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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. EU bans Chinese organisations from critical tech programmes, including AI, chips
Researchers in China have been excluded from the European Union’s most advanced collaborative technology programmes. However, specialists in the sectors affected say the impact of the ban may be limited because some areas of collaboration are already at a historic low.
2. World-leading computational biology pioneer Bao Zhirong returns to China from US

After 30 years in the United States, world-leading computational biologist Bao Zhirong has taken up a full-time position at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen.
3. How did a prized red gemstone reach the ancient, mysterious Shu kingdom?
In the highest-ranking sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui, 11 crimson beads remained undisturbed for 3,000 years among bronze vessels, ivory tusks and fragments of gold. They are carnelian – a red gemstone prized across the ancient world, from the Indus Valley to the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
4. Top neuroscientist Arthur Konnerth leaves Germany for full-time role in China

Arthur Konnerth, a recipient of the prestigious Brain Prize, has joined the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (SZBL) on a full-time basis, the institute announced on January 29.
5. Everything we know about China’s mysterious, futuristic Nantianmen Project

China’s Nantianmen Project – translated as Southern Celestial Gate – has captured widespread attention as a blend of science fiction storytelling and hi-tech military speculation.
6. Chinese scientists create new battery with electrolyte as safe as tofu brine

Chinese scientists have made a long-lasting, eco-friendly battery using organic electrodes and an electrolyte safe enough to be used as tofu brine.
7. Chinese scientists hit breakthrough on 2D semiconductor wafers
Chinese researchers have announced a new technique to mass produce 2D material wafers, paving the way for high-performance electronics using a successor to silicon.


Chip prodigy returns to China, coal waste used for critical minerals: 7 science highlights

Japan’s Russia concern, businesses choose Malaysia over Singapore: 7 Asia highlights

Chinese archaeologist pleads guilty, firms flee Singapore’s costs: 5 weekend reads you missed

China doubts Musk’s Starship future; ex-TSMC chip prodigy returns: SCMP’s 7 highlights

SCMP Highlights

EU’s tech ban, China’s mysterious Nantianmen project: 7 science highlights

The EU has barred most organisations based in China from applying for its Horizon Europe grants in “critical areas”. Image: Shutterstock

Computational biologist Bao Zhirong has joined the Southern University of Science and Technology as a chair professor with its life sciences school. Photo: Handout

Arthur Konnerth is a leading figure in neuroscience whose work has helped transform the understanding of how the brain processes information. Photo: Handout

A CCTV report said the “space-sky integrated” fighter jets of the sci-fi Nantianmen Project would one day become reality. Photo: CCTV

Chinese scientists are working on a green-friendly and safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries which have been known to explode and cause fires. Photo: Getty Images

Japanese paper-cutting art inspires flexible brain implants in China

Chinese scientists said the design of their stretchable microelectrodes was inspired by the Japanese art of paper cutting. Photo: ScienceNet

Nipah virus alarms China, semiconductor fibre breakthrough: 7 science highlights

A fibre integrated circuit is a novel electronic device that is as thin as a strand of human hair. Photo: Handout

The uncrewed Shenzhou-20 spacecraft after touchdown at the Dongfeng landing site on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Healthcare workers in the southern Indian state of Kerala wear protective gear as they attend to a man with symptoms of the Nipah virus in September 2023. Photo AFP

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

For centuries, the splendour of the Tang dynasty gold-plated armour lived only in poetry and imagination. Photo: Handout

Understanding dark matter would transform our knowledge of the universe. Photo: Getty Images

China’s bid for 200,000 satellites; 2,000-year-old ‘computer’: 7 science highlights

The ancient Chinese loom may well be recognised as the world’s earliest computer, according to the China Association for Science and Technology. Photo: China Silk Museum

Several Chinese firms have applied to the International Telecommunication Union to put internet satellites in space as China and the US in a race to build megaconstellations. Illustration: Shutterstock

Wang Kejian’s team says its breakthrough could end the need for farmers to buy expensive new hybrid seeds every season. Photo: Handout

China’s advanced grid protection technology enables power grid faults to be isolated and restored within a split second, and also solves the problem of identifying micro-current faults at the hundred milliampere level. Photo: Xinhua

News

China

Science

From a leading biologist leaving US for China to a semiconductor breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting


From a leading biologist leaving US for China to a semiconductor breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.


European Union

United States

Shenzhen

EU’s tech ban, China’s mysterious Nantianmen project: 7 science highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From a leading biologist leaving US for China to a semiconductor breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting

1. EU bans Chinese organisations from critical tech programmes, including AI, chips

From a leading biologist leaving US for China to a semiconductor breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting