China unveils top 10 advances in life sciences

BEIJING -- The China Association for Science and Technology on Wednesday released the country's 10 most significant advances in 2020 in the life sciences field, highlighting food security and the COVID-19 epidemic.

The discovery of a smelly locust compound behind these pests' swarming topped the list. For the first time, it has revealed the mystery of locust swarms, which will be very significant in the control and prediction of locust plagues, and inspire scientists to solve the global food problem.

Other notable advances include the first 3D structure analysis of the COVID-19 protein, the unveiling of two drug candidates against the virus, and the construction of animal models for COVID-19 treatment.

Chinese scientists have also achieved advances in finding a disease-resistant gene for wheat, developing new cholesterol-lowering drugs, and the mechanism and regulation of organ aging in humans. Other advanced include brain cell research, unraveling a brain-spleen neural connection, improving nitrogen use efficiency, and CAR-T cells therapy.

The selection of the top 10 advances in life sciences has been hosted by the association every year since 2015.