A record high! 15 Qingdao achievements won National Science and Technology Awards

http://qdstc.qingdao.gov.cn/kjdt/bskjdt/202407/t20240702_8109856.shtml

The 2023 National Science and Technology Awards were announced in Beijing. From a total of 262 projects and candidates,15 achievements in Qingdao won the National Science and Technology Award

Qingdao hosted and completed 2 award-winning projects, participated in the completion of 13 award-winning projects – Including 1 special prize, 1 first prize, 11 second prizes.

5 of the award-winning Qingdao projects are in the maritime field, namely:

“Key Technology Equipment and Application of Deep Sea Image Detection”
Offshore Petroleum Engineering (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. participated in and completed the “‘Shenhai No. 1’ ultra-deepwater gas field development project key technology and application” project, which won the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award
“Construction and Industrial Application of Precision Nutrition Technology System for Marine Cultured Fishes” led by the Ocean University of China and participated by the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences.
“Theoretical and Technological Innovation and Major Discovery of Deep Oil and Gas Exploration in Fault Zones” project, and the
“Key Technologies and Applications for Beach Protection and Restoration of Complex Coastal Environments” participated by Ocean University of China won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

In addition, Qingdao’s participation in award-winning projects has high “gold content” and broad influence. Among them, the “Fuxing High-Speed Train” project completed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. and CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute Co., Ltd. won the special prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. The “Fuxing” high-speed train is a new generation of high-speed train independently developed by China and with complete intellectual property rights. With a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour, China has become the country with the fastest commercial operation of high-speed rail in the world. This record remains to this day. As of the beginning of this year, the “Fuxing” high-speed train has transported more than 2.2 billion passengers.

Enterprise innovation is the fundamental driving force and internal source of innovation. Among the Qingdao award-winners, 9 projects have enterprises taking the lead in completing and deeply participating in them. For example, the “Technological Innovation and Industrialization of Temperature and Humidity Oxygen Magnetic Multi-dimensional Precision Control of Household Preservation Appliances” project led by Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. and participated by Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co., Ltd. won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award; Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. The project “Efficient Breeding and Optimization of Key Technologies and Applications of Food Biomanufacturing Industrial Strain”, as the main completion unit, won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

more insights

“Ramanomics” simplify quality control in beer brewing – QIBEBT

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2025.133788

http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/life/202601/t20260114_1145714.shtml

Breweries typically monitor fermentation by analyzing broth composition. Alcohols, esters, acids and residual sugars are quantified via chromatography-based assays. While reliable, these tests are time-consuming and only yield batch-average results.

A research led by scientists from the CAS Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) has simplified this process and developed a novel workflow dubbed “process ramanomics,” which is based on spontaneous single-cell Raman spectroscopy.

To validate the approach, the researchers tracked an industrial beer fermentation process using the lager yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus, sampling a single production batch over an eight-day period. At each stage of fermentation, they collected high-throughput Raman spectra from individual cells (a “ramanome”) and matched these unique molecular fingerprints to conventional lab measurements of 43 extracellular phenotypes in the fermentation medium.

Using multivariate regression analysis, the team found that ramanomes could accurately predict 19 extracellular phenotypes. This included four higher alcohols, four esters, four amino acids, two organic acids, four mono- and disaccharide substrates, and the alcohol-to-ester ratio—a commonly used indicator tied to beer flavor balance. In practical terms, a single, rapid cellular analysis can now replace multiple time-intensive chemical assays—without sacrificing single-cell resolution details.

Because the models output cell-level predictions, the researchers also tracked phenotypic heterogeneity over time. Different metabolite classes displayed distinct heterogeneity trajectories, and for several phenotypes higher heterogeneity tended to accompany lower metabolite levels—suggesting that dispersion among cells may be a useful process-state indicator.

UNESCO endorses Green Carbon Programme to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs)

http://english.qibebt.cas.cn/ne/rp/202512/t20251201_1134324.html

UNESCO’s “Decade of Sciences” aims to engage science in achieving its sustainable development goals (SDGs).

UNESCO has just endorsed the long-standing commitment of the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology QIBEBT to providing open science solutions for green and sustainable technologies.

QIBEBT’s “Green Carbon Programme” focuses on four core themes,

development and utilization of green carbon resources,
green conversion and utilization of fossil carbon resources,
efficient fixation and utilization of carbon emissions, and
analysis and management of multi-scale carbon cycles.

In addition, QIBEBT operates the editorial office of the Green Carbon journal https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/green-carbon which offers an in-depth and multidisciplinary view of research advances in the field.

With the leverage of the UNESCO endorsement, QIBEBT will boost its efforts to drive innovation and improve public science literacy, supporting high-quality, sustainable, and low-carbon development in China and worldwide for achieving the SDGs.

A novel artificial carbon fixation pathway LATCH with 10 enzymatic steps

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950155525000667?via%3Dihub

https://www.cas.cn/syky/202511/t20251125_5089765.shtml

A research team at the CAS Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology has proposed a novel artificial carbon fixation pathway—LATCH which comprises 10 completely known enzymatic steps. Each cycle converts two molecules of HCO₃⁻ into one molecule of acetyl-CoA, requiring only adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced coenzyme II for energy. Kinetic and thermodynamic modeling analysis shows that it is a linear autocatalytic cycle structure without kinetic traps or thermodynamic barriers, possessing high feasibility and potential for continued development. It can provide insights for improving the efficiency of systems such as photosynthetic microorganisms, plants, and engineered cell factories.

Regarding the selection of parental modules, the research team referenced research on the serine cycle and designed a modified version of the serine cycle, simplifying the pathway structure and bypassing the inefficient steps involving hydroxypyruvate, thus enabling the pathway to function effectively in the heterologous host *E. coli*. Simultaneously, the team replaced the amino acid deamination and transamination steps in the serine cycle with a decarboxylation process, forming an MCG cycle free from formic acid dependence. This cycle can further convert glycerate 3-phosphate produced by processes such as the Calvin cycle and glycolysis into acetyl-CoA in a negative carbon mode. The study also referenced a series of photorespiration bypass concepts developed for recovering the Rubisco byproduct glycolate-2-phosphate, among which the TaCo module, due to its artificial carboxylation reaction, theoretically has a maximum yield of 150%. This study found that by introducing glyoxylate reductase as a key step to act as a “molecular latch,” the natural serine cycle and the artificially carboxylated module TaCo can be recombined, resulting in a functional transformation—from two parent modules dependent on organic substrates to a complete carbon-fixing cycle.

Based on the LATCH cycle formed by module integration, kinetic analysis shows that this pathway is a linear autocatalytic cycle, theoretically avoiding kinetic traps while eliminating the need to establish complex regulatory relationships. Meanwhile, eight steps in the pathway receive thermodynamic support from adenosine triphosphate (ATP), reducing power, or high-energy substrates, and the remaining two lyase-catalyzed processes do not pose thermodynamic bottlenecks. These inherent advantages at the stoichiometric, kinetic, and thermodynamic levels lay the foundation for the continued development and application of LATCH.

Back to …

青岛 Qingdao
a hub for S&T