https://www.scmp.com/rss/328475/feed Breaking China science news, including research, reports and analysis. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Dannie Peng Dannie Peng A top university in China’s eastern Jiangsu province has rolled back a controversial feature of its AI-powered classroom tracking system following fierce public backlash. Students at Nanjing University were recently notified by the university that it would begin using its “smart classroom” system – upgraded over the summer – to record full attendance rates over a one-week period, Chinese media reported on Wednesday. Outrage flared when leaked screenshots purportedly revealed the AI-powered... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373599/top-china-university-stops-using-ai-spot-absent-minded-students-after-backlash https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373599/top-china-university-stops-using-ai-spot-absent-minded-students-after-backlash Sat, 07 Nov 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Marshall Li,Zhengfei Zhang Marshall Li,Zhengfei Zhang The next US-China talk on artificial intelligence should begin with a simple question: do the two governments actually understand how rapidly AI’s capabilities are improving? Before deciding what to do about the technology, Washington and Beijing need a common way to measure its progress. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump are expected to meet in Shenzhen soon, and AI is set to remain high on their agenda. Their continued exchanges on this transformative technology are a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373279/us-and-china-must-join-hands-measure-rising-ai-tide https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373279/us-and-china-must-join-hands-measure-rising-ai-tide Sat, 07 Nov 2026 08:30:05 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang For people living with refractory epilepsy, the brain is like a city that can suffer a blackout any time lightning strikes. Without warning, an abnormal neural discharge can sweep through the intracranial circuits, leaving behind convulsions, loss of consciousness and years of lingering panic. Around one-third of epilepsy patients worldwide are completely unresponsive to existing medications, while traditional craniotomy resection surgery often carries the risk of irreversible neurological... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373500/kill-switch-epilepsy-china-cuts-seizures-926-first-human-chemogenetic-trial https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373500/kill-switch-epilepsy-china-cuts-seizures-926-first-human-chemogenetic-trial Fri, 06 Nov 2026 13:00:08 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Beijing has given the go-ahead for the Long March 9, a super heavy rocket often seen as China’s answer to SpaceX’s Starship, weeks after the American megarocket first reached orbit, according to a lecture slide circulating online. The stainless-steel giant received official approval last month, according to the slide. At 110 metres (361 feet) tall and 10.6 metres wide, it will be the most powerful and expensive launcher China has ever built. The slide, presented in the northwestern city of Xian... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373578/beijing-approves-giant-long-march-9-rocket-deep-space-and-lunar-base-runs https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373578/beijing-approves-giant-long-march-9-rocket-deep-space-and-lunar-base-runs Fri, 06 Nov 2026 11:04:31 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Chinese commercial space firm Light Year Explorer has manufactured a rocket fairing with a wooden outer skin as part of the company’s push for lower-cost, mass-produced launch vehicles. The design of the protective shell uses low-density plywood formed into a smooth aerodynamic curve, supported by an internal metal framework to bear loads, according to the Jiangsu-based company. “This configuration matches traditional composite fairings in key performance areas such as weight, structural... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373486/chinese-space-firm-builds-wooden-rocket-nose-cone-cheaper-frequent-launches https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373486/chinese-space-firm-builds-wooden-rocket-nose-cone-cheaper-frequent-launches Fri, 06 Nov 2026 08:00:33 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Chinese scientists have chilled atoms aboard the Tiangong space station to the lowest temperature ever measured, smashing US and German records and paving the way for ultra-precise space sensors that could find hidden minerals, track climate change and test Einstein’s theory of gravity. Researchers from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences brought thousands of rubidium atoms, packed into a cloud smaller than a grain of sand, to less than 10 trillionths of a degree above absolute... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373343/chinese-scientists-chill-atoms-record-low-tiangong-space-station https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373343/chinese-scientists-chill-atoms-record-low-tiangong-space-station Thu, 05 Nov 2026 19:00:07 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Amid tensions with China, a small European country is anchoring itself at the centre of the global semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) hardware supply chain as a laser powerhouse. The latest sign of Lithuania’s growing footprint in the sector came last month, when laser maker Litilit launched a new factory in the capital, Vilnius. The company’s expansion unfolds as the Baltic nation of fewer than 3 million people navigates fraught ties with Beijing, which has targeted Lithuania with a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373418/lithuania-builds-worlds-biggest-ultra-fast-laser-factory-amid-china-tensions https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373418/lithuania-builds-worlds-biggest-ultra-fast-laser-factory-amid-china-tensions Thu, 05 Nov 2026 13:00:10 +0000 Tan Poh Hwee Tan Poh Hwee The latest front in the US-China technology contest is not advanced chips, artificial intelligence (AI) or telecommunications equipment. It is the laboratories that certify whether an electronic product may enter the American market. On October 29, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to stop recognising testing laboratories, telecoms certification bodies and accreditation organisations in China and in other economies that lack a “mutual recognition agreement” or comparable... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373171/us-china-tech-contest-has-moved-gatekeeping-product-testers https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3373171/us-china-tech-contest-has-moved-gatekeeping-product-testers Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China’s space scientists have become the first to carry out precision laser cutting in orbit, slicing a piece of “large-scale equipment” with a robotic arm fixed to the outside the Tiangong space station. The official Science and Technology Daily reported on Wednesday that millimetre-scale cuts were made by a laser maintenance device operated remotely from “hundreds of kilometres away”. Precision laser cutting involves focusing a beam of light to slice or melt material with extreme accuracy, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373411/china-proves-cut-above-world-first-precision-laser-experiment-space https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373411/china-proves-cut-above-world-first-precision-laser-experiment-space Thu, 05 Nov 2026 09:59:10 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Two years ago, Chinese mathematician Ma Xiao helped crack a century-old puzzle known as Hilbert’s sixth problem. The problem – which has baffled generations of mathematical physicists – centres on an elusive bridge connecting the chaotic frenzy of microscopic atoms with the predictable laws of fluid motion. The breakthrough, published in the Annals of Mathematics, helped propel Ma’s collaborator Deng Yu to the 2026 Fields Medal – the discipline’s highest honour – and secured Ma a coveted faculty... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373211/star-mathematician-ma-xiao-leaves-us-china-and-career-pivot-ai https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373211/star-mathematician-ma-xiao-leaves-us-china-and-career-pivot-ai Thu, 05 Nov 2026 01:00:08 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang No matter how thoroughly you brush your teeth in the morning and evening, the battle against bacteria is almost certain to be lost. Within a few hours of brushing, it will return in force and rebuild a solid defence line on the surface of your teeth. From ancient times to now, humanity has essentially had only one way of dealing with it, whether it was using twigs and sticks or the first bristled toothbrushes, which date back to 10th century China. But even today’s most advanced electric brushes... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373278/chinese-scientists-make-toothbrush-uses-mild-electric-shocks-reduce-plaque https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373278/chinese-scientists-make-toothbrush-uses-mild-electric-shocks-reduce-plaque Wed, 04 Nov 2026 19:00:08 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng The Tibetan Plateau, home to the world’s largest expanse of alpine permafrost, is warming at about twice the global average but, counter-intuitively, researchers have found that ice in parts of the Tibet autonomous region is actually thickening. A team from Peking University found that shallow ground ice has unexpectedly increased over the past 20 years, affecting more than a third of the plateau’s permafrost, a phenomenon driven largely by natural climate factors. The authors noted that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373097/chinese-scientists-discover-thickening-ground-ice-parts-warming-tibet https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373097/chinese-scientists-discover-thickening-ground-ice-parts-warming-tibet Wed, 04 Nov 2026 02:00:12 +0000 SCMP SCMP This article was first published on November 4, 2011. China a step closer to building its own space station by Stephen Chen Encouraged by yesterday (November 3, 2011) morning’s historic rendezvous and docking of the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft, Chinese authorities said construction of a space station will begin as soon as 2013. “We will do two more rendezvous and docking flights next year,” said Wu Ping (武平), spokeswoman for the manned space programme, at a press conference in Beijing yesterday.