 Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from the Voice of America. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower, and we use words and phrases, especially written for people learning English. Coming up on the program, Katie Weaver reports on a study that shows years of brain changes in Alzheimer's patients. Mario Ritter Jr. has a story on how the number of babies born in Japan last year fell to a new low for an eighth straight year. Anna Mateo has the education reports on therapy for students, and John Russell presents the lesson of the day. A long-term study in China has shown that a series of changes take place in the brains of people who get Alzheimer's disease long before they present signs of the sickness. The large study followed middle-aged and older adults for 20 years. The individuals were examined on a regular basis during that period. The researchers used brain imaging, spinal fluid checks, and other tools to collect data. The researchers reported that the study subjects who later developed Alzheimer's showed high levels of disease-linked protein in their spinal fluid. The higher levels were recorded as much as 18 years before the patients were identified as having Alzheimer's. Then every few years, the study detected another so-called biomarker of coming trouble. Students still do not know exactly how Alzheimer's forms. The disease slowly destroys the brain, interfering with the ability to think. Alzheimer's patients develop proteins called beta-amyloid and tau, which over time build up into plaques that block brain processes. The new research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, offers a timeline for how these proteins develop. The study's importance cannot be overstated, said Dr. Richard Mayew, an Alzheimer's specialist at Columbia University, who was not involved in the research. The knowledge of the timing of these physiological events is critical for testing new ways of treating and maybe even preventing Alzheimer's, he wrote in a piece published alongside the study report. Scientists already knew that in rare genetic forms of Alzheimer's that affect young people, a poisonous form of amyloid starts developing about 20 years ahead of symptoms. At some point after that, tau develops as well. The new findings show the order of such biomarker changes common to age-related Alzheimer's. Researchers with Beijing's Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders compared 648 people, who were later found with Alzheimer's, to an equal number who remained healthy. The amyloid finding in future Alzheimer's patients was the main discovery. This in tau were found next, followed by a marker of trouble in how neurons communicate. A few years after that, the study found differences in brain shrinkage and cognitive test scores between the two groups. The more we know about viable Alzheimer's treatment targets and when to address them, the better and faster we will be able to develop new therapies and preventions," said Claire Sexton, director of scientific programs with the Alzheimer's Association. She noted that blood tests are coming soon that promise to also help by making it easier to find amyloid and tau. More than 6 million Americans and millions more worldwide have Alzheimer's. There is no cure. But last year, LeCambi became the first approved drug that could slow the worsening of early Alzheimer's for a few months. The drug works by clearing away some of the amyloid protein. Other drugs are being developed to target tau. I'm Katie Weaver. The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to a new low for an eighth straight year government data shows. In addition, the number of marriages continues to drop. The Health and Welfare Ministry reported Tuesday that 758,631 babies were born in Japan in 2023. That represented a 5.1% decline from the year earlier. It was the lowest number of births since Japan started recording the statistics in 1899. The number of marriages fell by 5.9% to 489,281 couples, falling below a half million for the first time in 90 years. Fewer marriages are one of the reasons for fewer births. Having children outside of marriage is rare in the East Asian country. Opinion studies show that many younger Japanese do not want to marry or have families. They note the lack of good jobs and high cost of living as reasons. Some say the working culture in Japanese businesses makes it hard for both parents to work. Young parents say they often feel isolated as people do not want to hear crying babies or children playing outside. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi called the ongoing declining birth rate critical. He said, the period over the next six years or so, until the 2030s, when the younger population will start declining rapidly, will be the last chance we may be able to reverse the trend. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the low birth numbers the biggest crisis Japan faces. He has introduced several measures to give financial support for childbirth, children, and their families. But experts say they doubt whether the government's efforts will work because they have largely centered on people who already are married or are planning to have children. The measures do not deal with a growing population of young people who are not getting married or planning to have a family. The number of births in Japan has been falling for fifty years after a peak of about 2.1 million. The decrease to a yearly number below 760,000 has happened faster than expected. Experts had predicted that it would take place by 2035. Japan's population of more than 125 million is expected to drop to 87 million by 2070, with four out of every ten people at age 65 or older. A shrinking and aging population has a big effect on