China unveils top 10 scientific discoveries of 2018

A research team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences creates the world’s first single-chromosome yeast, which is another major breakthrough after the artificial life-prokaryotic mycoplasma. In Aug. 2018, the research was published on internationally renowned multidisciplinary scientific journal Nature. (Photo by Ding Ting, Xinhua)

China’s top ten scientific discoveries of 2018 were announced by the Administrative Center of Basic Research (ACBR) under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on Feb.27. The discoveries include macaque monkey cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer, creation of the first single-chromosome yeast, fast-acting ketamine for anti-depression, DNA nano-robot for cancer therapy, precise measurement of the gravitational constant, first direct detection of inflection of cosmic ray electrons with energies exceeding 1 trillion electron volts (TeV), breakthrough in studying the atomic structure and magic number effect of hydrated ions, super-resolution imaging technique for organelle interaction within cells, growth-regulating technique on plant for sustainable agricultural development and the earliest evidence of humanity living on Chinese Loess Plateau dating back to 2.12 million years ago.

The discoveries were screened through three procedures including nomination, preliminary selection, and final selection, out of 353 scientific researches recommended by five academic periodicals including China Basic Science, Science & Technology Review, Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bulletin of National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Chinese Science Bulletin. About 2,600 experts and scholars voted online for the final 30 candidates, and the ten with the highest votes were selected. It was the 14th event for selecting top scientific discoveries hosted by Administrative Center of Basic Research of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

By Wu Yuehui

(People’s Daily)