Top 10 Chinese scientific advances for 2022 unveiled

BEIJING - China on Thursday unveiled a list of the country's top 10 scientific advances for 2022, which was selected by members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

Academicians from the CAS and CAE hold China's highest national academic titles in science and engineering.

On the list, China's progress on space exploration stood out.

China completed the in-orbit construction of its space station in 2022, with two manned spaceships, two cargo craft and two 20-ton-level lab modules sent into orbit. Also, China debuted an independently-developed solid-propellant rocket Lijian-1 in July, bringing six satellites into space.

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), also known as the "China Sky Eye," achieved a slew of breakthroughs including the detection of coherent interstellar magnetic field, a weird repeating fast radio burst, magnetic fields nearby fast radio burst and a huge atomic gas structure.

In October, China launched a solar exploration satellite called Kuafu-1 into space to unravel the mysteries of the sun, producing its first solar image in November.

In the field of agriculture, Chinese researchers identified yield-related genes in maize and rice, allowing for the grain yields of maize and rice to be increased by about 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

Chinese scientists also developed a new method to translate carbon dioxide and water into glucose and fatty acids, proposing a new strategy for artificial food production.

Meanwhile, in the city of Hefei, a magnet at the Steady High Magnetic Field Facility produced a steady field of 45.22 Tesla, the world's highest steady magnetic field yet by a working magnet, breaking the previous world record of 45 Tesla.

The country's scientific advances last year also included a record-breaking Mount Qomolangma scientific expedition, the discovery of a strange metal, and hydrogen production from seawater.

This year's list of the country's top 10 scientific advances is the 29th annual event of its kind. The event gains widespread media attention at home and abroad and helps to promote the understanding of science and technology among the public.