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Latest news on research and breakthroughs by Chinese scientists, as the country ramps up investment in science and innovation as part of its ambitions to become a world-leading power by 2035, and other developments worldwide.
Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, who unified the various warring states into a single empire. Photo: Wikipedia
Archaeology and palaeontology

Did China’s first emperor launch westwards mission to find ‘elixir of life’?

State media report on ‘fully preserved’ Qin dynasty inscription found by Chinese archaeologists leaves academics divided over authenticity.

United States

US students discover Unit 731 horrors, and an American war crime cover-up

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Mainland China

Study shows how robots replaced master workers in Chinese military drone factory

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Wilczek’s Multiverse | From quasiparticles to quasi-worlds, and the possibilities for quantum research

Feats of engineering being achieved in quantum information processing and machine learning make a cosmic multiverse seem very likely.

Illustration: Henry Wong
Mainland China

China starts mass production of world’s first non-binary AI chip

China’s AI chip overcomes traditional computing barriers and will be used in touch displays, flight systems and aircraft navigation.

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Mainland China

Microplastics from biodegradable material may be linked to diabetes, study finds

Polylactic acid – used in food packaging, disposable tableware and clothing – found to alter gut metabolism and harm gut barrier of mice.

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Fudan University

China’s rare mineral gives blind mice ‘super vision’, offers hope for humans

Sightless mice, monkey see infrared with tellurium-powered artificial retinas, bringing scientists closer to treating blindness in people.

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Tellurium, a key component of an artificial implant, helped blind mice see infrared, according to Chinese scientists. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Mainland China

Explainer | AI content detector: why does China dismiss it as ‘superstition tech’?

Detection tools can produce false results, Science and Technology Daily warns, citing 100-year-old essay rated as 60 per cent written by AI.

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Mainland China

Mothers were in charge of ancient Chinese society, Neolithic burial site reveals

Neolithic society in eastern China tracing descent through female line lasted 250 years and at least 10 generations, Chinese-led team finds.

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How Chinese plane radar tracks moving targets without breaking radio silence

‘Space-time decoupling’ allows Cessna-208 to cancel out environmental clutter and track moving vehicles with crystal clarity.

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Two light aircraft were used to track the targets. Photo: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Mainland China

Ultra-secure space-ground network? China’s quantum ambition takes shape

Two modules were part of a rocket launch last week, in a ‘key step’ towards an integrated space-air-ground quantum network.

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Researchers in China said they have taken a first step in developing an integrated ground-air-space quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) network. Image: Shutterstock
Mainland China

US still king of critical tech, but China quickly closing gaps: report

Contrary to other global trackers, university’s tech race scorecard puts US in front in critical fields with China gaining from ‘research achievements, human capital’.

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Mainland China

Senior biologist Lu Wei leaves US government post for China

Top Chinese researcher is the latest academic to leave after US President Donald Trump’s university funding cuts.

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Energy

Next-generation battery expert Zhou Jianbin leaves US for China amid global race

Research into solid-state batteries, seen as a key tech battleground, is a priority for major economies.

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Solid-state batteries are seen as a key technological battleground. Photo: Xinhua
Archaeology and palaeontology

China’s scientists unlock secrets of how early birds conquered the skies

Analysis of feathers trapped in amber sheds new light on evolutionary path that led to early birds’ ability to fly.

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Fossils preserved in amber offer a unique opportunity to study soft structures, as objects stuck in the hardened tree resin remain trapped in time. Photo: AP/Science
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong must reform its degree offerings to attract West’s brightest

Universities must evolve and burnish their offerings in the latest disciplines, from AI to cybersecurity, as US crackdowns send more to the East.

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Mainland China

Chinese researcher pathogen case ‘politicised’, risks further US talent exodus

Arrest of researcher for alleged smuggling of ‘agroterrorism weapon’ risks further damage to US-China collaboration.

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Mainland China

Is the common fungus Fusarium graminearum an ‘agroterrorism agent’?

Two Chinese researchers charged with smuggling and conspiracy after attempting to enter the US with fungus that causes crop damage.

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Fusarium head blight can infect wheat and other crops, reduces grain yields and causes serious economic losses. Photo: Shutterstock
Mainland China

China team triples distance record set by direct quantum communication founder

Scientists in Shanghai send paired photos between users 300km apart using a method they say is secure and scalable.

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SCMP Highlights

World’s fastest coilgun, Covid ‘lab-leak’ theory debunked: 7 science highlights

From the tech behind the world’s fastest coilgun to a college dropout’s maths breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.

Japan

Plastic that dissolves in seawater? Japan unveils ocean pollution solution

The new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down when exposed to salt, researchers say.

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A researcher shows a sample of ocean-degradable plastic at the Riken Centre for Emergent Matter Science in Japan. Photo: Reuters
Mainland China

Did China’s Tiandu-1 beat US competitors with critical Earth-moon orbit?

Experts in North America dispute Chinese developer’s claim for primacy in the breakthrough for space exploration infrastructure.

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A rendering of a Tiandu test satellite. Photo: Deep Space Exploration Laboratory

China is working on an ultra-fast torpedo powered by AI for submarine warfare

Technology could help supercavitating torpedoes achieve a 92 per cent success rate in distinguishing real submarines from decoys.

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US-China relations

Chinese scientist Liu Zunyong tried to bring toxic fungus into US, FBI says

The pathogen, found stashed in his backpack at the airport, can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice, and sicken livestock and people.

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Mainland China

Mathematician Zhong Xiao leaves Finland for China with award-winning work

Celebrated China-born mathematician Zhong Xiao returns home after living in Finland for almost three decades.

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Award-winning mathematician Professor Zhong Xiao has returned to China after nearly three decades in Finland. Photo: The Paper
Space

Milky Way’s cosmic collision: is it less likely than we thought?

A new study suggests our galaxy’s long-predicted merger with Andromeda is now essentially a coin flip.

An illustration shows a stage in the potential merger between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy, as viewed in Earth’s night sky in 3.75 billion years. Photo: Nasa/ESA via Reuters

A soothing cup of rice? Chinese scientists create health-boosting tea grain

In a study, the team engineered ‘tea rice’ that has been fortified with the antioxidant compounds in green tea – without the caffeine.

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Asean

China boosts Southeast Asian populations overlooked in Human Genome Project

Before China took a role in the research, fewer than 200 indigenous genomes from MSEA existed in global databases, according to Nature paper.

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