science

Fighting ALS: Former JD.com VP in Race Against Time

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

Cai Lei, the former vice president of e-commerce giant JD.com, has strived to raise awareness and funding to support research into treating the fatal disease.

Shanghai Observer

Playful Bees, Regenerative Hairs Research Awarded China’s Unusual Science Prize

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

The Pineapple Science Award celebrates interesting and imaginative scientific research from around the world that arouses the public’s enthusiasm for science.

Zhu Junxi

World’s Leading Scientists Gather for Laureates Forum in Shanghai 

This year’s event emphasized intergenerational exchanges between veteran and younger scientists.

Ding Rui

Amid Climate Goals, China Zones in on AI’s Growing Energy Needs

In a list of scientific challenges for China in 2023, climate change and energy consumption emerge among focus areas.

China’s Top Science Body to Experts: Don’t Speak Beyond Expertise

In a major overhaul of its code of conduct, the Chinese Academy of Sciences has barred academicians from making comments outside their areas of expertise and misusing their titles for undue benefits.

He Qitong

The Cold Reality of China’s Vanishing Glaciers

As temperatures rise, the melting of the unique Urumqi Glacier No. 1 can be slowed but not stopped, experts say.

The Paper

The Terra-Cotta Army’s Secret Weapon

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

The ghostly army of China’s first emperor is known for its thousands of clay foot soldiers. But new excavations are revealing that the force was far more diverse — and tactically sophisticated — than previously assumed.

Wu Haiyun

Glasses On, China’s First Civilian Astronaut Takes a Giant Leap 

With the introduction of payload specialists, China has relaxed visual acuity requirements for space missions.

Wu Peiyue

The Astronomer Who Calmed China’s UFO Craze

When sightings of celestial phenomena surged in China in the ’80s, researcher Liu Yan’s letters helped keep people’s feet on the ground.

In China, an Unseen and Dangerous Foe Takes Root: Lethal Fungi

The fungal apocalypse portrayed in “The Last of Us” may be fiction. But between climate change and habitat loss, the threat from adapting fungi is real.

Li Pasha

How China’s Silk Road Ambitions Are Reshaping the World of Archaeology

Until a decade ago, Chinese archaeologists had never conducted major excavations overseas. Now, as China pours funding into Silk Road research, they are quietly transforming our understanding of the ancient world.

Chinese Scientists Are Speaking Out Online. Is Anyone Listening?

Contributions from individuals with unique perspectives to share. Hear from everyone, from experts and commentators to those whose voices are often marginalized.

VOICES & OPINION

While Chinese scientists are held in high regard, their unwillingness to speak plainly, even on social media, has opened a window for misinformation.

Yang Zheng

Gender Gap in China’s Science Sector Narrowing, Report Suggests 

While more women researchers are in higher work positions than in the past decades, they’re still far fewer than their male counterparts.

Sixth Tone

Deadly Flood Sparks Debate Over ‘Wild’ Tourism Sites

Experts say platforms bear no legal responsibility for promoting unofficial tourism sites in flood zones — but users aren’t letting them off the hook.

In Global Effort, Shanghai Astronomers Capture Milky Way’s Black Hole

It took five years for a team of scientists to construct the first-ever image of the invisible celestial object.

Ye Ruolin

The Hit New Film Pushing Chinese Sci-Fi Into Unexplored Territory

Kong Dashan’s award-winning feature “Journey to the West” is generating huge buzz in China — and showing there is more to Chinese sci-fi than Liu Cixin.

Mathew Scott

Overlooked by Research, They’re Funding Their Own Search for a Cure

Neurofibromatosis is so rare it hasn’t even made it onto China’s list of rare diseases. With no one else paying attention, these patients organized to help themselves.

Ni Dandan

Zhu Jingyi

A Yunnan Researcher’s Plan for Plastic Waste: Feed It to the Fungi

Newly discovered fungi in Southwest China are voracious eaters of plastic and rubber. Scientists hope they can provide better ways of recycling plastics.

IPCC Warns China Will Be Hit Hard by Climate Change

Water and food insecurity are among the biggest risks in a warmer future.

Yuan Ye

China Grants Conditional Approval to Pfizer COVID-19 Pill

The country’s drug regulators announced Saturday that they had approved Paxlovid for use on high-risk patients with mild to moderate symptoms.