A person uses DeepSeek app on a mobile phone on Feb. 17, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Liang Wenfeng, founder of the Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, and "Deep diver" Chinese geoscientist Du Mengran have been selected for the journal Nature's annual "Nature's 10" list, which highlights ten people at the heart of some of the biggest science stories of 2025.

The pair are recognized respectively for driving the development of powerful large-scale AI models and for pioneering deep-sea exploration that revealed some of the deepest animal ecosystems ever observed on Earth.

In its feature on Liang, Nature noted that his firm, DeepSeek, "rocked the world of artificial intelligence" in January with the release of its powerful and cost-effective R1 model. The journal observed that the move "instantly demonstrated that the United States was not as far ahead in AI as many experts had thought."

The feature on Du highlighted her pioneering dives to the hadal zone, the ocean's deepest layer, beyond six kilometers. At the bottom of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, northeast of Japan, she and her colleagues discovered "the deepest-known ecosystem with animals on the planet."

According to Nature, this year's "Nature's 10" reflects a broad range of scientific endeavors and societal challenges, spanning astronomy, deep-ocean research, biomedicine, research integrity, public health policy and artificial intelligence. Together, the stories showcase how advances at both the largest and smallest scales of nature, as well as behind-the-scenes work on research integrity and health policy, are shaping science and society in 2025.

Compiled by editors of Nature, the selection is not a prize or ranking but a list that explores important developments and stories in science over the past year and some of the people who played important parts in them, often as members of large research teams.

Brendan Maher, a features editor at Nature, said the 2025 list celebrates "the exploration of new frontiers, the promise of groundbreaking medical advances, an unwavering commitment to safeguarding scientific integrity, and those shaping global policies that save lives."

He added that "it is inspiring to see the work of so many people who are working hard to understand the natural world and, in many cases, to help it," which is why they are selected as part of this year's Nature's 10.