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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. China’s high-speed rail enthusiasts glimpse the future as 450km/h train spotted
China’s next innovation in high-speed rail, the CR450, tipped to be the world’s fastest commercial train when it starts operations next year, was captured by enthusiasts in a series of videos as it made its way from Tianjin to Beijing on December 25, 2024.
2. China’s Tiangong space station research aims to ‘break technology choke points’

China aims to break space technology choke points with thousands of experiments on the Tiangong space station over the next decade or so as it expands its crewed exploration programme.
3. WHO implores China to share data, access to learn about Covid-19’s origins
The World Health Organization is urging Beijing to share information that will shed light on the origins of Covid-19, five years after the virus first surfaced and reshaped the global geopolitical landscape.
4. Archaeologists confirm southern China’s oldest city is more than 3,000 years old
Archaeological remains of a city in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region are the earliest found so far in southern China, dating some 3,000 years to the early Shang dynasty (c1600-1050BC).
5. Chinese scientists say new sunblock can lower body heat by 6 degrees Celsius
Scientists in China say they have developed a cooling sunscreen that lowers skin temperature by up to 6 degrees Celsius.
6. China rolls out world’s first military-proof 5G that can connect 10,000 robots

China has unveiled the world’s first mobile 5G base station, which, after passing rigorous tests, is now poised for deployment on the battlefield.
7. ‘Out of Africa’? Not so, says Chinese scientist challenging evolutionary theory
The long-held theory of human evolution says that modern humans originated in Africa and then migrated to other parts of the world.


Ke Tao, China’s remote sensing expert who was ‘devoted’ to national defence, dies at 48

Why are China’s coastal fish farms disappearing while India’s are expanding?

China’s Tongji University punishes top cancer researcher Wang Ping for misconduct

Iran war threatens next harvest, UN official says. Which countries are most at risk?

Science

Chinese high-speed rail, 3000-year-old city, Covid-19’s origins: 7 science highlights

China’s next-generation Fuxing bullet train, the CR450, was seen travelling from Tianjin to Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Weibo/龙龙井拿铁

Research on board China’s orbiting Tiangong space station has included  a range of weightlessness protection experiments to ensure the physical well-being of astronauts during their missions. Photo: CMSA

A groundbreaking mobile 5G base station for military applications has been created by Chinese scientists. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Visa-free China, students embrace being single, Tibet mega dam: 5 weekend reads you missed

Taiwanese and Lithuanian flags are displayed at the island’s representative office in Vilnius, a source of Beijing’s tensions with Lithuania. Photo: Reuters 

Tourists visit the ancient city wall in Xian, northwest China’s Shaanxi province on August 8, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Illustration: Brian Wang

China plans to build a massive hydropower project in Tibet on a section of the Yarlung Tsangpo River known as the Grand Canyon, shown here near Nyingchi city. Photo: AFP

Ex-One Direction band member Zayn Malik praises Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, a Chinese herbal syrup, as an “elixir” for his voice in an interview with British Vogue in June 2024. Photo: SCMP composite/YouTube (@British Vogue)/Ninjiom.com

“Umami is crucial to Japanese cuisine,” says chef Kazuo Takagi. Photo: Shutterstock

US investigates Chinese chips, China’s mega dam: SCMP’s 7 highlights

The US says China seeks to dominate domestic and global chip markets through extensive anticompetitive and non-market means. Photo: Shutterstock

People enjoy the festive decorations at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jelly Tse

The China-made flat-top cargo ship Fan Zhou 8 during its five-day sea trial in the waters east of Shanghai. Photo: Xinhua

Lifting the lid on Jolin Zhu, the mysterious young Chinese woman who is the sixth wife of billionaire Oracle founder, Larry Ellison. Photo: AFP

PLA’s electronic war ‘kill list’, ultra-powerful laser cutter sold: 7 science highlights

A Chinese report has revealed a list of US Navy targets that are likely to be hit in a potential electronic warfare scenario. Photo: AFP/US Navy

Researchers in China compared the genomes of individuals in Henan province with Neolithic genetic material and found no major shift, according to a paper. Photo: Reuters

A study led by China’s top virologist has raised concerns that a strain of the virus H2N2 recently found in the wild now has the ability to infect humans. Photo: Reuters

A new method for ‘flash ironmaking’ has the potential to revolutionise steel manufacturing. Photo: Shutterstock

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

News

China

Military

From a train that runs at 450km/h to southern China’s oldest city, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting


From a train that runs at 450km/h to southern China’s oldest city, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.


SCMP Highlights

Chinese high-speed rail, 3000-year-old city, Covid-19’s origins: 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 train that runs at 450km/h to southern China’s oldest city, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting

1. China’s high-speed rail enthusiasts glimpse the future as 450km/h train spotted

From a train that runs at 450km/h to southern China’s oldest city, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting