Monkeys cloned from a gene-edited macaque with circadian rhythm disorders are seen at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, China in this handout picture provided by the Institute of Neuroscience of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on January 24, 2019. Photo: VCG
China’s national science and technology authorities on Wednesday announced the top 10 scientific achievements made by the country’s researchers in 2018, including such advancements as the first cloned monkeys and cancer-treating nanorobots.
The 2018 ranking of scientific achievements was organised by the basic research management centre of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The first cloning of two macaques by Chinese scientists, creation of the first-ever artificial single-chromosome eukaryote and development of cancer-hunting nanorobots are among the top-10 list.
A total of 353 scientific research findings were recommended before experts selected 30 for a shortlist from which the final top-10 list was determined through a poll of 2,600 scientists including academicians at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The discovery of the measurement of the so-far most accurate gravity constant and the first direct detection of spectral break around 1 tera-electron-volts of the electron cosmic ray spectrum by the Wukong – China’s dark matter detection satellite or the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) – are also among the top 10 list.
“Such national recognition does not come with additional funding as a bonus. But since the launch of the program, the team has received strong financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, CAS, as well as the National Natural Science foundation,” Yuan Qiang, a researcher of the DAMPE team who is in charge of cosmic ray data analysis, told the Global Times on Wednesday. Read more