China featured heavily in the renowned journal’s rundown of the 10 individuals who shaped science in 2024.
Two Chinese scientists have been recognized in the prestigious journal Nature’s list of the “10 people who helped shape science in 2024” for their pioneering contributions to space exploration and medical research.
This year’s edition of the “Nature’s 10” list, released on Monday, highlights individuals behind key advances in a wide range of scientific fields — from nuclear clock design to artificial intelligence-powered weather forecasting.
Among the 10 honorees were two researchers from China: Li Chunlai, who played a crucial role in China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission; and Xu Huji, a doctor who is developing a potentially revolutionary new treatment for autoimmune diseases.
Dubbed China’s “moon-rock guardian” by Nature, Li was a senior figure in the team behind the Chang’e-6 mission that achieved a global first by successfully returning nearly 2,000 grams of lunar soil samples from the Moon’s far side.
As the probe’s deputy chief designer, Li was instrumental in deciding the landing site for Chang’e-6: the South Pole-Aitken Basin — the largest, deepest, and oldest impact basin on the Moon.
“Samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken Basin may potentially obtain samples from the deep lunar interior or even the lunar mantle, providing valuable data for the study of the Moon’s internal composition,” Li said in a press conference in June.
After the spacecraft returned to Earth, Li was among the first scientists to analyze the soil samples it had collected and together with his colleagues published the results of these tests in September.
The team found that the lunar samples from the dark side of the Moon have a lower bulk density than previous samples collected elsewhere on the lunar surface, which means they are “looser and more porous.”
Li’s team also identified distinct characteristics in the mineral composition and chemical makeup of the samples, providing fresh evidence that may help refine theories about how the Moon and the rest of the Solar System was formed.
Xu, the other Chinese scientist featured in this year’s list, was recognized for his pioneering work in cell-based therapy for autoimmune diseases.
Described by Nature as a “daring doctor,” Xu and his team developed an innovative treatment using gene-edited T cells derived from healthy donors rather than the patients themselves.
This breakthrough therapy has shown promise in treating severe autoimmune conditions including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.
While Xu’s therapy is still in the early stages of development and will require further clinical trials to determine its long-term efficacy, it has shown promise in providing patients with a more affordable option compared with current patient-derived cell treatments.
Xu’s team has reportedly already tested the new therapy on 24 patients with autoimmune diseases. “We have a plan,” he told Nature. “We really want this to be widely used.”
The 2024 “Nature’s 10” list also recognized researchers from countries including the U.S., Germany, Canada, Russia, and India for their contributions to science, technology, engineering, and medicine.
(Header image: Left: A portrait of Li Chunlai. Jin Liwang/Xinhua; right: A portrait of Xu Huji. From Weibo)
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