Window to China
Waste oil (gutter oil) is an important Chinese option for biodiesel but its quality and adulteration with inferior oil is difficult to detect. Professor Honbgin DING and coworkers at Dalian University of Technology have developed a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) which allows for a rapid fingerprint of waste oils CAS news release, Sept. 30, 2014
With this nomination, USTC is at the ranks of Peking U., Tsinghua U., Jiaotong U. etc. USTC, located in Hefei (Anhui Province), has produced some 50.000 graduates and 36 members of the CAS. The campus hosts the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale. CAS news release, Sept. 28, 2014
The consumption of narcotics is generally on the rise and considered grim. Half of the drug abusers are under age 35. Medical drug abuse is low and declining, but synthetic drug consumption, with a preference for “ice” (metamphetamine) is 80 % of total and rose 42 % over the last five years, wheras the consumption of heroin is on decline. China Bio news release, Sept. 28, 2014
The allotetraploid genome consists of 100 chromosomes and is 1,7 Mb in size. It contains over 52000 functional genes. As carp is the most extensively farmed fish, it is expected that this work contributes to breeding. Partners were the Chinese Academy of Fishery, Harvard and Auburn University and others. CAS news release, Sept. 25, 2014
The “Innovation Team” headed by Duanqing Pei consists of five departments and will work for a period of 10 years. The focus is on differentiation of regulatory networks and mechanisms of reprogramming somatic cells. Financial support is from the host institute and from the National Natural Science Foundation. CAS news release, Sept. 24, 2014
The module will focus on the molecular breeding of Northern rice varieties ( Oryzae japonica), soybean and corn. It is located at Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Science (HAAS). CAS news release, Sept. 24, 2014
By co-expressing Bacillus sp glucose isomerase and D-psicose 3-epimerase from Ruminococcus sp., up to 135 g/L D-psicose was produced from HFCS after 8 hrs. D-psicose is a diet sugar and has obtained GRAS status. The study was done in the group of Yanhe MA. CAS news release, Sept. 23, 2014
The group of Jie FENG found two new resistance patterns towards macrolide antibiotics in B. cereus, one of which was intrinsic and the other one acquired. The activity of these two resistance genes was already predicted computationally. CAS news release, Sept. 19, 2014
Whereas subsidies for starch-based bioethanol production will run out from 2015, subsidies for cellulose-based bioethanol will be offered to companies such as Lucida Biologics, Day Crown, COFCO and other enterprises.The subsidy will be up to 1200 Yuan/t China Bio news release, Sept. 18, 2014
The reason for this move was not disclosed but it is assumed that the enterprise did not comply with the GMP requirements or violated the Drug Administration regulations. It is surmised that that business impact on the company’s production is not excessive, because the cost of non-compliance is quite low. China Bio news release, Sept. 18, 2014