Sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences¡¯ Academic Affairs Bureau, the Chinese Academy of Engineering¡¯s Office, China Science News, the Shandong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, and the Yantai Municipal People¡¯s Government, the 2023 China¡¯s Top Ten Science and Technology Progress News and the World¡¯s Top Ten Science and Technology Progress News voted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering were announced in Yantai, Shandong on January 11, 2024.

Chang Jin, Vice President and Party Group Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhong Zhihua, Vice President and Party Group Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Jiang Cheng, Member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Yantai Municipal Party Committee, and Song Junji, Vice Governor of Shandong Province and Secretary General of the Provincial Government, attended the meeting and delivered speeches.

Chang Jin and Zhong Zhihua announced the 2023 China¡¯s Top Ten Science and Technology Progress News and the 2023 World¡¯s Top Ten Science and Technology Progress News, respectively, and together with Jiang Cheng and Song Junji, presented commemorative certificates and plaques to the selected teams of the 2023 China¡¯s Top Ten Science and Technology Progress News.

Guo Chuanjie, former deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former secretary of the Party Committee of the University of Science and Technology of China, Zhan Wenlong, former vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and several academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering attended the press conference.

This annual selection activity has been held 30 times so far. After the selection results were widely reported by the news media, they generated a strong response in society, enabling the public to further understand the dynamics of foreign science and technology development in China, and played a positive role in popularizing cutting-edge scientific knowledge.

The top ten science and technology news in China in 2023 are:

1. The world's first fourth-generation nuclear power plant was put into commercial operation

Huaneng Shidao Bay High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Nuclear Power Plant
(Photo courtesy of Huaneng Group)

China's major national science and technology project with completely independent intellectual property rights-Huaneng Shidao Bay High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Nuclear Power Plant Demonstration Project was put into commercial operation on December 6, becoming the world's first nuclear power plant to achieve commercial operation of modular fourth-generation nuclear power technology, marking that China has achieved global leadership in the field of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power technology, which is of great significance to promoting China to achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and build an energy power.

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is an internationally recognized advanced reactor type of fourth-generation nuclear power technology and an important direction for the future development of world nuclear power. In the event of a loss of all cooling capacity, without any intervention measures, the reactor can remain safe and there will be no core meltdown or leakage of radioactive materials. The demonstration project is the world's first pebble bed modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor project, located in Rongcheng City, Shandong Province. It was led by China Huaneng and jointly built by Tsinghua University and China National Nuclear Corporation. It was listed as a major national science and technology project in 2006 and started construction in 2012. China Huaneng concentrated the upstream and downstream superior resources of the industrial chain, jointly carried out key technology research and development of core equipment, and developed more than 2,200 sets of the world's first equipment, with a localization rate of 93.4%.

2. The first manned flight mission of the Shenzhou 16 return to the space station application and development stage was successfully completed

Shenzhou 16 astronaut crew
(Photo courtesy of the China Manned Space Engineering Office)

At 8:11 am on October 31, Beijing time, the return capsule of the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing site. The on-site medical supervision and medical insurance personnel confirmed that astronauts Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao were in good health, and the Shenzhou 16 manned flight mission was a complete success.

The Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on May 30, 2023, and then docked with the Tianhe core module to form a combination. As the first astronaut crew to carry out manned flight missions in the application and development phase of the space station, the three astronauts stayed in orbit for 154 days, during which they conducted one extravehicular activity and the fourth space teaching activity of the Chinese space station, and cooperated to complete multiple cargo extravehicular missions of the space station, laying the foundation for the normalization of space station missions.

This mission is the first manned flight mission of China's manned space program in the application and development phase of the space station. With the close cooperation of the astronaut crew and ground scientific researchers, a number of space science experiments (tests) such as human factors engineering, aerospace medicine, life ecology, biotechnology, materials science, fluid physics, and aerospace technology were carried out, and important progress was made in the fields of space life science and human research, microgravity physics, and new space technologies, taking an important step in the transformation of manned space program from construction to application and from input to output.

