Photosynthetic capacity at night makes “mile-a-minute” weed a particularily harmful invasive plant
Mikania micrantha, dubbed “mile-a-minute” weed, is one of the top 100 worst invasive species and one of the most harmful invasive plants, also in south China. WAN Fanghao, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and colleagues have prepared a 1.79 Gb reference chromosome map and have shown that half of the genome is composed of long terminal repeat retrotransposons, including a whole genome duplication event. Mikania micrantha achieves higher photosynthetic capacity by CO2 absorption at night to supplement its carbon fixation during the day, as well as enhanced stem photosynthesis efficiency. Furthermore, the metabolites of the plant can increase the availability of nitrogen by enriching microbes that participate in nitrogen cycling pathways.
Nature Communication https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13926-4
CAS Institute of Metal Research team develops meter-scale single-wall nanotube films
The production of high-quality SWCNT thin films by an efficient and scalable method is a key issue for their practical application in electronics. However, two major obstacles remain: first, the size of fabricated SWCNT films is usually limited to the square...
South China University of Technology team develops electricity-generating windows
The group of YIP Hin-Lap at South China University of Technology has constructed a glass device that let the familiar visible portions of sunlight through, turning back the infrared light, and converting the near-infrared region in-between into an electric current. In...
Hangzhou tests luminescent crosswalks
The crosswalk with luminescence function is located in Hangzhou's Xixi Road. The main purpose is to increase pedestrian's safety when crossing overnight. The lights on both sides of the crossing are turned on at night, but visibility is bad in case of rain or thick...
CAS Institute of Process Engineering promotes cellulose fiber technology based on ionic liquids
Unlike in the traditional viscose process, the ionic liquds dissolve cellulose in one-step without chemical derivatization process. The regenerated cellulose fiber is 90% similar to natural cellulose. The team around has designed novel functional ionic liquds,...
Tianjin opens staff-less supermarket
Shopping in Tianjin's 5 floor supermarket is based in IoT, AI and biometrics. In 6 months since the supermarket opened, it is said that no shoplifting has ocurred. Japan China news, July 3, 2018
Sun Yat-sen University reports pilot program on AI to detect cancer
In China, more than 2.7 million people die of cancer every year. Guoliang XU, an endoscopy specialist working at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, one of the largest cancer treatment centers in southern China, used endoscopy examination and produced 48 images that...
Queqiao Satellite to bridge China’s lunar cxploration
In Chinese legend, magpies took pity on two lovers separated by the Milky Way, so they created the Queqiao bridge, allowing the couple to be together for one day a year. Queqiao is also the name of a relay satellite which has entered on June 14 the Halo orbit in order...
CAS Hefei Institute of Physical Science team builds new 3D cell genetic toxicity test system
The group of Lijun WU at the Center’s Institute of Technology, Biology and Agriculture constructed a three-dimensional (3D) cell-based novel genotoxicity detection system based on the the CD59 AL mutation detection system. First, a 3D cell mass was obtained by a low...
GM pigs release less pollution
Pigs account for more than 60 percent of Chinese people’s demand for meat, but they also exert major environmental pressure: fecal nitrogen from pig farms accounts for about 20 percent of the country’s total discharge of nitrogen pollutants. Pigs lack three enzymes...
Team at CAS Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry develops Janus particles for efficient O/W separation
The group of SONG Yongyang and colleagues synthesized hydrophilic/oleophilic magnetic Janus particles by emulsion interfacial polymerization and the interfacial assembly of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Based on this material, they achieved a rapid and efficient separation of...
China explores ultra high-speed railway, eventually reaching 1,500 kmh
At the 2018 World Transportation “High-speed Railway Technology Development Forum”, Mr ZHANG Feng of Southwest Jiaotong University reported that China explores a super high-speed railway. The world’s fastest vacuum tube high temperature superconducting linear model...
Qinghai Province to test use of 100 % clean energy for consecutive 9 days
Following the use of 100% non-fossil energy supply for seven consecutive days in 2017, Qinghai Province is aiming for 100% clean energy supply for 216 hours from October 20 through October 28, for 9 days. Qinghai Province is thus trying to take a groundbreaking step...