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SCMP

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. ‘No quick wins’: China has the world’s first operational thorium nuclear reactor
Chinese scientists have achieved a milestone in clean energy technology by successfully adding fresh fuel to an operational thorium molten salt reactor, according to state media reports.
2. China tests non-nuclear hydrogen bomb, science paper shows

Chinese researchers have successfully detonated a hydrogen-based explosive device in a controlled field test, triggering devastating chemical chain reactions without using any nuclear materials, according to a study published last month.
3. The Chinese AI scientists dying in the pursuit of greatness

Military artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision and medical tech fields are lose leading minds to accidents or illness.
4. China unveils world’s fastest hard drive, redefining rules of data storage
In a world fixated on the race for superior artificial intelligence, Chinese scientists have cracked the code to memory speeds once deemed impossible – with a device smaller than a grain of rice.
5. China offers high-performance, low-cost satellites to belt and road countries

Chinese satellite manufacturer Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co has an eye on international markets for its latest wide-angle remote sensing satellite, with a particular focus on countries involved in Beijing’s infrastructure plan, the Belt and Road Initiative.
6. Senior scientist Yi Shouliang leaves US Department of Energy for China
Senior scientist Yi Shouliang has returned to China to take up a new role at Sichuan University, after permanently leaving the US where he previously worked at the federal government’s Department of Energy.
7. Chinese universities are dominating global research on chips, US report says

As the United States continues to tighten restrictions on chip exports to China in a bid to curb the country’s access to advanced semiconductors, Chinese researchers have gone into overdrive.


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Shenzhen’s 24-hour spa, a glimpse of 1970s Hong Kong: 7 Lifestyle highlights

Xi’s back-to-back meetings with Trump and Putin in Beijing: everything you need to know

SCMP Highlights

China’s thorium reactor, AI scientists dying in pursuit of greatness: 7 science highlights

Chinese scientists used a 2kg bomb to generate a fireball that lasted 15 times longer than an equivalent TNT blast, according to a new study. Photo: 705 Research Institute

Thorium is a radioactive element that is abundant in the Earth’s crust. Illustration: Shutterstock

Sun Jian, chief scientist at Beijing-based AI company Megvii Technology, is among a handful of Chinese artificial intelligence experts whose untimely deaths have rattled the industry. Photo: Handout

Chinese satellite maker Chang Guang Satellite Technology has launched 219 satellites. Photo: Handout

Illustration: Henry Wong

China’s quest for cheaper cancer cure, Comac’s quiet supersonic jet: 7 science highlights

Illustration: Brian Wang

Wang Xiaofeng, whose homes in Indiana were raided on Friday, has focused his recent research on data protection to support AI and using AI technologies to protect computing systems and 5G networks. Photo: Handout

Computer scientist Sun Huanbo has taken up a position at Peking University. Photo: Peking University

Chinese state media says geological authorities used 3D monitoring and other prospecting technologies to uncover potentially large deposits of gold. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese aerospace giant Comac has revealed the first glimpse of its quiet supersonic airliner C949. Photo: Comac

Xu Fuguo, whose research has focused on EV control engineering, started as a professor in the mechanical engineering school at Dalian University of Technology after spending years researching in the Japanese auto sector. Photo: Xinhua

China’s deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe on display aboard the research vessel in New Zealand before the expedition to the Puysegur Trench. Photo: Xinhua

China’s deep-sea cable cutter, centuries-old puzzle, next-gen drones: 7 science highlights

A new device built by Chinese engineers can cut through undersea communications cables. Photo: Shutterstock

Four patients with spinal cord injuries were able to move their limbs hours after groundbreaking surgery as part of a clinical trial led by Shanghai’s Fudan University. Photo: Fudan University

A new missile from a US defence contractor has caused controversy online after viewers suggested it is using a Chinese-made engine. Photo: X/ethan_thorn2003

China has succeeded where Elon Musk failed with an ultra-high-speed low-vacuum pipeline maglev railway. Photo: CREC

While the US introduces tariffs to help stop the deadly fentanyl trade, Chinese scientists have developed a way to identify over a quadrillion different variants of the synthetic opioid. Photo: US Drug Enforcement Administration/TNS

The Chinese drone that is powered by a vector engine with dual synthetic jet technology. Photo: National University of Defence Technology

China’s innovation blitz, kung fu bot goes open source: 7 science highlights

America’s F-22 jets are known to suffer coating cracks, but China is now using ancient weaving techniques to create a more advance type of coating to solve the problem. Photo: AFP

A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor flies during a flight demonstration in Seongnam, South Korea on October 18, 2023. Photo: AFP

Chinese mathematician Wang Hong is an associate professor at the New York University Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Photo: Handout

Unitree’s humanoid robots’ abilities are advancing in literal leaps and bounds after the company made its G1 robot open source. Photo: AFP

Nuclear physicist Liu Chang, who is conducting research that is considered crucial to achieving viable nuclear fusion energy, has left Princeton University for a position at Peking University in Beijing. Photo: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

The Hunnic empire reached its zenith under Attila, “the scourge of god”. Photo: Shutterstock

The sun rises near the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Beijing and Washington this week signaled vastly different priorities over their spending on science. Photo: Kyodo

A survey has revealed there could be enough thorium at the Bayan Obo mine to power China for 60,000 years. Photo: Reuters

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From China developing world’s fastest hard drive to deaths of AI scientists, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting


From China developing world’s fastest hard drive to deaths of AI scientists, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.


China’s thorium reactor, AI scientists dying in pursuit of greatness: 7 science highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From China developing world’s fastest hard drive to deaths of AI scientists, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting

1. ‘No quick wins’: China has the world’s first operational thorium nuclear reactor

From China developing world’s fastest hard drive to deaths of AI scientists, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting