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:
A nanoparticle revealed the tiny impact of a single gas atom 
Was van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ a flight of fancy or a real sky? 
This ‘living drug’ could change the course of autoimmune disease 
AI could turn scientific papers into research assistants 
A lifesaving medication is not behind the drop in U.S. overdose deaths 
Peek into hidden worlds revealed by the 2026 Nikon Small World contest 
World News in Brief: Russian attacks intensify, UN team tours West Bank, ‘unlawful’ elderly deaths 
Mothers get nearly eight times more paid leave than fathers – and women pay the price 
Nepal’s deadly glacier flood a ‘defining moment’ for the international community 
First human case of Shamonda virus reported in France as patient dies