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On January 1, 2026, Andrew Macpherson (left), a professor at Switzerland’s University of Bern and its university hospital, joined the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) on a full-time basis. Photo: handout

China offers full-time job to top European immunologist Andrew Macpherson

Distinguished professor leaves Switzerland to take up role in China, attracted by its reputation for cutting-edge biomedical research.

4 hours agovideocam

China turns mega-project failure into defining moment in modern engineering

3 hours agovideocam

China-led team replicates human embryo ‘invasion’ of the womb for the first time

10 Jan 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

US House lawmakers abandon bid to bring back controversial China Initiative

Advocacy groups hail decision to remove provision aiming to reinstate programme accused of unfairly targeting Chinese-American researchers.

9 Jan 2026 - 10:00PMvideocam

Asian-American advocacy organisations have lobbied the US Congress to oppose attempts to revive the China Initiative. Photo: Getty Images

China cites Biden’s message to Xi that Japan could build nukes ‘overnight’

Beijing releases 30-page report that includes a call for international community to ‘take concrete and strong measures’ against Japan’s nuclear ambitions.

9 Jan 2026 - 8:08PMvideocam

Why Chinese space station is studying how gravity affects battery performance

Project is led by the country’s second civilian astronaut working with researchers on the ground to look at ways to improve performance.

9 Jan 2026 - 1:12PMvideocam

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At US$1,455 per ounce, China’s e-waste gold recovery is world’s most efficient

New method can extract precious metals from old mobile phones, computers and home appliances in less than 20 minutes.

9 Jan 2026 - 10:48AMvideocam

Chinese scientists have found a way to harvest gold from electronic waste in under 20 minutes and at a cost less than a third of the present market price. Photo: Shutterstock

China sends 0.1-second blackout recovery tech to protect grids in 12 nations

Grid protection technology enables faults to be isolated and restored within hundred-millisecond window, compared with hours previously.

8 Jan 2026 - 11:00AMvideocam

China creates world’s first clone-hybrid rice that could double global output

Team developed 6 apomictic rice varieties tested over multiple generations in Hainan and Zhejiang provinces.

7 Jan 2026 - 6:13PMvideocam

China’s stealth design software PADJ-X finds potential flaws in US B-21 bomber

Chinese researchers use ‘all-in-one’ algorithmic system to test for vulnerabilities in classified aircraft, paper says.

7 Jan 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

Northrop Grumman unveils its B-21 Raider stealth bomber in December 2022 at its California facility. Photo: AP

China’s sensitive technology at risk after Trump abducts Venezuela leader Maduro

From oil infrastructure to telecommunications, Chinese investments in the country have been long-standing and extensive.

6 Jan 2026 - 5:31PMvideocam

China’s President Xi Jinping and then Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in September 2023. Photo: Reuters

Could there be a link between glucose levels in the brain and Alzheimer’s?

Mice with late-stage symptoms showed improvement in memory loss and reduced brain plaque after experimental treatment, Chinese study finds.

5 Jan 2026 - 5:00PMvideocam

China fossil unveils cross-equator migration corridor in supercontinent Pangaea

Remains of a new dicynodont species dating back over 250 million years link China and South Africa, suggesting passage of large animals.

5 Jan 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

Nobel Prize jurist Thomas Mikael Oliveberg joins southern China medical school

Biophysicist leaves Stockholm University for full-time role at Guangxi Medical University’s First Affiliated Hospital.

4 Jan 2026 - 4:00PM

Biophysicist Thomas Mikael Oliveberg (left) is welcomed to Guangxi Medical University by its vice-president Li Lang, at a signing ceremony on December 16. Photo: Handout

China’s emission-free tech debunks Trump theory with 3-fold productivity boost

Revolutionary change to fossil fuel conversion process reduces carbon pollution to almost zero while tripling yield of high-value chemicals.

4 Jan 2026 - 2:52PMvideocam

Critics have long dismissed green regulations as a drag on industry, claiming they raise costs and cut production. New study shows slashing carbon emissions can dramatically boost productivity. Photo: Getty Images

AI scientist Ling Haibin, father of first plant ID app, leaves US for China

Pioneering scientist takes up new position at Westlake University to seek ‘fresh exploration’ with greater freedom and inclusivity.

3 Jan 2026 - 8:00PM

China’s biopharma sector ‘in prime position to challenge US leadership’

American commission issues stark warning, as analytics firm Clarivate reports that Chinese innovative drug development has entered new phase.

3 Jan 2026 - 7:55AMvideocam

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SpaceX will move 4,400 satellites to a lower orbit after China cited safety risk

Starlink’s Michael Nicolls declares ‘significant reconfiguration’ to be coordinated with regulators, other operators and US Space Command.

2 Jan 2026 - 8:00PMvideocam

Starlink says taking its satellites to a lower orbit this year will allow a more than 80 per cent cut to ballistic decay time. Photo: TNS

Could 2,000-year-old machine from tomb in China be earliest binary computer?

Silk-weaving loom dating to Western Han is world’s oldest known ‘computer hardware’ with corresponding ‘software’, China science body says.

2 Jan 2026 - 5:36PMvideocam

China warns satellites from Elon Musk’s Starlink are ‘safety and security’ risk

Beijing tells UN meeting of near misses involving SpaceX satellites and warns they are being used by criminals and terrorists.

1 Jan 2026 - 6:14PMvideocam

China launches super-powered AI system to take on Trump’s Genesis Mission

The network, designed to run without human oversight, was launched a month after Trump outlined plans for an ‘AI Manhattan Project’.

1 Jan 2026 - 9:00AMvideocam

China’s system is designed to serve thousands of institutions nationwide. Photo: Shutterstock

Great Green Wall 2.0: China is geoengineering deserts with blue-green algae

Scientists aim to reclaim thousands of hectares of desert using cyanobacteria that can stabilise sand and create foundation for plant growth.

31 Dec 2025 - 7:46PMvideocam

Researchers at Shapotou Desert Experimental Research Station in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region have created a technique using cyanobacteria to form a biomass-rich crust over desert sand. Photo: China Science Daily

SCMP Highlights

How China cracked US ‘super code’, health benefits of lard: 7 science highlights

From China building world’s largest smart transformer to health benefits of lard, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.

31 Dec 2025 - 3:30PM

China builds a record-breaking hypergravity machine to compress space and time

CHIEF1900 will help to recreate catastrophic events such as dam failures and earthquakes inside a lab, university says.

31 Dec 2025 - 12:00PMvideocam

As Trump taps coal to power AI, China moves on to clothe the world with it

A once-struggling Chinese coal city turns the traditional fossil fuel into nylon, manufacturing popular fashion from sportswear to lingerie.

30 Dec 2025 - 3:02PMvideocam

China is turning the fossil energy resource into nylon, spurring on its economy with the manufacture of sportswear and other popular fashion items. Photo: Xinhua

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