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373086/chinas-historic-first-space-docking-2011-scmp-archive https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373086/chinas-historic-first-space-docking-2011-scmp-archive Tue, 03 Nov 2026 08:15:38 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang An anticancer drug developed by Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical took centre stage in a late-breaking oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Madrid last week. Researchers said the drug, iza-bren, showed a significant advantage over platinum-based chemotherapy in a phase 3 randomised, double-blind clinical trial conducted at 73 hospitals in China and involving 432 patients with advanced lung cancer. The median progression-free survival (PFS) – the length of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373061/chinese-drug-iza-bren-doubles-lung-cancer-survival-window-phase-3-trial https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373061/chinese-drug-iza-bren-doubles-lung-cancer-survival-window-phase-3-trial Tue, 03 Nov 2026 08:00:09 +0000 Eve Qiao Eve Qiao Three ancient wooden boats unearthed in Beijing and dating back about 1,800 years offer new evidence of shipbuilding technology and cultural exchanges between ancient China and the rest of the world, according to researchers. The researchers unveiled details of “the first physical evidence of ancient inland water transport” in the Chinese capital at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Beijing Public Archaeology Season on Saturday, according to an official social media account of the Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3373016/echoes-rome-ancient-china-what-beijings-1800-year-old-ship-find-reveals https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3373016/echoes-rome-ancient-china-what-beijings-1800-year-old-ship-find-reveals Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:00:40 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Turkey has signed America’s rule book for the moon, but its first ride to the lunar south pole – the icy region both Washington and Beijing are racing to reach – will probably come from China. A team of more than 120 students and professors at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara has built prototypes of two AI-powered rovers for Chang’e-8, a Chinese mission originally planned for 2028. Turkey is not part of the International Lunar Research Station, a base China plans to build on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372546/turkey-signed-us-led-artemis-accords-its-moon-rovers-will-hitch-ride-china https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372546/turkey-signed-us-led-artemis-accords-its-moon-rovers-will-hitch-ride-china Mon, 02 Nov 2026 10:14:05 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Some high-pressure turbine blades in US-made GE Aerospace engines powering Boeing 787 aircraft have suffered unexpectedly early damage, leaving airlines with a difficult choice: replace the engines or continue flying under strict inspection requirements, according to a Chinese aviation specialist. The findings raise questions about the reliability of American aerospace products amid growing scrutiny of US manufacturing quality. According to the study, cracks can develop in some blades within... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372689/fly-or-not-fly-chinese-mechanic-reports-short-lived-ge-engine-blades-boeing-787 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372689/fly-or-not-fly-chinese-mechanic-reports-short-lived-ge-engine-blades-boeing-787 Mon, 02 Nov 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Chinese researchers have mapped how energy from surface wind surges thousands of metres into the seabed, revealing massive underwater conduits they called “inertial chimneys”. The discovery, based on data collected by a US-funded ocean sensor array off the east coast of Japan, coupled with future long-term underwater monitoring, can provide underwater acoustic environmental support for marine detection and communication, the team said. The scientists from the Institute of Oceanology of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372663/chinese-scientists-found-giant-chimneys-deep-water-could-alter-submarine-warfare https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372663/chinese-scientists-found-giant-chimneys-deep-water-could-alter-submarine-warfare Mon, 02 Nov 2026 03:13:07 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Chinese archaeologists are set for a hi-tech turn, with the latest five-year blueprint aiming to deploy AI and deep-sea robots to trace Chinese history, decipher the origins of East Asian humans and expand the country’s cultural soft power. Scientists will develop technologies such as remote sensing, ancient DNA analysis, underwater archaeology robots and artificial intelligence (AI) models for virtual restoration of excavated artefacts, according to the 15th five-year work plan for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372841/chinese-archaeologists-set-hi-tech-excavations-ai-and-deep-sea-robots https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372841/chinese-archaeologists-set-hi-tech-excavations-ai-and-deep-sea-robots Sat, 31 Oct 2026 13:30:06 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng China’s social credit system, stereotypically imagined as an all-powerful numerical scoring project for authoritarian control, has gained notoriety in the West – although people inside the country actually feel little of its presence or practical influence. In a government-funded study, however, a Chinese legal scholar warned that deploying artificial intelligence (AI) risked turning the rating system into a “large-scale surveillance tool”. The paper was published in the Journal of Sichuan... