Day: December 7, 2020

(Xinhua)10:30, September 17, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has been actively integrating into the global innovation network, highlighting information sharing and international cooperation, its president Bai Chunli said on Wednesday.

As a national scientific research organization, CAS has been accelerating its pace of going out and actively integrating into the international innovation network, regardless of the current backlash against globalization, said Bai at a press conference on the role of CAS in Chinas science and technology development.

During the battle against COVID-19, CAS, along with other Chinese research institutes, lost no time in analyzing and sharing the virus first completed genome sequence, providing information for virus research, drug screening and vaccine development, said Bai.

CAS also used online platforms to share its latest COVID-19 research proceedings. The 2019 Novel Coronavirus Resource database under the China National Center for Bioinformation has amassed more than 100,000 entries containing information about the virus.

According to Bai, the database has thus far provided data services to more than 170,000 visitors from 175 countries and regions, and more than 120 million downloads have been recorded. More than 60 percent of visits are from foreign users.

CAS has also used the Alliance of International Science Organization (ANSO) as a platform to share the latest proceedings of CAS studies, supporting the global battle against COVID-19, Bai noted.

ANSO, launched in late 2018 under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), consists of scientific research organizations from countries participating in the BRI, as well as international organizations.

Bai added that through platforms like ANSO and the World Academy of Sciences, 1,200 overseas students have been granted funding to study in China, and more than 4,000 high-level sci-tech talents have been trained for countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

CAS has also built 10 overseas science and education centers in Belt and Road countries and regions, which have become significant platforms to carry out projects involving scientific collaboration.

Bai added that since 2018, CAS has been inking cooperation agreements with its foreign counterparts in countries like Russia, France and Germany.

CAS has also participated in large-scale international science projects. It supports the Square Kilometer Array, an international project to build the worlds largest radio telescope. It also plays a significant role in ITER, the worlds largest nuclear fusion experiment.

(Xinhua)16:28, September 17, 2020

CHONGQING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — A medium-sized bus equipped with autonomous driving technologies made its debut Thursday in Chongqing Municipality, a vehicle-manufacturing powerhouse in southwestern China.

The L4 autonomous bus was a joint effort of Baidu Apollo and domestic bus manufacturer King Long. Apollo, an open platform launched by Chinese tech giant Baidu in 2017, aims at coordinating cross-sector efforts in autonomous driving.

At the same time, Baidu obtained 10 license plates to allow road tests for self-driving vehicles with passengers issued by the municipal government.

After one-year construction, a test base for autonomous driving was put into use on Thursday in Chongqing. Several carmakers have carried out L4 self-driving tests and demonstrations in five application scenarios.

Baidu Apollo will work together with Chongqing to set a benchmark for the self-driving industry in west China, and provide RD test services and rich application scenarios for carmakers and auto parts manufacturers in the autonomous vehicle field, said Li Zhenyu, vice president of Baidu.

(Xinhua)10:09, September 18, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese researchers have been exploring ways of using DNA origami to build structures that can be engineered to intricate nanodevices.

BIOLOGY BASICS

In 2006, scientists found a way to make all sorts of tiny shapes out of DNA. The technique is called DNA origami.

DNA constitutes four types of chemical bases, which always pair up in the same way until the two strands line up to form a double helix.

Because DNA bases will naturally seek out their counterpart, all a scientist needs to do is design a blueprint for a DNA origami structure. It mainly involves a long, single strand of DNA called a scaffold and multiple tiny pieces of DNA called staple strands.

As bases of the staple strands automatically bond to the bases on the scaffold, they fold the scaffold into a certain shape.

The first DNA origami creations were flat in shape, ranging from squares to smiley faces. Three-dimensional structures and more complex ones were developed like a box made from DNA that can open to release drug molecules.

DNA ORIGAMI VACCINE

In a new study published in Nature Materials, researchers from Chinas National Center for Nanoscience and Technology presented a nanodevice vaccine based on DNA origami.

