China-US team’s ‘gold factory’ relic; next-gen diabetes care: 7 science highlights

South China Morning Post - Oct 21, 2026

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China breakthrough unlocks low-cost, high-margin sustainable aviation fuel Chinese researchers have developed a catalyst that converts synthesis gas into sustainable jet fuel – an advance that could boost production, help meet net-zero carbon goals and yield a gross profit margin above 50 per cent. 2. Landmark...

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Only 3% of Hong Kong firms have fully integrated AI into workflows, survey finds

Only 3% of Hong Kong firms have fully integrated AI into workflows, survey finds

Only 3 per cent of Hong Kong companies have fully integrated AI into their workflows, with many facing hurdles including resistance to organisational change and outdated digital infrastructure, a survey has found. Consultancy Accenture, which polled 150 companies and released the results on Wednesday, said the survey suggested businesses had a strong desire to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in their work but many struggled to put it into practice. “Hong Kong really has strong AI ambitions...

Taiwan admits paying for retired US general to observe largest annual war games

Taiwan admits paying for retired US general to observe largest annual war games

Taiwan’s defence ministry has confirmed for the first time that it has allocated funding for the US Indo-Pacific Command to send a retired general and other personnel to observe the island’s largest annual war games. The disclosure sheds rare official light on military exchanges that Taipei and Washington have traditionally kept out of public view, as security cooperation between the two sides deepens amid growing pressure from Beijing. According to a defence ministry report submitted to the...

Burnham’s Britain can learn from Trump in engaging with China

Burnham’s Britain can learn from Trump in engaging with China

Getting relations with China right is widely seen as Britain’s epoch-defining challenge. It is also one it is woefully unprepared to face. So concluded a recent audit by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which highlighted that top negotiators lacked basic Chinese language skills. More critically, it exposed a deeper deficit: a poor grasp of China spanning political elites and the public alike. This is rooted in a desk-bound classroom sinology rather than a nuanced appreciation...

Brazil’s family farming backbone embraces Chinese AI to reverse vital sector’s decline

Brazil’s family farming backbone embraces Chinese AI to reverse vital sector’s decline

The family farmers who produce the lion’s share of Brazil’s staple foods are opening their arms to cutting-edge Chinese artificial intelligence in a bid to modernise operations and secure their future. Brazil and China agreed to a five-year cooperation programme in September aimed at giving smallholders – the backbone of the Brazilian agricultural sector – an AI boost after a decade of declining employment and limited access to affordable technology. Representatives of the Brazilian Agricultural...

From ideas to impact

From ideas to impact

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] The HKUST-SINO One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition and Impactathon take different approaches to helping promising ideas move from early concepts to practical applications in businesses and communities. Across these initiatives, Sino aims to connect innovators with communities, universities and businesses at critical stages when feedback, practical experience and industry connections can help their ideas gain...

Why foreign companies are still betting on Hong Kong’s culinary reputation

Why foreign companies are still betting on Hong Kong’s culinary reputation

Despite a downturn in Hong Kong’s food and beverage sector, foreign enterprises are still betting on the city as a fine-dining destination, with a South Korean hydroponic ginseng grower and a 123-year-old Japanese confectioner choosing it for their first overseas ventures. Jack Kwon, founder and CEO of Seoul-based Biofx, signed a deal with Hong Kong hydroponics firm Farm66 last Thursday to grow Korean gourmet ginseng in the city and sell it to local consumers and restaurants. The deal marks the...

US troops in South Korea must be ready for missions beyond peninsula, commander says

US troops in South Korea must be ready for missions beyond peninsula, commander says

The commander of the US Eighth Army in South Korea said his troops must be ready for deployment outside the Korean peninsula if ordered, arguing that it would be “irresponsible” to focus “myopically” on threats there. Lieutenant General Joe Hilbert said that while his command’s focus was on fulfilling US commitments under its mutual defence treaty with Seoul, the Eighth Army’s location did not limit the missions it could undertake. It would be “irresponsible to focus myopically” on threats on...

First Quad leaders’ summit after 2 years in Manila next month, Rubio confirms

First Quad leaders’ summit after 2 years in Manila next month, Rubio confirms

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Tuesday that the leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue would meet in the Philippine capital next month, marking the group’s first summit in more than two years, just days before US President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, China. “It’s been agreement now that we’re going to do it; we’re going to do it in Manila, at the Asean conference,” Rubio said in an interview with Indian news channel CNN-News18. “We don’t...

China close to matching US spending on ‘new way of war’, Republican senator warns

China close to matching US spending on ‘new way of war’, Republican senator warns

The United States is lulling itself into a “sense of false security” over its military rivalry with China, according to a Republican senator who called for more spending on modern warfare systems and closer cooperation with allies. Speaking at the Hudson Institute after a recent trip to Japan and South Korea, Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania senator and West Point graduate, claimed up to 90 per cent of US defence spending funded decades-old equipment and technologies. “We convince ourselves; we...

Another World drawn by hand and heart: A key animator's seven-year craft

Another World drawn by hand and heart: A key animator's seven-year craft

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the design industry, where speed and efficiency have become the norm. But the Hong Kong animated film Another World took a different path. Entirely hand-drawn over seven years, it was selected for the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France — hailed as the “Oscars of the animation world” — and won Best Animated Feature at the Golden Horse Awards...

Second land tender at Hong Kong’s border tech hub draws 9 bids

Second land tender at Hong Kong’s border tech hub draws 9 bids

A second batch of land at Hong Kong’s flagship tech hub at the border with mainland China has drawn nine bids, with frontier technology firms and major conglomerates among the tenderers. The Loop Hong Kong Park Company, which operates the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP), revealed the results on Tuesday, nearly two months after six bids were received from conglomerates and hi-tech firms for its inaugural land tender at the end of August. Tuesday’s tender covered three...

Will Xi, Trump, Putin meet at Apec? First, they must agree on an agenda

Will Xi, Trump, Putin meet at Apec? First, they must agree on an agenda

While US President Donald Trump has said he is open to sitting down with Chinese and Russian counterparts Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the Apec summit, it remains far from certain that the three leaders will actually meet in a few weeks. Observers said much would depend on whether the countries could agree on an agenda, with one expert describing this as a “critical lever”. Russia was set to gain most if the trilateral meeting took place, experts said, as the summit would be a potent symbol...

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