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372510/ai-could-turn-chinas-social-credit-system-surveillance-tool-government-funded-study https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372510/ai-could-turn-chinas-social-credit-system-surveillance-tool-government-funded-study Sat, 31 Oct 2026 10:00:09 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng Prominent biologist Rao Yi is refusing to back down after Cell Press said it had found no evidence that top journal editor Steve Mao sought bribes from Chinese scientists. In a statement published on Thursday evening, Cell Press – one of the world’s leading scientific publishers, owned by Elsevier – said its investigation had “largely concluded” and “found no evidence to support the aforementioned allegations”. Nevertheless, Rao, a tenured chair professor at Peking University who stepped down as... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372707/mao-vs-rao-cell-press-probe-clears-editor-chinese-biologist-keeps-pressure https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372707/mao-vs-rao-cell-press-probe-clears-editor-chinese-biologist-keeps-pressure Sat, 31 Oct 2026 04:00:07 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik As tightening US visa restrictions and geopolitics lock out Asian researchers from Western institutions, South Korea is emerging as a new academic sanctuary for top talent. According to Yoo Ji-beom, president of Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Seoul, that reflects a broader trend that has seen the West giving way to Asia after decades of dominance – particularly in the field of applied technology in China, Japan and South Korea. “Technological competition and global talent mobility are... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372506/asian-scientists-are-looking-south-korea-it-becomes-harder-stay-us https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372506/asian-scientists-are-looking-south-korea-it-becomes-harder-stay-us Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:00:06 +0000 Shi Huang,Holly Chik Shi Huang,Holly Chik Modern medicine has spent the past few decades rediscovering the connection between a healthy gut and a healthy mind and body, something traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners have understood for many hundreds of years. In China and around the world, doctors and scientists trained in Western medicine have learned the importance of maintaining a balance between “good” and “bad” bacteria in the human microbiome – the scientific name for the collection of microorganisms in the gut – and... https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/science/article/3372678/how-china-uses-gut-microbes-treat-range-diseases https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/science/article/3372678/how-china-uses-gut-microbes-treat-range-diseases Fri, 30 Oct 2026 06:32:28 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong China has showcased artificial intelligence (AI) technology alongside 7,000-metre (23,000-feet) deep-sea trials of its upgraded Jiaolong submersible, highlighting the potential for similar systems to support decision-making and emergency responses aboard nuclear-powered submarines. The Chinese crewed submersible reached a maximum depth of 7,056.9 metres during three dives in the Philippine Basin in the western Pacific Ocean, according to state news agency Xinhua on October 27. The trials... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372528/china-tests-powerful-ai-could-one-day-be-used-submarines https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372528/china-tests-powerful-ai-could-one-day-be-used-submarines Thu, 29 Oct 2026 14:43:53 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin When a star like our sun grows old, it puffs up into a red giant that can gobble up its nearest planets. But Chinese astronomers say they have found three solar systems where planets should have been eaten this way yet somehow survived – a puzzle that could change how scientists picture Earth’s distant future. Using Nasa’s TESS space telescope, a team led by Qian Shengbang from Yunnan University showed that three Jupiter-like planets – each hugging an ageing star in the northern sky – had lived... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372402/chinese-astronomers-find-planets-somehow-avoided-death-red-giant-stars https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372402/chinese-astronomers-find-planets-somehow-avoided-death-red-giant-stars Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:00:10 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Four seriously ill Chinese boys who would almost certainly have died in their twenties from a rare inherited disease received the same highly anticipated gene-editing drug. More than a year later, a set of cruel and contradictory data emerged. Two boys gained the strength to walk farther. One boy showed no improvement in gait and subsequently missed his follow-up. And the fourth boy’s heart stopped beating 81 hours after receiving the medication intravenously, owing to a severe systemic immune... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372452/china-gene-editing-trial-2-children-improved-1-died-and-1-withdrew https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372452/china-gene-editing-trial-2-children-improved-1-died-and-1-withdrew Wed, 28 Oct 2026 13:00:13 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng China’s massive maritime science infrastructure – an aircraft carrier-sized floating artificial island – has officially entered its engineering construction phase. On October 18, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), the facility’s lead developer, signed a construction contract worth over 2.7 billion yuan (US$405 million) with a shipbuilder under China State Shipbuilding Corporation, according to local media reports. The semi-submersible twin-hull platform is the world’s first mobile,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372330/china-formally-launches-project-build-aircraft-carrier-sized-science-island https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372330/china-formally-launches-project-build-aircraft-carrier-sized-science-island Wed, 28 Oct 2026 04:00:10 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Lithium deposits formed by ancient volcanic activity may lie beneath parts of China’s battery manufacturing heartland, particularly along the southeastern coast, according to a new study. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, geologist Duan Zheng said that “potential targets for clay-type lithium deposits in southeastern China overlap with lithium battery industrial clusters in East and South China”. “Local supplies could significantly reduce transport costs and supply-chain risks,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372325/chinas-battery-factories-could-be-sitting-right-top-vast-lithium-deposits https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372325/chinas-battery-factories-could-be-sitting-right-top-vast-lithium-deposits Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:26 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang A randomised phase one clinical trial conducted by scientists and doctors from Shanghai and Guangzhou has achieved encouraging results in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes using stem cells extracted from gum tissue. More than half of those who received the treatment showed varying degrees of improvement, while one subject was able to discontinue exogenous insulin therapy completely, the researchers said. Results of the study, which tested a therapy based on gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSC),... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372256/china-trial-shows-gum-tissue-stem-cells-help-55-lifetime-diabetes-patients https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372256/china-trial-shows-gum-tissue-stem-cells-help-55-lifetime-diabetes-patients Tue, 27 Oct 2026 06:00:12 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Chinese space scientists are working out how future astronauts on Mars could make their own fuel out of thin air, a sign that Beijing is serious about one day sending people to the red planet. A team at the state-funded Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei has developed a catalyst that turns carbon dioxide – which makes up more than 95 per cent of the Martian atmosphere – into a liquid fuel called methanol. “Methanol can serve as fuel to generate electricity, provide heating and power Mars... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372123/chinese-scientists-create-powerful-catalyst-turn-air-mars-rocket-fuel https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372123/chinese-scientists-create-powerful-catalyst-turn-air-mars-rocket-fuel Tue, 27 Oct 2026 04:00:34 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela Chinese researchers have created a new model to convert satellite surface elevation data for the Greenland Ice Sheet into a detailed estimate of how much ice it has lost in recent decades. Using satellite altimetry data covering 2002 to 2023, they found that the ice sheet lost an average of about 120 gigatonnes (264.5 trillion lbs) of mass per year. This figure is considerably lower than the widely cited figure reached by Nasa, which previously estimated Greenland’s annual loss to be nearly 270... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372129/why-chinas-new-estimate-greenland-ice-loss-speed-55-lower-americas https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3372129/why-chinas-new-estimate-greenland-ice-loss-speed-55-lower-americas Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:19:46 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela Chinese researchers have found that the Yarlung Tsangpo River – soon to host the largest mega dam in the world – may face increased run-off and flood risks over this century. Using tree-ring width chronologies in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, the team reconstructed the river’s run-off history from 1325 to 2020. Along with climate data, this was used to create a model that projected river run-off would increase under future climate scenarios, along with a possible increase in high-run-off... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371763/tibetan-river-hosting-worlds-biggest-dam-facing-increasing-flood-risk-study https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371763/tibetan-river-hosting-worlds-biggest-dam-facing-increasing-flood-risk-study Mon, 26 Oct 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Fighter jets typically house their main radars behind a radome in the nose, while conventional airborne early-warning aircraft often carry large radar arrays in prominent structures above the fuselage. Although aircraft wings offer a large surface area, their relatively thin cross-sections leave limited internal space for radar equipment. Top Chinese military aircraft designers have now proposed a revolutionary method to integrate large antenna arrays into aircraft wings, using flight manoeuvres... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371706/chinas-j-20-stealth-jet-designers-plan-put-powerful-radar-aircraft-wing https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371706/chinas-j-20-stealth-jet-designers-plan-put-powerful-radar-aircraft-wing Sat, 24 Oct 2026 14:00:10 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Chinese researchers have mapped the complex geological evolution of Turkey’s Kizilcaoren deposit, offering fresh insights into the country’s most significant known rare earth reserve while dampening expectations over its commercial potential. Although the findings shed light on how rare earth elements accumulate in carbonatite-related formations, the researchers concluded that the site was unlikely to emerge as a major global alternative to existing producers any time soon. Lead scientist... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371800/china-carries-out-depth-investigation-turkeys-largest-rare-earth-deposit https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371800/china-carries-out-depth-investigation-turkeys-largest-rare-earth-deposit Sat, 24 Oct 2026 04:00:11 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin A scorched hunk of metal that turned up in a US farmer’s cornfield may have handed China an awkward moment and technically an “international incident”, according to a British astronomer who has tracked rocket launches for more than 30 years. The farmer found the bowl-shaped object, measuring about 3.35 metres (11 feet) across, while harvesting corn in west-central Minnesota on October 14. Online, some residents joked that aliens had landed, while Chinese internet users said it looked like a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371947/rocket-debris-hitting-us-homeland-embarrassing-china-says-astronomer https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371947/rocket-debris-hitting-us-homeland-embarrassing-china-says-astronomer Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:00:07 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Chinese scientists have finally put a face to the Denisovans, a mysterious species of ancient humans who were previously known only through the evidence of their DNA and fossil fragments. The hominids were thought to have lived in parts of Siberia and East and Southeast Asia thousands of years ago. The work of reconstructing their face was based on fossils excavated from Xujiayao, a major archaeological site in northern China’s Nihewan Basin, between 1976 and 1979. Scientists also confirmed that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371949/good-see-you-after-all-time-chinese-scientists-finally-put-face-denisovans https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371949/good-see-you-after-all-time-chinese-scientists-finally-put-face-denisovans Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:09:08 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Ren Xiaoping, who once vowed to perform the world’s first human head transplant, has operated on a patient’s severed spinal cord in a 12-hour landmark operation in Moscow, according to the Chinese surgeon and Russian state sources. Ren said the procedure was carried out at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine in Russia last week. “It was our Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Second Affiliated Hospital and the Russian team working together,” Ren told the South China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371900/chinas-head-transplant-advocate-ren-xiaoping-completes-12-hour-landmark-surgery-russia https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371900/chinas-head-transplant-advocate-ren-xiaoping-completes-12-hour-landmark-surgery-russia Fri, 23 Oct 2026 07:44:22 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin In author and computer engineer Liu Cixin’s science fiction hit The Three-Body Problem, three suns throw a doomed world into chaos. Chinese astronomers say they have found a real three-star system that is far better behaved. Using