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South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
A trillion times brighter than the sun: Beijing builds most powerful X-ray light source
About 50km (30 miles) north of Beijing's city centre, construction is wrapping up on what is expected to be the world's brightest X-ray light source, slated to switch on later this year to power research in fields ranging from materials science to biomedicine and physics Advertisement The High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) will generate beams that are a trillion times brighter in terms of photon density than the surface of the sun , thanks to their extreme focus and precision. It is set to surpass similar facilities in Europe, Asia and the United States, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of High Energy Physics, the facility's lead developer. 'Once HEPS reaches its designed brightness, it will be capable of revealing the microscopic world in unprecedented detail,' Pan Weimin, project director at the institute, told China Science Daily on Thursday. 'It offers a powerful tool to manipulate matter and observe its entire life cycle.' The facility had begun light commissioning, marking the start of integrated system testing with real photon beams – a phase crucial for fine-tuning the machine before trial operations begin, Pan said. Since the 1970s, more than 70 light sources have been built around the world to help scientists see deep inside matter – from decoding virus structures to developing advanced aerospace materials, batteries and semiconductors. Advertisement These massive facilities work by accelerating electrons to near the speed of light and steering them with powerful magnets. As the electrons change direction, they emit high-energy light particles, which researchers use to probe the atomic and molecular structure of materials.
South China Morning Post
27-02-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Top mathematician Shing-Tung Yau leads China's bid for 2030 maths Olympics
China is vying with Japan and Britain to host the 2030 maths Olympics for the second time, after it first held the event in 2002, an initiative led by eminent mathematician Shing-Tung Yau Advertisement Yau is leading a team of 40 Chinese and international mathematicians in the bid for the 2030 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), according to the Yau Mathematical Sciences Centre at Tsinghua University. 'The ICM is important for many mathematical researchers as a platform to understand key developments worldwide over the past four years and an opportunity to showcase their academic achievements,' Yau said in an interview with China Science Daily on Tuesday. 'As the level of mathematics in China advances, I think 2030 will be a critical year and an important moment for Chinese mathematics to rise on the world stage. We hope to inspire young Chinese researchers and scholars to stand out in the world through the ICM.' Yau, the first Chinese to win the Fields Medal for his work in differential geometry, retired from Harvard University in 2022 to teach at Tsinghua University and help China become a maths powerhouse. Advertisement He has set up institutions in China such as the maths centre at Tsinghua and the Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, which have attracted top local and international talent.
The Independent
21-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Chinese scientists unveil breakthrough therapy that could save lives from nuclear fallout
A breakthrough new therapy has enabled mice to survive exposure to acute radiation, according to a new study that may lead to safer cancer treatment and save lives in the event of a nuclear war. Acute ionising radiation, such as from nuclear fallout, can severely damage DNA, arresting cell division and hampering activation of the body's immune system. Studies have suggested that more people could die from exposure to radiation fallout than directly from an atomic explosion in the event of a nuclear war. That is because exposure to high radiation doses long after the explosion can still trigger DNA damage and mass cell death, killing people down the generations. High radiation exposure can lead to GIS, or gastrointestinal syndrome, a complex condition in which the inner-lining cells of the intestines break down. Patients undergoing high-dose radiotherapy for pelvic and abdominal tumours have been found to experience GIS as well, but there is no treatment currently to protect people against such consequences of radiation exposure. The new study, conducted by Chinese researchers and published in the journal Cell Death and Differentiation, found exactly how a key set of genes crucial for promoting cell death respond to radiation exposure. The 'stimulator of interferon genes', or Sting, promote cell death in response to DNA damage caused by acute radiation. The researchers found that knocking out the function of Sting in mice increased their survival rate from 11 per cent to 67 per cent after exposure to harmful levels of radiation. The study found normal mice experienced more severe abdominal injuries than those that had had their Sting proteins knocked out. 'Overall, our study revealed a novel pathway through which Sting regulates ionising radiation-mediated cell death,' scientists wrote. Further analysis showed the rate of cell death in mice with Sting knocked out dropped from 45 per cent to 12 per cent after radiation exposure. The researchers looked especially at tiny, hair-like projections in the mice intestines called villi which help absorb nutrients from food. They found that the height of individual villi in mice with muted Sting was 'significantly greater' by around 2.3 times than in other mice, suggesting their guts were resisting radiation better. Researchers said the findings could lead to therapies for controlling GIS upon exposure to high doses of ionising radiation or radiation therapy for tumours. 'The therapies developed based on the new discovery of Sting proteins have shown great potential in protecting against radiation injury, enhancing cancer radiotherapy, and improving cancer treatment,' study lead author Sun Yirong told China Science Daily.
