Window to China
At present, China provides most of the Artemisin anna raw material from which artemisinin, the active ingredient for Malaria treatment, is being extracted and purified. This constitutes about 70 % of the 180 tons world market. The remainder is produced by a chemo-fermentative process including metabolically engineered yeast (Sanofi, around 40 tons). The CAS Institute […]
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the utilization of straw for conversion to energy and chemicals shall be developed to a national level of 85 % during the period of the 13th 5-Years Plan. China Bio news release, October 13, 2015
According to satellite monitoring, straw burning fires which is illegal in China were reduced by nearly 50 % in summer 2015 as compared to summer 2014. However, in view of the great impact of straw burning on air pollution in China the Agency insists that control measures by local governmentsneed to be further strengthened. Of […]
Based on studies of the CAS Institute of Acoustics, the „design“ of the coupled ears of a nocturnal fly (Ormia ochracea) has helped to develop a miniaturized circuit which detects the source of sounds even though the interaural distance is extremely small. In the fly, the ears are coupled by a flexible cuticular lever which […]
By a combination of RNA sequencing and metabolomics, factors involved in enhanced solvent tolerance were identified and modified. The addition of sodium sulfide to the medium enhanced productivity of butanol from straw by nearly 50 %. CAS news release, October 10, 2015
In this method, microphone arrays on the roadside are used to monitor vehicle count, lane occupancy, vehicle speed, and vehicle type (large vs. small). CAS news release, October 9, 2015
The immunochromatographic strip developed by YAN Xiyun and colleages is based on the use of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles which, loaded with appropriate antibodies, could detect the glycoprotein of Ebola virus (EBOV) at 1 ng/mL concentrations which is 100-fold more sensitive than the standard strip method. This sensitivity is comparable with ELISA, but much faster (within 30 min) […]
The blog describes how during the TANG and MING dynasty a wide variety of crops, over 50 species of field crops, vegetables and fruit trees) which are now indigenous in China were introduced during the land or sea „Silk Roads“ into China. China Bio news release, October 10, 2015
The group around TAO Yong has used a unique microbiome that metabolizes lactate rather than ethanol for the production of n-caproate production. The microbial community was obtained from a fermentation pit used for the production of Chinese strong-flavour liquor (CSFL) and consisted to > 70 % of Clostridia. This microbiome was able to produce n-caproate […]
Professor TU is the head of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Medical Sciences in Beijing. Based on findings of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of malaria, she started to extract the plant Artemisia anna for active components and was the first to discover artemisinin as the active principle. Artemisinin is successfully used to […]