China in Africa

According to a biannual ranking of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers, called the Top500, Sunway’s TaihuLight maintains the lead as the No. 1 system for the fourth time, with a performance of 93.01 petaflops. Tianhe-2, or Milky Way-2, is still the No. 2 system at 33.86 petaflops. Intel chip-based Tianhe-2 had topped the list for three years until it was displaced in November 2015 by TaihuLight, which was built entirely by using processors designed and made in China. No. 3 is Switzerland’s Piz Daint, which is also the most powerful supercomputer in Europe. A new system in Japan, called Gyoukou, is the No. 4, pushing Titan, the top U.S system, to the No. 5.

CAS news release, November 14, 2017

According to a survey by Genetic Engineering News (GEN), the following 5 companies have entered the top 15 ranks: Sinopharm Holdings (24), Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceutical (13), Yunnan Baiyao Group (18), Kangmei Pharmaceutical (19) and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (20). The top positions are still held by US companies with Amgen (1), Gilead (2) and Novo Nordisk (3).

GEN November 13, 2017

Following an International Forum on Animal Biotechnology, the Chinese Academy of Engineering has announced that the country will launch the international pig model project (PMP, http://www.pigmodel.org). Organized by the Ministry of Science 
and Technology and China Agricultural University, it aims to produce about 25,000 knockout pig lines covering the whole genome, using CRISPR/Cas9 and other technologies. The goal is to establish the model pig in agriculture, biology, medical and pharmaceutical research through phenotype analysis on a large scale and lay the foundation for a dominant position of the pig as a model animals. China is the largest pig breeding and consuming country in the world, with a head count of 1.2 billion pigs in 2016. Hog production and consumption account for about half of the world. At the same time, China is also the country with the richest pig germplasm and pig breeding resources in the world. One quarter of the population are miniature pig breeds such as Tibet, Wuzhishan and Guizhou miniature pigs. Major pig-related research topics in China are gene editing technologies, pig functional genomics, transgenic pigs for xenotransplantation, and pigs as disease models. China Agricultural University takes the lead in constructing two Pig phenotype and genetic research facilities” in Danzhou, Hebei Province, and Kunming, Yunnan Province, with a total investment of 1.12 billion yuan. Construction period is about 5 years.”

China Bio news release, November 16, 2017

Using astaxanthin-producing Haematococcus pluvialis microalgae as a model organism, a device was constructed where Raman-activated cell-sorting is followed by microdroplet encapsulation, followed by dielectrophoretic separation of individual cells (up to 260 cells/min) for single-cell sequencing or cultivation. Over 90 % of cells remained active after this manipulation.

CAS news release, November 8, 2017

Two 3d generation Beidou satellites, the first of their type, were launched by a Long March 3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province on Nov. 5 and were placed in medium Earth orbit. The new-generation satellites feature better accuracy, stability and signal clarity than previous Beidou models thanks to improvements in intersatellite links, laser communication devices and atomic clocks. They will also be more compatible with GPS, GLONASS and Galileo. Beidou is the world’s fourth navigation satellite system, following GPS in the United States, GLONASS in Russia and Galileo in the European Union.

CAS news release, November 8, 2011

The contract relates to the „Made-in-China 2025 Innovation Center Cooperation Agreement“ signed in June 2017 by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology in Berlin. Both parties will choose China’s key provinces, cities and regions to establish intelligent manufacturing innovation centers. The Haier-led Sino-German Center for Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation is the first such agreement to be launched.

http://www.miitec.org.cn/miitectw/index/com.qdunis.article.ActionTWArticleForOutSide.do?doType=Content&articleId=2740

In the new concept, the oxyen evolution reaction is replaced by a thermodynamically more favourable urea oxidation reaction. A consortium from CAS Institute of Physical Science designed a Ni2Mn-Hy/CFC electrode with urea oxidation activity, which was assembled as cathode material into a rechargeable Zn-air battery, exhibiting almost 0.3 V lower charging voltage in the presence of urea compared to the battery without urea, consequently obtaining about 12%~21% energy saving in the charging process. Combined with a Ni2P/CFC electrode with bifunctional electrocatalytic activities for hydrogen evolution and and urea oxidation, an efficient two-electrode system for high-efficiency H2 production and simultaneous urea decomposition was constructed using Ni2P/CFC as anode and cathode. Compared to pure water-spitting, the urea electrolysis system significantly reduced the cell voltage by about 200 mV and reached benchmark current densities of 10 mA cm-2, while degrading the urea in the waste water.

CAS news release, November 2, 2017

Panthothenic acid is a water-soluble vitamin (vitamin B5) and an essential nutrient. Animals require pantothenic acid to synthesize coenzyme-A (CoA), as well as to synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Major producer is Xinfa Pharmaceuticals, Shandong Province, 8,000 t), followed by Huachen Biochemicals, also in Shandong, BASF and DSM (about 3,000 t each). Price in China is about 780 Yuan/kg and climbed 3fold over the past years.

China Bio news release, November 11, 2017

The exoskeleton is designed for the elderly and the disabled with weakened motor function and mobility. The robot recognizes human intentions and coordinates man-machine interactions. The device was jointly developed by CAS Hefei Institute of Material Science, CAS Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing Institute of Biological Materials and Medical Devices, Jiangsu Provincial People’s Hospital, and Nanjing Weisi Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Project coordinator is WANG Rongchuan.

China Bio news release, November 2, 2017

Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences sequenced and assembled the genome of the coconut. They identified 282 unique gene families and started to analyzed their function.

CAS news release, November 2, 2017

The China Medical Device Industry Development Report (2017)” was compiled by over 70 experts from administrative departments, industry associations, universities and enterprises and analyzes the current situation of China’s medical device industry, as well as the main problems and challenges.”

China Bio news release, November 2, 2017

By carbon-14 dating of remains in stoneware found at ruins at Sanlong Mountain in Ar Horqin Banner, the ruins were dated as at least 50,000 years old, from the middle-paleolithic period. The stoneware includes tools with sharp ends or edges believed to have been used for cutting and peeling,

CAS news release, November 2, 2017

The incubation center has attracted 83 innovative enterprises, making up more than 70% of the overall occupancy. In addition, a service platform for more than 100 professional services has been established. On an area of ​​2,800 square meters, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine will operate a Qingdao Traditional Chinese Medicine Public R & D platform, focusing on collaborative innovation combining Chinese medicine with medical big data. Efforts have been made to introduce high-end talents, including experts from the Thousand Talents Program” returning overseas scientists and engineers.”

China Industrial Biotechnology news, November 1, 2017

China will accelerate the development of the internet working with advanced manufacturing to boost innovation and entrepreneurship and the integration of enterprises of various sizes to advance the upgrading of the economy. The decision was made at a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Oct. 30. Companies will also be encouraged to build up cybersecurity, and the government will step up the development of infrastructure to make internet services faster and cheaper for SMEs. China has built its own satellite-based cloud system to which some 700 million computers and mobile phones are already linked.

CAS news release, October 31, 2017

As of September 2017, there were 525 CROs in China, of which 248 were clinical service enterprises and 262 non-clinical service enterprises. Location is mainly in Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu. 2004-14 was the peak period of CRO development, mainly benefiting from new “drug clinical trial quality management practices involving GCP, GLP and other industry policies. A common feature is that CROs are usually located in industrial parks, and their talent and education resources are abundant.”

China Bio news release, October 30, 2017