Chinese Scientists in AI and Deep Sea Studies Named to Nature’s Top 10 List

The scientific journal Nature released its annual list of ten individuals who significantly influenced science in 2025, celebrating pioneering achievements in areas such as artificial intelligence, deep-sea exploration, neuroscience, immunology, and global scientific governance. This year’s selection spotlights breakthroughs, as well as personal integrity in face of challenges, and robustly features female scientific leadership, with six women among the ten honorees [para. 1][para. 3].

Two Chinese scientists were included: Liang Wenfeng, founder of the tech firm DeepSeek, and Du Mengran, a geologist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering. Their inclusion underscores China's growing international impact in both technological and natural sciences [para. 2].

Liang Wenfeng’s DeepSeek had a major impact in the artificial intelligence sector. In January 2025, the company launched R1, a large language model (LLM) noted for its advanced reasoning, high performance, and competitive cost. Uniquely, DeepSeek fully open-sourced the model—providing download access to the model’s weights and sharing its complete training methodology in a peer-reviewed Nature article. This act of “textbook-style transparency” disrupted the AI landscape, especially as China steadily catches up to the US in foundational technology. Liang’s proactive approach, which included stockpiling Nvidia GPUs ahead of rising technological tensions, positioned DeepSeek for success. The company also operates non-traditionally, with a flat organizational structure, project freedom for researchers, and a focus on potential—evidenced by core contributions from high school students. Though not focusing on commercialization, DeepSeek’s technology already serves tens of millions through government and social media platforms [para. 4][para. 5][para. 6][para. 7].

Du Mengran’s research explores the deep ocean. In 2024, aboard the submersible Fendouzhe, Du and her team descended over 9,000 meters into the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, discovering the world’s deepest-known animal ecosystem. This “cold seep” environment thrives without sunlight, relying instead on fluids rich in methane and hydrogen sulfide, which support chemosynthetic microbes. Du’s onsite expertise was crucial: she identified previously unknown communities of gastropods, tube worms, and clams—many likely new species. According to team members, Du’s insight was pivotal in redirecting the mission to explore further such ecosystems [para. 8][para. 9].

Nature’s list also highlighted scientists who defended academic and public health integrity. In the US, Susan Monarez was dismissed as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after she refused a directive from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to bypass standard vaccine approval procedures, an act that led to high-level resignations and drew Congressional attention for promoting scientific integrity [para. 10]. In India, Achal Agrawal quit his lectureship to combat academic fraud, founding India Research Watch, which successfully pressured the government to tie university rankings to retraction rates [para. 11]. Another honoree, Precious Matsoso of South Africa, was recognized for forging a multilateral pandemic treaty among 190 countries—a diplomatic achievement reached after years of negotiation [para. 12].

Nature’s editors emphasized that while scientific advances are often collaborative, individuals continue to make defining contributions. The list is neither a competition nor a hierarchy but a reflection of the personal stories that shaped science over the past year [para. 13].