6 CHINA Monday, November 19, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION
years on SCIENCE Pushing the boundaries to aid the world
From quantum physics to hybrid rice, Chinese scientists are helping to shape the future. Zhang Zhihao and Zhang Yangfei report.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories reflecting China’s achievements in fields such as science, law enforcement, education and transportation resulting from 40 years of the reform and openingup policy. Other stories will follow in coming weeks.
Tu Youyou: Saving millions from Pan Jianwei: malaria with an ancient remedy EXPERIMENTS AND EXPERIENCE Leading China China’s Number Number Number of into a quantum Tu Youyou’s resume may pale in research and of national of SCI papers domestic comparison with those of other future Nobel laureates, because she only development high-tech published patent holds a bachelor’s degree, has no budget development by mainland applications overseas research experience and is zones Chinese not a fellow of any Chinese scientific academies. scientists However, her discovery of artemis inin, the active compound that serves as the backbone for the most effective antimalarial treatment to 1.7 trillion yuan 156 1,381,594 date, has helped avert more than 6.2 2017 2017 2017 million deaths globally between 361,200 2000 and 2015, according to the 2017 World Health Organization. By the end of 2016, artemisinin and its part ner drugs were being used by 80 countries and regions. In 2015, Tu won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, becoming 105 the first Chinese to win the award. In ments, and consulting TCM practi 2012 ZHANG DAGANG / XINHUA January last year, she became one of tioners. two recipients of the 2016 State Pre After a few months she discovered 1 trillion 192,800 Imagine a future where the inter eminent Science and Technology that sweet wormwood had been used yuan 2012 net is hackproof, where computers Award, China’s highest scientific as malaria treatment in China since 2012 535,313 can calculate quicker than today’s honor. 400 AD. However, crude extracts of 2012 supercomputers, and secrets are The 87yearold from Ningbo, Zhe the plant could not reliably inhibit kept safe using strange physical phe jiang province, is now working on plasmodium growth, which meant nomena that even Albert Einstein understanding and overcoming the active ingredient had to be identi didn’t understand. resistant to artemisinin in plasmodi fied. 19,800 That is the future that quantum 53 1998 13,751 um (mosquito parasites that cause Over the next two years, Tu and her 1998 physicist Pan Jianwei — known in malaria). Her team is also investigat colleagues made 190 consecutive, 55 billion yuan 1998 China as the “Father of Quantum” — ing the use of the drug to cure illness but fruitless, attempts to raise the 1998 hopes to achieve through his work in es such as cancer, lupus (an inhibition rate to 100 percent. By the quantum physics and the study of autoimmune disease) and leukemia. time the right active ingredient, arte 5,600 subatomic particles, nature’s small “My greatest wish is that as our misinin, had been found and extract 1 1988 4,780 est building blocks. country reforms and opens up, our ed, Tu was seriously ill with toxic 9 billion yuan 1988 1988 Known for his optimism, enthusi institutes will allow more capable hepatitis due to long exposure to poi 1988 asm and vision, the 48yearold phys young scientists to stand out and sonous solvents. icist from Dongyang, Zhejiang contribute to its development,” she The drug showed promise during province, is spearheading China’s said in a 2015 speech. tests on mice and monkeys, but some march toward a quantum future. In 1967, malaria was ravaging the researchers were concerned about its In 1996, when Pan was pursuing a population of southern China, so the toxicity in humans. In response, Tu doctorate in physics at the University government formed Mission 523, a volunteered to be the first human of Vienna, Austria, under renowned project to discover a cure for the ill recipient, saying, “I am the head of quantum scientist Anton Zeilinger, ness. the research team — it is my respon his mentor asked him why he want As an expert in traditional Chinese sibility.” ed to study quantum physics. Pan medicine, Tu was appointed head of In 1978, the appraisal committee replied, “I want to build a worldclass the mission in 1969, but her quest for Mission 523 approved the use of quantum physics lab like the one you was daunting because more than artemisininbased drugs to treat have, but in China.” 240,000 compounds had already malaria. From the early 2000s, the While studying in Austria, Pan been tested unsuccessfully across the World Health Organization gradual helped write a paper, “Experimental world. ly adopted the use of artemisinin Quantum Teleportation”, that Tu decided to start from scratch by based combination drug therapies as became one of the most influential scouring medical literature from firstline treatment for tackling Source: Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development CHINA DAILY for quantum communication tech ancient China along with folk treat malaria worldwide. nologies after it was published in the journal Nature in 1997. In Time Magazine, which listed Pan as one of this year’s 100 most Zhao Zhongxian: Yuan Longping: influential people, Zeilinger wrote: “I can’t imagine the emergence of Pushing physics with pots and passion Achieving the dream of feeding the world quantum technology without Jian wei Pan. He is the kind of person who rolls up his sleeves and gets to work. Zhao Zhongxian, winner of the Members of the agricultural yielded about 18 tons per hec His longterm goal of a quantum 2016 State Preeminent Science and science community often tare, surpassing Yuan’s world internet has come a few leaps closer Technology Award, often said his humorously comment, “Two record of 17.25 tons per hectare because of this.” true passion — the subject that has Pings fed the Chinese people”, set last year, according to Xin The term “quantum internet” captivated him for more than 50 according to People’s Daily. hua. refers to a network of satellites and years — is pushing the limits of The first “Ping” is Deng Xiaop Yuan also made headlines this groundbased