The annual top ten events in China s basic research for the year 2009 were unveiled on January 13th, 2010.
With a view to highlighting the news-oriented feature, the time span of the news reports recommended for the competition was redefined as January 1st to November 30th, 2009, based on the experience gained in previous years. The selection was organized by the Basic Research Service Center, Ministry of Science and Technology.
In accordance with the Interim Selection Provisions for Top Ten News on Basic Research in China, the emphasis of the selection activities was focused on such parameters as novelty, originality and social impact. The news sources for the selection were recommended by journals like Science and Technology Review, Science Foundation in China, Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and China Basic Research.
After the preliminary evaluation, 30 candidates were selected from the 184 recommended news reports. Then the 30 news reports were sent to Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, experts of the 973 Program Advisory Group and Consultation Group, chief scientists of the 973 Program, directors of the State Key Laboratories and other experts for rating by means of anonymous voting.
According to voting results, the selected top ten events on basic research in China for the year 2009 was listed as follows:
Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC) Major Renovation Project Passes State Acceptance Inspection
Identification of Carbon Balance in China s Terrestrial Ecosystem
Unveiling the Type A1 Brachydactyly Pathogenesis
-Inhibitory Factor -2 Complex Signaling Defect Found to Lead to Insulin Resistance
Experiments Confirm Developmental Totipotency of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Metal Sodium Found to Change into Transparent Insulator Under High Pressure Conditions
Formation Mechanism of the Extreme Intensity of Nano-Twin Copper Clarified
Key Progress Obtained in the Research on Superconducting Mechanisms and Properties of High-temperature Copper-oxide Superconductors
Super-hybrid Rice Heterosis Related Potential Functional Genes Identified
Some Key Evidences of the Origin of Birds Discovered
On the whole, the selected top ten events exhibited the following 6 characteristics:
Firstly, sustained increase in China s original innovation capacity becomes more evident. For instance, Chinese scientists have made outstanding contributions to high-temperature superconductor research in 2008. The important result of an iron-based superconductors research selected as one of the top ten events in basic research in China for the year 2008 was also listed by Science as one of the top ten S&T progresses in 2008.
Another result in high-temperature copper-oxide superconductor research was selected again in 2009, which showed that after a long-term accumulation, a solid foundation and strong potential to demonstrate continuous innovation capability has been built up in high-temperature superconductivity research in China.
Secondly, mass breakthroughs continue to emerge. Though medical science has been a week area in China, it gained rapid development momentum in recent years, with significant results of international influence emerging one after another. Three of the top ten events in 2009 came from medical research, showing that on the basis of accumulation over the years, mass breakthroughs in China s medical research were gaining momentum. Such trends are often indicative of significant revolutionary breakthroughs.
Thirdly, global change has become a hot issue in basic research. In 2006, the result of a study on the accumulation of organic carbon in mature forest soil was listed as one of the top ten events, and a research on carbon sink was selected in 2007. An oxygen isotope based study on the changes of East Asian monsoon entered the 2008 list of top ten events.
In 2009, the result of another research on the carbon balance in China's terrestrial ecosystem was selected, exhibiting the whole society's attention to global change. The continuous investigation into global change not only prepared China for coping with global change, but laid a theoretical foundation for solving those environmental issues that constrained China's economic and social development
Fourthly, state key laboratories functioned as more and more important platforms. For five of the top ten events in 2009, the projects were completed and the main results were obtained by state key laboratories, indicating that with strengthened efforts in the construction of state key laboratories and the convergence of a number of excellent research teams, those laboratories further enhanced their comprehensive capacities and played a more and more important role in the national innovation system.
Fifthly, basic research played a more significant role in supporting the national economic and social development. Food security guarantees the economic and social development in China. Major breakthroughs in hybrid rice research in China has basically solved the food supply for its people and attracted worldwide attention.
On this basis, a major breakthrough was achieved again in 2009 on the research of functional genomics of super hybrid rice, shedding light on revealing the genetic basis and molecular mechanism of heterosis, and laying the scientific foundation for improving China s food security capacity.
Lastly, China's traditional preponderant disciplines kept steady development. China enjoys unique academic resources and geographical advantages in paleontology research and has formed a relatively complete research system, displaying international standards in many respects. The animal fossils that were discovered in Chengjiang and Wong'an, Yunnan Province, by Chinese scientists have aroused quite a stir in the international paleontology field.
In 2009, China again made a major breakthrough in the origin of birds and found a number of key evidences for solving issues related to the evolution of fingers during the evolution of dinosaurs to birds, resulting in significant international impacts.