FAST, the world’s biggest single-dish radio telescope in southwestern China, the researchers found two dead stars and a “living” one locked in a steady cosmic dance about 7,000 light years from Earth. One of the dead stars is a pulsar that spins more than 300 times a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371702/chinese-astronomers-find-real-three-body-system-it-not-what-liu-cixin-thinks https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371702/chinese-astronomers-find-real-three-body-system-it-not-what-liu-cixin-thinks Fri, 23 Oct 2026 01:00:06 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng Chinese scientists have developed a 100-channel single-photon detector, a breakthrough promising to pave the way for broadband quantum networks. State-of-the-art single-photon detectors – essential components underpinning photonic quantum technologies – could previously support a maximum of 32 detection channels for photon signals. Now, a newly developed interconnect scheme by a Shanghai-based team has broken this bottleneck, supporting more than 100 detection channels while maintaining accurate... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371729/could-chinas-100-channel-single-photon-detector-enable-broadband-quantum-internet https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371729/could-chinas-100-channel-single-photon-detector-enable-broadband-quantum-internet Thu, 22 Oct 2026 04:34:18 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik In an age of AI-induced answers to complex mathematical problems, Chinese mathematician Sun Zhiwei maintains that curiosity and asking good questions are more important then ever. Over a career spent probing the edges of number theory, Sun, a 61-year-old professor at Nanjing University’s department of mathematics, has built a vast landscape of problems – more than 1,000 and counting – for the global research community to tackle. While traditional mathematical training emphasises mastering... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371652/chinese-mathematician-sun-zhiwei-proposes-1000-problems-challenge-ai https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371652/chinese-mathematician-sun-zhiwei-proposes-1000-problems-challenge-ai Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:07 +0000 SCMP 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. China breakthrough unlocks low-cost, high-margin sustainable aviation fuel Chinese researchers have developed a catalyst that converts synthesis gas into sustainable jet fuel – an advance that could boost production, help meet net-zero carbon goals and yield a gross profit margin above 50 per cent. 2. Landmark... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371609/china-us-teams-gold-factory-relic-next-gen-diabetes-care-7-science-highlights https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371609/china-us-teams-gold-factory-relic-next-gen-diabetes-care-7-science-highlights Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:30:06 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Some 5 metres (16.4 feet) underground near one of China’s oldest cities lies the life-size army of thousands of terracotta warriors. The purpose of the army, located 35km (22 miles) northeast of historic Xian, was to protect China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the afterlife. The Terracotta Army was buried with him after his death in 210BC. Now, a new study shows that a portion of the terracotta warriors was largely made by adult women and minors, not solely by men as previously... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371607/terracotta-warriors-could-be-mainly-built-women-and-children-batch-fingerprints-show https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371607/terracotta-warriors-could-be-mainly-built-women-and-children-batch-fingerprints-show Wed, 21 Oct 2026 06:17:15 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng Chinese scientists have developed what they say is the world’s smallest wearable mini brain monitor that can track the activity of thousands of neurons at the same time. Weighing in at one gram (0.35 oz), the wireless “Airscope” is the lightest device of its kind and enables researchers to track a wider range of brain activity in untethered laboratory animals. The device was jointly developed by scientists from Tsinghua University and the Chinese PLA Medical School, and detailed in a paper... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371534/china-builds-worlds-smallest-wearable-brain-monitor-cortex-wide-view https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371534/china-builds-worlds-smallest-wearable-brain-monitor-cortex-wide-view Wed, 21 Oct 2026 04:00:32 +0000 Emiliano Martínez Viademonte Emiliano Martínez Viademonte The family farmers who produce the lion’s share of Brazil’s staple foods are opening their arms to cutting-edge Chinese artificial intelligence in a bid to modernise operations and secure their future. Brazil and China agreed to a five-year cooperation programme in September aimed at giving smallholders – the backbone of the Brazilian agricultural sector – an AI boost after a decade of declining employment and limited access to affordable technology. Representatives of the Brazilian Agricultural... