China's ministry releases top 10 scientific advances

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Science and Technology Friday released the top 10 domestic scientific advances of 2022.

At the top of the list is the Martian subsurface structure revealed by Mars rover Zhurong's radar instrument. The study not only showed detailed subsurface features of Mars but also provided the observation evidence of the water presence, which helps to shed light on the planet's geologic history and climate conditions.

The detection of active, repeating, fast radio bursts by the FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope) ranked second. This discovery has laid the observation foundation for revealing the origin of the mysterious radio waves.

The third place went to a new principle and technology for hydrogen generation directly from seawater. It solves a technical problem that has long plagued the industry.

Other advances include research on COVID-19 variants and immune escape mechanisms, the development of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, and the synthesis of the organic compound ethylene glycol.