the economy and national security. Recently, Japan lost its spot as the world's third largest economy, falling behind Germany. The country also needs to expand its military to deal with China's expansive territorial claims. I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. Derry Oliver was in fifth grade when she first talked to her mother about seeing a therapist. They were moving to New York City. Derry had to live with family members in another state, while her mother, also named Derry Oliver, found a job and apartment. In this story we will call the daughter by her first name, Derry, and her mother by her family name, Oliver. It was a difficult year. A school worker suggested therapy. Derry's mother questioned the advice and disagreed with therapy. You're so young, there's nothing wrong with you. These are growing pains, Oliver told her daughter. However, Derry's depression got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. She struggled with the loneliness of at-home learning. She reached out to her high school for help. In New York, school-based mental health professionals, like social workers, can provide some counseling without parental permission. But therapy requires a parent's agreement. It was very emotional for both of us, because I understood her frustrations and fears, Derry remembered. But at the same time, it's sometimes best for your child to be able to access this, rather than hold it away from them. Using federal money from the pandemic, schools around the U.S. have employed more mental health specialists. They also add telehealth and online counseling to reach as many students as possible. As treatments have become more readily available and more young people talk openly about mental health issues, schools are now facing difficulties in getting parents to agree to treatment. Chelsea Trout is studying social work at New York University and is doing her training at a school in Brooklyn. She called it a disconnect between parents and children. The kids are all on TikTok or the Internet and understand therapy speak and that this is something that could be helpful for their mental health and are interested in, said Trout. But she added that they may not have support from their parents. Politics can also play a part. Some states are looking to make getting therapy without parental permission easier, while others are proposing more restrictions. The states of California and Colorado have recently lowered the age of consent for treatment to 12. But in some states, like North Carolina, the issue is part of larger political debates on the input parents can have on school teachings, as well as the rights of transgender students. Cost is another issue. Therapy is rarely free and paying for it often requires parental support. Research suggests that the need for parental permission can keep young people from getting treatment. Jessica Chuck Goldman is a social worker at Bard Early College High School in New York City. She said that she has seen many cases where mental health issues turn severe, partly because young people did not get earlier access to therapy. For Derry and her mother, years of talking have led to some progress. Several years ago, her mother agreed to a compromise. They found a black female therapist, which was important to both of them as a black family. Oliver agreed that her daughter could start therapy as long as she could sit in on the meetings. It has to be someone trustworthy, Oliver said, of a possible therapist for her daughter. But the therapist changed jobs after a month, and Derry has not seen another therapist since. Trout, the school social worker in training, said she has met many parents who, like Oliver, have trust issues. If we're thinking about predominantly black and brown communities, if your interactions with social workers or mental health services or anything in that realm thus far have not been positive, Trout said, how could you trust them with your kids? Statistics also show a racial divide. In 2021, 14% of white children reported seeing a therapist at some point during that year. This number is compared to 9% of black children, 8% of Hispanic children, and 3% of Asian American children. These numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without access to therapy, Derry has sought advice about dealing with her emotions through friends, school social workers, and the internet. But she feels that she could gain more with professional help. Derry has already gotten into several colleges. One thing she is considering is what the school offers for therapy. I'm Anna Mateo. Anna Mateo joins me now to talk more about today's education story. Thanks for joining me, Anna. Hi, Dan. Thanks for having me on your show. So there was one word in the story I was hoping you could explain. Roadblock. What is a roadblock? So a roadblock is something that keeps you from moving forward or getting what you want. I see. So what are some roadblocks keeping students from getting therapy? There are many roadblocks that may keep a child from getting mental health treatment, parental permission, cost and insurance, politics of the area where you live. There are also different cultural attitudes toward therapy and some parents have trust issues with the mental health community. And there are different policies when it comes to providing therapy for students in different states, right? How does that play a part? Well, some states make it easier for children to get access to therapy without parental permission. While other states have more restrictions in place and this makes getting parental permission necessary. Thanks for answering my questions, Anna. And thank you for your interesting report. Thanks for having me, Dan. In this next report, Brian Lin tells us