
A roundup of recent science reporting including Chinese missile lidar simulation and higher education reform.
SCMP science reporting highlights feature Chinese researchers developing a missile lidar model to detect F-35 fighters and sweeping higher education reforms.
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SCMP compiles recent science and technology reporting.
From China’s higher education reform to claims surrounding BeiDou’s satellite, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting
We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Chinese researchers say missile lidar model can spot US F-35 at up to 61.5km
A computer simulation developed by Chinese researchers suggests that a missile-borne system with the latest light detection and ranging system, or lidar, could detect and track an F-35 stealth fighter at up to 61.5km (38 miles) at night.
2. ‘Everyone can attend university’: China unveils sweeping higher education reform

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly won by French chemist Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenzo Kipatsu for their discovery of nonlinear effects and autocatalytic phenomena in asymmetric organic synthesis. The two winners will share a prize of 12 million Swedish kronor equally, and the award ceremony is scheduled to be held on December 10.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for their discoveries in nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. This article also reviews the achievements and scientific research history of previous Nobel Prize winners in chemistry.

Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

On October 7, Sanya held a press conference to announce that Yazhou Bay National Laboratory, BGI Life Sciences Institute and other institutions had constructed a three-dimensional spatiotemporal cell map covering the entire rice process for the first time. The relevant results were published in the international journal Cell.

Yazhou Bay National Laboratory teamed up with a number of scientific research institutions to construct a three-dimensional spatio-temporal cell atlas covering the entire process of rice from seed germination to flowering and fruiting. It acquired more than 850,000 high-quality cell nuclear data and 340,000 spatial data units, annotated 119 cell types and 133 cell subtypes, revealed the fine spatial division of labor within the endosperm, and provided new resources for rice growth and development research and grain quality improvement.

American scholar Halson won this year's Nobel Prize in Physics for his work capturing cosmic neutrinos in the Antarctic ice. The Institute of Physics of Academia Sinica collaborated with his team to develop open source software to assist in data analysis. Taiwanese experts said that the research will help solve the mystery of the origin of the universe, and emphasized that it was not easy to build an observatory in Antarctica and that Halson was humble enough to share the results.