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SCMP

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Chinese archaeologist who discovered 5,000-year-old city pleads guilty to corruption
Liu Bin, a Chinese archaeologist credited with discovering a vast 5,000-year-old prehistoric city that rewrote the history of Chinese civilisation, has pleaded guilty to taking bribes and embezzlement.
2. Chip prodigy Da Bo returns to China after his role in TSMC’s 3nm plant in Japan
A Chinese chip pioneer who made his name in Japan – sweeping its top awards and developing the core components of the world’s most advanced production line – has returned to China, along with his team of researchers.
3. Huawei, scientists build 2D parallel computing chip that rewrites Moore’s Law

Chinese researchers, in collaboration with Huawei Technologies, have built the world’s first parallel processor using a two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor.
4. Chinese scientists create self-deciding algorithm for drone swarm
A research team from northwestern China has released a new algorithm that could fundamentally change how drone swarms hunt and destroy enemy targets.
5. Why China is weaponising a ‘towering’ hybrid crop to farm where wheat fails

Scientists in China are growing towering hybrids of wheat and rye – taller even than some humans – in the deserts of its western Xinjiang region.
6. Concerns mount in China’s space sector that Musk’s Starship will be a failure
There are growing doubts within China’s space sector that Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket being developed by SpaceX in the United States, will ever overcome its engineering and financial challenges and deliver for founder and CEO Elon Musk.
7. Why China is looking to coal waste as a source of critical metals

China is turning coal waste into a source of critical metals including lithium, gallium and germanium, leveraging its advantages in extraction technology and industrial infrastructure.


Chip prodigy returns to China, coal waste used for critical minerals: 7 science highlights

Japan’s Russia concern, businesses choose Malaysia over Singapore: 7 Asia highlights

Chinese archaeologist pleads guilty, firms flee Singapore’s costs: 5 weekend reads you missed

China doubts Musk’s Starship future; ex-TSMC chip prodigy returns: SCMP’s 7 highlights

SCMP Highlights

Chip expert Da Bo, deeply involved in the building of TSMC’s 3nm plant in Japan, has returned to China with his team. Photo: Handout


Chinese researchers are using two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide to pack more transistors onto microchips. Photo: Nanjing University

The crop can grow up to 1.6 metres high, taller than some humans. Photo: qq.com

Amid a global energy shortage, coal piles sit near a chemical plant in Datong, as China turns coal into critical metals. Photo: AP

Human-shaped object in US military UFO files intrigues Chinese expert

A screen capture from the US declassified UFO files: DOW-UAP-PR059 “NAG UAP 1 Jun 20”, shows a “human-shaped” object. Photo: Handout

Among documents released by the US Defence Department on May 8 was a handout composite sketch drawn from witness reports in September 2023 of an ellipsoid metallic object. Image: US Department of Defence/Handout via Reuters

China unveils AI system to automate satellite targeting and surveillance

Chinese researchers have unveiled an AI tool designed to take satellite surveillance from the realm of image recognition to that of autonomous reasoning. Photo: Shutterstock

Members of the PLA Aerospace Force march in formation at a Beijing military parade last year. Photo: Xinhua

An interface display from the “brain plus tool army” system shows AI software analysing port satellite images and flagging ship activity without human intervention. Photo: Journal of Space Engineering University

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From the world’s first parallel processor to doubts over Elon Musk’s Starship, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting


From the world’s first parallel processor to doubts over Elon Musk’s Starship, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.


Chip prodigy returns to China, coal waste used for critical minerals: 7 science highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From the world’s first parallel processor to doubts over Elon Musk’s Starship, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting

1. Chinese archaeologist who discovered 5,000-year-old city pleads guilty to corruption

From the world’s first parallel processor to doubts over Elon Musk’s Starship, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting