Window-to-China
Overview of last view News
Beijing sets up innovation center for graphene industrialization
The Beijing Graphene Industry Innovation Center will take the advantage of Beijing’s innovative resources to research and develop cutting-edge new materials. China has substantial graphite deposits, and more than 500 companies already specialize in graphene products. China expects to establish a comprehensive graphene industry system by 2020.
CAS news release, April 12, 2017
China to build first antarctic airfield by 2018
The airfield, near China’s Zhongshan Station, will be able to handle fixed-wing aircraft. The construction of the planned airfield will be carried out by China’s 34th Antarctic expedition, which is set to arrive in Antarctica around the end of this year. The infrastructure project will go through an international environmental protection review. There are about 40 airstrips in service in Antarctica with the United States, Australia and Italy being the major operators. China will also build a 5th observation station near the Ross Sea in Antarctica, believed to be the least altered marine ecosystem on Earth.
CAS news release, April 12, 2015
Space Tracking Ship Yuanwang-7 begins space monitoring mission
Yuanwang-7 is 220 meters long, 40 meters high and has a displacement of nearly 30,000 tons. It entered service on July 12, 2016, and has performed scientific research and experiment-related tasks, including tracking missions for the maiden flight of the Long March-5, space rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft Shenzhou-11 and the Tiangong-2 space lab. China is the 4th country to master space tracking technology after the United States, Russia and France.
CAS news release, April 11, 2017
Ocean University of China scientists complete scallop genome
The sequencing effort towards a high-quality, chromosome-anchored reference genome (988 Mb) for the scallop Patinopecten yessoensiswas done jointly with a team of Rutgers University, USA, and the Sars International Center for Marine Molecular Biology, Norway.
CAS news release, April 10, 2017
CAS Institute of Biophysics visualzes aging-associated alterations in 3D image of whole genome
Using a thioredoxin-fused TALE system, the groups around Tao XU and colleagues achieved high-quality imaging at various genomic loci and observed aging-associated (epi) genomic alterations at telomeres and centromeres in human and mouse premature aging models. They identified attrition of ribosomal DNA repeats as a molecular marker for human aging which may be used as a simple and robist imaging marker method.
CAS news release, April 4, 2017
CAS team finds that fatty acid (FA) synthesis is critical for stem cell pluripotency via promoting mitochondrial fission
The group of Ping GAO and Huafeng ZHANG at China University of Science and Technology have found that de novo FA synthesis controls cellular reprogramming and embryonic stem cell pluripotency through mitochondrial fission. Mechanistically, de novo FA synthesis regulated by the lipogenic enzyme ACC1 leads to the enhanced mitochondrial fission via (i) consumption of AcCoA which affects acetylation‐mediated FIS1 ubiquitin–proteasome degradation and (ii) generation of lipid products that drive the mitochondrial dynamic equilibrium toward fission.
CAS news release, April 10, 2017
China looks for greater role in Arctia
Since 1999, the China National Arctic Research Expedition has carried out seven cruise missions in the Arctic Ocean using the icebreaker Xuelong, and has established two research stations, the Yellow River Station at Ny Alysund in Norway and the Joint China-Iceland Aurora Observatory in Kallhor, Iceland. According to Huigen YANG, director of Polar Research Institute of China, changes in the Arctic directly affect China, especially its sea level when Arctic glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet melt. Arctic warming may also open new sea routes between East Asia and North America and Europe when the Suez Canal and Panama Canal are reaching their full capacity.
CAS news release, April 10, 2017
China’s first “online hospital” obtains license in Shenzhen
The Medical 160 Spruce Online Hospital (就医 160-云杉医疗网上医院) will offer: online references and registrations to other clinics, to consultations, to doctor appointments registration, video-based diagnosis and treatment, follow-ups for patients, management of slow disease, patient education, drug distribution and other services. The online hospital brings together hundreds of senior clinical experts from the top three hospitals of Shenzhen and follows the directions of the national health reform, in an attempt to create a high-quality health care service platform. Future online hospitals models will rely on physical medical institutions and provide rich resources of doctors. They are more conducive to sharing large medical data for achieving precise treatment. Finally, the online hospital redistributes high-quality medical resources, providing patients with convenient medical treatment and reducing medical costs. Free-practicing doctors can freely integrate into these resources, helping to solve the long-term medical problems in areas where medical resources are scarce.
China Bio news release, April 7, 2017
China will upgrade robot industry
More than 800 enterprises that provide products and services spanning electronics, machinery, chemicals and medical services have already laid sound foundations for the upgrade, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. China produced 72,400 industrial robots in 2016, up 34.3 percent year on year. Sales are expected to exceed 50 billion yuan (about 7.26 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020.
CAS news release, April 7, 2017
Ministry of Environmental Protection issues „high fuel pollution directory“
The catalogue provides standards for the production and use of coal and its products (including raw coal, coal, coal gangue, slime, coal slurry, briquette, coke, blue carbon, etc.), oil and other conventional fuels, but not for industrial waste and garbage, agricultural and forestry residues, the use of charcoal and other auxiliary fuels. Under the Air Pollution Control Law”, the list of high-polluting fuels is only applicable to cities. In urban areas, the administration should apply the standards in accordance with local requirements “
China Bio news release, April 6, 2017
Researchers at Guangdong University of Technology reverse type 1 diabetes in mice by gene therapy
The groups of Zijian ZHAO and Fanghong LI had observed that families with a history of diabetes type 1 were able to reduce the risk of their offpsring to attract this disease by providing them on long-term with fish-oil after weaning. As a consequence, they applied gene therapy to diabetes-1 mice introducing genes for EPA and DHA formation. Suprisingly, in the treated mice the process of disease was reversed. Preclinical studies are underway, and clinical trials are expected within 2 – 3 years.
China Bio April 5, 2017
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences builds sesame germplasm and gene pool base
Xiurong ZHANG and his team over the past 30 collected 7910 sesame germplasms, covering 30 Chinese provinces and locations on five continents, to build the first sesame gene information base, with 819.3 Gb of public data, and 7200 genome tags. They built the first high-density genetic mapand discovered a new mechanism for the geneetic regulation of the oil content, leading to variety QTL77, with higher oil content and improved resistances, providing 74 % of all Chinese varietis.
China Bio news release, April 5, 2017
Waste oil will stimulate change to biokerosene
China presently consumes over 2 billion tons of aviation fuel per year. IATA preducts that by 2020 bio-kerosene will reach 30 % oft he total aviation fuel. Recently, Sinopec at its Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Branch has also expanded the production of bio-aviation fuel based on waste oil, reaching a production capacity of 100,000 tons per year.
China Bio news release, April 5, 2017
Phosphorescence might open avenue to all-weather solar cells
According to Peizhi YANG at Yunnan Normal University, his solar cell based on long-persistent phosphor (LPP) could store sunlight energy in the day and harvest in darkness. All-weather solar cell, comprise a CQD-sensitized mesoscopic titanium dioxide/long-persistence phosphor (m-TiO2/LPP) photoanode, a I–/I3– redox electrolyte, and a platinum counter electrode. In virtue of the light storing and luminescent behaviors of LPPphosphors, the generated all-weather solar cells can not only convert sunlight into electricity on sunny days but persistently realize electricity output in all dark–light conditions. The maximized photoelectric conversion efficiency is as high as 15.1% for so-called all-weather CQD solar cells in dark conditions.
China Bio news release, April 5, 2017
China Aerospace Science & Industry Co. (CASIC) will launch 156 mini-satellites
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
Nanjing will build China’s largest human genome sequencing center
The Nanjing Yangzi state investment group will create a laboratory with a total area of 200,000 m2 and settle China’s first national health medical data center in this location. At present, the center has 10 Hiseq X-ten high-throughput sequencers in operation. With the newly acquired 20 Illumina Novaseq6000 high-throughput sequencers installed in place, it will become China’s largest human Genome sequencing center.
China Bio news release, April 1, 2017
NNSF Foundation funded projects of nearly 27 billion Yuan in 2016
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
CAS QIBEBT tests solid-state lithium batteries at 7,000 m depth
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
Beijing Municipality establishs stem cell and regenerative medicine research” special expert group”
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
AG600 Amphibious aircraft prepares for maiden flight, 17 orders received
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