Month: February 2018

A new study by ZHANG Wenping, a Panda specialist at Sichuan University in Chengdu, has shown by metagenome sequencing of the Panda’s gut that it is not the Panda microbiota which would make a major contribution to his nutrition by degrading of cellulose or lignin abundant in bamboo. Rather, the Panda’s own digestive enzymes have evolved for a high digestibility of starch and hemicellulose, allowing for a fast dietary transition from breast milk to bamboo shoots and tender leaves as a major source of nutrition. Bamboo has high levels of starch among all woody plants, and giant pandas have adapted to bamboo as their preferred nutrition because it is everywhere in their habitats, and they have few competitors for this food. CAS news release, February 27, 2018

According to a report by the State Health Planning Commission, Chinese companies mostly occupy the middle and low prize tier of medical devices, wheres the top tier is dominated by foreign brands which are considered about 15 years ahead in development. However, Chinese companies are catching up in this segment as well and make quick advances in areas such as orthopedics and cardiovascular interventional devices, implantable devices and artificial organs. China Bio news release, Februry 27, 2018

According to a survey of China International Ecommerce Publisher, the pharmaceutical market of China exceeded 2 trillion Yuan in 2017, of which the retail drug market reached 367.9 billion yuan, an increase of 9.5% over 2016. As of the end of November 2016, there were 12,975 drug wholesalers, 5609 drug retail chains, 226,331 retail pharmacies and 447,034 retail drugstores. Western medicines were still the main products, accounting for over 70%. The pharmaceutical e-commerce model is still in the ascendant and its scale has gradually risen to about 75 billion Yuan. China Bio news release, February 26, 2018

During an inspection of compliance with Chinese GMO rules which the Ministry carried out throughout China, it was reported that the vast majority of inspected units complied but seven R & D units and test units did irregular reporting. For example, Beijing Huaxin Albert Seed Technology Co. conducted an interim test of genetically modified corn which was not reported, and Anhui Huishang Tongchuang Hi-Tech Seed Co. bred a small amount of transgenic corn non-compliant with the reported material. The Ministry issued a warning to all units concerned. China Bio news release, February 26, 2018

The Hebei-based company is the only one in China which commercially uses three expression systems (mammalian cells, recombinant yeast, Escherichia coli). They are a leading producer of hepatitis B vaccine, G-CSF, GM-CSF, EPO and are the country’s major producer of recombinant human serum albumin. Currently a number of antibodies, fusion proteins, cytokines, vaccines and other recombinant protein drugs are under development. China Bio news release, February 23, 2018

The group around LIU Guang-Hui at Tongji University in Shanghai has expanded airway basal cells isolated from bronchodilator patients collected at the time of bronchoscopy. After expansion and implantation in the donor patient, pulmonary functions improved. Nikkei Biotech news release, February 16, 2018; China Bio news release, February 11, 2018

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, R&D spending rose 11.6 percent year-on-year to 1.75 trillion yuan (about 280 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017. The spending accounted for 2.12 percent of China’s gross domestic product. Chinese enterprises spent more than 1.37 trillion yuan on R&D last year, up 13.1 percent from 2016, while R&D spending at government institutions and colleges increased 7 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively. Some 92 billion yuan, or 5.3 percent of the total spending, was put into fundamental research in 2017, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier. China had 5.35 million people working in R&D at the end of 2015, the world’s largest pool of R&D personnel. CAS news release, February 14, 2018

Increased body fat in humans is closely associated with obesity and diabetes. In swine production, increased body fat is inversely proportional to production efficiency and meat quality. Therefore, a better understanding of fat development is important for both humans and animals. Branched-chain amino acids containing leucine (Leu), isoleucine (Ile), and valine (Val), can act directly on adipocytes to affect fat metabolism, favoring fat reduction. Researchers from the China Agricultural University and the CAS Institute of Subtropical Agriculture (ISA) identified that the optimal ratio of dietary branched-chain amino acids. Dietary supplementation with this ratio reduced the weight of total fat mass, increased adiponectin concentration, and modulated adipose tissue functions including fatty acid synthesis, transport, and oxidation, as well as lipolysis. CAS news release, February 13, 2018