China Science And Technology News

[Beijingwalker]

Chinese scientists’ brain-mimicking chip ‘up to 478 times faster than Nvidia A100 GPU’​

Holly Chik
Published: 7:30pm, 4 Jul 2026

Chinese scientists say they have developed a tiny computer chip capable of modelling complex brain structures in real time.

Chinese scientists say they have developed a tiny computer chip capable of modelling complex brain structures in real time.

According to its developers, this chip could not only transform diagnostics and treatment for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, but also boost the performance of brain-machine interfaces and assist surgeons.

Researchers from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported the breakthrough in a peer-reviewed study published in Science on Thursday, detailing a 40-nanometre memory chip with an integrated artificial neural network.

The device overcomes long-standing computational limits, enabling it to reconstruct complex brain surfaces in less than half a second – making it 50 to 478 times faster than state-of-the-art Nvidia A100 graphics processing unit (GPU) systems, according to the team.

Lead author Yang Yuchao, a professor at Peking University’s school of integrated circuits and deputy dean for its school of electronic and computer engineering, told state-run Guangming Daily that the chip could accurately render the brain’s folds for medical applications.

“This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for brain-computer interfaces and the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases,” he said. “In the future, personalised and dynamic digital brain twins will become possible.”

“It also provides a hardware foundation that can operate in real time for intraoperative neuronavigation [a navigation system for surgery], early screening for Alzheimer’s disease and personalised interventions,” Yang added.

Chinese team’s brain-mimicking chip ‘up to 478 times faster than Nvidia GPU’

New chip performs data storage and computation in a single memory array, enabling real-time modelling of complex brain structures, team says.

www.scmp.com

 

[Beijingwalker]

China's 'artificial sun' hits new milestone,, targets 2030 for first electricity output
By Global Times
Published: Jul 05, 2026 11:05 AM

A drone photo taken on June 27, 2026 shows technicians and experts posing for group photos with the toroidal-field superconducting magnet for the fusion reactor in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province.

China has achieved a major milestone in its pursuit of commercial nuclear fusion, as two domestically developed superconducting magnets for a fusion reactor have passed technical acceptance and full-load testing, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. The compact fusion experimental device, for which one of the magnets is a core component, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2027, with the goal of demonstrating the country's first nuclear-fusion-generated electricity around 2030.

The two key superconducting magnets for the fusion reactors in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), also known as the "artificial sun," have successfully completed development acceptance and full parameter testing, marking the full localization of all core technologies of the project, the Global Times learned from the research team on June 28.

Qin Jinggang, a deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP), told the CCTV that when his team was assigned the project six years ago, it was given two clear objectives: improve performance and reduce costs. At the time, everything — from the engineering design to the sourcing of materials — remained uncertain.

After six years of intensive research and development, the team not only achieved significant and stable performance improvements but also localized the entire supply chain and production equipment, said Qin.

The cost of the superconducting material has also fallen sharply. A meter of the material, which once cost about 400 yuan ($56), now costs around 100 yuan, according to Qin.

More importantly, the newly tested coil represents a significant leap in scale. Compared with previous designs, it is substantially larger in terms of weight, dimensions and energy-storage capacity. The weight of a single coil has increased from 350 tons to 580 tons, paving the way for fusion devices capable of operating at much higher energy levels, said Qin.

Qin cautioned that passing the latest tests marks only "80 percent" of the journey. The remaining challenge is to install the coil in the device and verify its long-term stability and service life under demanding operating conditions.

"Only after it passes those tests can we say we have truly mastered high-temperature superconducting technology," he said.

China has steadily accelerated progress toward commercial nuclear fusion in recent years.

In January 2025, the "artificial sun" project sustained a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, setting a new world record.

The latest breakthrough in superconducting magnets addresses one of the most challenging bottlenecks on the path toward practical fusion power, the culmination of efforts spanning several generations of Chinese scientists since the 1980s, per CCTV.

"Nuclear fusion is undeniably one of the most difficult technologies to master," Qin said. "But after decades of progress, we are finally beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. Our goal remains unchanged: to demonstrate the generation of our first electricity from nuclear fusion by around 2030."

China's 'artificial sun' hits new milestone,, targets 2030 for first electricity output - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

 

[ety]

China's 'artificial sun' hits new milestone,, targets 2030 for first electricity output
By Global Times
Published: Jul 05, 2026 11:05 AM

A drone photo taken on June 27, 2026 shows technicians and experts posing for group photos with the toroidal-field superconducting magnet for the fusion reactor in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province.

China has achieved a major milestone in its pursuit of commercial nuclear fusion, as two domestically developed superconducting magnets for a fusion reactor have passed technical acceptance and full-load testing, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. The compact fusion experimental device, for which one of the magnets is a core component, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2027, with the goal of demonstrating the country's first nuclear-fusion-generated electricity around 2030.

The two key superconducting magnets for the fusion reactors in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), also known as the "artificial sun," have successfully completed development acceptance and full parameter testing, marking the full localization of all core technologies of the project, the Global Times learned from the research team on June 28.

Qin Jinggang, a deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP), told the CCTV that when his team was assigned the project six years ago, it was given two clear objectives: improve performance and reduce costs. At the time, everything — from the engineering design to the sourcing of materials — remained uncertain.

After six years of intensive research and development, the team not only achieved significant and stable performance improvements but also localized the entire supply chain and production equipment, said Qin.

The cost of the superconducting material has also fallen sharply. A meter of the material, which once cost about 400 yuan ($56), now costs around 100 yuan, according to Qin.

More importantly, the newly tested coil represents a significant leap in scale. Compared with previous designs, it is substantially larger in terms of weight, dimensions and energy-storage capacity. The weight of a single coil has increased from 350 tons to 580 tons, paving the way for fusion devices capable of operating at much higher energy levels, said Qin.

Qin cautioned that passing the latest tests marks only "80 percent" of the journey. The remaining challenge is to install the coil in the device and verify its long-term stability and service life under demanding operating conditions.

"Only after it passes those tests can we say we have truly mastered high-temperature superconducting technology," he said.

China has steadily accelerated progress toward commercial nuclear fusion in recent years.

In January 2025, the "artificial sun" project sustained a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, setting a new world record.

The latest breakthrough in superconducting magnets addresses one of the most challenging bottlenecks on the path toward practical fusion power, the culmination of efforts spanning several generations of Chinese scientists since the 1980s, per CCTV.

"Nuclear fusion is undeniably one of the most difficult technologies to master," Qin said. "But after decades of progress, we are finally beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. Our goal remains unchanged: to demonstrate the generation of our first electricity from nuclear fusion by around 2030."

China's 'artificial sun' hits new milestone,, targets 2030 for first electricity output - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

If realized by 2030, that be great. What is the cost ? hope it's not costing more energy to generate electricity, as the cases now ?

 

[Beijingwalker]

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