3. The advent of two-dimensional transistors that surpass the limits of silicon-based devices

Rare earth element yttrium-induced phase change ohmic contact theory and atomic-level controllable precision doping technology
(Photo courtesy of Peking University)

Chips are the foundation of the information world. Traditional transistors are approaching physical limits, which restricts the further development of chips. Atomic-thick two-dimensional semiconductors are theoretically more promising in future nodes, but due to their technical bottlenecks, all two-dimensional transistors are still not comparable to silicon-based devices in the industry.

Peking University academician Peng Lianmou and researcher Qiu Chenguang's team built a 10-nanometer ultra-short channel ballistic two-dimensional indium selenide transistor. Creatively proposed the "rare earth yttrium element doping induced two-dimensional phase change theory" and invented the "atomic-level controllable precision doping technology", thus successfully overcoming the international problem of metal and semiconductor contact in the two-dimensional field, and for the first time made the actual performance of two-dimensional transistors exceed the silicon limit predicted by the industry's silicon-based 10-nanometer node Fin transistor and the international semiconductor roadmap, and reduced the operating voltage of the two-dimensional transistor to 0.5V, and increased the room temperature ballistic rate to 83% of the highest record of all transistors, and developed the fastest and lowest energy-consuming two-dimensional transistor in the world so far. The relevant results were published in Nature on March 22.

4. Chinese scientists discovered that alkali-resistant genes can increase crop yields

AT1 gene-used sorghum grows in high-salt-alkali land in Ningxia
(Photo provided by the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

China's saline-alkali land area reaches 100 million hectares, accounting for nearly one-tenth of the world's total saline-alkali land area. Global climate change, lack of fresh water and large-scale use of chemical fertilizers have accelerated the salinization of arable land. In order to make better use of saline-alkali land resources, the research team of Xie Qi, a researcher at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, cooperated with many scientific research institutions and universities in China. After years of research, they found that the main alkaline-tolerant gene AT1 can significantly increase the yield of crops such as sorghum, rice, wheat, corn, and millet on saline-alkali land, and has great application prospects in the comprehensive utilization of improved saline-alkali land, and is expected to play an important supporting role in China's food security. The results were published in Science on March 24.

5. Tianwen-1 research results reveal climate change on Mars

Sand dune formation pattern
(Photo courtesy of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Among the planets in the solar system, Mars is most similar to the Earth. The current status and evolution of Mars are believed to represent the "future of the Earth", and the exploration and research on the climate evolution of Mars has long attracted attention. The wind and sand action has shaped the widely distributed wind and sand landforms and deposits on the surface of Mars, and recorded the climate and environmental characteristics and climate change processes of Mars in the late evolution and modern times. However, due to the lack of in-situ, close-range, detailed and systematic scientific observations, we know very little about the wind and sand activity process and recorded paleoclimate on Mars.

To address this scientific issue, Li Chunlai's team from the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Guo Zhengtang's team from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Brown University, and the Tianwen-1 mission engineering team, targeted the rich wind and sand landforms in the southern part of the Utopia Planitia on Mars, and used the orbiter's high-resolution camera, the rover's navigation terrain camera, the multispectral camera, the surface composition analyzer, and the meteorological measuring instrument to carry out high-resolution remote sensing and close-range joint detection, extracting information such as dune morphology, surface structure, and material composition, analyzing its wind direction and development age, and discovering stratigraphic evidence of significant changes in the wind field in the landing area, which is in good agreement with the records of the ice dust cover distributed in the middle and high latitudes of Mars, revealing that the Zhurong landing area may have experienced two major climate stages marked by changes in wind direction, with the wind direction changing by nearly 70 degrees from northeast to northwest, and the wind and sand accumulation changing from crescent-shaped bright dunes to longitudinal dark sand ridges. This climate change occurred at the end of the last ice age on Mars about 400,000 years ago. It may be due to the change in the inclination of the rotation axis that Mars experienced a global climate change from the mid-low latitudes to the polar regions. This study helps to enhance our understanding of the ancient climate history of Mars, provides a new perspective for the study of the ancient climate of Mars, and also provides a reference for the future climate evolution direction of the Earth. The relevant research results were published in Nature on July 7.

6. China's first 10,000-meter deep-ground scientific exploration well started drilling

Facing the rising sun, the Deep Earth Tako 1 well accelerated its advance to 10,000 meters (photo by Wei Yinhe)
(Photo provided by PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company)

On the morning of May 30, the Deep Earth Tako 1 well of PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company started drilling into the ground. The drilling of the Shendi Tako 1 well aims to explore the geology and engineering science theories of the 10,000-meter ultra-deep layer, marking a new major breakthrough in China's deep earth exploration technology series, and the opening of the "10,000-meter era" in drilling capabilities.

The Shendi Tako 1 well is located in Shaya County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, close to the Fuman 1 billion-ton ultra-deep oil and gas field with a buried depth of 8,000 meters. The well is designed to have a depth of 11,100 meters and a designed drilling and completion cycle of 457 days, which will create the fastest record for drilling a 10,000-meter deep well in the world.

The well uses the world's first 12,000-meter ultra-deep well automated drilling rig independently developed by China. Compared with ordinary drilling rigs, the load-lifting capacity of this drilling rig has been increased from three to four hundred tons to a maximum of 900 tons, which is equivalent to being able to lift 150 6-ton adult elephants at the same time. In order to ensure that the 10,000-meter ultra-deep wells can be drilled quickly and well, PetroChina has tackled the research and development of a number of key core technical equipment such as the intelligent control integrated platform, the drilling autonomous decision-making industrial control system, and the ultra-high and heavy-load derrick base. It has independently developed an internationally leading intelligent drilling rig and successfully produced an 12,000-meter ultra-deep well automated drilling rig, providing equipment and technical support for scientific exploration and research of 10,000-meter deep underground engineering.

7. Nickel oxide superconductor discovered for the first time in the liquid nitrogen temperature zone

Nickel oxide sample preparation
(Photo courtesy of Sun Yat-sen University)

On July 12, Nature magazine published the results of the cooperation between Professor Wang Meng's team of Sun Yat-sen University and Tsinghua University, South China University of Technology and other institutions: the first discovery of nickel oxide superconductors that reach the liquid nitrogen temperature zone under a pressure of 14GPa. This is a new high-temperature superconducting system independently discovered by Chinese scientists. It is the second unconventional superconducting material in the liquid nitrogen temperature zone discovered by humans so far, and it is an important breakthrough in the field of basic research.

This research result is expected to promote the deciphering of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity, make it possible to design and predict high-temperature superconducting materials, and enable superconductivity to be more widely used in information technology, industrial processing, electricity, biomedicine, transportation and other fields.

8. FAST detects evidence of the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves

(Photo courtesy of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

The Chinese Pulsar Timing Array Research Team, composed of scientific researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units, used the Chinese Sky Eye FAST to detect key evidence of the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, indicating that China's nanohertz gravitational wave research has reached the leading level in synchronization with the international level. The relevant research results were published online in the Chinese astronomical academic journal "Astronomy and Astrophysics Research" on June 29, Beijing time. On December 14, the relevant results were selected as the top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2023 in Science magazine.

Currently, nanohertz gravitational wave research has become one of the focuses of international competition in the fields of physics and astronomy. However, nanohertz gravitational waves have an extremely low frequency, a period of several years, and a wavelength of several light years, making their detection extremely challenging. Using large radio telescopes to conduct long-term timing observations of a group of millisecond pulsars that rotate extremely regularly is the only known means of detecting nanohertz gravitational waves.

It is worth mentioning that pulsar timing array collaborations such as the European Pulsar Timing Array-Indian Pulsar Timing Array, the North American Nanohertz Gravitational-Wave Observatory, and the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array in Australia also announced similar results at the same time. According to Li Kejia, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a researcher at Peking University, four international teams independently obtained key evidence for the existence of nanohertz gravitational waves, which allows the research results to verify each other and further improves the accuracy of this achievement.

9. The world's first full-link and full-system ground verification system for space solar power stations was completed and put into use

Sun-chasing Project: Top view of the ground verification system for space solar power stations
(Photo provided by Xidian University)

Space solar power stations (SSPS) are one of the ultimate answers to solving the energy crisis and achieving sustainable development. On November 30, 2023, the flagship journal of the Academy of Engineering, Engineering, systematically reported on the Sun-chasing Project, the world's first full-link and full-system SSPS ground verification system completed by the team of Academician Duan Baoyan of Xidian University, and explained the innovative design scheme, theoretical innovation, technological breakthrough, engineering realization and experimental results of Omega SSPS. The main technical indicators such as long-distance high-power microwave wireless energy transmission efficiency (distance 55m, emission 2081 watts, beam collection efficiency 87.3%, DC-DC transmission efficiency 15.05%) and power-to-weight ratio are world-leading.

The long-distance high-power microwave wireless energy transmission technology achieved by the Sun-chasing Project has broad application prospects. In space, it can help build a space energy network and space charging piles, and solve the power supply problems of space computing power, on-board information processing, space attack and defense, and ultra-long-range detection. On land, sea, and air, it can provide wireless power supply for airships, drone groups, mobile platforms at sea, disasters, and remote areas.

10. Scientists clarify the molecular mechanism of olfactory perception

The research team revealed the molecular mechanism and structural basis of the class II olfactory receptor mTAAR9 recognizing four endogenous amine ligands (phenylethylamine, dimethylcyclohexylamine, cadaverine, spermidine) and coupling with downstream Gas and Gaolf proteins, revealing the molecular mechanism of olfactory receptor "combinatorial coding" to recognize ligands
(Photo courtesy of Shandong University)

Most animals (including humans) have a main olfactory system to identify volatile odor molecules. A large number of olfactory receptors help animals identify trillions of odor molecules through the "combinatorial coding" odor recognition method. Olfactory receptors can be divided into three families. Class I is the odorant receptor (OR) family, and Class II is the trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR) family. Both OR and TAAR belong to the class A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family, and Class III is the non-GPCR olfactory receptor.

The team of Professor Sun Jinpeng of Shandong University and the team of Researcher Li Qian of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine collaborated to use cryo-electron microscopy to analyze the structure of the mouse TAAR9 (mTAAR9) receptor, one of the members of the TAAR family, in complex with the Gs/Golf (olfactory-specific Gα) protein trimer under four different ligand binding conditions. Further combined with pharmacological analysis, the molecular mechanism of mTAAR9 being activated after sensing ligands was revealed. At the same time, the study also proposed the structural mechanism of olfactory receptor "combinatorial coding" to recognize ligands, and clarified the unique activation mode of class II olfactory receptors.

This study explains the molecular mechanism of class II specific olfactory receptors sensing odors, laying a theoretical foundation for the recognition of ligands by the olfactory receptor family, and is also of great significance for the development of new drugs targeting olfactory receptors. The relevant research results were published in Nature on May 24.

The top ten scientific and technological progress news in the world in 2023 are:

1. Scientists draw the most complete human brain cell map to date

(Photo source: UtthaponwiratepsuponShutterstock)

On October 13, 21 papers published in the American journals Science, Science Advances and Science Translational Medicine announced and explained the most complete human brain cell map to date. This series of studies involving scientists from many countries revealed the characteristics of more than 3,000 brain cell types, which will help to deeply understand the uniqueness of the human brain and promote research on brain diseases and cognitive abilities.

