The scientific community has been energised by news that Chinese officials have approved the use of gene-edited crops. Food insecurity is present in some form or another on every continent. Current data estimates that 47 countries, predominantly in Africa, will fail to achieve even ‘low hunger’ in the next nine years. Researchers are confident newly…
With the Beijing Winter Olympics officially underway, more than 3 000 of the planet’s finest athletes are once again wowing supporters with their incredible abilities on ice and snow. However, life for competitors inside the “closed-loop” Olympic village may seem otherworldly. Because of the Republic of China’s zero-tolerance approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, human-to-human contact…
Chinese startup, DeepWay, has teamed up with famed Italian design studio, Pininfarina, to create a semi-autonomous truck. The electrified heavy-duty truck, Xingtu, was designed to improve the efficiency, comfort and sustainability of long-haul transit. Founded in 2020, DeepWay, backed by internet mega-firm, Baidu, disrupted the industry when it announced it would collaborate with Turin-based design…
In a world-first, Chinese scientists claim to have successfully constructed an artificial moon. Capable of creating zero-gravity and limited-gravity environments at the switch of a button, the lunar stand-in will be used to prepare astronauts for moon-based operations and to learn more about how matter interacts in low-gravity. Recreating the moon’s gravity on Earth has…
One of China’s largest motoring firms, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, has delivered fifty electric vehicles (EVs) powered by the firm’s solid-state battery, for demonstration. Often referred to as the ‘Holy Grail’ of EV technologies, solid-state batteries are significantly more efficient than traditional liquid-electrolyte power units. The EV, Dongfeng’s E70 model, is the first to house the…
Chinese-based electric vehicle (EV) battery firm, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), has launched a battery swapping service. The world’s largest producer of EV batteries says it will allow EV users to swap out batteries in a minute, hopefully alleviating much of the “range-anxiety” experienced by prospective EV owners who might still be sitting on the fence.…
A team of Chinese scientists has developed a little-known method to increase the yields of certain crops using electricity. Working out of Beijing’s Chinese Academy of Sciences, the researchers found that pea yields were increased by almost 20% when a rain- and wind-powered triboelectric nanogenerator was among the plants. While it may sound outlandish at…
China’s “artificial sun” continues to shatter records. This time, the hyper-expensive fusion reactor recorded temperatures five times greater than the surface of the sun. Scientists are hopeful the feat may be the next step to unlocking unlimited power – the holy grail of clean energy. Secured in Hefei, China, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)…
The Chang’e 5 lunar lander, China’s latest moon-going vehicle, has become the first craft of its kind to locate water in real-time. The historic first has set the scientific community’s tongues wagging as researchers race to discover more about the anomaly. The presence of water was discovered at the Chang’e 5’s landing site near the…
Chinese engineers are confident their first floating nuclear reactor is sturdy enough to withstand gale force winds. The offshore reactor, located in the Bohai Sea, is used to power ocean-based oil rigs and is reportedly capable of toughing out “once in 10 000-year” storms. The novel 60GW (gigawatt) reactor was subjected to powerful winds and currents…