The vaccine is a tubular DNA origami structure with antigens and adjuvants assembled inside. Adjuvants are substances that, when mixed with an antigen, help create a stronger immune response.

Outside the tubular structure, the vaccine also has a lock made from DNA strands which can act as a sensor to make sure the antigens and adjuvants are released in the right place.

Results showed that the DNA nanodevice vaccine triggered strong immune responses and brought tumor regression in mice with cancer. It can also generate long-term immune responses to protect the mice against tumor recurrence.

NEW TWIST

DNA origami enables scientists to use DNA strands as versatile building blocks to engineer complex nanoscale structures and devices. But it has been challenging to assemble larger sized nanostructures with the technology.

In another study published in Nature Chemistry, researchers from Shanghai Jiaotong University and Arizona State University in the United States developed a strategy called meta-DNA structures that allows submicrometer to micrometer-sized DNA structures to self-assemble in a way similar to staple strands at the nanoscale level.

The new micron-sized structures are on the order of the width of a human hair which is 1,000 times larger than the original DNA nanostructures.

With meta-DNA structures, the researchers were able to build a series of sub-micrometer or micron-scale DNA structures from flat to three-dimensional with a wide variety of geometric shapes, including tetrahedrons, octahedrons, prisms, and six types of closely packed lattices.

According to researchers, the meta-DNA structure strategy is expected to transform DNA nanotechnology from the nanometer to the microscopic scale. It can be used to create a range of complex static and dynamic structures in the sub-micrometer and micron-scale that will enable many new applications, such as more complicated circuits and molecular motors.

(Xinhua)10:56, September 18, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — China will hold a summit on digital transformation in October to showcase its achievements in the field and build platforms for industry exchanges and cooperation, the organizers said Thursday.

The 3rd Digital China Summit will be held in the city of Fuzhou in southeast Chinas Fujian Province from Oct. 12 to 14, Yang Xiaowei, deputy head of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), said at a press conference.

The summit, jointly organized by the CAC, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the provincial government of Fujian, will be held both online and offline, and will consist of seven sections including a main forum, an exhibition and 12 sub forums.

(Xinhua)10:04, September 13, 2020

MANILA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — Washington has never stopped making waves in the South China Sea. In its latest malicious move, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when meeting with his counterparts of Southeast Asian countries, accused Beijing of aggressive campaigns in the region and asked ASEAN countries to ban Chinese companies helping build islands.

Pompeos China-bashing and impudent pressure on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries only exposed his own intention to stir up troubles in the South China Sea and to sow discord between China and its neighbors, which will find no support nor succeed.

While trying to portray Chinas action as aggressive in the South China Sea, the United States itself is the most dangerous factor fueling militarization and stoking tensions in the region.

Facts speak for themselves. The United States, tens of thousands of miles away from the South China Sea, has sent nearly 3,000 sorties of military aircraft to the region in the first half of 2020.

And despite the unfettered passage of tens of thousands of commercial ships via the waterways every year, Washington sent aircraft carriers and other warships here more than 60 times between January and June under the pretext of protecting freedom of navigation.

People cannot help but wonder the true intentions of U.S. muscle-flexing here. Does Washington want to maintain peace in the region, or does it just intend to turn the South China Sea into a geopolitical wrestling ground for its own interests?

Washingtons coercion tactics against ASEAN are not likely to work. Earlier this month, Philippine presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte had already rejected calls to halt infrastructure projects involving Chinese firms blacklisted by the United States. Roque said Duterte clearly said that he would not kowtow to the directives of the Americans because we are a free and independent country, and we need the investors from China.

The Philippines position reflects the collective sentiments of ASEAN countries that stability and development are of vital importance to the region.

In recent years, China and ASEAN countries have shown willingness and wisdom to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea and their efforts have yielded positive outcomes.

