China in Africa

In 2016, the National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF) funded 41,184 projects, with a total funding for equipment, materials, travel costs and other direct costs 22.706 billion Yuan. Indirect costs for for project organization were 4.1 billion Yuan. in 2016, the Youth Science Fund funded 16,112, with direct costs of 3.177 billion yuan; the Outstanding Young Science Fund funded 400 people, with direct cost of 520 million yuan, and the National Outstanding Young Scientists Fund served 198 young people, with direct cost of 679 million yuan. Among the directions in 2017 will be basic theory and key technologies of communion robots” and four other major research projects.”

China Bio news release, April 1, 2017

State-owned China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (CASIC) have announced plans for a network of 156 mini-satellites to facilitate global broadband coverage. The low orbiting, networked satellites will orbit 1,000 km above the ground and launched between 2018 and 2025. Small satellites are easy to mass produce and upgrade at low cost. Low orbit helps avoid signal delay; and satellite communication services with frequencies from 26.5 to 40 hertz will improve Internet access.

CAS news release, April 1, 2017

In conjunction with China’s deep sea exploration program, the institute has developed a solid lithium battery with an energy density up to 300Wh/kg which was tested during 9 dives greater than 7,000 meters, of which 6 were more than 10,000 meters, and the maximum working depth wasf 10,901 meters. Accumulated underwater working time was 134 hours, the maximum continuous operating time 20 hours.

CAS news release, March 30, 2017

At the inauguration, it was stressed that the project should give full play to the advantages of Beijing, e. g., the strong support for the construction of the National Science and Technology Innovation Center, the integration of the military, and the advantages to innovative institutional mechanisms and implementation.

China Bio news release, March 30, 2017

The aircraft was developed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. Similar in size to a Boeing 737, it has a maximum range of 4,500 km and was made with the purpose of fighting forest fires and performing marine rescues. It can collect 12 tons of water in 20 seconds and transport up to 370 tons of water, all on a single tank of fuel.

CAS news release, March 30, 2017

The group of ZHANG Dawei has developed a biosensor which monitors a set of transcriptional regulators responding to intracellular phenylalanine concentrations via a fluorescent signal. The sensor was used to monitor bacteria engineered for overproduction of phenylalanine.

China Bioindustry news release, March 29, 2013

The center contains specimen collected in the South Pacific at depth from 6,500 to 10,900 m depth and will build a unique database for microbial resources and large data.

China Bio news release, March 28, 2017

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, also known as white graphene”, has similar properties to graphene, such as excellent mechanical stability and thermal conductivity. Using ultrasonic separation and cheap raw materials, boron nitride nanosheets with an average thickness of about 3 nanometers was prepared at 19% yield.”

China Bio news releae, March 27, 2017

Haiyi (sea wings”) is made from carbon fiber and was built at CAS Shenyang Institute of Automation. It can monitor sea water temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll and oxygen content. Haiyi does not have a propeller. In its body, there is an oil bag that works like a fish bladder, and a moveable battery.The depth was reached in the Mariana Trench and monitored by the mother ship Tansuo-1. In Oct 2014, Haiyi swam 1,022.5 kilometers nonstop in 30 days during a test.”

CAS news release, March 24, 2017

The plant has been installed at Sinopec’s Zhenhai plant and will start operation in the second half of 2017. Capacity is 100,000 t/y based on waste food and tall oil. According to the International Air Transport Association’s forecast, in 2020 bio kerosene will reach 30% of the total amount of jet fuel. China consumes nearly 20 million tons of aviation fuel annually.

China Bio news release, March 25, 2017

The 1600 m2 center located in Myanmar is under the management of the CAS Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden and works on biodiversity projects in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The English website http://www.seabri.cn introduces the researchers, the progress of field science, the discovery of results, the publication of papers, and the cultivation of talents.

China Bio news release, March 24, 2017

Presently, over 90 % of carbon fibers are prepared from polyacrylonitrile. A team of the Ningbo Institute succeded to prepare a lignin – acrylonitrile copolymer by esterification and free radical copolymerization, with good spinnability and thermal stability.

CAS news release, March 24, 2017

The yet unnamed center will focus on genetic diseases such as diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, malignant tumors and others in view of personalized (precision”) treatment, and the establishment of a genetic database, related to human longevity and intervention. The location is in Hefei’s Chaohu Economic Development Zone”

China Bio news release, March 8, 2017

The group of Hong ZHANG at China’s Third Military Medical University have developed a rapid blood typing test which uses blood-group specific antibodies, bromocresol green as an indicator dye and paper chromatography. When a drop of blood is applied, the results appear as visual color change in the observation window of the paper strip. After analyzing 3,550 clinical blood samples, the test showed a higher than 99.9 % accuracy rate.

CAS news release, March 21, 2017

In the resin, bisphenol A, a petrochemically produced molecule, is substituted by lignin-derived vanillin. The synthesis proceeds in high yield (~ 93.3%) from vanillin and a phosphorous organic compound via diamine coupling to a bisphenol, followed by epichlorohydrin reaction to the epoxide. After curing, the epoxy resin shows a high Tg (~ 214 ° C), a tensile strength (~ 80 MPa) and a modulus (~ 2709 MPa), much higher than the values for bisphenol A epoxy resin.

CAS news release, March 21, 2017