TOPIC

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

Landmark in-air refuelling test extends China’s drone swarm delivery range to US

videocam
16
This image shows a drone-to-drone refuel test flight with two signalling bulbs being blocked. Photo: NPU

BeOne Medicines names R&D chief Wang Lai as co-president amid global expansion

BeOne’s manufacturing facility in Guangzhou. Photo: Handout

How China cracked US ‘super code’ that controls most power grids in the world

videocam
10
China’s Southern Regional Electricity Market, the world’s largest unified power market, has fully switched to the homegrown Tianquan solver, which is 14 per cent faster than US rivals. Photo: EPA-EFE

China’s heat pump tech, Tokyo clarifies Taiwan stance: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Excavators unload coal in Binzhou, in eastern China’s Shandong province. Photo: AFP

Chinese team builds optical chip AI that is 100 times faster than Nvidia’s A100

20
Researchers said the chips could make AI “more sustainable”. Photo: Shutterstock
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.

videocam
20
Hong Kong weather

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

videocam
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
4
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

8
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
6
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.

6
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.

13
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.

videocam
13
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.

videocam
34
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.

videocam
26
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.

41
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.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

videocam
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.

videocam
142
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.

videocam
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.

8
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.

videocam
10
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.

videocam
7
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.

videocam
5
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.

videocam
5
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

videocam
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.

videocam
5
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.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement