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Scientific conferences are usually staid affairs. Presenters share their latest findings to polite, short-lived applause. But a talk can leave a lasting mark — a new disease treatment, a challenge to accepted paradigms, or the dawn of a new field. Nature spoke to four scientists about conference presentations that changed their careers.
Now in its tenth year, the Thousand Talents Plan is helping China to attract foreign researchers and provides an incentive for Chinese scientists living abroad to return home.