about an important event that happened last week. A spacecraft built by a private company landed on the moon. We learn about the history of moon landings as well as how the recent moon landing plays into future space missions. Pay careful attention to the word achievement. We will talk more about it after the report. A private spacecraft has successfully touched down on the moon, marking the first U.S. lunar landing in more than 50 years. The American Space Agency, NASA, confirmed the odysseus moon lander, built by Texas company Intuitive Machines, had landed on the moon's surface Thursday. Flight controllers said earlier that difficulties with the lander's navigation equipment had forced them to activate an experimental landing system at the last minute. Officials from Intuitive Machines also reported communication problems, but said a signal was received from the lander after a delay. What we can confirm, without a doubt, is our equipment is on the surface of the moon, said Intuitive Machines project director Tim Crane. He was speaking to flight controllers at the company's operations center in Houston, Texas. The company's chief, Steve Altamas, added, I know this was a nail biter, but we are on the surface, and we are transmitting. Welcome to the moon. In a message published Thursday night on X, Intuitive Machines said flight controllers had confirmed odysseus is upright and starting to send data. The spacecraft targeted a landing spot about 300 kilometers from the moon's south pole. The area is mostly flat, but also includes large rocks, hills, and craters. Officials from Intuitive Machines were not immediately able to provide details about whether odysseus had reached its target landing area. Another U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, attempted a lunar landing last month, but that privately built lander, called Peregrine, developed a fuel leak shortly after launch and did not make it to the moon. Officials from Astrobotic were quick to send congratulations to the odysseus mission team. An incredible achievement. We can't wait to join you on the lunar surface in the near future, the company wrote on X. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson also reacted on Twitter, writing that Intuitive Machines had aced the landing of a lifetime. The last time the United States landed on the moon was in 1972 with NASA's Apollo 17 mission. So far, five nations have successfully landed spacecraft on the moon, the United States, China, the Soviet Union, Japan, and India. Japan's landing came just last month. In addition to being the first U.S. lunar landing since 1972, the odysseus mission marked the first time a privately built spacecraft has touched down on the moon. Odysseus is carrying scientific instruments and technology demonstrations for NASA and several private organizations. Experiments are to include observations of space weather activity and radio waves. The spacecraft is designed to operate for seven days on solar energy before the sun sets over the landing area. NASA has said data from the lunar lander's mission will be used to help prepare for the agency's future Artemis space program. That program aims to return astronauts to the moon. NASA recently announced that its planned mission to land humans on the moon, called Artemis III, was set for September 2026. I'm Brian Lin. Before the report, we asked you to pay careful attention to the word achievement. Can you remember when you heard it? You heard the term used in a quote from a social media post written by Astrobotic Technology. Let's listen again. Officials from Astrobotic were quick to send congratulations to the odysseus mission team. An incredible achievement. We can't wait to join you on the lunar surface in the near future, the company wrote on X. Achievement is a noun. We spell it like this. A, C, H, I, E, V, E, M, E, N, T. Achievement means the act of completing something important, especially after making a lot of effort. So, when Astrobotic Technology described the moon landing as an incredible achievement, the company is suggesting that the act of landing on the moon was successful and required a lot of effort on the part of intuitive machines. The adjective incredible adds even more strength to the word achievement. If we remove the M, E, N, T ending from achievement, we get the verb achieve. Knowing this, we can create different sentences that express the same meaning. For example, you could say intuitive machines had an incredible achievement. Or you could say, intuitive machines achieved something incredible. In the first sentence, we used the noun form achievement. In the second sentence, we used the verb form achieved. Note that although the two sentences have differences in grammar and style, they express the same basic idea. Today's report was about an achievement in space, but we can use achievement to describe things in our everyday lives on Earth. For example, imagine a student gets a perfect score on a very difficult test. We might describe the perfect score as an achievement, because it likely took a lot of hard work to get a perfect score. Or imagine that a person works hard for many years to learn how to play a musical instrument very well. We might describe the act of playing very well as an achievement. It took a lot of effort and a lot of time. We will end this lesson with a few words of encouragement. Sometimes language learning can be difficult, but the path can become easier if we keep in mind the long-term goal. Remember, achievements require effort and patience. And that's the lesson of the day. I'm John Russell. And that's our program for today. Join us again tomorrow to keep learning English through stories from around the world. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak.