Month: May 2018

The group of ZHAO Zongbao has performed multi-omic analyses of the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides to shield lights on Pi-limitation-induced lipid accumulation. In total, 7970 genes, 4212 proteins, and 123 metabolites were identified. It was found that NADPH, the key cofactor for fatty acid biosynthesis, is limited due to reduced flux through the pentose phosphate pathway and transhydrogenation cycle and that this can be overcome by over-expression of an endogenous malic enzyme. CAS news release, May 31, 2018

TANG Fuchou and colleagues at Beijing’s Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics (ICG) have completed a systematic study of the development paths and gene expressions profiles of the human oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine in both embryonic and adult stages, mapping the genes of 5,277 individual cells and identifying 40 cell types in organs from human embryos, as well as the large intestine of adults. CAS news release, May 29, 2018

SHI Zhongjun, China’s ambassador to UN, announced in Vienna on May 28 that all member states of the United Nations are welcome to cooperate with China to jointly utilize its future China Space Station (CSS), saying that CSS belongs not only to China, but also to the world”. Interested public and private organizations, including institutes, academies, universities and private enterprises with scientific orientations, can identify their appropriate models of cooperation on board CSS, may it be the growth of a space plant, or even the accommodation of an astronaut. CSS, expected to be launched by 2019, and complete and brought into operation by 2022, will be the world’s first space station that is developed by a developing country and open for cooperation with all UN member states.” CAS news release, May 29, 2018

A doctoral study at the CAS Wuhan Botanical Garden showed that contamination of microplastics in Dongting Lake and Honghu Lakewas as high as 900-2800 and 1250-4650 particles/m3, accounting for more than 60% of suspended matter. The ratio of colored microplastics was over 70%, and Raman spectroscopy identied polyethylene and polypropylene as the main microplastic polymer types. CAS news release, May 29, 2018

The group of Xinhe BAO and colleagues succeeded in preparing a porous Ni-N-doped porous carbon material that is monodispersed by pyrolyzing a zinc/nickel bimetallic zeolite imidazole skeleton (ZIF-8). CO Faradaic efficiency was maintained between 92.0% and 98.0% in a wide potential range from -0.53V to -1.03V (vs. RHE). The CO current density increased with the increase of overpotential. CAS news release, May 29, 2018

A team of scientists from Purdue University around ZHU Jian-Kang and the CAS Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology has used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology to develop a variety of rice that produces 25-31 percent more grain. The team made mutations to 13 genes associated with the phytohormone abscisic acid, involved in plant stress tolerance and suppression of growth. Of several varieties created, one produced a plant that had little change in stress tolerance but produced 25 percent more grain in a field test in Shanghai, and 31 percent more in a field test conducted on China’s Hainan Island. CAS news release, May 26, 2018

China’s Ministry of Science and Technoloty (MOST) issued new guidelines to recruit more international researchers. They will be involved in strategy-making, research, program management and assessment, and encouraged to collaborate with Chinese counterparts in joint research programs. According to the guidelines, China will make full use of global innovation resources and deeply integrate into global innovative networks in the era of economic and scientific globalization. CAS news release, May 24, 2018

XIONG Wei and HUANG Guangming of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) o have uncovered a novel sunlight-activated biosynthetic pathway in the mouse brain. Using the rotarod performance test, mice without prior UV exposure required 1/3 longer training time to adapt to the rotation speed of the rod. Moderate UV exposure elevated the level of urocanic acid in blood (UCA), which is later converted to glutamate in brain cells thus contributing to enhanced learning capacity. Besides learning, UV-triggered GLU synthesis could contribute to more sunlight-induced mental and nervous changes such as memory and mood. CAS news release, May 23, 2018

Haier Biomedical in Qingdao promotes 5U (U-Blood, U-Biobank, U-Vaccine, U-Reagent, U-Stemcell), an IoT Contact Network linking medical institutions and home users for sharing medical and life sciences big data. The Haier U-Blood network is already implemented in Qingdao, involving the whole process of blood transfusion information including logistics, temperature monitoring and traceable big data. It is already copied by more than 10 provinces and cities in Shandong Province, Zhejiang Province, in view of blood safety and security of 30 million surgical and emergency patients. China Bio news release, May 2, 2018

BGI has invested heavily in R&D and innovation of new sequencing devices, including an independent IT platform which provides professional and easy-to-use biometric information cloud services for research institutions, hospitals and other users. BGI has also certified some products internationally. The HPV genotyping test kit (semiconductor sequencing method) and the amino acid and carnitine detection kit (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry) developed by BGI have obtained a CFDA medical device registration certificate. BGI Europe A/S obtained a CE certification for in vitro diagnostic medical devices and can now be marketed within the EU. As to quality management of medical devices, several subsidiaries have obtained ISO 13485 certification. China Bio news release, May 22, 2018