China is accelerating the transition of its nuclear fusion program from fundamental research to large-scale engineering, as construction of the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) gains momentum.

Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, with soil microorganisms playing the main role. As a result, the global soil carbon cycle—by which carbon enters, moves through, and leaves soils worldwide—exerts a significant impact on climate change feedback. Now an important study led by researchers from the Institute of Earth Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences sheds new light on this cycle by overturning assumptions about the relationship between microbial respiration and carbon storage.

A new study led by Prof. YANG Yuanhe from the Institute of Botany has uncovered significant regional differences in the temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition between high-latitude and high-altitude permafrost regions, suggesting that high-latitude permafrost regions may be significantly more susceptible to soil carbon loss than high-altitude regions under future warming scenarios.

A research team from the Institute of Metal Research has developed an efficient, stable, atomic-scale catalyst for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. This advance offers promising strategies for environmental catalysis and designing low-cost, high-performance catalysts.

A new study led by Prof. LI Yaoming from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed the driving mechanisms and environmental thresholds that govern the storage of particulate organic carbon and mineral-associated organic carbon in Central Asian grasslands.

Spring green-up has advanced across much of the Northern Hemisphere, but it still shows little change or even delays in some regions, despite global warming. A new study reveals that soil freeze–thaw cycles as an overlooked process can reshape spring green-up each year.

Researchers have identified a method to surpass the plasma density limit in experiments with the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as the "artificial sun," providing a crucial physical basis for high-density operation in magnetic confinement fusion devices.

Can monitoring burps help fight climate change? Chinese zoologists have recently developed a system that estimates methane emissions from cattle and sheep by tracking their burp behavior, offering an innovative tool to support China's emission reduction efforts in agriculture.

Science and Technology Daily, China's major science newspaper, unveiled the country's top 10 sci-tech news events in 2025 on Thursday, including the large model Deepseek, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), and the superconducting quantum computing prototype.

A research team led by Prof. Abudukeremu Kadier and Prof. MA Pengcheng from the Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a novel nickel-basalt tablet (Ni-BT) material and applied it as a cathode for carbon dioxide reduction in a Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell. The cell configuration is Ni-BT/SDC/YSZ/SDC/LSCF.

A research team led by Prof. CHEN Yaning from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has assessed land-use changes in global terrestrial biodiversity hotspots within the framework of the United Nations' 2015 Land Degradation Neutrality policy.

At work, Wang Zhifeng is a scientist specializing in solar thermal power research, but in his free time, he is an avid snow sports enthusiast. He has even covered one of the walls in his office with action shots of him and his family out on the slopes. He has combined his two passions to envision an indoor ski resort powered by solar energy on a sunny island in south China.