China Scientist Awards Blog

  BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Agricultural scientists from 15 countries and several international organizations gathered in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss how to further strengthen cooperation to promote the green, high-quality and sustainable development of agriculture through sci-tech innovation, and ensure global food security. It is necessary for agricultural scientists to work together and share their knowledge and experience to deal with challenges in global food security and sustainable agricultural development such as climate change and resource scarcity, Wu Kongming, president of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), said at a symposium jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) With the support of the NSFC, the CAAS launched cooperation with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in 2011, focusing on the exploration and utilization of excellent

In a promising development for millions with diabetes, researchers in China have reported a potential cure using cell therapy. The study, published in the journal Cell Discovery, details the successful treatment of a 59-year-old man with type 2 diabetes. The patient, who had been battling the disease for 25 years and relied on daily insulin injections, underwent an innovative cell transplant in July 2021. The procedure involved creating lab-grown replicas of insulin-producing islet cells, found in the pancreas, which were then transplanted into the patient. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the treatment proved remarkably successful. Within eleven weeks, the patient no longer required external insulin. Over the following year, he gradually reduced and eventually stopped taking oral medication for blood sugar control. Follow-up examinations confirmed a restored function in the patient's pancreatic islet cells, allowing him to remain medication-free for over 33

Scientists in Scotland have made a remarkable discovery of a 240-million-year-old "Chinese dragon" fossil. According to the BBC, the 16-feet-long fossil belongs to a long aquatic reptile from the Triassic period. The species is called Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, and has been dubbed "dragon" because of its extremely long neck. The discovery was made by an international team and displayed it at the National Museums Scotland. The fossil was found in Guizhou Province in southern China, as per an ABC News report. Dr Nick Fraser, who was part of the international team, told the BBC that the fossil belongs to "a very strange animal". "It had flipper-like limbs and its neck is longer than its body and tail combined," he added. "This discovery just adds to the weirdness of the Triassic. And every time we look in these deposits, we find something new," said Dr Fraser. Scientists said the animal is similar to Tanystropheus hydroides, a marine r

Scientists in China have engineered a virus using parts of the deadly Ebola to study the disease and its symptoms. A study detailing the experiment at Hebei Medical University has been published in Science Direct. Researchers noted in the study that they injected a group of hamsters with the lethal virus and they died within three days. The hamsters developed "severe systemic diseases similar to those observed in human Ebola patients, including multi-organ failure", they further said in the study. For the study, the team of Chinese researchers used a contagious disease of livestock and added a protein found in Ebola, which allows the virus to infect cells and spread throughout the human body. After the injection, some hamsters developed secretions in their eyeballs, which impaired their vision and covered the surface of the eyeballs. "It is a sign that 3-week-old Syrian hamsters infected with the virus have the possibility of playing a role in the study of optic nerve d

DURATION : The mission lasted for 23 days. The samples were brought back to Earth on Dec. 17, 2020. Chang'e-5's orbiter is still operational. CHANG'E-6 LAUNCH : May 3, 2024 LANDING SITE:  Apollo crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon's far side MISSION: As phase four of the programme, Chang'e 6 will acquire samples from a side of the moon that perpetually faces away from Earth. Chang'e-6 will land in the South Pole-Aitken basin, an area with the largest-known impact craters in the solar system. Chang'e-6 will further test China's precise landing capability. Communication with Earth will be mainly via the second relay satellite, Queqiao-2, that orbits the moon. DURATION:  Expected to last 53 days. CHANG'E-7 PLANNED LAUNCH : 2026 PLANNED LANDING SITE: Near the southeast ridge of Shackleton crater in the lunar South Pole on the moon's far side MISSION: Chang'e-7 will explore for resources, including ice. Listen to the  latest songs, o

  Chinese scientists  have developed the world’s first boring and blasting machine (BBM), which is expected to boost efficiency in excavating extremely hard rock by more than 30 per cent. The machine is expected to be used in water conservancy and  hydropower  projects, mining, and the construction of highways and railways, according to Chen Jiale, a researcher at China Railway Science & Industry Group Corporation (CRSIC). “The development of the boring and blasting machine can solve current challenges in long and large tunnel construction, offering a new solution for such projects,” he said in an interview published on Monday by China’s Science and Technology Daily. The BBM uses a combination of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, sensing, mechanics and guidance technologies, allowing for the simultaneous use of traditional drilling and blasting methods, alongside the power of modern tunnel boring machines The machine features two cutter heads and leverages the complementary advant

  A Chinese proverb says, "The plan for a year lies in spring."  Looking across the fertile countryside, regions everywhere are seizing on the agricultural season to carry out spring farming. With the advancement of science and technology, more and more new technologies are being applied in agricultural production, unveiling a scene of modern agricultural development across the vast fields of China. With the Qingming Festival, also known as "Tomb-Sweeping Festival," approaching, West Lake Longjing, known as one of China's best green teas, has entered the large-scale picking period. In the tea gardens in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, tea farmers are busy picking, sorting, and collecting fresh tea leaves.  Alongside these tea farmers, three "iron tea-picking workers" work diligently. Their hands are flexible robotic arms and their eyes are movable cameras, while their heads are  "hats" made of solar panels. These three "wor

  China’s first multifunctional 104-meter-long archaeological and scientific research vessel for deep-sea exploration and the excavation of cultural relics was docked on Saturday in Nansha District of Guangzhou, located in south China’s Guangdong Province. Displaced by almost 10,000 tons, China designed the multifunctional vessel independently. In summer, it can perform deep-sea scientific investigation, cultural relic excavation, and scientific research in the polar sea areas, with bidirectional ice-breaking capability. It can also accommodate 80 individuals and travel at a maximum speed of 16 knots for about 15,000 nautical miles. The vessel’s construction began in June last year, with an investment of approximately 800 million yuan. Welcome to the China Scientist Awards 2024! We are thrilled to extend a warm welcome to the China Scientist Awards! Join us for the China Scientist Awards, a premier event in the realm of research. Whether you're joining virtually from anywhere in th

  HELSINKI — China sent a new set of four Beijing-3 optical remote sensing satellites into orbit late Sunday. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 11:06 p.m. Eastern, May 19 (0306 UTC, May 20), from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, north China. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Group (CASC) confirmed launch success within an hour of liftoff. Aboard were four Beijing-3C remote sensing satellites. These are likely to enter roughly circular, 600-kilometer-altitude sun-synchronous orbits. The Long March 2D notably carried grid fins to help constrain the landing zone of its first stage. Taiyuan is deep inland and falling spent rocket stages can prove hazardous and disruptive downrange. The satellites were launched for Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Co. Ltd. (21AT) of Beijing. The satellites were built by CASC’s China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). 21AT has earlier ordered satellites from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) of the United Kingdom. The Beijing-