BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's science news from the past week:

UNLOCK SECRETS OF MOON & EARTH

China's Yutu-2, the first rover on the far side of the moon, has found materials from deep inside the moon that could help unravel the mystery of the lunar mantle composition and the formation and evolution of the moon and the earth.

Using data obtained by the visible and near infrared spectrometer installed on Yutu-2, a research team found that the lunar soil in the landing area of the Chang'e-4 probe contains olivine and pyroxene which came from the lunar mantle deep inside the moon.

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE ARTEMISININ

Chinese researchers have developed a new technology to produce artemisinin, the top choice for malaria treatment, on a large scale.

The researchers proposed to enhance the contact between the solvent and the leaves by reflux to speed up the artemisinin extraction. The extraction time was reduced from seven hours to four and a half hours.

EVOLUTIONARY EXPLOSION STUDY

A team of paleontologists from China, Britain and Russia recently discovered that the oxygen content changes of the atmosphere and ocean were key factors affecting the Cambrian evolutionary explosion of animals 540 million years ago.

THEORETICAL PHYSICS

The International Center for Theoretical Physics Asia-Pacific (ICTP-AP) has been launched in Beijing, capital of China.

ICTP-AP will be a talent training base and international academic exchange center with global vision.

HIGH RESOLUTION EARTH OBSERVATION CENTER

China will set up a center for high-resolution Earth observation in the port city of Qingdao to provide satellite data assistance for marine science and technology innovation. Enditem