Month: July 2021

Parkinson’s disease (PD), with a prevalence of 2%–3% in people >65 years old, is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide [1]. It is typically characterized by a cluster of specific motor symptoms, including bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability and tremor. The existing classic monkey PD models, which are induced by the administration of neurotoxins such as 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) or 6-hydroxydopamine, only mimic the symptoms and some of the pathological hallmarks of PD. Researcher around HU Xintian of the CAS Kunming Institute of Zoology, and of Qiu Zilong of the CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligent Technology have used Adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a vector tool and edited known PD risk genes PINK1 and DJ-1 involved in pathogenic mechanism in the substantia nigra of adult rhesus monkeys, building an adult rhesus monkey gene editing PD model. The results showed that adult rhesus macaques edited by substantia nigra in situ showed core clinical motor symptoms of PD, including bradykinesia, tremor, and abnormal posture. Neuroscience Bulletin (2021)

WANG Feng and colleagues at the CAS Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics have developed a new method of carrier oxygen defect-mediated direct methanation of biomass, which achieves highly selective conversion (82 – 99%) of biomass resources, including lignocellulose, to methane under mild conditions (<200°C)  DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2021.07.001

According to Wang Zhigang, director of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China’s original innovation capacity in science and technology has improved significantly. Basic research expenditures have increased rapidly, with an average annual growth rate of 16.9%, and the share of basic research in R&D expenditures has exceeded 6% for the first time. The level of basic research has improved significantly, and departments such as chemistry, materials, and physics have joined the world’s leading group. China has made numerous achievements in scientific and technological innovation, including research in quantum communication and superconductivity. Japan JST China news, July 28, 2021

Following the recent confirmation of a domestic case of the COVID19 in the city, a laboratory is being built at Nanjing International Expo Center. It covers an area of ​​8,000 square meters and is equipped with 12 hard-type and 15 soft-type balloon units, with a fully automatic filling processing system and a high-throughput automatic nucleic acid extractor. If sample pool testing method for 10 people is adopted, the testing capacity per day will reach up to 2 million people.  Japan JST China news, July 27, 2021

Launched in October 2016, the high-speed maglev train has a designed top speed of 600 km per hour and conducted a successful test run in June 2020. According to the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), a train with five carriages has been running well on a test line within the factory. The train can travel with two to 10 carriages, each holding more than 100 passengers. It is said to provide the best solution for trips within a range of 1,500 km, filling a speed gap between aviation and high-speed trains. Xinhua news release, July 20, 2021

According to Shang Hui, president of the China Internet Society, the number of 5G base stations built so far is 916,000, accounting for 70% of the world’s total, and the number of terminals connected to 5G networks is 365 million, accounting for 80% of the world’s total. According to Shang, China will strengthen the intensity of support and investment in basic core technologies such as 5G, big data, basic software, industrial software and artificial intelligence (AI), promote the upgrading of industrial fundamentals and the modernize the industrial chain. Japan JST China news, July 15, 2021

The project is located in the coal mining area of Bazutao, Ulan Mulun Town, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The site covers an area of about 2,800 ha, and total investment for a 500,000 kW solar power plant is 2.14 billion yuan (about 280 million €). In addition to solar power generation, the local government plans to carry out ecological restoration in the project area and develop cultivation and animal husbandry to build a smart solar-powered rural complex. The project is expected to be connected to the grid and start generating power by the end of 2021. Japan JST China news, July 13, 2021

A systematic evaluation of the national carbon pricing effect on phasing out China’s operating coal plants has been conducted by a collaborative research team from the Institutes of Science and Development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASISD), North China Electric Power University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, and Beihang University. Using full-sample data of China’s 4,540 operating coal plant units and a stochastic Monte-Carlo financial model to assess the financial sustainability of the plant operation, and the lifetime change of each plant unit induced by carbon pricing, they found that although China’s operating coal plant units are young and have a long residual technical lifetime, many of their operations are close to the break-even state with the current policy and market conditions. According to the researchers, the carbon pricing effect on China’s phasing out coal power are mainly determined by the carbon price evolution, carbon permit allocation methods and the pass-through of the carbon cost to the consumer. Even with low initial carbon price of 50 CNY/tCO2 growing at 4%/y and the permits being fully auctioned, the average residual lifetime of all the plants will be reduced by 5.43 years, and the cumulative CO2 emission from 2020 to 2050 will be reduced by 22.73 billion ton. With the carbon price further reaching 100 CNY/tCO2, the operating coal plant stock is expected to be phased out 6 years earlier. Moreover, the disparity in the carbon pricing effect among China’s 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities is significant and the western regions are more vulnerable to the carbon pricing risk than the eastern regions, with the residual lifetime being shortened by between 0.34 and 15.71 years via the carbon price of 50 CNY/tCO2.  https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00623-4?_returnURL=https%253A%252F%252Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%252Fretrieve%252Fpii%252FS2589004221006234%253Fshowall%253Dtrue

The 6 stations are the Three Gorges Power Station, Gezhouba Power Station, Qiluohu Power Station, Xiangjingfang Power Station, Wugui Power Station and Baihetantan Power Station. They are operated by the Three Gorges Group. They comprise 96 generators, and the overall installed capacity has increased to 57,695,000 kW. Japan JST China news, July 12, 2021