It is reported that the above research is part of the National Institutes of Health's "Cell Census Network for Advancing Innovative Neurotechnology Brain Research Program", which was launched in 2017. The paper published this time is the result of a series of collaborative studies conducted by hundreds of scientists using the most advanced molecular biology techniques. Scientists said that this research provides valuable information for people to understand the structure and function of the human brain, which will help further research and clinical applications. It represents a major breakthrough for the scientific community in unlocking the mysteries of the brain and opens up new directions for future neuroscience research.

2. Artificial intelligence successfully generated original protein from scratch for the first time

(Image source: IANC.HAYDON)

January 26 On the same day, Salesforce Research, Profluent Bio and other institutions in the United States published a research result in Nature Biotechnology, which created an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can generate artificial enzymes from scratch. In laboratory tests, some of these enzymes were as effective as those found in nature, even though the artificially generated amino acid sequences differed significantly from any known natural protein.

This experiment shows that although natural language processing was developed for reading and writing language text, at least some of the basic principles of biology can be learned. Salesforce Research developed an artificial intelligence program called ProGen that uses next-generation marker predictions to assemble amino acid sequences into artificial proteins.

Scientists say that this new technology may be more powerful than the Nobel Prize-winning "protein design technology-directed evolution" and will accelerate the development of new proteins and provide new opportunities for 50-year-old proteins. Injecting vitality into the engineering field. These new proteins could be used in almost anything from treating disease to degrading plastics.

3. The world¡¯s largest experimental nuclear fusion reactor started operation

(Picture source: NATIONALINSTITUTESFORQUANTUMSCIENCEANDTECHNOLOGY)

On December 1, Fusion Energy Europe (F4E) announced that the JT-60SA nuclear fusion reactor jointly built and operated by Europe and Japan has officially been put into operation. The reactor is a tokamak device, started in 2007, completed in 2020, and successfully ignited on October 23 this year. The device is located at the Naka Research Institute of Japan's Quantum Science and Technology Research and Development Agency (QST). It is regarded as the most advanced tokamak in the world. Its start-up is a milestone in the history of nuclear fusion.

The JT-60SA project is the pilot project of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Project (ITER, also known as the "Artificial Sun" project). The goal of the JT-60SA reactor is to study the feasibility of fusion as a safe, large-scale and carbon-free net energy source that can produce more energy than it consumes. The ultimate goal of both projects is to fuse the hydrogen nuclei inside into helium, releasing energy in the form of light and heat, simulating the processes that occur inside the sun.

It is reported that nuclear fusion can be carried out in different ways, and the process is cleaner than nuclear fission and does not produce radioactive waste. If economical fusion reactions were realized, humankind's dependence on fossil fuels would be greatly reduced or even completely eliminated.

4. OpenAI officially released GPT-4

(picture from the Internet)

On March 15, OpenAI released Multi-modal pre-trained large model GPT-4, the latest version of its large language model. Compared with previous versions, GPT-4 has powerful image recognition capabilities, and the text input limit has been increased to 25,000 words; GPT-4's answer accuracy has also been significantly improved, and it can also generate lyrics and creative text to achieve style changes. At the same time, GPT-4 also performs well in various professional tests and academic benchmarks.

OpenAI said that the company spent 6 months iteratively adjusting GPT-4 using lessons learned from the adversarial testing program and ChatGPT to improve authenticity, maneuverability and rejection beyond the set range. Achieved the best results ever.

The release of GPT-4 is a milestone event in the application of artificial intelligence. The functions that artificial intelligence can achieve are becoming more and more abundant, and it may become a handy tool for mankind in the future.

5. The satellite successfully transmitted solar energy to the earth for the first time, proving the credibility of space-based energy

(Photo source: ALIHAJIMIRI)

On June 1, the California Institute of Technology announced that a satellite launched in January has directed the energy of microwave beams to targets in space, and even sent part of the energy to detectors on Earth. Ali Hajimiri, electrical engineer at Caltech and co-director of the project, said: "This experiment is a proof of concept that shows what the entire system can do."

