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Explainers: Science

Explainers: Science
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Explainers: Science. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
LATEST China Science NEWS

Man behind 99% chips: semiconductor legend Chih-Tang Sah’s ashes leave US for China

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Microelectronics legend Chih-Tang Sah, whose legacy can be found in technologies including digital logic circuits, memory chips, smartphones, computers, aerospace equipment and AI chips. Sah died in July, aged 92. Photo: Handout

Chinese physicists prove Einstein wrong and put century-old debate to an end

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Albert Einstein is seen in Princeton, NewJersey, in 1954. Photo: AP

World’s first ‘ethical AI’ wades into risks of China’s new drug abuse law

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An ethical AI model has questioned the value of a new Chinese regulation to seal the records of people with minor offences rather than link them to a person’s identity information. Photo: Shutterstock Images

US university seeks to dismiss lawsuit from family of neuroscientist Jane Wu

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Northwestern denies allegations that its conduct contributed to the death of professor Jane Wu. The university has been asked to submit a more concise version of its motion to dismiss a lawsuit, with a full hearing scheduled for February. Photo: Handout

China trains industry AI tool using ‘world’s largest’ port operation data set

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China was home to six of the world’s top 10 container ports by volume last year, including Ningbo-Zhoushan in the eastern province of Zhejiang. Photo: AFP
MORE China Science NEWS
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Science

Why ‘racist’ biologist James Watson is remembered in China with respect

Controversial Nobel Prize winner helped to lay the groundwork for China to become a genomics and biotech powerhouse.

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Hong Kong weather

Explainer | All you need to know about waterspouts after rare sighting in Hong Kong harbour

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Education in Hong Kong

Explainer | Who is Hong Kong scientist Dennis Lo and what is he best known for?

Business of climate change

Explainer | What is green hydrogen and what is China’s role in its production and use?

Hydrogen is seen as a viable long-term solution that can reduce emissions in the most carbon-intensive sectors, but the path to making the zero-emission fuel commercially viable is long and arduous.

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China has more than 30 large-scale green hydrogen projects involving 260 billion yuan of investment. Photo: Shutterstock
Fukushima nuclear disaster and water release

Video | The science behind the Fukushima water release

Science

Explainer | What are superconductors and why the scepticism about breakthroughs?

Many claims about discovering room-temperature superconductors have fallen flat but the hope of finding revolutionary material pushes research forward.

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Hong Kong environmental issues

Explainer | The Post takes a closer look at tremor reports in Hong Kong amid string of quakes

Tremors from magnitude 3.7 earthquake on Monday mark third time in three months city has experienced such seismic activity.

The only seismic activity to cause structural damage in Hong Kong was a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Shantou, about 300km away, in 1918 during Lunar New Year celebrations. Photo: Shutterstock
Coronavirus Hong Kong

Explainer | How worried should you be about Covid subvariant Arcturus reported in Hong Kong?

Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 has caused a spike in infections in India, causing mask mandate to be reintroduced.

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Wellness

Explainer | How artificial skin is made and its uses, from treating burns to skin cancer

What is artificial skin? Experts reveal its uses beyond treating burn victims, including in research and drug development, and its potential to fight skin cancer.

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China's space programme

Should we worry about space debris from Chinese rockets hitting Earth?

The recent launch of the Long March 5 rocket prompts concern about whether it will hit a city when coming back to Earth.

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After a rocket breaks apart, most of it burns up in the atmosphere and only a few parts fall to the ground each year. To date there have been no reports of people being hurt by falling rocket debris. Photo: Xinhua
Extreme weather

Explainer | What does 1 degree on the thermostat mean for climate change?

CLP Power and Hong Kong Electric have a range of incentives that encourage customers to use less energy during peak periods, under their mandates to help the city cut emissions and save electricity.

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Air-conditioners installed at a public housing estate in Tsuen Wan on 17 April 2018. Photo: Sam Tsang
Coronavirus Hong Kong

Explainer | How Hong Kong’s new Covid case reporting criteria affects you

False test results from RAT kits force a change in policy.

