[192] Catholic Pope relaxes opposition to contraception during Zika outbreak

TRAVEL NEWS WIRE…

Catholic Pope relaxes opposition to contraception during Zika outbreak As Latin America responds to the Zika virus, the leader of the Catholic Church has relaxed his stand on contraception use, but has ruled out any acceptance of abortion. The church has a strong influence on societies in Latin America, where most governments prohibit or restrict abortions.
The Pope said recently “avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil.” Yet he stated that abortion was “an absolute evil.” The Catholic Church has also rejected condoms as a method of preventing AIDS. Many pregnant women in Latin America have started seeking health care advice from online family planning agencies in the U.S. and Canada.

“MEMO”
contraception: 人工避妊法
abortion: 人工妊娠中絶
Pope: 法王
condom: コンドーム

HEALTH AND TECH NEWS

Pharma coalition launches Cancer Moonshot
Several big pharmaceutical companies are teaming up to combine their research data to create new immunotherapy treatments for cancer.
One of the key figures in the initiative, famous doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong, said “We have pursued cancer the wrong way for 40 years.” The coalition, including the USFDA, Amgen, Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and NantWorks, plans to conduct 20,000 clinical trials investigating up to 20 types of tumors. The initiative has been called “Cancer Moonshot” to mimic the effort of the U.S. government and NASA in the 1960s to create the space program and land on the Moon.

“MEMO”
immunotherapy : 免疫療法
chemotherapy: 化学療法
coalition: 連立

THIS WEEK’S NATURAL PHRASE

stay put

Natalie: Have you looked out of the window this morning? The streets are full of snow!

Brandon: With that much snow on the ground, it will be difficult to go to the exhibition at the art museum. I think we should just stay put until tomorrow. By then, the snow might start to melt.

Explanation: The phrase “stay put” means to stay in one place, and wait.

THIS WEEK’S MEDICAL PHRASE

it comes in waves

Doctor Lila: Is your shoulder pain constant, or does it vary during the day?

Patient: It usually comes in waves. It gets really bad for a couple of hours, and then the pain slowly fades away. I don’t understand what causes it.

Explanation: When pain “comes in waves,” it means that it slowly gets worse, and then slowly gets better, instead of being constant and steady.

“MEMO”
vary (verb):  変える・変わる・異なる
fade away (verb): 遠ざかる・離る

THIS WEEK’S BUSINESS/EMAIL PHRASE

hindsight

Hello Richard:

I thought it was a good idea to build a kitchen inside the office, but in hindsight it seems that our staff is spending too much time making sandwiches and tea instead of concentrating on work. I think we should close the kitchen, and tell the staff to order food deliveries from the local restaurant.

Explanation: After something is finished, it’s easy to look back and say that an idea was good or bad. This is called “hindsight,” which means to look back, or look at what is behind you.

“MEMO”
hindsight: 後知恵・虚仮の後思案