Some 565 academics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy voted on Sunday in Beijing for the top 10 most significant developments in science and technology in China and the world last year.

China's 10 most important developments in science and technology in 2006:

1. Significant achievements in Next Generation Internet (NGI) technology

China recorded a series of significant developments in its Demonstration Project for Next Generation Internet (NGI), which was launched three years ago. It has succeeded in completing and stably running the world's first and largest pure IPv6 Internet.

2. Largest natural gas field discovered in northeast Sichuan

China Petroleum and Chemical Cooperation announced on April 3 that it had discovered the largest and most abundant marine facies natural gas field in northeast Sichuan Province, Puguang Gas Field.

3. China builds first full superconducting experimental Tokamak fusion device

China independently developed the world's first full superconducting non-circular experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak device (EAST). The first test on September 28 lasted for nearly three seconds, and generated an electrical current of 200 kiloamperes.

4. Chemical Reaction Resonance at Quantum resolution

Yang Xueming, a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), together with his colleagues, for the first time observed the resonance phenomenon of a full quantum state resolved chemical reaction (fluorine and hydrogen), and successfully confirmed the process using a theoretical model, answering a 30-year-old question in the international community and significantly improving the depth and precision of chemical reaction studies.

5. First "green corridor" in Taklamakan Desert completed

China National Petroleum Corporation Tarim Oilfield Company, the CAS Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, the CAS Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute and the Daqing Oilfield Construction Design and Research Institute spent 14 years constructing the 436-kilometer-long "Protection and Ecological Project of Tarim Desert Highway," the longest "green corridor" to cross a desert in the world.

6. First round-the-world oceanic expedition successful

After 297 days, "Ocean No. 1" research vessel concluded China's first round-the-world oceanic scientific expedition on January 22.

7. Significant progress made in vaccine for Hepatitis B

The Third Military Medical University recently completed Phase I of a clinical study into a vaccine for Hepatitis B. Phase II is currently underway. This is the first clinical trial of the antigens vaccine.

8. Crucial breakthrough in renovation of electron positron collider

On November 18, a Beijing electron positron collider project team reported stable operation of a beam storage ring and linear accelerator, a significant milestone in successfully fulfilling the targets of the BEPC II Project.

9. China fulfills quantum teleportation of two-particle system

China Science and Technology University research team, led by Professor Pan Jianwei, recently successfully completed the world's first quantum teleportation of a two-particle system, and for the first time realized the manipulation of a six-photon entangled state.

10. Remote Sensing Satellite-1 successfully launched

On April 27, China successfully launched the Long March 4-B rocket at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, which later sent Remote Sensing Satellite-1 into orbit.

The top 10 most significant developments in science and technology in the world last year, as voted by academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering are as follows.

1. "Stardust" brings comet samples back to Earth

The Stardust sample return capsule, containing samples of a comet, successfully re-entered Earth's atmosphere and parachuted to the ground over the Utah Test and Training Range on January 15, 2006. This is the first time a probe launched by humans has brought comet samples back to Earth.

2. Important progress in growing organs from stem cells

Australian scientists have discovered the stem cell that produces the mammary gland, and in a world first grew new breast tissue by using a single stem cell in vivo mouse. This is expected to assist in the development of new breast cancer therapy, said scientists.

3. International thermonuclear programs launched

Representatives of the seven participating states in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), namely the European Union, China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Russia and India signed a joint agreement on the ITER program at the French presidential palace on November 21, launching a program to develop new energy sources for mankind.

4. World's smallest generator debuts

A professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Wang Zhonglin, led a project to turn mechanical energy into electrical energy on a nano scale, and developed the world's smallest generator �C a nano generator.

5. Sequencing of human chromosome #1 completed

British and American scientists published a sequencing map of human chromosome #1 on May 18. This new map of human chromosome #1 is the longest chapter in the "Book of Life" on human beings as well as the last chapter to be decoded by mankind.

6. Direct proof of dark matter found

In NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and with the use of special telescopes, US astronomers found the first direct evidence of dark matter.

7. Smart-1 Lunar Probe crashes on Moon surface

Europe's first lunar probe, Smart-1, successfully crashed into the Moon's surface on September 3. This concluded nearly three years of space travel to the Moon and is a prelude to the next round of lunar exploration.

8. Synthesis of super-heavy element #118

Cooperating with Russian scientists and using their cyclotron equipment, researchers at the US Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory successfully synthesized the super-heavy element #118 and observed its existence.

9. HIV found to have originated in wild chimpanzees

Through field investigation and genetic analysis, an international research group comprised of scientists from the United States, Europe and Cameroon confirmed that HIV-1 originated in wild chimpanzees and most likely evolved from a similar virus called simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that is found in chimpanzees.

10. "Connectivity Map" links drug to diseases

American scientists have completed a "connectivity map" revealing how drug molecules work in human cells at a genetic level. The map includes illustrative graphs of the complex relations between drug, genes and disease, which could significantly speed up the rate of drug discovery.

By People's Daily Online