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Science

China’s confidence rests on building on basic research, scientists say

Astrophysicist asks whether Chinese people can really be confident if their textbooks are based on work from the West.

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Coronavirus pandemic

Explainer | Post Covid syndrome affects millions. There’s little known about its cause

Symptoms can emerge months after the initial coronavirus infection is gone.

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There is still much more to know about the long-term effects of the coronavirus. Photo: AP
Coronavirus vaccine

Explainer | Do I still need the vaccine or a booster if I’ve already had Covid-19?

Infection can induce antibodies and cause so-called natural immunity but questions remain about how much protection it offers and for how long.

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Scientists advise taking any approved and accessible vaccine - whether a person has been infected with coronavirus previously or not. Vaccination and a booster will better prevent further infection, according to studies from around the world.
Coronavirus Hong Kong

Explainer | Should Hong Kong start rolling out fourth doses of Covid-19 vaccine en masse?

Several experts say there is no pressing need to begin offering fourth doses, as three offer adequate protection, but others say a fourth shot can better protect vulnerable seniors.

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SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX to help Tonga fix internet

The SpaceX team is in Fiji to establish a ground station for six months; Tonga’s devastating volcanic eruption in mid-January damaged an undersea telecommunications cable.

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Medicine

New ‘highly virulent’ HIV strain discovered

The findings are not ‘normal’, scientists said; while assuring us there is ‘no cause for alarm’; the variant, largely detected in the Netherlands, has over 500 mutations.

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A ‘highly virulent’ HIV strain has been found in the Netherlands.
Coronavirus Hong Kong

Explainer | Is there an end in sight? All you need to know about Hong Kong’s fifth wave

Four clusters threaten to overwhelm city’s pandemic strategy, with residents returning to living under strict social-distancing measures.

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Coronavirus pandemic

Explainer | What’s known about ‘stealth’ version of Omicron?

Scientists and health officials around the world are keeping their eyes on a descendant of the Omicron variant that has been found in at least 40 countries.

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Pandas

Why are pandas so ‘chonky’ despite their vegan diet?

A new study found that pandas remain chubby despite their “poor-quality diet” because of the relationship between gut bacteria and the metabolism.

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Despite eating an entirely plant-based diet, giant pandas are known for being a bit pudgy. Photo: Xinhua
Coronavirus pandemic

Explainer | What is it like to stay at one of China’s massive quarantine centres?

Authorities in four southern Chinese cities have built health stations catering to thousands of travellers at any one time.

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One of the rooms in Zhuhai’s quarantine centre. Photo: Ken Lau
Coronavirus pandemic

Explainer | How scary is ‘flurona’ – a Covid-19 and flu double blow – as Omicron spreads?

The winter flu season and more contagious variants of Covid-19 mean more co-infections are just a matter of time, experts say.

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Science

Explainer | What is quantum computing and how does it work?

As the China-US tech war heats up, the advantages of taking the lead in a quantum race extend to defence, logistics, modelling and cybersecurity.

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China's space programme

From ISS rival to sea rocket launcher: 4 Chinese space targets for 2022

China has big ambitions relating to the moon and Mars projects for 2022 and it has six launches planned to expand the Tiangong space station.

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China’s Tiangong Space Station is key to its space ambitions and its space rivalry with the US. Illustration: Weibo
Science

China science 2021: from hypersonic flight to glass from nuclear waste

The biggest talking points range from the country’s first space station taking shape in orbit to evidence of a previously lost civilisation coming to light

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The Zhu Rong Mars Rover, pictured next to the landing platform, on the surface of the red planet. Photo: EPA-EFE
Coronavirus China

Explainer | Which Covid-19 tests does China recognise, and are anal swabs necessary?

If you’re planning travel to China, learn the difference between RT-PCR and antigen testing, IgM versus IgG and how many tests to expect before and after your flight.

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Wellness

Explainer | How diabetes shapes one woman’s life, and warning signs to look for

Doctors explain the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and how they are triggered, and a sufferer describes the frightening onset of the disease and how she copes with it.

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