The mission aims to further develop lightweight, inexpensive and flexible components. The microwave transmitter is an array of 32 planar antennas arranged on a surface slightly larger than a dinner plate. By changing the timing of signals sent to different antennas, researchers can control the array's beams. They pointed it at a pair of microwave receivers, then randomly switched the beam from one receiver to the other and lit up an LED on each receiver.

As a clean and renewable energy technology, space-based solar energy utilization technology is considered a reliable way to achieve zero carbon emissions.

6. The first human eyeball transplant was successful

(Photo source: Russ Geltman)

Surgery at New York University Langone Medical Center, USA The team announced on November 9 that they had successfully completed the world's first eye transplant surgery. The surgery, performed by a team led by Eduardo Rodriguez, restored some vision to Aaron James who suffered severe eye damage.

It is reported that the transplant operation was performed in May this year and took about 21 hours. During the operation, the surgical team extracted adult stem cells from the bone marrow of the eyeball donor and injected them into the recipient's optic nerve during the transplantation process, hoping to replace damaged cells and protect the optic nerve. The team said that six months after the surgery, the transplanted eyeballs showed obvious signs of health, such as good blood vessel function. Although the transplanted eyeball has not yet restored vision, the team believes that this breakthrough result will contribute to the development of related medical fields. The team is currently following up on monitoring and looking forward to finding out any possibilities for restoring vision in this eye.

7. The smallest particle accelerator has been launched so far

(Image source: Tomá? Chlouba, Roy Shiloh, Stefanie Kraus, etal.)

On October 18, a research team from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany successfully created the world's smallest particle accelerator, which is only 0.2 mm in length and can be mounted on the tip of a pen. Relevant research results have been published in the journal Nature.

This device is the first micro-accelerator capable of producing a fast and well-focused electron beam, which can accelerate electrons to 100,000 kilometers per second. The accelerator uses light waves to accelerate particles through thousands of 2-micron-high silicon pillars arranged in two parallel lines to form a narrow electron beam. When they created a 0.5mm-long version, they found that they could accelerate electrons faster, increasing the energy they carried by 43%.

This new technology is expected to be used in the medical field, providing doctors with new treatment tools or providing small sterilization tools for biological laboratories. This innovation offers new possibilities in the medical field, and we can look forward to more research and applications on small particle accelerators in the future.

8. Scientists achieved single-atom X-ray detection for the first time

(Picture source: www.nature.com)

From the United States Scientists from Ohio University, Argonne National Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago and other institutions captured single-atom X-ray signals for the first time. Related research was published in Nature on May 31.

In the latest research, Wei Hara and others at Argonne National Laboratory inserted an iron atom and a terbium atom into their respective molecular hosts. To detect the X-ray signals emitted by individual atoms, they incorporated a specialized detector made of a sharp metal tip located near the sample to collect the electrons excited by the X-rays. When X-rays strike an atom, electrons at the core energy level are excited and tunnel through overlapping atomic/molecular orbitals to the detector tip. The spectrum obtained can reveal information about the atom.

The research team emphasized that this breakthrough will open up new horizons in the fields of X-ray and nanoscience. Using X-rays to detect and characterize individual atoms could lead to new technologies in areas such as quantum information and trace element detection for environmental and medical research. This achievement also opens the way for the development of advanced materials science instruments.

9. The world¡¯s first ¡°map¡± of the insect brain has been drawn

(Photo source: EyeofScienceSciencePhotoLibrary)

From the University of Cambridge, UK , Johns Hopkins University and other top institutions in the United States, for the first time completely reconstructed the brain connectome of "Drosophila larvae" and drew the first complete map of the insect brain, including all neurons and synapses. This is a landmark achievement in understanding how the brain processes streams of sensory information and translate

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