Prime Minister Boris Johnson surprised the United Kingdom this weekend by announcing tough new coronavirus restrictions in some areas just days after saying such measures would be “inhuman.” But at the close of an unpredictable and unprecedented year, the British leader’s U-turn on holiday season travel and gatherings was just one more in a series of rosy predictions and failed promises. Here’s a short review:
These tiny swirls on the sun could trigger solar flares 
Bullfrogs may have an antidote to deadly shellfish poisoning 
Is AI making us dumber? Maybe not. But our skills are at risk 
Emperor penguin chicks like these starved. An iceberg may be the cause 
Naked mole-rat queens rule their colonies with a potent odor 
‘Cheating’ birds change their tune 
Hiroshima fosters hope, 81 years on from nuclear catastrophe 
The Year of Pastoralists Must Be More Than Symbolic 
Rohingya Refugees Seeking Safe Haven in Bangladesh Hit by Fresh Disasters