science

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

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

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

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

SIXTH TONE ×

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

Shanghai Observer

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

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 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.

Wu Haiyun

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.

Chinese Scientists Have Designed a 4-Minute COVID-19 Test

Polymerase chain reaction testing is currently considered the gold standard in diagnosing COVID-19, but results usually take hours.

No Proof Foreign Mail Infectious, Chinese Health Officials Say

The possibility that overseas packages could carry COVID-19 spurred cities to order recipients to get tested.

China Approves Its First COVID-19 Drug for Use

The antibody therapy, which was developed by a Chinese startup, was found to reduce coronavirus patients’ risk of hospitalization and death by 78% in international trials.

The West Now Has New COVID-19 Cures. How About China?

Drugs designed for the coronavirus could make infections less severe. Will they allow the country to open back up?

Through the Glass Ceiling, and Beyond

When astronomer Ye Shuhua fought for a men-only job in 1951, it turned out to be the first of many barriers she broke through.

Curbing Ammonia Could Help China Tackle Air Pollution, Study Says

Nearly 90% of the country’s ammonia emissions come from its agriculture sector.

Chinese Scientist Floats Idea of Harvesting Power From Ocean Waves

Research is currently underway on the technology that could provide an affordable and uninterrupted power supply.