1. Fossil of 125 million years found in China

Scientists from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), recently found a "Ningcheng Grass" fossil dating back 125 million years in Ningcheng county, Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

This is the earliest monocotyledon fossil found in the world so far, and provides an important basis for the scientific research of plant evolution.

A fossil, 125 million years old, is found in Ningcheng county, Inner Mongolia. [Photo/WeChat account: szchtf]

2. Chinese scientists develop new graphene technology

A research team led by Professor Chen Xuyuan from Shanxi University recently made a breakthrough in three-dimensional vertical graphene preparation and its energy storage applications.

They developed an oxygen-assisted "correction" technology to eliminate the over-dense graphene lamellae and prevent the lamellae from accumulating over time, avoiding the thickness saturation of vertical graphene during the growth process.

3. Shenzhong Link's first steel box girder completed

The first steel box girder of the Shenzhong Link, which links the eastern and western cities of the Pearl River Delta, has been erected, marking the moment that the project entered its upper structure construction stage.

It is another mega bridge and tunnel project, like the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and is one of the most complicated projects, with the greatest degree of technical difficulty, in the world. A number of factors need to be taken into consideration, such as height limits, flood control and environmental protection measures.

The first steel box girder of the Shenzhong Link is erected. [Photo/WeChat account: zhongshanfabu]

4. Evidence proves existence of ultra-high energy cosmic ray source

Chinese and Japanese researchers have observed disperse gamma ray radiation with the maximum energy of 957 trillion electron volts (TeV) through an experimental array in Tibet autonomous region, the CAS Institute of High Energy Physics recently announced.

It is the highest-level energy disperse gamma ray radiation that has ever been found, and is also the first evidence of the existence of PeVatrons, the most powerful cosmic accelerator known to date, in the Milky Way galaxy.

Chinese and Japanese researchers have observed disperse gamma ray radiation with the maximum energy of 957 TeV. [Photo/WeChat account: szchtf]

5. Technology allows recovery of precious metals through photocatalysis

Teams led by Li Hexing and Bian Zhenfeng from Shanghai Normal University have invented a technology that allows the recovery of precious metals through photocatalysis, realizing the efficient and green recycling of precious metals in discarded electronic equipment.

The relevant discoveries were recently published in the international authoritative periodical Nature Sustainability.