Fu Xinhua, a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU)'s College of Plant Science & Technology, was awarded at the 13th Pineapple Science Awards ceremony held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Nov 23.
The award recognized 10 research or science popularization achievements that were both humorous and rigorous, celebrating curiosity in science.
Fu's award-winning research stemmed from a publication in the international academic journal "Contemporary Biology" in 2024, in collaboration with Li Daiqin and Zhang Shichang from Hubei University.
Fu Xinhua (center) receives the 2024 Pineapple Science Award for Biology at the event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Nov 23. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]
Their study revealed that certain spiders have learned special hunting techniques: instead of immediately consuming male fireflies they capture, the spiders perform a series of "surgeries" such as wrapping, biting and injecting venom to extinguish a section of the firefly's light organ, causing it to emit light in a manner resembling females. Subsequently, the "pseudo-female" is fixed on the spider web, attracting more flying male fireflies to fall into the trap. This research was covered by publications such as Science, National Geographic, The New York Times and New Scientist.
The selection of Pineapple Science Award recipients is based on papers or preprints published in reputable journals that are found to have made highly valuable academic achievements.
Established in 2012, the Pineapple Science Award became a part of the "World Young Scientist Summit" in 2019. With the slogan "celebrating curiosity", the award aims to reward imaginative and interesting scientific research results that ignite curiosity and passion for science.
Since 2012, the awards have annually evaluated imaginative scientific research results and events selected by a judging panel composed of experts from renowned universities and research institutions to name 10 winning projects that stimulate curiosity through their scientific, informative and entertaining popular science content and formats.
To date, numerous Nobel laureates, over a dozen academicians, a large number of top scholars from home and abroad, and the first recipient of the "Kalinga Prize" in China have attended this event.