Last year, China and ASEAN countries finished the first reading of the Code of Conduct (COC) Single Draft Negotiating Text ahead of schedule, an important step toward reaching an agreement. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, both sides have been working together to push forward negotiations.

Defying the pandemics economic shock, Chinas trade with ASEAN countries rose 7 percent to reach 2.93 trillion yuan (428 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-August period.

China, ASEAN and some other regional partners are currently working toward the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement within this year as planned. In the future, ASEAN countries will see their trade with China even more prosperous.

A peaceful South China Sea is to benefit all regional countries, while a troubled South China Sea would only serve Washingtons selfish interests.

If Washington really cares about peace and stability in the South China Sea and the development interests of regional countries, it should immediately stop any interference or muscle flexing and learn to respect the rights and wishes of relevant countries.

(Xinhua)13:58, September 11, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinas research icebreaker Xuelong is prepared for its 37th Antarctic expedition after undergoing maintenance and a trial sail, according to the Polar Research Institute of China.

During a three-month maintenance period at the Jiangnan Shipyard Group in Shanghai, 54 projects were carried out to maintain the ships deck, turbine, laboratory and living space. The icebreaker also completed 32 tests during the trial sail.

As Chinas third-generation polar icebreaker and scientific research vessel, the 27-year-old icebreaker has a full-load displacement of around 20,000 tonnes and a maximum speed of 17.9 knots. It can break ice as thick as 1.2 meters at a speed of 1.5 knots.

The icebreaker has conducted 23 Antarctic expeditions and nine Arctic expeditions, setting many records for Chinese marine navigation.

(Xinhua)16:15, September 11, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — The China Satellite Navigation Conference 2020 is slated for Nov. 23 to 25 in Chengdu, southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, said its organizer Friday.

Themed GNSS (global navigation satellite system), New Global Era, this years conference, postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, will feature seminars, forums, exhibitions and science popularization activities, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.

As one of three major international satellite navigation conferences, the annual event has been held in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan since 2010. It has been an open platform for academic exchanges and displaying the latest achievements of Chinas BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, which is fully operational and ready to provide high-precision positioning services across the globe.

(Xinhua)09:43, September 12, 2020

SHENZHEN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — Chinese tech giant Huawei on Thursday announced the launch of HarmonyOS 2.0, the updated version of its own open-source operating system.

The operating system will be available on Huawei smartphones in 2021, said Richard Yu, CEO of Huaweis Consumer Business Group, at the Huawei Developer Conference held in Dongguan, south Chinas Guangdong Province.

HarmonyOS, or Hongmeng in Chinese, is an operating system designed for various devices and scenarios. The software made its debut in August 2019.

A beta version of the operating system will be available on devices like smartwatches and TVs from Sept. 10, and a beta version of the developer tools for smartphones will be available in December 2020, Yu said at the conference.

(Xinhua)10:06, September 13, 2020

JIUQUAN, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — Optical remote-sensing satellite Jilin-1 Gaofen 02C, which was launched aboard the Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 13:02 p.m. (Beijing time) on Saturday, failed to enter the preset orbit.

Abnormal performance was identified during the rockets flight, said the launch center.

The cause of the failure is under investigation.

(Xinhua)10:06, September 13, 2020

BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — The lander and rover of the Change-4 probe have resumed work for the 22nd lunar day on the far side of the moon.

The lander woke up at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday (Beijing time), and the rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, woke up at 11:54 a.m. on Friday, sources with the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration said.

The Change-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, 2019.

A lunar day is equal to 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is of the same length. The Change-4 probe, switching to dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power, has survived about 618 Earth days on the moon.

According to the center, Yutu-2 will move northwest toward the basalt area or the impact craters with high reflectivity during the 22nd lunar day. Scientific instruments such as a panoramic camera, infrared imaging spectrometer, neutral atom detector, as well as lunar radar on the rover will carry out scientific detection.

The solar-powered rover has far exceeded its three-month design lifespan, becoming the longest-working lunar rover on the moon.