equipment capable superconducting materials in phys ing, the architect of China’s year by growing rice in the most of sharing quantum information ics. reform and openingup policy unconventional places — Chi across the globe. This method of Since the discovery of supercon which greatly improved people’s na’s saline soils and the deserts communication is inherently ductivity in 1911, scientists around livelihoods, while the second is of Dubai in the United Arab secure because attempts to eaves the world have competed to discover Yuan Longping, who created the Emirates. drop affect the quantum state and new superconductors — materials world’s first hybrid rice in 1974. In May, the fields in Dubai, trigger alarms, making it useful in with no electric resistance if cooled Yuan, who was born in Beijing which were irrigated with sea government, defense, finance and to extremely law temperatures, typi but has lived mostly in Hunan water, yielded more than 7.5 tons other fields where security is para cally a few dozen degrees above 273 province, has devoted his life to per hectare, making China the mount. C, known as absolute zero. breaking yield records and safe only country capable of growing In 2001, Pan returned to China and Superconductors can carry a far guarding food security for the rice in a tropical desert. ignited under the country’s pursuit greater electrical current than typical JIN LIWANG / XINHUA people of China and the world. HAO QUANYING / FOR CHINA DAILY Next year, researchers and of quantum technologies. In the pre conductive materials, and can also Hybrid rice is created by entrepreneurs from China and smartphone age, he began building repulse external magnetic fields said. “During the day, we did crossbreeding two genetically 88th birthday in September, he the UAE will launch a 100hec the world’s first quantum communi around their surface, leading to the research with pots and stoves we distinct rice “parents”, whose said he still has three dreams to tare standard farm planted with cations satellite, Micius. creation of powerful electromagnets. made ourselves, and at night, we “offspring” occasionally embody fulfill before he retires. desert rice, and help to acceler In 2016, the launch of Micius Notable applications of supercon fought rats in our bedsheets. stronger characteristics — such “The first is to create rice ate the process of building a cemented China’s reputation as a ductors include Maglev trains, mag “It’s no joke to say that our as better resistance to disease straws so big and yielding so green, ecological Dubai in 2020, world leader in the application of netic resonance imaging and the research conditions have and insects, and higher yields — many grains that people can Xinhua said. quantum technology. Large Hadron Collider, the world’s improved hundreds of times since than either parent, according to take shade under the stems,” he On Oct 10, Yuan’s saline The satellite pushed the bounda largest and most powerful particle the 1960s,” he said, adding that 40 the International Rice Research said. “The second is seeing hybrid rice reached a yield of ries even further last year by estab accelerator. years of reform and openingup Institute. hybrid rice planted across the around 3.9 tons per hectare in lishing a quantum link between However, superconductors were have made China more stable and This makes hybrid rice funda globe to eliminate world hun his test fields in Qingdao, particles more than 1,200 kilometers impractical and uneconomical richer, making it easier to conduct mentally different from geneti ger.” Shandong province, proving the apart, smashing the previous world before the 1980s because expensive research. cally engineered rice (also His third dream is to turn Chi hybrid’s feasibility and poten record of 144 km. It also teleported a liquid helium was required to bring “Young scientists today have solid known as transgenic rice) na’s 100 million hectares of tial. photon, the fundamental particle of the temperature close to absolute knowledge, abundant budgets and because no foreign genes are saline wasteland into a bread Mass planting of hybrid rice light, from Earth to space instanta zero. advanced equipment, but there are introduced using genetic engi basket. Yuan estimated if 10 per was approved in 1996. In 2015, neously for the first time. In 1987, Zhao discovered a new also more distractions in the world.” neering. However, it is extreme cent of China’s saline soil were to the Ministry of Agriculture esti “China is at least five years ahead copperoxidebased superconductive He added that the secret behind ly difficult and timeconsuming yield rice at around 4.5 metric mated that approximately 50 of the rest of the world in terms of material that could operate at his lifelong dedication is “making a to produce hybrid rice with the tons per hectare, at least an percent of China’s ricegrowing quantum communications,” Pan around 180 C, significantly raising living doing what you truly love”. right characteristics, the insti extra 80 million people could be land had been sown with the said. “It has also made worldclass the practicality of superconductors “The greatest joy of being a scien tute said. fed. strains developed by Yuan. achievements in quantum comput because liquid nitrogen — cheaper tist is that we are constantly over “Among hightech scientific Despite the monumental task, Hybrid rice has also increased ing. I hope within my lifetime, I will and more freely available than liquid coming obstacles and working research, hybrid rice is one of Yuan’s dreams are slowly yields in key riceproducing see the birth of the quantum inter helium — can easily provide the criti towards a breakthrough every day. the fields in which China has becoming realities. countries including Indonesia, net.” cal temperature. And when you finally make that consistently led the world for On Oct 29, Xiangliangyou Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Bra “When we made the early discov breakthrough, you can see a new decades,” Yuan told Xinhua 900, a superhybrid rice strain zil, the United States and the Contact the writers at eries, our lab was dirt poor,” Zhao world like no other.” News Agency this year. On his developed by Yuan and his team, Philippines, the ministry added. [email protected]