China unveils country's top 10 sci-tech achievements in 2024

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) on Wednesday announced the country's top 10 sci-tech achievements of 2024, with the list including a lunar exploration mission, a brain-inspired chip and a super microscope.

CAS Vice President Wu Zhaohui unveiled the list of top 10 achievements during a press conference in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. The list is based on selections made by CAS and the CAE academicians, who hold the country's highest national academic titles in science and engineering.

Top 10 achievements of 2024 include the Chang'e-6 lunar mission, which collected lunar samples from the far side of the moon; the world's first brain-inspired complementary visual chip based on primal language; and the first domestically-built ocean drilling vessel – Mengxiang or "Dream" in English – that was officially commissioned last year.

The list also includes the world's first petabyte-level ultra-high-capacity optical disc storage device; the Einstein Probe astronomical satellite, also known as the Tianguan satellite, which was successfully launched and has achieved a series of results; a new solution for helium-free ultra-low-temperature refrigeration; and the world's first universal CAR-T therapy that uses donor-derived CAR-T cells to treat rheumatic and autoimmune diseases.

In addition, the 2024 list features the super microscope which can provide a panoramic view of large-scale cell interactions; the first successful observation of graviton modes in condensed matter in the world; and the second Qinghai-Xizang Plateau scientific research expedition, which drilled the world's longest mountain glacier core and achieved a series of breakthroughs.

This 2024 list is the 31st annual list of its kind. The list has gained widespread media attention both at home and abroad, and helps to promote the understanding of science and technology among the public.

The list containing the world's top 10 sci-tech achievements of 2024 was also released at the press conference in Nanjing.