BEIJING -- An asteroid has been named after Zou Chenglu, a scientist known for his contributions to biochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said on Tuesday.

A ceremony was held in Beijing on Tuesday at the academy's Institute of Biophysics to announce the naming of Asteroid Zouchenglu, which was approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2020.

According to an IAU communique, the asteroid coded 325812 was discovered in 2008 by astronomers at the Purple Mountain Observatory in east China.

Zou was born in 1923 and died in 2006. A founder and pioneer of biochemistry in China, he made important contributions to the synthesis of insulin and was elected an academician of the CAS and the World Academy of Sciences.

Asteroids are the only celestial bodies that can be named by their discoverers. The naming is recognized as an international and permanent honor.