The National Natural Science Foundation of China on Thursday announced the country's Top 10 sci-tech achievements of 2024, covering cutting-edge fields such as space exploration, information technology, life sciences and physics.
The list was unveiled at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing, showcasing the country's major breakthroughs and innovative strengths in multiple scientific-technological research fields.
These include the Chang'e-6 lunar probe mission, which revealed volcanic events on the lunar far side 2.8 billion years ago; the large-scale photonic chiplet Taichi, which empowers artificial general intelligence; and the transport mechanism of nonoamine neurotransmitters for the treatment of mental illness.
The list also includes an important breakthrough in nano-optics; a new solution for helium-free ultra-low-temperature refrigeration; a CAR-T therapy that uses donor-derived CAR-T cells to treat rheumatic and autoimmune diseases; and an additional X chromosome leading to male infertility.
In addition, the 2024 list features a major discovery for understanding new correlated quantum physics; an innovative result in the field of new energy; and a key evidence for understanding galaxy formation and evolution. The Top 10 sci-tech achievements of 2024 were determined on the basis of competitive selection by more than 2,700 experts and scholars, including nearly 440 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, after two rounds of review and voting on a candidate list of 700 basic research results.
This 2024 list is the 20th of its kind issued by the foundation.
China unveils Top 10 sci-tech achievements in 2024
All the people injured in the fireworks plant explosion on Monday in central China's Hunan Province have been sent to local hospitals for treatment, according to authorities.
The accident has left 26 people dead and 61 others injured, according to officials speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred on Monday afternoon at the plant of Huasheng fireworks manufacturing and display company in Liuyang, a county-level city in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan.
"When I arrived at the scene, I saw everything was flattened. Everything. Look at me. I'm all covered by mud and sand stirred up by the explosion," said local villager Wu Yuliang.
Following the explosion, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to locate those still unaccounted for and to treat the injured. The person in charge of the company where the accident occurred has been detained by police.
More than 480 rescuers, organized into five teams, have been deployed, along with three rescue robots to support operations.
At Tuesday's press conference, local officials said the situation remains challenging, with difficulties in controlling the fire, extinguishing the blaze, and carrying out search and rescue operations.
"A large quantity of explosives stored in the warehouse area could not be moved immediately, posing a direct threat to the safety of our rescue personnel. Second, the accident site was chaotic since basically all buildings' walls, beams, columns, and roofs have collapsed, creating extensive rubble. People were buried under the debris, passageways were blocked, and our rescue efforts were severely hampered," said Ding Weiming, Party secretary and political commissar of Changsha's fire and rescue team.
The injured have been rushed to two hospitals for emergency treatment after the explosion, with most suffering from bone injuries.
A medical task force of leading experts in burns, intensive care, and trauma surgery has been assembled.
The People's Hospital of Liuyang received 25 of the injured people.
"She has fractures in both legs. The doctor won't allow her to walk or get out of bed. She can only use a wheelchair to get around. I have to carry her to the bathroom," one victim's son told reporters at his mother’s bedside in hospital.
All patients are reported to be in stable condition, though doctors say they will require further observation for more than 24 hours.
"For now, we don't recommend that they rush to be discharged, as there is still some psychological trauma and stress that we need to monitor," said Ding Shengqiang, head of the hospital's medical department.
After all of the city's fireworks enterprises were shut down on Monday night, local officials said a large-scale safety inspection will be carried out to address regulatory gaps and strengthen overall safety standards.
All injured hospitalized after central China fireworks plant explosion
