China selects top 10 scientific discoveries of 2018

6. MYSTERIOUS SIGNALS IN SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER

In late 2017, China's Dark Matter Particle Explorer detected unexpected and mysterious signals in its measurement of high-energy cosmic rays, which might bring scientists a step closer to shedding light on invisible dark matter. It is the first time a space experiment has reported a detailed and precise electron and positron spectrum up to about 5 tera-electron-volts (TeV, corresponding to 1 trillion times the energy of visible light). In this energy range, the Chinese researchers detected a spectral break at 0.9 TeV and a possible spike at 1.4 TeV.

7.BREAKTHROUGH IN STUDYING WATER STRUCTURE

Using China-developed new atomic force microscopy, scientists have observed the atomic structure of the hydrated ions in their natural environment. It is the first time visualizing the atomic structure of hydrated ions since the notion was proposed more than 100 years ago. Scientists also discovered that exactly three water molecules are needed to allow a single sodium ion to travel 10 to 100 times faster than other ion hydrates - a process that could lead to more efficient ion batteries, anti-corrosion coatings and seawater desalination plants.

8.SUPER-RESOLUTION IMAGING TECHNIQUE

A team of Chinese and U.S. scientists developed a new imaging technology that can perform high-speed, long-term and super-resolution imaging of intracellular physiological processes. Using this technique, a variety of new interactions between organelles were discovered.

9.BALANCED PLANT GROWTH

Crops can be bred with high yields and less fertilizer, as Chinese researchers found a growth-regulating transcription factor GRF4 that had the opposite effect of a growth-inhibiting protein called DELLA in crops. GRF4 and DELLA existed in a balance that regulated plant growth and nitrogen metabolism. The finding could aid efforts toward reaching sustainable global food safety.

10.EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF HUMANITY

Archeologists found a series of stone tools from the Early Pleistocene at Shangchen in the Chinese Loess Plateau. The oldest ones date back to 2.12 million years ago, 270,000 years older than the 1.85-million-year-old skeletal remains and stone tools from Dmanisi, Georgia. The new discoveries suggest that there may have been a human presence outside Africa earlier than previously thought. The results were selected from 353 sets of research carried out from December 2017 to November 2018. About 2,600 leading scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering and other academic departments voted online for the 30 candidates.