What is hMPV, the virus spreading through China?
Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has probably been infecting people for centuries ROGER HARRIS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Alarmist headlines that warn of China
Global treaty is failing to curb ultra-potent HFC-23 greenhouse gas emissions
Air-conditioning units, which often use HFC gases, on a building in Shenyang, China Visual China Group via Getty Images Emissions
Will there be another pandemic after covid-19 and are we prepared?
It has been just over five years since the beginning of covid-19 The coronavirus behind covid-19 has infected most people
AI-powered avatars can gesture naturally as they speak
Humans use both speech and gestures to convey information Stanford University An artificial intelligence model can make virtual avatars gesture
Mathematicians found – and fixed – an error in a 60-year-old proof
Oops! Try that again Tetra Images/Alamy An error in a proof underlying a widely used branch of modern mathematics was
Forget aesthetics, the reason to look after our skin should be health
Dr Jeremy Burgess/Science Photo Library Our skin isn’t just our biggest organ, it is also the one we are most
Is solar geoengineering research having its moment?
Particles in ship exhaust inadvertently cause cloud brightening – some geoengineering projects would try to recreate this effect NASA’s Earth
‘Artificial tongue’ can detect chemical makeup of alcoholic drinks
Molecular testing can be used to assess drink quality Evgenii Parilov/Alamy Drinks manufacturers and consumers may soon have a small,
Are vast amounts of hydrogen fuel hidden below Earth’s surface?
Drill rig in Nebraska run by Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC, which established its first hydrogen borehole in 2019 Viacheslav Zgonnik
To fix the world’s problems, we need both optimism and pessimism
This year will be remembered for many pioneering events, from the first private landing on the moon (see “Space was