturi

Posted on Tuesday, 28 May, 2019Tuesday, 28 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Aoi Masturi or the Hollyhock Festival dates back 1,400 years in the 7th century to the reign of Emperor Kinmei (539 – 571). It is one of three most popular festivals in Kyoto (Gion Masturi and Jidai Masturi are the other two) and is held annually on 15 May at

World’s Rivers Awash With Antibiotics

Posted on Tuesday, 28 May, 2019Tuesday, 28 May, 2019 by Zheluo Cai

Hundreds of rivers around the world from the Thames to the Tigris are awash with dangerously high levels of antibiotics, the largest global study on the subject has found. Antibiotic pollution is one of the key routes by which bacteria are able to develop resistance to life-saving medicines, rendering them