BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.

LOCUST STUDY

Chinese scientist Kang Le has won the 2021 Silverstein-Simeone Award, an international prize recognizing scientists for their outstanding work at the frontiers of chemical ecology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences said Wednesday.

Kang, a researcher with the academy's Institute of Zoology, bagged the award for cutting-edge research including his latest study which found that a smelly compound emitted by locusts can attract the insects in the wild to form a giant cluster.

The compound called 4-vinylanisole or 4VA, has been identified as an aggregation pheromone that is responsible for the behavior of the swarm. The discovery for the first time revealed the mystery of locust swarms, which is expected to be very significant in the control and prediction of locust plagues, and inspire scientists to solve the global food problem.

CHANG'E-4 PROBE

The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work for a 29th lunar day on the far side of the moon.

The lander woke up at 9:43 p.m. Tuesday (Beijing Time), and the rover, Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2), awoke at 3:54 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

Located in the northwest of Chang'e-4's landing site, the rover has traveled about 682.8 meters. During its 29th lunar day, the rover will continue to move northwest toward the basalt distribution area located about 1.2 km away from the rover.

CLEAN ENERGY

A new mega hydropower station in southwest China has started to store water in its dam, preparing to begin generating electricity in July.

With a total installed capacity of 16 million kilowatts, Baihetan station is located at the upper section of the Yangtze and is the second-largest hydropower station in China in terms of installed capacity, only after the Three Gorges Dam project in the central province of Hubei.

The first batch of Baihetan's generating units will go into operation in July 2021, and all units are expected to be operational by July 2022. Enditem

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