China's annual awards recognize 20 young female scientists

The China Young Female Scientist Awards prize ceremony was held on Sunday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, a venue that usually hosts international political leaders and dignitaries.

Twenty women scientists under the age of 45 were honored, together with five outstanding teams, including the High Bypass Ratio Turbofan Engine design and verification team.

The awards recognize achievements in areas including clinical and basic medicine, pharmacy, artificial intelligence, and chip technology.

Wang Hongxia, director of the department of oncology at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, was one of the winners of the prize.

"I am an oncologist. Since many of the patients we usually deal with are mainly those with recurrent and metastatic late-stage breast cancer, they often face issues of treatment resistance and therapy refractoriness. So, our team primarily focuses on researching the fundamental causes of therapy resistance and refractoriness in patients with tumors, especially those experiencing late-stage recurrence and metastasis, with a particular emphasis on cancer stem cells," said Wang.

Huang Min, professor at Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, was the other recipient of the cherished prize.

"I'm involved in researching anti-tumor drugs, and my specialty is in pharmacology. My particular focus is on tumor metabolism, which is considered a relatively new and emerging field internationally. Both domestic and international peers have made significant advancements in basic research in this area. Many believe that tumor metabolism could pave the way for a new direction in tumor drug research. However, currently, there are significant barriers between basic research and transformation into practical applications. As a pharmaceutical researcher, I want to bridge this gap by conducting laboratory studies and collaborating with industry partners. I hope we can overcome the obstacles and apply the outcomes of basic research to the development of new drugs," said Huang.

Established in 2004, the award has been given to 204 outstanding women in the science field.

Israel army's gunfire killed a UN staffer and injured another UN employee on Monday in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza, the Hamas-run media office said.

In a statement, the media office said that the UN staffers were traveling in a vehicle belonging to the UN and bearing UN flags and markings when they were hit.

The death of the UN staffer was confirmed by the United Nations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday in a statement that he was "deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when their UN vehicle was struck as they traveled to the European Hospital in Rafah this morning".