4 h. ago Chinese team develops faster, more efficient data sorting for AI, computing

Chinese scientists have developed a faster and more energy-efficient method to sort data, which could be used to overcome limitations in scientific computing, artificial intelligence, and hardware design. Their new sorting system relies on memristors, an electronic circuit component with memory-like abilities, along with a sorting algorithm to enable more efficient data processing. The team built a memristor-based hardware sorting prototype to demonstrate tasks such as route finding and neural...

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7 h. ago Chinese scientists find genetics shapes brain’s balance linked to mental ability

Chinese researchers have discovered that genetics influences the brain’s ability to maintain the crucial balance between activation and control, a key element of cognitive function. There is extensive evidence that brain criticality – the balance between neural excitation and inhibition – enhances its information processing capabilities. But despite the significance of brain criticality and its potential influence on neurological and psychiatric disorders, the genetic basis of this state had...

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32 h. ago How Chinese scientists cracked the secret of organ regeneration

Chinese scientists who successfully restored damaged outer ears in mice said their findings proved the existence of a genetic switch for organ regeneration, which meant it might also be present in other organs. While the scientific journey to achieving organ regeneration in humans remains long and challenging, the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, has offered the researchers hope. Last week, co-corresponding authors Wang Wei and Deng Ziqing published their findings that a...

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59 h. ago Human heart structure beats 21 days in pig embryo in Chinese chimera study

Chinese scientists have, for the first time, cultivated a beating heart structure with human cells in a pig embryo, reporting that the heart continued to beat for 21 days unaided. The study, led by Lai Liangxue’s team from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was announced at the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s annual meeting in Hong Kong on June 12. Previously, the team had cultivated human kidneys in pigs for up to 28...

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3 d. ago Chinese team creates blockchain tech to resist attacks from quantum computers

Chinese scientists have developed a new blockchain storage technology that they say can resist attacks from quantum computers. Blockchain technology – which provides a shared, decentralised digital ledger that stores tamper-proof records – has shown revolutionary potential in areas like financial services and supply chain management. Usually, blockchains use specialised encryption algorithms to verify each transaction, ensure the ledger’s security, and provide transparent access to...

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5 d. ago Chinese scientists uncover coal power’s dirty secret in satellite data study

In the first high-precision satellite mapping of carbon dioxide emissions from large international coal power plants, Chinese scientists have found that existing databases are underestimating discharges from facilities across the globe. They include China’s Tuoketuo – the largest coal-fired power station in the world – and Alabama’s James H. Miller Jnr facility, the most polluting plant in the United States, according to a paper published on June 9 by the peer-reviewed Journal of Cleaner...

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9 d. ago Mammals could regenerate tissue by turning on ‘genetic switch’: Chinese team

Chinese scientists say they have restored the damaged outer ear in mice, a mammal that lacks natural regenerative abilities. The researchers said the pathway they identified could be applied to different tissue types and play a significant role in advancing regeneration in vertebrates. The team found that a mouse’s failure to regenerate stemmed from an inability to produce sufficient retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A that regulates what cell type emerges during a cell’s development and...

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9 d. ago Chinese navy chief of staff and nuclear scientist expelled from top legislature

The Chinese navy’s chief of staff and a top nuclear scientist have been stripped of their membership of the country’s legislature. Vice Admiral Li Hanjun, chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, and Liu Shipeng, deputy chief engineer at China National Nuclear Corporation, have been expelled from the National People’s Congress (NPC). Li is the latest of a string of PLA generals and a handful of defence industry executives to have implicated in a sweeping crackdown in the military. In...

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1 week ago AI poses ‘existential risk’ if out of control, Chinese computer scientist warns

Failing to address the risks posed by deceptive, out-of-control artificial intelligence (AI) could leave humans facing “existential risks”, a leading Chinese computer scientist and AI expert has warned. Andrew Yao Chi-chih, dean of Tsinghua University’s College of AI, told an on-campus forum on Monday that the industry had seen multiple instances of deceptive behaviour by large language models (LLMs). “Once large models become sufficiently intelligent, they will deceive people,” Yao said at the...

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1 week ago Chinese scientists catch cosmic rays meddling in quantum computer operation

Researchers in China said they have found the first evidence that subatomic particles from cosmic rays may be affecting the efficiency of widely used error correction techniques that are an essential element of fault-tolerant quantum computing. The scientists monitored superconducting quantum chips alongside fundamental subatomic particles – called muons – produced by cosmic rays, as well as gamma ray-induced particle disturbances known as quasiparticle bursts. “We directly observed...

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2 w. ago The unsung spleen may play a big role in fighting diabetes: Chinese scientists

Advances in the transplant of cells into the spleen could transform one of the body’s “expendable” organs into a hub for treating diabetes, two Chinese studies have found. Research published last month by scientists at Nanjing University and other institutes found that “shielding” islet cells could improve their survival after being transplanted into the spleen to treat type 1 diabetes. They also found that the spleen – a more promising long-term survival site than the conventionally used liver...

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2 w. ago Chinese scientists build a laser weapon that can operate without cooling in Sahara Desert

Chinese researchers have developed a two-kilowatt (kW) fibre laser capable of operating without the protection of heating or cooling systems across Earth’s most extreme climates – from temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Arctic to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Sahara Desert. The device, designed for quick and ultra-portable deployment for both defence and industrial purposes, starkly contrasts with counterparts with similar power...

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2 w. ago Chinese team’s edible fruit coating can more than double shelf life: paper

Chinese scientists have developed an edible, washable protein-based coating that can extend the shelf life of fruits by 2½ times, by reducing moisture loss and microbial growth. The low-cost coating was tested across 17 varieties of whole and cut fruits, including strawberry, tomato, kiwi and mango. It was shown to effectively delay rot by almost a week or more, at a cost of just 9 US cents per kilogram of fruit, according to a recent paper in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications. The...

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2 w. ago Shocked colleagues mourn PKU climate scientist Wen Xinyu, dead at 45

Chinese climate scientists are mourning the loss of a “pure, passionate” scholar after the sudden death of atmospheric physicist Wen Xinyu at just 45 years of age. The associate professor with the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Peking University’s School of Physics died on June 14 after suffering a heart attack, according to the obituary published by his home institute. The obituary paid tribute to Wen’s important contributions to the field of climate change and his great...

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2 w. ago Chinese satellite beams data at 1Gbps, surpassing Starlink speed by 5 times

Imagine beaming a HD movie from Shanghai to Los Angeles – crossing three Pacific widths – in less than five seconds using just a night light. This may sound like fantasy because Starlink, operating just hundreds of kilometres above Earth, maxes out at a couple of Mbps. But from a secret satellite parked in stationary orbit more than 60 times higher, a team of Chinese scientists has used a 2-watt laser – dim as a candle – to push data through turbulent skies to Earth at 1Gbps, five times faster...

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2 w. ago Food security takes root: how China’s Xinjiang is at forefront of national push

Chinese agricultural scientists have turned 40 hectares (99 acres) of salty soil in Xinjiang into fertile land capable of supporting multiple crops – part of a national strategy to bolster food security by transforming vast swathes of non-arable terrain into farms. The breakthrough followed seven years of effort in the Uygur autonomous region’s Shihezi, led by a research team from a local university, the state-owned People’s Daily reported. The previously degraded soil now sustains wheat,...

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3 w. ago China’s extreme heat shield breaks thermal limit on hypersonic flight

Chinese scientists have created a carbide ceramic capable of withstanding temperatures up to 3,600 degrees Celsius (6,512 degrees Fahrenheit) in an oxidising environment, exceeding current thermal limits on hypersonic flight. The development holds significant potential for applications in aerospace, energy and other extreme high-temperature fields. Modern hypersonic aircraft and advanced engines demand materials that can maintain structural integrity under extreme thermal conditions. However,...

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3 w. ago Chinese scientists find first evidence that AI could think like a human

Chinese researchers have confirmed for the first time that artificial intelligence large language models can spontaneously create a humanlike system to comprehend and sort natural objects, a process considered a pillar of human cognition. It provides new evidence in a debate over the cognitive capacity of AI models, suggesting that artificial systems that reflect key aspects of human thinking may be possible. “Understanding how humans conceptualise and categorise natural objects offers critical...

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3 w. ago China extracts critical mineral rubidium from brine for first time

Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the commercial extraction of the critical metal rubidium directly from salt lake brine, potentially slashing dependence on imports – mostly from Canada – that now supply two-thirds of China’s needs. This industrial-scale method produces ultra-pure rubidium chloride from ultra-low concentrations, offering a new domestic source for this strategically vital material. The Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes (ISL) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)...

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3 w. ago US arrests another Chinese scientist with no permit to send biological material

Another Chinese researcher has been arrested upon entering the United States, amid an escalating federal probe into the alleged smuggling of biological materials – marking the second such case in less than a week. Han Chengxuan, a PhD candidate at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Wuhan, was accused of shipping four undeclared packages containing biological materials from China to a University of Michigan lab—and lying to federal agents about it. Her arrest on Sunday...

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