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371528/brazils-family-farming-backbone-embraces-chinese-ai-reverse-vital-sectors-decline https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371528/brazils-family-farming-backbone-embraces-chinese-ai-reverse-vital-sectors-decline Wed, 21 Oct 2026 01:00:12 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela Chinese scientists have found evidence that individual neurons can act like powerful minicomputers that enable flexible behaviour such as making decisions. Scientists do not have a complete understanding of how our brains adapt to changing contexts to respond appropriately to sensory information. But by studying mice, the team obtained the first experimental evidence that dendrites – branchlike structures attached to neurons – can integrate learned rules with incoming sensory inputs to drive... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371538/chinese-scientists-find-neurons-may-act-minicomputers-help-decision-making https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371538/chinese-scientists-find-neurons-may-act-minicomputers-help-decision-making Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China is ready to commercialise a 200-kilovolt transmission electron microscope with an information resolution down to 0.1 nanometres that could introduce a new challenger into a market long dominated by the US and Japan. Developed by Hefei-based manufacturer CIQTEK, the microscope features a point resolution of 0.25nm and an information limit of 0.1nm – on par with leading workhorse models on the market. This marks a shift for the country’s expanding advanced electron microscopy industry from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371401/chinas-new-01-nanometre-electron-microscope-ready-challenge-us-and-japan https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371401/chinas-new-01-nanometre-electron-microscope-ready-challenge-us-and-japan Tue, 20 Oct 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng Cell Press, one of the world’s leading scientific publishers, has launched an investigation after prominent Chinese biologist Rao Yi accused the editor-in-chief of a top medical journal of soliciting bribes from mainland authors. “Several important international academic journals have seen editors, and even editors-in-chief, soliciting and accepting bribes,” said Rao, a tenured chair professor at Peking University who stepped down as president of Capital Medical University last year, in a social... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371384/cell-publisher-investigates-editor-accused-soliciting-bribes-china https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371384/cell-publisher-investigates-editor-accused-soliciting-bribes-china Tue, 20 Oct 2026 01:00:11 +0000 Wang Huiyao Wang Huiyao In New York last month, US-China talks on artificial intelligence opened up a path of cooperation. This was affirmed by the Xi-Trump summit in Washington where both presidents agreed to establish a formal AI dialogue and hotline. With the next AI meeting set to happen in November, it is imperative that both countries further cooperation. The AI ecosystem is in flux. American tech companies are draining their coffers as they commit vast sums to chips, data centres and energy before the revenue... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3370909/us-china-ai-talks-must-ensure-safety-both-tech-and-business https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3370909/us-china-ai-talks-must-ensure-safety-both-tech-and-business Mon, 19 Oct 2026 21:30:05 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Chinese physicists have discovered that a tipping point – a threshold where a physical system rapidly shifts states – can possess a smooth mathematical structure resembling a doughnut’s hole, challenging a belief that the two phenomena must be studied separately. For decades, mainstream physicists have mostly treated critical phenomena, which describe how physical systems change at critical points, and topology, which studies the properties of geometry, as separate areas of research. A classic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371371/chinese-discovery-doughnut-topology-tipping-points-breaks-physics-convention https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3371371/chinese-discovery-doughnut-topology-tipping-points-breaks-physics-convention Mon, 19 Oct 2026 08:00:11 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin A Johns Hopkins University scientist whose award-winning work suggests that a brief stomach bug could raise the risk of colon cancer has moved to China full time. Wan Fengyi, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has joined Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, according to his new profile on the Chinese university’s website. Wan returned to China this month and now holds a chair professorship at Zhejiang University. He is based at a national laboratory at its Second... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3370955/us-prize-winning-cancer-scientist-wan-fengyi-joins-chinas-zhejiang-university https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3370955/us-prize-winning-cancer-scientist-wan-fengyi-joins-chinas-zhejiang-university Mon, 19 Oct 2026 04:00:06 +0000